cheap, easy meal ideas? (for breakfast/lunch/dinner)

anaboneana
anaboneana Posts: 195 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm looking for ideas and I'd love to know what you all eat throughout the day.


Thanks for your help!

Replies

  • VelvetMorning
    VelvetMorning Posts: 398 Member
    You are going to get a lot of different opinions, different dietary choices and different nutrition view points! This is going to be a very interesting and hopefully enlightening thread. As for myself, I tend to eat a lot of fresh produce. The calories are low, the produce can be found cheap at discount markets (look for small stores; big names tend to up charge) and there is nothing easier than peeling a banana or eating an apple! :-) I also eat a lot of rice which is extremely economical and filling!
  • F00LofaT00K
    F00LofaT00K Posts: 688 Member
    I'll message you more recipes sometime today. I'm making this chili in a few days. It makes about 6Q and is about 24-1 cup servings (or 12- 2 cup servings is what I usually get from it... it's pretty dang good...) If you don't have some of the ingredients on hand, it may be a bit of money (cocoa powder, worcestershire sauce and the spices) but those will last you a while and it does make a LOT of food.

    2- 15oz cans black beans
    2- 15oz cans light red kidney beans
    2- 15oz cans dark red kidney beans
    1 cup frozen corn
    1/2 cup frozen onion
    2 large green bell peppers
    1- 29oz can tomato sauce
    1/3 cup worcestershire sauce OR apple cider vinegar for vegetarian chilli
    1 Tbsp garlic powder
    1/2 Tbsp ground black pepper
    1 Tbsp ground cayenne pepper
    1 Tbsp cumin
    1 Tbsp basil
    3 Tbsp chili powder
    2 Tbsp cocoa powder
    2 Tbsp brown sugar

    Mix all ingredients in 6 quart crock pot or 6 quart stove-top pot. Stir ingredients together well.

    For crockpot: cook on low heat for 4-6 hours or until peppers are a bit tender and chili is hot.
    For stove-top: bring to a simmer, stirring often and reduce heat to low. Allow to cook for 4 hours or until peppers are a bit tender and chili is hot. Be sure to stir often while cooking.
  • fruttibiscotti
    fruttibiscotti Posts: 986 Member
    Vegetables: buy frozen vegetables (cheaper than fresh) and fry in butter (also cheap), or buy cabbage (real cheap) and fry in butter. Keep an eye out for frozen veg on sale, and buy many bags when cheaper price. If you find olive oil on sale, you can use that in lieu of butter. If you have bacon drippings or beef rendered drippings, as left over, use that instead of butter to fry. Save your rendered meat drippings and reuse to cook with. Learn how to plant a veg garden, some veg are easy to grow, and go crazy on you, you will be giving them away (cucumbers and zucchinis). This is the way our grand parents and great grand parents used to cook and eat - much less obesity, diabetes, etc, in those days than today.

    Protein: bacon, pretty cheap. Ground meats, pretty cheap too. Keep an eye out always for meat that is on sale - adjust your meal plans on what you find on sale. Don't buy chicken in pieces, buy whole chicken and learn how to cut into pieces. And then use the remainder bones and skins to make broth. Broth is a great base for soups and stews. Eggs are super cheap and great source of proteins/fat. So many ways to prepare them: scrambled, poached, fried, frittata, omelettes, boiled, salad, devilled. Tuna and salmon in cans, pretty cheap. Don't buy prepared tomato sauce, buy canned tomatoes (cheap) and make the sauce (tomatoes, ground meat, salt, pepper and spice if desired). Don't buy your spices in little fancy containers either, get them from bulk or plastic pouches.

    Don't buy any of the crazy weight loss concoctions like powders, pills, bars. Eat REAL food. If you don't know how to cook, then learn! Tons of recipes and how-to-cook advice for free on the internet, don't buy cook books. Try as much as possible not to buy prepared food, either from grocery store or restaurants or take aways. And don't buy coffees, lattes, etc. cheaper if you make at home. Make stuff at home to bring with you to work.

    Hope this helps.
  • 2youngatheart
    2youngatheart Posts: 338 Member
    Bump
  • alexpark0ur
    alexpark0ur Posts: 30
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTp_xpGtBZQ

    One of my best videos to date if I do say so myself. I'll be uploading loads of new recipes, so please subscribe! I need to build an audience!
  • lovemuffin6
    lovemuffin6 Posts: 49
    Ideas (I am a student so have questionable taste but I am lazy and spend less than £20 on food a week):
    -Anything egg related (I love omelet)
    - Oats for breakfast, you can pick up kg bags really cheaply! Maybe eat with nuts etc for protein though
    - Sandwiches for lunch, yes they can be boring but they're fast and cheap
    - Wholemeal pasta which whatever sauce/ meat you like
    - Baked beans (get reduced sugar ones) on brown toast
    - Frozen veg is definitely the way to go and buying in bulk will really help
    -Soups, homemade soup can be cheap because you can use leftover veg/frozen stuff but even tinned soup is okay occasionally
    - Vegetarian ready meals (still not great for you but who wants to cook every night?)
    -Baked sweet potato (I have it with tinned tuna and houmus)
    - Maybe I'm biased (I'm pescatarian) but meat alternatives like quorn often work out cheaper like sausages, burgers, chicken style strips
  • abelthephotographer
    abelthephotographer Posts: 127 Member
    Porridge for breakfast. [Edit - 50g porridge oats and 200ml milk is under 25p and will warm you up and fill you until lunchtime]

    Roast a load of vegetables - buy a cheap bag of potatoes, carrots, parsnips, onions for about £1 in the UK - get some garlic in there too. Get a swede in there for under a quid at Lidl/Aldi. Blend it with veg stock and you have soup. Nice soup. Healthy soup. Filling soup.
  • abelthephotographer
    abelthephotographer Posts: 127 Member
    Take a look at the recipe section here - I have tried a few, and they are pretty good. If your budget isn't as low as Jack's you can add stuff ...

    http://agirlcalledjack.com/category/recipes-food-etc/
  • Siansonea
    Siansonea Posts: 917 Member
    Fast food is cheap and easy. :bigsmile:
  • tashiaberman
    tashiaberman Posts: 48 Member
    If I am home, I cook a big meal at dinner time and then eat leftovers for lunch the next day. If I am working and going to school, I tend to use a lot of frozen veggies. Real easy veggie recipe is to use brussel sprouts, asparagus, fresh green beans or potatoes and carrots, you can put any of these veggies into a quart bag with a drizzle of olive oil, throw in some assorted spices (salt, pepper, garlic) and shake until all is well coated. Dump into a single layer pan, stick in the oven under the broiler for 5 to 15 minutes -- depending on the thickness of the vegetable -- and enjoy with your favorite meat or entree.

    Crock pot meals are really easy because you throw everything in and just forget it for 2 or 3 hours, then eat. Chicken or ribs can be barbequed easily in a crock pot and just fall off the bone. Throw a whole beef, pork or lamb roast in with chunks of potato, onion, carrot and a can of mushrooms, salt, pepper, garlic to taste and you have a whole meal ready to eat when you come back in a few hours. If you are single, a big recipe like this can be divided into plastic containers and frozen for a quick meal when you don't have time to cook. The rest you can eat on for two or three days from the fridge. Just add a salad or another green veggie and you have something different tonight.

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