Cheap, fast and healthy

kristencarder21

I need food ideals that are cheap, easy to make and healthy.

I work 10hrs days and take care of my 9month old when I get home. So I usually just try to get something that's fast which usually means it's not healthy.

karmelpopcorn

I like Green Giant steamers - veggies in a box and salad kits like sesame Asian with raw cabbage and kale

sullus

... Pick 2 .. Sorry, just a riff on a standard software industry joke.

You don't mention if you're a single mom or if you have help around the house or anything like that, so I don't know what kind of time options you have. However, I find that prepping for the week goes a long way towards making cheap and healthy fast. I tend to spend sunday afternoons prep cooking and portioning things for the week. when you're cooking for more than one person/meal you can buy larger (and therefore potentially more cost-efficient) quantities of ingredients, which can help.

Lizzy622

Cottage cheese with whatever fruit is in season. Tuna salad on whole wheat bread. Peanut butter and banana on a whole wheat tortilla. If you invest in a crock pot or cooker with a timer, you can make tons of healthy inexpensive dinners that are hot and ready when you walk through the door. Check out the blog for crock pot recipes.

WholeFoods4Lyfe

My crockpot is my best friend. I'll cook a chicken one day, have leftovers for days. Then when the chicken is gone I use the carcass to make stock.

Ribs are also amazing in the crockpot. Find a dry rub that you like, cover the ribs, wrap in foil, cook on low 8-10 hrs. Remove the ribs, slather with bbq sauce, and then finish off on the grill. Minimum prep, minimum cleanup.

Buy meat in bulk. Cook once a week. Double your dinner recipe for lunch the next day. Frozen and canned veggies are just as nutritious as fresh and usually less expensive. Whatever fresh fruit and veggies you do buy, prep at the begging of the week, washing and cutting up as appropriate and then put in single serving size baggies to grab and go during the week.

Kullerva

Harmony House has dehydrated veggies that you can rehydrate and eat whenever. Healthy, fast, reasonably cheap. Check Amazon; usually a big jug of it is $15.

generallyme2

Is this for dinner or just a snack when you get home from work?

I second the crockpot, especially with 10 hour days. For dinners, there are quite a few quick meals that you can stick in a pan and then in the oven- I'm a huge fan of roasted veggies and you can add meat or some other protein source to it easily. I also LOVE fajitas- sliced up chicken, peppers, onions, saute them up and add in black beans and greek yogurt and salsa (small tortilla optional). I make it a few times a week for lunch and it takes less than 15 min and is pretty cheap. Eggs and veggies are good even if it's not breakfast and eggs are fast and cheap. Half a serving of spaghetti, some sauce and a small bag of frozen veggies can be a decent meal with a little chicken thrown on top (or ground beef if you prefer)- I have been adding plain greek yogurt to my spaghetti sauce/sloppy joes for extra protein lately and it's SO good.

Speaking of sloppy joes. I make a huge batch with half a pound of ground beef and 'fill' it in with lots of mushrooms, onions, carrots, red bell peppers (all diced small and cooked into it), and add in some sauce. Tastes amazing and adds plenty of veggies.

If it's a snack- hardboiled eggs, greek yogurt (buy the larger containers and add fruit and/or honey to sweeten), get long lasting veggies like bell peppers, carrots, etc so you can buy the larger bags of them or buy several when they're on sale and they'll last you a few days.

AndyJBacon

Here's a free PDF cookbook on good, cheap, healthy. http://www.leannebrown.com/
Designed for SNAP budgets, but works effectively for dieters on a budget. I've tried one or two, pretty good.