I need super cheap but healthy meal ideas?

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  • krokador
    krokador Posts: 1,794 Member
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    Frozen veggies tend to be on the cheaper side of the spectrum, won't spoil very quickly and are quite easy to prepare/season. Potatoes and rice are great cheap carb sources (especially if you cook/prepare them yourself). Pasta cna be used in moderation. For the protein, any cut of meat that's on sale will go well. extra lean ground pork has a pretty amazing nutritional value, and typically goes for half what beef does (and is delicious). Pork loins. Chicken thighs are extremely cheap, you can cook a whole bunch of 'em at once, then spend some time removing the skin from the bones and splitting it out into different meals. Frozen fish is also a decent idea as it tends to be cheaper than fresh (although also a bit more bland, but seasoning is key). Get 1 big thing of montreal steak seasoning and put that stuff on everything.

    Buying in bulk, in general, will also save you lots of money. Cheese for example: buy a big 1kg brick when it's on sale, shred it and put into a big ziploc freezer bag, and if you have the space, try to make little compartments of it while it's freezing to make it easier to break up (or split into smaller portions into smaller baggies in the big baggie). Meat cooked in bulk can be portioned out and frozen to keep longer. Get the vegetables that are in season, if you can from a farmer's market as it tends to run cheaper and the stuff if fresher, thus will keep longer.
  • Emw148
    Emw148 Posts: 22 Member
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    Eggs are inexpensive, nutritious, and who doesn't love breakfast for dinner? Add veggies and cheese, make your own healthy fat home fries if you aren't cutting back on carbs
  • madwells1
    madwells1 Posts: 510 Member
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    Along with all the other posters above who have great ideas, I find that when I focus on NOT wasting stuff, I can get a lot more food from things.

    For example, if my vegetables are starting to turn, I either freeze them or make vegetable soup. I also eat everything I buy and try not to throw any of it away.

    This means that I usually go to the grocery store every day and buy whatever protein is marked down and whatever I may need to complete a meal.

    Most grocery stores cut the price on their meat when the date is about to expire. It's amazing how much the markdown is on things and people are scared to buy it because they think it's going to go bad. As long as you freeze it or eat is straight away, it is no different than the other stuff. I then use then chicken bones (from thighs, breasts and whole chickens) for my own stock (I freeze them if I don't have time).

    If you ask your fish monger in the store for shrimp shells or heads, they usually just give them to you. You can make stock with them, throw in some vegetables and potatoes, and you have a nice soup.

    I also make my own staples like yogurt and bread. Although I don't eat many carbs, I make my own dutch oven bread when I feel the need.

    I also frequent asian markets for produce as they always have the best deals.

    Also, most groceries now allow you to load coupons on your loyalty cards from home. No cutting required. If they double coupons you can get some pretty great deals. For example, last week I wanted to carb load and since I didn't have any pasta at home, I went to the store. I found a 1 lb of whole wheat pasta on sale. There was a jar of a new product (sugar free, organic) pasta sauce with a coupon attached. The store doubled the coupon, and I ended up paying $1.25 for both. That fed me for the night, and I only used 1/4 of the pasta, and froze the rest of the tomato sauce.

    Note, I am blessed not to need to cut corners on groceries, but I was spending way too much money on food. I started with the simple idea of trying not to throw anything away, and I have been able to eat like a royal for very little.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,656 Member
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    There is also a series on the BBC called "Eat Well for Less" about cutting down on food bills. Can you see the you tube versions in the US?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFwV3b_jNSk
  • giulianabruce28
    giulianabruce28 Posts: 5 Member
    edited July 2018
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    grow your own herbs and vegetables, being italian I think pasta and risotto work out quite cheap . Pasta with pesto, pasta with tomato sauce and chilli, spaghetti with oil/chilli/garlic and fresh parsley and tuna. Risotto, mushroom risotto is one of my favourite
  • sra455
    sra455 Posts: 57 Member
    edited July 2018
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    you might want to try looking at recipes on this site: https://www.budgetbytes.com/

    it's not all advertised as healthy, but i'm sure there are some. they break everything down by prices per recipe and per serving, it's really great.

    I make the dragon noodles (https://www.budgetbytes.com/spicy-noodles/) all the time as a cheap meal at only 271 calories a serving...

    some of my other favorites are
    Curried chickpeas and spinach over some rice (which is super cheap) https://www.budgetbytes.com/curried-chickpeas-spinach/
    spinach feta grilled cheese, 436 calories for 1 sandwich https://www.budgetbytes.com/spinach-feta-grilled-cheese/
    chorizo sweet potato chili, 405 cal per serving https://www.budgetbytes.com/chorizo-sweet-potato-chili/
  • MegaTunez11
    MegaTunez11 Posts: 200 Member
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    Egg in a hole is a cheap breakfast idea. During mid week is when markets have their cheapest deals on Chicken. Buy a super pack and simply place in crock pot and shred it after a few hours and you could have chicken tacos, bbq chicken over rice, mix a can of cream of chicken soup with chicken over rice.
  • juliejulie120
    juliejulie120 Posts: 5 Member
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    Jiggs Dinner = boiled meat (traditionally salt beef but I prefer corned beef) + yellow split peas (which cooks down to make peas pudding) + carrots + potatoes, everything boils in one large pot, including the Figgy Duff (its a sweet dumpling type bread thing with raisins), it feeds a lot of people and is easy to cook.
  • reta6
    reta6 Posts: 5 Member
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