Help! Looking for Healthy, Cheap, Plan-Ahead meals...

You can cook a big pot of beans on the weekend, and use them throughout the week in different recipes.

Make ahead on the weekend: a couple of pounds of grilled chicken, any grains you particularly like, a big batch of baked sweet potatoes (not yams) or smallish regular potatoes, a dozen hardboiled eggs, some fajita meat (flank steak, more chicken, seared fish, whatever), a batch of good ground turkey or chicken meatballs, a big batch of roasted vegetables (any -- beets, zucchini, yams, asparagus, eggplant), and any beans/lentils you prefer.

Prep ahead on the weekend: many chopped vegetables (carrots shredded, chopped, or speared), cucumbers (sliced and cubed), avocado (cubed or quartered, sealed in Ziploc with 1/2 lemon juice 1/2 water mixture), cubed tofu in a Ziploc with low-sodium soy sauce and water, diced tomatoes, diced onions, sliced or diced colorful peppers, sliced olives, sliced or diced beets, sliced mushrooms (in Ziploc with water).

Keep on hand: chicken or turkey sausages/hot dogs, string cheese or whatever cheese you prefer (portioned into 1oz servings), big bags of good greens, cans of tuna in water, artichoke hearts, pickles, condiments (relish, low-fat mayo, soy sauce, good mustard, hot sauce, salsa...), frozen vegetables, cottage cheese, easy fruits (berries, cherries, pre-cut melons), quick oats, whole-grain flatbreads/wraps, whole-grain English muffins/bagels, whole-grain sandwich thins, deli meats, real bacon bits, fruit preserves, olive oil, good spices, smoked salmon if you can, unbuttered popcorn, healthy crackers.

Not that you need all of this simultaneously, but you can basically pick four items from each category and have like 50 different combinations through the week. Just grab components and assemble however you like -- stir-fries, wraps, snacks, dairy-and-fruit, healthy sandwiches, grain salads, veggie salads, tuna or chicken salads, sausage and grains with dark leafy greens, smoked salmon platters with cheese and veggies... Crap, now I'm hungry.

6 oz chicken and 3/4 cup of brown rice for a lunch

If you make a vinaigrette out of 1/2 cup balsamic or red wine vinegar, 1-2Tbsp olive oil, a little sugar (or granulated sweetener of your choice), and pepper to taste, you can make a lot of good stuff with it. Cut up some of those baked potatoes you pre-made and toss them with red onions and the vinaigrette for a healthier potato salad, pour it over green beans, garbanzos, and kidney/black beans for a three-bean salad, dice some cucumber, tomato, and onion and mix together for a gazpacho-like summer salad. You can even drizzle it over very sweet fruits like melons, or top your fish/chicken dishes with it. It really adds pizzazz to a bunch of things.

ETA: If you cook and season ground meat ahead of time, you can use it endlessly. A pound or two of ground meat, well-seasoned with chili powder, cumin, pepper, and garlic can be a salad topping, a flatbread filling, quick tacos if you pick up some shells at the store, a baked potato filler... It's pretty handy, is what I'm saying, and good seasoning makes it seem pretty decadent and unique after endless chicken-and-salad iterations.

(I will shut up now, JFC, sorry y'all, food gives me lots of feels.)

Bumping! Awesome ideas, guys. I love these. My fiancé and I are also in college. I usually make dinner beforehand and take it with me but now that I work as well I can't always do that. We only have school twice a week at night so we usually just have leftovers. These aides are great, though, wonderful for lunches and dinners! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I'm in grad school as well so I can relate to this. Preparation, especially on weekends, has been key. Here are some suggestions that have worked for me:

1. http://www.budgetbytes.com/
This website has all kinds of cheap big-batch recipes, and they're all healthy and delicious! One of my favourites is the black bean quesadilla - something I never thought to freeze, but makes a great lunch when heated in the microwave.

2. You can freeze almost anything
Freeze bags of smoothie ingredients for a quick and easy meal or snack. Individually wrap and freeze homemade muffins to eat for breakfast or bring to school. Make a large amount of lasagna, soup, chili, enchiladas, stuffed peppers, etc. and freeze them in meal-sized portions for quick reheating.

3. Keep healthy snacks around that don't expire quickly to supplement your meals
Generally cheese is good (pre-slicing your own "cheese strings" is probably cheaper and just as good). Almonds and pistachios are both reasonable, too. I have emergency granola bars (fibre 1) in my desk. I'm sure you could make your own granola bars to suit your nutrition needs and have those ready to go.

4. Always plan to make leftovers
... and bring them for lunch the next day!

bump

I've made this pasta primavera recipe before and it makes a ton! Probably enough for you and your wife to have lunch for the week and it's very healthy.

http://kfoxcooks.blogspot.com/2012/04/healthier-pasta-primavera.html

When I first started dieting I felt like I was spending so much money because I was still experimenting with what I wanted to eat. Once I figured out the foods that I kept turning to, it made it easier to go to the grocery store. I live by myself to so I try to buy foods that don't expire too quickly in bulk and ones that do expire quickly (salad stuff, fruits, milk) in smaller quantities. I finally had to tell myself that I'm not going to eat one million apples in 2 weeks, but they won't go bad if I just buy a couple.

Also, if you don't have one, you should definitely invest in a crock pot. You can make all kinds of cheap meals in them and freeze what you don't use. www.skinnytaste.com has some great recipes.

I made some caramelized onions in the crock pot with this recipe:
http://www.shockinglydelicious.com/crock-pot-caramelized-onions-slow-and-steady-does-the-trick/

They were so good and it made so much for so little money and the flavor it adds to everything from omelettes to salads to perogies is amazing!

Congrats on grad school!

bump

Once a week I cook for the week. I usually by rotisserie chickens, cut them up in 3 oz portions, that I can use whenever I need to for salads, tacos, soups, or to add to a healthy carb. I also, take 5 pounds of lean ground turkey and cook 2 pounds of it. then separate it into a pound each, add taco seasoning to one pound and put the other into spaghetti sauce. then I take 2 more pounds and separate them out into 2 separate bowls and add ingredients for feta and sundried tomato meatballs and Asian ginger meatballs. Then I make a meatloaf out of the last pound with added carrots, onions and peppers, tomato juice and quinoa as the replacement for the breadcrumbs. I love mustard on it as well. Once you have your protein choosing the rest usually comes pretty easy. I also do a lot of smoothies for meals. easy and no cooking required. I hope this helps.

What kind of beans are you talking about?

Have to try some of these!

A quick, filling side for a meal if you have a toaster oven or broiler handy...

Cut a large tomato (or two) in to wedges. I like to keep the "meat" and dredge out the soft seedy part because I'm not a fan of it. Sprinkle with salt/salt substitute (I do a combo), black pepper, garlic powder.

Sprinkle a 1/4 cup of shaved parmesan or 3-cheese Italian cheese.

Either broil in a toaster over for 8-10 minutes (Until cheese starts to brown) or perhaps use an oven to broil. I haven't tried the oven because I've had toaster ovens available at work and home. I usually put it on tin foil with some Pam spray for easy clean up