Diet Food

You can eat healthy on a budget.Funds are limited lately so it is sensible to have foods readily available to make affordable, healthy recipes. There are many quick combinations an inventive cook can come up with to make something appetizing and nutritious with what is in the cabinet.There are many ways to use leftovers with other items to create new budget-friendly dishes. Most frugal recipes cost no more than $5 per meal. Here are a few money-saving tips to help you get started:

Take stock of what stuff you have available. Check cupboards and pantry for noodles, rice, canned soups and seasoning mixes. A common casserole recipe includes 1 grain, 1 meat, 1 vegetable and a creamy base like soup, sour cream or gravy. Cheese and bacon can be added into the casserole or spread on top after baking.

So for instance when you have a package of chicken thighs and some rice you can produce a cheap meal by making a casserole of prepared chicken, rice, green beans and cream of chicken soup or chicken gravy with a little sour cream and shredded cheese on top.

Another affordable easy recipe for chicken is chicken enchiladas. Cook chicken and debone heat corn or flour tortillas to make them easy to roll up. Mix cooked chicken with creamed soup, sour cream and a little cheese and place by spoonfuls in the center of every tortilla. Roll up and place seam side down in baking pan. Cover the tortilla rolls with remaining soup or green enchilada sauce and top with cheese and sliced green onions. Bake at 350 for 20 to 25 minutes.

Another idea for a cheap meal is to cook rice, noodles or a baked potato and top it with vegetable soup, canned beef stew, or chili and top with cheese and onions. Try different combinations of soup and grain dinners to create a speedy family favorite.

An old stand-by is grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato or cream of broccoli soup. To spice up the meal add a slice of tomato and thin slice of deli ham to bread and cheese before grilling. Add some garlic-flavored croutons to the soup and top with a dab of sour cream and crumbled bacon.

When you have school-age kids in the house it is always a good idea to have some ramen noodles or instant noodle bowls around for after-school snacks and quick meals before soccer practice or the big game. You can include any combination of leftover to cooked ramen noodles for a quick, filling meal.

Most noodle or pasta recipes can be adapted for any type of noodles, even ramen noodles. Ramen is a versatile noodle because it cooks faster than traditional spaghetti noodles and can be topped with different sauces, vegetables and condiments. Noodle shops in Japan are very popular with students and tourists for their cheap, filling meals. For more fast and budget-friendly noodle dishes visit my Frugal Dinner Recipes

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