Healthy food with no money!

Options
ericalynnri
ericalynnri Posts: 5
in Recipes
I started this topic b/c I often find myself shopping at places like family dollar and the dollar store for food. Two reasons: proximity and a lack of cash: So I still want to make healthy choices and I figured this would be a great topic to start posting healthy but super cheap recipes.

Here are a couple things I do:

I make filling foods that I can eat less of to keep me going.

Everything but the sink Tuna fish- cheese (parmigiana if I'm out of the good stuff), raisins, lettuce, miracle whip, salt & pepper, saltines and generally anything else I can find that I think will taste good. It's cheap you can make a lot of it and instead of bread (which I actually love) I will try to have it on crackers.

Tuna, Mac & Cheese, canned Spinach and Peas- is really good and filling.

So lets keep this going:

Replies

  • Onesnap
    Onesnap Posts: 2,819 Member
    Options
    Rice and beans! A little spices go a long way. :)
  • fatguyweightloss
    fatguyweightloss Posts: 145
    Options
    Eggs are pretty cheap, if you are not afraid of fat sources they normally are cheap and looking at most scientific studies are much healthier than we have been told by the USDA...
  • meewii
    meewii Posts: 42 Member
    Options
    Can chicken, rice and some seasoning... Oatmeal is another choice, cheap, filling, good for you and low in cals...boiled egg :)
  • Bigaug
    Bigaug Posts: 395 Member
    Options
    Spaghetti squash is super cheap, and it goes a long way. Surprisingly easy to make too. It could be done with a simple red sauce, or as a replacement for pasta in any Italian style dish.
    Aldis has ground turkey for $1.49/lbs, that's cheaper than beef.
    I second the beans and rice nomination. I make a red beans and rice that flippin rocks, and so cheap. Carbs are high, but it's cheap and healthy.

    aug
  • Leola2011
    Leola2011 Posts: 192
    Options
    Use meat for flavor more than substance. I've changed my ideas of what the "main course" of a meal should be.
  • dls06
    dls06 Posts: 6,774 Member
    Options
    Lots of frozen veggies to add to pasta dishes or rice. :drinker:
  • beccyleigh
    beccyleigh Posts: 847 Member
    Options
    can of tuna, tablespoon of pesto, tablespoon of light mayo, half a can of sweetcorn, a sprinkle of crispy friend onions, served on ryvita crackerbreads. very filling & tasty.
  • h0taru
    h0taru Posts: 43
    Options
    Usually, if you try local seasonal fruits and veggies, there are cheap, healthy, and great for the earth too.
  • beccyleigh
    beccyleigh Posts: 847 Member
    Options
    I also make alot of pan roasted vegetables which last for days in the fridge. you can use cheaper value packs of the vegetables & it is a good way of bulking out pasta dishes or just eat with grilled chicken.

    Bag of value mixed peppers (red, green, yellow bell peppers)
    leeks
    garlic
    aubergine
    courgette
    mushrooms
    2-3 tablespoon of olive oil

    slice veg, chuck in a roasting dish, toss in the olive oil & pan roast on a high heat in the oven until the veg are soft & edges start to crisp. Put all including the juices in a Tupperware dish & refrigerate. Lasts up to 5-6 days.
  • fatguyweightloss
    fatguyweightloss Posts: 145
    Options
    As for veggies it is always cheaper to grow your own. Fresh veggies is always cheaper than frozen and you can freeze the extra yourself with just a couple minutes of work to blanch them.

    I would also ask the question of priorities food quality equals better health. Anything in the budget that does not really make the bar to achieve better health.
  • LaComadreja14
    LaComadreja14 Posts: 277 Member
    Options
    I don't know if you have a latino market by you but they are usually cheaper than your average grocery store, for produce anyway. I looooove avacado and I get them all the time <3 much cheaper at the LM than anywhere else.

    Corn Tortillas instead of bread.. we both home make them and buy them- depends on how lazy we're feeling

    I don't like a lot of whole wheat stuff but I have to admit, Club Crackers whole weat crackers are delicious!

    I hate lettuce but I love fresh veggies so I make lettuce-less salad. I don't know how filling this will be for others because I get full pretty quick but my fav:
    1 red bell pepper sliced
    1 yellow bell pepper sliced
    green bell pepper sliced
    1/2 a cucumber sliced
    1 egg sliced
    I am a salt fiend- I cant not have it soooo I put a little instead of dressing.... Im so glad you made this post because I havent made that in a long time and now I am really dying for some :P

    I love campbells soups, my fav is the beef with country veggies

    Plantain chips! We home make them ooor we make guineo chips (Guineos are green bananas) I loooove guineo chiips!

    Homemade tomato soup! Steam two big tomatos until you can peel away the skin easily- mash them up and mix in water till its sort of soupie bring it to a boil then add a bit of your fav kind of milk (be it skim or whole or w/e- its really your prefrence) and spices to your likeing and just pour it through a strainer to catch the seeds and boom- ready :) Its simple, cheap, yummy and its to your prefrence!

    I love mango with a little salt or chili powder

    If you haven't tried them, Chayote's are soooo good and they're good for you (rich in amino acids and vitamin C) and Yuca (a root that is used in soups and stews instead of potatoes, it is also rich in vitamin C + it is rich in dietary fiber) don't try to eat it raw. I was joking around with my fiancee one day and did that. Ew. Cooked, however, it is reallly yummy- we use it in home made chicken/beef/seafood soups.. I will have to attempt to remember to post the recipe's!

Categories