Ready to start food prepping here. Any advice you can offer would be appreciated. I have found some ideas on a blog site of "Organize Yourself Skinny" that I plan to try.

I'd love to know how I can purchase healthy foods on a budget

I love the idea of preparing meals quickly from healthy foods that fit a budget!

Angeleyes, do you want us to add recipes also?

My local county extension service does an occasional cooking class that teaches you how to cook and shop on a budget. I really need to sign up -- it's free!

So, anyone else not seeing the ideas? Angeleyes have they been posted?

Cook your own chickpeas and lentils, and save them in the fridge for salads, rice, quinoa etc. they are good source of protein, cous cous is a good option also, and just see witch vegetables and fruits are in season.

I think it can be quite difficult to get the balance right, especially if on a low income and reliant on State Benefit. Here in England there is a website that has a specific board for eating on a budget. However, many of the foodstuff is poor quality. For example it will be suggested where to get a chicken at a low price to make a recipe, and maybe using canned tomatoes. The problem being they will be factory farm chickens full of hormones and water, and the canned tomatoes will be a few tomatoes in 'coloured water' aka water and a bit of tomato puree. I am all for economising, but when constantly eating low quality food it does have an impact on health. I am also all for using dried pulses etc in meals. A great way of getting goodness inside; but if in poor health to begin with it can be difficult with all the soaking etc. I had a go at making my own soya milk which is delicious. But the effort of squeezing the 'milk' through the nut bag is hard for me. The easiest 'milk' I have found to make is macadamia nut milk. Just whiz a cup with some water in the liquidiser, add a touch of honey and delicious. Healthy fats and very creamy. Only thing here is that macadamia nuts are expensive :-(. So an occasional treat :-)

Interested.....thank you

That's what I've found an issue with lately. Eating healthy isn't cheap! How to make it reasonable but stay with fresh food as possible?

http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-vegetable-stock-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-136725

http://jenniferskitchen.com/2014/02/how-to-make-homemade-vegetable-stock-or-broth.html (good list of veg can and can not use)

http://ohmyveggies.com/how-to-make-vegetable-broth-with-kitchen-scraps/

To roast - Cut vegetables in same size pieces for the ones with the same roasting times or same cookie sheets.Put in zip lock bag with 2 tbs of oil and shake til glossy. Can use a bowl but bag is easier. Put each roasting time on a different cookie sheet covered with foil and sprayed or oiled. Can add lower times onto the cookie sheet later if want. Make sure plenty of room between pieces or you will steam them instead of roasting them. Depending how done you want them - at least fork tender but better with browning on the edges. Can flip in the middle if want more crispyness.
happy
General Roasting Times for Vegetables
Cooking times are for roasting vegetables at 425°F.

Root vegetables (beets, potatoes, carrots,sweet potatoes, parsnips): 30 to 45 minutes, depending on how small you cut them
Winter squash (butternut squash, acorn squash): 20 to 60 minutes, depending on how small you cut them
Crucifers (broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts): 15 to 25 minutes
Soft vegetables (zucchini, summer squash, bell peppers): 10 to 20 minutes
Thin vegetables (asparagus, green beans): 10 to 20 minutes
Onions: 30 to 45 minutes, depending on how crispy you like them
Tomatoes: 15 to 20 minutes

Chicken vegie salad with quinoa, makes enough for the whole week with extra
2 cucumbers chopped
2 avocado chopped
4 firm roma tomatoes chopped
1 medium red onion chopped
3 large poached chicken breast chopped
1.5 to 2 cups cooked quinoa
Juice of one large lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
4 tablespoons of olive or coconut oil
4 tablespoons of vinegar

Put all the chopped goodies in a large bowl, add lemon juice and stir well. Then add olive oil and vinegar, stir well and refrigerate. You can eat this as a dish alone, make it a wrap, put it over cold pasta or in a pita.

Poaching chicken. I use my electric pressure cooker, family pack of chicken breast, 2 cups water add garlic and any spices that suite me at the moment. Set the machine as manual for 12 minutes. Use quick release method.

P.s. I mix it up a lot by using different dressings in place of the oil and vinegar. I have used pesto sauce, raspberry vinegarette, spicy italian. I have also used shrimp in place of chicken. I make it this size and 3 of us eat it for lunch for 5 days with a fruit on the side.
I hope that you will try it. Enjoy

I just bought all the ingredients for this plus a large watermelon, in California, not counting the oil and vinegar and my bill was 16.56. For 3 people for 5 day it equals 1.11 per person per day.