@DCuddlerKing chicken leg quarters are a tremendous value imo.
Inexpensive is such a relative term. Someone mentioned $2/meal, I mean in this economy I cannot imagine prepping meal at that price.
We are 3 roommates. We meal prep for 5 days, fasts one day and cooks fresh on one of the weekend days or take out/eat outside. Costs around $220-250/5 days/3 meals a day/per person Of course excluding 1-2 times eating out or take out.
Typical breakfast - Costs: $45-50 Menu: Egg bites, Overnight oats, Sprouts with boiled eggs, Avocado Toast. Grocery: 18 eggs, 6 Oat mixes, 4-5 Avocado, 1 Gallon milk, Colored peppers, spinach. Loaf of bread
Snack - Cost : $35-40 Menu: Fruits, assorted nuts(We buy raw nuts and roast them. Less expensive), PB, Chia pudding with coconut milk
Lunch/Dinner - Cost : 130-150$ Carbs: Rice/Quinoa/potato/sweet potato Protein: Chicken/Goat/Fish/Shrimp/Beans/Legumes/lentils/Tofu/Paneer/chick pea Fiber: Lots of veggies.
Roughly $4-5/ per meal overall. It has been consistent so far last 4-5 months. Still some leftovers every week. I think we can do better.
A cool aspect of Costco and maybe other stores do this as well but you can go on the app and see an itemized receipt of every purchase you make. This helps if you lose your receipt which I commonly do, that way I can go back and see how much I paid which helps me determine my per meal cost.
So, that being said. I did buy whole wheat spaghetti, spaghetti sauce (yes in the jar, don’t hate) and pre made meatballs (again, don’t hate) and my cost is under $5 a meal.
Breakfast today was coffee, toast, eggs and avocado, on target, under $5 a meal. I also bought a rotisserie chicken and veggies and my cost will be under $5 per meal.
I’m not the biggest fan of rotisserie chickens. I saw a show where Dr Ox said they are fine as long as you remove the skin. On another note, I always feel they’re slightly undercooked.
Does anyone put them in the over for a bit once you get home? Any thoughts or tips?
Throw a pot roast meal kit in the Crock Pot. It’s AT LEAST 4 meals for less than $20!!
So, I live in an upscale / bougie Santa Monica beach community on the Westside of Los Angeles- home of Whole Foods (affectionately named Whole Paycheck for the unfamiliar).
Having said that, since you asked, they actually do have a very reasonably priced family pack with 4 pieces of salmon, mashies and green beans for right around the high $20 mark/maybe a pinch below $30 incl our wonderful 10.25% SM CA sales tax. It’s actually a pretty decent deal for local standards and w nice portions.
I’m solo so I never buy it for myself but I do notice it. Make sure to check out their awesome Mac n cheese while you’re at it, but that’s a whole separate post…
I've been on a peanut butter kick for breakfast. Cheap hearty nutrition that keeps me from getting hungry too soon.
I wish fresh fruits and vegetables would go on sale more. Echo those who have said to look to frozen for good deals. I try to keep things like pepper strips and veggies mixes as easy additions to a meal.
Oh and there's a discount grocery store in town. They sell lots of packaged goods and you can sometimes get some cool things for cheap that you might normally pass on due to price. Helps keep both cooking and snacking from getting too rote.
One evening I was hungry for mac and cheese. Didn't seem to healthy, so I added some leftover cooked broccoli. Gave it some color and also made it a bit healthier... you experience may vary.
I think Ramen is inexpensive
Tomato okra and corn Margaret Holmes . You can add rice and protein choice as well
When ya’ll say ramen are you talking about instant ramen?
There’s been a lot of great input from people on here. I appreciate all of your tips and ideas.
When I make ramen, I usually buy a bulk flat of instant chicken ramen. However, when I cook it I tend to either not use the seasoning packet at all or only use half. Then I add nutritional value by adding veggies and a source of protein. Basically, treat it like a box of spaghetti: it's a blank canvas to use as a base for a meal.
Instant ramen is cheap but not very healthy. I want $5 meals but I’m trying to stay healthyish.
Instant ramen is no more or less healthy than any other ingredient - it's all about moderation and what you can add to the nutritional profile. Plain spaghetti pasta in excess can be unhealthy - so can roast chicken, spinach, tomato sauce, etc.
Could ramen noodles be purchased or made with a better nutritional profile than instant ones? Sure - but they also usually cost more, are more difficult to source for purchase, and/or cost more in time and energy. The same thing can be said about spaghetti noodles, though. You can spend more money on fancier brands, you can make them from scratch, but sometimes a person's budget of money/time/energy means that the cheapest box of store brand generic spaghetti is the best option for them.
I agree with @cuddlefaery, Instant ramen is not "healthy" but in a very general way... it is not significantly more unhealthy than other foods we consume. If you're looking for a cheap alternative to eating out, you're not likely to find something at a lower cost than ramen. Also it is extremely versatile, You could have it with any type of protein or vegetable.
Side tip: I never use the flavor pack it comes with, there are a ton of tiktok and YouTube videos about how to literally "spice up" your ramen.
Side tip 2: If you're buying whole chicken either raw or rotisserie, once you cut it up you can take the bones and make your own broth, which is cheaper than store bought broth and healthier. And can make a great base for ramen soup (with chicken).
If you're trying to have quick and easy meals to eat for under $10 a plate. Ramen (even if you add meat and vegetables) will clock in at under $2, probably under $1.
But never forget you can have easy food, you can cheap food, your can have healthy food.... you usually can't have all three at the same time.
I’m not knocking instant ramen, I actually love it. One of my favorite things to do was poach eggs in my ramen. So good.
As far as staying healthish on a budget, yea maybe that’s a whole second thread lol I am sure I’ve mentioned this before but I incurred some liver damage due to too much drinking in my youth and chemo made it worst so anytime I eat something, I search the web to see if it’s liver healthy or not and if not, I avoid it. My diet isn’t perfect in terms of being liver healthy but I’m trying.
I know it's not the best, but I did try factor meals for about a month for lunch at work and they did taste great. The only issues were once the introductory prices were over, it was too expensive, and for some reason I noticed my stomach was having pain and issues which slowly went away once I stopped using their meals. Not sure which ones in particular were affecting me or why. For now I've sort of replaced them with the much cheaper frozen meals you get at the grocery store just so I can control the portions and calories. I know it's better to prep the meals myself at home, but I sometimes just don't have the energy and really dislike cleaning up afterwards. Before this I was spending way too much always going out to get lunch while at work. Dinner at home is a different story.