What are the healthiest, inexpensive foods?

bumpity bump... lots of great ideas

Quinoa
Brown Rice (not the instant kind)
Natural Peanut Butter
Fresh vegetables in season. Grow your own if lucky enough to have room for a garden

bump

Avocados.

It took me awhile to get out of the mindset of healthy=expensive, because it just isn't that way. I've finally gotten to the point where the majority of my shopping is at the perimeter of the store and I rarely venture into the aisle down the middle. The outer areas have veggies, meats, dairy, fruits. Hit the middle rows and you get foods with additives and preservatives and TONS of unfilling calories.

Just learning this for myself, too. It's getting better over time preparing for two (what we'll actually eat) vs. a whole package only because that's what I was used to.

I like to buy frozen fruit for smoothies.. I tend to let fresh fruit go bad before I eat it all, so it saves me money in the long run because it lasts longer!

I like to eat simple because if I try to get too creative making meals, I tend to really mess up my calorie allotment. I know fruits and veggies raw are high nutrition, but sometimes I sure would like some reasonably healthy and inexpensive COMFORT FOOD.

I like peanut butter on celery...as long as I dont PILE ON the peanut butter, you can squeak 3 ribs of celery out of 1 Tablespoon of peanut butter. OH, also, my sister-in-law often uses cabbage leaves for the "bread" of a sandwich. You'd be surprised what all you can make a "sandwich" out of that is reasonably healthy.

Another food that is more like comfort food to me is homemade soup. It doesn't really take much money to make a very large batch of soup and you can freeze it in portion sizes so it's ready when you are. I have major trouble staying out of the fast food drive-thrus. But when I get my butt in gear and have soup or chicken breasts already cooked and ready at home, it helps my discipline.

Hope this helps ya'll too.

Tofu. You get a lot of good nutrition for your money. I mix tofu with fat free or part skim ricotta to make eggplant lasagna (no noodles). I also include it in my smoothies and in blended vegetable soups to increase protein content.

Jars of spaghetti sauce. It can be high in sodium or sugar, so you have to watch out for those, but it is versatile and affordable. It makes a nice topping for grilled chicken, turkey, added in to ground chicken or turkey for meatloaf or meatballs (also, add tofu for leaner recipes) and a good condiment for steamed veggies (like broccoli or zucchini) . It is also good with shellfish like shrimp, clams, calimari, scallops or the shellfish blends you can buy in the freezer section. Cut the sauce with a little chicken broth for a lighter flavor. Add store bought spaghetti sauce to chicken or vegetable broth for a quick soup base.

Organic eggs are 5 bucks a dozen. Read the book The Skinny Bit**. You'll go organic or vegetarian. Ignorance is bliss. I try to eat organic when I can. With a family of five our food bill is crazy. But that's off topic. Just had to post the egg price.

Organic eggs where I live are $2.99 for a dozen large.