Cheap, easy, tasty, AND healthy??
NebularNeko
Posts: 20 Member
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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Omelettes/frittata. Loads of vegies, eggs, some cheese is good.5
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Make soup. Use beans or lentils. Use up all your leftover vegetables add a can of beans..done. black bean soup is super easy and cheapn
Snack on an apple and cheese. Or Cottage cheese and a pear.
Eggs for any meal..add some vegetables and sliced avocado.
Oatmeal, old fashioned or steel cut. Add rains and chia seeds plus cinnamon.7 -
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.2
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Roasted vegetables.
Salmon quinoa burgers.
Protein smoothies w/ frozen fruits1 -
- 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
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Love how the egg roll in a bowl reads.....I will be making this one...YUM!3
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- 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?
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@katadxOmg 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.
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(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 way1 -
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 yogurt3 -
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.1 -
@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
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.1 -
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.2
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OK wow was that good! Thank you!0 -
- 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
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.5 -
Check out the Budget Bytes blog. Not a "health food" blog, but many of her recipes are lower calorie and fit my needs.1
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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.0
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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.
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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.1 -
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.
Oh good great suggestion cause I would much rather use the seasoning blend instead of getting a huge branch of ginger and only using the bit of it. Thanks!0 -
You are welcome to peek at my diary. I like to cook so we are often having something different. I'm basically a lazy cook, though, so you won't see fancy, hard to make things.
If you see a recipe name and want to know what went in it, just pm me and ask. Last night we had what the imported recipe I started with called "classic meat loaf" but it really was one with lots of vegetables in it. I could send you the ingredients list I used for example.
On the other hand, if you see an odd list of ingredients for supper and wonder what the heck they became, pm me and I can tell you what I made.
Our suppers are somewhat high calorie because it's our main meal of the day but you could always do smaller portions than we do.2 -
For breakfast I've been eating 2 eggs scrambled and cooked in the microwave. I put them on 2 slices of 35 calorie bread. Then I add salsa and a slice of American cheese. This is very filling and keeps good until lunch.2
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Do you like sweet potatoes? I am having them this week for lunches. Cooked them all overnight in the crockpot and then just reheat at lunch. I did some searches for healthy and filling toppings for them. Today I am trying some of the PB powder to add protein (and I love PB) and some pecans (crushed up) with some cinnamon, all spice and nutmeg. No butter or brown sugar, which would have been my previous go to. I also want to try some spicy black beans on a sweet potato.3
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Breakfast- eggs, Ezekiel toast, oatmeal with honey
Several other meals - ground beef and brown rice (white rice after gym). I put yum yum sauce or change the sauces for taste. I get the 5 lb meat tubes, cook, and refrigerate. I spoon out my portions. Rice I use the 1 cup microwave bowls. I try to keep it easy.1 -
The world is your oyster.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)
Suggestions:- How to Cook Everything, Mark Bittman
- Brothers Green Eats, a YouTube channel
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Do you like sweet potatoes? I am having them this week for lunches. Cooked them all overnight in the crockpot and then just reheat at lunch. I did some searches for healthy and filling toppings for them. Today I am trying some of the PB powder to add protein (and I love PB) and some pecans (crushed up) with some cinnamon, all spice and nutmeg. No butter or brown sugar, which would have been my previous go to. I also want to try some spicy black beans on a sweet potato.
Have you tried them savory? W sour cream and chipotle?0 -
I bake sweet potatoes in the oven let cool wrap in foil and freeze. You .ca. reheat them when you want t a meal in less than 2 minutes and they still taste baked. I eat sweetg potatoes with frozen green beans which I flash fry in water and tgen stir fry in some srichaha, garlic powder and nutritional yeast(it ends up tasting like szechuan green beans from a Chinese resturaunt). The combo has lots of fiber and vitamins. Another quick meal is Dr. Mcdougall Ramen cups I like the vegan Chicken best. All you do is add hot water and you get a filling ramen under 200 calories (it's like a organic healthy top ramen).0
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A lot of you guys pointed to bulk cooked soup as cheap/healthy/tasty/easy. So true! Plus soup also helps you stay hydrated, something I struggle with. But my aha moment came when I started quick-cooking single serving soup dinners... it tastes so much fresher and I can customize it according to what I feel like eating and how much I've exercised.
The base for my soup is usually miso paste, chicken bouillon paste, or some of each. There is always a big slice of tofu and a green onion. I'll also add 2-3 more ingredients like garlic, small cutup pieces of lean beef (round tip roast on sale) or boneless chicken thigh, carrot, frozen peas, napa cabbage, frozen green beans, bag spinach, egg. The common thread with these ingredients is that they are cheap, keep pretty long in the fridge/freezer, all go together, cook very quickly, and require no peeling and just a little chopping. It's ready by the time it's boiling- almost as fast as reheating leftovers. I spice up the broth with either black pepper, korean chili powder or szechuan chili oil.
On days I exercised a lot (I am an endurance athlete) I will sometimes have either some plain rice on the side or a potato with butter. If I'm having salmon (quick poached/steamed) or canned sardines, those are on the side too and maybe topped with more green onion and garlic.
I know it sounds kind of Asian in spirit, and I definitely learned a lot about healthy traditions from Japan/Korea, but I'm caucasian and usually my meals taste pretty western to me. Today I'm having watermelon for dessert. I feel super full from all the water and protein in this meal and I want to eat it every day forever.1 -
I made this tonight! I’m currently doing a ketogenic diet so this is a low carb meal but feel free to add a side of extra veggies or some brown rice!
(Hopefully the url works, first time posting anything)
It’s asparagus and provolone stuffed chicken! I found the recipe on the Tasty app which has a ton of healthy recipes that you can tweak to fit your lifestyle.
Here’s the link: https://tasty.co/recipe/asparagus-stuffed-chicken-breast
Hope this helps!0
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