Healthy Eating on a Tight Budget

Hi! I struggle with time management, too! I find that setting aside one afternoon (like on a Sunday) for 2-3 hours will help save time on the weekdays. I will precook a few things and put them in tupperware for the next few days. There's always the option of freezing precooked meals for later, too.

I love using a George Foreman grill! It saves so much time on cooking chicken, pork chops, etc. (I throw the meat in marinade in the morning, and grill as we get home sometimes, too) We eat a lot of lean meats that are grilled/broiled/roasted along with vegetables as sides. I'll buy potatoes and cooked them on my own instead of buying the processed stuff. It doesn't take as long as one would think! I try to limit weekday cooking to half an hour. I go grocery shopping with a few core things, but will buy whatever meat is on sale and whatever vegetables are in season. I get frozen veg instead of canned, too. Not all crock pot meals are horrible.

Offhand I don't have bookmarks, but I like look up weight watchers 30 min recipes, and tons of healthy recipes are on sparkrecipes.com . (You can search by ingredient, prep time, etc). People have random good things on Pinterest. One of my favorite sites is http://www.heandsheeatclean.com/p/the-recipes.html , but the "clean eating" may be a bit extreme. I substitute everything to suit my budget and tastes.

i've got a food blog: aguiltlessglutton.wordpress.com

it's made up of healthy meals that don't take a ton of time.

I would make a meal plan at the beginning of the week, shop for the week, then pre-assemble and freeze meals on sunday nights after the kids are in bed.

It may sound silly but use a student cook book.

These are based on low cost and quick meals.

I also tend to buy stuff in bulk, as a household we by lots of stuff at once. Buy your fruit and veg from markets (so much cheaper than supermarkets) And don't be afraid to choose the value stuff, it is often just as good as the branded, and can be enhanced with cheap dried herbs and spices.

My student house (4 girls) we spend on average £8 each a week on food, and most importantly plan your meals, then you only buy what you need, not what you think you may need.

Hope this help

I'm on a South Beach-esque diet with lean meats, cheeses, veggies, light on fruit and I love going to Kayla's Kitchen. Here is a link to her slow cooker recipes.

http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2005/09/crockpot-or-pressure-cooker-recipes.html

I heard (but haven't tried) that you could also crock-pot a small raw chicken whole. Sounded delicious to me.

There are nights I get home at 7:30 and will run to the store and buy a Rotiserrie chicken on the way. It's hot and fresh and I pair it with veggies. Saves me time as it does get exhausting working so late.

There is a great thread on here for slow cooker recipes. A lot of them only need chicken or pork and a few minor ingredients, such as soup or marinades. You can serve them with rice or quinoa on the side, or put some of them in wraps. Check it out. I made two of them last week, they didn't break the bank, and there were plenty of leftovers.


ETA links....

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/864332-crock-pot-slow-cooker-recipes

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/806833-chicken-black-bean-bake

I basically plan out my meals, create a shopping list, prepare a couple of dishes over the weekend and put them in individual containers by serving size, half in freezer, half in fridge. When I have time during the week, I will cook an actual meal, but if I don't feel like cooking or have time, I just grab one of my containers, heat and eat. However I do live alone, so it may be a little easier for me.

Here's a recipe for slower cooker mexican chicken. Came out much better than I expected. It says its 481 calories per serving, but mine came out less than that.

http://www.eatcleandiet.com/food_and_recipes/clean_recipe/slow-cooker_mexican_chicken.aspx#.UQrSLR3AdBE

Cook with beans - you can make them ahead and doctor them quickly if the budget is really tight, but even canned beans are cheaper than a lot of the alternatives.

I make three bean salad with one can each kidney, garbanzo and green, some onion, a drizzle of olive oil and a splash of vinegar. Stores well and it is filling on a hot night.

I make lentil taco meat, as well: cook the lentils and season like tacos. Cumin, cayenne, salt and onion are sufficient if you don't want to use prepared seasoning. Made ahead, this heats well. We use this with salads or on top of polenta with refried beans, salsa and cheese. Tastes just like nachos, but it does require a fork. I have even had it without the polenta.

Don't forget eggs! Hard boiled eggs are easy to grab, but they can also be scrambled for supper.

Spaghetti squash cooks up well ahead of time, as do most shaped pastas. Just heat and serve with your favorite sauce. I use ground turkey, but you could always experiment with beans for protein. Or tempeh. Is cheaper?

Speaking from my own experience, I like to get my shopping and prepping out of the way on Sunday.
I only shop the perimeter of the store, no processed foods at all - which saves me money. I prep and repackage on Sundays. That is, I split up and freeze the portions of the family packs of meat I get and won't use that week. I prep the slow cooker for a Monday meal. I slice all my vegetables that need it and freeze things like onions and bell peppers. They are composed of so much water and are in small enough pieces that they cook the same straight from the freezer. I wash enough lettuce for salads Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday and leave the salad spinner in the fridge with the lettuce covered in a damp paper towel to keep it crisp. I have to do this again on Wednesday night or Thursday night (gets "soggy" if left too long...).

The biggest help is I sit down with my sale papers on Wednesday when they come in the mail here and take 30 minutes to plan my protein for the week, sometimes doubling up like having pork loin twice or chicken legs twice so I don't have to freeze them. Then I look at the produce and fill in two vegetables per meal, including frozen (the only thing I leave the perimeter of the store for generally). As I add things to my weekly menu I add them to my shopping list, noting the prices beside the items. If 3-4 stores have REALLY low prices on meat or veggies I suck it up and go to Wal-Mart for the price matching. If I not, I go to the ONE store with the best deals.

Then I carefully check the sell by dates on my meat and note anything that will be past its prime before I'm scheduled to eat it on my list with a star so I know I need to move it up in my meal plan. I carefully watch the register when I'm rung up.

Another tip, before I went gluten free, I made a loaf or two of bread on Sundays to last the week.

As for slow cooker meals being not so nutritious, try potting a whole chicken! I stock up when they are 88 cents a pound and generally this is what I put in the slow cooker on Sunday night to have ready Monday. (I let it cook while I'm at work on Monday, my crock comes out so I put it in the fridge Sunday night and pull it out Monday morning) Then you have tons of options for meals for Monday night or Tuesday. Like soup, chicken and dumplings, chicken enchiladas, chicken spaghetti, chicken salad, etc. My food blog has these recipes and more tips: adriennecooks.com