I have lived on $20k/year when I was in grad school. I was also into body building, so my staple diet was rice, chicken, eggs, and veggies. If I was pressed for

I have lived on $20k/year when I was in grad school. I was also into body building, so my staple diet was rice, chicken, eggs, and veggies. If I was pressed for time, I would go for whole roasted chickens which I found quite tasty and full of protein. Other good sources of cheap protein I loved were greek yogurt and cottage cheese.