The Prevention Plan

Being a college student and working two jobs is tough.  With very little money and time to prepare healthy meals, I started to notice that my clothes were getting too tight and my complexion was at risk. I realized I had to do something. Fast.
 
First I surveyed my pantry and threw out everything that had expired or had little nutritional value. Then I planned my meals for the week and added things I needed to my grocery list. I was determined to stick to my budget of $60.

Buying the store brand of a product significantly cuts costs. Also, I took great advantage of the buy-one-get-one free items including nonperishables such as rice, spaghetti and canned vegetables.  I also did some research and found that even though organic milk cost a little extra, it doesn’t spoil as quickly as regular milk, which in turn saved me a lot of money.

Cooking for one is a lot harder than cooking for a family or group of people. I used to constantly throw out leftovers and waste all kinds of money and food. Now, with meat I separate portions into baggies and store them in the freezer to keep them from spoiling.  It makes my groceries go a lot further.

I also researched low calorie meals and how to recycle the leftovers. One of my favorites is lemon garlic chicken. It’s easy! All I do is take two chicken breasts and marinate them in some lemon juice and minced garlic. This sits all day in the fridge while I’m at school or work.  Then I sauté it and eat it with some brown rice. It’s packed with flavor and only 250 calories! The other chicken breast I cut up in small pieces and put on a flour tortilla and melt some cheese on top.  It delicious, simple and cheap.