Movin' On Up...Far Up

It seems like just yesterday, I was a relatively well-to-do 20-something living on the Upper East Side.  With the fancy Food Emporium Bridge Market and a high quality liquor store both a stone's throw away (not to mention take-out options up the wazoo), my tastebuds wanted for nothing.
Here I am two years later on a student budget, and living in the Bronx.  I traded in my cushy cosmetics job to pursue the two greatest loves of my life full time - fitness and food.
Living in the Bronx has its perks.  Namely, a larger kitchen and less expensive groceries.  And the beautiful man who lets me live in his pre-war apartment.
Oftentimes, I'm frustrated by my surroundings, namely when it comes to health and food habits.
Fact:  The Bronx is the least healthy borough in all of NY State.  Not just the city, but the entire state.  The Bronx is also relatively poor.  You can check the stats if you're interested.  All I know is that I'm in the small percentage of shoppers at my local C-Town who doesn't shop with an EBT card.
Back to my frustration.  I've seen it all up here, folks.   2 year-olds eating Big Macs in their strollers.  Fitness center vending machines full of candy bars and soda.  People using their EBT cards to buy carts full of cookies and Hungry Man dinners.  Others using that same card to buy beer and cigarettes at the bodega (illegal, but no one's coming up here to check on all that).
Fact 2: Yours truly is a little bit of a hothead.  It takes all my will not to throw vegetables at people, purge their carts of Little Debbies and launch into a diatribe about diabetes and heart disease.  I'll save some of that for after I become an RD.  Ah, the power of credentials.
Until then, the least I can do is inform people of some healthy, cheap ways to shop and cook for a home-cooked meal.  We're not talking carb-free, gluten-free, or anything else overly exclusive.  Just some good stuff you can feel good about serving your family of 2 or 4 whether you're here in my hood or out in...Nebraska or someplace.
I'm feeling extra inspired this week after reading the following from Mark Bittman:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/25/opinion/sunday/is-junk-food-really-cheaper.html?_r=1&scp=3&sq=mark%20bittman&st=ycse
Plus, I've been on a kick with some really tasty meals for under ten bucks.
Enjoy!!!