Poor college kid looking for ways to get better nutrition

[KateCatz]

Mos tpeople who went to college often remember eating junk food a lot and all kinds of not good for you stuff.  They also remember not have a lot of money to spend on the healthy stuff too. I was wondering if anyone knew any good way to still eat healthy but not spend a lot of money doing it? Also I keep hearing everyone talk about eating more strawberries and the health benifits, well to top it off I'm allergic to Strawberries... so any advice or thought would be great! Thanks 

[1stepcloser]

The eating healthy in school shouldn't be hard except society makes it that way. So i'm going with load up on your fruits (except strawberries) A bag of apples, oranges, a bunch of banana's and pair those with either breakfast or a protein. An apple and a mozzarella cheese sticks is good and healthy. To cut cost is why I said buy them by the bag but if you can buy from a farmers market. You will get a better quality at way cheaper prices.  Next is remember meals don't have to be huge.  If you go to dinner someplace and order pasta, more then likely thats 3-4 searvings. So eat 1 save the rest. Eating smaller meals has tested me so many times, but once your body adjusts you will be better to accept what a serving is and there fore stretch your food budget. If you have to have mac and cheese, go for the whole grain and remember theres like 3 servings in that box not 1.  Same for ramen noodles (cheap and easy to make) there are 2 servings in that pack, so split it but add some frozen broccoli, a pouch of chicken and when its done get rid of most of the broth and sprinkle with parm. cheese. Check the dented canned items for food(they should be cheaper), and remember store brands for most stuff tastes the same.  What I'm trying to say is even if you have to eat somewhat unhealthy, turn those choices healthy. Experiment with your food. learn what a serving is, and live life.

[KateCatz]

That is awsome! Thank you so much

[Stephen1227]

Quinoa is a great source of protein and is reasonably inexpensive.  Do you have access to a local farmers' market?  If so, the quality of the produce is far superior to that found in grocery stores, usually at a good cost. You also may want to do a google search on cost effective but healthy ways to eat.  Hope that helps. 

Stephen 

[carl669]

a crockpot is your friend.  tougher cuts of meat are cheap.  get a 3 lb pot roast, throw in some carrots, celery and onion and you've got yourself 6-8 good size meals.

(i guess part of this depends on what your definition of a healthy meal is. for me, something high fat, moderate protein and low carb qualifies as healthy.)

[highflyer]

I just saw this link pop up on my pinterest. Maybe it will be of some use.

Healthy Grocery Shopping on a College Budget

[MaginB]

Pretty interesting thread @KateCatz thanks for sharing! I think one of the best ways to keep eating healthy is to make the time to cook for yourself .But  to stay healthy you can still drinking water, eat vegetables and fruits and you can still have your cheat meals every now and then. 

Have a nice weekend 😄 

[MRose]

Depending on your definition of "healthy" as compared to your budget, sometimes you feel like you have a PhD in "100 Ways to Eat Alpo and Love It," so I feel your pain! This is one better way to make ramen do more for you (I always used ground turkey and whatever frozen veggies were on sale, and made my roommate do the dishes ).

Depending on where you go to school, you might be able to find a few smaller mom-and-pop markets, or even specialty food/meat markets with cheaper veggies and meats. I always combined ads to "double up" on sales days, and printable coupons are your friend!