Healthy eating on a budget?

[FutureNurseAndMom]

For starters: I am working out again, trying to build muscle. So- I need to be on a high protein diet, eating between 72.8-91g of protein daily.

I have between $25-$40 a week for groceries, though I would *like* to stay on the low side. That needs to include breakfast, dinner, and snacks. That needs to include my protein powder, which is $30 a month, so $7.50 a week.

I have NEVER had to shop before OR cook...but I now have an apartment on campus with a kitchen.

Help me think of meals I can make, cheaply, that is high in protein?

For breakfast it will probably be:
2 eggs
Yogurt
Protein shake w/ skim milk

Dinner:
Chicken breast
Lima Beans
Wild Rice

Snacks:
Boiled eggs
Raw vegetables
Hummus with pita bread
Fresh fruit

Is something like this possible?

[bells]

Try sparkpeople.com they have a thing that customizes your daily menu for you based on your nutritional goals. I changed mine to see what it would tell me if i wanted a high protein intake and it gave me this:

Breakfast:

Cream Cheese and Raisin Pita; Tea

Lunch:

White Bean Chili with Sour Cream, Salsa; Cornbread; Cantaloupe; Chocolate Pudding

Dinner:

Ground Turkey Burger; Tomato Slices Topped with Cottage Cheese; Apple; Tea

Snacks:

Veggie Burger; Sweet Potato


That gives me 103g of protein. Its completely customizable and gives me great ideas on meals.

[Michelle_M]

Beans! They are cheap, full of protein and low on fat. The bag of black beans I just cooked says they have zero fat in them.

I'm going to grate some carrots and onions and sautee them. Then mix them in with my cooked beans, and make black bean veggie burgers. I'm going to make baked sweet potato fries with them.

Always buy your fruit/veggies in season. They are cheaper. And if your grocery store has a discounted section for fruits that are really ripe... get them. You can make smoothies out of them.

Check to see if your grocery store has a card club. It's not a credit card, it's just a card that when you swipe at the register gives you special sales that non-card members don't get.

Frozen veggies. Just as good as fresh, and they are cheaper and of course have a longer shelf life. At most stores you can find small bags for around a dollar.

Baking your own bread will save a ton! And you can find great whole wheat recipes.

Check the advertisements that get put in your mail box. And compare them. Usually a store will meet their competetors printed add... so figure out what you want, then you can just shop at one place instead of wasting gas driving all over town to hit EVERYONE'S sales.

I recomend checking out pennilessparenting.com She is a VERY frugal mama, and has some recipes up that cost very little per serving. There is also a cook book called Miserly Meals. And a Foodnetwork show called $10 dinners. Where she prepares dinner for 4 for under $10.00.

Check out the manager's specials in the meat department. It's meat that needs to be sold within a day or two, so it's marked down. But you can cook it that night or the next, or freeze it.

Good luck and God bless!