Foods
Moderators: ksylvan, sun123



Affordable healthy food ideas?


Quote  |  Reply

I need some food ideas, for breakfast lunch and dinner and snack that have good amount of protein and carbs, and fats. I cant think of anything? And maybe a little affordable.

Edited Jun 01 2008 22:30 by mollymouser
Reason: Moved to Foods for more responses
4 Replies (last)
For affordability try to avoid ready-made foods in favour of more simple 'old-fashioned' ingredients.  Porridge oats, for example.  Incredibly healthy and a much cheaper option than fancier breakfast cereals.  Make up with 50/50 milk and water and sprinkle some sunflower seeds on at the end to add some protein.  Eggs, beans & lentils are a cheaper source of protein than meat.  Dried beans take some time to cook and soak but can be frozen in bulk to save money.  Canned beans are a little more expensive but still quite cheap.  So a nice lunch could be a mixed bean salad with some vinaigrette dressing, hard-boiled egg, tomatoes and salad leaves.  A simple chunky lentil & vegetable soup served with some crusty bread and butter.   A wholegrain sandwich filled with cottage cheese and salad leaves is also pretty cheap. 

For suppers, things like turkey and the slow-cook beef cuts are very cheap.  If you get hold of some turkey mince and combine it with grated onion and apple you could make some lovely turkey burgers and serve each inside a wholemeal pitta.  Stewing/braising beef is delicious and very economical.  Combine with root vegetables, onions and barley to make a casserole.... if you have a slow-cooker this can be set going in the morning to be enjoyed later on.  Minced/ground beef is also quite reasonably priced.... bolognese sauce for pasta, chilli con carne.  Serve with cheap, cheerful wholewheat pasta or brown rice...
#2  
Quote  |  Reply

Protein:

Eggs

75/25 chop meat (cooked as meat sauce or meat loaf)

Whole broiler chickens

Carbs:

White rice

Dry beans

Lentils

Dry split peas

Bulk white potato sacks

Veggies:

Collard greens

Kale

Onions

Fat:

Tallow

Veggie oil

PB

 

frozen vegetables and fruits (still have a lot more nutrients that canned), oatmeal, grits, bag of apples or oranges, hamburger

This is a budget friendly breakfast that I ate for a while:

1/2 cup oats, 1 cup milk, 1 banana.

Oats a dirt cheap, and bananas are $.33 a pound. Milk is rising in price, but if you can find store-brand, it shouldn't be a whole lot.

[edit] Oh, and for fats, you could try almonds or pb.

4 Replies (last)
Join Calorie Count - it's easy and free!
CREATE FREE ACCOUNT
Advertisement
Advertisement
Recent Activity
New journal post OMG THIRD PLACE
by lulufit 16:54
New journal post Phase I
by meganr 16:52
New journal post wowsa
by mandinodell 16:51
New forum message Females for p90x challenge/support?
by augenblick 16:50