Okay help please

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  • loveyourselfbabe
    loveyourselfbabe Posts: 11
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    I actually helped keep my food costs down a bit by growing some of my own veggies. I live in apartment and have a patio. I have 2 tomato plants, strawberries, cucumbers, lettuce and fresh herbs of all kinds. In USA, cost about $2 per starter plant or $1 for seeds. I live in the south with a longer growing season. I planted in early April and will still continue to have veggies and herbs to pick through most of October. Patio garden takes very little effort to maintain and there is nothing like going to your own plants and picking your dinner. 10 feet from garden to plate. Can't get any fresher than that.

    I can't grow a garden 1) My housemate's dogs would dig it up, 2) it's going into Summer here and Summer means droughts, which means water restrictions, 3) Costs for top soil are kinda expensive over here when I don't have money to spare. At all.

    If i wanted a garden, i would have asked for that. I'm asking for recipes.
    Can you PLEASE read the full thread before replying?
  • okidoki7
    okidoki7 Posts: 151 Member
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    try googling healthy budget recipes, i just did and LOTS came up :happy:
  • greendragon
    greendragon Posts: 8 Member
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    This is how I make a pretty simple pasta sauce. I'm not really much of a cook but this is something I can throw together fairly easily. The biggest dangers are burning the onions or not reducing it enough so the sauce is watery.

    For about three portions I'd probably use:
    1tsp oil
    1 onion
    2 cloves of garlic
    1 red pepper
    1/3 of a courgette (I think this is a zucchini)
    6 closed cup mushrooms
    1 tin chopped tomatoes
    1 vegetable stock cube
    1 tsp tomato puree
    a sprinkling of various herbs - basil, thyme, oregano and rosemary are my usuals, but you can also buy mixed herbs which are good if you just want to use them all

    Start by chopping the onions and garlic. Then heat the oil - get it nice and warm so it glides around the pan easily. Now you can add the onions and garlic and turn the heat down. You want to wait for the onions to soften so keep an eye on it, but in the meantime you can chop the rest of the vegetables. When the onions are soft dissolve the stock in about 150ml water and add it to the pan. Throw in all the veg, the herbs, and the chopped tomatoes, and the tomato puree (I think that's everything). Start cooking pasta. Bubble the sauce gently until it's not too liquid, then you're done.

    I don't eat much meat so you might want to adjust serving sizes if you're eating meat with it.
    Adding chopped bacon at the same time as the onions makes it a fantastic meal (if you do this you don't need any oil - bacon is fatty enough) - make sure the bacon is cooked before adding the stock and vegetables etc.
    Adding red lentils can be good if you just want some extra protein but it doesn't do wonders for the texture.
    The vegetables can be swapped around for whatever you have. Adding chopped up cherry or salad tomatoes is excellent if you want a really tomatoey sauce.
  • loveyourselfbabe
    loveyourselfbabe Posts: 11
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    This is how I make a pretty simple pasta sauce. I'm not really much of a cook but this is something I can throw together fairly easily. The biggest dangers are burning the onions or not reducing it enough so the sauce is watery.

    For about three portions I'd probably use:
    1tsp oil
    1 onion
    2 cloves of garlic
    1 red pepper
    1/3 of a courgette (I think this is a zucchini)
    6 closed cup mushrooms
    1 tin chopped tomatoes
    1 vegetable stock cube
    1 tsp tomato puree
    a sprinkling of various herbs - basil, thyme, oregano and rosemary are my usuals, but you can also buy mixed herbs which are good if you just want to use them all

    Start by chopping the onions and garlic. Then heat the oil - get it nice and warm so it glides around the pan easily. Now you can add the onions and garlic and turn the heat down. You want to wait for the onions to soften so keep an eye on it, but in the meantime you can chop the rest of the vegetables. When the onions are soft dissolve the stock in about 150ml water and add it to the pan. Throw in all the veg, the herbs, and the chopped tomatoes, and the tomato puree (I think that's everything). Start cooking pasta. Bubble the sauce gently until it's not too liquid, then you're done.

    I don't eat much meat so you might want to adjust serving sizes if you're eating meat with it.
    Adding chopped bacon at the same time as the onions makes it a fantastic meal (if you do this you don't need any oil - bacon is fatty enough) - make sure the bacon is cooked before adding the stock and vegetables etc.
    Adding red lentils can be good if you just want some extra protein but it doesn't do wonders for the texture.
    The vegetables can be swapped around for whatever you have. Adding chopped up cherry or salad tomatoes is excellent if you want a really tomatoey sauce.

    Thank you so much! This sounds a lot like the recipe my housemate and I used a month ago
  • luvmybeebees
    luvmybeebees Posts: 681 Member
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    Lots of good ideas here!
  • sammyjo0402
    sammyjo0402 Posts: 106 Member
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    A few basic items I'd first invest in getting in some non-fat greek yogurt, non-fat cottage cheese, skim milk, eggs (you can always choose to not use the yolk), whole wheat or sprouted wheat bread, tomatoes, lettuce or salad, tuna and other lean meats, and different fruits and vegetables.

    One recipe I made the other day was super quick, delicious and healthy was a tuna pasta salad.
    3 cups whole wheat pasta (I used garofalos farafali bow tie noodles)
    2 cans of tuna
    3/4 of a tomato, chopped
    1tbsp minced garlic
    1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
    2tbsp. parmesan cheese
    3 tbsp. reduced fat catalina dressing *this was a recipe of my own and I personally thought this was yummy, you could use olive oil, reduced fat mayo.. whatever you have or find that's low fat*

    On a skillet heat your tuna, tomato, garlic and red pepper. Doesn't have to be for long just brown the tuna slightly. Boil your noodles, drain and place in large bowl. Add the contents in the skillet and stir then add your cheese and dressing and voila! Tuna pasta salad (: good warm or cold. I prefer to have it after it's been in the fridge.. very very good.

    I love to make omelots using peppers, tomato, zucchini, any type of lean meat -roast beef, ham, chicken-, low fat cheese, and some hot sauce. Good low cal, low carb, low fat and high protein breakfasts.

    Make burritos! Just use some canned beans (Again low-fat is best), cheese, tomato, you can add meat if you like, and use whole wheat tortillas. I suggest using a multigrain tortilla with flax...

    Salad was a good idea.. add peas, hardboiled egg with the yolk removed, some multigrain cracker, cheese, tomato, light dressing, lean meat, low-fat beans... anything you can think of.

    http://caloriecount.about.com/dan-good-chili-b582926 <<this is a wonderful chili recipe I found and tried. I didn't have all the ingredients but it was delicious!

    http://www.pbfingers.com/2012/04/15/banana-protein-pancakes/ <<<Wonderful!!!! Tastes so delicious and doesn't use any flour.. so it's super healthy and satisfied my pancake crave... top with some jam or pb and fruit.

    Hope those help... I have lots more (: but that gives you a few ideas.
  • loveyourselfbabe
    loveyourselfbabe Posts: 11
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    A few basic items I'd first invest in getting in some non-fat greek yogurt, non-fat cottage cheese, skim milk, eggs (you can always choose to not use the yolk), whole wheat or sprouted wheat bread, tomatoes, lettuce or salad, tuna and other lean meats, and different fruits and vegetables.

    One recipe I made the other day was super quick, delicious and healthy was a tuna pasta salad.
    3 cups whole wheat pasta (I used garofalos farafali bow tie noodles)
    2 cans of tuna
    3/4 of a tomato, chopped
    1tbsp minced garlic
    1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
    2tbsp. parmesan cheese
    3 tbsp. reduced fat catalina dressing *this was a recipe of my own and I personally thought this was yummy, you could use olive oil, reduced fat mayo.. whatever you have or find that's low fat*

    On a skillet heat your tuna, tomato, garlic and red pepper. Doesn't have to be for long just brown the tuna slightly. Boil your noodles, drain and place in large bowl. Add the contents in the skillet and stir then add your cheese and dressing and voila! Tuna pasta salad (: good warm or cold. I prefer to have it after it's been in the fridge.. very very good.

    I love to make omelots using peppers, tomato, zucchini, any type of lean meat -roast beef, ham, chicken-, low fat cheese, and some hot sauce. Good low cal, low carb, low fat and high protein breakfasts.

    Make burritos! Just use some canned beans (Again low-fat is best), cheese, tomato, you can add meat if you like, and use whole wheat tortillas. I suggest using a multigrain tortilla with flax...

    Salad was a good idea.. add peas, hardboiled egg with the yolk removed, some multigrain cracker, cheese, tomato, light dressing, lean meat, low-fat beans... anything you can think of.

    http://caloriecount.about.com/dan-good-chili-b582926 <<this is a wonderful chili recipe I found and tried. I didn't have all the ingredients but it was delicious!

    http://www.pbfingers.com/2012/04/15/banana-protein-pancakes/ <<<Wonderful!!!! Tastes so delicious and doesn't use any flour.. so it's super healthy and satisfied my pancake crave... top with some jam or pb and fruit.

    Hope those help... I have lots more (: but that gives you a few ideas.

    Thank you so so much! I'm going to use that tuna pasta salad because I've got tuna and pasta readily available >.<
    Oh all of those sound so yummy
  • iambuttercup
    iambuttercup Posts: 31 Member
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    Basic soup recipe

    Saute an onion in a tbsp olive oil till glossy
    Optional: add a couple of cloves of garlic chopped or a tsp garlic powder
    Add vegetable : i use either a couple of zuchinni, or a head of cauliflower or a bunch of carrots.
    Add one potato as well, it will help to give it body
    Add a water to cover ( about 4 cups) and bouillon cubes or powder
    Bring to boil then reduce and cook for 15 minutes
    Use immersion blender to blend soup into creamy consistency
    Or let cool and blend in blender

    Season with pepper and salt, you can add curry powder for cauli, ginger and coriander to carrot
    Serve with a dollop of yoghurt, or some croutons

    I make a big pot and freeze them, they take no time to reheat and enjoy, can also be beefed up with rice or beans added
  • sammyjo0402
    sammyjo0402 Posts: 106 Member
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    You're welcome (: and yes the pasta is super good... I still have some leftover I am eating right this moment lol. I added a little bit of skinless chicken breast to up the protein and a few nuts to leave me feeling full for awhile. Always wonderful ways to make things healthy and filling.
  • cramernh
    cramernh Posts: 3,335 Member
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    soups and stews that incorporate a variety of beans and vegetables is always a great go-to healthy meal. In Australia, find some inspiration from China town.. they have PLENTY of dishes that are extremely inexpensive.. Im sure you have plenty of asian stores there...

    A good soup that is from India is called "Daal" or "Dahl".. its a lentil soup with a variety of spices, onion and tomato. You can easily bulk it up with spinach, kale, or whatever else vegetable you like. The lentils really do fill you up and its a hearty soup!

    A bulk homemade tomato base can easily be made for making tomato soup, sauces, etc.

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