poor mans low calorie meal options

Dried beans are cheaper but more work. Canned beans are still relatively cheap and work well in tacos or vegetarian chili with lots of green pepper and onion ( I also like adding carrots and celery). Rice has gotten more expensive but still relatively cheap. I also throw cheaper cuts of beef with some onion and seasoning into a crock pot and make stew without too much fuss.

Soup, chili, red beans and rice, etc all are pretty cheap. I don't know how low cal you're talking... I like hummus wraps in summer with veggies.

Mostly, if you buy cheaper cuts of meat, cook from scratch and stay away from processed foods (you can also save good money not buying stuff like cokes and just drinking water) you will save money on groceries. Frozen veggies and in season produce will also help.

I add chicken or tuna to either canned or frozen mixes veggies with a couple tablespoons of bbq/buffalo/teriyaki sauce... Everything is better covered in sauce. It's pretty in expensive as well to take a low-calorie soup you like and beef it up with more protein and more veggies to make it last longer.

Chicken breast in bulk. I get mine at Walmart for $1.99 a pound. Frozen veggies and/or veggies from the farmers market. Canned or dried beans.

I get $1 frozen vegetables at Kroger. They have lots of different kinds. I also buy a lot of ground turkey and brown it with a little seasoning. It's great for portioning and you can make A LOT of different types of meals with it! Eggs are packed in protein and reasonably cheap as well.

big bags of raw spinach (you can eat raw as a salad or cook it up). I like to make a salad with eggs (also cheap) canned beets (more cheap), and homemade dressing (yellow mustard, apple cider vinegar, and spices - cheap if you already have the spices).

Frozen chicken breasts can be less expensive then fresh, and while processed, they are very low in calories, and would add a protein to the above. You also have canned chicken, but I prefer the frozen. You can marinate these in whatever, heck, even the dressing I mentioned before.

veggies from farmers markets are often cheaper than at the grocery, and often more fresh as well

canned tomatoes can be used to make other veggies go further (so add to zucchini or mushrooms to bulk up for less). I also agree with the lesser cuts on steak (marinating it will make it more tender, or stewing it in some canned tomatoes as well). It also has a tendency to be leaner, and therefore lower in calories.

Cauliflower is also a good one. We boil two heads and mash it up - add salt/pepper/garlic and it serves as a fake carb to go under anything (kind of like mashed potatoes).

We also like to shop the sales, and then come up with recipes on the fly depending on what we've bought. It takes some effort, but if you shop a few times a week (like at the farmers market or when the sale hits) you can also save more money vs. stocking up when things aren't on sale.

oh.. .and soup ... easy & cheap to make... we tend to make french onion, vegetable chili, and squash soup

Ok so my fiancé and I are planning our wedding and we had a huge financial snag this month so are looking to spend way less on groceries. So my question is i need ideas for cheap meals but good meals and meals that do not include a lot of ingredients as they cost to much to buy if we don't already have. Examples that work well with us. Cheeseburgers, grilled chicken, tacos, sandwiches. Obviously these are NOT the things that we would choose to eat but wanted to provide examples of how "easy" i am looking it may sound like a lame question but i really can't think of meal ideas. Now comes the even harder part. We do not eat seafood of any kind so fish is out. Even if you know of prepackaged/processed BUT lower in calorie ideas that would be great.

Look through my diary. I have maybe ~$150/month to spend on groceries, and I make it work. All the stuff I eat is pretty inexpensive.

I'm a big fan of the frozen "family sized" bags of tilapia, chicken, etc. Canned veggies and beans are cheap too. Pasta is relatively inexpensive depending on the brand.

If you use dry beans I would just stick them in the crock pot for 2-3 hours on high. It is the easier and fastest way to cook your beans.

Regarding cheap easy to cook meals:

frozen veggies and shopping at whole stores (like BJs, Sams Club, Costco) you can purchase protein.

We like to do two veggies and a protein for dinners. My husband needs a carb as well so I will make up a pot of rice on Sunday or heat up some tortillas to eat with his protein. The rice lasts about a week in the refrigerator and he can have as much or as little as he wants.

Cheeseburgers, grilled chicken, tacos, sandwiches. Obviously these are NOT the things that we would choose to eat

Why would you NOT choose to eat these things? There is nothing wrong with these things. I grill up homemade cheeseburgers at least once per week. We also have a taco night once per week. Grilled chicken (various seasonings and/or marinades) is a staple in my home.

Burgers with corn on the cob (corn is in season right now, you should be able to get it cheap); maybe a side of green beans. Serve up a couple of tacos with a fresh garden salad for a side. I do all manner of side dishes with grilled chicken...tomorrow I'll be doing some chicken marinated in Italian dressing with a side of roasted potatoes and roasted broccoli.

Eggs, dried beans, last chance fresh produce/bakery goods, frozen veggies plus rice/pastas.

We have Aldi's and Save A Lots in my ares -- definitely check out any discount grocers in your area and keep an eye on sale papers!

I get $1 frozen vegetables at Kroger. They have lots of different kinds. I also buy a lot of ground turkey and brown it with a little seasoning. It's great for portioning and you can make A LOT of different types of meals with it! Eggs are packed in protein and reasonably cheap as well.

I agree ^^ many times frozen vegetables are cheap and really versatile. You can make soups, stews, casseroles, or just steam them for a side dish. Look for meat sales, our grocery store will most of the time have Family Pack meats on sale cheaper than the individual packs, we just separate them in smaller ziploc bags and freeze whatever we dont need right away. OR you could use the meat to make multiple meals through out the week. We eat tons of Eggs at our house and they are cheap also.

This thread is relevant to my interest. Lots of good suggestions. Bumping for later referencing.

The dry beans are the best idea. We ate a lot of these in our broke days. To make them super simple and yummy, soak over night, the next morning, rinse, add to a crockpot with some onion, garlic (and my secret ingredient Chicken Tomato boullion), cover with water set it on low. come back at the end of the day and you have a big pot of yummy beans. Use these with torillas, rice, taco salad, throw an egg on top, top with fresh tomatoes and shredded cheese, add a little more broth for soup, you can do a lot with beans and they don't come any cheaper.

Bumping for reading later. Great info and suggestions!