Healthy lunches for a dollar or two?

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
N

nanette1985

Diamond Member
Oct 12, 2005
4,209
2
0
Money's a bit tight right now, more clients than usual are not paying or holding off on paying. So I'm cutting back, and I've gotten curious about cheap food plus healthy.

Sure, I can do soup, oatmeal, ramen, pbj, the two for 99 cent hot dog special at the local convenience store, the dollar menu (extra good these days) and bulk carrots are cheap and tasty, but other veggies and fruit is really expensive and carrots 3 meals a day, 7 days a week is a bit much. I get orange just thinking about them.

Just curious if someone can come up with a some good cheap AND healthy meals? Especially the lunch type meals that can be bought or packed?

Thanks.

p.s. Tea is the cheapest non-water drink I know of - any other suggestions?
 
D

Doodoo

Golden Member
Feb 14, 2000
1,423
0
76
Pasta is pretty cheap if you have a place to heat it up. You can get a whole pack of dry pasta for a buck..and a jar of sauce for a buck on sale. For two bucks you can make lotsa pasta.
 
L

loup garou

Lifer
Feb 17, 2000
35,132
1
81
Originally posted by: princess ida
Originally posted by: loup garou
Originally posted by: DnetMHZ
Originally posted by: loup garou
welcome to the wonderful world of turkey on wheat.
Click to expand...

It gets old pretty fast.
Click to expand...
eeeexactly
Click to expand...

Plus, it's turkey and bread. Where's the fruit and veggies?
Click to expand...
um, bring turkey sandwich + fruit and veggies? Some of this stuff is just common sense, you know?
 
D

djheater

Lifer
Mar 19, 2001
14,637
2
0
Baking your own bread is a real savings. Just remember crappy flour begets crappy bread, so buy the good stuff.

Shop for fruits and vegetables at the mexican or international markets. Their buyers usually pick the b grade produce. It's perfectly good produce but it may have blemishes, color inconsistencies, or be very ripe.

Don't drink milk, it's expensive.

Use the entirety of your food, and use the scraps if you can. Save them in plastic freezer bags.

For example. A rotisserie chicken from the grocery store is several meals:
Cut up the breast for sandwhiches on your home made bread.
Eat the legs, thighs annd wings.
Take the carcass and throw it in a pot with the scraps of vegetables you've been saving, celery and carrot tops and bottoms, an onion or two.
Boil this into stock for making soup.
Add cheap store potatoes, mushrooms, Frozen peas and green beans, a couple of frozen chicken breasts, some noodles of your choice, and you've got a huge pot of soup.

You can serve this with fresh bread or add a bunch of rice.

I'd say you could eat for a week on about $20
 
lokiju

lokiju

Lifer
May 29, 2003
18,526
5
0
I'd be interested in ideas also.

I can't take eating anymore Healthy Choice type meals anymore and the price is to high anyway.

There has to be a good number of easy to make ahead of time meals that can be health and cheap.

I'd love to on say Sunday make all my lunches for the week and then store them in the fridge or freezer until ready to eat.

I just don't know what I can make.
 
B

bonkers325

Lifer
Mar 9, 2000
13,076
1
0
bake your own bread, roast your own small chicken/turkey, buy fresh produce each week. it'll cost u about $2-3 a meal depending on the price of said foods.
 
R

ryan256

Platinum Member
Jul 22, 2005
2,514
0
71
Something I used to cook back when I was unemployed for 8 months. Its pretty tasty, should be fairly healthy, is dirt cheap, and very easy to fix.

I call it egg rice, its really more like egg foo yung.
You'll need:
4 eggs
2 cups of rice
1lb of frozen veggies

I cook all of the ingredients separately.
Put 4 cups of water in a pot, bring to a boil, add the rice, reduce heat to medium and cook til done.
Scramble up the eggs in a pan and chop them up into small pieces.
Put the frozen veggies in a large plastic container and microwave on high for 4 minutes.

When this is all done combine all ingredients in the large plastic container and stir. Done!

Then just season it as desired. I like adding some tiger sauce to it.
 
V

vrbaba

Diamond Member
Jul 17, 2003
3,266
0
71
Originally posted by: Doodoo
Pasta is pretty cheap if you have a place to heat it up. You can get a whole pack of dry pasta for a buck..and a jar of sauce for a buck on sale. For two bucks you can make lotsa pasta.
Click to expand...

nice, but it kinda takes long for pasta to boil. Is there like a ready to eat version that I have missed in the grocery stores? I love pasta and would love to just heat up a pack and bring my own sauce.
 
V

vrbaba

Diamond Member
Jul 17, 2003
3,266
0
71
Originally posted by: lokiju
I'd be interested in ideas also.

I can't take eating anymore Healthy Choice type meals anymore and the price is to high anyway.

There has to be a good number of easy to make ahead of time meals that can be health and cheap.

I'd love to on say Sunday make all my lunches for the week and then store them in the fridge or freezer until ready to eat.

I just don't know what I can make.
Click to expand...

seriously, i have been buying a good salad from the salad bar and it comes out to be 7 bucks...jeez.

finally i tried something different and got a tuna sandwich, which is healthy enough for 3.50, but ill get bored of it soon. The salad bar is awesome but i dont think I can keep doing it.

7*5*4 = 140 for lunch a month, i could but rather cut it in half and eat a variety.

 
X

Xavier434

Lifer
Oct 14, 2002
10,373
1
0
Get very familiar with the soup isle and the deli. If you are limiting yourself to $2 a meal then you can have either a can of soup or a sandwich along with one piece of fruit or some veggies for $2. However, you will want a drink so unless you plan to increase your spending limit to $3 that is going to be tough unless you stick to tap water.
 
A

Auric

Diamond Member
Oct 11, 1999
9,591
2
71
I are confused that you find vegetables expensive. They and beans and rice should be uber cheap and all you need for nutrition and virtually unlimited variety. Search recipe sites for vegetarian (especially Indian cuisine if you can dig it). Some which come to mind are: indianfoodforever, recipezaar, allrecipes.

Make your own:

Vegetable soup preferably including beans for protein. Transport in flask.
Example: sautee onion and bell pepper for flavour and ditto mushroom for "meatiness" then add the usual schtuff/faves for simmering... potato, carrot, celery, broccoli, green bean, parsley, mixed beans, whatever, and salt 'n' peppa.

Curried chick pea/garbanzo bean and/or kidney bean and rice. Ditto flask.

Flat bread should cost virtually nil and be easy.

Refried bean (make your own), green chili, onion, bell pepper, whatever, burritos (store quantity frozen). Heat portion in microwave. Augment with green salad.

Boil water for safety, allow to cool and refill plastic bottles. Flavour with tea/lemon/sugar if desired.

 
FoBoT

FoBoT

No Lifer
Apr 30, 2001
63,084
15
81
fobot.com
Originally posted by: moshquerade
Originally posted by: FoBoT
cucumber
bananas
cabage
Click to expand...

that sounds like some flatulence for dessert. :p
Click to expand...

very few people get the RDA of fiber in their diet

farting is healthy and normal when you eat the right food and get the fiber your body needs
 
R

RagingBITCH

Lifer
Sep 27, 2003
17,618
2
76
Do people seriously eat out this much? I rarely ever go out, and when I do, it's usually a team lunch for work or a buddy is expensing it. I don't see what's so hard about cooking at home and bringing your lunch. It really saves a ton of $ in the long run, and it's healthier to boot.
 
TallBill

TallBill

Lifer
Apr 29, 2001
46,017
62
91
Originally posted by: DangerAardvark
Tuna in water + dollop of low fat mayo + 2 slices whole wheat + relish + reheated frozen broccoli.
Click to expand...

Tuna in oil is so much better. And fuck the low fat mayo. Why even bother eating mayo if you aint gonna eat the real stuff! :D
 
X

Xavier434

Lifer
Oct 14, 2002
10,373
1
0
Originally posted by: TallBill
Originally posted by: DangerAardvark
Tuna in water + dollop of low fat mayo + 2 slices whole wheat + relish + reheated frozen broccoli.
Click to expand...

Tuna in oil is so much better. And fuck the low fat mayo. Why even bother eating mayo if you aint gonna eat the real stuff! :D
Click to expand...

Because the point of the thread was to eat healthy. I can't say I disagree with you though. ;)
 
MovingTarget

MovingTarget

Diamond Member
Jun 22, 2003
9,002
115
106
Rice + soy sauce + chicken + veggies = Chicken fried rice. There is a recipe on the back of Minute Rice for this. It was pretty good and filling, lasting a few meals.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom