Healthy Cheap recipes?/Things to do with Ramen?

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Replies

  • scottg1024
    scottg1024 Posts: 224
    Burn the ramen to stay warm while saving on heating costs...
  • greeneyed84
    greeneyed84 Posts: 427 Member
    Ramen noodles are BAD. Way too much sodium and no nutritional value.
    As someone else said, a big pot of Lentil soup is great! I make that regularly. Pretty much any soup can be healthy and cheap.
    Or Casserole's as well.
    Shop sales and look at what's in season. Then build your meals from that. The internet is a great place to find healthy, cheap and affordable recipes.
  • niccolebarnes
    niccolebarnes Posts: 27 Member
    I just made a OUTSTANDING pork loin the other day. It was on sale at Kroger for $10.00 (4.5 lbs). I coated it with 1 tblsp garlic powder and italian bread crumbs. Seared it and threw in the oven. The key to it tasting amazing is the cooking. 425 degrees for 10 min and then lower to 375 at 20 min. per lb. It's pretty cheap and my husband and I ate it for quite a few meals.

    It turned out to be about $2.90 per meal plus the cost of pasta (.99).
  • greeneyed84
    greeneyed84 Posts: 427 Member
    Ramen noodles are BAD. Way too much sodium and no nutritional value.
    As someone else said, a big pot of Lentil soup is great! I make that regularly. Pretty much any soup can be healthy and cheap.
    Or Casserole's as well.
    Shop sales and look at what's in season. Then build your meals from that. The internet is a great place to find healthy, cheap and affordable recipes.

    BTW, when i make Lentil soup it's a big old pot, costs about 5-6$ to make and my family of 5 can eat 3 dinners our of that. Super cheap
  • BamaGirl_Tricia
    BamaGirl_Tricia Posts: 70 Member
    I've made a marinated coleslaw with ramen noodles. Didn't use the seasoning that it came with. I'm sure you can google marinated coleslaw and find it. Don't remember all the ingredients.
  • HotAshMess
    HotAshMess Posts: 382 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/716023-what-are-the-healthiest-inexpensive-foods

    Check out this thread.....and my response to them that might help you (below). Feel free to add me....we're broke and trying to make it just like everyone else. I can and will share recipes

    -beans
    -eggs
    -frozen veggies (they're so much easier to just toss in with something like ramen noodles if you have to eat them) I also like to -make brown rice and veggies.
    -if you have local farmer's markets, go there and use them. The prices are not always better, but when people want stuff to move they mark it down.
    -buy in season. Watermelon in December is not cheap!
    -rice
    -low calorie drinks....if you cant get off the water, you can make your low calorie zero sugar drink mixes go further. My family prefers it when I add more water to the ones we have at home.
    -Grocery store sales tend to run in cycles....pork one week, chicken the next, ground beef, ect. You need to learn to buy what is on sale. If you have the money, buy extra and freeze so you aren't running to the store and paying full price for something because you want it instead of what is on sale that week.
    -grocery stores also tend to put stuff on sale with a theme. For example...the store closest to my house with have things like tortillas, salsa, beef, and cheese on sale all at once. Or every kind of noodles, pasta sauce, garlic bread, and ricotta cheese. If you can, buy the things that are on sale that you can incorporate into your own healthy recipes.
    -take advantage of bogo sales....if your store offers free potatoes with the purchase of a roast and carrots...consider the deal and go for it. You don't have to use all the carrots or the potatoes...they can go towards another meal.
    -crockpot....it is cheap cooking at it's finest.
    -look for "manager specials". A store I used to work at used to sell porterhouse steaks for half the price after they'd been in the case for a few days. They weren't bad, being exposed to the air in the case and the lights make them look like there were on the way out....but they weren't.
    -make your meat go further. I have a meat eater at home...a pound of hamburger for meatballs was enough for dinner for 2 and a giant lunch of leftovers for him (he's not trying to lose). Add breadcrumbs (buy or make your own) and an egg. Now a pound of burger turned into spaghetti and meatballs last 4-5 meals. There are recipes that encourage this...like porcupine meatballs (rice, meat, onion, garlic tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce and seasoning. Thats it!)
    -google budget meals, and frugal living
    -check local convenience stores. We have stores here that sell bread (on sale for .69 cents but can be up to $150 for white OR wheat), eggs (99 cents/dozen) bananas (.39), butter (on sale 1.99 for a pound), milk (sold in half gallon bags, 2 bags are .60 less than a gallon at the grocery store), onions(.39), and potatoes (.39) cheaper than any store in the area.
    -coupons are great for things you are going to use. When you shop, compare prices and look for coupons on the package that are good right away!
    -always check the discount produce bins, that aisle at walmart with discounted food and shop the sales. Go to multiple stores in the same area if you can do it fast and you get the best deal!
    -meal planning is smart. Take the ad on Monday, plan the next week, go shopping Friday or saturday to get those deals. Repeat on monday...many times what wasn't on sale on Friday, will be on sale sunday. So you can pick up stuff on sale for the next week, and go back and get what wasnt on sale...if your brain can organize that.
  • Lsufan22
    Lsufan22 Posts: 33
    No flavor packet, with a bit of Franks. Phenominal
  • znkmommy
    znkmommy Posts: 49 Member
    rice and beans are very cheap and will fill you up.
  • vinsonh42
    vinsonh42 Posts: 125
    Time to start couponing! By store brand stuff.
  • bblich02
    bblich02 Posts: 57
    No ramen! Get frozen veggies and fruits. Whole wheat pasta and bread. Make stirfry really quick healthy and cheap! More ideas here: http://ifiloseweight.com/e/grocery-list/
  • Nancy_AZ60
    Nancy_AZ60 Posts: 99 Member
    Throw the RAMEN out.. That is about the worst thing you can eat.

    Cook your own whole grain noodles ( Cheap) use Chicken stock or Beef stock to flavor it, if you eat meat.
    Throw in a bag of frozen Veggies ( Get them on sale for 10 for $10) and cook . A little corn starch will thicken it too.
  • tnrown87
    tnrown87 Posts: 134 Member
    Liver onions, and frozen peas!
  • cowgirlup327
    cowgirlup327 Posts: 58 Member
    If you have produce markets that sell bulk quantities (1-2 lbs of pre-bagged fruits/veggies for a couple dollars), that's a great place to start. Sometimes it's hard to get through the quantity before the produce starts to turn, but if you're splitting it with a roommate then you can probably go through it fast enough. Look for low calorie items that are a little more filling, but not empty calories - low fat string cheese, peanut butter and apple slices, veggies with hummus, yogurt, a pouch of tuna with crackers, hard boiled eggsetc. When you buy your greens, get a head of romaine lettuce rather than bagged - it's cheaper. A great and cheap "cheat" I like to get is rotisserie chicken. I can buy a plain, cooked rotisserie chicken from the grocery store deli for about $6, and one week I used it for 5 meals (it's great for adding some chicken to salads). Try not to get stuck in the trap of cheap but processed foods - they will do nothing good for your health. If you like pasta, try the no yolk egg noodles. A great meal that goes a long way is chili (made with ground turkey). I can make a pot full for less than $10 and always have lots to store in the freezer for later. Getting some basics at bigger stores like Walmart or Target can definitely save some money, and go for store brand if it's available. A lot of people are into "couponing," but I find that leads to purchasing a lot of processed foods, which again aren't going to help with nutrition. Having survived the college days, I know it can be tough. If you're on a college campus or working most days, be sure to pack snacks/lunch for yourself so you're not tempted to buy food. It's probably over-priced and not nutritionally the best - what you can prepare for yourself at home is probably cheaper.
  • yo_andi
    yo_andi Posts: 2,178 Member
    Here you go:

    http://cheaphealthygood.blogspot.com/

    And here's some info on ramen noodles:

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/09/ramen-digestion_n_1263825.html
  • Akimajuktuq
    Akimajuktuq Posts: 3,037 Member
    I was broke and hungry when I was your age. I, too, ate the ramen noodles. Strangely, even though I was almost starving (I went as long as 3 days without food frequently), I did not lose very much weight but I did start to get unhealthy.

    If I were in that boat again, I would probably eat rice, beans, ground beef, chicken (dark meat is cheaper and healthy!), celery, onions, spinach, spaghetti sauce, nut butters, coconut etc (and skip the pizza and beer night when I did get money!). While I don't eat grains or legumes now, it's a different story when one is just trying to survive. Tuna is good, even though I don't like canned foods, but the kinds with less mercury are also more expensive.
  • MichelleLaree13
    MichelleLaree13 Posts: 865 Member
    First off, do you have a Grocery Outlet or discount food place where you are? Do you know which grocery store run clearance items when they dont sell well? Smiths Grocery does where I am. Foods that are close to expiration normally are half or a quarter price. Healthier foods like whole grain pasta with extra fiber get the clearance stickers a lot. I use to be in the college days and poorer so I completely understand. So this is what to do:
    Shop the discount store first for the really good deals. Our grocery outlet sells cheese for like 1/2 price and many times I can find out of season unexpired things like spiced mixed nuts for $1 a can which is closer to a tenth the price as normal.
    Go to a regular store second and walk around looking at any clearance items. Day old fancy (example: whole grain with sprouted seed) bread is 1/2 the price. Extra ripe bananas are 1/2 the price (25 cents a lb). I check for bruises. I am good with a black peel but if half the banana is ruined it is not worth it. I like ripe bananas but if you dont banana bread is always good too.
    Next shop the sales for fruit and veggies that are on good sales. I use to not buy anything over a $1 a lb. Normally bananas, apples, oranges and melon are all cheap fruits. Normally carrots (unpeeled), celery, onions, tomatoes and lettuce are cheap veggies. Potatoes are always a good investment at 25-50 cents a pound. Eggs, beans and rice are cheap.
    I was practically vegetarian because meat is on the spendier side. I use to be healthy on less than $100 of groceries a week. I am sure I could have done it for less if it was necessary.
  • Strobins05
    Strobins05 Posts: 716
    Beans, rice, oats, potatoes, tuna, marinara sauce .....

    http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/cheap-healthy-15-nutritious-foods-about-2-dollars

    Great tip! Seriously, in College we lived off marinara sauce and grilled cheese sandwiches.
  • MichelleLaree13
    MichelleLaree13 Posts: 865 Member
    Ramen noodles are BAD. Way too much sodium and no nutritional value.
    As someone else said, a big pot of Lentil soup is great! I make that regularly. Pretty much any soup can be healthy and cheap.
    Or Casserole's as well.
    Shop sales and look at what's in season. Then build your meals from that. The internet is a great place to find healthy, cheap and affordable recipes.

    I make lentil and pea soup. I buy whatever lentils and peas are in the bulk bins (like 50 cents a pound) at Winco. Add some onions, carrots and boullion and done. So cheap! :drinker:
  • mystinamarie
    mystinamarie Posts: 51 Member
    One of my favorite, cheap meals to make only costs a few dollars and makes a big pot that feeds me and my husband for a few days.

    Take 1.5 cup rice and 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil, lower, and let simmer for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, open the lid and add a rinsed can of black beans, a cup of salsa, and about 1.5 cups frozen corn. Stir everything and let it cook on low another 10 minutes. You can top it with shredded cheese or sour cream, but it's really good as is!

    If you still want to go the ramen route- throw out their little seasoning packet and use your own homeade stock, or find a healthier vegetarian boullion to add. Also, bulk it up with lots of frozen or fresh veggies, so the bowl goes a long way.
  • foxyforce
    foxyforce Posts: 3,078 Member
    rice is really cheap

    i usually buy wild rice and always have a container ready in my fridge, that way you can add a little bit to salads, chili, and other meals to bulk it up a bit.

    also, buy veggies, cut them into pieces and freeze them: zucchini, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, peas, etc., that way when you want veggies you can eat freshly frozen ones and not ones out of a can. you can also put whatever veg in it you want so you get variety.

    every week i grill a different type of meat. last week i did chicken breast. and we pretty much had chicken breast in sandwhiches, salads, by itself, etc. it saves on costs instead of cooking chicken breast one night, roast beef another, etc.

    lunch meats are also not so bad.


    good luck!

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