My frugal go-to is instant ramen with a handful of frozen veg and whatever leftover protein is in the fridge or a fried egg on top. Also if you don't like the flavour packets that come with them,just add some siracha or soja or chilli flakes :)
Someone I work with has told me to add peanut butter to ramen with some sriracha and it’s SO good. I have yet to try this but have been wanting to. He likened it to Pad Thai.
Oh, yes, peanut butter & chilli flakes (or sriracha ) in ramen is excellent and delicious :)
Lentils and rice. Saute 2 tablespoons of cumin seeds and 2 tablespoons of coriander powder in some neutral oil. Add 5 cups water, salt and pepper, bring to a boil. Put in a cup of brown lentils and reduce to simmer. Simmer for 10 min. Add a cup of rice, cover and cook on low for 20 min.
Serve with caramelized onions and yogurt if you're fancy. Skip that and serve with cheese if you're me. I shamelessly stole this and bastardized it from Christopher Kimball's mujaddara recipe.
It sounds like more work than it is. Toast spices, 5c water, 1c lentils for 10 min, 1c rice for 20 min, bob's your uncle.
Spaghetti with tomato sauce. I don't many my own pasta, but a couple pounds of spaghetti will keep me going for a week. Just gotta watch for acid reflux and shirt stains.
Now that's a good bit of advice! My body should've stopped changing twenty years ago, but here I am thinking about if the not spicy red sauce will keep me up at night, and if I should start watering down my apple juice.
White rice cooked with an egg with a small piece of baked Salmon. Mix in some Soy sauce, Wasabi and walnuts.
Do you have a strategy for frugal salmon? In my neck of the woods, it’s a rather pricy protein.
It might not hold true now (Covid and post-Covid price gouging has been a PITA), but dollar stores sometimes have cheap cans of mackeral. Grocery stores do too--basically, go to the tuna aisle, but take a gander at other types of canned fish and see what's up. Sometimes you can get a deal. It's not salmon, obviously (...unless it is, lol) but it's protein.
I have also found if you're in a city with an ethnic grocery store, they often have cheap tilapia, basa, or swai. Basa/swai are an asian type of catfish that aren't allowed to be labeled as catfish due to protecting the local catfish industry, but they taste much better than local catfish (they don't have the "muck" or earthy taste.) (Speaking as a midwesterner. You coastal peeps might get better catfish locally.)
The trick is to add a lot of walnuts and not a lot of salmon. One piece of salmon can provide two servings this way. I consider it frugal because it is less than half the cost of fast food.
Roasted red potatoes with smoked sausage is my go to. Very cheap, tasty and filling. Most importantly, also very easy. Just throw it all in a pan, put it in an oven for an hour, and you've got 4 or 5 meals ready to go
5-pack bratwurst on sale for $2.99. 5-lb bag of potatoes regular price is $2.99. 5lb Bag of frozen green beans from Costco is $8. Considering the bratwurst gets you 5 meals of protein, the potatoes will get you about 10 meals of carbs, and the beans will get you 10 meals of fiber/veg....1 bratwurst, 1 potato, and 1/2 lb of green beans per meal ends up costing: $1.70 per meal. This is one of my many go-to weekday meals.
I don't eat meat but back when I did and was very poor, Meijer always had turkey legs for practically nothing. You can brown a couple in oil then boil them in broth or bouillon cubes until they are falling off the bone then either mix up some homemade dumplings or take a cheap can of biscuits and make dumplings from that. If you can't afford cream, instant mashed potatoes works very well to thicken the broth. Most people I know that eat meat don't like turkey except at Thanksgiving, but it was quite delicious and filling.
I've been doing potato cabbage soup with sausage as my go-to but I'm looking for some other ideas.
I either use ramen as a base and put eggs and veggies in it, or I have scrambled eggs with hashbrowns. For some reason, these meals don't fatigue me and I can eat them constantly.
I once had someone go, "But what about all the salt in the ramen?" Thing is, I don't snack and I don't eat big meals so I'm not actually getting a lot of salt from other sources, and the ramen doesn't put me over what a normal adult should have.
It's always important to put nutrition in context. Things that are "unhealthy" if you are eating them AND THEN snacking all day from dawn to dusk are providing necessary calories and fat for someone who is not eating to excess.
Red rice and pinto beans, veggie and beef stuffed red sauce enchiladas. Uses only a pound a ground beef mostly veg. End up with 10 meals.
Bananas, clementines, apples, or grapes for fruit.
Waffles and bagels for breakfast.
Peanut butter sandwich and pretzels for lunch.
Kraft Mac and cheese for dinner.
Bagels or ice cream for dessert. (I like bagels ok?
Typical day: 2 waffles ($0.55) 2 bagels ($2.25) 1 banana ($0.40) 2 clementines ($0.80) 1 PB sandwich ($0.75) 1/3 Kraft Mac and cheese ($0.50) 1/5 pounds of pretzels ($0.80) 1/8 tub of ice cream ($0.65)
Total cost: $6.70/day for all my food.
Vege pancakes 2.5 cups shredded or thinly sliced veg of your choice (onions and cabbage are a must for me) mix gently 3/4 cup flour and the add 3/4 cup water. Add salt, and other seasoning. You can also add some protein if you want - choose crab stops, a few rashers of cooked chopped baked or cooked shredded chicken (whatever you fancy). Oil in a pan on medium hear and add a dollop of mixture and fry til golden brown before turning (you may need a drop more oil). You can serve with a fried egg and dipping sauce (soy black vinegar chilli flakes and sesame seeds) or simply chick some sriracha on there. Yum!
Homemade hummus using canned chickpeas, pita bread bought in bulk and cheap veggies. Add tahini or other sauces if you feel like.