Everyone always tells me: eating healthy is impossible on a budget!
I am very blessed to have never been hungry and to always have food on the table when I need it. As a college student, though, I am always looking for ways to eat healthy on a budget. I took part in the SNAP Hunger Challenge to see if I could survive off of $4.50 a day, $31.50 a week, and here’s what I ate:
Was it easy?
It really wasn’t that bad, but I only did the challenge for a week. Eating out would be almost impossible on this budget; and while I don’t eat out at restaurants too often, I do like the occasional treat. One dinner and a drink at some of my favorite restaurants would practically blow the whole week’s budget (or at least half). However, it is definitely do-able to eat healthy on about $30 a week. I applaud all those who make it work.
What did I find?
- I ate a lot of the same meals and food items. I do this a lot anyway, but there were certain items I found that worked with the budget better. Foods like bananas, oats, rice, beans, peanut butter, eggs, and potatoes were consumed a lot.
- Meat is expensive. Even chicken, a relatively cheaper meat compared to seafood and beef, was expense because it was approximately half a days food cost. Protein like eggs, beans, and sliced meats were cheaper.
- I snacked less. Usually I am a huge snacker/grazer. I like to eat lots of snacks throughout the day, even if I probably don’t need them. This allowed me to cut way back on my snacking habits because my budget didn’t allow for the extra foods.
- I avoided certain expensive foods. Like meat, foods that I usually consume like chia, protein powders, dried fruit, and gluten free crackers were too expensive to include on this budget. However, kale and canned pumpkin are awesome inexpensive superfoods to include on a budget! They provide lots of vitamins and antioxidants.
- Foods from scratch are (usually) always less expensive. Making your own pancake mix, using dried beans, and cooking meals instead of buying them pre-made is definitely less expensive.
While I may not try to eat under $30 a week every week, I am always looking for new ways to save on my monthly budget. Groupon Coupons is a new online shopping tool I’ve been using to make purchases with. There are thousands of stores listed nationwide that gives free coupons to use-how great is that?
I love shopping on Vitacost because of all the great healthy foods and beauty products I buy, and Groupon Coupons currently has 35 coupons ready to use! Like this coupon for $30 off an order! I also like ordering in bulk from Amazon and Costco when there are good coupons to those stores. Lastly, Athleta is one of my favorite stores for cute workout clothes, but a bit out of my budget without a good discount.
What are some of your favorite ways to save money on groceries? Any tips or recipes?
Maybe try the SNAP challenge to see if you could survey off of $30 a week!
*This post contains sponsored links, but as always the views and opinions are my own.
Where I live that would have been waaaaay more expensive! Things like kale, gluten-free goods, all-natural peanut butter and organic foods like eggs, fruits and vegetables are much more expensive in my country…
I’m very surprised to see Cheerios on your list. I thought you didn’t have sugar at all, especially refined sugar.
Regarding sugar, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you. I’ve seen in many health food stores that there are a lot of products like bars, bites, flapjacks, snacks, etc. that have coconut palm sugar or coconut crystals – not sure they’re not the same thing. What’s your opinion on this type of sweetener? Do you consider it ‘safe’ for someone who is trying to avoid all kinds of simple sugars?
I hope you’re enjoying your life as a college student =) Many people say that these are the best years of one’s life 😉
Hi Analia!
Sorry to hear they are much more expensive. I actually don’t have much experience with coconut palm sugar and haven’t tried using it/eating it. It sounds to me like a nice alternative because they simply gather the coconut sweet sap and evaporate the water from it-a lot less processing and no bleaching compared to white sugar.
Hello again!
Thank you so much for your lovely reply. I’m trying to find out which is if not the best, the ‘least bad’ alternative to sugar.
I tried some delicious raw, vegan & gluten, sugar and lactose-free cookies the other day. However, they are crazy expensive -4€ for 3 small cookies- and have agave syrup, which is mainly fructose. Way worse than regular sugar because it can only be metabolized by the liver whereas glucose fuels the whole body.
It bothers me that agave syrup is being touted as such a healthy sweetener when many health experts say you’re better off having regular table sugar.
I have pictures of the cookies if you want to see them =) I know the ingredients but don’t have the recipe or the amounts:
– Oats
– Coconut oil
– All-natural peanut butter
– Himalayan sea salt
– Vanilla
– Powdered cocoa
– Agave syrup
Another version of these cookies had almond butter instead of peanut butter and cocoa nibs instead of powdered cocoa.
What would be a good alternative to the agave syrup? I have SweetLeaf liquid stevia, but I’ve read that you also need something to make up for the bulk of the sugar/honey/etc that you are not adding.
I did this same challenge for my community nutrition class. It was enlightening! And challenging!