Help I Need Easy And Quick Cheap Meals

davonbahr

Can anyone guide me into the right direction to a website with quick cheap receipts for poor folks lol. I'm trying to do this but can't seem to find good yummy meals that are the right meals.

JanetMMcC

I'll start by noting that changing "white" to "brown" or "whole-wheat" or "whole-grain" in any recipe will make it healthier. It may cost a little more, but it's worth it for the nutritional value - the benefits to your bod.
Brown rice takes longer to cook than white, but if you're short on time during the week, you can cook several days' worth during the weekend.

If you Google
meals quick easy cheap nutritious
you get loads of hits. Here are some from the first page of my results
http://www.cookinglight.com/food/everyday-menus/healthy-budget-recipes/view-all
http://www.bhg.com/recipes/healthy/dinner/cheap-heart-healthy-dinner-ideas/
http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes_menus/collections/cheap_easy_quick_dinner_recipes
http://greatist.com/health/cheap-healthy-recipe-collection
http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20678467,00.html
http://www.childrensaidsociety.org/kids-health-nutrition/simple-fun-snack-lunch-recipes


If you're American, this one will require temp and measurement conversion
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/cheap-and-healthy

Info about inexpensive but healthy ingredients
http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/cheap-healthy-15-nutritious-foods-about-2-dollars

You can get a lot of good info from university extension services. I added "extension service" to my earlier search and found these

There are a bunch of checkboxes on the left that will let you narrow the search here
http://healthyfoodbankhub.feedingamerica.org/tools-and-resources/?r=251,209

From Oregon State U's extension service:
https://www.foodhero.org/

Your government at work: USDA has links to a bunch of how-to information (much of it from extension services), to help you understand how to do it.
https://snap.nal.usda.gov/resource-library/handouts-and-web-sites/meal-planning-shopping-and-budgeting

University of Nebraska-Lincoln on meal planning
https://food.unl.edu/fnh/meal-planning

Kansas State collects links about making your current recipes healthier
http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/humannutrition/p.aspx?tabid=241


Try a search on
"extension service" yourstate
(the quote marks will search for the phrase)
and explore the website. You may even find programs you can attend for free in your city.


Please let us all know which of these you find most helpful -- or if you find another that's better than any of them!


(By "us" I don't mean I'm Anyone Official here. I'm just another member who's sure that lots of us members want cheap, healthy meals. )

Queenmunchy

Www.budgetbytes.com

Soups, canned fish, beans, potatoes, rice, pasta, frozen vegetables are cheap staples to keep on hand and eat a number of ways.

davonbahr

Thank you so much...

Arianera

http://www.poorgirleatswell.com/

JanetMMcC

You're welcome, Davon!
Arianera, that's a really cool blog!

saboorina

I have the same problem. I did find a great soup. Its called the cabbage fat burning soup. I don't agree with the "fat burning"part, but its cheap and I divide it up and freeze it. This way I can take it for easy pre made lunches. Sometimes I add beans to it ti make it go farther.
Another is a queche. I found the recipies on pinterest. Again, I make them into individual portions and freeze for my breakfast. Both make enough to last me for two weeks (between paydays). Check out pinterest. I found lots of low carb recipies that are inexpensive. Good luck.

MeiannaLee

I think canned legumes/vegetables and frozen vegetables are your bestfriend when your on a budget!
Also buy a big bag of brown rice!!

You can make super cheap "burrito bowls". A bowl filled with corn, rice, beans and veggies goes a long way

davonbahr

MeiannaLee wrote: »

I think canned legumes/vegetables and frozen vegetables are your bestfriend when your on a budget!
Also buy a big bag of brown rice!!

You can make super cheap "burrito bowls". A bowl filled with corn, rice, beans and veggies goes a long way

Thanks awesome notes

davonbahr

saboorina wrote: »

I have the same problem. I did find a great soup. Its called the cabbage fat burning soup. I don't agree with the "fat burning"part, but its cheap and I divide it up and freeze it. This way I can take it for easy pre made lunches. Sometimes I add beans to it ti make it go farther.
Another is a queche. I found the recipies on pinterest. Again, I make them into individual portions and freeze for my breakfast. Both make enough to last me for two weeks (between paydays). Check out pinterest. I found lots of low carb recipies that are inexpensive. Good luck.

Thank you

JanetMMcC

Also - buy whole chickens when they're on sale. I always buy the biggest I can find; they have more meat per pound than smaller birds.

If you'll have a couple hours in a day or two, stick 'em in the fridge. Otherwise, freeze 'em and then stick one into the fridge the morning before your day off. That should give it time to defrost.

On your day off, roast it. It's not a done-right-now thing, but if you're cooking just for yourself, you'll have meat for a week. Depending on your calorie limits, maybe more than a week.

If you have a decent sized oven (I don't, just a tabletop one), you can roast two at a time, then freeze the meat from one.

If there's a bag of giblets inside the cavity, pull it out. If you can't stand the thought of eating chicken liver, toss the liver (if you're not sure what it looks like, it's the big, floppy bit). Put the rest (it'll usually also include the neck) into a freezer ziplock, press & suck all the air out, label, and toss into the freezer. Add the next couple chickens' worth of giblets and necks, and you'll have a fine addition to the next vat of chicken soup you make.

Preheat the oven to 425 or 450.

Dry the bird off with paper towels, inside and out. There are a couple big gobs of fat on either side of the cavity; pull those bad boys off and toss 'em.

Most chickens I've bought lately have the legs tied. If yours doesn't and you have a bit of string, tie the legs together, crossing the narrow bones at the ends of the drumsticks. If you don't have string, it ain't the end of the world.

Season the bird. You can do almost anything that appeals to you. A couple teaspoons to a tablespoon salt, maybe 1/4 to 1/2 tsp of pepper, a teaspoon or two of whatever dried herb appeals - rosemary's good on poultry, so's thyme - or a couple teaspoons of poultry seasoning. Everyone here loves garlic, so I'll add quite a bit of that. You might want mustard, lemon juice or both. Mix it all together in a small bowl, then rub it all over the bird, inside and out.
This is getting a bit fancier, but I'll often loosen the skin everywhere, and rub the seasoning *inside* the skin. That way, the flavor gets onto the meat, and I'm not quite as tempted to eat the fatty skin, which I love. <sigh> If I'm careful, I can loosen the skin all over, even on the thighs, without tearing it.

Put it in a pan. If you have a rack to keep it off the bottom and out of the fat it will render, so much the better.

Once the oven's up to the temp you've set, toss it in. After 50 to 60 minutes, poke an instant-read meat thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh without hitting the bone. If it reads 165, take the chicken out. If it's not, try again in 10 to 15 minutes. Repeat as needed.

Wait 10 minutes before slicing yourself some supper. After supper, slice the rest up and figure out how much you're likely to use in a week. Freeze the rest. And, in a separate baggie or two, freeze the bones and skin. Along with those giblets, they'll provide you with chicken soup. (Also, freeze the ends off of onions, carrots that look too tired to eat, carrot tops, veggie odds and ends and such for the soup pot.)

From the meat, you've got the makings of sandwiches, chicken salad, and other goodies.

For the fast-and-easy, there's always wraps.
Take your Flatout or Damascus Bakeries flatbread, spread with (depending on allowances) a Tbs of butteroid, your favorite thickish dressing, no-sugar marmalade or jam. Hummus is another good spread. You can use a couple Tbs of that. Top with however many ounces of thin-sliced chicken you can eat for that meal. Add a half-cup to a cup of fresh greens. If you have a handy tomato, some thinnish slices work nicely. Roll it up, smashing down the greens as you go.

As long as we're talking wraps, hummus, feta and fresh spinach is a dynamite combo. If prepared hummus is too pricey, you can make your own in either a blender or a food processor. And you can use either canned or dried garbanzos.

And check this book out of the library:
How to live cheap but good, by Martin Poriss
http://www.amazon.com/How-live-cheap-but-good/dp/0070505225



(feel free to Google roast chicken recipes and use one of those. My feelings won't be hurt. ;-D )

lporter229

Omelets, beans and rice, polenta with mushrooms and tomato sauce, green beans and potatoes with ham hocks, baked sweet potato with pinto beans and salsa, stir fry with tofu, frozen vegetables and rice.

mistikal13

Can't go wrong with beans and rice, lentils, cheap cuts of meat that you cook low and slow, and in season fruits and veg. Good luck!

lindamc721

If you don't have a rack to put the chicken on you can put down some carrots and/or celery under it to roast.

TeresaPSJ

I work nights, so my crock pot is my best friend. Get home in the morning, throw something in, and then package it up for my midnight 'dinner'. I've got black eyed peas in there right now and they are smelling great!

Also - the burritos are a great idea. I spent 30 minutes putting together I think it was 18? of them from refried beans, a small bit of hamburger cooked with taco seasoning, and mixed with enchilada sauce. The whole thing was about $8, and I got several meals out of it. Portable, microwaveable, and you can dress it up as nice as you want (shredded lettuce and diced tomato, avocado, sour cream and salsa for a sit down meal) or just heat or even thaw and go!

I'm going to do some this weekend with shredded chicken breast cooked in the crockpot with fajita seasoning, some white beans instead of black beans, maybe some whole kernel corn - all fairly cheap.

TeresaPSJ

and on the burritos- you can make them any way YOU want. If you aren't a TexMex fan, make BBQ chicken or pork burritos. Make chicken or tuna salad and wrap it up. Make veggie if you want. Heck, I've been known to smear on some peanut butter and cream cheese, drizzle with honey and roll em up. Great for breakfast or snacking on the go.

jgnatca

Just popping in to say that I love these threads. These discussions have inspired me to do more home cooking. Yesterday I made this:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/361132463847331751/
I wanted a red stew and this fits the bill. It thickens pleasingly.

I buy fresh fruits and vegetables more frequently, and buy in season and in sale. I save money and I eat fresh. If I get bored of salads, I buy a new fruit or vegetable I've never had before. I surprised hubby with a Waldorf salad that he actually loved.

Someone here recommended roasting the whole chicken in the slow cooker on high, about four hours. I can attest that it comes out very well. I made some great chicken stock with the bones. I'm going to experiment next time resting the chicken on whole potatoes for a ready-made meal.

dawnmcneil10

I scramble up eggs, sausage, peppers and onions sometimes adding potatoes to make a breakfast burrito filling. It's a food that freezes and thaws pretty well for easy breakfast on the run. You can also toss all these items into a casserole dish, top with cheese and bake, then portion out for your week.

Chili is always an inexpensive one, that goes a long way. I make up a batch of dry beans (in the crock pot) one day then the next add all the chili ingredients, super easy way to use the cheaper frozen veggies, less texture issues.

Don't be afraid of clearance racks and coupons just check the expiration dates.

davonbahr

THANK YOU EVERYONE

JanetMMcC

Let us know what works for you!

mbaker566

skinnytaste.com

TeresaPSJ

jgnatca, I do that with turkey breast. The stock reduces down great - and the meat is of course fall off the bone tender.