Cost Effective Healthy Meal Suggestions?!
Answers: a person living alone, with a budget of $200 per month for food. any ideas for meals made in bulk that will last long, can have a separate meal made from the leftovers, small nutritious foods one could take to work for lunch. Basically anything that doesnt involve coming from a can, or kraft dinner.
Here's some make ahead ideas I've used.
Cook and freeze in containers: Spaghetti sauce and alfredo sauce. Cook up a pound of pasta (aldente). Divide it into containers and Freeze. Nuke a container of sauce. Nuke some pasta.
Make a pot of your favorite soup. Freeze in containers.
Make and freezer mini meatloaves. Two pounds of ground beef should make about six of these.
Use a muffin tin to make mini sized quiches. These freeze well and are inexpensive to make.
Lazagna is another dish that freezes well. One 9 X 13 pan would make 6-8 portions for one person. Bake, cool, cut portions, double wrap in foil and freeze.
Think in double batches. Whenever I make rice, mashed potatoes, chicken strips, meatloaf, pot roast and a host of other recipes, I make one for dinner and one for the freezer.
It will save you a bundle of money and time.
You really need to google, OAMC cooking. The acronym means once a month cooking. There's a whole bunch of people like yourself into this. It basically means you pick a day and cook for a month and freeze it all for later.
As a single person you could really save a bundle of money using these techniques. I feed two adults on less than $200 a month.
There's a 4 part method to keeping your food bill under controll. 1. Plan weekly menus 2. Buy Sales and Specials 3. Buy in bulk when it's practical. 4. Cook (make your own food and avoid most convenience foods.)
okay, i know you said no Kraft dinners, BUT, you can go to their website and there is a great feature of meal of the week in a bag, and they will tell you the ingredients that you can get. (Of course, you don't have to buy their brand. Have fun and alter the recipes). I find that rice, potatatoes and ground turkey can be stretched for several meals. I like getting whole chicken legs and cutting them up cause I can save the rest of the other pieces for later. Plus, those pieces are cheaper and you save money by buying the chicken like this. I also keep mixed vegetables, broccoli and spinach in the freezer for every meal cause you can make so many things out of these items. And those veggies are low in calories and high in antioxidants, which help us from being sick. A stir fry sounds like something you'd enjoy. Its quick, nutritious, does not come from a can and can be made in no longer than 30 minutes.
I have the same issue. I buy frozen veggies and make chicken pot pie filling in my 1.5 qt slowcooker with some creamed soups and take refrigerated pie crust dough and bake it in triangles when I want the crust to go with it.
Get a meatloaf mix packet in the spice aisle and buy the ingredients. Add a sprinkle of cheddar cheese to the mix. Put it into greased muffin pans and make a little dip in the top and fill with ketchup. These freeze really well and are great--eat one or two with a potato and some frozen veggies and you're good to go!
Shake 'n bake chicken--you can serve with rice and veggies, potatoes, bread, stovetop stuffing, whatever you want. The next meal you can put it on some lettuce with veggies and dressing, or you can make a sandwich or tacos out of it.
Basically, I try to buy whatever I can get that's frozen so it lasts longer and I'm less likely to throw it out. Get your lean cuisines when they're on sale and stock up, same deal with your beverages. Also, get off brand whenever possible--it can save a lot!
Even keeping a block of cheddar cheese or some kraft singles in the fridge along with some whole grain wheat thins or some triscuits can make a satisfying snack or meal when paired with some lunch meat.
Have fun cooking! I know I do!
Watch 'Quick Fix Meals with Robyn Miller' on the Food Network, she has great ideas and she always makes 3 meals that use some of the same ingredients to save time and money. Check www.foodnetwork.com for her recipes and showtimes.
Here are some ideas of my own! Hope they help! I love frozen veggies and bagged lettuce because they are low cost and versatile especially broccoli!
Day 1: Cook up 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts (one for tonight, one for tomorrow). For dinner have 2 grilled chicken breasts (recipe follows), oven baked fries (recipe follows), and cook some broccoli or other veggie or a salad.
Grilled Chicken
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
MARINADE
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp seasoning salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp olive oil
Directions
Mix all marinade ingredients in a ziplock bag add chicken. Chill for 4 hours. Grill chicken until well browned on both sides, turning once, 30 to 40 minutes (meat near thigh bones should no longer be pink when tested with the tip of a knife).
*Cook in the oven or on the stove top if you would prefer*
Oven Baked Fries
1 large baking potato, peeled and cut into thin strips
1 1/2 tsp grated parmesan cheese
1 1/2 tsp oil
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp black pepper
Directions
Heat oven to 450°. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.
Combine all dry ingredients and combine with potatoes, tossing to coat. Drizzle with oil, tossing again to coat. Arrange potatoes in a single layer on baking sheet and bake for 35 minutes or until golden brown.
Day 2: Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta for One
1 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
2 ounces linguine, cooked al dente
1 tsp cajun seasoning
1 tbsp butter
1/2 thinly sliced green onion
1/4-1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tbsp chopped sun-dried tomatoes
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp dried basil
pinch of ground black pepper
pinch of garlic powder
2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
Directions
Place chicken and cajun seasoning in a bowl and toss to coat. In a large skillet over medium heat, sauté chicken in butter or margarine until chicken is tender, about 5 to 7 minutes. Reduce heat add green onion, heavy cream, tomatoes, basil, salt, garlic powder, black pepper and heat through. Pour over hot linguine and toss with parmesan cheese.
Day 3: This meal will use some of the sundried tomato that is most likely leftover from last nights meal. Who doesn't love breakfast for dinner? But trust me, this is filling and delicious!
Spanish Omelette
1/2 chorizo sausage, diced small
1 1/2 tsp olive oil
1/4 green bell pepper, cut in 1/2-inch dice
2 tbsp onions, diced
about 1/4 tsp garlic powder (to your taste, some people love garlic while some don't)
1 tbsp sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, minced
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp milk
2 tbsp mozzarella cheese
Directions
Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil, bell peppers, and onion; cook until softened. Add garlic and chorizo; cook and stir for another 2 minutes. Add sun-dried tomatoes; stir to combine. Pour in eggs and rotate pan to distribute evenly. Lift edges of omelette, tilting pan to allow liquid to run under the cooked eggs. Lower heat to medium-low and cook, without stirring eggs, until set. On one half of omelette, sprinkle cheese, then fold over enclosing cheese. Garnish with chopped cilantro and sour cream if desired. *Remember, add as much or as little of each ingredient as you would like*
Day 4: Italian Sausage Melt. This uses sausage, mozzarella cheese, and peppers. All ingredients that you should already have from previous days meals.
Italian Sausage Melt
1/2 lb chorizo sausage, casings removed
1 green pepper or yellow peppers, diced
3/4 cup pasta sauce, your favorite
3/4 cup mozzarella cheese or provolone cheese, grated
1 panini bun, split in half
Directions
Heat the broiler. Sauté sausage on medium high heat breaking up as you go. Cook until no longer pink, about 8-10 minute. Drain on paper towel. Discard fat from pan. In same pan over medium heat cook peppers for 10 minutes or until brown edges form. Return sausage to pan along with the pasta sauce and simmer until almost all the liquid has evaporated. Transfer into bowl and add 1/2 cup of the cheese. Place the bun halves on broiler pan. Divide and spread the sausage mixture on the halves. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Broil until bubbling and bread is crisp. *Onion would also be great on these sandwiches. Cook with the pepper*
Day 5: Pizza! Use pasta sauce, peppers, onion, sausage, or whatever you have on hand!
Enjoy!
I am a cook and after 8 hours of cooking I was less than interested in coming home and cooking.
so on my days off I would cook several dishes and freeze them.
Pasta dishes&soups,(sans potatoes) freeze very well.
Just invest in some small containers and get to work....
a small Crock pot might be a worthy investment for you as well.
no food...it's healthy, and VERY cheap!