Cheap, and I mean CHEAP recipes

princess4mimi

In Australia there's been a campaign to raise money by living on $3 a day. Here's the link to a sample menu. You could tweek this each day - the chicken wings are probably not so great for weight loss, but I can't see the rest of the day being that calorie laden, so no doubt you'd have spare cals for them?

http://www.fromcuptocrop.com.au/the-challenge/recipes/lyndey-milans-3-per-day-menu/

Sounds very interesting I never would have thought that would be possible.....Thanks I'll have to check it out also because sometimes I'm cooking just for myself and it can be wasteful.

liezelcha

Bump

MaryAnne1

bump great ideas!!

lcarr417

Make a soup with:

1 can black beans
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
2 cans chicken broth (or 1 can broth and 1 can cream of chicken soup)
1 can diced tomatoes w/ green chiles

Season it with some cumin and chili powder. Add some light sour cream & low fat cheese if you have it. One person can eat on this for days & you can use all store brand items to make it even cheaper.

About how much sour cream and cheese do you add?

lcarr417

i make a pot of veggie chilli- very cheap.. and it lasts for like a week. if you want the recipe ill give it to you

can you post it?? thanks!!

Volforlife83

I can sympathize...when I was single and on a super low budget, I pretty much lived on low carb whole wheat wraps with part skim shredded cheese. Just popped it in the microwave for a minute. I ate two of those and then a canned veggie (great value green beans with no salt added). The cheese will get you protein and the whole grain wraps can be a pretty good source of fiber and protein as well. Also stock up on some cheap fruits to snack on ( I get a thing of strawberries and blueberries for $4). I like to cut them up to make them last longer and sometimes I'll put some light yogurt on them.

elliecolorado

bump... for later

zave

Another idea - do you have a blood plasma center nearby? You can always give plasma and they give you from $15-20 per hourlong visit. And you can go twice a week.

Damn. I was gonna say ....never mind. Anything after this makes me sound like a coupon cutting value shopping wimp. haha

loro1971

PEPPER AND EGG SANDWICHES
GRILLED CHEESE/TOMATO SOUP
TUNA SALAD SANDWICHES (ON ENGLISH MUFFINS/USE EGGS FROM CARTON BOUGHT FOR PEPPER&EGGS)
TUNA TOSSED WITH LETTUCE AND BALSAMIC VINEGAR(CAN ADD HARD BOILED EGGS)
PASTA WITH SAUCE
MEATBALL SPLASHES/SUBS(MEATBALLS MADE WITH SAUCE FROM ABOVE)
PIZZA MADE FROM LEFTOVER SAUCE(ON ENGLISH MUFFINS)
CHEESE QUESADILLAS
BEAN TOSTADOS
CHILI
SLOPPY JOES(USE SOME OF THE GROUND BEEF , YOU ARE MAKINGMEATBALLS WITH)
ENCHILADAS
TACOS
RICE/ BEANS

IF I ONLY HAD 20 DOLLARS...HERE IS WHAT I WOULD BUY....LETTUCE ...75 CENTS
TOMATO..50 CENTS
BANANAS ...1.00
BROWN RICE 1.50 EACH
TUNA 2/1.00
CHICKEN...3.00
MUSHROOMS 1.00
SPAGHETTI NOODLES 2/1.00
GROUND BEEF..2.00
TOMATO SAUCE 2/1.00=2.00
CUCUMBER .50
SOUP 2/100= 2.00
TOMATO....50
CHEESE LOWFAT SWISS...1.00(from deli)
oatmeal... 1.00
bread .50
1/2 doz eggs..... .50
lemon. 50
i believe this comes to $20.25 and with it you have...1. salad with cucumber/tuna 2. toast/eggs 3.oatmeal 4.grilled swiss with soup 5.pasta with meatballs 5. meatball splash 6 pasta with diced tomatoes(and tuna) 7. grilled chicken and cold pasta salad with cucumbers and tomato 8beans and rice with chicken.(leftover grilled chicken) 9.rice and lemon soup with chicken broth(from other can of soup) 10.egg salad sandwich 11.oatmeal and bananas 12. grilled banana on toast 13.hamburger with swiss 14. use last of chicken with last of chicken broth, last of eggs, last of bread and make a casserole of homemade stuffing(use up your spices in your cupboard and toss with bread and egg , place in baking dish put leftover chicken add last of swiss cheese and bake) 15chili with tomato sauce,beans and ground beef (can serve over rice) 16man in the middle of the raft(fried eggs inside a piece of bread you cut a whole in) 17 grilled cheese with mushrooms 18.last of sauce with sauteed mushrooms over pasta..................... hope this helps!!!!!!!!

123456654321

with only 20 dollars I'd load up on brown rice and just add it to every meal. It will keep you full! Good luck!

loro1971

maybe babysit for someone.. get paid.&eat snacks at their house (with the kids)?????...lol
get paid to spring clean for someone???? (also helps your exercises)

also.. i know this is funny but during main hours especially weekends.. stores do promos and give tastes.. sometimes aLOT of food and they hand out coupons example.. sams clubs///// and allll delis will let you try before you buy.. so ask for a slice of meat or cheese.... and farmers markets are wayyyyy better prices for fruits and veggies and they want you to try their stuff while you walk around and look.... free lunches while you walk around and exercise!!!! lol....... i would definitely not waste my money on beverages.. pops / juices.... and i agree soups/chilis/sauces are the best bet with many meals for the money!

pumina

Do you have a specific recipe? I love it and make it all the time myself but wanted to see if there were other variations out there.

jagh09

Great ideas on brown rice and beans. You can but all generics. Avoid convenience packs, buy bigger and take time to portion it out for yourself.

Other ideas:

Get a loaf of whole wheat bread (or high fiber bread of your choice) and some natural peanut butter.
A pound of whole wheat pasta and a jar of sauce.
A dozen eggs
some frozen bagged veggies
canned or jarred fruit, packed in juice
bananas (i love peanut butter and banana sandwiches)


if you eat fish, canned tuna is a great staple and you can often find it on sale for $1 per can or less.

BeckyJill7

You're going to have to stick with rice and beans, sounds like. Some great recipe ideas on http://www.brokeandhealthy.com

Another idea - do you have a blood plasma center nearby? You can always give plasma and they give you from $15-20 per hourlong visit. And you can go twice a week.

Sorry I found this a bit funny, sell plasma for food money! ha sorry but it is a good idea and a good thing to do for others so I'd seriously consider it no matter how funny i think it sounds upon first glance

You can get $50/visit the first 5 times by me

jagh09

This is also a great website for healthier eating ideas!

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes_menus/collections/cheap_vegetarian_dinner_recipes

syates83

The soup/chilli ideas sound great but if you are buying canned anything, try rinsing everything in water...they are full of sodium. Good luck and hope good fortune finds you soon. Oh and also I buy store brand everything, it really cuts down on your bill oh and coupons are your best friend when buying name brand. Good luck!

jagh09

This topic hit close to home! So I'm looking for ideas from some of my favorite blog spots. I'm not vegetarian, but I sure do remember trying to squeaze every last penny! I hope these are helpful.

http://cheaphealthygood.blogspot.com/2004/02/master-recipe-list.html

liyahxoxo

i make a pot of veggie chilli- very cheap.. and it lasts for like a week. if you want the recipe ill give it to you

can you post it?? thanks!!

yes of course !
This recipe is a little weird because it's really really spicy. I did it as indicated the first time and it was SOO SPICY for me and I love spicy food... so I cut down on the suggested amount of hot peppers. but here we go:

Ingredients:
1 can Chilli beans, or just Chick Peas
1 can Black Beans
1 black beans can's worth of water
1 small can Pasta Sauce
1 can Diced Tomatoes
1 large Onion, diced
1/2 package vegan meat crumbles, or tofu, or real meat if you eat meat. I actually put a whole package of (firm) tofu though.
Chili powder, 2 tbsp
Ground Cumin, 1 tbsp
Coriander ground, 1 tsp
Garlic powder, 1 tsp (but I put 2 tbsp cus i really love garlic)
1 large sweet green pepper, or red, or combination of both, chopped
Hot chili green pepper, diced
Bay Leaves- 2 leaves
2 Habanero peppers, diced (again, unless you love insanely hot food, put only one. habaneros are soo spicy).

put all ingredients together in a large put and bring to a boil.
reduce to a simmer, add the spices, stir, and let simmer for about 2 hours.
remove bay leaves and enjoy!
tastes better on the second, third, etc. days .. :P

nat102

Bump

labrennan

Bulgur which is cracked wheat is also very cheap and very good!!!! I buy that in bags for about $2.00

amuhlou

rice, beans, and lentils. change out different spice mixtures for different cuisines.

Cumin, garlic, and paprika can go a long way to spicing things up. Add a pinch of cayenne too if you dare.

nolachick

bump