[kealina]

i definately recommend ethnic foods... my mom gave me a case of MAMA brand instant pho (vietnamese beef soup)... it is similar to ramen/saimin but taste tons better and is healthier with less fat too... and it's less than 50 a serving... the thing i've noticed about certain ethnic foods too is that they use way less meat and processed items than american food and generally this is healthier too... rice is such a staple here in hawaii that most of us buy it in 20lb bags and eat it every day... it is good with all kinds of stuff... it is good with stir fry, meat and veggies, etc. etc... and fried rice is easy to make too...
also, i agree with mac and cheese... we also bought those $3 giant bags of premade salad from SAMS for awhile until we got really sick of them... crockpots are great too...

also, we try to eat whatever we can make with the grocery store loss leaders... once, chickpeas/garbanzo beans were really cheap so we made homemade hummus for 2 weeks... luckily the storebrand wheat thin were also on sale cheap so that was cool... and we buy whatever produce are in season and abundant...

also, i don't know if you have anybody like that but people (my mom and DH's best friend) will give us stuff when they clean out their fridge... and free is the best price... plus usually my mom always has extra fruits which people are always giving her or she is always buying... last week she gave us a mango and thai watermelon and this week a small bag of lychee... yum...