College 101: How to Eat Healthy On a Budget.

Happy Sunday, friends!

Many of us, whether a surviving college student or a devout penny-pincher, are trying our best to eat healthy while on a tight budget. I often hear things like:

“Organic seems so expensive!”

“I’m stuck with a college meal plan!”

“We can’t afford it!”

I totally hear you. Organic, properly-sourced, humanely-raised produce + animal products can ring the grocery bill up high and blow through your cash fast.

So, what gives? Well, honestly I think our food system is skewed by big wigs who make profit off of the cheap stuff that makes us sick. But that’s for another post. I fully believe that everything we purchase is considered a “vote” to keep it on the shelves of our stores. So, how are you going to spend your dollar to hopefully balance out the supply + demand of our food quality + costs?

I am going to specifically share TEN tips for college students on a budget, but these pointers can apply to anyone looking to save a buck or two without sacrificing their health.

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Refer to the Clean 15 + Dirty Dozen List.

This list gets updated every year. It is a guide that helps determine which foods are more contaminated by pesticides + chemicals than others. So, you’ll always want to buy organic produce that is on the “Dirty Dozen” list.  You can get away with saving a dollar or two by purchasing conventional foods that are on the “Clean 15” list.

I would however, stay away from conventional corn, because of how badly it’s become genetically engineered. It might look, smell + taste like corn, but our bodies won’t recognize it as the real deal.

Go Meatless Mondays. (Or even 2-3x a week if needed)

Our Western culture has been taught to believe that we MUST have some form of animal flesh as the staple of every meal. Now, I am NOT saying go all out vegan or vegetarian, because our bodies absolutely do need specific amino acids from animal proteins + products. But we don’t need to over-do it either. Meat is something I will not sacrifice quality for, and yeah, properly-sourced, grass-fed beef is freaking expensive. So, by minimizing your meat intake, you will also shrink your grocery bill.

A great way to still get plenty of animal protein without forking over the big bucks is soups + stocks! Quality broth from well-sourced animal proteins will keep you alive + well, and still on track with your fitness game without breaking the bank. And what better time of the year to try this now that fall is fast approaching!

Eating healthy can be expensive. Learn how to save money by eating foods that are in season to your area. Click through to read the full post on Seasonal Fall Foods.

Buy Seasonal Produce.

Focusing on buying seasonal foods will not only minimize costs, but they will also keep longer. To find what foods are in season in your area visit the Seasonal Food Guide. A fun + added bonus to seasonal eating: it naturally provides variety to your diet and can cause you to get creative + try new things in the kitchen!

Stock Up on the Frozen Aisle

Typically you an get away with purchasing frozen produce, as long as there is nothing else added to the package, so be sure to check your labels, and refer to the Clean 15 + Dirty Dozen lists! My favorite frozen veggies are stirfry mixes! They are easy to throw in a pan + sauteé with some rice noodles. I also love carrots + peas for soups and roasts. Frozen berries are great for smoothies or to top your morning yogurt!

dried beans soak and sprout for gut health

Buy Dry Goods in Bulk

Rice + beans are always a good staple to add bulk to a meal. Also, lentils are very high in protein + fiber! Woohoo! You can buy canned beans, but if you can learn to sprout + soak them, you will save a lot of moolah + your tummy will actually be happier because of it.

Soaking + sprouting nuts, seeds and legumes help make the nutrients more bio-available to our bodies by being easier to break down + digest. Ever get bloated or just feel “meh” after eating a bunch of almonds or beans? That’s because your body can’t break them down properly!

Try soaking dem nuts, y’all. Yes, that was inappropriate. But I just wanted to make sure you are still with me. 😉 Ok, enough of that. Read more about the benefits of soaking + sprouting here.

Splurge on Good Cooking Fats

If you have free reign to cook for yourself, I do encourage you to spend the big bucks on good quality cooking fats. Bad fats (i.e. canola, vegetable oil) are toxic to our health. You can find some of my favorite cooking fats here, here + here. Curious why fats got a bad rap, and what makes certain ones better than others? Read my post about the skinny on fat.

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Smaller, Frequent Trips to the Store

It might be a pain in the ass, but making smaller trips (1-2x times a week instead of epic bi-weekly grocery haul) will help you save money by not letting the food you buy go to waste. Just don’t go to the store hungry! That’s when impulse buys happen. Write a small list, and stick to it. If you plan well and don’t go crazy at the store, you can make your food last before it spoils. Which leads me to my next point…

Meal prep + Batch Cooking

I hate the traditional idea of meal prep, but there are some benefits to putting some of the ideas into practice. I like to think more about weekly batch cooking items, or preparing things that store well + don’t go bad over the week. Because let’s be real, that same chicken + broccoli from #mondaymealprep makes you want to gag come Friday. Blegh. 

Instead, try chopping + roasting a bunch of veggies, make broth for soups (even better, go ahead and make the soup, too!), or even crockpot meals. My favorite is throwing a few chicken breasts in a crockpot with a bottle of low-sugar BBQ sauce. Try it topped on your baked sweet potato, and come back + thank me later. You’re welcome.

Need more batch cooking ideas? Try these easy recipes from my blog: peanut butter protein balls + pumpkin chia pudding for quick snacks or grab-n-go breakfasts!

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Navigating the Cafeteria

If you are bound to a meal plan that you can’t get out of, you’ve gotta work with what you’ve got. So, don’t go ham on the pizza or pasta bar. And no, I don’t want you to live at the salad bar either. Think about building you plate with a good balance of protein, fat + carbs. Look for lean proteins, lots of greens + non-starchy veggies. Want a burger? Ask for it bunless, or even better, on a bed of greens. Want an omelette? Add lots of veggies, and skip the cheese. Top it with salsa instead. Concerned about their cooking fats? Bring yours up with you and ask if they can prepare your meal with it instead.

If you have serious health issues that keep you from eating in the cafeteria, speak up! When I was in college, I was going through some severe digestive issues, and I couldn’t hardly eat anything that they offered in our cafeteria. I nicely emailed our director about my concerns and inability to eat from the selections, and at first he said there was no way out of it. But because I responded back kindly (and not life-threatening as he had informed me some people do) to his decision, he actually emailed back and reversed it! It pays to be nice, people. Moral of the story, you never know until you ask.

Learn to Love Leftovers

 Yes, it’s true. I’m a big advocate for leftovers. Let’s be real here.  I don’t want to cook (nor do i have the time to cook) a meal from scratch every time.  So we are big leftover lovers over here. Please try to learn to love them. You’ll save money, headaches + stress when you are in a pinch! If the thought of leftover baked chicken just leaves you gagging, fall is the perfect time to become besties with your leftovers! Start with something easy like reheating soups + stews — they ALWAYS taste better the next day because the flavors get to hang out together a bit longer. Here is a great resource where you can “reinvent” your leftovers!


What are some ways you save $$$ on your groceries?

Please share in the comments below!

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