PLEASE HELP- healthy, filling foods on a tight budget?

Lentils. They are $1.00 a pound in my area, and are full of protein and fiber, and are low cal.

Also 100% whole grain pasta can be healthy and low cal as long as you watch portion sizes. It typically runs around $1.00-$1.50 a box (which normally has seven servings). You can top it with canned pasta sauce (which is low cal just look for brands that don't add sugar) the canned type of pasta sauce is generally $1.00. Cheap protein sources are canned tuna fish, and tofu, and dry legumes. Legumes are all very high in protein and fiber. For breakfast you can buy a old fashioned oats.

Www.hillbillyhousewife.com and www.heavenlyhomemakers both have great recipes that are nutritious and in most cases, inexpensive. Hillbilly housewife in particular has a recipe for taco style lentils and rice. Lots of protein and you can eat the dish as is or as a soft taco or burrito. My son, who is super picky, loves the stuff.

A rotisserie chicken is about $5 and you can get several meals out of it. Add a salad, which can be very inexpensive, especially this time of year and you've got a good meal.

Homemade veggie beef soups are good.

Breakfast for supper is always good and fairly cheap yet nutritious. And for breakfast, eggs and oatmeal are always good choices for nutrition as well as price.

A russet baked potato smothered in cottage cheese with a sprinkling of chives (you can grow them in a pot on your kitchen window sill). It is filling and cheap and nourishing.

Eggs are always a good option as they are pretty much a perfect protein and reasonably inexpensive.

Steel-cut oats are inexpensive, higher in protein than conventional oatmeal and are delicious.

You can go to the farmer's markets and get really good deals on vegetables. Freezing them for the winter isn't hard--all you have to do is parboil them and spread them on cookie sheets and place them in the freezer. When they are frozen, you load them into bags. You can freeze soup vegetables in bags like that and then they are always ready to make soup.

Shop the meat specials for things like stew/soup meat. Soups and stews are very filling and nutritious.

Beans and rice are a staple food in many places because the protein in the rice completes the protein in the beans. You spice them up and pop some cheddar on top and put them in the oven until the cheese gets melty. Delicious, filling and cheap.

I forgot to mention hummus. That is a staple food at our house. I don't eat wheat but my husband loads a couple of pita breads with a spinach-flavored hummus (that I make), cucumbers and peppers. One of his favorite dinners. He doesn't eat dairy but the wheat and chickpeas in combination yield a fair bit of protein. You could put in a bit of meat or cheese to boost the protein level. Hummus is VERY filling.

Brown rice,whole wheat pasta with (cheap) generic frozen vegies with any type of beans. You can buy an entire bag,very cheap. If you buy canned,make sure you rinse them,as they have quite a bit of sodium. Check your local grocery store for sales on chicken or beef. If there is a good sale,try to buy a good amount,and then cook and freeze in individual servings. Go to groupon.com for coupons. I also like low carb,high fiber tortilla's. I toast the tortilla in the skillet,with a little olive oil,mash some beans,put salsa,a little fat free cheese and it's a filling,healthy meal. I buy grapes(on sale) and put them in individual servings(15 grapes) and freeze them. It will nip your sweet tooth. Try your best to stay away from too much processed food. Don't buy anything with more than 3 ingredients listed,as it is usually all chemicals,if not. Sometimes,you have to be creative,and look for ways to eat healthy and be on a budget. Wish you the best!

could you say what size your family is?

You just had a baby if you are breastfeeding you can not eat like you would otherwise. Your body needs more calories and in theory should be eating a more balanced diet (although that has been argued) . If not then someone mentioned thehillbillyhousewife website. Dry beans are really cheap, fill you up, and are very diverse.

How many people are in your family?

Like others have said, sticking to whole foods is your best bet.

Buy fruits and vegetables in season (strawberries are dirt cheap here at the moment).

Soup and Chili.

Beans, lentils, whole chickens, eggs.

Whole grains. Brown rice, pasta and breads.

If you and your baby make up your whole family then you should be OK with that, now if you're family is larger I can see how much tougher it can get.