ChickSpeak

It seems like every one is looking for ways to save a buck and cut back on their expenses, and we all know our college budgets usually leave us eating Ramen noodles and lots of junk food. The good news is the answer to getting the most out of your grocery dollars while eating healthier may be easier than you think.

So often we opt for the school meal plans due to their convenience and value, $5.95 all you can eat buffet whenever you want? Yes Please! But really these plans are not the value savers they may seem. Here are some easy tips to help you learn how to make the most of your grocery dollars.

Learn to Grocery Shop

If you are like most college students, your parents have probably done most of the grocery shopping in your life, and you often end up with a cart full of random items that looked good as you were walking up and down the aisles but don’t actually create a weeks worth of balanced meals.

Step 1: Research recipes, and identify healthy snacks to stock in your mini fridge.  Web sites like WeightWatchers.com, CookingLight.com, and SparkPeople.com have entire sections devoted to healthy free recipes and snack suggestions. 

Step 2: MAKE A LIST! Lists are essential to keeping you focused while you shop, they also force you to sit down before you go and think through what you will need to create your meals for the week. Break your list down into categories including fresh, packaged and frozen to keep you from running all over the store.

Step 3:  Buy in bulk.  Many people are skeptical of shopping at the big box retailers like Sam’s Club and Costco because they think they end up wasting money because they aren’t able to eat all of the food before it goes bad. Learning how and what to buy in bulk can help you save lots of money while keeping your fridge stocked with veggies and fruit. Buying items in bulk lowers the price you spend per unit drastically compared to supermarkets. The following items are great staples to keep in your pantry and fridge so that you never have the excuse that you don’t have any food in your house.

• Frozen meat and fish - most retailers offer plenty of bagged options for meats and fish like chicken breasts, tilapia, salmon etc.
• Frozen vegetables - broccoli, mixed veggies, corn, spinach and potatoes don’t go bad for a while and are always a healthy snack or side dish in a meal.
• Fresh fruit - strawberries, apples, oranges - you can easily freeze the strawberries if you are worried about them going bad, and they make great additions to smoothies that won’t water them down.
• Fresh Vegetables - mushrooms, spinach & asparagus. Although these do have the potential to go bad, refer to the last tip in this article for ways to beef up your meals without added calories to see how you will surprise yourself with how much fresh produce you can go through in a week or two.
• Bread - usually offered in packs of two, freeze one loaf until you use the other. Just place in your fridge overnight to thaw or pop in your toaster.
• Canned goods - soups, vegetables, fruit, sauces are easy to keep, last forever and when mixed with the right condiments or recipe, can be delicious.
• Packaged Goods - cereal, snack bars, minced garlic, chips, trail mix, nuts, yogurt and even sandwich meat and cheese (usually in packs of two, freeze one till you use the other)

Adopt Cooking As A Hobby

Step 1: Start out slow with simple meals using the items you bought in bulk. Sauté a filet of fish with some lemon juice, olive oil and some kosher salt, throw it on a plate with a side of steamed broccoli and a baked potato and you have a well rounded healthy meal.

Step 2:  Explore the possibilities. Play around with your ingredients. Change your baked potato to rosemary potato wedges by cutting them into wedges, tossing with some olive oil, rosemary and kosher salt and baking in the oven. Use some bread crumbs or crush up some crackers, add some herbs and bread your fish filet and bake it in the oven. There are so many way to spice up ordinary vegetables, meats & fishes.

Step 3: Experiment with recipes. Once you have become more comfortable with cooking, start trying new recipes and challenging your skills. You will often find it’s easier than you think. There is a good cook in us all!

Shortcuts to Save a Dollar 

• When you are going out with friends opt to eat at home first and then join them for a drink or dessert. Not only will this keep you on track with healthier eating, but it is much easier on your wallet to eat food you have already paid for instead of shelling out $20 for a restaurant meal.
• Instead of eating out, suggest grilling out or cooking at someone’s house. No worries about drinking and driving, you learn new ways to prepare dishes, and it’s a lot of fun to spend time with your friends.
• Pack your lunch. Since you have purchased your meat and bread in bulk you have no excuse not to make a sandwich and throw it along with some yogurt and fruit into your lunch bag.

Grow Your Own Herbs 

Don’t have room for a garden? Buy some small pots (Home Depot and Lowe’s usually have very cheap plastic options), some potting soil and seeds and plant the herbs of your choice. They can easily grow sitting in your windowsill. Herbs such as basil, thyme, oregano and parsley are easy to grow and are great additions to most meals.

Beef Up Your Meals Without Added Calories or Dollars

Challenge yourself to add vegetables to every meal by including a cup of the vegetable of your choice in every dish. Not only are you increasing your veggie intake, but you are also making your dishes more filling without having to add more of the pricier ingredients like meat. Here are a few meals that really benefit from some extra veggies.

• Hamburgers - dice up some mushrooms or even potatoes and add them to the meat when you patty it out. This is especially helpful when you have unexpected guests and no time to run to the grocery store for extra burgers.
• Hamburger Helper - here again mushrooms are a great option to bulk up the dish as well as cutting the calories in each serving.
• Omelets - add spinach, asparagus, mushrooms or all three to your omelets
• Pasta - add sliced mushrooms, asparagus, spinach, or broccoli to your favorite pasta dishes. If you eat frozen dinners such as Lean Cuisine and Smart Ones, add the veggies to your pasta meals to make the small portions more filling.
• Pasta Sauce - throw some veggies such as asparagus and spinach into the food processor with your favorite sauce and sneak vegetables into you meal.
• Casseroles - these are already a hodgepodge of ingredients, why not add some extra vegetables?
• Pizza - mushrooms and tomatoes are already typical ingredients, try some new options like zucchini, asparagus, and squash.
• Quiche - it’s the new pizza! Experiment with new ingredients and always include a good helping of your favorite vegetables.

Discovering how to stretch your grocery dollars as well as your budget is a learning process.  Start with the basics and learn how to expand upon them. You will be amazed how one grocery store trip can last you two weeks or more with careful meal planning and a few fast food lunch run sacrifices. You may find yourself surprised at your new role as domestic diva and chef extraordinaire!

Lauren Jamison is a Marketing and Public Relations graduate from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, which didn’t stop her from pursuing her dream of working in fashion.  She is currently employed at Belk, Inc.’s corporate office located in Charlotte, North Carolina where she is an Assistant Product Manager in activewear, and can now work with clothes daily.  She treats her dogs like they are her children, has a weakness for Godiva truffles, and believes self realization is one of the most valuable assets a person can hold.

Photo by Rachel Noel.