cheap low calorie meals?

salvationsdying

Right now moneys a little more then tough, mortgage and all that will one person working takes all the money. So we have been eating on about $30 a week. So that means a lot of ramen noddles for lunch. and chicken and spaghetti for dinner. I'm fresh out of low calorie chicken ideas (we been doing chicken helper....so bad lol). A lot of the dishes I know how to cook are so bad for you. That's just how I was taught to cook. So now I'm attemping to change myself and have to drag my fiance and our 2 year old along for the ride. Which makes it at times can make it hard because I'm sure he doesn't want to live on fruits veggies and wheat products lol. I also do not like fish of any kind, and I don't want to have things like zucchini noodles. I know it sounds picky of me but I know what Ill eat and what I won't lol. Other then that I'm pretty open to suggestions

Mr_Knight

Lentils, pasta, potatoes, rice and ground anything are your friends.

Milk, too.

Figure out a calorie budget and go from there.

conqueringsquidlette

Lentils - the poverty meal of choice for just about everyone.

salvationsdying

Pasta is so high in calories (I'm already fighing a pasta addiction being like half italian and all lol).

debsfitter

Do you like beans and lentils? If so, you can make a pot of pinto or black beans, and can refry them if you want. They make great tacos and burrittoes. How about chili? I use onions, canned beans (kidney, pinto, black even garbanzo), canned stewed chopped tomatoes, canned fire roasted peppers, Campbells tomato soup, and taco seasoning. I will also add frozen corn, diced carrots, whatever! You can add ground beef or not. Great by itself, with rice, on a baked potato. Garnish with shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream and tortilla chips.

salvationsdying

What are lentils exactly?

fit_rox

Eggs- Scrambled, made into omelettes, or put onto open-faced sandwiches.
Brown rice or whole grain pasta with ground turkey or beef and pasta sauce.
Chicken fried rice with a bag of frozen veggies, chicken, and brown rice.
Chili (ground beef, seasonings, beans, etc.)
Whole wheat chicken quesadillas or corn tacos with with meat, cheese and vegetables.

Mom0819

Balsamic Bruchetta Chicken

Ingredients:
For Chicken:
4 thin chicken breasts (4 oz each)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1 large garlic clove, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
Basil, thinly sliced
Parsley, chopped

For Bruschetta:
4 medium roma tomatoes
1 small sweet onion
1 medium garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup shredded mozzarella (Use less for lower calorie)

Add 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, 1/2 tablespoon olive oil, 1 clove minced garlic, and salt and pepper to a ziplock bag. Add the chicken and shake to mix. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Preheat your broiler. Dice your tomatoes and onion and mince your garlic.

Combine with 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

Using a countertop grill or a grill pan, grill the chicken until cooked through, about 4 minutes each side. I just cook mine in the oven then add the toppings and return to oven until the cheese melts

Transfer to a baking sheet covered with tin foil. Top each piece of chicken with 1/4 cup of the tomato bruschetta and 1/4 cup cheese.

Broil for about 5 minutes or until the cheese begins to char. (Omit cheese or put small amount on chicken, melt – then add bruschetta

Top with thinly sliced basil and parsley if desired.

1 4 oz breast is about 260 calories.

phoenixx866

I completely understand where you're coming from. When I was in high school, money was so tight and it got to the point that our house was foreclosed and I was living with my mom and cat in her car for a while.

Let me share a few tips I've gathered over the years. Feel free to message me or add me as well. I'll always be happy to help.

1. Coupons! This last shopping trip, I saved over $40 with just digital coupons and paper coupons alone. If you have a favorite grocery store, get their shoppers card and ask to get signed up for paper coupons. Try and either get a neighbor's Sunday paper or find enough change to get your own - there's lots of coupons in there.

2. Watch the weekly circular at the grocery store. Stock up on what you can when it's on sale (for example, my local Kroger has $1 box of pasta this week, so I purchased 5). This also ties into the above - coupons *can* be used with sale items. I remember finding my favorite sour cream on sale one week from $2.99 to $1.99, and I had a coupon for $.75 off. I felt like a kid at Christmas!

3. Speaking of grocery store - don't be afraid of Manager's Special/Quick Reduce items. A lot of times these items are near expiration date, but, for example, items like meat, you could store in your freezer and they won't go bad. I've saved a lot of $$ by just looking for the Manager's Special items.

4. Is there a Farmer's Market in your area? The produce there is a lot cheaper than the store (because you're eliminating the middle man of the grocery store) and 70% of the time, the farmers will haggle the price.

5. Beans are fairly cheap and fill you up. Shred chicken and have it with beans and a little bit of tomato sauce. Potatoes are also usually cheap and they can be made so many different ways that you won't get bored. Today I cut a potato a few times almost to the bottom, and I added salt, pepper, olive oil, and some butter and put it in the oven for 40 minutes. It was better than any french fry I've ever had.

6. EGGS! Cheap as heck and they're SO SO filling!

Hope this helps!

fredman2

Lentils - google it.

Ramen - cheap but loaded with sodium.

debsfitter

Lentils are dried beans in the legumes family. They are high protein and fiber. Makes great soup....

fit_rox

Good advice on the Farmer's market. I used to work at one and if you go near when the stands are about to close you can get produce for dirt cheap because many of the workers would rather get rid of their produce (even for a couple dollars) instead of lugging it back in their trucks and letting it rot.

ponycyndi

We eat lots of beans, eggs, and dairy which are cheap protein. Try bulking some of your pasta dishes with more veggies. I kept adding more and more veggies until my meals were 50-60% veggies, and more protein than carbs. A bag of frozen veggies is cheap, and can bulk up your hamburger helper easily, for not many calories.

You can also switch out some of your pasta dishes for potato (skin on for the fiber) and/or brown rice, which will give you more fiber, but cheaper than ww pasta. Just make small changes to prevent a revolt by your family!

RodaRose

What are lentils exactly?

Lentils are my favorite! Here are two pictures of lentils:

http://www.slowcarbfoodie.com/2011/07/23/what-kind-of-beans-should-i-eat-the-great-slow-carb-bean-index/

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/lentil-soup-recipe.html

Maybe these will work for you:
eggs
brown rice
steel cut oatmeal
peanut butter
beans -- pinto, black, black eyed peas, chick peas, . . . .
lots of frozen vegetables -- more nutritious than fresh because they are flash frozen near the fields

Also this: http://www.thesimpledollar.com/20-favorite-dirt-cheap-meals/

http://www.menus4moms.com/meals-for-hard-times/

salvationsdying

You guys gave me some awesome ideas. I live not too far from a little meat market that's family-owned they're pretty cheap and have good meat, my parents told me about it. My mom also said they have cheap produce. I'm going to go check them out next week theres farmland not far from us so I'm going to try and find produce markets as well. Never reallt thought about those. We live super close to a walmart super store and I swear its the devil. It don't help spread the money as much as id like that's for sure.

turpenoid

I watch for when frozen veggies are on sale at my local grocer. I really just can't afford fresh vegetables in my area for the frequency that I eat them, with some exceptions like lettuce and carrots.

Grab a saute pan or a nonstick pan... whatever you have. One bag frozen veggies, two chicken breasts diced into small chunks. Add a touch of oil and cook until veg is tender and chicken is cooked. Add some garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, and a touch of reduced sodium soy sauce and simmer for 3-5 mins. Serve with rice. Super easy, super cheap. Even easier? Forego the chicken entirely and just make a great stir-fry with a bunch of different vegetables. 10 minutes, ingredients to table. Plus it's easy on the tummy.

Since I was little, I would go to the library with my mom to get cookbooks. It could be a fun trip for you and your little one to go to your local library and get some cookbooks out for inspiration. It'll get you moving and motivated! As you're adjusting, start adding more and more drinking water into your routine. Making small changes like eliminating condiments and drinking diet soda instead of regular can really add up!

You can do this!

giggitygoo

I eat soooo many eggs! Frittata in my house is just leftover odds and ends a potato and eggs. Also make black beans in the slow cooker, which works out to about 25 cents a serving when prepared from dry.

If there are leftover beans I make black bean burgers with them.

Also fried rice. Which is leftover brown rice an egg or 2 some veggies and sometimes some meat.

NJGamerChick

My husband, a picky eater, will eat Salsa Chicken:

Simmer together chicken breasts + equal amounts of mild or medium salsa and water. Shred and return to pot. Add either refried beans or rinsed black beans and corn. Serve on tortillas or with rice. Top with cheese as desired.

motivatedmartha

Chicken or veg or chickpea curries - feel exotic and are tasty and cheap - lentils can be served as dahl, good side dish. If making veggie curry it adds an extra bit of protein. Google shall be your friend for recipes.

NJGamerChick

Now that I have rested I thought of a couple more things. There was a blog you may want to look at. It was called Cheap Healthy Good. It may inspire you. Also, Casual Kitchen is an interesting blog and started on the idea of cooking and eating not being a laborious and expensive thing, especially in NYC.

lemur_lady

I can vouch for lentils. So much you can do with them! I substitute them for mince sometimes and make cottage/shepards pies, bolognese, lasagne, put them in soups or curries. Quite a lot you can do A cheesy lentil loaf is a cheap substitute for meat loaf.

sdps720

eggs are cheap, full of protein and there are tons of different ways to make them so it's not the same thing over and over and over.

Mr_Knight

Pasta is so high in calories (I'm already fighing a pasta addiction being like half italian and all lol).

Pasta is not "high in calories" when eaten in reasonable portion sizes.

Over-eat anything and it will be "high in calories".