Help with cheap healthy meal ideas

thankyou

Tue, Aug 30 2016, 4:47 pm

soaraway wrote:

500g dry beans/lentils goes a long way. It's annoying to cook beans and takes time but you can make a huge batch and freeze in portions. Make mexican style food like burritos, chili's, taco salad. lentils are versatile and tasty, you can make burgers, stew, chili,patties, shepherds pie.
Bulgar/cracked wheat is a healthy and cheap option also. You can use it instead of rice/pasta etc.
Also as someone mentioned you can stretch meat or chicken. Make a meat sauce over pasta (add in tomato sauce, veggies) a stir fry with loads of seasonal veggies and some cubed chicken, turkey/chicken meat balls/patties.
Tuna steak is sometimes cheaper than chicken, loaded with protein and easy to cook. You can even cut in strips and serve on stir fried veggies and rice.

Ok for burritos and tacos - you need tortilla to put it in... Voila- expensive .

The rest of the idea are great - I'm going to experiment !

Teomima

Tue, Aug 30 2016, 4:51 pm

thankyou wrote:

Ok for burritos and tacos - you need tortilla to put it in... Voila- expensive .

The rest of the idea are great - I'm going to experiment !

Shufersal and Osher Ad sell packs of 12 for nis9, if I recall correctly. Not cheap cheap, but not unreasonable, either (some are more expensive than others so price various brands).

mha3484

Tue, Aug 30 2016, 4:52 pm

I make taco bowls all the time. Tonight we are having them with Dr Pragers fish sticks but most of the time we don't. During the 9 days I made them with Cod everyone was a little sick of cheese at that point.

I make a layer of rice and beans using either a box mix, minute brown rice or quinoa. Then I make a layer of sauteed or roasted veggies and a handful of cheese. You can add any toppings like guac, salsa, sour cream. My older child has a hard time with eating a taco shell and much prefers this.

myname1

Tue, Aug 30 2016, 5:13 pm

Raisin wrote:

I don't know how much lentils and beans are in israel but if you buy them here dried they are very cheap. 500gr costs a little over $1 here. With that you can make a curry that serves 8 people.

Anyone have a recipe for such a curry?

mha3484

Tue, Aug 30 2016, 5:14 pm

http://www.budgetbytes.com/201.....tils/

Raisin

Tue, Aug 30 2016, 5:49 pm

myname1 wrote:

Anyone have a recipe for such a curry?

this is so easy. You cook the lentils while chopping and sauteeing the onions. If you don't like indian you can experiment with other spices. I don't have kosher curry paste so I use extra curry powder. Also you can throw in extra veggies if you like.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/1.....urry/

Raisin

Tue, Aug 30 2016, 5:53 pm

thankyou wrote:

Ok for burritos and tacos - you need tortilla to put it in... Voila- expensive .

The rest of the idea are great - I'm going to experiment !

you can make homemade tortillas. Not so much harder then reheating the ready made ones.

ra_mom

Tue, Aug 30 2016, 7:44 pm

I make lentil burgers by cooking lentils then processing until pureed and combining with a mixture of sautéed onion, carrot and garlic then add egg, flour, breadcrumbs and season with cumin, curry, coriander, salt to taste. Form into patties and bake.

ra_mom

Tue, Aug 30 2016, 7:50 pm

Seraph/Penniless Parenting once posted these recipes

wrote:

Lentil Walnut Burgers

This terrific recipe tastes very similar to burgers—the combination of walnuts and lentils give it a very meaty taste and texture. When I served these, my family and guests had a hard time believing that it wasn't the “real deal".

Ingredients:
2 cups ground walnuts
2 cups cooked lentils
4 eggs
1 small medium onion, minced
1 tablespoon oil, butter, or rendered fat
1 teaspoon garlic powder
3 teaspoons salt
3 teaspoons prepared mustard
1/2 cup flour, or bread crumbs (or as needed)

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350˚F. Grease a baking sheet.
2. Mash lentils or blend in a food processor. (If you're trying to fool people into thinking this is meat, the lentil pieces left after mashing will be a dead giveaway, so use the food processor method.)
3. Heat oil/butter/rendered fat in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until golden. Combine with lentils.
4. Add ground walnuts, eggs, garlic powder, salt, and mustard. Mix well.
5. Add matzah meal, flour, or bread crumbs to bind the mixture and you are able to shape without these falling apart. Adjust as needed.
6. Using your hands, shape the mixture into burgers. Line on prepared baking sheet.
7. Bake for 10-20 minutes, depending on size of burgers, until patties are solid on top.
8. Serve warm on buns with the usual hamburger toppings, such as ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, lettuce, raw onion slices, or tomatoes.

Note: Once crumbled, these work as a terrific imitation for ground beef crumbles, and are amazing in spaghetti bolognaise and sloppy Joes. This food is a complete protein as it contains both legumes and nuts, giving you all the essential amino acids your body requires.

wrote:

Lentil Meat Loaf

I never was a fan of meat loaf growing up, as it was always tasted dry and bland to me. This recipe is the exact opposite, being moist, delicious, and with a rich flavor. In my book, it beats real meat loaf, hands down!

Ingredients:
1 cup dry green lentils
1 large onion, diced
1 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup grated cheese
1 egg
4 1/2 ounces tomato sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons salt (or to taste)
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350˚F. Grease a loaf pan.
2. In a medium saucepan, boil lentils in 3 cups water until soft. (This may take half an hour or more.) Strain.
3. Remove lentils to a mixing bowl and mash. Add onions, oats, cheese, egg, tomato sauce, and seasoning. Spread in prepared pan.
4. Bake for 30-45 minutes or until the top of the loaf is dry, firm, and golden brown.
5. Cool for a few minutes before slicing.

Note: You can replace the grated cheese with an equal amount of barbecue sauce. (I prefer the cheese based dish.) This “meat loaf” can be served as is, or topped with a (mushroom) gravy or white sauce.
Because this food contains both legumes and grains, it is a complete protein, supplying you with all the amino acids your body needs, the same way real meat loaf would.

Tel Tzion Ima

Tue, Aug 30 2016, 11:54 pm

if you want to cut expenses then cut out canned food and soy snitzel

my kids eat a lot of cereal and milk.

we buy a lot of fruit and veggies.

cooking is rice or potatoes generally.

I get 1 kilo split peas for 10 nis and can make 10-12 liters of soup from it.

I don't think dried beans are so expensive, you just have to plan ahead to prepare them. I think they run 10-15 nis per kilo.

devorah1231

Wed, Aug 31 2016, 12:25 am

Am I the only one whose stomach can't tolerate beans?

tichellady

Wed, Aug 31 2016, 1:04 am

Life123 wrote:

Am I the only one whose stomach can't tolerate beans?

I can't either. And I grew up in a vegetarian household so it wasn't like I just introduced them into my diet suddenly. It wasn't until my gi doctor told me to stop eating them that I realized that I wasn't gonna get used to them

Tel Tzion Ima

Wed, Aug 31 2016, 1:04 am

Re: Beans bothering your stomach: I triple soak them. Soak, rinse, soak, rinse, soak, rinse. It helps a lot, and we don't eat a lot at a time, and the more often you eat them, your stomach adjusts. At least that's what I've found for my family.

naomi6

Wed, Aug 31 2016, 1:51 am

Chicken quarters quite inexpensive I buy smaller ones comes our about $1.75 a quarter there are so many ways to prepare

gold21

Wed, Aug 31 2016, 2:04 am

I wonder how much money you're actually saving with these cost saving ideas. You should try to calculate the savings, to see if it's worth serving pasta and beans every night. Both are so heavy on the stomach! I like the soup idea mentioned on this thread- yummy filling soups sound very appetizing! I also think eggs is a good idea. But beans and pasta all the time... not unless you have no other options.

Goldy6

Wed, Aug 31 2016, 4:36 am

These are all really good ideas. I am excited to try the lentil burgers. I didn't mention that I have several kids with different allergies so for example if I make milchigs I also need something else that is pareve, or one kid can't tolerate eggs, but I can still adapt the ideas around those issues. I also find beans hard on the stomach but I will try soaking them more than I already do. I do make eggs a lot but that really adds up also...maybe we could try getting them from the shuk-- are they always stamped properly etc?

ra_mom

Wed, Aug 31 2016, 6:37 am

Goldy6 wrote:

greeneyes recipe uses a mixture of tomato paste and soy sauce instead of eggs.
http://www.imamother.com/forum.....24383