Cheap, budget friendly and HEALTHY breakfast/lunch/dinner suggestions?

jadelyndsey

Hi,

So, this is like the 11,000th time I'm losing weight. For the past couple weeks I've been walking more, and last week I signed up to a gym and have been swimming and using the gym equipment 4-5 times this week (only for 30-40 minutes, but some is better than none!)

I feel like although I'm counting calories and know I should be at a defecit, I don't feel like what I'm eating is great. I'm eating cheap bran cereal on a morning followed by some cream crackers as a mid morning snack, then I eat a sandwich in brown bread for lunch usually (no heating facilities at work, only a fridge), then usually I'll have some sort of meat with vegetables and some potatoes, then I will have a cup of tea and a couple of biscuits at night. All of this is under my daily calorie allowance and it's achievable for me, but some days I don't even get one portion of my five a day, and I feel like it could be healthier. My main concern is that I don't have a lot of money, so really I'm just wondering if anyone has any suggestions on eating well for less with possible recipes etc?

Thanks!

NoIdea101NoIdea

What's your daily calorie allowance? Do you have a 'set' amount of calories you would like to eat for breakfast, lunch, etc? That way we can make suggestions that fit in

jadelyndsey

NoIdea101NoIdea wrote: »

What's your daily calorie allowance? Do you have a 'set' amount of calories you would like to eat for breakfast, lunch, etc? That way we can make suggestions that fit in

Hi!

Well I'm unsure of my exact calorie allowance... I'm thinking around 1900, but MFP has calculated it at 1450ish which doesn't seem right to me as a 6'1 female, 238 pounds, 22 years old and I'm quite active! I'm going to target around 1900-2000 I think.

I prefer smaller breakfasts that are easy to prepare, probably eat more around lunch and more at dinner. I know you're supposed to eat more for breakfast but I can't stomach eating that much in a morning, and get really hungry at the end of my day!

Thanks!

andyluvv

jadelyndsey wrote: »

NoIdea101NoIdea wrote: »

What's your daily calorie allowance? Do you have a 'set' amount of calories you would like to eat for breakfast, lunch, etc? That way we can make suggestions that fit in

Hi!

Well I'm unsure of my exact calorie allowance... I'm thinking around 1900, but MFP has calculated it at 1450ish which doesn't seem right to me as a 6'1 female, 238 pounds, 22 years old and I'm quite active! I'm going to target around 1900-2000 I think.

I prefer smaller breakfasts that are easy to prepare, probably eat more around lunch and more at dinner. I know you're supposed to eat more for breakfast but I can't stomach eating that much in a morning, and get really hungry at the end of my day!

Thanks!

Diid you input it all correctly? Are you using sedentary as a measurement? Try the scooby calculator it's what a lot of us use

http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

And budget friendly breakfast? Eggs.
Just a couple have shown in research to help satiety which means people ate less through the rest of the day

Poached eggs (and salmon when I feel like spoiling myself) is my FAVOURITE brekkie hands down

KrisiAnnH

I'm the same as you, I prefer smaller breakfasts, mid-size lunch, and a larger dinner. Eggs are a great suggestion, as Andyluvv has already pointed out they help you feel full and are also pretty cost effective.

Scrambled eggs with a bit of ham (or cured sliced meats like chorizo) chopped up and added in are great! 3 eggs and a bit of ham usually comes in at under 300 cals
Another idea if you're in a hurry in the morning is scrambled egg muffins. (link here). You can add pretty much anything you like to them, batch bake, keep in the fridge and just pop under the grill whenever you want them (or eat them cold if you'd prefer). I love them, and the ones I make come in at about 90 cals each, so I usually have a few

Other ideas are poached eggs on toast (really good with ham and a drizzle of sweet chilli sauce). Honey on toast (with the low-cal bread I have, about 200 cals for 2 slices + honey).

Also baked beans on toast can be a really filling breakfast, it depends on how much time you have and is a bit more brunch-y but they're great for cold winter mornings!

NoIdea101NoIdea

I don't really bother with breakfast to be honest. One of my favs though if I'm doing breakfast or morning snack is egg muffins - literally just need a muffin tin, crack a couple of eggs, mix them up and pour them in. You can add fillings too, just line the bottom of the muffin tin before adding the egg, my favourites are chorizo or cocktails sausages cut up. Only takes about 10/15 mins in the oven at 180.

Otherwise, anything in a wrap is pretty tasty and you can make them quite low calorie. I've just scrolled up to see someone else has mentioned the egg idea too, so I would definitely recommend you try it!

There are some really good 'breakfast bar' recipes out there too, which can be made quite low calorie again, just need to google it and you will find a ton.

I have to admit, I'm not that adventurous when it comes to food, I'm quite a simple eater, but hope this helps

scolaris

Crock pot dinners tend to have a low price per serving. There was just an article on the MFP blog on some lower calorie fall recipes for the crock pot.
Egg based dinners are low cost too. Make an Italian frittata or an Asian egg fu yung patty loaded with vegetables.
Soups are budget conscious. Especially if you start by making your own bone broth as the base. And beans are my favorite. Whenever there's one of those stupid federal government shut downs & I know we won't get paid for a while, I stock up on dried beans to cook from scratch.
For lunches I like tuna or egg salad, or peanut butter when I want to eat cheaply. I either eat a very brown bread or a low carb tortilla wrap, both high fiber & protein.
Even when I'm eating cheaply I try to remain conscious of getting as much protein, fiber & micronutrients from my choices as possible.
Best wishes!

shadowfax_c11

Your overall meals sound fine. I would add a banana to that cereal in the morning and take an apple or other piece of in season fruit to eat with lunch. Oranges are just coming into season and I take one with my lunch every day. Apples too since we are at the end of the season for them. You can get a bag of apples or oranges at the grocery store for about $5 that should last you around two weeks worth of lunch snacks. Bananas are always inexpensive.

Dried beans, peas, and lentils are great protein sources and are very inexpensive, especially if you buy them dried.

cwthx

MFP calculates your calories bases on your height and how fast you want to lose your weight. It appears that you are trying to lose 3 lbs per week. For me, 5'4.5" and 1 lb loss per week, I am allowed 1370 calories per day. It really doesn't matter if you are active or not. I calculated a 2.5 mile walk burns only 200 calories. My husband who weighs as much as you was given 2200 calories and he rarely reaches it so he's lost 43 lbs during the same period with 17 lbs to go. He lost his entire gut and looks skinny.

During the week, I have 1 boiled egg with a packet of hot sauce and 2 cups of tea for breakfast. I also drink a half a beverage made with water, 1/2 teaspoon of moringa, true lemon-brand lemonade packet (10 calories sweetened by stevia), aloe vera juice ( and sometimes Braggs apple cider vinegar), and together with the other half in the afternoon, I got lots of energy. Lunch is usually 400-500 calories --pasta or rice based with or without a small salad with chicken, leaving nearly 800 calories for dinner and snack.

I lost 17 lbs in 3.5 months. 3 lbs to go to hit my goal but may keep going. I am already within normal BMI but may shoot for being inthe middle of that BMI--maybe another 7 lbs.

Lounmoun

My family has enjoyed recipes from http://www.budgetbytes.com/
Soup or stew is a good dollar stretcher. I try to make a big pot once a week.
Cut up meat and put it in something to stretch it farther. Soup, stir fry, casseroles.
Beans or lentils are filling and cheap. You can do a lot with lentils. http://www.lentils.ca/recipes-cooking/recipes/
Eggs
Carrots and apples for snacks
Popcorn is a cheap snack
Spinach added to sandwiches, eggs, soups, salads
hummus could be a sandwich spread or a dip for vegetables or pita chips

Asher_Ethan

Eggs. I eat 2 eggs every morning. They're satisfying and help me reach my protein and fast macros.

I do feel like you should be eating more though. I'm 5'9" and I've lost the majority of my weight eating 1800 a day.

WBB55

If you aren't eating fruits and veggies, I say start there, but no drastic changes at first.

Maybe switch to oatmeal/muesli topped with dried fruit or fresh (banana and apple are cheapest where I live if you buy big-ish bags of them) for breakfast. Then make your snack some fresh veggie nibblers like baby carrots or sugar snap peas. If you then also make sure you have green veggies at dinner, just making these two changes won't cost much and they'll add more variety to your nutrient intake.

jadelyndsey

Thanks everyone!

Eggs seems doable, I like the idea of batch baking and then there is literally no prep on a morning!

Or I could do eggs maybe with a slice of multigrain bread/toast or something? I also like the sound of the cereal bar thing too! Hopefully will work out pretty cheap.

Is there any other cold meal suggestions for lunch people can think of? The only other thing I'm aware of is maybe something like a pasta salad like tuna?

I'm spending my saturday night thinking of meals I like that I can make really healthy and hopefully I can form a monthly meal plan so I know how much I may be spending. My downfall when I eat healthy (on a budget) is I buy lots of salads and fruits at the beginning of the month, then I run out of money so buy bread and cheap rubbish instead!

Thanks for all the ideas!!!

andyluvv

If you like something a biit savoury, maybe blitz some avocado and tuna and spread it on toast in the morning. Heart healthy, delicious and quite filling!

I love Tuna since it's so portable and easy to have and quite cheap too

jgnatca

Lots of good ideas here. I see you want to incorporate more fruits and vegetables as well as more interesting cold lunches.

Get frozen fruit and veggies on sale so you always have some on hand, even at the end of the month. I try and buy my fruits and veggies weekly in season and on sale. If they are at their peak I am more likely to eat them. The sturdy vegetables include cabbage, carrots, and winter squash. You can make your own carrot sticks. I put frozen fruit in with yogurt and oatmeal overnight, or defrost them for my cooked oatmeal.

To add variety at lunch try crackers and wraps. Tuna and crackers are nice. Or tuna and hummus and crackers. I make a home made hummus from dried chickpeas and store it in the freezer. Taken for lunch it is defrosted by noon.

Leftover chilies, beans, and stews can be wrapped for lunch with a little shredded cheese.

jgnatca

This is how I portion out my hummus and refried beans in to tablespoon size cubes.

http://lunchinabox.net/2008/04/speed-tip-make-individual-portions-in-freezer-bags/

I snap off a couple and put in a snack size plastic bowl for my lunch.

42firm03

You can add veggies to the eggs. Frozen spinach is cheap. Frozen pepper and onion mixes. Look and see what you like. I find that eggs bulked with veggies are even more filling than plain ones.

Baked potatoes topped with all kinds of stews and chilis also make for a very warm, filling and nutritious dinner. You can load veggies into stews and chilis and then you don't have to make separate dishes to get your veg.

Could you take hot lunch in a thermos? I send lentil soup to school with my kids in a thermos. Probably not as hot as it could be, but it works.

karyabc

You are going to get awesome suggestions here but for me and my budget in the morning oatmeal or toast w/ scramble eggs usually does it , lunch it's white rice, variety of frozen veggies and sale meat of the week , snack very cheap Kellogg fiber antioxidant granola 2.99 for box of 5, 10 g protein each) , dinner it's a big tuna salad.

I would advise to do your shopping list, take advantage of the weekly sales and work with that

My to go list is

Oatmeal
Greek yogurt
Almond milk
Eggs /egg white
Bread
Tuna
Frozen veggies
Ground meat
Chicken breast or and whatever meat in sale
Bananas strawberries
Avocado
Rice

Recipes like chilli, any sort of soup are awesome for the pocket,

karyabc

jgnatca wrote: »

This is how I portion out my hummus and refried beans in to tablespoon size cubes.

http://lunchinabox.net/2008/04/speed-tip-make-individual-portions-in-freezer-bags/

I snap off a couple and put in a snack size plastic bowl for my lunch.

Thank u for reminding me that I have hummus in my house that I haven't touch *_*. And was trying to open the link you posted from my cell and didn't work

OyGeeBiv

Are you buying biscuits? Maybe allocate half your biscuit budget to fresh or frozen fruit and see how that goes.

KrisiAnnH

jadelyndsey wrote: »

Thanks everyone!

Eggs seems doable, I like the idea of batch baking and then there is literally no prep on a morning!

Or I could do eggs maybe with a slice of multigrain bread/toast or something? I also like the sound of the cereal bar thing too! Hopefully will work out pretty cheap.

Is there any other cold meal suggestions for lunch people can think of? The only other thing I'm aware of is maybe something like a pasta salad like tuna?

I'm spending my saturday night thinking of meals I like that I can make really healthy and hopefully I can form a monthly meal plan so I know how much I may be spending. My downfall when I eat healthy (on a budget) is I buy lots of salads and fruits at the beginning of the month, then I run out of money so buy bread and cheap rubbish instead!

Thanks for all the ideas!!!

I've only just re-read this thread, and realised I didn't respond to the lunch/dinner suggestions!

As someone above suggested, crockpot dinners are great!

If you're a fan of batch cooking, left overs can be great for lunches the next day. Risotto, pasta, even stir fry (if you can reheat it during lunch anyway) are great meals you can batch cook. Dinners which you can bulk out with frozen veg are always good too if you're looking at cost-effective meals. Things like chilli (beef or turkey mince, beans, chopped tomatoes and whatever veggies you want to add) can make huge amounts from not a lot of meat.

Cold lunches wise apart from leftovers, I like trying out different dips and things with celery, cucumber or carrots. Broad bean, asparagus and mint style humous is really great (either as a snack or along with whatever else you have for lunch).

Crackers and cheese are a good cold lunch idea with maybe some grapes and things. Or salads; mixed leaf, low fat dressing and chopped bell peppers go well with almost anything- smoked mackerel or grilled chicken are always good. If you wanted to change things up a bit you could always add in some couscous or coleslaw.

If you're struggling for meal inspirations, I'd really recommend looking on Pinterest. Just pop 'low calorie packed lunches' and it'll throw a ton of good results at you

erialcelyob

I live on about a £10-15 food shop a week from Aldi/Tescos. It's all about planning im advance and thinking nutrients. Porridge with fruit for breakfast, green smoothie for lunch, hummus and crackers and fruit for snacks, bean, veg filled rice dish for dinner and a tiny choco serving for my sweet tooth afterwards. The moment I focused on eating as much fruit and veg as I could I ate a lot healthier and cheaper. Smoothie ans several snacks are also good when on the go and no kitchen

erialcelyob

If you have a freezer (mine is only the size of a letterbox ) frozen spinach is my saviour, buy one bag and it lasts about a month worth of smoothies mix with banana and almond milk and whatever else in reality each week for that I just buy bananas and a carton of milk

victoria_1024

My favorite low calorie high protein meal is a quesadilla shell with some sliced up chicken breast and black beans in a skillet. Then I put some salsa and lettuce on it. Only around 300 calories and filling! Beans are pretty cheap.