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Grocery shopping for broke people

xxForgedxx

Ready to race!
Location
n/a
Ok so I just showed up to PSU and I've realized that eating at Panera and whatever is costing way too much and that I need to bite the bullet and grocery shop. I was wondering what suggestions you guys have for the following:

Not disgusting but I understand it ain't gonna be spectacular

CHEAP: More food, less money

Easy to make

Not going to make me die at a young age

You get the idea...

What are some doos and don't for cheap shopping and making the food last?
 

pbfoot

Ready to race!
Location
USA
Ramen (even better-cup o noodles), frozen burritos, cereal, lunch meat for sandwiches.
 

Remus6

ViVa La Fuga!WLF
Location
San Dizzle
raman (sp?) noodles
thats all you will ever need lol
30 cents a pack and pretty good too

What? That cost too much for a ramen noodle. I pay 15 cents a pack where I get them from, and they are the good kind.:biggrin:

I know it may not sound good, but you can get like some canned soup that really don't need to be prepared because all you do is heat them up. I also learned to get like canned meat and mix it with brown rice. Fills you up quick.

I try to vary with salads. I get the big resealable bags so that I can save it up and eat it another day. Another tip is of course using coupons and a club card membership. Here in SoCal, we have Ralph's, Vons and Albertson's. If you get a club card from those stores, they give some discounts on a lot of meat and dairy products when you use their club card. I know for 4th of July, my sister and my two brothers and I had a bbq. I bought 70 bucks worth of meat for a little over 30 bucks after taxes (Albertson's).

Don't cook for just one meal either. Try to cook more and just freeze it. Believe it or not, if you cook in small portions, it actually costs more. I don't know how that is, but trust me, I've kept tabs and it's cheaper to cook more (unless you have douche bag roommates that will steal your food). If you eat out, don't be shy to put your left overs in a doggie bag. You can eat it the next day.

Buona Fortuna!:thumbsup:
 

Monkeykungfu

Go Kart Champion
Location
New Orleans, LA
Car(s)
2008 BMP GTI
Get stuff for chicken & rice n gravy (look up an easy recipe on allrecipes.com), hamburger helper, spaghetti, chili dogs, tacos/burritos, hrm... get a big ass bag of frozen chicken breast & a loaf of bread, seasoning, some condiments a grill/oven/fire you got chicken sandwiches. Not saying all of it is good for you, but when i was in college I made a lot of it, freeze some of it & eat it again later.

Sides like mashed potatoes (instant or real, up to u), macorini n cheese, rice, noodles, ecetera are a good idea & fairly cheap. Don't forget your veggies... frozen in a bag are pretty cheap. Fresh & pretty usually more expensive. Don't forget your roughage... salads are always good to go along with anything.

Try just walking up & down the isle's in the grocery store for some ideas on what you can make too, you might be suprised at what you'll think of. I used to shop for myself & 2 other guys in college, none of them could cook worth a shit. Good luck, it's really not too hard.

Edit: Just thought about something. What kind of kitchen are you in? Limited to a microwave in a dorm? If so... your options suck. Does the university have a food service plan?
 

xxForgedxx

Ready to race!
Location
n/a
SO what about breakfast? It doesn't help that I work out a ton and I'm 190lbs of massive destruction :fighting0030: jk. I eat a lot... I don't want to go broke, but I also don't want to feel anorexic cuz I'll end up saying F it and buy out anyways and I also don't want food that is going to make me feel like shit either.
 

Remus6

ViVa La Fuga!WLF
Location
San Dizzle
Cereal is cheap bro. And they last you pretty much a long time unless you eat a box a day. I don't think anyone's that bad, lol. If you have friends with a CostCo card, try to shop with them. You can get condiments, cereal and non-perishable food in bulks which most definitely saves a bundle.

Oh, by the way, I consider cold pizza = great breakfast! Lol.
 

xxForgedxx

Ready to race!
Location
n/a
I'll have a meal plan in the spring but I came to school early so I am living in an APT until. I have about 2 months of making my own food. Seriously though fucking Arbys tonight cuz nothing was in the house was

$7.38!!! FOR THAT!!!

I coulda had meals for dinner for like 3 days on that!

*smacks forehead*
 

dorn101

Jai Guru Deva Om
Costco or BJs, buy everything in bulk. If you see chicken or ground beef on sale, buy it and freeze it. Rice is cheap, especially if you buy that in bulk (not Uncle Bens), so are potatoes which both fill you up. Someone else mentioned cooking larger portions, somehow it's cheaper. Get creative and use leftovers to make a "goulash" the next day(s). Ramen noodles are cheap as hell but are terrible for you, I wouldn't try surviving on that.
 
Wow.

Buy two loaves of bread at a time. Keep them in the fridge and they should last a week past the date marked.
Make cold cut sammiches, PB&J, eggs on toast, etc.

Get a rice cooker. White rice can be made easily. Throw some chicken and veggies in there, mix in a sauce. Thai peanut, tika masala, korman, etc.

Frozen veggies are CHEAP. Buy brocolli and put them on baked potatoes with cheese.
 

Eric1285

Ready to race!
Location
New Jersey
Don't just eat ramen noodles. A few times a week is fine, but those things have a ton of sodium.

Pasta is pretty darned cheap. Easy to make, and quite tasty if you add some stuff to it. I like garlic, cottage cheese, onion powder, and basil.

If you like curry, they usually sell microwaveable packets that you can make with a pot of rice. They're like $2-3 and rice is pretty cheap. Brown rice is better for you than white rice, although I love basmati rice.

Fruit is pretty good for breakfast. I've never been much of a breakfast guy, but if I do eat any it's usually fruit.
 

Eric1285

Ready to race!
Location
New Jersey
Wow.

Buy two loaves of bread at a time. Keep them in the fridge and they should last a week past the date marked.
Make cold cut sammiches, PB&J, eggs on toast, etc.

Get a rice cooker. White rice can be made easily. Throw some chicken and veggies in there, mix in a sauce. Thai peanut, tika masala, korman, etc.

Frozen veggies are CHEAP. Buy brocolli and put them on baked potatoes with cheese.

Rice cooker isn't necessary unless you're making rice every single night. It's easy enough to make on a stove. I actually prefer it to the rice cooker.

Oh, and peanut butter and honey is way more delicious than PB&J. Honey is pretty good for you in moderate amounts too.
 
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