Cassie B. East Lansing, MI asks the Green Guide

The Green Guide responds:

You're right that being green can sometimes seem to mean buying costly alternatives to your once-reliable Ramen noodles and generic-brand cleaning products. But as a college student myself, I've found that the best solution for living cheaply and helping the environment is to follow your grandmother's wise advice to waste not, want not.

One of the easiest places to do this is the kitchen. Cooking instead of buying take-out not only saves money, but it keeps nonrecyclable foam containers out of landfills. Hit up your local farmer's market and do some comparison shopping at your nearest grocery store. Businesses located in close proximity to a college campus are notorious for hiking up prices, but a short drive or bike ride; away can score you less expensive, better quality produce. The farmer's market near my school even carries a wider selection of unprocessed munchies like nuts and dried fruit; visit Local Harvest to find one near you.

Before you rush off to the market, though, plan ahead in order to avoid overbuying. Americans throw away 96 billion pounds of food every year, or about a pound per person per day. Plan some recipes in advance, and if you have to cook more than you'll eat in one meal, Leftover Chef has great ideas to give new life to last night's chicken, including a search tool that allows you to find recipes using only the ingredients you already have in your kitchen.