Healthy, inexpensive and interesting mealtime tips are easy to find. Many households have to operate on a budget to survive and they do this in creative ways. Follow these cheap meal ideas for breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner given below, and neither your pocket nor taste buds will suffer.
Cheap Meal Ideas
Breakfast
Fruit and yogurt shake: Blend fresh fruit and plain yogurt together. This is a fast and healthy idea for those on the go.
Oatmeal with cinnamon and raisins: For a different taste eat the oatmeal raw. Adults may find this more tasty than kids
Protein and homemade breads: Eggs are a cheap source of protein that keep people filled until lunch time. Pair them with homemade banana wheat bread or wheat bread and this results in a tasty, healthy and cheap meal. All the banana bread needs are: bananas, milk, wheat flour, baking powder and eggs. This will help to eliminate discarding over ripe bananas and is healthy, because it contains no preservatives. Banana bread and eggs should also last a while.
Lunch
Whole wheat sandwiches: Opt for fresh lunch meat from the local butcher. Packaged lunch meat often have preservatives and too many added ingredients. Turkey and chicken are always great ideas for cheap lunch meats. Roasted beef may be a little too expensive to eat every day.
Snacks
Granola bars: Whether homemade or store-bought, these are great choices for healthy snacks. They contain a lot of energy and the right sugars.
Cheap Quick Easy Dinner Recipes
Making an easy dinner saves time and energy. Some cheap quick easy dinner recipes include:
Lasagna
Ingredients:
- 1 box lasagna pasta
- 1lb. ground beef/chicken
- 1 jar tomato sauce
- 1 large onion
- 1 tbsp. black pepper
- 1 tbsp. salt
- 2 sprigs thyme
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 6 oz. Monterey Jack cheese
- 6 oz. Mozzarella cheese
Instructions:
- Boil the lasagna in salt and water for 15 minutes. Remove from the water and let cool.
- Heat the skillet over a medium flame.
- Chop the onions and garlic and stir them in olive oil until the onions are translucent.
- Add the ground beef to the pot with the sautéed seasonings and along with the thyme and black pepper. Let this cook for 15 minutes before adding the tomato sauce. Let this reduce for another 15 minutes then remove the pot from the flame.
- Grease the casserole dish with butter
- Grate and combine the two types of cheese
- Lay the lasagna strips across the bottom of the casserole dish to start making the layers.
- Add the ground beef mix and cheese to complete one layer then add another layer of lasagna to complete the first layer and start a new one.
- Continue forming layers until the dish cannot support anymore. Place cheese on the top layer
- Bake at 350⁰C for 25 minutes or until the top layer is crisp and golden brown.
- This meal serves 8.
To further reduce costs, opt to use one type of cheese instead of two.
Cheap meal ideas are easy, fun and creative. They involve a bit more thought and preparation than costly ones, but they are worth the long-term savings. Try some of the healthier cheap meals; these are a double bonus because they preserve health while keeping individuals on a tight budget.
This is a guest post from Carly Greaves who writes about Cheap Meal Ideas and Cheap Quick Easy Dinner Recipes
