Low Budget, Feel-Good Recipes!

I also like to make a southwest style quinoa (cooked the same way- with sautéed onion and broth instead of water) tossed with cilantro, black beans, corn, tomato, avocado, red onion, bell pepper, lime juice, salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder. Its amazing with some marinated shrimp or chicken, too!

I love quinoa and I love all things Mexican/southwest flavored. I can't believe I haven't thought of this before. Thanks for sharing!!

I tried Justin's Maple Almond Butter and loved it, but when I did some reading on it, someone said that it wasn't healthy, and you should opt for raw, no-salt, organic almond butter. I bought some at the health food store (can't recall brand name - had "tree" in it though - Tree of Life, maybe?) and it was $19.05 and it tasted awful - bland - like eating gritty paste. So I'm flummoxed - go for the better tasting Justin's, or forego almond butter altogether for the much more affordable Jif peanut butter?

Pizza - I use a regular crust, not bread. I just make it a thin crust, lots of veggies, reduced fat cheese

Nachos - lean ground meat or shredded chicken, mashed pintos or black beans, reduced fat cheese, salsa, onion, jalapeno, guacamole. And I really load up the chips so I eat less of the chips and more of the yummy stuff.

Spaghetti w/ meatballs - Fiber Gourmet low calorie pasta, red sauce with lots of veggies, sometimes with crumbled tofu, meatballs made with lean meat (venison is my favorite when we have it) and some type of whole grain (bulgur, oats, quinoa). a little parmesan

Beans and cornbread - Okay, this one doesn't need much tweaking but it was my favortie comfort food as a child. I do not add a glob of bacon fat in mine now though. top with chopped scallions

Peanut butter and jelly sandwich - I now use natural pb, either sliced fruit or no added sugar jam, and thin sliced wholemeal bread

tuna or egg salad - I now use less mayo, more mustard and add chopped hot pickled cauliflower, and often serve it over dark leafy greens instead of on bread.

ETA: Also, soups, stews and chili - these can be very budget and diet friendly.

Also, usually every month or so whole pork loin, which is a lean cut, usually goes on sale here for $1.99 a lb. I buy one, cut it half, either stew one half with root vegetables or make pork bbq, then thick slice the rest of it for pork chops.

budgetbytes.com

You should check out the site Buget Bytes: http://budgetbytes.blogspot.com/
She is also on pinterest, her recipes are awesome.

I love all the ideas with Beans and other options to eat healthy! Can I take you all home with me? :-)

this made me hungry just reading it!
yum

Bump Thanks for sharing.

Have you tried the cauliflower pizza crust?
Personally, I haven't, but I have started including cauliflower in my mashed potatoes and even my picky eating kids don't notice it. I'm thinking of trying the cauliflower pizza crust myself...just wondered if anyone else had.

Right now, whole chickens seem to be the cheapest meat. I can cook two and have enough meat for a week's worth of meals. Because chicken is such a blank slate, you can do anything with it and it will usually taste good.

This. I make spatchcock (butterflied) chicken a lot on the grill. It's easy and a 5-6lb bird can feed my family of 4 for dinner. I make various rubs to try. This week was a simple mix of softened butter and minced garlic rubbed under and on the skin.

I also like to make different combinations of rice. For example:
- Mexican style rice: sautee a yellow onion and 5-6 gloves of minced garlic in oil. Add a little cumin and a little tomato paste. Add rice and stir until covered in oil, then use chicken broth to finish the rice in lieu of water.
- Lemon-Ginger rice: sautee ginger and lemon zest in oil. Add rice and stir until covered in oil. Add a little lemon juice and use chicken broth in lieu of water to finish the rice.

Others I've made are Indian-style rice (mix in parsley and cashews) and Jambalaya rice (bell peppers, celery, tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce).

I usually use Jamine or Basmati rice. I'll match flavors... lemon-ginger rice goes well with poached salmon and the Mexican style rice goes well with shrimp that I bake with a home made salsa (diced tomatoes, diced jalapeños, olive oil, garlic, lime juice).

Sam

So many new things to try. Thanks everyone.

Yummy satisfying carb meal: Buy those mushrooms that aren't looking perfect anymore - not great for salad and marked down - and wash (yes - a chef told me what chemicals go on mushrooms when they are commercially grown) then slice and fry up a dozen in butter or EVOO. Make sure you only do a few at a time so they can brown and not steam cook. Add lots of thinly sliced onion, a couple of celery ribs, fry together then add a few spoons of salsa, brown rice 1 c of cooked for two people, 1 can of Stagg 97% fat free Chili (the lazy quick way). and a bit of dried cilantro and a blob of yogourt on top of each bowl. Accompany with your fave toast -DH likes rye or sourdough - I have GF flax bread.

If you get peppers in the big bags for 99cents because they are starting to not be as crunchy - add them in chopped with the onions & celery.

bumping

also with beans : I know you have to soak them for a while first
then do you just boil them? if so, how long and in plain water?

thanks !

Bump...im broke...lol

Stuffed peppers are delicious, not too expensive and low calorie!
I make homemade ones and I always like to stuff them with rice, chicken, carrots & spicy tomato sauce (all of it chopped up very small). But you can stuff them with anything you like. The ones I make are around 160 calories per pepper, so quite low calorie.