Cheap, easy, tasty, AND healthy??

NebularNeko
NebularNeko Posts: 20 Member
in Recipes
Can anyone recommend some meals like this? Breakfast lunch, dinner, and snacks. I need healthy ideas for all of them because I am cutting out junk food and I like to switch up my meals every week. I am not a very picky person at all. Substitution recommendations are also welcome. (I prefer to use almond milk with anything I make)
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Replies

  • Sunnybrooke99
    Sunnybrooke99 Posts: 369 Member
    edited November 2017
    If you really aren’t picky, then canned, low sodium greens (like mustard and turnip) are great for convenient low cal eating. I use frozen spinach bc it’s Low sodium, compared to canned. I like to top greens with some marinara, some jarred Indian sauce, or stew (canned will work). There are some very good frozen grain blends, which you can pair w poached fish (just use a little layer of water, instead of oil). Look for no salt added beans to add to add to your meals for more fiber, minerals, and protein.
  • orangegato
    orangegato Posts: 6,570 Member
    edited November 2017
    Roasted vegetables.
    Salmon quinoa burgers.
    Protein smoothies w/ frozen fruits
  • dsboohead
    dsboohead Posts: 1,900 Member
    Love how the egg roll in a bowl reads.....I will be making this one...YUM!
  • Sp1tfire
    Sp1tfire Posts: 1,120 Member
    rhaiin wrote: »
    - Anything egg-based (omelettes, frittatas, hard-boiled, scrambled, etc.)
    - Oatmeal or Overnight Oats (Try savory recipes too!)
    - Rice & beans (with sriracha, if you like spicy)
    - Soups (Chicken & Brown Rice, Lemon Chickpea (or chicken) Orzo, Vegetable Soup, Cabbage Soup)
    - Eggroll in a Bowl
    - Canned Tuna (in water) with mustard instead of mayo

    Omg thank you for posting the eggroll in a bowl recipe! My family is very excited for me to make it. I suppose it'll save enough calories to serve it with some cream cheese wontons.. right? :)
  • lilithsrose
    lilithsrose Posts: 752 Member
    @katadx
    katadx wrote: »
    Omg thank you for posting the eggroll in a bowl recipe! My family is very excited for me to make it. I suppose it'll save enough calories to serve it with some cream cheese wontons.. right? :)

    I would say so. And if you have a Trader Joe's near you, they have frozen chicken gyoza that are low calorie and delicious. They go great with any asian food.

  • rhoadj
    rhoadj Posts: 10 Member
    (breakfast)-i pour a scoop protein in oatmeal for morning or eggs
    (Lunch)-pre cooked chicken warmed up and eat with salad
    (Dinner)-low sodium microwaved veggies w/ chicken
    - ground turkey, black beans, quinoa, veggies- cook together and reuse for tacos, breakfast with eggs or by itself
    Snacks-i have protein bars or make protein balls with protein, oats, honey
    -veggies & hummus
    -apple

    if you have aldi by you eggs are like $.75 and chicken is $1.99 pound you can make that go a long way
  • thetrishwarp
    thetrishwarp Posts: 838 Member
    breakfast - 2 scrambled eggs mixed with 1/2 cup cottage cheese. it's so creamy and delicious.
    lunch - in the slow cooker, I do a can of kidney beans, a can of chickpeas, a can of peaches n cream corn, and a can of diced tomato with a packet of old el paso taco seasoning on low for like 7-8 hrs. split into 5 portions over 1/2 cup of rice. literally the only effort is opening the cans and making rice.
    dinner - meat and veg - ony of my faves is 100g ground beef with pepper, onion, cheese, and sour cream. its kind of like a taco but...not in a taco.
    snacks - fruit like apple or banana, small yogurt
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
    NebularNeko wrote: »
    Can anyone recommend some meals like this? Breakfast lunch, dinner, and snacks. I need healthy ideas for all of them because I am cutting out junk food and I like to switch up my meals every week. I am not a very picky person at all. Substitution recommendations are also welcome. (I prefer to use almond milk with anything I make)

    If you don't mind (a lot of) repetition during the week, then large batches of stuff like soups, stews, chili in a crockpot or electric pressure cooker count as cheap, easy, tasty, and healthy.
  • fruoshea
    fruoshea Posts: 46 Member
    @NebularNeko

    If you have a slow cooker this lentil and quinoa chilli is really good: https://aggieskitchen.com/slow-cooker-lentil-and-quinoa-chili/. Buying the ingredients, well quinoa, can be a bit expensive, but then you have them at hand to make it again because the recipe doesn't use up all of the quinoa and lentils :smile:

    I'm also a fan of slow cooker three bean chillis and black bean 'burgers' (eaten without the bun and with a side of veggies instead). Slow cooker soups are also ridiculously easy, and with winter just around the corner something I'm craving more and more. This roasted sweet potato and carrot soup from BBC Good Food is amazing: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/roasted-sweet-potato-carrot-soup. It's not a slow cooker one though so takes some prep, but is not very difficult at all. (I recommend putting some crème fraîche in the soup as suggested in the recipe, but you don't need any on top when serving. A tbsp or two of smoked paprika is also recommended - it takes the soup to the next level!)

    I've also found a few good recipes on Budget Bytes https://www.budgetbytes.com/ that have been filling, easy and healthy. The budget-bit doesn't necessarily apply to me since I'm not in the US, but if you are I think that's probably quite a good way to be cost-conscious.
  • abbynormalartist
    abbynormalartist Posts: 318 Member
    When I'm looking for cheap, easy and tasty, I usually pick eggs, beans or bananas and go from there. Eggs make omelettes, frittatas, top salads, make sandwiches, etc. Beans are great for quesadillas, soups, etc. And Bananas (while I hate them myself) are great toppings for my kids oatmeal, with honey on toast, or just as a snack we can grab when we run out the door.
  • lujako
    lujako Posts: 87 Member
    rhaiin wrote: »
    - Eggroll in a Bowl

    OK wow was that good! Thank you!
  • laur357
    laur357 Posts: 896 Member
    edited November 2017
    Check out the Budget Bytes blog. Not a "health food" blog, but many of her recipes are lower calorie and fit my needs.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    Cheap, easy, tasty, and healthy - no problem! Just base your intake on a variety of foods from all the food groups (mostly single food ingredients - fruit, vegs, starches, dairy, nuts&seeds, fats&oils, protein foods (meat, fish, eggs, beans)). Any food from each food group can be combined to make an acceptable meal. Combine foods into meals that look normal and balanced and taste good to you. For concrete ideas, borrow a cookbook, or just look up recipes, either ingredients+recipe, or meal+recipe.
  • lilithsrose
    lilithsrose Posts: 752 Member
    edited November 2017
    katadx wrote: »
    I made the egg roll in a bowl tonight! My family was begging me to make it more! We served it over cauliflower rice and the servings were huge and satisfying. We didn't even feel the need to have wontons with it!
    Thanks so much for sharing, this is a new staple in my house! It cost my $6.50 for all the ingredients. It'll be even cheaper next time because I don't have to buy the sesame oil again.

    No problem. Its a cheap and easy thing to make. I usually just use my asian seasoning blend instead of fresh ginger and all that. Its just easier that way. I also use ground turkey or venison instead of pork sometimes.

  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    One of my longterm, go-to meals (or a variation thereof):

    Birds Eye - Steamfresh Rice With Mediterranean Vegetables, 200 g 929 kj

    Annalisa - Lentils, 120 g 579 kj

    John West - Salmon Tempters Mild Chilli Lime and Ginger, 95 g 845 kj

    Total 562 kilocalories for the Americans.

    Just needs the microwave to cook it, in about 5 mins total. Makes a nice big bowl.

    Sometimes have have chickpeas instead of lentils.
    Sometimes I chuck in a load of rocket.
    I use different flavours of salmon or tuna, or a salmon or tuna fillet.
    I mostly have a dash of Siracha sauce or some sort of chilli sauce with it.

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