Cheap Grocery List for College Students

Once you start going to college you take on more responsibilities. One of these responsibilities is grocery shopping and cooking for yourself. It may be difficult if you are used to mom or dad cooking everyday. You may be intimidated the first couple of times that you go to the store and see all the things that you want to buy and how expensive some of them are. I will help you to know some of the essentials that should be on every college student grocery list. Whether you are a novice cook or a professional, this list will help you know what to buy without spending much money.

To make your life easier, create a list of things that you like to eat. How many meals are you going to prepare in the whole week? Some easy meals include chicken and rice, spaghetti, pasta, pizza, sandwiches, burritos, or pancakes. Look up a few simple recipes, get a few meal ideas, and determine what ingredients are required to make them. If you plan your meals then it will be easier to avoid wasting money on fast food most days. Make a list of the ingredients so that you don’t forget something while you are grocery shopping. For healthier meals, remember to include fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Ever since I came to college I feel like cheap food has taken more of a priority than healthy food. However, I learned that you can still buy healthy foods on a low budget.

Make sure that you have a grocery list before you go to the store. This will help you avoid confusion and save you a lot of time while you are at the store. Go through your fridge and your pantry to look for the important things that you may be out of or running low on. Some of the items on my list you will only need to buy once while others you will need to purchase regularly throughout the school year. You do not have to do all your food shopping at one store. Look around your city and find out where you can get good deals. Sometimes a convenience store or a retail shop will have better discounts than the local markets.

Reasons you need a list:

1.) So that you don’t buy unnecessary items.

2.) So you don’t buy something that you already have

3.) Keeps you from having to return to the store

4.) You won’t forget the things that you need

5.) To avoid going way over your budget

Shopping tips:

• Plan your meals – This is a pro grocery shopping tip. Meal planning will make your life easier because you will know exactly what ingredients you need to buy. A meal plan will allow you to see how much you are actually eating. In addition, It will help ensure that you are eating a variety of foods and not just the same thing every night. Planning your meals helps you control your own portion sizes.
• Shop with a list – I have already stressed this tip, however, it is important. A shopping list is the easiest way to accomplish grocery shopping. It will help you avoid impulse buying something that you end up not really wanting. Also, lists keep you within your budget. Lists are a great way to save much time and money.
• Eat before you go to the store – Shopping hungry is a bad sign if you are trying to save money. Popular belief is that you will end up leaving the store with more items than you originally wanted if you shop hungry. When you have a hungry stomach, everything looks delicious. Eat a snack or grab something from the dining hall before you head to the local grocery store.
• Freeze everything – If you want your foods to last a long time, the best thing that you can do is freeze them. If you are not going to eat all the food that you buy within the next couple of days then freezing the food is a good idea. Leftovers are also great food items to store in the freezer because you can save a meal for another time.
• Choose ingredients that can be used multiple times – A lot of ingredients can be used in more than just one meal. When making a list of foods that you will prepare in the next week, consider the ingredients that can be shared between meals.
• Look for coupons – Discount coupons may be able to save you a lot. Some stores have student discounts or cards offer a discounted price of your items. This would be a good deal for anyone shopping on a tight budget.
• Set a realistic budget – Setting a grocery budget can be tricky. I went way over my first time making a budget. However, I learned what a realistic food budget looks like and how much money I am likely to spend on food in a month. Setting a budget also helps me manage my money in other areas. Typically, college students spend a few hundred dollars on food each month.

A basic college grocery list should contain all the ingredients that you need to make breakfast, lunch, and dinner throughout the week. I have prepared a list that includes some of the cheapest foods that are used often. Those who have certain allergies or dietary restrictions may need to alter their grocery list to better fit their needs. After you have a grocery shopping list, good news! You are ready to go to the store. The best time to go to the store would be sometime during the week so you don’t have to wait in long lines.

Here are many of the common items that would be found on a poor college student grocery list:

Breakfast Items:

1. instant oatmeal
2. eggs
3. milk
4. yogurt
5. cereals
6. granola
7. bacon
8. pancake mix
9. syrup
10. bagels

Essentials:

1. olive oil
2. butter
3. bread
4. ham
5. cheese
6. beans
7. brown rice
8. chicken breast
9. ground beef
10. white rice
11. ramen noodles
12. tortillas
13. flour
14. noodles
15. pasta sauce
16. tomato sauce
17. peanut butter

Fruits and Vegetables:

1. apples
2. bananas
3. oranges
4. tomatoes
5. onions
6. potatoes
7. sweet potatoes
8. carrots
9. broccoli
10. corn
11. lemons
12. asparagus
13. garlic
14. green beans
15. lettuce

Herbs, Spices, & Condiments:

1. chili powder
2. salt
3. pepper
4. mustard
5. ketchup
6. basil
7. oregano
8. vinegar
9. salad dressing
10. baking soda

Snacks:

You may not think snacks are essential things to put on a grocery list because they only increase the grocery bill, but when you are in college, a great snack while you are studying goes a long way. They are also something great to eat when you are on the move, or in a hurry. Nonperishable snacks are always good to have in your pantry. I believe that snacks should always be on a college student’s grocery list. Everyone has different preferred snacks that they like when they get the munchies, here are a few ideas:

1. granola bars
2. crackers
3. popcorn
4. chips
5. seeds/nuts
6. chocolate
7. cookies
8. pretzels

Meal Ideas:

Breakfast – This is the most important meal of the day. Don’t skip breakfast because this may cause you to feel unmotivated throughout the day; it is harder to learn on an empty stomach. Often, we don’t have a lot of time to make breakfast. If you are looking for a quick breakfast, here are a few fast and simple meal ideas that involve whole foods, fresh produce, and nutritional value so that you can get the vitamins you need; eat these with a side of fresh fruits for added nutrition:

• Oatmeal and fruit
• yogurt and granola
• cereal
• bagel and cream cheese
• eggs and toast

Lunch – This is also usually at a point during the day where time is limited so it is not likely that you have the time to prepare a full meal. As a college student myself, I appreciate premade meals, although, I prefer to make my own meals. All colleges have a cafeteria for students to eat lunch. If your budget is too tight a good option would be to prepare a meal instead of having to buy something at the cafeteria. I enjoy eating lunch because I can do it with my best friend while we are both on campus. Whether you are at home or need to bring a lunch to campus, some great choices that aren’t difficult to prepare are:

• sandwiches (ham and cheese, peanut butter & jelly, or egg)
• pasta
• chili
• chicken lettuce wrap
• chicken taquitos
• spaghetti
• chicken noodle soup

Dinner – Dinner is usually where you have a little extra time to cook a meal. You have more time to experiment new recipes and you can make meals together with your friends or roommates. This is the best way to save a lot of money and eat healthy meals because you can split the costs. Students can find many different recipes online, they shouldn’t be afraid to try new foods because cooking is actually a lot easier than what it appears to be. Here are some good meal ideas for poor college students:

• beef tacos
• taco soup
• chicken and rice
• teriyaki chicken
• Pepperoni pizza
• beef stroganoff
• beef and broccoli stir fry
• sloppy joes
• hamburgers