poor mans low calorie meal options

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.

Rice, pasta, dry beans, whole chickens, ground beef etc can all be had for relatively cheap and easy to make dishes with

With the ground beef--- brown up the meat... drain the fat... return to the pan...season with salt and pepper to taste...add some mixed veggies and bam you have a nice quick, easy and healthy meal.

Whole grain tortillas, cans of refried or black beans (cheap!) cut up some red/yellow peppers, hot sauce is great on everything! canned tomato (drain it!) hummus, i eat these veggie style fajitas alot. they are so yummy and super easy to make. you can even add chicken if u want

Thank you I love this Website!!

http://www.budgetbytes.com/2013/08/roasted-vegetable-chickpea-salad/

I make split pea soup for about 80 cents to fill my crock pot. Recipe is in my blog. If you are looking to only use what you have in your cupboards it would help to have some idea of what that is. Otherwise for $200 a month I feed 2 large adults a total of about 4500 calories a day.

Home made soups, eggs, baked potato w/ steamed broccoli, topped with whatever you like.You can make pizza's made from wheat English muffins, sauce, and top with whatever you like.. Use a crockpot if you really don't like cooking much...

Bump. I checked it out real quick......looks good. Will definitely revisit

I agree with the leftovers comment. Here are some casseroles I make because they are inexpensive and leave leftovers. My mother cooked these and we loved them as children.

Chicken and Rice Casserole
3 thawed chicken breasts $4
2 cups brown rice or white rice $1.50
2 cans cream of mushroom soup $3
2 cups water (we use the empty soup can) free
1 small can sweet peas drained or 1/2 bag frozen peas (also can use diced celery or carrots if you have them) $1
Seasoning of choice

Mix the rice, soup, water, and veggie in a 9X13 casserole dish. Lay the chicken breasts into it. Sprinkle the top with some seasoning (paprika or seasoned salt is good). Cover with tinfoil and bake at 375 degrees F for 70 minutes if using brown rice or 55 minutes if using white rice. Take it out and test the rice (white rice cooks faster than brown) and make sure the chicken is done. This feeds 2 people 3 or 4 times for around $10. We usually eat this with green beans on the side.

Easy Chicken Spaghetti
3 chicken breasts $4
1 small package spaghetti noodles or 1/2 or a larger package $2
1 can rotel $1.50
1 can cream of chicken soup $1.50
Can or frozen sweet peas or corn drained $1
8 oz sharp cheddar $2.50

Boil the chicken breasts in salted water until cooked. Take the chicken out of the water and boil the noodles in the same water. Cut up the chicken into bite size pieces. Mix the rotel, soup, peas, and chicken in a 9X13 casserole dish. When the noodles are cooked, drain them and add them to the chicken mix and stir well. Cover this with the cheese. Bake covered at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes. Take the foil off and bake for another 5 minutes to brown the cheese. Makes 6-8 servings.

When we make tacos or fajitas, I will use the leftover tortillas to make a kind of quesadilla. Put some cheese and black beans between two tortillas and cook in a non-stick skillet like a grilled cheese. Cut into triangles and dip into salsa or sour cream.

And an egg and cheese sandwhich with a little jelly is not so bad either.

Butternut squash soup: Ingredients are 1 butternut squash, 1 small Vidalia onion diced, 3 jalapeno peppers diced and seeded, if you like spice, 8 ounces of heavy cream, and 4 ounces of skim milk or 1% milk, 2 tablespoons of butter or coconut oil, 1 tablespoon of fresh ginger grated, 1 can of chicken broth, low sodium, and salt and pepper. You can rinse the squash off, cut it in half, seed it and place it in a glass lasagna dish, submerged in some water, slightly covering the top of the squash. Put it in a preheated oven for about 45 minutes on 350 degrees. Then, take it out, let it cool some, then remove the skin.

Meanwhile, put 2 tablespoons of butter or coconut oil in a large pan or dutch oven until melted on medium heat. Then throw in your diced jalapenos, diced onion, and grated ginger root. Let it cook and sauté in the oil for about 7 minutes. Then add the squash and chicken broth. Then stir it all together. Then add the cream and the milk. Stir it together once more and remove from the heat. Then add in about a teaspoon of kosher salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Stir. Then, add it to the blender, filling the blender half full and covering the top with a towel. Pulse it until it has a smooth consistency. Serve it in a bowl. Garnish with croutons, thyme, and parsley.

This is a quick filling meal, inexpensive, because you can always use evaporated milk or coconut milk, if you don't want to use the heavy cream of 1%milk, just as long as it is milk. You can omit the jalapenos if you want, but it gives it a nice kick and the coconut oil, gives it a Thai flare, but coconut milk probably would do just as well too. Do not forget the ginger root!


Another one is Mexican Casserole: Ingredients: 1 pound lean ground beef, 2 cups salsa, 1-16oz can of dark red kidney beans, drained, 1-1/2 cups of tortilla chips crusted, 2 soft tortillas, 2 cups of sour cream, greek yogurt or plain yogurt., 1 (2ounce can of black olives drained, 1/2 cup chopped green onions, 1/2 cup diced tomatoes, 2 cups of shredded cheese.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook ground beef. Stir in salsa, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed. Stir in beans and heat through. Spray a 9X13 baking dish with cooking spray. Place 2 tortilla wraps at the bottom of the dish, then spread crusted tortilla chips in the dish on top of tortilla wraps. The wraps should be side by side of each other. Then spoon beef mixture over chips, spread sour cream over beef, sprinkle olives, green onions, and tomato over sour cream. Top with cheddar cheese or Mexican-style cheese. Bake in preheated oven until cheese is melted, 30 minutes or less.