Low Cost Healthy Meals

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Anolen81
Anolen81 Posts: 7 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I am a super busy mom of 2 (8 yr old boy and 1 year old girl) that also works full time as an RN. I only work 3 days per week, but these are 12 hour shifts....very long days, but I love my job. I am having an extremely hard time coming up with meal ideas for the whole family, that I don't have to spend an arm and a leg on. I try to live on a budget. I am in a funk right now in which HEALTHY food does not appeal to me for some reason, although, when I eat the NON healthy food, I feel sick to my stomach. I am so tired of chicken.....and brown rice.....ugh....please some one give me some good ideas, that aren't costly. I often like to cook on the grill....not as much clean up....PLEASE anyone??

Replies

  • eillamarie
    eillamarie Posts: 862 Member
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    Buy large bags of oatmeal, quinoa, amaranth, couscous or buy it in bulk! Quick oats can be ready in 3-5 minutes, while the others I listed take about the same time as rice. I eat a LOT of oatmeal & quinoa. I throw in some egg whites or a whole egg once my quinoa is done, & sometimes toss in a little cheese or salsa & cook it up till all the kernels are coated.

    Super filling & healthy!!
  • EyeCanSeeYou
    EyeCanSeeYou Posts: 23
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    You could get a crockpot, if you don't already have one and cook beans. You can leave the crockpot on for 12 hours cooking beans.
  • Texas501
    Texas501 Posts: 274
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    Grilling. Well you can make kebobs of beef, chicken, lamb, shrimp. You can also grill zucchini/squash kebobs. Have a massive grilling day before work, then freeze portions out. That way you just pull out zip lock bags of your frozen grilled goodies, throw them in a bag and you're out the door! Hopefully you have a microwave at your hospital where you work.
  • nburns325
    nburns325 Posts: 174
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    Do you have a crockpot? I don't have a lot of time to cook either and the crockpot is a lifesaver! Easy to throw some frozen chicken breasts or pork tenderloin in with some veggies in the morning and have something healthy and fully cooked when you get home!!! Works great for leftovers too! I just get creative with what I have in the house... frozen chicken breasts and frozen broccoli, pork tenderloin with some garlic, water, potatoes and carrots, etc. There are also a ton of easy recipes on the message boards, crockpot and regular cooking. Good luck!!!
  • jridgway49
    jridgway49 Posts: 79
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    Turkey burgers are yummy on the grill also fish with lots of fresh squeezed lemon, also try a tomato basil wrap with your chicken
  • greenbee09
    greenbee09 Posts: 4
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    Hi, I am a busy working Mom of three boys, so I know exactly what you mean! If you get any good recipes, let me know for sure! Anyone know of any cookbooks that cater towards low budget/healthy?
  • fab50G
    fab50G Posts: 384 Member
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    I know you said you hate chicken, but this is one of my favorite meals and it is easy and pretty low cost.

    - 2-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
    - 1 can diced seasoned tomatoes (Hunts or Del Monte basil, garlic and oregeno)
    - 2 cups spinach
    - 2 T olive oil
    - grated parmesan cheese

    Saute the chicken breasts in olive oil until browned. Add the tomatoes on top, cover and simmer till the chicken is cooked. Add the spinach on top of the chicken, cover and simmer just till the spinach wilts. Sprinke with a little parmesan cheese and enjoy.
  • Umeboshi
    Umeboshi Posts: 1,637 Member
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    Eat more salads. :smile: With low-fat and low-calorie dressing they are super healthy, cheap, filling, and REALLY quick if you chop the lettuce beforehand!
    If you're sick of chicken, maybe add a bit of ham to your salad, or some turkey bacon.
    You could also add in some good cheese like laughing cow, or some other veggies... or a few nuts for protein. :D
    I love how versatile salads are!
  • SLaw4215
    SLaw4215 Posts: 596 Member
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    I make a veggie lasagna with the no boil noodles. (spinach, mushroom, zuccini, carrots). The secret is to warm the vegetables in a saute pan to soften them a little before you try and cook them in the lasagna. My 12 year old daughter likes to make her own with Turkey pepperoni slices to give it a little kick. I use low fat cottage cheese and minced garlic for stuffing and I swap out the mozzerella with Laughing Cow cheese wedges. Personally, I think the Laughing Cow cheese adds a tremendous amound of flavor.
  • glenna221
    glenna221 Posts: 46
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    create some "foil packs" and steam fish and veggies on the grill. super easy clean up. try taco night with whole wheat tortillas and black beans, sliced peppers, tomatoes, red onions, and plain greek yogurt (instead of sour cream) super easty to clean up also! Last night I made "pizza" using tortillas...thin crispy crust, light moz cheese, and veggies...you could probably do that on the grill too. have your kids pick out their toppings and make a meal together. One tortilla pizza is probably ~250 cals if you add veggies and lower fat toppings..pair with a salad or steamed veggies.
  • jujubean1992
    jujubean1992 Posts: 462 Member
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    get some tortillas, the one's i buy are 180 cals each for a pretty big tortilla, and a few cans of fat free refried beans, add different kinds of veggies or tomatoes and seasonings. yummy burritos. it's less than 300 cals for the tortilla and the refried beans (<1/2 cup beans) and just that is totally filling.
  • Anolen81
    Anolen81 Posts: 7 Member
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    I know you said you hate chicken, but this is one of my favorite meals and it is easy and pretty low cost.

    - 2-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
    - 1 can diced seasoned tomatoes (Hunts or Del Monte basil, garlic and oregeno)
    - 2 cups spinach
    - 2 T olive oil
    - grated parmesan cheese

    Saute the chicken breasts in olive oil until browned. Add the tomatoes on top, cover and simmer till the chicken is cooked. Add the spinach on top of the chicken, cover and simmer just till the spinach wilts. Sprinke with a little parmesan cheese and enjoy.

    This sounds really good :) And I have recently developed a taste for spinach too :) Thanks for sharing :)
  • Onesnap
    Onesnap Posts: 2,819 Member
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    Checkout Everyday Food magazine (or the recipes online for free). :) The nutritional info is always given, so makes it easier to log.
  • jujubean1992
    jujubean1992 Posts: 462 Member
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    OH and if you want to go the cook book route try diabetes cook books, since most diabetics have to eat healthier diets they have great recipes. my granny has tons and makes tons of cheep yummy food.
  • pauterson
    pauterson Posts: 65
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    On Monday I knew we would have a super busy week so while making dinner I also made a ground turkey meatloaf to heat up later. I used 1 pack of ground lean turkey, 1 scoop of egg white protein, 1/2 c. water and some chopped up onions. cook in the oven at 375 for 20 min. most people think you have to put bread in meatloaf but mine tastes better without it. Plus, I've used is several different ways. 1. Meatloaf (add ketchup to the top) 2. Pasta dish (no noodles) just sautee some veggies, put the meat on top and dump a 1/2 c. marinara sauce and 1oz mozzarella - YUM! 3. crumble it up and put it into a salad to make taco salad.

    There you have it, you can make as many meals as you need out of one huge meatloaf. :-)
  • Tammys777
    Tammys777 Posts: 7 Member
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    Spaghetti made with wheat pasta and 96/4 ground beef

    Tacos made with ground turkey, on corn tortillas, with fat free cheese and pico

    3-2-1 Soup - brown 96/4 ground beef and place in bottom of crock pot. Layer minestrone soup (3 cans), ranch style beans (2 cans) and rotel tomatoes (1 can) in that order on top of beef. Cook on high for 4 hours, or low for 8 hours. But I have actually left mine on low for longer than 8 hours. My kids like to eat this with Town House crackers.

    I'm also a RN, work 3 twelve hour shifts per week. Are your kids at home during the day with a sitter, or outside the home? If they are at home, you could put the spaghetti sauce or soup in crock pot liner and put in fridge. Then ask the 8 year old or sitter to put the liner in the crockpot and plug in at about noon. Just a suggestion. I know it's hard to eat well on those 3 days of work... It's so much easier stop at a drive-thru on the way home... LOL! And it's expensive to eat healthy! My husband and I were just talking about that yesterday. But... it's well worth it when the pounds start falling off!

    Best wishes,
    Tammy

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