Cheap and low cal meals

youngandaspiringxo
youngandaspiringxo Posts: 74 Member
edited November 14 in Food and Nutrition
Share your favorite low calorie recipes that don't break the bank! I'm finding it hard to eat healthy while on a budget.

Replies

  • CafeRacer808
    CafeRacer808 Posts: 2,396 Member
    Not sure how low your budget is, but check out the book Good and Cheap by Leanne Brown.
  • ccasey1985
    ccasey1985 Posts: 4 Member
    Chicken is pretty cheap and good for you. Plus if you eat a little bit of potatoes or rice, the carbs help fuel your body. (And are cheap) Just stay away from boxed meals. Eating healthy really isn't expensive. Processed food is though.
  • HeidiCooksSupper
    HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,831 Member
    Beans are excellent cheap eats. Canned beans are cheap but boiling your own is even cheaper. Boil up a bag of beans and freeze in meal-sized containers for later use. If you first cook them plainly then you can use the individual servings any way you wish when it comes time to thaw them. A bit of barbecue sauce results in good faux baked beans, throw them in a soup, smash for refried beans, etc.
  • Annie_01
    Annie_01 Posts: 3,096 Member
  • MelanieCN77
    MelanieCN77 Posts: 4,047 Member
    Some onion, canned tomatoes and egg can make a decent meal with the right spices. You sort of make a tomato stew and then cook the eggs in the stew. I had it tonight with one can of tomatoes, two eggs and also a little potato to be more filling. Look up "shakshuka" for different recipes.
  • chapiano
    chapiano Posts: 331 Member
    Bowl of veg and gravy
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    It's absurd when you think about it.

    To lose weight, you have to eat less. Less food costs less money.

    A healthy diet provides you with all the nutrition you need every day, and, over time, not too much of anything. There are so many ways to achieve this goal, that you can virtually eat whatever you want, and you can spread out your calorie allotment however you want. So no need for low calorie meals.

    You have to pay for food no matter what foods you buy. Don't just look at the price, consider the value. Price per pound (weight) is one thing to consider. And some foods provide more nutrition per dollar than other foods. Depending on availability, season, preferences, allergies, faith, these are the foods you want to base your shopping, cooking and eating around: Grains (often whole), other starches, fresh and frozen vegetables, dried and canned beans/lentils, eggs, fresh fruit, butter and oils, dairy, nuts and seeds, limited amounts of meat and fish. Staples tend to include bread, rice, oatmeal, pasta, chicken, pork, tuna, apples, oranges, bananas, peanut butter, onions, carrots, potatoes, canned tomatoes. Buy whatever is cheap and looks good, and buy different things as often as possible. Build up and keep a stock of versatile dried/canned/frozen goods.

    The most important factor of a food budget, is (IMO) to not throw anything out. So you have to plan your meals, and follow your plan. That is going to be a struggle if you plan meals you don't want to eat. So plan meals you know you want to eat, cook the right amounts, and eat it up. Don't be afraid of trying new things, but not too often. One new recipe or food per week is a good pace for most people.

    There are no foods you have to buy, or foods you can't buy. You don't have to buy from special shops or foods with special labels, in fact, you should avoid that as much as possible.

    Don't just follow recipes, learn to cook. This means that you know what is mandatory in a recipe, and what can be substituted, and you can cook a lot of meals without recipes at all. You can plan to buy just what you need, and use up everything you buy before it spoils. You will also learn how long something will be fresh.

    Try to avoid frequent shopping. Write down what you need for all your meals until next shopping trip, take the list with you, and aim to get everything on the list and nothing that is not on the list. (This is the most challenging part for me :persevere: )

  • Queenmunchy
    Queenmunchy Posts: 3,380 Member
    Annie_01 wrote: »

    The best!
  • LenGray
    LenGray Posts: 867 Member
    I don't know what foods you like, so I'm not sure which recipe to share, but here's some tips and resources that have helped me out :)

    Buy a slow cooker if you don't have one already. These things are magic, I swear. Leave some meat and veggies in it in the morning and you'll have a tasty meal when you get home. If you want some easy recipes, check out this thread--
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/372359/bring-your-crockpot-slow-cooker-recipes

    Buy in bulk. Like a previous poster mentioned, buying beans in bulk is actually cheaper than buying canned beans. That's because with canned beans, you're paying for the extra work that went into processing. It's also cheaper to buy whole/bone-in chicken than chicken breasts. As an added bonus, if you boil the chicken to remove the bone, you also get chicken broth! Lentils, rice, whole potatoes instead of mashed/instant, spinach, and oats are all healthy things that are cheaper to buy in their unprocessed forms.

    Buy in season. Fruits and vegetables can be cheap or expensive, depending on when you buy them. Being aware of what's in season (and therefore, cheaper) can help a lot. For example, in my area this fall acorn squash and pumpkins were really cheap. Buying them whole netted me plenty of ingredients for pies, soups, and casseroles, plus by roasting the seeds in the oven, I have toppings for salad. This site has a great listing for preparing all kinds of fruits and veggies, plus when they're in season--
    http://www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org/

    Buy frozen. I make a lot of soups, stews, stir fry's, and fruit-based desserts. Frozen stuff is wonderful for this. Buying the 2-3 lb bulk packs of frozen vegetables and fruits for a few dollars means that I can have an assortment of steamed vegetables for an easy side dish or tasty fruit for pie or smoothies. Frozen fruit also works really well in make-ahead parfaits and overnight oats.

    Hope that helps!
  • HeidiCooksSupper
    HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,831 Member
    Start to congratulate yourself for money saved. For example, this week at my local supermarket, I could buy a 6 oz. bag of store brand potato chips for $2.19. Or, I could get a 5-pound bag of potatoes at $4.99. That's $.37/oz. versus $0.06/oz. Yes, the 5-pound bag of potatoes is over twice as much as the bag of chips but it gives you far more servings of delicious food. Watch for the week potatoes are on sale and you'll even save more. Potatoes last a few weeks in the fridge or a cool dark area. You can easily make oven fries, roasted, boiled, mashed, etc. There are many recipes and demos online of how to make homemade chips in the oven.

    Find out which local store has online shopping. You may not shop at that store but you can use their database to estimate prices for comparison shopping. Make sure to watch the weekly ads for specials and deals but only buy what you know you will use.
  • Angelwingz99
    Angelwingz99 Posts: 5 Member
    First, you should meal prep and make the same meals for different nights. If you're lazy like. E you can order pre-made meals from places.
  • MelanieCN77
    MelanieCN77 Posts: 4,047 Member
    Ooh I discovered mashed potato quesadilla recently too. Dress it up with some onion, garlic, chilis or whatever. Cheese if it's in your calorie budget. And sriracha of course.
  • Annie_01
    Annie_01 Posts: 3,096 Member
    Hmmm The OP must not like our ideas...she never came back.
  • kwtilbury
    kwtilbury Posts: 1,234 Member
    Just eat less of the things you normally eat. Lower cals? Check. Costs less? Check.
  • AndOne8675
    AndOne8675 Posts: 151 Member
    Ooh I discovered mashed potato quesadilla recently too. Dress it up with some onion, garlic, chilis or whatever. Cheese if it's in your calorie budget. And sriracha of course.

    I make a potato taco..Use all the taco seasonings in the potato, wrap it in a toasted corn tortilla with cabbage and carrots and Sriracha.


This discussion has been closed.