View Full Version : Cheap AND healthy meal ideas
Ideas please...all my cheap meals aren't healthy. No wonder most of America is fat..the cost of fresh fruits and veggies is amazing!!!!
No wonder most of America is fat..the cost of fresh fruits and veggies is amazing!!!!
Amen to that!!! :{ I'm no help here because my cheapies aren't healthy either.
angie r
02-08-2006, 02:22 PM
Brichard and I were just talking about that yesterday. It really is expensive to eat healthy. Maybe we should all be growing gardens!
Cheap and healthy only comes in the summer for us. It is usually grilled meat with veggies from our garden. Dh has planted a ton or berries and fruit trees, so I hope that helps too.
During the winter I always buy frozen veggies and not as much fruit is eaten.
What about chicken fried rice with lots of chopped veggies and using brown rice?
angie r
02-08-2006, 04:45 PM
Cheap and healthy only comes in the summer for us. It is usually grilled meat with veggies from our garden. Dh has planted a ton or berries and fruit trees, so I hope that helps too.
During the winter I always buy frozen veggies and not as much fruit is eaten.
What about chicken fried rice with lots of chopped veggies and using brown rice?
Can you plant more and put it up for winter by freezing/canning?
Melody
02-08-2006, 04:51 PM
The rice I use is Uncle Ben's converted. I have a bil and sil that are big on healthy eating and he has been going by that south beach diet for quite a long time. That's what they use, so good enough for me. LOL
You're right, not easy to eat so many veg. in the winter. Fruit here isn't getting eaten as much here too. I find pasta is always my fall back. I use the sundried tomato but sometimes I can sneak in the whole wheat pasta and no one notices. :) In the summer we do grow a garden. Last year we had too many items and it was way too much for dh. This year we are going to stick to just a few basics that I can't live without, if I can get a bunch of peppers in the freezer I would be happy.
Most of my cheapies aren't healthy either. But, they do have a pile of great ideas at Kraft for easy nights.
http://www.kraftcanada.com/EN
I just got a veggie steamer the other night so I'm hoping that it will help instead of losing nutrients through boiling. This one has bowls I can stack and it will give me room to do corn on the cob in it. :)
so basically you can't do cheap and healthy! LOL
edited to add..went to my favorite recipe site and put in 'inexpensive and healthy' in the search section....look at some of the recipes that came up!!! LOL
http://www.recipezaar.com/r/299/x89/ls=h/314
littlesista06
02-08-2006, 06:12 PM
I've found some good soup mixes that are inexpensive and my family loves them.
It's the Mrs. Grass brand. We've had the chicken noodle (just add cooked cubed chicken) and I did the beef stew tonight (just add one or two lbs. of stew meat and I added some baby carrots). I cook them in the crock pot and add a salad (bagged spinach, 'bout 2.50 a bag now) and frozen buttermilk biscuits.
Dh is REALLY having to watch his cholesterol but mainly the triglycerides (sp?) so we are cutting out the pork roasts and chops (which I thought was the other white meat, but real bad for him) and red meats and having to go with fish and chicken (I will be in the poor house buying fresh fish). He's eating LOTS of veggies and beans (good Lord) and in the summer our garden will help a whole lot.
If I come up with anything else I'll pass it on.
darlene
02-08-2006, 08:27 PM
The chicken/broccolli fetuccini that we were talking about the other day is inexpensive (I often buy ground chicken...it seems to go further) and good.
:)
angie r
02-08-2006, 09:26 PM
These look pretty good...
http://recdoc.allrecipes.com/directory/4376.asp
aztec_judy
02-08-2006, 10:58 PM
brown rice is better for ya than the white rice ..
my problem is I have to watch the amount of sodium intake .. grrrrr !!!
I do buy lots of the frozen fruits and veggies .. which has helped; but yes the fresh is expensive for sure ..
I also buy mainly the whole chicken, cut it up an then season it an freeze with the food saver.
I will sometimes marinate? it then let it sit for a couple of hours to soak up the marinade then freeze it.
I do my meatloaf that way too.
during the summer, I take an buy the veggies on sale ?? (grrr not often are they) .. and blanch them an freeze them. in the food saver bags they last up to at least about 6 to 8 mths in the freezer that way ...
since I have never learned to can things am really leary about teaching myself how to... hmmm
but have found that with the food saver and blanchin them they are ok.
atleast I dont' have to worry about freezer burn with the food saver, which is a plus. now all I have to do is buy a freezer so that I can freeze more things that way.
I use an ice cube tray to freeze my home-made soup juice an then freeze it in the food saver baggies too. like that I have my own soup juice without the sodium that comes in the canned ones at the stores (since I no longer cook with salt hardly) and that seems to help me lots.
and with have begun freezeing more onions - bells - jalopenos that way too ... tomotoes don't do so well but ah well guess there has to be one that wont' work too well .. lolol hmmmm
well, except for growing my own..i am doing all of this already!! grrr
Jen, buy the frozen tilipia...really good and reasonable. we eat that alot. put a little olive oil and smart balance and Tony's and bake or marinate in wishbone italian. we make fish tacos alot too.
littlesista06
02-09-2006, 06:13 AM
Jen, buy the frozen tilipia...really good and reasonable. we eat that alot. put a little olive oil and smart balance and Tony's and bake or marinate in wishbone italian. we make fish tacos alot too.
I think I just bought tilipia last week! LOL Thanks for the idea on what to do with it! :)
I just don't think I could eat a fish taco.... I just recently had chicken tacos at Chipotle that were great, but I can't get my head around a fish one. lol
Ann, thanks for posting the recipe site.
Angie...I like using allrecipes.com as well.
I just don't think I could eat a fish taco.... I just recently had chicken tacos at Chipotle that were great, but I can't get my head around a fish one. lol
I'm right there with ya! :lol:
KarlaB
02-09-2006, 10:14 AM
I just don't think I could eat a fish taco.... I just recently had chicken tacos at Chipotle that were great, but I can't get my head around a fish one. lol
Me either! Just reading about them somewhere makes me gaggy. LOL
angie r
02-09-2006, 11:13 AM
Brichard tried a fish taco when we were in San Diego and he really liked them.
Grilled fish with a little fresh lime and pico de gallo in a wheat or flour tortilla is very yummy!!!
angie r
02-10-2006, 07:24 AM
I got this in my email today...
http://allrecipes.com/advice/coll/healthy/nyny/top10/default.asp
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