Healthy meals on a budget

[Brittany Rashel]

Last night I realized I had a problem when it comes to junk food so I'm cutting it out completely. I tried looking on-line for healthy dinner recipes but they all had about 15+ ingredients. I'm on a budget so I can't afford to spend too terribly much on all those ingredients. Does anyone know any healthy, low budget but still good tasting dinner recipes?

[epete6501]

www.kraftfoods.com has a Budget Wise tab at the top of the page. The recipes have a lot of things I already have on hand in my cupoboards, and there is a healthy living section.

[sailors.love]

Im for you cuz this is interesting and i wanna knw too

[sweetvanity]

you'd be amazed what a little garlic, olive oil, salt, & pepper will do for so many meats and veggies!

[Brittany Rashel]

Originally Posted by epete6501 www.kraftfoods.com has a Budget Wise tab at the top of the page. The recipes have a lot of things I already have on hand in my cupoboards, and there is a healthy living section.

Thanks so much! Those all look delicious and are so cost efficient. I'm definitely stealing some recipes from there.

[Amanda.]

kraft.com
campbellskitchen.com
i have tonnnss of recipies. i am starting to make everything from scratch!
also
swansonstock.com
knorr.com

[*Mackenzie*]

I use to mostly just have chicken. We buy the bags of walmart frozen chicken and OMG is it the best chicken ever!

[eelo]

Originally Posted by Brittany Rashel Last night I realized I had a problem when it comes to junk food so I'm cutting it out completely. I tried looking on-line for healthy dinner recipes but they all had about 15+ ingredients. I'm on a budget so I can't afford to spend too terribly much on all those ingredients. Does anyone know any healthy, low budget but still good tasting dinner recipes?

Look up Diabetic recipes. They're really healthy for you, and they tend to be less expensive mostly because the portion sizes are smaller. When stocking your cabinets, get reduced-sodium options whenever possible. I try not to add any salt in cooking, but I do use Mrs. Dash seasonings a lot.

Use pastas to stretch your meals. For example: cut up two pieces of chicken (preferably breasts) into small strips. Peel a carrot and cut it into rings, slice up some onion into rings or wedges, and any other vegetable you like stir-fried. Start a pot of water boiling.

Open a packet of chicken flavor ramen noodles. Sprinkle half the seasoning packet on the raw chicken, toss to coat, then stir-fry up the chicken in a little bit of oil until the edges are cooked. Throw the cut-up vegetables in the same pan and cook until veggies are tender-crisp. When the water boils, dump in the ramen noodles for about 4 minutes or until cooked. Drain noodles and add to the chicken and vegetables, toss to coat and serve.

Also- learn to roast a good chicken. It's SO easy- I usually make a small bowl of 2-3 tablespoons olive oil and seasonings like thyme, sage, poultry seasoning. I drizzle the olive oil over the chicken and stick it in a preheated 425 oven for 15 minutes, then drop the temp to 325 and roast for about an hour. The initial high heat "seals" the chicken with a crispy skin, and the chicken itself will stay very juicy. Have the chicken for one meal, pull off as much meat as you can and save it to make enchiladas or nachos or something, and then make a soup with the chicken carcass. If you don't want to make the soup right away, put the carcass in a bag in the freezer.

Chicken soup (actually any soup) is really easy. Pull off as much skin and fat as you can, then stick the whole thing in a big pot of water. When the water boils, add cut-up onion, carrots, celery, toss in some thyme, oregano, basil, a few sprinkles of garlic, and a can of crushed tomatoes. Turn the heat down to simmer and pull out the bones when the meat comes off. This will stretch for a couple days, at least. You can stretch it even further by adding more water and another can of crushed tomatoes, and you can throw in any leftover veggies you may have from any other meals (you know, those last three spoonfuls of corn or peas or green beans). If you get tired of it or if you think you've made too much, put some of it in a freezer bag and save i for later.

[icarryyourheart]

I buy the big bags of frozen chicken breast - and I started just inventing my own marinades. I looked online at different recipes to see what they all basically had in common, and then just tweaked to make whatever I wanted. That way you're controlling what's in your food, and it's fun, honestly
I make tons of things from scratch, too. Bread has been my latest endeavor. I got a 25 lb bag of flour from sams club for ridiculously cheap, and bought some "bulk" yeast (in a jar rather than packets). It's yummy, cheap, and healthier than store-bought bread with all its preservatives and junk.

[Amanda.]

Originally Posted by eelo Look up Diabetic recipes. They're really healthy for you, and they tend to be less expensive mostly because the portion sizes are smaller. When stocking your cabinets, get reduced-sodium options whenever possible. Use pastas to stretch your meals. For example: cut up two pieces of chicken (preferably breasts) into small strips. Peel a carrot and cut it into rings, slice up some onion into rings or wedges, and any other vegetable you like stir-fried. Start a pot of water boiling. Open a packet of chicken flavor ramen noodles. Sprinkle half the seasoning packet on the raw chicken, toss to coat, then stir-fry up the chicken in a little bit of oil until the edges are cooked. Throw the cut-up vegetables in the same pan and cook until veggies are tender-crisp. When the water boils, dump in the ramen noodles for about 4 minutes or until cooked. Drain noodles and add to the chicken and vegetables, toss to coat and serve.

mmmmm. that sounds delicious!