Looking for cheap lunch recipe
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no wonder you can't reach your calorie goal.
add a meal to the banana. whatever you like - rice and vegies with a protein (eggs are cheap and provide some fat too). the same but with pasta instead of rice. change it up by using different herbs and spices and sauces.
salad with protein and fat.
soup with a sandwich (with a protein filling)
a sandwich or wrap.1 -
You can make a great sandwhich for about $1. If you need more calories, homemade soup is perhaps $.25-50 a bowl depending on what you use...I can make Miso soup for pennies, add extra tofu for more protein if you need it and it's still quite cheap. Most days I make a 200 cal sandwhich (2 slices of 45 cal bread, 3 oz of lean protein, lettuce/onion/peppers). If dinner is going to be late I'll add soup. I probably spend well under $10/week on lunches that way.5
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Sandwiches or wraps- tuna sandwich, egg salad sandwich, peanut butter sandwich
Lentil soup or bean soup
Hard boiled egg
Salads- http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10270725/things-to-go-in-salads/p1
Yogurt, fruit
Oatmeal
Baked potato
Hummus and vegetables
Falafel
Pasta
http://www.budgetbytes.com2 -
I usually eat a fish sandwich and fruit. I like the Gordon's brand fish parties. It's about 140 cal a pattie and you can get an 8 or 12 pack for about $4. Sometimes I eat it without bread. Like as a main meat with broccoli. The frozen broccoli is like a $1.20ish. But it'll last all week. You could even put cheese on the broccoli. Or substitute it for another veggie. It's easy to pack and cooks well in the microwave at work!3
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Wafer meat roll ups- Wafer ham (or just deli slices), I squash a light cream cheese triangle like Dairylea or Laughing Cow and strips of cucumber or peppers in the middle and roll it up. Bring a light dip or salsa to dunk it in.
Cheep and cheerful, it's a protein and veggie lunch with low carb!4 -
Wafer meat roll ups- Wafer ham (or just deli slices), I squash a light cream cheese triangle like Dairylea or Laughing Cow and strips of cucumber or peppers in the middle and roll it up. Bring a light dip or salsa to dunk it in.
Cheep and cheerful, it's a protein and veggie lunch with low carb!
try tzatziki sauce its awesome. I buy the cedars cucumber garlic and dill. or hummus you cant go wrong with hummus. Im a ranch fiend so i had to find some other options or i would go swimming in it. lol0 -
If you're only eating a banana for lunch I would start slow so it's not hard on your body to have a big heavy lunch. My favorite easy cheap lunch is this: Toast whole wheat bread, while it's toasting mash avocado and lemon juice together with a fork. Put that on the side. Separate eggs to get 2-3 egg whites, and make it into a omelette. (Maybe add some greens to it.) when the toast is done spread avocado on the toast and add the egg white on top. DO NOT cook the egg whites with salt, season it AFTER because the salt will break down the egg and make it watery.4
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Tuna, eggs and beans.2
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A banana is a snack.
2 x chicken breasts
1 x 2lb bag of frozen mixed veggies
2 x chicken bullion cubes
Water
Boil the chicken in the water and bullion until cooked, take them out, cut them up, pop them back in the post with the vegetables. Voila. Chicken soup, approximately 6 serves worth.2 -
Chili. World of macro and micro nutrients, cheap and easy0
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cucumber and tomato salad, can of tuna, some whole wheat pasta and some feta cheese mix it all together and enjoy.0
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Wafer meat roll ups- Wafer ham (or just deli slices), I squash a light cream cheese triangle like Dairylea or Laughing Cow and strips of cucumber or peppers in the middle and roll it up. Bring a light dip or salsa to dunk it in.
Cheep and cheerful, it's a protein and veggie lunch with low carb!
oooo meat sushi! I'll have to keep that one in mind for my next lunches
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I usually have a protein shake. 1 tub lasts 2ish weeks with 2 scoops for the standard blender bottle size.0
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Kinda hard to beat a banana for cheap. Personally I couldn't be full on one. Thinking of it makes me want a banana and peanut butter sandwich, that would fill me up.
Leftovers are my usual for lunch, when you make dinner always double the recipe and make leftovers. This saves both time and money.
For cheap and mobile, Premier Protein bars from Costco are about $1 each.
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couscous salad loaded w/veggies and a dressing
fruit salad w/greek yogurt
bean burritos
egg roll in a bowl
tuna/chicken salad
boiled eggs and a piece of fruit
leftovers0 -
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I buy all natural beef and chicken bone broth from amazon in single serve packets. (like flavored juice packets, but is also available in kcups.) I add a scoop of high-quality multi collagen protein to boost the protein and other benefits and a couple of table spoons of freeze-dried soup veggies. It all adds up to 126 calories, 18.5 grams of protein and only about 590mg sodium. It's very tasty and filling. The bone broth is about $2/packet, about $o.32/serving for the veggies and less than $0.75/ serving for collagen.0
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Progresso light soup.
Entire can is under $2.00 (usually $1.59) and is pretty filling and only 140 -170 calories1 -
Sams club has huge rotisserie chickens (twice as big as the ones from Wal-Mart) for < $5 that I debone 1 per week and use for sandwiches, salad, or easy alone. Can also debone and freeze.2
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How many calories do you count for a hard boiled egg?? I have come up with a lot of different numbers0
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12 oz cans of chicken breast (2) or a 20 oz package of smoked sausage
1/2 - 2/3 head of cabbage
2 cans diced tomatoes
Carrots(3)/Celery(2)/Onion(1)/Bell pepper(1)/Any veggies that need used
3-4 tsp chicken/vegetable stock base or bouillon cubes x 3
optional: envelope onion mushroom soup mix
Seasonings to your taste - I usually use pepper, salt, basil (1 Tbsp), oregano (1 Tbsp), garlic/garlic powder
Enough water to cover all your veggies - about 8 cups
Chop up all the veggies. Throw your ingredients minus the meat into a pot, stir to combine, bring to a boil, and reduce to a simmer for 30-45 minutes, until carrots are tender, stirring occasionally. Check seasonings. Add more if necessary.
Throw your meat in and simmer another 10-15 minutes. Done!
This makes a HUGE batch of soup - about 14 2-cup servings - and is between 150-200 calories per serving, depending on the protein you use. Tons of nutrition and fiber. Package a week's worth and freeze the rest for later in the month.
I love doing this because it takes very little time to pull together, and the ingredients are cheap and usually on-hand. You can adapt this to add whatever veggie needs to be used; I often throw in chopped zucchini that's starting to get soft or the dregs of frozen veggie bags, like cauliflower or broccoli.0 -
These are great ideas! Thank you for sharing
I also enjoy brown rice with ground turkey or chicken or turkey sausage links with veggies and a little soy sauce. Super filling! 0 -
Here are a few of the lunches I have sometimes:
Rice with eggs: 460 calories
- 90g uncooked rice: 320 calories
- 100g eggs: 140 calories
Salad: 376 calories
- 0.5 lbs raw spinach: 52 calories
- 8 oz. roma tomatoes: 44 calories
- 28g Mozzarella shredded Cheese: 80 calories
- 100g eggs: 140 calories
- 4 TBSP Light Zesty Italian Dressing: 60 calories
Flour Tortilla "Pizza": 259 calories
- 49g Tortilla: 140 calories
- 50g Pasta Sauce - 39 calories
- 28g Mozzarella shredded cheese: 80 calories
Chicken Sandwich: 370 calories
- 50g bread: 130 calories
- 68g Breaded chicken patty: 170 calories
- 50g egg: 70 calories
Sweet Peas: 378 calories
- 425g Sweet Peas: 238 calories
- 14g Margarine: 70 calories
- 50g egg: 70 calories
Perhaps not the most nutritious always, but all are yummy ^_^1 -
Another idea...one of our local grocery stores has bags of almost expired produce for $1. For example, the other day I picked up five zucchini/$1, three red/yellow bell peppers/$1, etc. I have never seen any that have gone bad, they are just ready to eat so do not have as much shelf life left (can't sit at home for another two weeks probably) but since i am buying them to eat that is not an issue!
I get almost all of my veggies this way but it is not my usual grocery store. I decided to suggest it to the store i usually go to and they were happy to do the same. it saves them from throwing things away. Might be worth a shot, and it saves me a lot of money on produce!0 -
norahkathleen wrote: »Another idea...one of our local grocery stores has bags of almost expired produce for $1. For example, the other day I picked up five zucchini/$1, three red/yellow bell peppers/$1, etc. I have never seen any that have gone bad, they are just ready to eat so do not have as much shelf life left (can't sit at home for another two weeks probably) but since i am buying them to eat that is not an issue!
I get almost all of my veggies this way but it is not my usual grocery store. I decided to suggest it to the store i usually go to and they were happy to do the same. it saves them from throwing things away. Might be worth a shot, and it saves me a lot of money on produce!
Wow! What a deal!! I should look around to see if any local stores are doing the same.0 -
I usually
Buy in bulk any kind of chicken boil and shred goes great for
Salads , with 1/4 cup white rice rice cause sum times brown rice is expensive, chicken wraps.
Buy frozen greens , can green beans fresh veggies wen on sale..
Extra lean Hamburger paties turned in to salbury stakes
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