Though students' tight budgets often make meal planning difficult, a program held Thursday evening aimed to educate them on how to make nutritious, wallet-friendly decisions.

"I'm moving into an apartment next year and I want to eat healthier but not spend a lot of money, so I took advantage of tonight's program and learned a lot of money-saving tricks," Amanda Albrecht (freshman-human development and family studies) said.

Beth Van Horn, an expert in home economics, lead an interactive program sponsored by Health Promotion and Wellness that featured a nutrition bingo game and Tupperware prizes.

The bingo game featured 25 tricks to leading a healthy lifestyle, on a budget.

"I picked 25 areas that are most relevant to the most people," Van Horn said.

An all-female audience paired up in hopes of gaining health-conscious knowledge and prizes.

"I learned a lot of different ways I can save money, including using Tupperware to reheat leftover meals, using milk powder, asking for thinner deli slices to save calories and money and substituting meat-centered meals with veggies," Albrecht said.

Van Horn encouraged students to gradually build up a spice collection to add flavor to food staples.

Van Horn said this is as simple as starting out with just adding salt and pepper.

"Coupons and sticking to grocery lists are two of my priorities now because it can keep you from spending money on extras that aren't necessary," Albrecht said.

Planning meals ahead of time can also help students stay on a budget, Van Horn said.

Though Van Horn gave many positive tips, she also cautioned students to not be overly swayed by low-price deals because lower-priced items are often close or past their expiration dates.

Students and Health Promotion and Wellness associates alike said they found the program both informative and fun.

"This program offers great information about healthy eating from a very knowledgeable, hands-on source," Linda LaSalle, associate director for education at University Health Services, said.

Thursday's program was part of the Health Promotion and Wellness' Tune-Up series.

The series aimed to educate students on various wellness topics, LaSalle said.

The programs have been successful so far, Las Salle said.

They have included yoga, Pilates and healthy microwave cooking, La Salle added.

"Students often struggle with maintaining a healthy lifestyle, so we combined various topics and tips to help students overcome this problem," LaSalle said.