I try to eat healthy, but it's expensive. Trader Joe's has become my grocer of choice.

I cook fresh and very very rarely use boxed or processed foods. So, it can get expensive. However, with a little effort, a little research and a little time, you can find ways to pinch the pennies. In answer to your question, I probably spend 35% in basics, 50% in healthy and 15% in "luxury" items.

Learning how to cook was the greatest gift I gave myself; being able to get basic ingredients and turning them into products saves a nice chunk of change. A bag of flour for $3.99 turns into sandwich bread, pizza dough, muffins, pancakes, puffed pastry, pasta and more. Milk can become cheese and cream can become butter.

I try to buy in bulk and when I cook, I try to set up the basics to "mix and match" leftovers for a few days. So I might spend $20, but I can get five or six meals out it. I also have a chest freezer, so if I find a really good sale on fruits and vegetables, I can buy a lot of it and freeze most of it.

Cous cous, for example - if I buy the seasoned boxed stuff, I'll spend $2.49 for 6 oz, but if I walk down the block to the halal deli, they sell 1kg (2.2 lb) bags for $3.59 - clearly a savings. Granting it is easier for me in NYC to find ethnic shops, it is surprising the difference in prices for some things. For instance, baby bok choy is expensive in my local American supermarket where it is rarely used in dishes, but dirt cheap in Chinatown where it is ubiquitous.

Finding and joining a local CSA can help source healthy fruits and veggies at a lower cost.

NYC supermarkets are not coupon-friendly at all, but there are some places where coupons rule, so seek them out if you can. You can even write to the companies who produce the products you like and they will happily send coupons to you.

Cooperative shopping helps too - if you can find like-minded, budget conscious folks, you form a group where you get together regularly, trade notes on who can get what at the cheapest price. Everyone chips down and shops then divvy up the goods between them.

I hope that the above was maybe helpful in your search!

I don't really eat a lot so I can afford fruit all the time. I don't eat nuts on a regular basis but if I want some I can afford them. What I don't buy a lot of is meat. I usually spend around $50 a week for groceries.