cheap healthy foods

[Trichocereus Panza]

So I'm going to be living on my own for the first time next year (I go to college but I've been living with my parents), and I need some suggestions on the kinds of foods to buy.

I'll be in an on-campus apartment with a fully-loaded kitchen -- meaning I'll have cupboard space, big fridge, stove, oven, and microwave. I really have no cooking skills whatsoever yet, but hopefully I will learn some stuff over the summer. I just made my first pot of spaghetti by myself actually -LOL- but it was delicious.

I don't have a big income so I want to save on groceries, and the other goal is to eat HEALTHY. Whenever I sleep over in a dorm room, friend's apartment, or eat in a dining hall, the food is so junky and gross it makes me sick. Don't get me wrong some of it can be good, but I want to develop a healthy lifestyle right off the bat. There is a local food co-op I will have to check out, and Whole Foods in the city, but I wanna look for what I can find in regular grocery stores too.

So what suggestions do you guys have for foods that are:
healthy
inexpensive
filling
easy to cook
can buy in bulk/lasts a long time
delicious?

p.s. I don't eat many vegetables so this could be tricky . I DO eat some meats, but I bet they're more expensive, and I wanna cut down on them if possible. Living the natural life man :rasta: peace

Trichocereus Panza Reviewed by Trichocereus Panza on 03-19-2006. cheap healthy foods So I'm going to be living on my own for the first time next year (I go to college but I've been living with my parents), and I need some suggestions on the kinds of foods to buy. I'll be in an on-campus apartment with a fully-loaded :D kitchen :D -- meaning I'll have cupboard space, big fridge, stove, oven, and microwave. I really have no cooking skills whatsoever yet, but hopefully I will learn some stuff over the summer. I just made my first pot of spaghetti by myself actually -LOL- but Rating: 5

[sweetnhighz]

well whats cheap and not that bad is ramen noodles. they are like 10 cents a pack here so stock up! i always get the chili flavor, the ones in the cup are disgusting so avoid those if at all possible. and you could get canned tuna if you like that for like 50 cents a can. tv dinners are cheap so look in your frozen food section of the grocery store. and as of fresh meat chicken is the cheapest under 5 bucks and most filling. and if you just want to be healthy get cereal and milk, cant go wrong with that. frozen pizzas are the bomb too plus just ham or turkey sandwhiches are easy and cheap as well. good luck!

[thebathroom]

I think you should check out dumpster diving.

I bet if you go dumpster diving at a whole foods store, you'll find plenty of healthy food, still in good condition.
http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2003/1/29/215523/088

[sweetnhighz]

me mum made me go dumpster diving, so horrifying.

[Trichocereus Panza]

wow dude dumpster diving is a sweet idea, not sure yet where to do it though.

thanks for the link.

[benagain]

You were on the right track with spagetti. Get a box of rice. It's cheap and can be cooked a ton of ways. When i first moved out, I would fall back on stir fry if shit got cheap. Buy some veggies and whatever meat was on sale and cook it up. i allways plan my meals based around the meat. I check and see what's on sale and put some shit together to go with it. Steak and potatoes, chicken and rice, porkchops and gravy (or applesauce), whatever. It sounds shitty, but get a few boxes of hamburger helper. You can allways grab some hamburger meat and put something together in a few mins.

[benagain]

If you feel like trying something new = http://www.cooks.com/, or http://www.foodtv.com

[thebathroom]

Just don't get caught, they might start putting locks on thier dumpsters if they catch you.... really I don't understand why. They want to stop you from not wasting food. Bastards.

[rhino44]

If you have a Sams club nearby you can stock up on alot of things in bulk. I buy a big thing of chicken, steak, lunchmeat and freeze most of it in individual portions so I can just take out a piece or 2 of meat and thaw it. Use olive oil instead of butter or vegetable oil it has hardly any saturated fat in it compared to those.

Get a big bag of rice, potatoes, I like fresh fruit and vegetables(kinda hard to start a healthy eating cycle without them) also a large selection of bread and cheese all reasonably priced and in bulk. It's 30-40 bucks to join but you will make that back in the first couple trips.

[Trichocereus Panza]

Thanks rhino!

Definitely checkin out Sams club, don't think I've ever been there