Guest viewing is limited

cheapest college student meal plan

FitnessLuke

Member
Literally trying to make this 40 dollar a week budget work..

My goal is to get 3-4 quality meals a day.

Kale/spinach for my greens, and jasmine rice/ quinoa , potatoes for carbs.

I will alternate carb and veggie a sources every 3 days so my body doesnt completely adapt.

Ive been cooking 4 whole eggs every day for breakfast with some rice. Dinner and lunch been doing chicken.

Really I know this isnt ideal or the healthiest for fitness, but its college and kids typically live off fast food.

Everything is cheap until I get to my meat source. Ive been buying thighs and whole chicken. Really dont know if whole is cheaper, but at any rate whats a cheaper option for meat..? Ohh and how much is needed to maintain muscle. Im like 7% body fat 180 510, so is one lbs of chicken a day enough?
 
Whole milk, brown rice, broccoli and chicken breast. Ground beef or ground turkey if you can afford it. Get a costco membership.
 
4.5oz extra lean Ground beef, a pound of chicken breast or thigh depending on goals, 12 eggs, 4 servings of peas, 1 potato (or the rice), 1 poptart pwo, and a gal water. Brown rice. Every day.
 
Chicken (breast, boneless) for sure will be your cheapest option. Especially buying in bulk, assuming you have a freezer available. All these other suggestions are great too, but the turkey and beef can get costly.
 
When I went to college I bought a lot of canned chicken breast, tuna in water and sardines in oil, canned potatoes, all I did was pop those in microwave and a meal is done in 2 minutes. My other meat sources such as beef was eaten at a local eatery two to three times a week.
 
I dont know where you guys are shopping at but typically extra lean ground beef and chicken breast are gonna be the MOST expensive.

Just wait for sales and stock up dude. Thighs are prolly gonna be the cheapest cut of chicken. Same goes for beef, just wait for sales.
 
JudoJosh said:
I dont know where you guys are shopping at but typically extra lean ground beef and chicken breast are gonna be the MOST expensive.

Just wait for sales and stock up dude. Thighs are prolly gonna be the cheapest cut of chicken. Same goes for beef, just wait for sales.
Click to expand...

I get boneless breasts for $1.73/#. Sure thighs are cheaper, but with the bone and the sskinyou're really just paying for the extra junk.
 
RegisterJr said:
I get boneless breasts for $1.73/#. Sure thighs are cheaper, but with the bone and the sskinyou're really just paying for the extra junk.
Click to expand...

that is way cheaper then what they average here.

Is that a sale price or a standard price?
 
JudoJosh said:
that is way cheaper then what they average here.

Is that a sale price or a standard price?
Click to expand...

Sale price at a grocery store here is $1.99

That price is for 40#'s at SAMs, but even if you don't buy the case SAMs sells it here for $1.88-ish.
 
I don't know about you guys but when I was in college I had a little refrig and a microwave , so buying beef and chicken to stock up is out if the question.
 
Give this video a watch and read the article. Budget here was 50, so modify it. And I have been to that market, if you look around, I'm sure you can find some cheaper alternatives.

Invalid Link Removed
 
Aldi is legit
3.99/lb for 94/6 ground beef
1.99/lb for skinless boneless chicken breast
1.49 for a dozen eggs
Oats/rice are dirt cheap
Greens and other vegetables I usually buy frozen and steam like a lb a day
 
money0351 said:
Aldi is legit
3.99/lb for 94/6 ground beef
1.99/lb for skinless boneless chicken breast
1.49 for a dozen eggs
Oats/rice are dirt cheap
Greens and other vegetables I usually buy frozen and steam like a lb a day
Click to expand...

Wow man, that's dirt cheap for low fat beef. I don't think my bulk price is that low, and it's only 90/10.
 
Eggs and Tuna are pretty cheap. The leaner the meats you get the more expensive. So I wouldn't be getting 90 percent beef, that is if you even have a stove to cook it.
 
money0351 said:
Aldi is legit
3.99/lb for 94/6 ground beef
1.99/lb for skinless boneless chicken breast
1.49 for a dozen eggs
Oats/rice are dirt cheap
Greens and other vegetables I usually buy frozen and steam like a lb a day
Click to expand...

When I go this weekend, I'll have to check their ground meat again. I don't think I've ever seen 96/4 at mine. Aldi is very good. To add to your list

greek yogurt
wraps
deli meat 1.99/lb this week for ham
frozen fish
 
Abraham67 said:
Are you sure? They are all over Europe and I've seen them in multiple states
Click to expand...

They're all over Europe because it was founded in Germany. My state only has 3, but there are some cities in my state that will have 3 or more of the same grocery store. Like I said, they are expanding, but not big over here yet. I think most states have at least one, but talking to members on other forums, they are out of the way for most people. Per state, they probably average 2 stores which is not a lot over here.
 
You should check out Evan Centopani "Big On A Budget"... may not be 110% the best option for what your goals are, but it'll give you some good ideas.
Invalid Link Removed
 
It's not the animal pak like the multi? It's Centopani showing a $50 grocery shopping list. Like I had said it'll be for ideas. Even said "it may not be 110% the best option"... Didn't say it was the greatest, just some suggestions.
 
And he has chicken on his list just like you had suggested. They were even leg quarters like you suggested... so it must not be to bad since you said some of the same things
 
WILL_I_AM said:
It's not the animal pak like the multi? It's Centopani showing a $50 grocery shopping list. Like I had said it'll be for ideas. Even said "it may not be 110% the best option"... Didn't say it was the greatest, just some suggestions.
Click to expand...


No problem. I wasn't saying it wasn't a nice contribution, just that I don't like Animal Pak. Maybe slightly out of context but not meant as put down or anything. Just sort of a "by the way" type statement/comment.
 
T-Bone said:
No problem. I wasn't saying it wasn't a nice contribution, just that I don't like Animal Pak. Maybe slightly out of context but not meant as put down or anything. Just sort of a "by the way" type statement/comment.
Click to expand...
Sorry I had taken that wrong and out of context, didn't mean to sound harsh back with the reply. Hard to catch the tone of words online. I agree with the animal pak statement you intended, it's pushed hard on new lifters and supplement buyers as the "go to" multi. I like Centopani's shopping list though, it gave me a good perspective on what to go for as a poor college kid just trying to make some gains!
 
Lol- multi vitamin. Ive never felt any difference when taking those. Just drink 2 teaspoons of barley grass every day.

Eating on a budget for me consisted of lots of rice, bread, tuna, 90% lean mince $7 kg here (2.2 pounds) and vegetables.
 
If you're REAALLY cheap like me, you'll notice that per gram of protein, and more-so per gram of leucine, bulk whey is the cheapest. And it ain bad with costco sized cheerio boxes. If you're in a dorm, can't get much better than cheerios.
 
Docmattic said:
Lol- multi vitamin. Ive never felt any difference when taking those. Just drink 2 teaspoons of barley grass every day.

Eating on a budget for me consisted of lots of rice, bread, tuna, 90% lean mince $7 kg here (2.2 pounds) and vegetables.
Click to expand...

One will not "feel" anything from a multi. That is not the point of it.

Dumb question, but what is mince, ground beef?
 
I just dont believe that multi vitamins work. I try to get my nutrients through nutrient dence vegetables. I feel much better that way. And yes, mince is ground beef.
 
Docmattic said:
I just dont believe that multi vitamins work. I try to get my nutrients through nutrient dence vegetables. I feel much better that way. And yes, mince is ground beef.
Click to expand...

If one can vary their diet then you're right no need for them. But some people have a hard time varying their diet foe one reason or another
 
In college I usually did my shopping at Price Rite. Generally, if nobody speaks English, that's the cheapest food in town. Dollar store sold 3 cans of tuna for a buck.
Walmart and Wegman's both sell 90% ground beef for $2.99/lb.
Like twice a year, Giant sells chicken breasts for $1/lb, usually $2/lb on sale. Legs are frequently on sale for $1/lb.
I get frozen stuff like wings, tilapia, and bratwurst from Amelia's Grocery Outlet at ridiculous cheap prices. Their onions are half the price of everyone else's for some reason. Eggs are cheapest in town, too.
 
Docmattic said:
I just dont believe that multi vitamins work. I try to get my nutrients through nutrient dence vegetables. I feel much better that way. And yes, mince is ground beef.
Click to expand...

I agree but I know that I am not ever getting every single vitamin and mineral needed just from diet and I doubt very few do in a day. My solution is to take a multi vitamin that is well rounded and maybe one that has some digestive enzymes. If it recommends 4 a day I usually take 2-3 depending on how I are for the day before.
 
so I went to a thread on "eating best you can on a budget" to see if I could help, and a damn vitamin debate broke out....

(okay so it's not as clever as "I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out", but I thought it was all right!)

chicken breasts, on sale frequently at $1.99
ground turkey, 85% lean, can be found at $2.99
(ground turkey breast on sale sometimes at $3.99 here in my parts)
albacore tuna on sale at times for $1 per 5oz tin
the nastier chunk light tuna, sales have it ~$.59 a lot of times

as has been mentioned - buy in bulk if you can!

good luck
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top