[Melinda]

Hello everyone,

I’m looking for some creative and budget-friendly ideas for meals that are both healthy and delicious.

With rising food costs, it’s become increasingly important for me to find ways to eat well without breaking the bank.

I would love to hear your suggestions on affordable recipes, meal prep tips, or any clever strategies you use to maintain a nutritious diet on a tight budget.

What are your favorite frugal meals that don’t compromise on taste or health?

Thank you in advance for your suggestions!

[Basty]

Lentils!!! So versatile and delish! I make mine in a rice cooker and then substitute for ground meat.

I did this to avoid high cholesterol from my husband, but ended up loving them!!

I make a delish lentil bolognese style lasagna

[Renee]

Grated carrot, apple, and raisin salad. Old recipe from 70’s

[Wilma]

Dry beans are cheap and versatile. Add very small diced carrots to meat loaf …

spaghetti sauce more veggies less meat.

watch youtube and find foods you like and be adventurous.

[Chris]

Beans and rice. I used rinsed canned beans but otherwise homemade.

It’s so easy and my husband’s favorite meal.

[Pennie]

Cottage cheese. Great protein source and so many sweet and savory recipes!

[Megan]

Grid up oatmeal cook it on the stove top with milk or water and then add a beaten egg and mix it in well.

It adds protein and is really filling. Griding it up makes it really creamy.

[Ann]

spiraled zucchini noodles. Dehydrating them make them a great snack.

Dehydrators are not expensive and sometimes are at thrift stores.

[Katheryn]

Instead of throwing out bananas you did not eat fast enough – make banana bread or banana muffins

[Dawn]

I really love making a chickpea salad that is basically a Greek salad with chickpeas in it.

[Christine]

In the summer I like to slice yellow and green zucchini and eat that as a crunchy snack.

People are usually giving zucchini away come the middle of August.

[Margaret]

Vegetables in the summer, freeze for winter, tomato sandwiches, gazpacho, homemade hummus, chicken on sale .

[Patricia]

Frozen broccoli thawed, squeezed, chopped up, mixed w/ shredded cheese and baked !! Good, healthy snack.

I have a hard time getting them crispy ( I did it once or twice but don’t remember how ) but they’re very good not crispy too

[Aspen]

I get those 16 dry bean soups (every grocer has them) and make soup, and blend it up and have it with parboiled rice and avocado.

Well-seasoned, it’s delicious.

I’ll add extra black beans to darken it up so it’s more black bean flavored, as opposed to runny refried beans flavored lol.

With the lentils and variety of beans, the nutrition profile is pretty impressive and it’s a lot of food for cheap.

The avocados cost more than the beans.

It also freezes well, which is good since 1 of those little bags could feed a small army, plus the extra black beans too.

[Amy]

Take extra watermelon and blend with crushed ice and strawberries for delish agua fresca!

[Melissa]

A good collection of seasonings can make most everything taste good.
Eggs, pulled meats, pasta salads, fried rices

[Laura]

Zucchini anything… If you don’t have gardening neighbors, they are really cheap in the market…

Eating local and in season is the cheapest way to go

[Wendy]

Save your leftovers (in the freezer) until you have enough to make soup.

Veg, meat or chicken, etc.

[Author]

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