Eat Cheap and Healthy

You could try spaghetti squash to replace pasta or get you a spiralizer to make noodles from other different squashes. You can also replace rice with cauliflower rice. It’s not an exact alternative to rice but you can always prepare it in ways for it to be more tasty. They sell frozen cauliflower rice or you can just use a whole cauliflower and food processor to make your own. You can also mash it up as an alternative to mashed potatoes but I didn’t really care for that.

A blender for smoothies is a great way to eat more fruits. You can even add some vegetables to them.

jfrodriguez1983

What do you normally eat along with the rice? Try eating more of that and less of the rice. Like, rice fills up a quarter of your plate, the rest of it should be vegetables and proteins. It’s that simple!

chasing-the-sun

Celery and cream cheese

Apples and peanut butter

StephCurryFromThe3

Just boil some Edamame (green Soy beans) in salted water. Had that yesterday evening.

meszi1977

Swap rice for lentils as a side dish.

kiwa_tyleri

I live in Europe and I know literally no one who goes “dumpster diving” – it does happen, but I would not characterise it as common.

MsGinErso

It’s not always true that bigger is cheaper, especially if one size is on sale. Always check the unit price if available or do some simple math before deciding on a size.

Also, you have to know yourself. If you buy a larger size of something at $0.30/100g instead of $0.40/100g but you only eat half of it before it goes bad/goes stale/gets freezer burn, that larger bag was $0.60/100g. If you’re not a family of five, don’t buy like you are.

Also this may sound obvious but it’s penny wise and pound foolish if you make chicken feet and frozen vegetable meals to save money and end up eating out because your homemade food is so boring. “Luxury” grocery items are almost always cheaper than restaurants or take out, and when they’re not it’s because the take out you’re getting is a ball of grease. Some people are fine with not much variety, but if you’re not one of those people don’t pretend you are while you’re shopping. Buying a couple nicer items can make your meals more interesting, and if you need that then do that.

foodexclusive

Nice post.
When I was in uni I used to break into the local supermarket and steal the food from the bins, got me through some hungry days.

The waste is mental, I would get kilos of smoked salmon, beautiful sirloin steaks, lots of veg, all in packets all “gone bad” half an hour before I retrieved it.

I’m really curious what you meant when you said you stopped being bored, what other changes did you make?

joeenjoyssausages

Upvoted. Might want to recheck the typos in the “Here” link. “Whole food” vs “hole food”

OJimmy

Excellent tips. I’d add one thing- reduce dietary choices. Pick couple staples and stick to them. Eg- I pick one protein/fat source (semi fatty meat, or a lean meat with olives or avocado), one starch (potatoes/sweet potatoes), and a vegetable (brocolli). It makes buying things very quick and you’re likely to stick to a way of eating much more.

dadbod001

Salt fat acid heat is a great place to start for beginners. It explains basic techniques, how to develop complex flavors, and has a lot of recipes. The recipes aren’t necessarily cheap, but a lot of the ingredients can be substituted for cheaper options. It also explains how different staples are commonly used and what goes with what.

Meal prepping is your friend. A few hours on the weekend and you can have meals for the whole week. Some meals store easily in the freezer for months if you want to do a really large batch of something your family eats frequently. If you hate eating the same thing regularly, meal prep core components of dishes like meat. For example, you could roast a bunch of chicken with just salt and pepper, freeze it, and when you want to use it you can add any flavor to it that you want with a sauce. Another way to cut down on time is with frozen pre cut vegetables. They are actually even healthier than fresh vegetables at a grocery store although they don’t work for some applications.

If your partner likes carbs such as pasta, you can substitute the pasta for zucchini or spaghetti squash for yourself and the rest of the components can remain the same. Over time, you can learn little tricks like this. You don’t have to learn it all over night. Find some recipes that look good and then do a bit of research on what ingredients can be exchanged for healthier options for yourself.

To cut down on food waste, there is really no way of getting around this: you must find recipes that use common ingredients or only buy exactly the amounts you need. There are a bunch of apps you can use to help; where you put in your pantry ingredients and the app gives you recipes.

fserv11

Not addressing your concerns on the questions since those pieces have been answered, but on the time factor…

Maybe you have one already, but I would recommend getting a good baby carrier/wearing system that will allow you to do things while still caring for baby, including cooking….just dont go deep frying. once they can face out while wearing, the baby will also get to see routines/task/chores which will be good for them too.

LameDonaldDuck

1. Try doing the dishes from scratch. Step by step you can exchange bought things with hommade things. So you can add some vegis in small steps.
2. Pre cook dinners for a few days that you can heat up for when days like this happen. The other days cook fresh
3. It’s your decision I eat one hot meal a day for lunch or dinner. When I had a hot lunch I usually eat bread , soup or vegetables with dip for dinner.
4.
See 1. Try adding more veggies in spots where they don’t be in the center of the dish. Make nice veggie side dishes. Prepare your meals so everyone can decide how much of veggies and carbs he wants to eat but make it come together as a whole dish not two separate dishes.

MFCT93

You got this.

nasalspaghetti

I think following cooks and chefs online helped me a bit finding inspiration for cheap and nice recipes that aren’t always just pasta or rice. I love Jack Monroe! She does a lot of cheap recipes including using cans, and she’ll often even tell you what you can use your leftover ingredients for.

For lunch I pesonally have either some leftovers, or soup with bread – I make a big pot of soup and eat that over three-four days.

I am vegetarian and my partner isn’t. Usually he’ll eat vegetarian too. If I am cooking, I wouldn’t cook meat, and you can make vegetarian food filling and rich in carbs too. I think if my partner wants meat, he can just cook his own on the side. But I wouldn’t expect meat at every meal anyway, I think as a rule eating meat two/three times a week is normal and I don’t think there is any need for meat at each meal.

PurpleMuskogee

My kids love my homemade fudgesicles made from avocados. It’s just avos, cocoa powder, honey and enough milk (cow, cashew, coconut, whatever) to blend, then poured into popsicle molds and frozen. So good.

_incredigirl_

Oooo you just gave me an idea… I will definitely be using tea to make popsicles! An Arnold Palmer popsicle sounds incredible

fluffyblankies

As a child of the 90s, we always had koolaid and pudding mix popsicles. Fresh fruit ones sound delicious!

alyxmj

I like to put fruit yogurt in the molds for homemade frozen yogurt! My favourite is peach and mango 🙂

dragonswithhats

Mint tea is genius…

konija88

I do this with leftover winter squash too — butternut, pumpkin, acorn, etc. I add pumpkin pie spice and almond milk and stevia (I do like it sweet)

coco-coco-coco

Oh I think this may have just changed my life….

I don’t like bananas, I mean I REALLY don’t like them. Smell, taste, texture, appearance. It’s the only fruit that I can think of that I dislike. Most smoothie recipes have banana in them, obviously for texture. I had never even thought of using sweet potato as a substitute – but it makes perfect sense! I love sweet potatoes so I would need to cover up the taste of them in any way so I am going to give this a shot! Thank you SO much!!!

caro_in_ca

Another good root veggie to add to smoothies is roasted beets (no need to add oil or S&P, just plain). Where I am a 10 lb bag of beets often goes on sale for $2 so it’s a really frugal, tasty option too!

AnonBureaucrat

I have tried pumpkin in my smoothie before but never considered using sweet potato. Thank you for the tip!

chickenLike

Speaking of skin, next time you get a kiwi just eat it like an apple

No questions

Just do it

ihaveaquesttoattend

Home made tzaziki sauce is one of my favorites. Just mix shredded/salted/drained cucumber, minced garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. It’s amazing for fresh veggies and any kind of bread. Hell, I’m putting it on boiled potatoes but I’m pregnant and it’s just good to me right now haha.

AgonyInTheIrony

Thanks for the tip! This is a great idea.

imdonewiththisnow

Specifically Greek yogurt I think for both sweet and savory.
A scoop of yogurt with salsa is a delicious dip.

RumblinBumbler

You all have made me very hungry… with no yogurt, ranch or honey. But tomorrow, I feast! Thanks for the ideas.

pastdancer

Try some peanut butter or powdered peanut butter and some cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice to the one with the honey! Soooo good!

anonymouseats

I add spices like nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom and vanilla.

onekewlmom

I never liked oatmeal until I learned you can make it savory. Use stock instead of water, cook some veggies in it, add oatmeal and flavorings and cook until done.

For example: cook Peas + broccoli + oatmeal, coat the bowl in a thin layer of miso, add your cooked oatmeal, some thinly sliced spring onion, sunny side up egg and some sesame oil.

MarijnBerg

This is probably super weird but I like mine overcooked a little bit so it gets sticky/gummy, and then I pour milk over the top of it. It reminds me of bread pudding or something.

ApoplecticDetective

I like to add a tablespoon of almond butter to mine and banana

X_Luffy_X

Once I stumbled upon overnight oats.. I always do this before going to bed;

in a tupperware bowl pour in my oats, milk, protein powder, these are the basics then I choose between different ‘toppings’.

T1: banana mashed, coffee powder(yeah coffee, it will dissolve overnight and give it a boost coffee flavor).

T2: Peanut butter, dark chocolate bits.

T3: Lime, coconut powder (or desiccated coconut).

thisisBigToe

i suggest swapping stuff out for eggs, they are cheap and nutricious.

A stir fry with cabbage, rice and scrambled eggs. (i like to add siracha and grated carrots to it)

Pasta with sauce, broccoli and a boiled egg.

A frittata.

Quice with left over stuff.

Hi_there_bye

How do you feel about lentils? I used to not enjoy the texture/flavor of beans, but I love soupy lentils.

topshelfesteem

Sweet potatoes are cheap, nutritious and very filling. You can season them to go with any type of food.

You can bake them in the skin and add toppings. But I like to dice them with the skin on, toss with oil and seasonings, and roast in the oven.

mrsrariden

I also don’t like beans, but generally eat quite cheap and reasonably nutritious.

We do eat a lot of carbs and starch for cheap volume – pasta can be couponed for cheap, plus it’s cheap to begin with, as are rice and potatoes. Most meals have some form of meat that I found for a killer deal, such as drumsticks I got for 39¢/lb last week or other inexpensive cuts. Find out when your store marks down produce and meat, mine is Tuesday morning before the new ad starts on Wednesday, and scour the store. I generally won’t pay more than $2/lb for meat (my ground beef threshold is more like $3.50), and keep our dinners under $2 per serving (shopping and cooking for two). Kroger stores have a noticeable Managers Clearance sticker I hunt for. They also mark down bagged salads, chopped fresh vegetables, and other stuff in the produce section that is getting a little wilty. These surprises usually go into the freezer or find a quick adaptation during the week, since I plan meals before going to the store. The next week’s meal plan will include the scores from last week, and maybe some goods from before that too. Buy things you know you’ll use when they’re cheap and freeze. With the quantity at my store, you could probably survive on markdowns alone and save 50-75%.

On that note, download your grocery store’s app – Kroger family are the best – and check out the ads, coupons, and other promotions, trying to combine for the best deals. Especially during the summer, produce sales are a requirement for me. Including a veggie in every meal is important to us so we get whatever is on a good sale and usually supplement with frozen broccoli and cauliflower. (PS roasting broccoli and cauliflower from frozen is a game changer). After looking at the ad I make a quick list of recipes + sides we’re going to have and plan the list on that – don’t neglect the value of not wasting any food. I love to cook and bake from scratch, so making all our bread and bread products like buns, naan etc is also a great cost savings. It is still important to me to eat well (variety, flavor, and nutrition) so this is not as cheap as HUMANLY possible but the same principles apply.

Hope that helps. I can share our dinner plan spreadsheet with you if you’d like, just PM me.

veenotvicky

You can easily do a soup that had vegetables, beans, rice, and other good stuff in it. Try a chicken tortilla soup recipe for something different. Use brown rice and black beans in that for some nutrition.

failtolearn

Thank you.

I Haven’t tried your recipe, but I do love fatayer!! I order every couple day’s for my no-cook day. Thankfully where I live we can feed two people for about $5ish with fatayer.

I wanted to say that the spinach fatayer they serve here is very lemon flavoured. I’m not a big fan. But we have asked them to not add the lemon in and I really enjoyed it. Also a spinach and cheese variety is great!!

neelhtaky

Palestinian food (and the surrounding Levant countries) have so many easy/cheap/delicious and healthy recipes. My ex was Palestinian and she introduced me to their cuisine which I’m very grateful for. Thank you for taking the time to share this recipe when i have time I’ll give it a go 🙂

NickyBlicky

In my hometown we make tomato fatayer. Same recipe for the dough.

For the filling: diced tomatoes, parsley, lemon juice, sumac, olive oil and salt. Drain for a few hours or overnight in a bowl (save the juice and use as a dip for the fatayer).

rni8

This sounds amazing, thanks OP! I am going to try and make these. What does Sumac taste like?

PoppyAckerman

I’m Mexican Palestinian….

And I make them of everything I can find.

Ground Beef onions with parsley
Are the best

bnb_aee

Cottage cheese and sriracha is so good I could eat a whole container. also cottage cheese and parm. And cottage cheese with salt and pepper. Or just plain cottage cheese. I love cottage cheese is what I’m saying especially when it’s runny

bongmitzfah

You can whip cottage cheese (not into a full whipped cream) but turn it into a lighter fluffier creamy topping and treat it like a cream.

jessdb19

And with pineapple!

WitchWayDoIGo

Cottage cheese is a staple for me, usually with some kind of berries. I’ll also use pineapple or avocado.

builtinthekitchen

Yeah idk where cottage cheese was my while life. I’ve eaten it pretty much every day for the past 2 months since I discovered it.

Literally just delicious, low calorie protein that can be flavored with anything. I’ve had chocolate powder, PBfit, pumpkin pie, peaches, berries. Endless.

I even added straight protein powder a few days ago since I totally missed my macros.

phisch13