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March 25th, 2015 | #1 |
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Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 9,741
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Eat Cheap and Healthy
https://www.reddit.com/r/EatCheapAndHealthy/
Been reading this lately. Might be useful for people trying to live a frugal lifestyle, while not having to eat unhealthy junk. |
March 25th, 2015 | #2 | |
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Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 9,741
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~$26 (€20.21, £15.92) grocery list, meal plan, and recipes for when times are tough. Feeds up to a family of four for one week.
Quote:
https://www.reddit.com/r/EatCheapAnd...n_and_recipes/ |
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March 25th, 2015 | #3 |
Eternal Glory
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 1,668
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I simplify my life by having two basic meal plans. I follow one when money is tight and I am trying to be more frugal, and another when want to eat more normally and want to eat more meat.
Our breakfasts are always the same regardless: Wednesday-Friday: - homemade bread (recipe below) with butter and cheese, toasted in a toaster oven - milk - fruit - my husband will also have a spoon of peanut butter, also in his milk he has honey, raw eggs, and 1/2 tbsp vanilla Saturday-Tuesday: - homemade cereal with milk (recipe here: http://vnnforum.com/showthread.php?p=1752082) - again also my husband has a spoon of peanut butter I make the cereal on Friday and Sunday nights. I make the bread on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons. Here is how I make my bread using a breadmachine, which takes less than 10 minutes, and my 3 year old daughter can do much of it on her own: Whole wheat breadmaker loaf: - Add water to pan (1 cup in summer/humid weather or 1 1/4 cup in winter/dry weather) - Add 1/4 cup oil, 1/4 cup cooking or blackstrap molasses, and 1 1/2 tsp salt. Stir. - Add 3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour. - Add 1/4 cup milk powder - Add 2 1/2 tsp yeast. - Choose whole wheat setting with medium crust for 2 pound loaf. It takes 3 hours 40 minutes. When it's done I take it out, let it cool, and then slice it into 5 pieces. I try to make lunches that are easy to put together and very quick. We will have a bunch of snacky things like leftovers from last night's supper (if there are any) and things like fruit, cheese, canned or frozen vegetables, raw carrots, homemade protein bars (recipe here http://vnnforum.com/showthread.php?p=1807659) and milk. I can pack powdered milk in my husband's lunch and he can add water to it at work when he wants to drink it. I make protein bars on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. Sometimes we will have canned tuna and you can add some celery and green onion to it. Or canned chickpeas rinsed with some celery and green onion. I make the same bread above for my husband's sandwiches, making lunch loaves on Sunday and Wednesday mornings and slicing those into 6 slices each. The sandwiches are so simple just leftover meat from the previous night's supper, or if there is none I will make a tuna sandwich, with some slices of cheese, fresh vegetables if there are any, sometimes I will use leftover baby food with some salt and herbs as a sandwich spread lol. It sounds silly but it doesn't taste bad and is likely better for you than commercial sandwich spreads full of sugar and preservatives. It is supposed to be for babies but really it is just pureed vegetables and meat lol. For suppers, every night is a different theme and within each 'theme' I have different options of recipes that I can pick. This makes planning much easier than back before I had children and had lots of free time to cook whatever I wished. Here is my more frugal supper meal plan: Monday (Bean Night): Slow cooker bean soup with canned tomatoes, garlic, salt, basil, and dried kidney beans (soaked the night before) with bread OR Bean salad (celery, carrots, fresh tomatoes, green onions, garlic, salt, pepper, oregano, olive oil, and mixed beans) with bread OR Minestrone (I will type up recipe later if you want) OR Pasta and chickpea soup OR Broth with lentils, brown rice, cracked eggs, onions, and carrots Here is how I make my broth: - Put chicken or turkey bones in pot. - Add a little bit of thyme, parsley, salt, and pepper - Add some celery, carrots, and onion - Add 1 tbsp vinegar - Cover with cold water - Boil, partially cover, and simmer for at least 4 hours - Strain out bones but add back the veggies Or crockpot broth: - put bones in crockpot - add 1 tbsp vinegar, salt, pepper, 1 tsp thyme, and water - add celery, carrots, onion, and garlic - cook on high for ~6 hours - strain out the bones but add back the veggies Tuesday (Beef Night): Homemade burgers with onions and roasted potatoes or wedges or fries OR Braised beef cubes with onions and rice with lemon and herbs OR Steaks, rice in broth, and boiled carrots OR Roast beef made in slow cooker with potatoes, onions, and carrots OR Hutspot met Stooflap (which is like a Dutch dish with beef shoulder and mashed up potatoes carrots onions and parsnips) OR Spezzatini with peas and potatoes OR Cottage Pie OR Sloppy Joes with bread and roasted onions OR Pork chops with soffrito and rice in broth Wednesday (Pasta): Lasagna OR Macaroni and cheese OR Spaghetti and meatballs OR Pasta with sauce (vegetable, meat, fish, bean, lentil, or chickpea sauce) Homemade sauce takes a long time to make but I will make a bunch and save most of it in the freezer for convenient future use. Thursday (Fish): Usually tuna salad, homemade fries, and beets or turnips (kind of a weird combination but it is my daughter's favourite meal lol). Friday (Lentils): Lentil salad with bread OR Lentil soup with bread OR Lentil and rice casserole Saturday ("Breakfast" Supper): Sweet potatoes and/or whole wheat waffles or pancakes with eggs and/or sausages I have two favourite egg recipes, one fried with peppers, onions, and tomatoes; the other with peppers, onions, and zucchini Sunday (Chicken): Chicken (or turkey) soup OR Chicken dinner made in the crockpot OR Roasted chicken dinner in the oven OR Chicken cacciatore/hunter's chicken (in crockpot or braised on the stovetop) Here is my more healthy supper plan that is more expensive but with more meat: Monday: Vegetarian (legumes or pasta) Tuesday: Beef (roast or steak) Wednesday: Pork (chops, sausage, or braised chunks of pork roast) Thursday: Chicken (parts) Friday: Beef (ground or cubes) Saturday: Eggs Sunday: Chicken (whole) To save money with this more meat-based diet plan I only use very cheap vegetables, no salads, only carrots and onions. For the side I will usually make broth with rice in it, sometimes something else. A very convenient thing to do is to have 2 slow cookers, one with meat and vegetables, the other with broth. Then you can do all your food prep in the morning and when everything is crazy in the evening time you don't have to do anything. One thing you have to do if you want to make cooking more convenient is get a mezzaluna. Once I got once I wondered why I waited so long to get one and I have NEVER gone back to using a knife ever since!! Hope that gave you some ideas. It is a big balancing act to try to prepare meals that healthy and cheap, while also trying to save time and be efficient. If you want any of my recipes tell me and I will type it up.
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