Low Budget, Feel-Good Recipes!

lore11a

Bump

Fit_Fox88

I also like to make a southwest style quinoa (cooked the same way- with sautéed onion and broth instead of water) tossed with cilantro, black beans, corn, tomato, avocado, red onion, bell pepper, lime juice, salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder. Its amazing with some marinated shrimp or chicken, too!

I love quinoa and I love all things Mexican/southwest flavored. I can't believe I haven't thought of this before. Thanks for sharing!!

mandes31

Hi-
One of my go-to's I got from a diet book. It's black beans, brown rice, salsa and greek yogurt. In expensive and healthy!

Hazelcat60

I tried Justin's Maple Almond Butter and loved it, but when I did some reading on it, someone said that it wasn't healthy, and you should opt for raw, no-salt, organic almond butter. I bought some at the health food store (can't recall brand name - had "tree" in it though - Tree of Life, maybe?) and it was $19.05 and it tasted awful - bland - like eating gritty paste. So I'm flummoxed - go for the better tasting Justin's, or forego almond butter altogether for the much more affordable Jif peanut butter?

danaberge

I love all these ideas! Especially about beans. I can't afford "real" meat every night. I will be slow cooking my own

bcattoes

Pizza - I use a regular crust, not bread. I just make it a thin crust, lots of veggies, reduced fat cheese

Nachos - lean ground meat or shredded chicken, mashed pintos or black beans, reduced fat cheese, salsa, onion, jalapeno, guacamole. And I really load up the chips so I eat less of the chips and more of the yummy stuff.

Spaghetti w/ meatballs - Fiber Gourmet low calorie pasta, red sauce with lots of veggies, sometimes with crumbled tofu, meatballs made with lean meat (venison is my favorite when we have it) and some type of whole grain (bulgur, oats, quinoa). a little parmesan

Beans and cornbread - Okay, this one doesn't need much tweaking but it was my favortie comfort food as a child. I do not add a glob of bacon fat in mine now though. top with chopped scallions

Peanut butter and jelly sandwich - I now use natural pb, either sliced fruit or no added sugar jam, and thin sliced wholemeal bread

tuna or egg salad - I now use less mayo, more mustard and add chopped hot pickled cauliflower, and often serve it over dark leafy greens instead of on bread.

ETA: Also, soups, stews and chili - these can be very budget and diet friendly.

Also, usually every month or so whole pork loin, which is a lean cut, usually goes on sale here for $1.99 a lb. I buy one, cut it half, either stew one half with root vegetables or make pork bbq, then thick slice the rest of it for pork chops.

ryblueeyes

Saving this for later!

shannonerdelyi

budgetbytes.com

AddieOverhaul

Bump to come back and try some of these.

Some ideas from me:

A cheap quick and easy meal that's good for taking to work:
- rice/quinoa/etc
- beans of your choosing (I like chick peas)
- greens (swiss chard, kale, whatever)
- hot sauce optional

I precook the rice and beans and put them in a container, sprinkle some hot sauce on it, and then layer raw greens on top (if you use kale maybe wilt it a bit before hand). Then I microwave it at work and it cooks the greens just a bit. Mix together and enjoy!

I also make lentil and veggie soup on a regular basis. It's a great way to use up veggies in my fridge that may be a little past their prime. Broth, spices, hot sauce, lentils and veggies. I portion it into serving size containers and then they are ready to grab and go anytime (and it freezes and reheats really well too).

leradoms

You should check out the site Buget Bytes: http://budgetbytes.blogspot.com/
She is also on pinterest, her recipes are awesome.

mnwalkingqueen

I love homemade black bean burgers there is a real simple recipe I found on this site..It's beans, oatmeal and bbq sauce.

Jaffy55806

I love all the ideas with Beans and other options to eat healthy! Can I take you all home with me? :-)

Ardeonaig

Bump for later, some great ideas in here!

juanlh

this made me hungry just reading it!
yum

DeeRamage

This sounds yummy ...

asia1967

Bump Thanks for sharing.

ptnmh

A very easy, low cal/high protein and satisfying meal = salmon cake, tomato and deviled eggs. I like making enough for leftovers the next day. "O)

dauphinck

Have you tried the cauliflower pizza crust?
Personally, I haven't, but I have started including cauliflower in my mashed potatoes and even my picky eating kids don't notice it. I'm thinking of trying the cauliflower pizza crust myself...just wondered if anyone else had.

kinmoratree

Right now, whole chickens seem to be the cheapest meat. I can cook two and have enough meat for a week's worth of meals. Because chicken is such a blank slate, you can do anything with it and it will usually taste good.

I like beans, but I can never get them to taste good. I do make an excellent split pea soup, but I need a ham bone to accomplish it, so I only make that when ham is on sale.

I also like to make fried rice. Any time I make rice, I make more than we need. Then I can do a "clean out the fridge meal" with a touch of this and a touch of that in with the rice. It's filling and doesn't cost a lot and it keeps you from wasting those little bits that might go bad before you can use them.

srmchan

Right now, whole chickens seem to be the cheapest meat. I can cook two and have enough meat for a week's worth of meals. Because chicken is such a blank slate, you can do anything with it and it will usually taste good.

This. I make spatchcock (butterflied) chicken a lot on the grill. It's easy and a 5-6lb bird can feed my family of 4 for dinner. I make various rubs to try. This week was a simple mix of softened butter and minced garlic rubbed under and on the skin.

I also like to make different combinations of rice. For example:
- Mexican style rice: sautee a yellow onion and 5-6 gloves of minced garlic in oil. Add a little cumin and a little tomato paste. Add rice and stir until covered in oil, then use chicken broth to finish the rice in lieu of water.
- Lemon-Ginger rice: sautee ginger and lemon zest in oil. Add rice and stir until covered in oil. Add a little lemon juice and use chicken broth in lieu of water to finish the rice.

Others I've made are Indian-style rice (mix in parsley and cashews) and Jambalaya rice (bell peppers, celery, tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce).

I usually use Jamine or Basmati rice. I'll match flavors... lemon-ginger rice goes well with poached salmon and the Mexican style rice goes well with shrimp that I bake with a home made salsa (diced tomatoes, diced jalapeños, olive oil, garlic, lime juice).

Sam

THICKandFIT

Bump!

lad323

So many new things to try. Thanks everyone.

avibachar

BUMP mmmmmmmmmmm

canadjineh

Yummy satisfying carb meal: Buy those mushrooms that aren't looking perfect anymore - not great for salad and marked down - and wash (yes - a chef told me what chemicals go on mushrooms when they are commercially grown) then slice and fry up a dozen in butter or EVOO. Make sure you only do a few at a time so they can brown and not steam cook. Add lots of thinly sliced onion, a couple of celery ribs, fry together then add a few spoons of salsa, brown rice 1 c of cooked for two people, 1 can of Stagg 97% fat free Chili (the lazy quick way). and a bit of dried cilantro and a blob of yogourt on top of each bowl. Accompany with your fave toast -DH likes rye or sourdough - I have GF flax bread.

If you get peppers in the big bags for 99cents because they are starting to not be as crunchy - add them in chopped with the onions & celery.

greatmom2

Following for the great ideas!!

IzzyBooNZ1

bumping

also with beans : I know you have to soak them for a while first
then do you just boil them? if so, how long and in plain water?

thanks !

mswaters27

Just finished browsing through the Budget Bytes cooking blog recommended by a previous poster and OMG there are some great recipes there! Here are three healthy, vegetarian, and affordable ones I am going to try and make within the next week:

http://www.budgetbytes.com/2013/08/roasted-vegetable-chickpea-salad/
(how good does this look!)

http://www.budgetbytes.com/2012/06/apple-dijon-kale-salad/
(but with a lot less olive oil to lower the calories)

http://www.budgetbytes.com/2014/06/marinated-kale-white-bean-tomato-salad/
(I am on a kale kick lately! I used to hate it but now that I have discovered that "massaging it" then marinating it in any type of vinegar or acid mixture makes eating raw a lot more enjoyable, I have had my eye out for recipes!)

sunitar292

Bump...im broke...lol

ThinLizzie0802

Legumes are delicious!!!

Have you guys tried the new Campbell's Slow Cooker Sauces? Just be careful because some of them aren't very healthy. However, some of them seem to be pretty nutritional!

I'm interested to see what people have to say about them. All you do is add in your meat, pour the sauce on top and cook for 8-10 hours (depending on the meat). Talk about easy!!!

I use the apple bbq one a lot with chicken breast in the crock pot. Then I shred it and put it on a piece of toast. Super low cal and good!

RoseLavAllen

Stuffed peppers are delicious, not too expensive and low calorie!
I make homemade ones and I always like to stuff them with rice, chicken, carrots & spicy tomato sauce (all of it chopped up very small). But you can stuff them with anything you like. The ones I make are around 160 calories per pepper, so quite low calorie.