The sad truth is that it is actually more expensive to eat healthier foods. This may seem hard to believe but in fact the New York Times reported a few years ago that fresh vegetables and fruits are becoming "luxury items." They cost more to grow, they cost more to harvest, and they are perishable. Plus, organic food without preservatives don't last as long as processed foods, so more of these foods are discarded, which affects cost.

And yet, the foods you've listed above (ramen noodles, mac n/ cheese, pizza) are really bad for you because they consist of empty calories. Which means that you have to eat a LOT of them in order to get sufficient nutrition to fuel your body and build up cellular structure. High calorie, low nutrient = obesity.

What to do? Start with the basics. The healthiest dieting choice you can make is to increase the amount of fiber in your diet. Fiber can only come from a plant, not from meat or dairy. Fiber is super for your body, and it can be nutrient rich, plus it takes longer to digest so your body feels full longer, thereby reducing the amount of food you need to eat in order to feel full. That spells weight loss.

Many people have a habit of planning their meals around the meat course, but if you can shift your thinking towards planning around the fiber, you can probably make a healthy decision that is more cost effective. Fiber-rich foods include whole grains, berries, spinach, broccoli, nuts and beans. Just do a search on Google for "fiber rich diet" and you will find plenty of lists and plenty of recipes.

From these lists, you'll quickly see that there are healthy foods that are pricey (like berries) and others that are super cheap (like beans and whole grains). zero in on the low cost high fiber foods as your starting point, and then expand from there as far as your budget will permit. Use the pricey foods as a garnish for the basic foods.

So for example, you might have a healthy breakfast of oatmeal sweetened with a handful of fresh berries. Or you might have a lunch of spinach with a garnish of berries.

Good luck. If you find a combination that works for you, please post it here on PeopleJam!