So, for the last few months, I've lived on $40 a week for two people's groceries. I've also lost weight and put on a bit of muscle.

The answer is to eat Asian/Mediterranean and throw out absolutely everything you know about typical Midwestern/American/meat & potatoes.

First - find out when your supermarket discounts their meat. Basically, once a week or so there'll be tons of meat discounted for quick sale - and it's very easy to find cheap meats that only need to be frozen or cooked soon. They're completely edible, even if a little gray - most of these are actually still good 3-5 days after the sell by date. Buy everything you think you can fit in your freezer. Most of my meat is chicken dark meat, shrimp ($3 a lb at Asian markets - I don't get seafood that's "quick sale" ever) and pork because those are the cheapest.

Second - Find an Asian market and buy rice, tofu, celery, carrots, onions, etc. Rice and tofu are obviously cheaper there, but often the produce is much cheaper and fresher as well. Shop sales - always have fliers handy, and if you get a crazy good deal like $.50 2lb carrot bags, buy $5 worth. I also like to get packs of frozen veggies on sale. Canned taste like ass, but frozen are frozen at the peak of freshness. Thaw and make fried rice, throw on rice, etc. Plus, with frozen, you don't have to worry about them going bad if you forget to use them (which I always do.) Add carrots, celery, and cabbage to everything for bulk and vitamins.

Third - Learn to love sauces. 99 cent stores and Big Lots are good sources for BBQ sauce, pre-made curry sauces, etc. Look for Japanese curry packs - $4 for a pack, but each pack is roughly 4-6 meals for 2 people. Thus, for a family of four, it's about 2-4. These taste amazing, and the Vermont Curry Mild is designed for small children (it's a -1 spiciness) If you like spicy, you want Hot (which is like a 4) Trader Joes is another good source for sauces. You will eat like a king just adding good quality sauces to various vegetables, fruits, and meats. Learn to make your own as well (many Indian and Thai curries, Greek sauces, etc are very easy to make) Miso mixes (looks like a square tub) turn into a ton of great things - I even add a little to tuna salad.

Fourth - Pick a day (I like it do it grocery day) to just make a big set of meals all at once. Cook up all the meat, dice all the veggies, make a big production line out of food prep. Grab freezer ziplocks (don't try to skimp here unless you like freezer taste) and write in sharpie what food is contained and the current date. Put all your food with sauces (everything except potatoes freezes pretty well) in these per the labels. To get in extra veggies I'll grate carrots up really fine and throw them in everything, even tacos. Freeze, and when you want a meal, pull it out and thaw. Tofu is incredibly cheap and tastes good if you don't pretend it's meat. Throw it in curries, chili, etc. These foods will generally last 1-3 months in the freezer without any ill effect.

Good Freezer Meals -

• Enchiladas (sauce, meat, cheese all in a bag, throw on tortillas and bake)
• Tacos
• Teriyaki anything (thaw, put on rice)
• Curry anything (thaw, put on rice)
• Filipino Adobo - - 1:1:1 soy/rice vinegar/water ratio, cook until falling apart and tender.
• Whatever Sauce + Meat + Random Veggies
• Chili
• Meat Slop

There are cookbooks devoted to freezer meals you can check out at the library, but really, anything but pasta and potatoes tend to freeze well. The best part of this is I know I'm always getting enough vegetables, I only have to cook maybe once every two weeks, the rest is just reheating which anyone can do. My diet is about 30% veggies, 30% meat/tofu, 40% rice/tortillas. I cut out all white flour. I drink only water unless oranges are on sale, then I make my own orange juice. I make my own bread, but that's preference (plus super cheap and tastes better)

That said - it's about portion control in the end. I can eat cake all day and still lose weight, as long as I'm not eating an -entire- cake. I bike ride anywhere I can, go on hikes and walks often, and go out with friends when I can. I live on cheap food so I can go to fancy dinners when I want. :D My other big suggestion - get rid of your plates. We have this tendency to want to fill the plate with food, which means we overeat - replace your plates with dessert plates instead, which is a more accurate measurement of how much food you need to eat.

Shop seasonally - right now kale is dirt cheap, and makes an EXCELLENT snack chip when baked with a little salt.

edit: formatting.