Good, cheap, easy to make meals?

Discussion in 'Fitness, Health & Nutrition' started by JuanRing, Jul 20, 2012.

  1. Hi guys, I'm 18, and am really just starting to cook for myself, and I need some inspiration.

    What are some cheap, nutritious meals that are relatively easy to make for someone like me without a lot of cooking experience? What do you like to make in a pinch, or what do you like to make period?
     
  2. #2 l James l, Jul 20, 2012
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 20, 2012
    Water, milk, cereal, generic poptarts, yogurt, brats, cheese, pbj, jelly toast, hamburger/tuna helper.

    Good luck.

    [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyUwEAVEJJ4[/ame]
     
  3. Ramen noodles
    sandwitches
    Micro wave meals
    Hamburger helper
     
  4. Grilled chicken.
     
  5. Get a George foreman for about 60 bucks and you can cook almost any meat there is. Plus you can grill most vegetables in there. Only takes like 5 mins for any meal. Great investment if you hate washing loads of dishes.
     

  6. Them Foreman grills are damn handy. You can grill yourself up a damn tasty sandwich on one of those, too. :smoking:


    What kinda foods do you like, JuanRing?

    I didn't have hardly any cooking experience when I moved out, but I've managed to learn a lot from just using recipes online and experimenting a bit.


    I make a lot of chicken. Chicken thighs are usually pretty cheap, and you can grill them up, or you can cook them in the oven really easily too. Grab a bunch when they're on sale, separate them into freezer bags with however many you'd want for a meal, freeze them until you're ready to use them. You can stick them in the fridge the day before you want to cook them to let them thaw.
    There's a few different marinades I use, but when I'm too lazy to do that, I'll just coat them in some olive oil, add some seasonings and stick them in the oven. Very easy.

    You could do quesadillas, spaghetti, sandwiches, omelettes are easy... I like making roasted potatoes. Chop up a bunch of potatoes into like quarter inch pieces, toss them in some oil and spices/seasoning, mix in some chopped onions or something, throw it in the oven and add some cheddar cheese when it's done.

    If you can find a store that has seasonings in bulk, they can really help spice up your meal. Buying them in bottles from a regular grocery store can be outrageously expensive. Like $4 for a bottle of basil, versus maybe 10 cents for the same amount from a place that sells it in bulk.
     
  7. 3 pounds Turkey Burger
    2 ribs Celery, minced
    1 cup Dry Oatmeal
    2 Eggs
    1 small Onion, minced
    6 cloves Garlic, pressed or finely minced
    BBQ sauce

    Preheat oven to 325F
    Combine Turkey,Celery, Oatmeal, Eggs, Onion and Garlic and mix thoroughly.
    Place evenly in a 9x13 baking dish
    Bake for 1 hour
    Remove from oven and spread BBQ sauce evenly on top
    Bake for another 30 minutes
    Remove from oven and let cool for 2-3 minutes

    ENJOY!
     

  8. He said healthy. None of those are healthy.

    Honestly, you can't go wrong with the following formula: cubed protein, tons of your favorite veggies, olive oil and spices (I like the Mrs. Dash spice blends a lot), and broth.

    Heat oil, cook root veggies until almost tender, then chuck in the meat and season well. Add rest of veggies and about a cup of stock, put lid on and simmer until meat is done.

    Serve over brown rice or just on a plate.

    That was my beginning cooking method. Everything just branched out from there. Sometimes you don't feel like planning an entire meal though, and you've always got protein and veggies on hand so a pseudo-stir fry always works. It's cheap, filling, and most importantly healthy.

    Just don't be afraid of spices. Play around and learn what you like.
     
  9. Tuna. Cook over easy/boil an egg, some pickle or relish and mix it all up.

    No carbs, lots of protein, and I skip the mayonaise.

    Not to mention a can of tuna can be less than a dollar.
     
  10. rice and black beans are one of my favorites.. add some grilled veggies to the beans and that's a good source of protein, fiber, carbs, water etc.It's also a complete protein they're very cheap and easy to make too.
     
  11. all my meals are incredibly simple yet healthy. all my cooked meals are pretty like this:


    i usually eat brown rice. you can cook it various ways, but i heat it up to a boil then drop it down to simmer and put the lid on. this way, takes about an hour. but you don't have to tend to it or anything.
    if not rice, beans. i'm not good at getting beans right though.

    then some kind of meat. i like turkey sausage. i get them from wegmans, already cooked just need to heat them up. or, i'll make chicken. i get a pack of three breasts, cook them all one day and then eat chicken for the next three days. third main option i use is tilapia. i always have some in the freezer, and they're easy to cook straight out of the freezer.

    lastly, i usually go with frozen vegetables... definitely better to use fresh produce, but frozen veggies are just so easy and convenient.
     
  12. #12 Olesmoky, Jul 21, 2012
    Last edited: Jul 21, 2012
    Hemp seeds, peanut butter, whole grain bread, and organic honey... :yummy:

    Roughly 500 calories each and about 20g protein.

    You could make maybe 10 of them for $15.

    So just over a dollar each.



    Just hempseeds in general can be added to almost anything, and they're awesome. Not necessarily for flavor, but for balanced omegas and high protein you can't find much better seeds.
     
  13. Hey Juan! Don't know if you like tuna, but check this out it's one of my favorites:


    1 (12 ounce) package egg noodles
    1/4 cup chopped onion
    2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
    1 cup frozen green peas
    2 (6 ounce) cans tuna, drained
    2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of chicken soup
    1 cup crushed potato chips

    Just as a note, instead of potato chips, I used fried onion pieces or some such shit. I'm sure it's good either way.

    Directions

    Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente; drain.
    Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
    In a large bowl, thoroughly mix noodles, onion, 1 cup cheese, peas, tuna and soup. Transfer to a 9x13 inch baking dish, and top with potato chip crumbs and remaining 1 cup cheese.
    Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cheese is bubbly.
     
  14. get chicken bro. you can do a lot of things with it. chicken pasta, salad, sandwiches, pizza, the recipes are endless.
     
  15. 2 pounds ground beef or half/half groung beef and game
    1 small cabbage, shredded
    1 onion, minced
    5-6 cloves garlic, pressed
    2 cans tomato soup
    1 cup water
    2 tablespoons brown sugar
    2 tablespoons ketsup

    Preheat oven to 350F
    Brown ground beef with garlic
    Place layer of cabbage and onion evenly in 9x13 baking dish
    Place layer of ground beef in baking dish
    Repeat with another layer of cabbage, onion and beef till ingredients have filled baking dish
    Take tomato soup, water, brown sugar and ketsup; mix thoroughly and gently pour over cabbage/onion/beef
    Bake at 350F for 1 hour
    Remove from heat and let cool 2-3 minutes

    Try serving this over a bed of mashed potatoes. Good stuff!
     
  16. #16 TheBlackCops, Jul 21, 2012
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 21, 2012
    PBJs with whole wheat bread; replace the jelly for a banana to switch it up.
    Chicken breasts with garbanzo beans.
     
  17. Fruits and vegetables and for the most part you dont even have to cook em
    eggs
    fish
    oatmeal
    theres like insta made everything now days like instant potatoes or instant pasta but i dont think those are too too healthy
     
  18. First off he said nutritouse secondly sandwitches can be nutritious if you add cheese and lettuce and what not you know what you usally put on a sandwich.
     
  19. You also said ramen, microwave meals, and Hamburger helper, none of which can even be remotely construed as healthy OR nutritious.

    And no, sandwiches aren't that healthy either :p
     
  20. #20 CrowClaw, Jul 30, 2012
    Last edited: Jul 30, 2012
    not even hamburger helper? And i suppose cookie crisp is full of vitamines and minerals
    as you can probably tell by now i am just fucking around!
     

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