I'm a big fan of soup and salad for lunch. I make vegetable soup and add protein in the form of pulses or quinoa flakes, occasionally peanut butter. Then I have a slice of bread and almond butter and make a salad to go with. Raw baby spinach is great for salads.
This may have already been mentioned: put 3-4 chicken breasts in the crock pot and a jar of salsa. Cook 4 hrs on high. Shred chicken with a fork.
Yummy in tortillas (buy the smallest ones-80 calories) or on lettuce like a taco salad.
Yes, you don't need yeast to do tortillas- just flour, water, and sometimes baking soda (depending on the recipe you use). Allrecipes has some good ones. I just use flour and water . It takes a bit of time, but if you do a bunch of tortillas in one sitting you can freeze them and have them for a while
Glad you enjoyed the curry! Yes I usually add generous amounts of peanut butter. I usually make mine with coconut milk, peanut butter, red chili paste (Thai Kitchen has some versions you can find at many grocery stores), ginger, lemon grass, and lime juice. But you can tweak as you like. (Note: this is very similar to what I do: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/the-bes...ce/detail.aspx).
You can also do curry paste + coconut milk for a delicious curry, if you get tired of peanut butter. It's lower in fat, calories, and sugar.
Pad thai and drunken noodles are other similar dishes you can cook with similar ingredients. I do a very light drunken noodles- basically just sautee your protein (chicken, tofu, etc) and bell peppers and tomatoes in soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and just a bit of brown sugar. Then toss in rice noodles into the mix and cook until noodles are coated and mixed with other ingredients.
I know several of the items I mentioned are not on your normal grocery list, but things like soy sauce, ginger, and garlic are inexpensive and last a looong time.
I've found Thai, Indian, and Mexican food to have some great inspirations for new things to do with the same "old" products. It's all about the spices, which fortunately, are calorie-free
I used to make flour tortillas and flatbreads all the time (hubby loved them). My favorite recipe contained just flour, water, a tiny pinch of salt and sometimes a teaspoon of oil (if I was going to fry them on an oiled or buttered skillet, I wouldn't put any oil in the dough. If I was going to cook them in a non-stick pan with no oil or just a quick spray of cooking spray, then I would put oil in the dough).
I've discovered that I can't eat wheat without problems (skin issues, mostly) so I don't make them as much anymore. Hubby doesn't care for corn tortillas, and I find them a little harder to make, so I just buy a huge stack at Aldi (if you have an Aldi store near you, you can save a lot of money, and most of their brands are very good). The Aldi brand of canned soup, in my opinion, is as good or superior to Campbell's and half to one third the price (48 cents per can, I believe. And the cream of mushroom is the best I've ever tasted).
They're also the cheapest source of frozen strawberries and frozen vegetables I've every found. Their fresh produce tends to be significantly more expensive than other local sources though (except for some bulk bags of fruit and vegetables. Potatoes and onions are usually cheaper).
For many foods, Walmart has a brand as cheap as the Aldi, but you often have to look for it. For example the 50 cent canned soups at Walmart are almost always on the lowest shelf.
Also, Walmart (at least they used to) has a matching guarantee, which means if you take in the flyer from other stores, including Aldi, they will match the price - but it has to be the exact item or brand and it can't be "buy one, get one free" or any other sale that doesn't state a specific price.
I prefer Aldi to Walmart, because at Walmart the impulse purchases are far more tempting. A lot of people don't like Aldi, because they say it's hard to do all of your shopping there. They do have most of the basics, but you don't have a lot of choice. For example, with breakfast cereals, you'll find half a dozen or more choices, but never duplicates. For example, there's one brand of corn flakes, not five.
Another great thing about Aldi is their double your money back guarantee. If you return an item because it's damaged, or just because you didn't like it, they will give you double your money back. Or in the case of a damaged product, you can choose either double your money back, double your product, or your money back AND a new product.
I don't know if this is a feature of all Aldi stores, but they have been of all the Aldi stores we've used in Illinois and Wisconsin.
Hubby doesn't care for corn tortillas, and I find them a little harder to make, so I just buy a huge stack at Aldi (if you have an Aldi store near you, you can save a lot of money, and most of their brands are very good). The Aldi brand of canned soup, in my opinion, is as good or superior to Campbell's and half to one third the price (48 cents per can, I believe. And the cream of mushroom is the best I've ever tasted).
They're also the cheapest source of frozen strawberries and frozen vegetables I've every found. Their fresh produce tends to be significantly more expensive than other local sources though (except for some bulk bags of fruit and vegetables. Potatoes and onions are usually cheaper).
.......
I prefer Aldi to Walmart, because at Walmart the impulse purchases are far more tempting. A lot of people don't like Aldi, because they say it's hard to do all of your shopping there. They do have most of the basics, but you don't have a lot of choice. For example, with breakfast cereals, you'll find half a dozen or more choices, but never duplicates. For example, there's one brand of corn flakes, not five.
Another great thing about Aldi is their double your money back guarantee. If you return an item because it's damaged, or just because you didn't like it, they will give you double your money back. Or in the case of a damaged product, you can choose either double your money back, double your product, or your money back AND a new product.
I don't know if this is a feature of all Aldi stores, but they have been of all the Aldi stores we've used in Illinois and Wisconsin.
Kaplods beat me to the punch! When you mentioned just Kroger and Wally World I immediately wondered if there was an Aldi near you. The selection is much lower at Aldi but what you find there is much cheaper than what you would find at Walmart and Kroger. ( I used to do the bulk of my shopping at Aldi and supplemented with Walmart.) The amount of lower calorie and healthy items seems to be expanding for them every year as well.
You might also want to try Save A Lot stores if you have one instead: http://save-a-lot.com/
I haven't shopped there in years since there isn't one close but when I lived close to an Aldi and Save A Lot I used to get most of my foods from both stores on the cheap with a nice variety.
Kaplods has mentioned getting food at Big Lots before and I would suggest it as well. No way will you find most of your items here but if you have one close you can sometimes find very unique and interesting items for much cheaper than they were originally.
Back when I had to be very frugal I also shopped at Dollar General and other dollar stores to supplement. There is a lot of junk there, but sometimes you can find things. (I remember getting packages of crab meat for a dollar a piece one time for instance.) I would definitely suggest the above stores first, but if you don't have them near you then check out a dollar store.
It is possible that you could expand the quantity and variety of food you get by shopping at some different places.
Your list of food looks great. If you are looking at losing weight I would suggest going light on the peanut butter. It is good for your but calorically dense. I hate eating very small quantities of food myself and my biggest suggestion is to add vegetables to everything to create more bulk. Throw fresh or frozen veggies in your pastas, casseroles, burritos, meat sauces, etc. Zucchini is one of my favorites to add to recipes because to me it has a mild flavor and adds nutrients and bulk without changing the flavor too much.
Do you have a Sams Club in your area? A lot of the items on your list are available at Sams for less than Walmart. You have to know your prices, though, because not everything is a deal. Plus you can get things like giant tubs of salad and spinach for $3.98.
Do you have a good natural food store? You can buy bulk beans and grains which are much fresher than those sold at walmart. I've noticed a huge difference in the quality.
Also, most natural food stores sell herbs and spices in bulk so you can buy as small amount as you need. Ounce for ounce, buying them this way costs pennies vs dollars for packaged herbs and spices.
It's also farmers market season. You might not be able to use your food stamps there but if you normally spend cash on what your food stamps don't cover, then you could spend it there instead.
I personally don't buy any food that comes with a coupon. They are always for higher priced, highly processed foods and aren't a bargain in the end. Cook from scratch
Irishlad, your curry recipe sounds fantastic! I can't wait to go out and buy hot curry powder so I can make it. I think I'll add fresh ginger, too. Thanks for sharing!
Irishlad, I finally found hot curry powder and make your recipe tonight. I made it with 1 1/2 pounds chicken, 2 green peppers, 1 onion, 1 entire head of cauliflower, 2 1-pound cans of diced tomatoes, and about 3 inches of fresh ginger, grated. It was so good! Thank you again for sharing!
I have a Save-a-lot and an Aldi. I used to shop at Save-a-lot before we got on foodstamps, but I haven't been there in a while, because our diet was really horrible when we used to shop there. Aldi is a bit far off, and because I can't drive, I carpool with my mom, and she doesn't like to go out so far. I like to buy their Roser Moth chocolates whenever I go. They satisfy my sweet tooth better than other sweets, and are a bit lower in calories. I would shop at Big lots or dollar stores, but I don't think they accept food stamps.
. It takes a bit of time, but if you do a bunch of tortillas in one sitting you can freeze them and have them for a while 
