Healthy/Low cal meals for cheap! Help!

spatticus

I need some ideas for really cheap meals that are healthy or low cal! So far I thought of meatless chili and bean burritos. What do you make in a pinch? I have lots of pasta in the pantry but I don't know how to make that low cal really. Thanks in advance!

lilybug13

Do you have a crock pot? There are a lot of cheap, easy, low cal meals you can make in it if you do.

sandyfeet10

i make salmon cakes with canned salmon, celery, and any seasoning you want.

aejbx4x7s

EGGS! They're super cheap, versatile, and cook quickly. My recent favorite is to put some chopped onion (low cal, cheap way to add flavor to almost anything) in a dry pan and cook for a few minutes. Then, I add .25 tbs of butter, put an egg in the pan and add 3-4 cups of spinach. Cover the pan with a lid and cook until the egg is to your liking and the spinach is wilted. It comes out to around 100ish calories depending on the amount of butter and size of the egg.

I keep sweet potatoes on hand. You can microwave them, but I pop them in the oven at 450 degrees for about 25 minutes. I add a little bit of butter and brown sugar. I prefer sweet potatoes to regular - more nutrients and they have more taste so you need less butter and sugar!

@sandyfeet10 Salmon cakes are awesome!

GemmieNoWobbles

I second the slow cooker. You can buy cheaper cuts of meat to sling in there plus you hardly have to "cook".

Stir frys are good and cheap

Ladymaymay

A really easy meal for me is to sautee ANY veggies I have (frozen or fresh, never canned) throw on some precooked rice, then to change it up I us different low cal sauces from the market. 2 tablespoons of sauce goes a long way! Plus when I do this it always ends up being two servings! Also, if there is a Trader Joes market anywhere near you, go therea. Tons of quick and easy options! Good Luck!

SeasideOasis

If you cant get fresh veggies, frozen veggies are a good substitute. Also, the frozen chicken breasts in the bags that most grocery stories have are also a great option. All you have to do is defrost, cook to your liking, and BAM healthy meal, in minimal time, and on a budget.

I have been enjoying baked chicken with veggies recently!

Chicka_Boom

I like to make vegetarian chili. I start from this recipe and change it to suit my tastes/what I have available: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/the-best-vegetarian-chili-in-the-world/Detail.aspx

It's easy to modify depending on what you like, and you can pretty much just dump whatever veggies you have around into it - it's a great fridge-cleaning recipe! I leave out the vegetarian burger crumbles (never liked those), the celery, and the kidney beans and add in extra black beans, chickpeas, and all sorts of veggies - squash, mushrooms, whatever I have around. I also sub whole peeled tomatoes, which I chop up roughly, for the crushed tomatoes as I prefer my chili to be more chunky & less soupy. You should use way less chili powder & jalapeno than the recipe recommends if you don't like spicy food, but if (like me) you love it, then by all means go to town! (The cashier at the grocery store may comment on your gastrointestinal fortitude when you check out with a bunch of green chilis, jalapenos, & chili powder.)

The bulk of the recipe is canned food, which is really cheap AND keeps for a really long time, so you can buy a bunch and keep a stash for whenever you want to whip up a batch of chili. Just make sure than you drain & rinse the beans, as the liquid beans are canned with is high in sodium. I usually just need to pick up jalapenos & I'm good to go, using the veggies in my fridge & my stash of canned goods. I think I once estimated that, if you have to buy all of the ingredients with my version (rather than just using whatever is in your fridge), it came to maybe $8 a batch, which translates into around 70 cents to a dollar per meal depending on your portion sizes. So cheap - yes!

The recipe makes a huge pot of chili, and I divide it up into tupperware containers, put one in the fridge at home, take one to put in the fridge at work, and put the rest in the freezer (where they will keep for a really really long time, you just have to move them to the fridge for about 2 days to defrost them, so plan ahead). Chili is one dish that actually gets BETTER the longer it sits around, because all of the spices and everything just soak in more. Then I just have to spoon out a portion from the tupperware container, zap it in the microwave for about 3 minutes, et voila! Cheap, delish, fast, & super-easy even if you can't cook.

Vegetarian chili is also, of course, mega healthy. It's very balanced with loads of protein from the beans & plenty of veggies (add more! add tons of veggies! ALL OF THE VEGGIES!), plus it is really filling so you don't have to eat a large portion to feel full (bonus: spicy foods make you feel full more quickly). They give 342 calories per serving on the website, which is very reasonable for such a filling & nutritious meal; also, that is with it divided into 8 servings and I easily get 12 out of a batch so, taking both that & the fact that I leave out the soy burger crumbles, it probably comes out to less. If you're concerned about sodium, just remember what I said earlier about draining & rinsing the beans.

For added yumminess (& calcium), top it with low-fat shredded cheese or a dollop of sour cream while it's still hot.

Bon appetit!