From the article: Making Cheap, Low Fat Meals
Quite often, good nutrition goes out the window when money is tight. Instead of defaulting to a dollar menu at the local fast food joint, or living off boxed mac and cheese, use some of your pantry basics to create some great low-fat meals. Share Your Tips
Save money in the kitchen
- Some of my money-saving tehniques are: 1. Make your own yogurt: add 1/4 cup dry milk to 4 cups milk; heat to 185, cool to about 110, add to 1/4 cup lowfat of whole milk yogurt, cover with plastic wrap, poke hole in plastic with fork and inoculate in a warm place (an oven that is still warm from baking) overnight; this yogurt keeps for 2 weeks. 2. use dry herbs instead of fresh in cooked dishes 3. base your diet on whole grains and vegetables (esp. root and leafy vegetables) 4. bake in bulk to conserve energy 5. make stock from bones 6. drink only water, milk, tea, and 4-6 oz. diluted juice/day
- —Guest Katya
Do batch cooking, freeze and save
- Same time, money and headaches by cooking and freezing meals ahead, e.g., lentil and bean soups, chilis, stews, casseroles that freeze well. If your family eats cookies, bake a double recipe and freeze half - keeps them out of the grip of the cookie monsters for a while!
- —Lesley007
Jasmine
- I have a slow cooker (5 kilo) which I cook in fairly regularly, and when I do I cook large size foods often doubling a recipe and then I freeze meal sizes so that when I need them I can take them out of the freezer and re heat in the microwave.
- —Guest Jasmine
Delicious inexpensive food
- 2 containers of canned chili over cooked pasta, Follow cooking directions, add shredded chese and combine and cook.
- —Guest pebles43751
Stretching Food Budget
- We are retired & constantly searching for ways to stretch budget $. We get ham; usually whole or butt half for .99lb, like this week for Easter. Leftovers are good for at least 6 to 8 entrees and numerous sandwiches for lunch, etc.. Leftover ham is great for split pea/ham, navy bean soups and mac & cheese -w- ham cassorole! One ham will really stretch $! Thanks: Eric
- —Guest Eric G. Arentz, Sr.
Whole Grain Pasta with Steamed Snow Peas
- Start with some whole grain pasta, in a separate pan saute three diced tomatos and 1/4 cup of olive oil with 1 clove of garlic minced. Drain the pasta and fold in the olive tomato sauce. Steam the snow peas and serve on the side. It makes a delicious and colorful dinner. Enjoy!
- —Guest Emma C.
Learn to say no...
- I've found that learning to say no to myself when shopping is a real money saver. If I was thinking of making pork chops and the chicken is on sale, I go with the chicken. I have started going to the freezer and the pantry first and use what I have on hand. I could go to the local market for a can of pineapple and come home with $35.00 in groceries very easy when I use my debit card, now I take cash to purchase what I need. If you don't have the extra money on you, you can't spend it! Remember there is always something good on sale, but do you really need it? Thank you for all the great tips so far, I plan on using a number of them!
- —sawpainter
Turkey Tacos
- Brown 1lb ground turkey, add water & taco seasoning. Serve on tortillas with cheese & other condiments. Makes leftovers for another lunch & use tortillas and condiments for another fajita night later in the week.
- —Guest Erin
Sausage Soup
- I take a can of stewed tomatoes, a can of corn, and a can of chicken or beef broth and mix them together. I add ground sausage, turkey or chicken( meat should be browned in skillet before adding to soup) and that is a complete meal. You can also substitute meat substitute made from soy protein for a low fat version.
- —Guest Gail Dawson
Tuna Fish Potato Salad
- Make your favorite potato salad. I use just potatoes with a little vinegar and oil plus mayonnaise. Then add a can or two of tuna fish, depending on the size of your family. If you add hard boiled eggs that would give you more protein. I serve this with sliced fresh tomatoes on the side.
- —Guest Gail Dawson
Reduce Meat and Cook from Scratch
- I have found that most "main dish" recipes center around meat. I do eat meat, but only a few times a week. I have learned to plan my meals around beans & legumes, eggs, canned tuna, pasta, and potatoes. Start with these instead of meat and then find healthy recipes to make around them. Some examples: Tuna Florentine, Homemade Refried Beans (yes, from the dry beans), Scrambled Eggs and Pancakes, Pasta with homemade (meatless) tomato sauce.
- —Guest Angela
Hard with allergies
- Eating health is hard enough. My son's allergies to eggs and peanuts and sensitivity to most other legumes (beans, peas, tamarind, fenugreek,...) and food dyes largely precludes cheap. We stretch our budget by having pancake "Tuesdays" and our one-pot wonder "Glop": Brown some ground meat with long grain rice, onions and spices (usually some or all of chilli, onion, garlic, cumin and coriander powders, black pepper). Add diced or grated fridge veggies (zucchini, carrot, celery, bell pepper, mushrooms) 1-2 lrg cans un-drained diced tomatoes (depends on how much rice you added) cover tightly and let simmer until rice and veggies are done. Stir occasionally: if too dry add water, tomato juice or salsa. Add herbs in the last few minutes: basil, oregano, thyme, parsley, cilantro ... to make it pop. Vary the meat, spices, herbs and veggies for TexMex, Italian, Indian, etc. While I use an electric frying pan, use stove (stir often) or Crockpot as you prefer. By necessity I cook and bake.
- —AllergiesSuck
loishastings
- there's nothing as delicious, nutrisious, and filling as homemade soup, chili or stew
- —Guest lois hastings
Bulk (without bulking up)
- Buying in bulk is a great way of keeping costs down on a lot of everyday ingredients for great low-fat meals. I buy bulgur in bulk. It's nuttier, chewier, and higher in fiber than white rice, but cooks faster than brown. It's a great hearty whole-grain side dish. Lentils in bulk are amazing for a tasty and filling stew. Alton Brown's recipe for it is phenomenal. Also, use leftovers in box or bag lunches the next day! I bought a Japanese bento box for bringing lunch to work every day, and it's a great way to use even little bits of leftovers.
- —Guest Laura
Cheap meal
- I usually make eggplant parmesan in a pinch. I cut, sweat, and bake 1 inch slices of eggplant, then layer it with cheese of choice (ours is provolone) with eggplant and tomato sauce. Bake at 350 for 10-17 minutes or until the eggplant is at the desired texture. Enjoy with noodles, or by its self. Its great for sandwiches the next day too. Even my meat loving friends love this dish.
- —Guest tealek27
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