I do not find this "Startup Diet" to be that miraculous. To be honest, I quit reading the article about 1/4 the way through (and skimmed the rest) when the aut

I do not find this "Startup Diet" to be that miraculous. To be honest, I quit reading the article about 1/4 the way through (and skimmed the rest) when the author implied that there was some huge revelation that prompted the need for this lifestyle change (ie- they only had $20,000 between two people and their number one cost was food). I understand how easy it is to blow money on food, but it doesn't take a "Startup Diet" to live on the cheap while eating healthy. I'm in college, and I budget myself $35/week for food, putting me at $5 a day. I eat very comfortably and I almost never eat leftovers. If I wanted to, I'm sure I could live on as $20/week comfortably, but I happen to enjoy the social aspect (or convenience) of eating out occasionally. There's no secret or trick or magical diet, and you can pretty much eat whatever you want - you don't have to limit yourself to lettuce and beans. I'll give some insight on what works for me. I buy groceries every Sunday night, spending $15-20 each week. My weekly purchase usually consists of some combination of the following: frozen chicken breasts, pork shoulder, eggs, asparagus, onions, carrots, apples, oranges, bananas, bread, turkey, peanut butter, jelly, sliced cheese, yogurt, rice, pasta, tortillas, nuts, canned tuna, mayonnaise, mustard, crackers, and occasionally canned soup. Some things last obviously longer than a week (rice, frozen chicken, peanut butter, jelly, etc). During those weeks I usually spend $20+, resulting in less spent the following weeks. I always buy generic-brand items, except for certain items where quality can be an issue (tuna). I have a drawer full of spices that get used constantly. Like I said before, I almost never eat leftovers. I prepare as much food as I can eat in a single sitting. Here's what I don't buy: frozen food (pizzas, hot pockets, tv dinners, etc), snacks, junk food, soda, milk (lactose intolerant), beef (usually too expensive), coffee, sugary drinks (Gatorade, lemonade, fruit juice), name-brand items, and beer. Of my $35 weekly budget, $15-20 is spent on groceries and the rest is spent eating out. Usually I eat out because there is simply not a free hour in the day to run back to my apartment and whip a sandwich together between classes/meetings. Eating out, for me, means grabbing a sandwich from Subway or Potbelly, or stuffing my face with delicious Chinese buffet food with friends if I really feel like splurging ($7.50). On the weekends I'll go crazy and get a huge slice of pizza and soda from Sam's club ($2.80?). So there you go. You can eat almost whatever you want, healthy or unhealthy, for $35 or less each week. Theres no trick or magical formula.