I am, what I like to call, "upper middle class college broke'". This personally-coined terminology is basically an excessive way of saying that I have a car, a MacBook Pro, and a smartphone, but at times I also have approx. $7 in my bank account. Being upper middle class college broke is a right of passage that most of us go through at some point in our lives, even if we don’t ever go to college. There is nothing wrong with these humble beginnings, but if you’re like me, it can get rather frustrating at times. I try to be as frugal as I can especially when it is within my control (except books, those are in no one’s control $$$$$$) but living on my own has taught me a few things. You don’t have to spend a ton of money at the grocery store for food or skimp on nutrition! In fact, I’m going to show you that you can get a week’s worth of healthy groceries for yourself for $45. Granted, I buy the value brand of things because it’s literally the same thing but cheaper, but YES, FORTY FIVE DOLLARS GUYS. This is how we do the upper middle class college broke:

Breakfast:

Obviously the most important meal of the day. Do NOT skip breakfast if you’re trying to live a healthy lifestyle. It jumpstarts your metabolism, keeps you energized, and is the holy grail of meals. Don’t skip it. Here are your healthy breakfast options:

Eggs ($1.66/dozen) and salsa (~ $2.00 a jar)

This is my favorite breakfast ever. I love eggs so much and it’s super quick and easy to fry them up on the stove, and top off with salsa for a little added zest.

Yogurt (I buy the large tub for $2 and it lasts way longer) and granola (~ $3.00)

My roommate eats this combo literally all the time. I’m not a huge granola fan (too crunchy) but it is really good for you as well!

Money spent on breakfast: Approximately $9.00

Lunch:

I’m really into meal prep these days so I make my lunches on Sunday and eat them throughout the week. My go-to here recently is lemon pepper chicken, brown rice, and broccoli.

Chicken breasts (around $3 a lb. and I get the 2 lb. package)

Rice (16 oz. bag for $1)

Frozen broccoli ($1.39/lb. and I get the 2 lb package)

First, I preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Then I put the chicken breast in a pan and put olive oil, lemon pepper seasoning, a TINY bit of salt (can’t get crazy with the sodium) and pepper over the top of it. Next, just slip it in the oven for 35 minutes and you’re good to go! Frozen broc is easy too- just bring water to a boil on the stove and then drop the little guys in. Brown rice is healthier for you than white rice, and personally, I think it tastes better, too.

Money spent on lunch: Around $10.00

Dinner:

I don’t like to eat a huge dinner (truthfully because I snack throughout the day) but my current fave is baked vegetables with some kind of protein.

Squash (~ $2/lb.)

Zucchini (about the same)

Asparagus (about the same)

Tilapia ($3.50/lb.)

Lemon (around $0.75)

Take the vegetables and cut them up. Put some kind of cooking spray or oil (I use olive oil for almost everything) on a pan and preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Put the cut vegetables on the pan, sprinkle with a tiny bit of garlic salt to taste, then put them in the oven for around 25 min.

Cut up a lemon and put it on a separate pan. Take the oven back to 325. Put the thawed tilapia on the pan and sprinkle with a little Tony Chachera’s (aka my FAVORITE SEASONING EVER) and lemon juice. Put it in for 10 min.

Money spent on dinner: Around $15.00

Snacks:

You can ask all of my friends, I am that girl that stays snacking throughout the whole day. Literally the whole day.

Peanut Butter (~$3.00)

Apples (~ $1.50/lb. and I get the 2 lb. bag)

Carrots (~1.50/bag)

Celery ($2/lb)

Money spent on snacks: Approx. $9.50

Grand total: $43.50

This quick list is not the savvy food fill-up Bible by any means, but an example of my personal healthy, -but blessedly frugal- diet. There are thousands of more cheap recipes that you can Google in like 2 seconds! Just remember that buying in bulk is always cheaper, buying “off-brand” food will not kill you, and carrots are cheaper than French fries.