Eat Cheap and Healthy

This is the exact recipe for making paneer, a relatively expensive Indian cheese. One variation is to compress the cheese for about an hour, still in the cheese cloth, between 2 plates. This makes the cheese nice and firm and slow to melt when adding it to a sauce.

GrumpyGogglor1

> for a bag of milk

I see you are from Ontario as well!

ArtemisFD

TIL I can make cheese from milk I buy. I thought that was always a “straight from the cow” thing.

Setari

I used to do this when I was getting raw milk from a local Amish farm. I thought only raw milk did it! It was years ago but I remember just sitting it out and letting it spoil on the counter? I could be wrong tho and again it was raw so maybe that’s different. Great info thanks for posting!

unlimitedenergy420

You made cottage cheese or queso fresco. It’s not really cheese. You just separated the casein (white lumpy protein) from the whey (urine-colored liquid protein.) But yeah, I guess it’s a good whey to use old milk. The whey can also be used as a fertilizer for plants if you’d like.

Rookwood

I’m a but skeptical that this would come out to 2.50 a serving but it does look really good.

PM_ME_YER_CLEAVAGE

Looks good and Im not vegan!

scoringaintfree

Wow 😮

1omegalul1

I got a rice cooker for free on Craigslist and my life changed DRASTICALLY. I am so so bad at cooking rice, no matter what I did it would always come out wrong 3/5 times. My rice cooker is used and a little scratched up but the rice comes out perfect every time. I love it. Also steaming some veggies on top makes dinners such a breeze (but fried rice like oh mentioned is the most satisfying 🤤)

xeroxerox

I’ve never used a rice cooker. I always just boil it in the pot on the stove. When the water is almost gone, I turn off the heat, put the lid on and let it sit for 10-15 minutes. Fluffy, happy rice every time and I’ve never had a problem with it stuck to the bottom.

cyriopagopus

The best fried rice is made from rice left overnight! Drying the rice helps in making sure that your fried rice is nicely charred, and not too soggy.

abydocomist0987

I recently started adding oyster sauce to my fried rice … freakin’ game changer. So much flavor!

im_rite_ur_rong

I’m actually running sensory experiments on different rice varieties in my lab right now and I have SO MUCH leftover cooked rice that I’ve been taking home. Trying to come up with some good ways to use it before it goes off, already fried up enough for a week and still have more left! Was thinking of trying to make rice pudding? Open to any suggestions!

bunglesnoot

I shop week to week and really change it up so I don’t get bored. I’m also trying to be a healthier eater, so I try and revolve my meals around vegetables and fruits I buy but are still versatile. You can’t go wrong with a protein/grain/vegetable mix with just different spices and herbs. I like leafy greens lol, so my mains are:

-spinach (can quickly saute or put into pasta)

-mushrooms(white to mix into pasta, or big portobello for meatless meals)

-broccoli or cauliflower (easy steam or roast)

-green beans

-or just a large frozen pack of vegetables I can boil quickly to add with a protein

Also used to be a picky eater! Still am in some ways (hate Brussel sprouts, eggplant, don’t eat potatoes often, etc), but I know some pickyness is generally because of how different foods are prepared. I used to hate salad until I started putting things that I actually liked, and not what just what I considered a standard salad (ranch and wilty lettuce). I also know some people’s parents used to boil their veggies to mush, but mine only did it for a few minutes to soften slightly, which can completely change your perspective on a vegetable. I hope that helps!

Edit: To say also check out vegetarian blogs/cookbooks because those can provide great new ideas for filling and affordable vegetables prepared in ways you might not know about!

prettyniceuser

To start, slowly work up a selection of spices and cooking oils. Snag one or two every time you go grocery shopping, until you have a good assortment. Often times you can find cheap spices in Asian or Mexican supermarkets.

Step two is to buy large cuts of meat weekly. This week for me was pork loin, last week was a chicken, etc. It’s easy and cheap to buy and cook for the week, and then you can either eat the meat straight or incorporate it into other dishes (soup, sandwiches, stir frys).

Finally, buy whatever veggies are in season at a farmers market or your local grocery store. Once again, you can eat them raw or make soups, stews, roast them, etc.

Pasta, rice, bread, tortillas and the like are also great cheap/versatile options to change up your meals, but I generally stay away from them because I’d rather get my calories/carbs from veggies.

two_vans

I’m working with one weekly meal-prep, so this is my grocery list. Italicized items are things I have in bulk and buy less frequently

– Onions, garlic, ginger, chillis, cilantro, green onions

– green beans

– broccoli

– seitan

– icelandic yogurt

– bananas

– frozen mangos + pineapple

– spinach

– *lentils*

– *curry spices*

– *rice*

– *bread ingredients (flours, yeast, etc…)*

-*peanut butter*

– *soy sauce*

​

Those are the broad basics. I’ve been making peanut butter toast and yogurt for breakfast, seitan and broccoli with rice for lunch, and Daal with the lentils and aromatics with green beans and rice for dinner, with a smoothie from the spinach, banana, mangos and pineapples.

FeloniousThelonious

Leafy greens. I eat a salad every day. My add ons are what is seasonal or on sale. I just bought a sweet potato i am going to roast in to “croutons” but i usually have pumpkin seeds, nuts, eggs for my salads.

I make bean soups that are full of veg.

If you want to learn how to eat cheap and healthy and not boring you need to get over being picky.

You should start watching so you tube videos and learn to cook something. Plus once you see how something is prepared you may get past your aversion to some foods. Maybe its a texture issue and not a green thing. Also videos will likely give you ideas to substitute.

IndigoRuby

It really varies but I try to make at least a few of my ingredients overlap between two meals and/or can roll into another meal. I’m not the best with meal planning but I try and think out at least 2 meals at a time. So this week I bought

Rotisserie chicken

Carrots

Celery

Green onion

Ginger

Peanuts

Tofu

Bell peppers

I made chicken salad first using chicken, carrots, green onion, and celery. A few days later I made Kung Pao tofu using the rest of the celery, green onion, and carrots plus the tofu, ginger, peanuts, and bell peppers.

So most of my veg went into both meals but each meal was totally different. I bought the peanuts in bulk so I’ll continue to use those for other stuff. I saved the carcass and veg scraps to make chicken stock that I’ll use as a base for a soup next, which will also include some kale that needs to be eaten but I just wasn’t in the mood for yet.

So maybe you could start small by finding two recipes with a few overlapping ingredients like that?

Much_Difference

Everyone who ever quit feels for you. It is hard. Keep going! Try bubbly water (like Perrier or LaCroix), baby carrots, almonds, saltines, popcorn, pretzels. For some reason black licorice helped me, like Good & Plenty. I think anise might be an additive in major cigarette brands.

CapnCobbler

Chew sunflower seeds to replace your oral fixation. It’s what I had to do 6 years ago. And still do occasionally.

NimmyXI

Drink water.

You are not hungry.

You just need a routine that satiates your oral cravings.

Especially semi frozen water.

Keep at least a half dozen (or more) semi filled (75% or less) plastic bottles in the freezer.

Take a sip every few minutes.

Set a reminder if you need to.

Rotate and refill the bottles every day.

nooneisanonymous

swap calorific snacks for plain popcorn (a bit of salt+msg as seasosning is good and doesnt add calories), vegetable sticks like carrot, celery etc. easiest way i found to avoid eating unhealthy food was to avoid buying it in the first place.

Egret88

I recently got a fake cigarette to help with the oral fixation part of quitting/having something to hold in my hand. I think the brand is QuitGo and I got a single unit in the “oxygen flavor”. They have multi-packs and other flavors. It’s basically like taking a drag off of a straw. It sounds stupid but, it’s worked for me!

doodlebugbop12

Electric can opener

BudahBearDuck

Another tip is if you normally use chopped peppers and onions hen you cook,you can buy them pre-chopped in the frozen veggie section.

Rookietookie43

I would utilize your insta pot. Lots of soups and roasts. Baby carrots for no cutting and smaller potatoes to avoid cutting.

hellisnow666

I ate a lot of sandwiches when I broke my hand. All different kinds, but usually BLTs or melts of some sort are my favorite. There’s lots of food you can make one handed, honestly. I know it really sucks in the beginning and you almost feel claustrophobic with one hand, but you’ll get used to it, and eventually you’ll get really good at doing everything one handed where it won’t even be a problem. And the pain will lessen after a while so you can apply more pressure. You got this!

_jeremybearimy_

With your big potatoes maybe just bake them in microwave?

Rookietookie43

Well I don’t know about everyone else, but I want to poach some pears with maple syrup, a dash of whiskey and that vanilla. To either eat for dessert or to put over breakfast grains.

RitaAlbertson

I see a lot of ingredients that are found in south-asian and middle-eastern cuisine on that list. So you might be able to modify some existing recipes from those styles, and where required sub in other ingredients from your list..

At least you have garlic!

Good luck!

sebzilla

As for a dessert, I’m wondering if you can make some sort of rice pudding with white rice + rice milk + vanilla + maple syrup? Might take a bit of googling to find something that works though.

I agree with the idea of a stir fry, especially if you can use soy sauce!

Mirrranda

1 part whisky

1 part gin

Repeat as many times as needed to deal with the pain of never being able to eat tasty food again.

Seriously though that list is pretty solid. Like you could make some kickass gluten free burritos or some shit. When I read the first part this looked pretty grim but it’s basically just a gluten/diary free diet with a few extra steps?

_Charlie_Sheen_

Two of my all-time favourite dishes:

Saute celery and leeks in sunflower oil. Mash potatoes with a little Soya milk. Combine in a baking dish and grill for a few minutes til the topping goes a bit crispy. If she’s allowed smoked tofu you can cube it and saute it with the celery and leeks to make a complete main.

Also cabbage, shredded, sautéed in sunflower oil with shallots (and a little garlic if you like), then sprinkle with poppy seeds. Serve with noodles for a main dish. Or roast the cabbage and shallots to get crispy edges and a different flavour.

I think you could also probably do a sort of stir fry with bamboo shoots, green beans or whatever veg. Add onions and garlic and some of the herbs. Stir in silken tofu and cook for another minute, this makes a sort of ‘scrambled egg’ texture sauce.

szasy

Non-authentic Gallo Pinto – basically Latin American bean fried rice. Can be done in as little as 20 min depending on how fast you can prep veg.

– sauté 1/2 onion with garlic, chili powder, some cumin and herbs of your choice
-(add peppers to this if available)
– add long grain rice (best if cold- fresh cooked will get mushier)
– couple dashes of Worcestershire, soy, and hot sauce
(Basically until your spice and salt level are reached)
– spoonful or two of ketchup
– throw in the rinsed beans for the last 3-5 min of cooking
– also works well with meat, add the precooked meat in with the beans

Fry with a little extra oil until rice is steamed up and saturated with the flavors- like any other fried rice

Of all things, the Worcestershire, soy, hot sauce, and ketchup are key. It’s an equivalent flavor to a bottled sauce – Salsa Lizano, that is a vital ingredient when made in south/Central America

fuzzycaterpillar123

16oz dried Red (kidney) beans

3 celery stalks

1 chopped onion

12 oz smoked turkey sausage

Season to taste (I use cajun seasoning)

Add brown or white rice when it’s done cooking.

Serve in a bowl with generous slathering of Louisiana Hot Sauce. We eat this about once a week or so. Takes about 50 minutes in an instant pot and reheats very well for lunch the next day. My kids love it, minus the hot sauce. The most expensive part is the sausage which is about $3.

skipper14

Black beans – Rinsed
Celery 2 stalks
Chopped serrano / jalapeno pepper
1 Chopped Onion
Cook all of these up in a skillet with some oil with salt and pepper, whatever you like for seasonings

and for the rice make sure you’re at least buying some knorr bouillon cubes if not chicken stock. I go for tomato with chicken, but try a few out and see what you like.

Averwinge

This is my families go-to beans and rice dinner

1 can black or pinto beans- drained and rinsed

1 can corn- drained

1 can diced tomatoes and green chilies- drained

Shredded cheese- however much you want

Cook 2 cups rice with 2 cups water and 2 cups chicken stock (optionally all stock or all water based on preference) that has been seasoned with cumin, chili powder, lime juice, and any other seasonings based on how you want your rice to taste

After rice is cooked throw all the canned ingredients and cheese in a bowl and mix together.

optional: preferred hot sauce after all ingredients are combined.

sucram300

Sorry American redditors, no freedom units:

Rice (250g)

Can of kidney beans (200-250g)

Onion

1-2 cloves of garlic

Coconut milk (250ml)

Vegetable broth (400ml)

Nutmeg

Coriander (or is it called cilantro? Are they the same? Idk…)

1. Slice and dice the onion and the garlic. Put them in the pan with some oil (only a short time)

2. Add beans and rice

3. Add Coconut milk and vegetable broth

4. Season (salt, nutmeg, coriander)

5. Let it simmer and wist until rice is cooked

Mithridates12

First of all just wanna say it’s awesome that you’re doing this and it’s a great way to explore more food and cooking options. I’m not a vegan or anything and don’t have any religious restraints but was vegetarian for a few months when I was living with my grandfather who is a Taoist. Thanks for the awesome recipe and I’m just wondering what made you decide to go through such a change and rough transition?

PM_ME_EDGEWORTH_FOOD

Good for you! Whether you’re doing it for moral and ethical reasons or for health, getting your vegetable intake is always a good thing. I’d add toasting your tortillas up in a little oil and making them crispy.

xanadumuse

Beans and rice are so easily flavored up and they’re so satisfying I could eat them a couple times per day and never complain.

undilyeted

I used to do this too! I forgot all about it. One summer I had planted a ton of squash and zuchinni (rookie garden mistake), and I was putting it in everything. I made burritos like this and added squash and zuchinni, tools to even tel it was there. They keep in the freezer pretty well too if you wrap them well

Bangbangsmashsmash

I’ll excuse the pun.

Perthcrossfitter

Thanks!

I need to get better at doing fewer, larger grocery runs. For a good while, I lived in a place where the grocery store was a 5 minute walk away and also had a little public park next to it, so I got in the habit of going MANY times a week. A few years later and I’m still bad about going to the store and only buying for 1, maaaybe 2 meals at a time. So I’m gonna try to use this as inspiration to get better about planning ahead and condensing trips!

Much_Difference

Thanks for sharing!
Also Holy crap where do you live!? $0.75 for an avacado? Cheapest I’ve seen them in a while is $3.00 each.

jetlee7

I just wanted to say Better than Bouillon. Where I am it’s only about a dollar more than the cubes for a container, but insanely better tasting. Not as salty, but flavorful. I also love grabbing the roasted garlic flavored BtB for adding to the rice cooker, really varies the flavor.

Your spreadsheet is an interesting project, I’m not sure how well it translates to other areas, but I liked that you planned and used the cilantro in two recipes. I need to do that more. I’m pretty good with reusing veggies (I often grab broccoli or green beans from Sam’s Club for the week) but I have a mental block about herbs like cilantro. I struggle with how to keep using the herb throughout the week, but not having the same meal.

mielelf

Thanks. This was very cash money of you

mentatsjunkie

How is everything so insanely cheap? What part of the US?

takeitfor_granite