Cheap bulking recipes?

Lentil soup!

- 4 cups of veggie broth
- One chopped onion
- carrots
- Dices tomatoes
- Spinach
- Peppers
- Onions
- garlic
- 1 cup of lentils
- spices

Get yourself a decent size pot, add a tablespoon of whatever oil you have on hand, throw in all your diced veggies and let them sauté for about five minutes.

Dump in your veggie broth and bring it to a boil and then add in your lentils.

Add some garlic salt, 2 bouillon cubes, a few bay leaves and whatever other spices you like. Put a lid on it and let it simmer for 45 mins.

I also like to add some milk and cornstarch to mine to make it a little creamy. Just take 2 tablespoons of cornstarch and add it to a half a cup of milk and whisk until there’s no clumps. Slowly pour in the mixture while stirring. You should do this towards the end when the lentils are soft.

Super cheap and filling. If you don’t like chopping up veggies or you can’t afford them just get some frozen and canned veggies.

Getting to the calorie surplus for bulking shouldn't be too expensive. Many of the calorie-densest foods are also the cheapest. Peanut butter, for instance. And rice/pasta. Liberal use of oil. etc. The pricy part would be ensuring you are getting adequate protein.

Since you are trying to eat at a calorie surplus, the price of meat will be a bit better (fattier cuts of chicken and ground beef are significantly cheaper than the leaner cuts). You might want to check out the prices on the larger packs of meat at your local stores - they can vary a fair bit (and aren't necessarily cheapest at the store you would expect).

Food bars with added protein (like Clif, Special K) are usually <$1 per (not as much protein as protein bars, but still a significant quantity)(they are quite tasty if you eat them dipped in peanut butter or yogurt). Eggs.. (the yolk is mostly fat with the whole egg having almost as much fat as protein, so if using eggs as your primary protein source, you may want to discard some of the yolks depending on calorie goal.

Like said above, check if you get any discounts on protein powder. That can be a quick and easy way to supplement if meat is too $$.

Greek yogurt and cottage cheese are also fairly high in protein.