Good Cheap Meals ?

ashley4336
ashley4336 Posts: 24 Member
in Food and Nutrition
So I just started my first year in College.. and I dont get a whole lot of money to spend on food, and I really dont like going out to eat , also seeing as it isnt always the best choice too.
So I was wondering what are some good meals to make during the day for dinners or lunches that are pretty healthy and good for you, but doesnt cost a whole lot of money.
I kind of want to stay away from anything that is cooked in the microwave, seeing as the sodium is always a lot.
Thanks for any ideas !! :) I'm up to trying anything new !

Replies

  • 3LittleMonkeyMom
    3LittleMonkeyMom Posts: 259
    Mix together some cooked brown rice, spinach, and heat until the spinach is wilted. Add some diced avocado and whatever spices you like. You could also add leftover chicken breast or whatever meat you had previously. Cheap and easy! :)
  • ChapinaGrande
    ChapinaGrande Posts: 289 Member
    I cook a pound of black beans in the crock pot every week--just beans,water, and salt. Then one night, I eat a bowl of bean soup with salsa and low-fat sour cream. Another night, I make baked beans with turkey sausage. Then another night I put them in a salad or in burritos or tacos or my secret black bean brownie recipe. They are so healthy, versatile, and cheap. The most magical of all fruits. :P
  • jaly92
    jaly92 Posts: 91
    Pasta bakes? (You can pretty much add any leftovers to these)
    Homemade pizza using a tortilla wrap/pitta bread as a base?
    Jacket potato with a healthy topping?
    Omelettes?
    Soup?
    Stew/casserole/broth?

    Buying fresh meat which is reduced and freezing it is always a good idea to save some money, also, visiting supermarkets in the evening and buying fresh veg which is about to go out of date and freezing that?
  • Skeebee
    Skeebee Posts: 740 Member
    Grill a bunch of chicken breasts for the entire week and a bunch of rice. Then, mix it up during the week by mixing with a favorite dressing (I do wild raspberry OR bbq sauce). You can even add some veggies with it if you want.
  • innocenceportrayed
    innocenceportrayed Posts: 569 Member
    Surprisingly, the microwavable meals called Smart Ones are amazing. They're really good and they aren't high in calories or fats and only about 1/4 of my sodium intake for the day & theyre fairly high in protein. They're a bit pricey, like 2.50-3.50 depending on where you get them, but they're fantastic!

    Or I make chicken and rice, beef stew and lots and lots of fresh fruit I take to classes with me.
  • ShinyFuture
    ShinyFuture Posts: 314 Member
    I cook a pound of black beans in the crock pot every week--just beans,water, and salt. Then one night, I eat a bowl of bean soup with salsa and low-fat sour cream. Another night, I make baked beans with turkey sausage. Then another night I put them in a salad or in burritos or tacos or my secret black bean brownie recipe. They are so healthy, versatile, and cheap. The most magical of all fruits. :P

    Two questions -- for the crockpot: how much water and how much salt (and is the salt necessary?) And (ok, I guess it's now really 4 questions) ---will you share your secret black bean brownie recipe?
  • twinkychops
    twinkychops Posts: 228 Member
    I make a lot of soups, really easy , filling and barely any cals, I don't put any salt in mine and do them either in the slow cooker if I'm at work for the day or on the hob, my favs are tomato which is tomato, sweet potato, red onion and carrots, cooked and blended ( cooked in veggie stock) or I do a mean asparagus, which is basically asparagus and onion chopped and simmered in veg stock and blended and mixed with creme fresh x x x
  • Topsking2010
    Topsking2010 Posts: 2,245 Member
    Bump
  • runrockclimb
    runrockclimb Posts: 124
    I would say plan a few meals each week, most recipes are for at least 4 people, so one recipe has the potential to feed you for four days, lunch or dinner. Several recipes equals some variety, which is nice, and most things freeze well. Then keep snack/breakfast foods around that keep well... cereal, oatmeal is great because you can add so many different things to it to mix it up, toast, fruits like apples and oranges, granola bars (if you have an oven its cheaper to make these from scratch and there are tons of great recipes out there). Look for coupons, but don't spend too much time on it. Look at clearance meat... but make sure you check the dates.
    Also, I was point to this great website http://www.poorgirleatswell.com/ she lets you know how much a recipe costs per serving... and they all look tasty, but I haven't had a chance to try it out yet.
    Anyway, good for you for trying right of the starting line, college is rough, food and health wise, but you are off to a great start because you are aware and you care.
  • amanda_ataraxia
    amanda_ataraxia Posts: 400 Member
    Beans are a great idea- any kind of beans and they can be canned or dried. You can do so much with them. One of my favorite recipes is lentil sloppy joes. Filling, cheap, and delicious.

    http://www.edibleperspective.com/home/2011/12/22/lentil-sloppy-joes.html

    And with cooler weather coming in, vegetarian chili is always a good bet.
    Plus, these things freeze well. Make huge batches, portion out, and freeze.
  • Jenniferlynn54
    Jenniferlynn54 Posts: 19 Member
    Try to find a local farmer's market and stock up on fruits and veggie for the week =)
  • km202
    km202 Posts: 112
    I love salmon patties.
    Canned salmon, egg, bread crumbs or crackers, onion, bell pepper, lots of spices and lemon juice.
    One can of canned salmon will make about 4 salmon patties.
    Good with salad, rice or pasta.
  • codapea
    codapea Posts: 182 Member
    My favorite easy lunch right now is celery sticks, a sliced grilled chicken breast, and buffalo hot sauce (Frank's or Tabasco Buffalo) mixed into sour cream. It's 250 calories for 3 tb. of sour cream with buffalo sauce mixed in, 4 oz of celery and 4 oz of chicken and it's seem like a treat because it's tastes like a hot wing plate! I keep already cooked chicken and cut up celery sticks ready to go in my fridge. My other favorite is taco salad and I keep already cooked extra-extra lean ground beef and everything else for it cut up and ready to go so I can throw it together in a minute. All that stuff is cheap and if you just spend an hour on the weekend prepping your food for the week, there is no excuse not to go home and have a healthy meal.
  • bulbadoof
    bulbadoof Posts: 1,058 Member
    Do you like pizza? I like pizza.

    Get a pack of whole-wheat pitas and a brick of part-skim mozzarella cheese. You can either make the pizza sauce yourself or purchase it canned. Fresh toppings of your choice; my favorites are pineapple, green pepper, mushrooms, and various leftover meats. Assemble like you would a pizza and bake at 350 until the cheese melts - it usually takes me between 7 and 10 minutes. (Keep an eye on it the first couple of times, because the pita goes from chewy to perfectly crispy to burnt very quickly.) Using 1/3 to 1/4 cup of shredded cheese has never put me over 450 calories for a whole pizza (I'd say it's somewhere between the size of a 'personal' and a 'small' pizza, depending on restaurant), and it tastes exactly like a store-bought thin crust, maybe a little less greasy. Where I live, I can buy all the non-meat ingredients for 6 pizzas for under $10.

    I would not advise making these in advance as the sauce will make the pita all gross and soggy, but if you pre-shred the cheese and pre-chop all the things you'd like to put on it, the pizza takes less than 5 minutes to assemble.
  • ChapinaGrande
    ChapinaGrande Posts: 289 Member
    I cook a pound of black beans in the crock pot every week--just beans,water, and salt. Then one night, I eat a bowl of bean soup with salsa and low-fat sour cream. Another night, I make baked beans with turkey sausage. Then another night I put them in a salad or in burritos or tacos or my secret black bean brownie recipe. They are so healthy, versatile, and cheap. The most magical of all fruits. :P

    Two questions -- for the crockpot: how much water and how much salt (and is the salt necessary?) And (ok, I guess it's now really 4 questions) ---will you share your secret black bean brownie recipe?

    Despite your inaccurate question count, I will answer. :P

    I don't soak the beans, but I add enough eater to cover them by about two or three inches. This will give a lot of broth which is really filling when I eat the soup. I even drink a cup of broth when I'm hungry for a low-calorie, filling snack. I add a good tablespoon of salt to the pot after cooking because the beans don't get quite as soft if they cook with salt in the water. The salt is only for flavor, so it's optional, but unsalted bean soup makes me feel sad. Then, I rinse the beans before using in the brownies. Here's a link to the recipe since it's only as secret as the internet makes it. :)http://recipes.bushbeans.com/recipe/161701/print-friendly.aspx
    I only said it's secret because I don't tell people they are made of beans before they eat them or they get creeped out and won't try them. I blend the batter for a lot longer than the recipe says because I find the texture gritty.

    Hope that helps!
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    - chili is very cheap and filling, especially if you combine it over brown rice
    - eggs! a dozen eggs and some chopped veggies (can even use frozen just make sure to get as much water out as possible) can give you at least 2 good sized quiches that you can get several portions from each
    - chicken thighs i've found are way cheaper, much more flavorful and more difficult to dry out than chicken breast
    - canned salmon : i use this in anything i'd use canned tuna in as well as cooked salmon patties (eggs, onion, spices)
    - sweet potatoes are super cheap and add a little butter, cinnamon and a sweetener and you have a low cal high fiber dessert
    - beans! i add with spinach, tomatoes, peppers, and a little cheese over brown rice
  • stuartme123
    stuartme123 Posts: 210 Member
    Mix together some cooked brown rice, spinach, and heat until the spinach is wilted. Add some diced avocado and whatever spices you like. You could also add leftover chicken breast or whatever meat you had previously. Cheap and easy! :)

    Thanks! This post inspired my dinner tonight. Didn't have avocado, but used up the rest of my red pepper instead!
  • ShinyFuture
    ShinyFuture Posts: 314 Member
    @ChapinaGrande ---- Thank you!! (for the answers, and for giving me a pass on my inability to count). I promise I will salt the beans :-).

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