Healthy/Affordable Foods

List as many cheap yet healthy foods or meals that you can think of to share with the group!

Replies

  • Broccoli
    Cabbage
    Carrots
    Spinach
    Yoghurt
    Cottage Cheese
    Lentils
    Chick Peas
    Eggs
    Peanut Butter
    Some kinda Fish-Seafood
    Seaweed
    Mushrooms
  • bc92487
    bc92487 Posts: 22 Member
    They are all great foods and thank you for posting them. :)
  • Hello!!! newbie here. I am making chicken stuffed pablano peppers tonight for dinner. basically you cut the tops and de-seed the peppers. take cooked shredded chicken...can even use any leftovers in this recipe. season the chicken with salt, pepper, garlic, and adobo seasonings..to your taste. length wise, cut the peppers, add the chicken. place in baking dish, cover with tinfoil and bake on 350* until peppers are tender (30-45 minutes) while peppers are cooking, in a microwave safe bowl, melt together 2 ounces of reduced fat cream cheese and milk...until smooth. approx. 3-4 minute cooking time depending on the microwave. once melted and smooth, add in 2 tablespoons of fatfree sourcream and 1/4 cup 2% milk mexican-style cheese or any other cheese you like...stir until completely melted (you may need to microwave another minute) once peppers are done, pour this mixture over the peppers and place back in the oven for about 10 more minutes...low-fat, low carb and packed full of protein and yumminess.
  • Melionfire
    Melionfire Posts: 343 Member
    Sadly where I live all produce is marked way up but I still buy my stables.

    Chicken
    Tuna
    Salmon
    Cottage cheese
    Greek yoghurt
    Spring mix
    Romaine lettuce
    Broccoli
    Cauliflower
    Almonds
    Any fruit especially berries
    Coconut oil
  • Hello!!! newbie here. I am making chicken stuffed pablano peppers tonight for dinner. basically you cut the tops and de-seed the peppers. take cooked shredded chicken...can even use any leftovers in this recipe. season the chicken with salt, pepper, garlic, and adobo seasonings..to your taste. length wise, cut the peppers, add the chicken. place in baking dish, cover with tinfoil and bake on 350* until peppers are tender (30-45 minutes) while peppers are cooking, in a microwave safe bowl, melt together 2 ounces of reduced fat cream cheese and milk...until smooth. approx. 3-4 minute cooking time depending on the microwave. once melted and smooth, add in 2 tablespoons of fatfree sourcream and 1/4 cup 2% milk mexican-style cheese or any other cheese you like...stir until completely melted (you may need to microwave another minute) once peppers are done, pour this mixture over the peppers and place back in the oven for about 10 more minutes...low-fat, low carb and packed full of protein and yumminess.
    Thank you! I will have to try this! :)
  • Just be careful and shop organic when it's necessary. There is something called the Dirty Dozen...if you Google the term, you'll see 12 foods that must be organic. I have to try and stay away from as many pesticides as I can...but I'm also far from rich...so the Dirty Dozen is where I live organically :)

    Also, be careful about buying farm raised fish. Particularly with salmon, farm raised filets have way too much mercury and toxins. BumbleBee (the tuna people) have a pouch of wild alaska caught salmon. It is CHEAP delicious and perfect for salads and sandwhiches. It also goes great with quinoa and veggies. Quick, easy, cheap, and delicious.
  • Ad141274
    Ad141274 Posts: 13 Member
    banana
    Yogurt
    Apples
    Bean burritos
    Water
    Crystal light
  • knight76306
    knight76306 Posts: 233 Member
    I tend to stick with the same foods, but change the seasoning

    Chicken breast
    Ground turkey
    Broccoli
    Cabbage
    Tomato
    Spring mix
    Greek yogurt
    Cottage cheese
    Mustard - anything but plain. Love the super spicy stuff, nothing sweet
  • DavePFJ
    DavePFJ Posts: 212 Member
    OATS


    But you could be like me eat egg sandwiches for a week.

    Wheat Bread - 2 slices - 120 cal - 1 fat - 8 pro - 22 car
    Butter - 1 tbsp - 70 cal - 7 fat - 0 pro - 0 car
    Egg Whites - 1/3 cup (about 2 egg whites) - 50 cal - 0 fat - 10 pro - 0 car

    I ate 10 a day which fit my macros perfectly - 2400 cal / 80 fat / 180 protein / 220 carbs.
    Per day I spent 3.79 on egg whites, 1.50 on bread, and about 1.00 on butter. That's 6.29 a day.
  • ThorneDust
    ThorneDust Posts: 189 Member
    Bumping this for later :D This is the exact type of thread that I need. Thanks!
  • 1dce
    1dce Posts: 238 Member
    I'm making turkey chili tonight. Ground Turkey breast browned, dry black beans, dry pinto beans, dry navy beans,about 3 or 4 cups of water, 4 whole tomatoes diced, red bell pepper chopped, onion chopped, I like heat so habanero peppers finely diced, and chili seasoning. I do 1/2 c of each of the beans put it in the crock pot to cook and it's only about 1600 calories for the entire pot so depending how big your portions are it can be very low cal. Could add a tomato sauce and beef broth for more flavor
  • HollisGrant
    HollisGrant Posts: 2,022 Member
    I've spent less than $100 a month on groceries for myself since April 2013 and have lost about 40 pounds. I don't belong to a gym and don't heavily exercise -- I walk to work and like to hike on the weekend. I am a woman age 59, within 8 pounds of my goal weight.
    My basic diet is not that exciting, but it works for me and is easy to make.

    Breakfast:
    steel cut oats with a chopped apple. I buy Bob's Red Mill brand and order from Amazon because I can get lower prices than in the store. You can also buy them in bulk (a generic brand) at health food stores. They taste better than oatmeal and are great for lowering cholesterol. I cook one pack at a time, which covers breakfast for 4-5 days.

    Lunch and dinner:
    Lentils (dried, from the grocery store, between 99 cents and $1.20 a pack. One pack = 4 meals. Lentils don't have to be soaked and cook in 20-30 minutes. One cup has 18 grams of protein, or the protein of 3 eggs.)
    Brown rice (anywhere from 99 cents for a generic bag to $4.00 for a bag of organic)
    Vegetables (onions, carrots, squash, tomatoes, peppers, etc.)
    Leafy greens (I steam a lot of kale and collards)
    Olive oil (I add for stir fry, plus for good fat. Sometimes I eat avocados for the good fat)
    Spices (I like some of the salt free, MSG-free spices from the McCormick Perfect Pinch line)

    Once in while I eat soup, different beans from lentils, or eat out, but the above is basically it.


    :heart: :heart: :heart:

    Simple meal with protein-rich lentils (18 grams of protein per cup):

    Cook 1 cup of brown rice in a rice cooker (cooks in 20 minutes or so)

    Chop up a butternut squash in small chunks.
    Put in a large soup pot.
    Add 1-2 cups of dried lentils (1 dry cup - 2 cups cooked, so figure out how much you need)
    Cover everything with water, bring to a boil, then cover with a lid and simmer for 20-30 minutes or until done.

    When the lentils and squash are almost, done, steam some kale (do not boil -- the boiling destroys the nutrients. Kale is great for your immune system, per the Mayo Clinic, but should be steamed)

    When ready, serve brown rice with the lentils and squash and steamed kale.
    This can be seasoned at the table with shoyu (a Japanese soy sauce) and sea salt.
    You can also put in a strip of kombu with the lentils while they are cooking (it aids in digestion). Buy kombu at the grocery or health food stores.

    Butternut squash cooked with lentils this way is delicious!
  • krazyforyou
    krazyforyou Posts: 1,428 Member
    eggs
    lentils
    dried navy beans
    any fresh greens -kale, collards, turnip etc
    ground turkey
    lean ground beef
    frozen veggies
    brown rice or quiona

    you get it
  • Kale is super cheap
    pinto and black beans
    spinach
    apples
    brown rice
    eggs
    lentils
    celery
    carrots
    ice berg lettuce
    whole grain cous cous
  • I make my owns soups for lunch each day. This week I am on lentil, bean, tomato and chilli. Cheap to make, low in calories and high in protein! I'm also making my own seitan (protein rich meat substitute made from wheat gluten), only £3.60 for a bag of wheat gluten and it will last me about a month!