Unemployed Eating

I can't stop nibbling. I don't think I'm eating particularly bad food. I just want to be eating all the time. And I don't really have the food I WANT to be eating in my house. So I contemplate that while consuming a bag of popcorn. Or a handful of nuts. Or peanut butter and crackers.

Ultimately this leaves me feeling TOTALLY unsatisfied. Not really full enough and craving more nibbles. I somehow thought that being unemployed would HELP my diet. No other stress. Can just focus on 1) not over eating 2) becoming gainfully employed. But I'm now hesitant to spend money on healthier foods and am instead inclined to eat up my pantry. The structure of working also helped. There were certain times of day that were for eating. The rest: consumed with working... or seeing theater (something I've more or less cut out due to budgetary constraints). Now, my day is a void where food is an easy and obvious filler.

Easy solution might be to buy tons of gum... so I can be munching without consuming calories. I know this isn't really behavior changing, but it's better than nothing, right?

Any suggestions for 1) eating on the cheap 2) not eating all the time 3) becoming gainfully employed?

I also have no excuse not to exercise. So... I should think about making that happen...