What are inexpensive foods that are good for you?!
Answers: I want to eat better but i have a tight budget.
Celery. It is cheap and tastes good. It even has negative calories, meaning you burn more calories eating celery than the celery has in it. Celery is good with light ranch or peanut butter, both of which are also pretty cheap. These things make really good healthy snacks.
Cabbage
Kale
fiberous foods, like vegetables
If you go to Costco I think you can get 6 huge Romaine hearts for like $3, and the rest of their veggies and fruits are very reasonably priced as well.
beans (Goya)
Unroasted nuts.
low sodium canned soup
brown rice
green tea
Keep smiling, and you will see that this is the beginning and not the end.
Good luck!
cucumber
Beans
Rice (especially brown rice--it's high in fiber)
Dried beans, seasonal vegetables and fruits. I also love getting regular oatmeal and adding the fixings.
fruit is always good. bananas are cheap along with apples and you can buy strawberries and blueberries when they go on sale. Plus yogurt and granola bars are cheap and yummy! Lightly salted peanuts....
any vegetables you can get! Get some dried seaweed..it's delicious and cheap!
Oatmeal
Tea
Soups
Yogurt
Cheese
Broccoli, apples, carrots, cabbage, cauliflower, whole grain pasta, sardines, nuts, tea, garlic (stir fry any veggies with it and just eat up), olive oil.
Beans and lentils, dark leafy greens (frozen are fine), whole grains, oat meal (not the sweetened mixes, but the real stuff), eggs, any colorful veggie (again, frozen are fine and are inexpensive).
Sometimes you can get good prices on fruit if you buy a whole bag.
Quinoa.They're these really small grains/seeds that you boil and add whatever kind of vegetable or sauce you want, it's really bland and has the texture of couscous or sticky white rice. It's not the cheapest thing in the world but a little goes a really long way because it's very filling. BTW it has more essential nutrients and vitamins than practically every other grain/rice food out there.
fresh vegetables and fruit
Peanuts, bananas, whole wheat pasta, carrots, apples, beans, yogurt, frozen peas,
some fruit
some veggies
hunt for the good cheap stuff, youll find it
brown rice is cheap cheap cheap. and you can eat it with chicken which is also pretty cheap. the best way to make it is a bag of frozen mixed veggies (79 cents) and some chicken tenders with water and a can of cream of chicken soup (50 cents). cook at 350 for an hour or until tender. serve over brown rice. very cheap, very filling and lasts a week.
also,
cabbage,
beans
broccoli
-- really any frozen veggies.
if you buy thin cuts of meat (beef cutlets) or chicken or turkey cutlets-- you can use them with the veggies in a stir fry....same principles apply -- cheap, nutritious, easy and lasts for many meals.
good luck!!
Chicken is good for protein and veggies canned or fresh are in expensive. Oatmeal, rice, and cereals are good. Peanut butter and whole grain bread. I have a tight budget for a family of 4 but still we eat well. Always use coupons when you can. Look at the discounted meat at the meat counter
Broccoli and cauliflower!
Note that both are high in vitamin K which are not good for those with heart problems.
Otherwise try a combo of those (boiled or steamed) with black olives and/or onions and/or with garlic. Yum! Add parsnip, taters and any greens if desired.
Good stuff!
Rice and Beans. Very good for you. I have a pot of beans twice a week w/ onion & jalepeno. I either add the rice to the same pot just before the beans are done or, I cook the rice separetely. For an added treat: Add some stewed tomatoes to the plate. Bon Apetite'.
Fresh veggies.
Hi, It costs just as much for fresh fruits & veggies as it does prepared foods. Easy way to start is get frozen veggies, Brown rice, fish or chicken. make sure to buy 2 fresh fruits for you a day. what i do is take a bag of green pepper onion mix, throw in a can of mushrooms in the microwave. prepare my rice the night or day before so that I have 2 days worth. Then cut up & cook in a non stck pan some small pieces of chicken. shake in some soy low sodium or terriaci mix in with the veggies & put over rice. Thats your protein, fiber, veggies & then for a snack your fruit. Think simple but powerful foods. Fiber will fill you up. Fruit is natural sugar, protein in fish chcken, turkey albicore tuna. Stay way from high sodium & fat foods. no processed meats.
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This pasta meal is cheap and very good!!!
Also this potato soup is cheap and also very good!!!
Pasta: 1can of red kidney beans
1 can of tomato sauce
1 clove of garlic
elbow noodles (judge how much you like)
To much elbow noodles will thicken the sauce!!!!
salt and pepper to taste
(if you like you can add parsley to the soup!!!)
dice garlic with some olive oil til slightly brown in med pot
add can of tomato sauce and kidney beans with one can of water..let simmer...no need for a lid here...lol
while that simmers cook your elbow noodles in different pot once tender ...add the noodles to the sauce and walla you have a good cheap healthy meal that's cheap and good and FAST!!! 30 Min's total!!!
potato soup
All you'll need for this is....
potato's ...onions.....bacon....cans of evaporated milk
(6/7) (11/2) (8strips) (2)
In a big pot(if you want to make a lot)
brown your bacon ....then take out bacon and set aside...
add your pealed diced potato's and diced onion to pot...
add water to just covering the potato's and onions boil until tender turn off stove and add your bacon and milk
salt and pepper to taste...a easy cheap fast meal that's so good you'll love it!!! I promise!! please try them once..for me..lol
EDIT:Make a lot so you can freeze it for leftovers for another day...say when your really stretched for cash!!!
just an idea...we are having money problems right now..so I can relate to you being on a budget!!..I thought I'd share some ideas for you to use also ...I hope you try them...=)
buy your fruits and vegies from a neighbour or the markets. There's always people who grow too many and need to share. Or you could buy seeds for $1 a pack and grow your own tomatos, carrots, lettuce, pumpkin, spinach, cabbage, beans etc. this will save you LOTS of cash.
canned tuna
wholemeal pastas
brown rice
cheese
yogurt
buy your meat from a butcher to save money
buy your seafood direct from the early morning markets to save money
celery (good for meals and snacks)
oatmeal/rolled oats
Beans- any kind, lentils and brown rice are all very good for you and very inexpensive. Oatmeal is also very good for you and inexpensive.
Other items that are healthy and affordable are:
eggs
tuna fish
vegetables
fruit
chicken
whole wheat pasta
one brand that is great for that is kashi products, also bran flakes (which are quite good with splenda and grapes, blueberries or bannanas). cherrios are also not too bad for you, just make sure to check that they are made with oatbran or another whole grain.
whole grain bread, generic fat free proccessed cheeses (i think that one brand is blue bell or something. it has a cow on the package). tomatoes, potatoes, generic brand fat free plain yogurt (EXTREMELY healthy),
look for sales too, because almost any type of healthy food can be incorperated into a tight budget.
just look for these most important things
1.) whole grains:: essential for the human body especially for the heart, mind, and digestion.
2.) partially hydrogenated oils::: ABSOLUTELY avoid these. even if the product claims to be "trans fat free" it does not mean that it is because it can have up to .49 g of transfat PER SERVING to be considered trans fat free. so 4 servings of that already equals up to about 2 g of transfat (which can be extremely dangerous to the circulatory system).
3.) realtively low or no saturated fat.:: at most two grams of saturated fat per serving. that raises the LDL cholesterol levels and also does not take alot of energy for the body to proccess, therefore the body doesn't naturally burn the callories off.
4.) moderate sugar: try to keep it relatively low, but sugar here and there isn't too bad.
5.) LEARN TO LOVE VEGETABLES: you could eat veggies all day and not gain a pound but in order to stay healthy one would have to incorperate whole grains and protein into their diet.