Any suggestions for meals on a budget? I'm also looking for easy. I'm not a cook, so anything without a lot of ingredients or prep time is best.

Cheap, easy, quick and tasty. Not too much to ask, is it? LOL!

Thanks!

Heidi

There's articles in a lot of magazines these days about eating on the cheap as the economy is down. Some ideas off the top of my head. Tuna is affordable. Beans are cheaper then meat. Buy chicken in bulk, grill up a ton of it and mix it in salads, soups etc. Whole wheat pasta, mixed with chicken. Dried milk, mix it up for cereals etc, cheaper then buying milk all the time. Fruit that's in season is cheaper of course. Big bags of veggies bought bulk, frozen. Tortillas for wraps. Buy bigger yogurts etc rather then small portions as it's cheaper. Large hunks of cheese, freeze some rather then grated or sticks. Eating clean and healthy isn't really cheap, but it's an investment in yourself.

lean cuisines! you can get 5 for $10 at safeway, also progresso light soups are usually on sale. 45 calorie bread usually pretty cheap, cottage cheese, yogurts are always cheap! like 60 cents a cup. get a big bag of frozen chicken breast, some bags of lettuce.. they usually have those like 2 for $3 at safeway too- stir fry bags of veggies i like birds eye stir fry veggies 2 bags for $3. you can always get lunch meat i get foster farm chicken breast lunch meat it's only 20 cals a slice.. light mayo or olive oil mayo to make sandwiches with, low fat cheese is pretty in expensive.. they also make low cal turkey bacon and low fat hot dogs great for quick meals, low carb tortillas or the thing yellow corn tortillas.

canned veggies like peas and and string beans are always on sale.

holy crap... thats expensive! I just went to Kroger today and its about a dollar and some change here. maybe it was on sale...?

Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers (asian cuisine) are delish.

Things can be more expensive depending on where you live. I know there are Safeway's in California where things are are just plain expensive. I was born there, and lived there most of my life. I moved to Missouri about 5 years ago, and food is just plain cheaper here. Perhaps food prices are high in Seattle as well. So, the Safeway Lean Cuisines might indeed be a good deal, it just depends what the other stores in her area are charging.

I live in Redmond just across the water from Seatle, lived in Seattle most of my life. Although it sounds like food is expensive here, it's relative to wages and you can get really good deals on food if you shop sales, or buy in bulk.

I think that's the trick anywhere, though, look for sales and/or buy in bulk and freeze it.

There are a lot of thread here on dieting on a budget. If you do a search on those two words, (or Aldi - because the store is almost always mentioned in discussions of dieting on a budget), you'll find alot of suggestions, including easy recipes.

In several of the threads I've given my recipe for my browned ground beef/tvp mixture. I brown ground beef and tvp (textured vegetable protein, or soy protein) togethere with some diced onion and seasoning salt. I use dry tvp granules from the health food store (they look sort of like grapenuts cereal), because they're about the same cost per pound as medium quality ground beef, but a lb of tvp is equivalent to about 3 lbs of ground beef, so per serving tvp is 1/3 the cost of ground beef. Also, because tvp is very low fat, I can use a little bit cheaper, little higher fat ground beef (rather than the 95% lean, which is pretty expensive), and just add more tvp.

It's as easy as browning hamburger (except you have to add equal parts of hot water as tvp - I start browing the beef with the dry tvp and once the meat is starting to lose it's pinkness then I add the hot water).

Yes, it's cooking, but it's something you can do once and then keep in the freezer and make tons of super quick recipes with it. After it's browned I let it cook a bit, then pour it into a ziploc bag or tupperware container and stick it in the freezer. Every couple minutes, I stir or shake the mixture so that it freezes into crumbles that can be easily measured out and used for easy meals like.

Scooping out 1/2 cup to 1 cup

and adding a low calorie barbecue sauce (microwaving or simmering on the stove).

Adding taco seasoning and a bit of salsa (microwave or stove) to make taco filling

Adding to tomato soup with a can of beans for a low calorie chili

Adding a bit of teriyaki or stir fry sauce and some frozen mixed veggies or fresh onion and green pepper using soft tortillas to make stir fry wraps (sort of a Mu Shu or chinese taco)

Adding to a low fat spaghetti sauce and serving over whole wheat or regular pasta

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If you have an Aldi store, they're a great store for the budget. Their Fit and Active brand is very good, and they've got some really great bargains on staples. Their condensed soups are better than Campbell's (in my opinion) and are only about 50 cents compared to Campbell's at over a $1. Frozen chicken legs and thighs are a great bargain there (and at almost any grocery). Yes, dark meat chicken is a bit higher in fat and calories than white meat, but not by all that much - and tends to be a little moister and more flavorful as well (harder to dry out during cooking, so that's a plus for someone not very used to cooking).

One of my favorite fast, cheap recipes for meats is to do a healthier version of a "shake and bake." I marinate chicken pieces in reduced calorie ranch dressing overnight. Then I add a bit of garlic and seasoning salt (maybe an 1/4 tsp of each) to about 1/2 cup of bread crumbs (whole wheat, if I can find it) and a tablespoon of wheat germ into a ziploc bag or tupperware container and shake to blend. Then I put the chicken pieces one at a time into the bag or container and shake to coat, and then on a cookie sheet (sprayed with cooking spray) and bake until the juices run clear and the meat is done (about 30 to 40 minutes)

This also works for fish and lean cuts of pork. If you wanted a lean "country fried steak" you could do it with cube steak also.

Aldi's has a whole line of Active Fit products that are very cheap.

Healthy choice steamers are good, they were on sale here $2 a piece and I had a $1 off 2 coupon, so it was $2 for two.. But it seems as if there needs to be more chicken (Could used some canned?)

http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/40dollarmenu.htm

This woman has made a very healthy, low fat cheap menu using beans and all that jazz for protein.

Coupon clip! I've found veggies coupons a lot.

I LOVE the hillbilly housewife site - she also has information on exchange plans for dieting.

Eating on a budget for me means SOUP! Since i'm single, I can eat from that for months! And it's a great way to get in you veggies!

Brown rice! You can get it in bulk for really cheap, and it will last you forever. Also, split pea soup. If you have a crock pot, you can buy yourself two bags of dried split peas, add 6 cups of boiling water (you can add chicken boullion if you have it for flavor) and some chopped onion and carrots, let it simmer all day on low and you have a lot of cheap, tasty soup.

I too am on a very tight budget and I buy things like oats, eggs, brown rice, apples, salad mix, celery, tuna, dried beans and peas, canned veggies and yes, sometimes I like to get the low fat, low sodium Progresso soups cause they are really yummy and where we shop you can get them for 1.25 each .

I just paid $1.66 per lean cuisine-- sale at Shopright, NJ