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IM pretty sure a Banquet meatball meal isn't really healthy.
Thanks, good point. But I did say I eat it with frozen steamed veggies. 330 calories, the fat content is about 25% and sodium is 35%. The steamed veggies add nothing. I eat this pretty regularly, and I can stay with in the daily limits. Some other frozen dinners I eat are way worse, but I still manage to lose a little weight. I've gone from 183 to 157 in the last three years.
I guess for me eating healthy is just staying within the daily limits. Trying to eat frugal and cheap is not always easy. It can be a trade off. I could probably find healthier frozen dinners to eat, but probably not in the under $2 price range.
Thanks, good point. But I did say I eat it with frozen steamed veggies. 330 calories, the fat content is about 25% and sodium is 35%. The steamed veggies add nothing. I eat this pretty regularly, and I can stay with in the daily limits. Some other frozen dinners I eat are way worse, but I still manage to lose a little weight. I've gone from 183 to 157 in the last three years.
I guess for me eating healthy is just staying within the daily limits. Trying to eat frugal and cheap is not always easy. It can be a trade off. I could probably find healthier frozen dinners to eat, but probably not in the under $2 price range.
You could cook your own under the 2$ range including real meat/chicken.
I buy lots of frozen veggies on sale. I eat a big bowl of them for breakfast! A little seasoning and a splash of seasoned rice vinegar. Keeps my stomach full until 2 or 3 o'clock.
I buy lots of frozen veggies on sale. I eat a big bowl of them for breakfast! A little seasoning and a splash of seasoned rice vinegar. Keeps my stomach full until 2 or 3 o'clock.
Like many Americans, I was raised on sweetened grains (hot cereal, cold cereal, french toast, pancakes, waffles...) and fruit for breakfast. It has taken me years to largely (not completely) wean myself from this pattern. Over the long term, it's really not that healthy, especially if, like me, metabolic syndrome or type II diabetes runs in your family.
My most frequent breakfast these days is two eggs scrambled with red peppers and kale and a veggie salad. In place of the scrambled eggs, I also like tomato soup with eggs (poached or sautéed) or hard-boiled eggs with salsa. I am going to experiment with quinoa and amaranth to replace the eggs, as they have the most complete protein profiles of any grain, but I'll be looking for savory recipes, not sweetened.
In the past, i've also eaten huevos rancheros for breakfast, but for some reason, that's fallen off the radar the last couple years. Now having written this, suddenly I feel a craving...
You could cook your own under the 2$ range including real meat/chicken.
LOL, about the only thing I can cook myself is spaghetti and meatballs, the same thing I eat frozen. I'm not a great cook. I was cooking it myself, but I stopped for a number of reasons. First I started buying frozen meatballs. Then I decided that it would be cheaper and easier to just buy frozen meals. First good meat or chicken is expensive. Second to get fresh meat and veggies I have to drive about 60 miles round trip. If I buy frozen food, I can make a lot less trips. Which saves me a lot of money on gas. Third, the grocery stores around here are not great. The meat and produce is not fresh even to begin with. A lot of times it ends up spoiling on me before I eat it. With frozen dinners I have zero waste. Fourth, if I cook myself I tend to make and eat larger proportions. Which also runs up the costs.
Between the extra gas, throwing away spoiled food, and eating larger proportions, I'm pretty sure my budget would go over $2 a meal if I cook myself. Yes, I know that technically I can make a spaghetti dinner for under $2, but when I add all the extra expenses, it's difficult. I do kind of miss cooking my own food, but not enough to make me go back to it.
as far as im concerned, eating healthy is substantially less expensive than eating unhealthy. the healthiest meal i have is when im cutting, a bowl of oatmeal. costs about 75 cents a pound at costco. grilled chicken and vegetables isnt expensive. some rice on the side is pretty cheap also.
LOL, about the only thing I can cook myself is spaghetti and meatballs, the same thing I eat frozen. I'm not a great cook. I was cooking it myself, but I stopped for a number of reasons. First I started buying frozen meatballs. Then I decided that it would be cheaper and easier to just buy frozen meals. First good meat or chicken is expensive. Second to get fresh meat and veggies I have to drive about 60 miles round trip. If I buy frozen food, I can make a lot less trips. Which saves me a lot of money on gas. Third, the grocery stores around here are not great. The meat and produce is not fresh even to begin with. A lot of times it ends up spoiling on me before I eat it. With frozen dinners I have zero waste. Fourth, if I cook myself I tend to make and eat larger proportions. Which also runs up the costs.
Between the extra gas, throwing away spoiled food, and eating larger proportions, I'm pretty sure my budget would go over $2 a meal if I cook myself. Yes, I know that technically I can make a spaghetti dinner for under $2, but when I add all the extra expenses, it's difficult. I do kind of miss cooking my own food, but not enough to make me go back to it.
If you can get a rotisserie chicken, you'd get away cheap. And you could go to the grocery store and load up on cheap vegetables that don't spoil, like a bag of carrots, a bag of potatoes, a butternut squash. You could make a run to the grocery store every two weeks--or less--to get things like that. The potato is so easy to nuke, the carrots are simple to slice and steam. And you can eat off that chicken for days.
(I made meatballs tonight and it was not fun. I do not like to cook. Anyway, I make about a million of them and will freeze some too. I also made a meatloaf for the freezer. It just took a lot of ground beef, an onion, an egg and not that much more.
Trouble with those cheap frozen meals is that they contains loads of chemical additives that aren't good for you. They might be okay once a week but no one knows that those chemical additives do to people in the long run. Better to try to make a grocery store run every so often and make some food for yourself. Just a few hours of actual cooking, then it goes into the freezer and you have a frozen meal that's good for you.
Like many Americans, I was raised on sweetened grains (hot cereal, cold cereal, french toast, pancakes, waffles...) and fruit for breakfast. It has taken me years to largely (not completely) wean myself from this pattern. Over the long term, it's really not that healthy, especially if, like me, metabolic syndrome or type II diabetes runs in your family.
My most frequent breakfast these days is two eggs scrambled with red peppers and kale and a veggie salad. In place of the scrambled eggs, I also like tomato soup with eggs (poached or sautéed) or hard-boiled eggs with salsa. I am going to experiment with quinoa and amaranth to replace the eggs, as they have the most complete protein profiles of any grain, but I'll be looking for savory recipes, not sweetened.
In the past, i've also eaten huevos rancheros for breakfast, but for some reason, that's fallen off the radar the last couple years. Now having written this, suddenly I feel a craving...
Yes, I find American food so sweet. My sweet tooth DH loves it while I am trying to find something not so sweet on a menu when we are there.
Cheap and healthy meals for us are chickpea pasta and the favourite food of my grandson, tuna pasta. But made the Italian way, no cheese sauce. Just pasta with some tuna and olive oil through it.
My standard breakfast is something like mushrooms cooked in olive oil, with feta cheese, avocado coriander and lime juice. Or Vegemite on toast with Gorgonzola cheese. DH loves American style pancakes with lots of maple syrup! Or toast with very thick Nutella. He will probably have the audacity to outlive me anyway.
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