Eating healthy on a student budget!

DeadMoney

Hey, I am a student and I recently left a part time job I had to focus on studies. Anyway one of the downsides to this is that I will now have to watch my money a lot closer and I cannot afford to be as luxorious as I would like to be in the super marker. I was never really buying super fancy food or anything but always made sure to eat thngs like salmon, chicken fillets, and steak during the week as well as good veg and other healty snack food such as nuts and stuff. Anyway I am trying to cut down my shopping budget for the moment but dont want by diet to suffer too much as a result. I am basically looking for some advice on foods that I should buy that are also affordable and will be healthy. For example, I am trying to get a lot of protein in my diet and a decent amount of carbs as I do a bit of working out. Anyone got any suggesstions or tips? Maybe I should start shopping in the Asian super markets in Dublin?
I would say roughly my budget for food for the week would be around €25-€30.
Thanks

Pembily

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055737324&highlight=student+budget

Discussed here Lidl, Aldi and food that is reduced cos its going off!!

brianthebard

I'd start by upping the budget, I don't think you're being realistic.

Pembily

brianthebard wrote: »

I'd start by upping the budget, I don't think you're being realistic.

Don't agree - that is realistic for one person!!!

jaffa20

brianthebard wrote: »

I'd start by upping the budget, I don't think you're being realistic.

I could easily live on a food budget of 25euro per week. Another 20 for alcohol though

brianthebard

One small person without an appetite perhaps, but the op states they lift weights and wants a lot of protein. Assuming for a minute they have a decent butcher nearby and can get 10 chicken fillets for a tenner like the one near me, that's a third of their weekly budget gone already. Those fillets will do between 5 and 10 meals, depending on the person, personally would be 4 or 5 for me. So that means they can have 5 meals for a tenner out of a minimum of 21 meals (7 days, 3 meals a day) throughout the week. That assumes they eat them grilled or cooked without anything added, which would get old quickly. I hope I don't have to extrapolate further, but it should be clear that if the op wants to eat reasonably regularly and healthily they need to adjust the budget up to 50 quid or more, depending on where they shop.
The op is not asking how to survive on 25 quid, they are asking how to eat healthy and recover from training. Anyone can live off noodles and beans on toast, but they won't be particularly healthy or energetic.

nessie911

brianthebard wrote: »

but it should be clear that if the op wants to eat reasonably regularly and healthily they need to adjust the budget up to 50 quid or more, depending on where they shop./QUOTE]

It is quite clear that you have not been a student... 50 euro a week is a huge amount for any student to spend on food, most students only have 40-50 euro to live off of for a week. My shopping costs me about 30 euro a week, Including breakfast, lunch and dinner... My shopping this week consisted of milk, bread, ham, cheese, tomatoes, potatoes, mushrooms, onions, carrots, peppers, cereal, pound of stewing beef, and 5 chicken breasts, crisps, curry sauce, and a bag of rice... In total came to 29 euro, so it is possible to live off 30 euro.

anyway op, best thing to do is to shop around, a local butchers is usually better than dunnes or tesco for meat. Aldi or lidil are best for fruit and veg, cheese, cereal, and very good for frozen fish. Then i go to tesco or dunnes for the rest.

brianthebard

I'm in my fifth year of studies.

Khannie

Carbs are cheap so I wouldn't worry about them. Oats are a good source of good cheap carbs for example and they also have a reasonable amount of protein in them (around 10% iirc). Lidls sell 2KG of flour for 72c too. If you're willing to bake yourself you can live very tastily. Frozen veg is very reasonable too. Special offers on fruit is where it's at too.

Protein is the problem. It is expensive. Cheap sources of protein in the supermarket (I know lidls well because there's one near where I work and one near my house) are:
Cottage cheese (lidls, 58c)
Milk (1.50 for 2 litres in super valu, or 1.20 for the stuff from the UK)
Yoghurt (lidls have 500g of natural yoghurt for 55c)
Mozarella (58c in lidls)
Tuna (79c a tin in lidls)
Frozen salmon fillets (250g for 2.99 in lidls)
Chicken legs (1kg for 2.40 in lidls, though you could probably get them around the same in your butchers) - great for chicken soup / stew
Kidney beans - 32c for 240g tin
Baked beans - also very cheap and a reasonable source of protein
Pork chops are very reasonable in the butchers, as are chicken fillets
Eggs - battery hen eggs are very very cheap

Be aware that non-meat or non-dairy sources of protein tend to be incomplete.

Generally, the more of your own time you're willing to invest in cooking, the better you're going to eat on a limited budget.

nessie911

brianthebard wrote: »

I'm in my fifth year of studies.

well you must have a great deal of income in comparison to any student i know...

Cause i know i would not be able to afford to spend any more tan 35 euro a week on food, and i don't drink cause i cant afford it. Wish i was in your situation.

brianthebard

You can have my loan so. I don't know why you have to make such suggestions about my income, without knowing a thing about me. Its very rude and completely unnecessary.

DeadMoney

brianthebard wrote: »

One small person without an appetite perhaps, but the op states they lift weights and wants a lot of protein. Assuming for a minute they have a decent butcher nearby and can get 10 chicken fillets for a tenner like the one near me, that's a third of their weekly budget gone already. Those fillets will do between 5 and 10 meals, depending on the person, personally would be 4 or 5 for me. So that means they can have 5 meals for a tenner out of a minimum of 21 meals (7 days, 3 meals a day) throughout the week. That assumes they eat them grilled or cooked without anything added, which would get old quickly. I hope I don't have to extrapolate further, but it should be clear that if the op wants to eat reasonably regularly and healthily they need to adjust the budget up to 50 quid or more, depending on where they shop.
The op is not asking how to survive on 25 quid, they are asking how to eat healthy and recover from training. Anyone can live off noodles and beans on toast, but they won't be particularly healthy or energetic.

Lol, easy now I dont need all those meals I am only small While yes I do work out a little I think this is probably very different from the type of working out you have assumed I meant. No, I am not a member of any gym and by lifting weights I mean I do a few a day at home and just to keep me in some sort of shape. I'm not in to to body building at all and actually dont like big muscles. Just slender and some what toned does me.
€25-€30 doesn't seems like much I know but you would be surprised how much you can get if you are cute. Now obviously for a body builder or someone this would not nearly cover their grocery bill but for a student this is pretty much the norm I think you will find. Hell I know people who have survived on as little as €15 per week but these are extreme cases and nobody wants to eat tesco pizza's every day!

I usually shop in Tesco as there is one close to my house and it is just so much less hassle than trekking in to town and joining those long queues at Lidl or Aldi. Anyway I think you can get pretty decent value at tesco these days if you look for it.

Flamed Diving

DeadMoney wrote: »

Hey, I am a student and I recently left a part time job I had to focus on studies. Anyway one of the downsides to this is that I will now have to watch my money a lot closer and I cannot afford to be as luxorious as I would like to be in the super marker. I was never really buying super fancy food or anything but always made sure to eat thngs like salmon, chicken fillets, and steak during the week as well as good veg and other healty snack food such as nuts and stuff. Anyway I am trying to cut down my shopping budget for the moment but dont want by diet to suffer too much as a result. I am basically looking for some advice on foods that I should buy that are also affordable and will be healthy. For example, I am trying to get a lot of protein in my diet and a decent amount of carbs as I do a bit of working out. Anyone got any suggesstions or tips? Maybe I should start shopping in the Asian super markets in Dublin?
I would say roughly my budget for food for the week would be around €25-€30.
Thanks

I am a student and I spend around that amount food shopping in either Dunnes or Aldi. Just buy only raw materials (meat, veg, grains) meaning no frozen pizzas, ready meals. And don't buy branded products, the own-brand stuff is the same bloody thing. Just learn how to cook for yourself and you will be grand. There are literally millions of recipe online. Just google the main ingredient i.e. "minced pork recipe"

nessie911

brianthebard wrote: »

You can have my loan so. I don't know why you have to make such suggestions about my income, without knowing a thing about me. Its very rude and completely unnecessary.

Sorry didnt mean to get personal, it just drives me crazy when someone says they have a particular budjet to buy something, and they ask for help and advise from people, and the responce they get is to increase the amount of money they have... sure if they could do that then there would not be a problem.

Flamed Diving

A few more things I do, if I am buying meat (which is always) instead of going straight for the usual, take a look at the offers they have going on. Dunnes nearly always has something half-price or whatever, even if it is a cut of meat you are not used to, just get it. It's not going to kill ya! Same applies for veg, dairy. Also, buy some tupperware and learn how to make dishes that can be reheated. Then you can make large batches and benefit from economies of scale. Dishes such as a non-cream pasta dish or a curry. For both of these, don't use a ready made sauce, just buy tinned chopped tomatoes, dried basil and a curry paste. Add the basil to the tomatoes for your pasta sauce, and the use the curry paste with the tomatoes for your curry. Both the paste and basil will last you at least two dozen servings. As I said, the key is getting rid of the brands, they are like a pointless middle man.

DeadMoney

nessie911 wrote: »

Sorry didnt mean to get personal, it just drives me crazy when someone says they have a particular budjet to buy something, and they ask for help and advise from people, and the responce they get is to increase the amount of money they have... sure if they could do that then there would not be a problem.

Very true and I don't appreciate being told I am being unrealistic Brianthebard before you even asked me to elaborate a bit more on my work out patterns our general eating habits. My OP did not provide you with enough information for you to go and make this assumption and even if you do go ahead and say I am unrealistic it is a little more polite to offer some advice as to why you think so. After all you are a mod right?

brianthebard

Well if your op did not provide enough information to make an informed reply then that is your fault. I am not a mod of this forum, and there was nothing impolite about my replies. I also provided an example of the cost 5 meals would be and the impact that would have on your budget. You also gave no indication that your budget was completely fixed; it instead reads that you do not know just yet what your budget will be.

DeadMoney

brianthebard wrote: »

Well if your op did not provide enough information to make an informed reply then that is your fault. I am not a mod of this forum, and there was nothing impolite about my replies. I also provided an example of the cost 5 meals would be and the impact that would have on your budget. You also gave no indication that your budget was completely fixed; it instead reads that you do not know just yet what your budget will be.

Meh, I just dont like your manner I guess. You sound a tad arrogant in posts I have read by you and to be honest I think you enjoy exhibiting your knowledge on topics in ways that undermine other peoples lack of knowledge. I am sure you will just have tonnes of answers to throw back at me for saying this but I'm being totally honest. I am not saying you are a bad guy or anything as I have never met you and I will give you the benefit of the doubt as I am sure you are sound guy but anyway I've said what I've said. Thanks for the advice all the same.

Khannie

DeadMoney wrote: »

I think you enjoy exhibiting your knowledge on topics in ways that undermine other peoples lack of knowledge.

I disagree strongly. Brian's one of the best contributors to the fitness forum IMO and does so in a way that a lot of other posters on that forum could learn from.

His point was that the OP wants to eat a lot of protein but can't afford to on 30 euro a week and I'd agree with that. Perhaps increasing food budget at the cost of (for example) alcohol is an option. Maybe working an extra shift. etc. etc. etc.

Khannie

DeadMoney wrote: »

My OP did not provide you with enough information for you to go and make this assumption and even if you do go ahead and say I am unrealistic it is a little more polite to offer some advice as to why you think so. After all you are a mod right?

Your OP said you wanted to eat a lot of protein, and your budget was 25-30 euro a week. Those two things are basically mutually exclusive.

Brian being a mod has nothing to do with anything.

nessie911

Khannie wrote: »

His point was that the OP wants to eat a lot of protein but can't afford to on 30 euro a week and I'd agree with that. Perhaps increasing food budget at the cost of (for example) alcohol is an option. Maybe working an extra shift. etc. etc. etc.

He also said that he had to leave his part time job to focus on his studies, so he cant work extra shifts... Also i live off 30 euro food a week, Have meat twice a day, ham on a sandwich and more with dinner, to increase his protein he could add in any of the seceond class proteins, such as peas, beans, nuts etc, it does not have to be expensive, eggs, milk etc all contain protein...

metamorphosis

aldi and lidl are great. Lidl cottage cheese -59c per 200gm tub : 26gms of protein per tub. Win.

Veg and fruit - cheap.

Meat and fish will be a problem though if 30e is your budget

Jack Daniels I

defo get fresh meat and veg and cook for yourself.heres a great website with hundreds of recipes and easy instructions

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/content/recipes/

get cooking!

rubadub

DeadMoney wrote: »

After all you are a mod right?

Not a mod here as mentioned, if you have problems you can report posts.

DeadMoney wrote: »

You sound a tad arrogant in posts I have read by you and to be honest I think you enjoy exhibiting your knowledge on topics in ways that undermine other peoples lack of knowledge.

I thought it was all sound advice, the comment on budget was obviously about the protein/meat etc, you had mentioned salmon, chicken & steaks. It is also probably an indirect suggestion that other things in your budget might change. e.g. I see students in the fitness forum who are members of gyms, while they might be better off buying weights -I see you are not in a gym. Others might get the luas or bus each day while they could cycle and thereby increase their budget in other areas.

You said you shop in tescos, in the past few months I have noticed the best offers are not advertised at all. Food prices are going up and down like a yo-yo in tesco, check all the labels, I am always thinking stuff must be mispriced it is so cheap.

Khannie

nessie911 wrote: »

i live off 30 euro food a week, Have meat twice a day, ham on a sandwich and more with dinner

Honestly not being an ass here....if I ate that little protein I'd be sick within a week. The very fact that you mention the ham on your sandwich is indicative of the differing levels we're talking about. I have 20-30g protein between 5 and 7 times a day. Now I'll be up front and say that I train quite a bit but the OP was saying that this was his intention too. I don't know how big he is but it's a reasonable bet he's not substantially smaller than me (and in all likelihood probably bigger). 1g of protein per pound of bodyweight is what I've been recommended. When I bumped my protein intake to that level I found myself getting sick a hell of a lot less often. It works out at 140-150g of protein per day for me.

nessie911 wrote: »

to increase his protein he could add in any of the seceond class proteins, such as peas, beans, nuts etc, it does not have to be expensive, eggs, milk etc all contain protein...

Gram for gram (of protein), eggs and milk are not a huge amount cheaper than other sources of protein. Nuts are substantially more expensive. Protein is just expensive stuff unfortunately. Cheaper, sources of protein are "incomplete". i.e. lacking a good balance of amino acids. So while it's ok to get some of your protein from plant sources, animal based sources are substantially better.

So.....in conclusion....I personally don't think it's possible to get a large amount of protein in your diet (and not go insane from eating the same crap over and over) when your budget is 25-30 euro a week and I think that's all that Brian was pointing out. I don't think he was being lofty or whatever the accusation being leveled at him was.

Flamed Diving

Where do you people shop? You can get a Chicken in Dunnes for €3! A pound of mince beef for the same. Fish isn't that expensive unless you insist on eating salmon, cod or fresh tuna. Pork is quite cheap also. The only expensive traditional meat is lamb, really. €30 is more than enough money to eat healthy unless your one of those people who wants to look like a bag of knuckles.

itsallaboutheL

Flamed Diving wrote: »

€30 is more than enough money to eat healthy unless your one of those people who wants to look like a bag of knuckles.

Hai,

I would like to look like a sack full of bowling balls but i get your analogy.

I personally think 30 to 40 euro a week is enough regarless of marbles or bowling balls or whatever..

Once you're smart about it.

Most weeks i'll get

€11 - 10 chicken fillets
€6 - 8 quater pounders
~€5- loads of tuna from Lidl

leaving 6 euro to buy a heap of vegtables.
Lidl also have amazing offers on boil in the bag rice.

*wanders off to try and study

Khannie

itsallaboutheL wrote: »

leaving 6 euro to buy a heap of vegtables.

What about bread, milk, tea, coffee, cereal, biscuits, stuff to make sauces, etc. etc. etc.?

corkcomp

Khannie wrote: »

What about bread, milk, tea, coffee, cereal, biscuits, stuff to make sauces, etc. etc. etc.?

lot of those are dirt cheap anyway - €2 = enough porridge for 2 wks+ and huge loaf of brown bread approx €1.80

Flamed Diving

Since when are tea and coffee weekly purchases? I wish I had an old receipt lying around. Let me check!

Flamed Diving

Ok, I found one:

Lamb Chops - €3.86
Pork Chops - €3.95
Orange Juice - €0.70
Tray Parsnips - €1.49
Fruit Tarts - €1.69
Wax Floss - €2.80
Scallions - €0.79
Denny Pie x2 - €2.00
Tabasco Sauce - €1.79
Milk - €1.49
Hula Hoops - €1.42
Family Pan - €0.55
Chicken Slices - €2.29
Carrots - €0.39
Small Whole Chicken - €3.46

Total €28.67

Why did I buy sliced Chicken, and then a whole one? Anyway, something like that in addition to whatever I have already in the pantry leads to a well-stocked inventory every week. I always fill my basket, and some. The only **** food are the hula hoops, tarts and maybe the pies.

cruizer101

Tesco Value peanuts, its either 45c or 49c I think for a pack of 200g.
One pack will give:
50.4gr protein which is a good 80-90% of your RDA for typical, not trying to bulk up person.
20gr fibre which is about half your rda.
1200 cal again about half of rda for average person.

I'm not saying eat only peanuts (although in a tight week it wouldn't be the worst thing to eat :P) but snack your way through a pack a day of these and your getting a lot of bang for your buck.

Veg soup too, see what veg are on offer, maybe fry them off a bit, boil em up in a big pot and blitz(tin of tomatoes goes well here too), a Bowl of thick veg soup and slice of granary makes a decent lunch.

itsallaboutheL

Khannie wrote: »

What about bread, milk, tea, coffee, cereal, biscuits, stuff to make sauces, etc. etc. etc.?

That's what going home is for...

Khannie

Flamed Diving wrote: »

Since when are tea and coffee weekly purchases? I wish I had an old receipt lying around. Let me check!

You're taking me too literally. :rolleyes:

Pembily

itsallaboutheL wrote: »

That's what going home is for...

Exactly :) they dont realise its gone until its too late!!!;);):D:D

I spend around 100 a month on my food shop. I think the last one was about 75, and then top up with bread or cereal or milk etc as necessary.
However I wouldn't be buying big chicken fillets or anything.
Tesco do big bags of frozen veg where you can get 2 for 2.50. Bags of pasta and brown rice are very cheap ofc, and you can make nice meals with pasta like- pasta, tomato sauce, meat; or pasta-tuna-corn-broccoli. Snacky meals!

Porridge for breakfast ofc is cheap. The main thing I personally "splash out" on is buying stuff like frozen chargrilled chicken, bags of fish, veggie burgers, etc, I don't buy much raw meat, I've no patience for cooking.
Just don't buy any ready meals or pizzas or any of that kinda crap. "Raw" food is cheapest.

That said I'm not a big hulking working-out boy so I don't have half that appetite!
But you should be fine on that budget

fufureida

I spent €35 every 2 weeks on groceries. I buy a **** load of brocolli, tuna, brown rice, cauliflower, sweetcorn, frozen mixed veg,wholemeal pasta, cheerios... and that is basically my 2 weeks food that I live on. It is possible to live off €35 for 2 weeks. I can manage!

double GG

I am a student and I generally spend 20-25 euro per week, with some food lasting till the week after.

Always look in Aldi, the super 6 has some amazing deals on fruit and veg for 49c or 69c but that's amazing value!

Try Basa Fillets in Aldi, only €2.49 for 3 very large ones.
Spaghettis and pastas are really cheap.
Tinned Tuna in Aldi is 59 cent.
Bag of Porridge is 79cent for 1kg.


Just shop around and you'll get some cracking deals on frozen food. So Use that damn freezer when it's cheap!

People talking about the protein and that it's expensive, Use eggs. A pack of 18 lasts me the week, usually 4 per day and 2 on fridays before I go home. Aldi's eggs are larger than tesco's.

Peanut Butter, cheap and great for a breakfast with toast if you're tired of eggs or porridge.

Lia_lia

I am a student and I spend less than €20 a week on food. I am a vegetarian though, so I guess this makes a big difference. Most of my money goes on vegetables, milk, cereal/porridge, juice, eggs. That's it really And I have a massive bag of protein powder that I buy every 4-5 months.

I agree with the Aldi/Lidl thing. Made a big difference to me. I also buy all my fruit and vegetables at markets.

fufureida

Lia_lia wrote: »

I am a student and I spend less than €20 a week on food. I am a vegetarian though, so I guess this makes a big difference. Most of my money goes on vegetables, milk, cereal/porridge, juice, eggs. That's it really And I have a massive bag of protein powder that I buy every 4-5 months.

I agree with the Aldi/Lidl thing. Made a big difference to me. I also buy all my fruit and vegetables at markets.

Im similar to you, although Im not a vegetarian I just don't like eating meat often as I don't think we as humans really need it all that much. You can get protein from eggs. And fish is great, tuna, makrel. You can get canned mackrel in tomatoe from lidl for 79cent. Add an extra tomato, some red peppers, garlic, tumeric powder, paprika, black pepper, small bit oil, herbs and onions and cook. Serve with brown/white rice or pasta. Cheap, healthy, and full of protein, good carbs and vegetables.

Folks, try making lentil soup. I can't emphasise enough how important lentils are for us because many are packed with protein and alot of healthy vitamins. Its a complex carb so it released energy throughout the day. I would know as I ate lentils alot during Ramadan and it kept me going more often than i initially thought it would have. Lentils are Super low in fat aswell, and you can make it as a soup or a curry, whatever you prefer. The trick is to span out into other types of food not just sticking to the usual. Pay an asian shop a visit and buy yourself a bag of lentils. Super yummy and you can make a good bit to last the week!