Very very cheap healthy meal ideas

Frozen veggies are your friend. I've been known to cook an eat an entire 2lb bag of frozen spinach by myself. >.<

Rice and beans, rice and beans. Rice and beans! More beans than rice, for the protein. Season with soy sauce and a little oil.

Can you grow some veggies? Some things do really well even in containers on a balcony. Lettuces, kale and strawberries are good things to plant this time of year.

I have no advice on mixing things up or recipes or whatnot. I'm the worst at that stuff. I'm a little bit of a food minimalist, I like things simple and repetitive. (Rice and beans!)

How about a stir-fry for dinner?
Brown rice (super cheap!) with different veggies (great and affordable: cabbage, carrots, broccoli, mushrooms, onions), scramble in some eggs for protein, season with stir fry sauce, soy sauce, some peanut butter, hot sauce, whatever you fancy.
You could also use tofu instead of the eggs.

Or a vegetarian chili, canned beans, tomatoes, corn, some spices. Top with sour cream or greek yogurt, shredded cheese. Can also be served over rice or with cornbread (cornbread mix can be bought for under 1$).

my local dollar store has frozen veggies...

invest in a rice cooker, you can buy some pretty cheap ones at crazy clarks or similar discount places. even perhaps put one on layby and pay it off over a couple of paydays, perfect rice every time then. i know as i cant cook rice either. go to your public library and check out the cookbooks, sometimes you can get some cheap and versatile recipes from them. just take a pad and pen and write it out that way you dont have to pay for the printout from a computer.

Unfortunately I'm moving out of state in about a month so growing anything myself is out.

I do really really like rice and beans, same with stir fries. I just need to learn how to cook rice lol I have this crazy mental block with it where no matter how hard I try it always ends up crunchy or overcooked lol.

I'll work on that and try some stir fries and rice and bean dishes. Especially spanish rice and beans that is one of my absolute favorite foods from Mexican restaurants.

If you're just going to stir the rice in with beans and stuff, you can take the easy way out and cook it in an excess amount of water and drain it when it's done.

If you want to really learn how to cook rice, though, here is where I learned how to cook rice on the stovetop: http://justhungry.com/2003/11/japanese_basics_1.html

It takes practice, because the amount of water and cooking times vary not only on the type of rice, but the air temperature and humidity, the age of the rice, etc. You have to play around with it until you find what works for you. Practice, practice, practice.

Lentils are super cheap. Couscous goes a long way, too and it's a no brainer in terms of cooking (just soak it in hot water for a few minutes). You can get a big bag and just cook 1/3 of a cup at a time and add it to some lentils that you cook in advance. Very filling. If you want to get fancy, add cumin and sautee some onion to mix in. It's nice with a yogurt cucumber sauce on the side.

Yum! That sounds great! I'm going to have that one night Thanks!

I love black beans and shells it's pretty easy too.

You can do this with dried black beans or canned, but canned are way expensive.

So, make a pot of black beans you will have more than the cup and a half this recipe calls for.


Black Beans and Shells

1 1/2 cup prepared black beans

2 tomatoes or can of diced tomato if you are making the tomato from scratch dice it and saute it in a little oil you can also saute an onion first and then add the tomato after the onion is clear Add a little vegetable broth too if you are doing this homemade

1 cup of cooked shells

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic

add some cumin, chili powder, or as much cayenne as you can tolerate or not

salt to taste

Serves one or two depending on your macros and if you are going to have a salad or some other sides.

If I am in a lazy mood most my ingredients are canned. But, it tastes really good either way. Oh and if you are using canned black beans drain and rinse cuz they are pretty high in sodium. If you use canned tomatoes you will be likely be over on your sodium intake for the day, but this doesn't turn out well with drained canned tomatoes, so if you absolutely have to avoid sodium fresh tomatoes is a much better choice.

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also - a link to cook perfect rice

http://summertomato.com/simple-gourmet-rice-for-dummies/

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Lentils are great, you can make Dahl with lentils, onion, spices, and tomatoes (tinned or fresh) are optional. You can add them to bulk up soups and stews too.

Chickpeas are awesome for adding to soups, salads, making into houmous, roasting them in your choice of seasoning for a crunchy and filling snack.

I make La Carmina's Bean Chilli from her Cute Yummy Time book, which is just different types of canned beans (you can choose what you like, you don't have to follow hers exactly, i tend to use a tin of mixed beans, a tin of kidney beans, and a tin of chickpeas) with tomatoes, oregano, jalapenos, and some other little extras. It's really cheap, easy, filling and you can make a big batch for the week. The recipes probably online but I have her book, so if you can't find it and want to know how to make it feel free to message me.

Chicken thighs are cheaper than breast and healthy so long as you remove the skin, they have a lot more flavour too and the bones can be used for homemade stock.

IDK what it's like in America, but here food is marked down the day before it's shelf life is up, so I tend to just buy whatever fruits, veggies, and meats are on offer at my local shops and safe a HUGE amount of money like that. I completely ignore use by dates, things tend to be good for at least a few days after those dates.

It's been said before but yeah, frozen veggies are awesome, and brown rice is super cheap in bulk.

I can't cook rice either

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