Wallet Friendly Meal Ideas

Recently I had a friend post on Facebook that she was looking for cheap recipes.  I can understand that raising a large (and ever growing) family can cause strains on the ole pocket book. But aside from that she's also trying to achieve a healthier lifestyle. So I offered to write up a little something on the healthier side for cheaper meal ideas. 

Now you've all heard the phrase "You are what you eat, so don't be fast, cheap, easy & fake!" right? To a point I agree. If it's fast food, comes through your car window, it's likely fake and you shouldn't be eating it. BUT there are ways to eat clean & healthy on a budget, while keeping your wallet happy.

Click To View Post In A New Window

If you don't know it by now, I'm a Pinterestoholic. It's pretty much my virtual cookbook. I'm able to organize things my way (thanks to my OCD) and I can access it on my phone when it's dinner time so there's no shlepping the laptop to the kitchen counter.

The first thing you should know about my boards... just because I pin it as "clean, healthy or weight watchers" does not make it so. I like to pin things that I a) believe would go over well with the family and b) that I can adapt to our clean eating style. Most of the time you'll see me post in the description what I intend to change when I make it (examples: no vegetable oil, use coconut oil instead / no mayo, use Greek yogurt instead). Also you can find my boards for motivation, exercises and fitness related posts. Feel free to click the picture above to view my boards and follow away!

One key component to making ANY of these recipes work for your budget is PLANNING. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. I have a white erase board, square calendar style, on my wall next to the fridge. This is where I write down my meal intentions, what we plan to have, when leftovers may happen, and where my husband gets his say in what he gets to enjoy. ;o)

Start by rounding up a handful of recipes, figure out what ingredients you need, what you have on hand and work it around your budget. Trust me, planning is your best friend!!!!

Now I'll get down to some of my favorite, budget friendly recipes.

Tilapia can be purchased in bulk, making it more affordable, and is generally vacuum sealed individually making it ideal for quick prep. This is one of our most recent favorite recipes, and it works well for Swai fillets as well, another budget friendly fish option.

The Parmesan Broiled Tilapia recipe I found at Spend With Pennies has amazing flavor and can be on the table in around 10 minutes. The basic ingredients I use are plain Greek yogurt, dried dill weed, lemon juice, Kerrygold butter,  and Parmesan. Once I was in a pinch and didn't want to take a few minutes to grate my Parmesan so I subbed some already grated Pecorino Romano. Mmmmm!

We do try to throw in a meatless meal from time to time and this Sweet Potato, Quinoa & Black Bean Casserole from Healthy & Homegrown was one I wanted to give a shot. The first time I tried it I did not have all the ingredients I needed but I made due with what we had and it was still wonderful. The name pretty much tells you what's in it, but I didn't have tortilla shells or enchilada sauce. I used tomato sauce, seasoned with basil, garlic & oregano and it was still fabulous! A dollop of plain Greek yogurt was an amazing way to top it off.

Another thing you will come to love about clean eating is making your own seasonings. Anything mixes/seasonings that you can buy at the store... generally can be replicated at home and when you do, you'll know that there are no additives or hidden chemicals. Home made seasonings can spice up any meal. I found this Onion Soup seasoning recipe at Our Nourishing Roots, and created my own stove top and crock pot versions of Onion Soup Chicken.

In our home we enjoy spicy food and so this Spicy Paprika & Lime Chicken is AH-mazing! Citrus + a slap of spice and perfect on a huge bed of romaine and fresh veggies. It also includes healthy fats provided by coconut oil. And if you've been following me long you know I LOVE my coconut oil. Check out this recipe and more from Eat Drink Paleo.

This is another recent find and it's so delish! Cubed up chicken & your own home made Greek seasoning? What's not to love? I spiced mine up a bit; after cubing the chicken and tossing it into the dish I sprinkled a portion of the Greek seasoning over the chicken but not all of it. I then tossed on top of the chicken, whole cherry tomatoes, sliced mini bell peppers, chopped onion and quartered Brussels sprouts and topped it off with the remainder of seasoning. Because of the added ingredients I had to extend the cook time a bit, but it was so good. Definitely worth a look around over at He and She Eat Clean.

Another of my favorite recipe sources is Skinny Taste. I discovered Gina when I began my journey with Weight Watchers and she has some really great, easy and oh so savory recipes. One of our favorites are Loaded Santa Fe Baked Potato Skins, topped with my fav Greek yogurt and green onions of course. This recipe is great for it's dual purpose! First you have dinner with these amazing loaded skins, but the next day you can eat the Skinny Garlic Mashed Potatoes made from the skins flesh. How awesome? Two meals from one dish!

And last but not certainly least... The most awesome way to sneak a vegetable into your child without them being able to detect it! Turkey Burgers with Zucchini is another great Skinny Taste recipe. I am telling you, because of this post I have been able to get my kids to eat more vegetables than I ever thought possible. Of course now they are pros at eating whatever I put in front of them, but this most certainly helped in the beginning when we began transitioning to eating clean.

You're probably wondering where's the beef? Well, we do eat 93/7 or 90/10 beef depending on what we find in bulk, and we generally use it for burgers every other week, it's been a compromise with the hubby. LOL. I find the only other time I use it is for our Tex-Mex taco salad or when I make Spaghetti Squash with meat sauce. Being raised a meat & tater girl... sometimes there's nothing better than a big juicy burger!

All of the recipes below come from EatingWell.com. They are a great resource, but be sure to double check the ingredients and avoid using canola or vegetable oil. Always use your healthy oils; olive oil or coconut oil. Click on the pictures to open the recipes in another window. Note: I've never made the sauce that accompanies the nugget recipe so I cannot vouch for it.

Beef & Bean Chile Verde

Chili Cornbread Casserole

Cornmeal Crusted
Chicken Nuggets

Tortellini Primavera

There are a bunch of great Weight Watchers resources out there, but I have to be honest... Skinny Taste is my go to. She has a huge recipe box full of fabulous ideas, and I've yet to make a bad recipe from her.

I was hesitant to make these Spinach Lasagna Rolls until a fellow WW friend told me that she did. I made a couple of tweaks to the recipe: 1) Add a bunch of minced garlic (I'm a garlic lover) 2) Use Basil, Oregano & Garlic flavored tomato sauce (or add those spices to your own tomato sauce). My kids even eat this and it's another great Meatless Monday idea.

I'm always looking for new ways to up the veggie intake and I LOVE me some bell pepper. This Turkey Stuffed Bell Pepper recipe is a perfect combination of vegetable, protein, complex carbohydrates and full of flavor. I've even been know to throw in some fresh chopped asparagus, just because I can.

This recipe isn't a complete meal but it is a perfect accompaniment to your dinner. Zucchini Tots! Yep, I had two zucchini's in dire need of a destiny and I found this awesome recipe. In fact I think the first time I made them I paired them with the Parmesan Broiled Tilapia from above. Believe it or not, the kids chowed them down and the hubby text me from work that a co-worker needed the recipe. Apparently he was bragging over them enough that he shared one and well... all it takes is one bite and you're hooked.

I'm a huge proponent of being lazy when it comes to food. Meaning, I enjoy being in the kitchen, but I don't want to live there. So it's no surprise that I utilize my crock pot year round. I'm pretty sure I use it at least once a week. This is one of my favorite recipes, Crock Pot Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps. I have no other words to describe this meal other than p-e-r-f-e-c-t.

Speaking of crock pot... My friend I would marry you if it weren't for my husband. This post turned out a lot longer than I intended, so I will save my crock pot favorites for another day. Stay Tuned!

Feel free to link your favorite recipes in the comments below!!!!

**Please note that not all of the above photographs are mine, I used the photographs from the links 
 sourced. All credit is given to those website owners.**

Clean Eating Onion Soup Chicken

I love chicken and there is no reason why chicken should ever become boring! This is a great, versatile recipe, technically there are three recipes. ;)

First off, I cannot take credit for the Homemade Onion Soup Mix. I am all for making my own mixes so that I can avoid chemical additives and be more in control of what my body takes in. That's where Our Nourishing Roots comes in. I found this recipe HERE.

Onion Soup Mix

2/3 cup dried minced onion
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon coconut sugar or whole cane sugar
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons turmeric
1 teaspoon celery salt (or 2/3 teaspoon sea salt plus 1/3 teaspoon celery seed powder)

1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

 

*2 tablespoons of this homemade mix equals one “packet” of the store bought version

1. Put all the ingredients in a pint mason jar, shaking to combine.

 

Now, personally I quadrupled this recipe and have a quart jar filled. So, that should last me for some time. I've used this recipe with chicken in the crock pot, which seems to be the hubby's favorite, as well as my most recent venture on the stop top!

Stove Top Onion Soup Chicken

2 - 3 pounds Natural Chicken Breasts or Chicken Breast Tenderloins
1 - 2 tablespoons Homemade Onion Soup Mix* (above)
1 - 2 teaspoons olive oil

*2 tablespoons of this homemade mix equals one “packet” of the store bought version

1. Heat olive oil in a skillet. Place chicken in skillet and "fry" over medium heat until nearly cooked, turning when necessary.

2. When the chicken is nearly finished sprinkle 1 - 2 tablespoons of the onion soup mix on top. Place a lid on the skillet and reduce heat. Allow the chicken to simmer for 5 minutes or until the moisture hydrates the onion.

3. Remove from the skillet and enjoy!

 

 

Crock Pot Onion Soup Chicken

2 - 3 pounds Natural Chicken Breasts or Chicken Breast Tenderloins
1 - 2 tablespoons Homemade Onion Soup Mix* (above)

*2 tablespoons of this homemade mix equals one “packet” of the store bought version

1. Place frozen or fresh chicken breasts in a crock pot.

2. Sprinkle 1 - 2 tablespoons of the onion soup mix on top. Place a lid on the crock pot and cook on high for 2-3 hours or low for 4-6. (NOTE: Cooking times will vary depending on your chicken, whether it's fresh or frozen.)

3. Remove from the crock pot, shred and enjoy!

Let me know if you try this!!! I cannot wait to try the mix in some Turkey Burgers, yummo.

Cucumber Tuna Cups

INGREDIENTS

*1 Med-Lg Cucumber
*2.5oz (1/2 can) Tuna in Water, Drained
*1 Wedge Laughing Cow Cheese, of choice

TOOLS

*Melon Ball Utensil
*Fruit/Veggie Peeler

HOW TO

(1) Peel your veggie if desired.
Remove the ends. Cut your cucumber in uniform pieces.

(Note: If your cucumber is large you can shorten the length of cut but you may not have enough tuna to fill all the pieces.)

(2) Stand the cut cucumber pieces on end. Using your melon ball tool, gently begin digging wells in the cucumber being careful not to go all the way through.

(3) Continue step 2 until you've made it through all the pieces.

(4) Once you've made your wells in all the cucumber pieces you can either discard the seeded portions you've removed or you could add them back to your tuna mixture.*

(5) In a small container, mix the tuna and cheese wedge until mixed thoroughly.

(6) Take your tuna mixture and begin dropping it into the cucumber cups until distributed evenly.

You can either eat them immediately or you can chill them a little while in the fridge. I generally make mine before I work out so they are ready to go after my shower. If you plan to chill them, simply place in an airtight container. I do not recommend leaving them overnight as the components tend to let their moisture loose and then you'll end up with a goopy mess.

*Points + = 3 for the entire recipe!



*I have yet to add the seeds back in, but will try it in the future.

Turkey Burgers with Zucchini

I found this gem of a recipe over at Skinnytaste.com. If you haven't visited Gina's website, it is a MUST for the serious Weight Watcher. Tons of fabulous recipes and nutrition & Points Plus calculations are included!

Turkey Burgers with Zucchini
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 5 • Size: 1 burger no bun • Old Points: 3 pts (bun extra) • Points+: 4 pts
Calories: 156 • Fat: 6.8 g • Protein: 18.6 g • Carb: 5.5 g • Fiber: 1.3 g

Ingredients:  

• 1.25 lbs 93% lean ground turkey
• 1 small zucchini, grated 
• 1/4 cup seasoned whole wheat breadcrumbs
• 1 clove garlic, grated
• 1 tbsp red onion, grated
• salt and fresh pepper
• oil spray 

Directions: 

In a large bowl, combine ground turkey, zucchini, breadcrumbs, garlic, onion, salt and pepper. Make 5 equal patties.

Heat a large skillet on high heat. When hot, lightly spray oil. Add burgers to the pan and reduce the heat to low. Cook on one side until browned, then flip. Flip over a few times to prevent burning and to make sure the burgers are cooked all the way through.

If grilling, clean grill well before cooking and spray with oil spray to prevent sticking. 

So, I'm sure you're wondering how they were? They were pretty darn awesome! Obviously I used white onion instead of red, because that's what I had on hand. I also threw on some reduced fat pepper jack because what's a burger without cheese? Throw it on a whole wheat bun and we're in business. And I opted for cucumber "chips" as my side. I made those easy enough with my crinkle fry cutter for fun.

Now, the burgers themselves, I had a HARD time keeping them together. I believe this issue was the moisture from the zucchini. So, next time I try them (yes there will be a next time) I will be wringing the excess moisture out of the zucchini before adding it into the meat. 

They were yummy enough that the kidlets even devoured them!

This is my official entry for this week's mini challenge!

Week Two's Mini Challenge is:

Week two - Try a new healthy food or recipe. I hope everyone gives it a shot, it'll be fun to try something different. 

Whole Wheat Pancakes with Baked Apples

So, I'm trying out this new recipe app to see if I like it. And for it's test run I chose this morning's breakfast... Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Pancakes with Baked Apples

Ingredients for Pancakes

• 1/4 c and 1 Tbsp Whole Wheat Flour

• 1/2 tsp Baking Powder

• 1 tsp Coconut Sugar

• 1 /8 tsp Sea Salt

• 1 Egg White (or 3 Tbsp Egg White Substitute)

• 1/4 c  Milk

Ingredients for Baked Apples

• 1 Apple (Honeycrisps or Golden Delicious are sweet)

• 2 tsp Whole Wheat Flour

• 2 tsp Water

• 1 tsp Coconut Sugar

• Dash Cinnamon

Cooking Directions

1. Mix together the ingredients for the pancakes (flour through the milk). Pour onto heated griddle into two pancakes.

1. In a microwave safe bowl mix the ingredients for the apples (apples through cinnamon). Microwave for 3 minutes, stirring every minute.

1. Put pancakes on a plate and top with baked apple. Top with 2 TBSP sugar-free pancake syrup.

Servings: 1
PP: 7

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

A girl deserves a little treat every now and again... after yesterday's blow to the brain I busted out the treats. I found this recipe on Pinterest, but wanted to do my own tweaking to it. So I broke out the coconut products and whole wheat flour and viola!

The large muffins are 6PP each and the mini's are 2PP each.

*Flax seed meal is optional, if you choose to use it, mix with the dry ingredients.

*For large muffins bake for 22-25 minutes.

Turkey & Zucchini Stuffed Bell Peppers

Turkey & Zucchini Stuffed Bell Peppers

Makes: 6 pieces • Size: 1 piece • Points+: 3 pts

Ingredients:

• 6 large bell peppers, tops sliced off and seeded
• 1 pounds Jennie-O Extra-Lean Ground Turkey 
•  1 to 6 cloves garlic, sliced or minced
•  1/2 cup scallions, sliced
• 1 medium zucchini, peeled & grated
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp sea salt (to taste)
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper (to taste)
• olive oil cooking spray
• 1/2 cup fat free shredded cheddar cheese 

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450°. Slice the tops of the bell peppers off, remove the seeds. Rinse and Dry the bell peppers and set aside.  

Brown the turkey and crumble while cooking over medium heat in a pan.. Slice or grate the garlic. Slice the scallions. Add the garlic and scallions to the turkey when only a little pink remains. Grate the peeled zucchini and add to the turkey mixture. Add cumin, sea salt and black pepper. Simmer for five to ten minutes longer. 

Spray a foil lined glass pan with cooking spray. Set each bell pepper in the pan. Fill each bell pepper with a scoop of the turkey zucchini mixture until the peppers are full. Cover with foil.

Place the foil covered pan in the heated oven for 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven. Sprinkle the cheese over each pepper and Enjoy!

I wanted to try something "different" last night in an attempt to squeeze more veggies in. I think I was pretty successful. One thing I noticed...it needs more of a punch. So I think a smidge more salt might have helped, but I think it needs some spice. I'm not sure if I'll try ancho chili powder or crushed red pepper flakes, but I will try adding a bit more oomph to it next time.

I also had some rather extra large bell peppers so there wasn't quite enough filling to reach the tops of them, I may toss in some diced plum tomatoes and see if that won't help render the situation. Have fun with it and let me know what you add to it!

Recouping & Looking Ahead

Yup.... 106º today. I didn't realize it when I started out for my walk turned jog. How's that? I didn't realize it was quite so awful until a block into jogging it because really really difficult to breathe. Then I "realized" man, it's like a furnace blowing out here. I guess 12 mile an hour winds would do that. I wanted to bust out at least four if not five miles. Sadly after jogging and alternating walking the first two miles, and arriving around the two and a half mile mark I started feeling sick to my stomach. So I sauntered on home and finished just three miles. But that's great.

I've been sickly and recovering from an allergy attack since Sunday. But I am determined to keep working out while recouping. It might not be a big deal to some, but for me when a road black such as this would arise in the past I would just give up all together and a few days off would turn into weeks and so forth. Not this time! I am adamant about keeping up with the exercise as long as my body can handle it. ;)