Please help college student create a good, cheap diet.

[pooparu]

Hey all, I want to get back into working out (mainly for the hiking/camping I do often, and also because I plan to pick up surfing and possibly Aikido) to gain a little weight, but really to strengthen up my core and endurance for my usual activities. Being in college, money isn't infinite, and now that I have a kitchen this year I'm wondering if anyone could give me any specific pointers on getting a diet down that's relatively inexpensive. I can buy in bulk if that would be better too, but I just wanted to know if there were some specifics that could help me maintain costs other than just "meat and veggies", etc. I'm also wondering on average how much do you all spend a day.

If it's important info on me:
5' 9"
130-135 LBS (always goes up and down)
Very low body fat (I'd say somewhere from 7-12%, haven't measured in a while)

Thanks again for all you're help, and again, while I do plan on bulking some in the beginning, my goal isn't to get too big as I kind of like my body build for climbing and all, it's very convenient to be able to shimmy up a mountain lodged in between two boulders.

 

[Quagmire911]

I know you said not meant and veggies, but this is decent:

http://www.sosuave.net/forum/showthread.php?t=130257

Other cheap things are lentils, oats, beans. A good cheap meat is turkey, eggs can also be cheap depending on brand. Milk if you can handle it, whey from a reputable source can help. Cream is high in calories and not too expensive.

Unfortunately, things aren't getting cheaper.

 

[Throttle]

quag covered a lot of this but here's my whack:

to save money on food: pasta, dried beans (soak & cook a pound or more at a time), oats

to save money on beverages tap water & brew your own green tea. if you must have coffee, brew your own; if you must have gatorade, opt for the big cans of powder. never buy anything in a bottle if you can help it, you're paying for marketing and shipping (moving water around by truck is expensive)

to save money on meat & veggies: find the best deals in your area and stock up when they come around. Where I live, for example, the best prices for frozen veggies are just under $1/pound; chicken breasts <$2/lb; whole chicken <$1/lb; ground beef ~$2/pound; etc. etc. learn how to properly freeze meat so that stuff doesn't get freezer burn and go to waste.

cheapest & most versatile sources of protein: eggs and natural peanut butter (the first one is a complete protein, the other is generally consumed with complementary proteins anyway)

 

[pooparu]

Wow guys that helped so much. I didn't mean I didn't want suggestions for meat and veggies either, just that I wanted more specific suggestions. That link you set me up wit is awesome man, that's more than enough protein and I would love cooking something like that, thank you both so much.

edit: That diet is excellent, but spending about $25 a day isn't that feasible for me, does anyone have any suggestions to cut down costs or maybe a similar diet thats maybe a bit cheaper? I'm not nearly as big as many up here so if there's anything that could cut costs that would remove some nutrients I think it would be alright, but I would obviously prefer to keep as many as possible.

 

[blinkwatt101]

Solid white tuna cans. 90% Ground beef but use a George Foreman grille to make it less fat. Chicken is always cheap. Eggs are cheap. Raw Peanuts are cheap and PERFECT snacks. Bananas are cheap and healthy. I'd save brown rice for winter as I personally like to stay at 6% or less body fat during the summer.