eating healthy as a student in NYC

I’ll be honest and say I’ve never really had a grocery budget. I really value quality food and what I put into my body so it’s never been an area of spending that I really watched. Within reason of course, I don’t go buying every raw food snack and cold pressed juice, but I’ll surely throw a whole loot of organic produce in my cart along with a couple jars of $10 nut butter. That’s just what I choose to spend more money on. 

Some women have a handbag problem. I have a Whole Foods problem.

But I knew when I got to NYC and started living primarily off student loans I was going to have to reign it in. 

Enter Trader Joes.

I live more uptown near Columbia since I spend 80% of my time there, but to grocery shop I take the subway down to 72nd since that’s the nearest Trader Joes.

That’s the only place in the city I know of where the prices are the same as anywhere else. 

My grocery budget for the month is $320, so about $80 a week. That doesn’t include eating out, but on average I eat out once, maybe twice a week. That might seem like a lot for one person, but I eat a lot of produce and a good amount of food in general, so that’s reasonable for me. I’m going to see how this first month goes and if I can get by on $70 or even $60 a month, great. But I didn’t want to feel too limited. That $320/month budget includes everything..coffee, spices, aluminum food etc etc.

I don’t buy dairy or meat or really any animal products which helps allocate more money towards veggies…and of course nut butter.

So here are a few things that have helped me stay within budget, keep meal quick and easy, nourish my body and not feel “limited” at all when it comes to the grocery store.

I shop at two places mainly. Whole Foods and Trader Joes. Back in Charlottesville, Whole Food prices were actually competitive with other grocery stores. Not here. I would have to cut off my right arm to shop at Whole Foods like I did back in Cville, so the only things I buy at Whole Foods are 365 brand baggies or plastic wrap of stuff like that and bulk bins items. That’s really it. I made a trip there at the beginning of the month and stocked up on bulk bin things like nutritional yeast, raw buckwheat [to grind into flour], flax seeds, dried beans and grains and some other stuff like that. Everything else I buy at Trader Joes.

I shop the frozen section A LOT. If it’s not seasonal or reasonably priced, I just buy it frozen. Like bell peppers. If I’m cooking the peppers, I don’t buy them fresh, I buy the frozen bag at TJs for $1.69. I’d actually really prefer these organic since they’re on the dirty dozen list so if I’m at Whole Foods I’ll pick up their frozen blend for $2.99. Other things I buy frozen are broccoli, green beans, spinach for smoothies [this was life changing in terms of budget!] and I buy blueberries and other fruit for smoothies and breakfast. A 16 oz bag of frozen blueberries is only $3.99 and mango and pineapple are cheap too! I buy strawberries fresh since a pound of organic fresh strawberries is $3.79 but typically all other berries are frozen.

I really like to buy the majority of my produce organic, but right now I have my non-negotiables and then those items that aren’t as important to buy organic. The non-negotiables include leafy greens, potatoes, and berries. I try to buy everything else organic if it’s available and if the price difference isn’t astronomical, but if organic isn’t available or if it’s more than 150% the price of conventional then I’ll pass.

Fresh produce at TJs [excluding the non-negotiables] that aren’t that much more than conventional and for me are worth buying organic include apples, pears, carrots, celery, broccoli slaw [$1.99!!] mushrooms and the three pack of fresh bell peppers.

Additionally, these frozen enchiladas from TJs are a mere $1.99 and are perfect for when I have zero time to cook and need dinner fast in between studying and doing things for Nutshell. They’re vegan and gluten free and the ingredient list isn’t crazy so I usually have two on hand at all times. I’ll bulk it up with a whole lot of avocado, some sort of veggie on the side and chips and salsa if I have it.

I “meal plan” and make a list. I say that really loosely because basically what I do is pick two things to make for the week. A lunch recipe and a dinner recipe. Typically I know I’m going to eat at home Sunday through Thursday. So I’ll make a recipe that will last 3-4 dinners and the other one or two nights I’ll make something simple like a sweet potato and quinoa and veggies or something. Then I have a lunch recipe that will last 3-4 lunches and the other one or two days I’ll bring a hummus wrap or something simple like that. This week I’m planning on a Thai kale salad for lunches and then a mediterranean pasta salad for dinners. Then I take inventory of what I already have and I make a LIST. I have to go in with a list because is 1) it keeps me from overbuying on produce and 2) keeps me focused. I can easily get distracted and before I know it I’ve got some new chip or cracker TJs carries and two jars of nut butter to add to the 12 jars I already have at home.

I try to avoid packaged bars or chips. That’s where things add up. I usually make a big batch of homemade granola bars once, maybe twice a month. Last Sunday I made a large batch of these granola bars from Oh She Glows and that made 16 servings that I keep in the freezer and that will last me 3 weeks or so. And a homemade granola bar is about 1/3 of the price of a store-bought one. Same thing with chips and crackers. Sure, I’ll buy them occasionally, but homemade crackers are SO easy if you have the ingredients on hand. I made a double batch of these crackers this morning in about 5 minutes.

I buy staple items and dry goods on Vitacost or iherb.com. The price of this stuff is expensive at Whole Foods and I can get it MUCH cheaper and delivered straight to my door so I don’t have to carry it home when I order online. I ordered things like Bragg’s apple cider vinegar and liquid aminos, chia seeds and spelt four online for much, much cheaper than I would have found it at Whole Foods.

And that’s what is working for me so far. I’m definitely learning as I go so please share any tips you might have! This month I had to stock up on spices, oils, and things like that and I still have about $90 to carry me through the month. I just grocery shopped today so that $90 will have to last me about 9 or 10 days, totally doable considering I’ll only really need produce. So who knows, if I’m not needing to buy spices and things I might actually be way under budget next month!