If You Had to Be VERY Careful Money-wise….

oedipa_maas

….but of course had to eat healthy for a month, I would love suggestions for lunch and dinner (I've got breakfast covered).

I don't have a slow cooker unfortunately. But I have most other kitchen accouterments.

I need complex carbs/proteins; just pasta and sauce won't hold me (though I definitely will be eating it for dinner sometimes)

I eat everything (meat, veggies). I get a CSA box once a week with lots of veggies and fruits. I mostly have chicken in the freezer right now.

I have lots of canned tomatoes, beans, rice, a few different kinds of grains, and bread crumbs.

Most meals should feed me (I live alone) for dinner and then 1 work lunch.

I guess I'm just so worried because it brings me back to my poverty days, and those were hellacious. I'm not there anymore, but I thought getting some recipe ideas would ease my anxiety.

So far I've come up with:

--Split Pea Soup w/ Ham
--Chicken and Barley Soup w/ veggies
--Pasta and peanut sauce (since that has a lot of fat and protein)
--Lemon Caper chicken over potatoes w/ veggies
-

Mygsds

How about salsa chicken you can make in the oven

Chicken, rub with taco seasoning, cover with favorite salsa, bake, shred and put over rice or in a tortilla, top with sour cream and grilled onions and peppers..

oinkerjnn

I would be buying lots of bulk black beans and brown rice.

A few (or just one pre combined) spices, add a protein of choice, and you're off to the races.

Splurge and add jalapeños and sour cream or Greek yogurt on top.

I used to make cheap chili all the time too, and shephards pie. Those are two that always amaze me how cheap they are to make.

Chili: ground beef, lean, drained. Onions, can of black beans, can of tomatoes taco seasoning, whatever else you feel like adding.

Shephards pie is like $10 tops to make and will feed you at least five times. I like to add tomato paste to the beef or ground turkey mixture for added flavor.

oedipa_maas

How about salsa chicken you can make in the oven

Chicken, rub with taco seasoning, cover with favorite salsa, bake, shred and put over rice or in a tortilla, top with sour cream and grilled onions and peppers..

I just found some taco seasoning in my cabinet, so this is perfect! And I have everything you mention. Thanks a ton!

oedipa_maas

I would be buying lots of bulk black beans and brown rice.

A few (or just one pre combined) spices, add a protein of choice, and you're off to the races.

Splurge and add jalapeños and sour cream or Greek yogurt on top.

I used to make cheap chili all the time too, and shephards pie. Those are two that always amaze me how cheap they are to make.

Chili: ground beef, lean, drained. Onions, can of black beans, can of tomatoes taco seasoning, whatever else you feel like adding.

Shephards pie is like $10 tops to make and will feed you at least five times. I like to add tomato paste to the beef or ground turkey mixture for added flavor.

These are excellent ideas. I live near a really cheap butcher in the Chinatown part of the city; their ground meat is dirt cheap. Thanks!

Mygsds

How about salsa chicken you can make in the oven

Chicken, rub with taco seasoning, cover with favorite salsa, bake, shred and put over rice or in a tortilla, top with sour cream and grilled onions and peppers..

I just found some taco seasoning in my cabinet, so this is perfect! And I have everything you mention. Thanks a ton!

More than welcome, enjoy

avril2626

eggs are a good buy, and help me get my protein. I hard boil a bunch at a time. can eat plain, cut up with lettuce or other greens, and I like to break 2 up with fork, add 1tbspn or less of light mayo and some relish. I toast sandwich thins, and divide equally on each and eat "open face". way under 300 cals, for both halves together, and incredibly satisfying if you like that.
black beans are great to have with brown or other rice, or alone, or with chicken, adding salsa, and a lower cal tortilla.
I try to get seasonal veggies, as you are doing, and I love grilling or doing in a frying pan with no oil: mixed bell peppers and onions, with whatever seasoning you have. I add to sandwiches, have with chicken, add to rice, etc.
do you have a local dollar store?. some have a great selection of canned goods. can get your salsa, beans, healthy rice there, and some have a big selection of other things too.

SToast

I just made veggie "sloppy joes". I'm not a vegetarian but the recipe appealed to me. It used lentils and brown rice rather than ground beef. It is a slow cooker recipe but you could easily do it on the stove or oven.

http://www.bhg.com/recipe/bbq-veggie-joes/

I left out the mushrooms (cuz I hate the nasty fungus food) and it came to 99 cal per serving w/o the bun. I think it makes closer to 10 servings but I put it in MFP as 8 since that's what the recipe said.

Bottom line, it's cheap (prob $2-$3 for the whole batch), easy, and keeps you full for a long time. I usually get snack cravings around 10:00PM (while watching Netflix of course) but last night the cravings never hit. I ate dinner about 7:30.

oedipa_maas

eggs are a good buy, and help me get my protein. I hard boil a bunch at a time. can eat plain, cut up with lettuce or other greens, and I like to break 2 up with fork, add 1tbspn or less of light mayo and some relish. I toast sandwich thins, and divide equally on each and eat "open face". way under 300 cals, for both halves together, and incredibly satisfying if you like that.
black beans are great to have with brown or other rice, or alone, or with chicken, adding salsa, and a lower cal tortilla.
I try to get seasonal veggies, as you are doing, and I love grilling or doing in a frying pan with no oil: mixed bell peppers and onions, with whatever seasoning you have. I add to sandwiches, have with chicken, add to rice, etc.
do you have a local dollar store?. some have a great selection of canned goods. can get your salsa, beans, healthy rice there, and some have a big selection of other things too.

You just reminded me they opened a Grocery Outlet near my house! They feature super discounted food. Extending meals with vegetables/rice/etc. really is a great idea. Thanks!

oinkerjnn

One more thing. I don't think I've ever been to a thrift store that didn't have a crock pot for sale. While its not a necessity, for cheap meals that taste good, nothing makes it all come together like a crock pot.

oedipa_maas

I just made veggie "sloppy joes". I'm not a vegetarian but the recipe appealed to me. It used lentils and brown rice rather than ground beef. It is a slow cooker recipe but you could easily do it on the stove or oven.

http://www.bhg.com/recipe/bbq-veggie-joes/

I left out the mushrooms (cuz I hate the nasty fungus food) and it came to 99 cal per serving w/o the bun. I think it makes closer to 10 servings but I put it in MFP as 8 since that's what the recipe said.

Bottom line, it's cheap (prob $2-$3 for the whole batch), easy, and keeps you full for a long time. I usually get snack cravings around 10:00PM (while watching Netflix of course) but last night the cravings never hit. I ate dinner about 7:30.

Oh I really like the sound of this. And I even like fungus Thank you so much!

oedipa_maas

One more thing. I don't think I've ever been to a thrift store that didn't have a crock pot for sale. While its not a necessity, for cheap meals that taste good, nothing makes it all come together like a crock pot.

That's a good point. All my clothes are from the thrift shop, so I have some near me.

melimomTARDIS

I will be back to add my two cents. I have lived at or under the poverty line for years, so I understand the need to eat inexpensively, but healthfully as well. (i cant afford to be sick!)

if its not too personal, what amount are you working with, for a week of food? And do you live in a suburb/inner city/rurally?

I average about 100 dollars per week, for 4 people and a large dog, including paper products (one is in diapers).

my diary is open if you care to see what my food looks like.

denabrown25

Taco soup made with either chicken or ground turkey.

peachmagic

Frozen veggies are just as nutritious as fresh and a lot cheaper so I recommend getting those.

I also recommend checking out this blog which is specifically for cheap/low effort foods http://no-more-ramen.tumblr.com/

oedipa_maas

Wow, thanks for such good questions/concrete analysis.

If things are flush, I can spend about $300 a month on groceries. I know, that's a lot, but net to bills it's my priority to eat well (plus I have a ridiculous leftover from my eating disorder days that I panic unbelievably--I mean I get FRANTIC -- if I don't have full cupboards and fridge. Must work on that).

But right now, I can maybe squeak by with $75/month. I made some big financial mistakes (all impulsive) and things won't be back on an even keel until about 9/15, possibly 9/1. I know I have to eat--I had this thought of going on a fast, which are bull**** and just trigger my ED--so hence the thread.

Thanks for helping!

oedipa_maas

Frozen veggies are just as nutritious as fresh and a lot cheaper so I recommend getting those.

I also recommend checking out this blog which is specifically for cheap/low effort foods http://no-more-ramen.tumblr.com/

Oh this excellent, thank you.

oedipa_maas

Taco soup made with either chicken or ground turkey.

Love soup, thank you!

EvelineUK

This website 'poor girl eats well' has some great ideas...
http://www.poorgirleatswell.com/

HeidiCooksSupper

I did some some searching about energy use of ovens versus slow cookers and it seems there is no reliable answer as to which takes more energy: a slow cooker or an oven in a reasonably well insulated range. Some say one, some say the other, and very little actual research has been done. If you can comfortably touch your oven door when it's on, you probably have a reasonably well-insulated stove. So, in the end, I decided not to buy a slow cooker.

That being said, I do try to take advantage of the space in the oven when I have it on. For example, tonight I will be cooking a breast of chicken in the oven. As long as I have the oven on, I will probably do both jasmine rice for tonight and brown rice for a rice salad later in the week. I also have a bunch of beets that need cooking and a large sweet potato. So the oven will be relatively full when I cook the chicken and I'll have lots of pre-cooked stuff for eating as the week progresses.

Many foods are pretty flexible when it comes to oven temperature. The chicken will be mostly responsible for deciding the temperature today. Just adjust the time and perhaps up the liquid for the rice for a hot oven and you are set to go.

In fact, it's getting time to start throwing things in the oven. Not the chicken yet but the brown rice and that huge monster sweet potato need a head start today.

melimomTARDIS

75 bucks a week is tight, but doable if its just for one person, maybe one person and a child.

I have access to one grocery store within thirty miles, so I cant devote myself to saving money like some others can. I am also not an amazing/creative cook with lots of free time. It has to quick to prepare, and inexpensive or I just dont have time or energy.

I get dairy from- low fat milk (1%), and low fat yogurt/cottage cheese purchased on sale. Yogurt is on sale every 2 weeks here, as is cottage cheese, so I just wait, and buy 2 weeks worth at a go.

meat- frozen bagged salmon fillets, frozen bagged tilapia fillets, canned tuna in water, frozen bagged boneless skinless chicken breasts, and eggs. I buy lunch meat for my husband's work meal, always a lean variety, typically oscar meyer. I also buy oscar meyer 95 percent fat free hotdogs, for quick dinners. They taste better than the cheaper, fattier hot dogs.

other protein- dry roasted peanuts (generic), peanut butter, beans canned for a quick lunch, or dry bagged for a long cooking soup. I soak overnight, and then crockpot them all day.

grains- minute rice (it only takes 5 minutes to cook and fills me up), cheap white bread, cheap white pasta. ramen noodles sometimes.

whole grains- graham crackers, popcorn kernels cooked on the stove, generic quaker chewy bars (the kids love these), Quick oats in the big tub, and generic whole grain cereals (Im partial to knockoff total.)

Produce- cheap vegetables, like iceberg, carrots, cabbage, onions, and potatoes. Cucumbers and tomatoes are a good price right now where I live, as is corn on the cob.

produce-cheap fruit, bagged apples, bunch bananas, bagged oranges. Grapes on sale, but I sub grapes with raisins, or oranges with( from concentrate) OJ too.

Treats- I like butterscotch hard candy, and wine. I buy wine in a box, and it lasts FOREVER. My favorite is franzia crisp white.

snacks- pretzels, popcorn, or a granola bar, around here.

Drinks- cheap coffee,classic lipton tea for making iced tea, WATER, occasional glass of OJ. Wine a few times a week, measured 5oz.

cooking oil- I use very little oil to cook. mostly bake or poach... however I do use PAM cooking spray, and light margarine for certain things, and vegetable oil for popcorn.

healthy fats- salad dressings, olive oil mayo, salmon fillet, and light margarine. I also buy hummus and guacamole to use as sandwhich spreads.