Inexpensive and Healthy Kitchen Staples
Food spending can use up a significant percentage of our monthly budgets. Making thrifty choices about meals can save a lot of money over time.
Many of us often spend more money than we need to on
meals. Sometimes we don’t have the time or patience to cook. Sometimes we’re tired and don’t have the energy to put in the effort to cook. Other times we just don’t have the knowledge of how to put together basic common ingredients in a way that produces a good meal. It’s no wonder we’re often tempted to just grab takeout or stop at a fast food joint. But in order to avoid those costly meals it really helps to have inexpensive ingredients on-hand, along with a knowledge of how to put those ingredients together in an appetizing way. When your recipes require minimal effort, and when you already have all the ingredients you need for those recipes, you’re less likely to tell yourself you’re too tired to cook. There can still be room for the occasional restaurant meal, but staying socked-up on inexpensive ingredients, and having knowledge at your disposal of how to assemble those ingredients, you will have all the tools you need to save a lot of money on food.
Examples of low-cost and easy-to-prepare ingredients are beans, oats, rice, eggs, chicken, and pasta. And there are many tasty ways of incorporating ingredients like these into a variety of different meals.
The following is a list of suggestions for putting together meals using minimal ingredients, and which require minimal time, effort, and cost.
Breakfast ingredients and ideas:
Keep eggs and oats on-hand. These inexpensive kitchen staples are versatile and packed with nutrients.
Eggs: Scrambled, over-easy, sunny-side-up, omelettes; you can get a lot of variety with those little treasures.
Oats: Mix with water or milk. Oatmeal is fairly quick to heat up in the morning, or let soak overnight to save time. Add fruit, nuts, a dash of vanilla, or whatever flavourings you like.
Peanut butter and bananas are also fairly inexpensive breakfast choices that go great on toast.
Another affordable breakfast option is breakfast burritos. All you need are scrambled eggs, tortillas, heated beans, shredded cheese (and salsa if you want to add some kick to it).
Soups and stews:
Beans and lentils are very inexpensive, have an extremely long shelf-life, are loaded with protein, fiber, and other nutrients, and are used in a variety of dishes.
Carrots, onions, and potatoes are also very nutritious, they work great in soups and stews, and they have a longer shelf-life than some other vegetables.
Chili and lentil soup are a couple suggestions for recipes to look up using these kitchen staples.
Pasta meals:
There are so many great meals centered on pasta, which is another very inexpensive staple with a long shelf-life. Macaroni and cheese, spaghetti and meat sauce, lasagna are just a few suggestions for recipes using pasta.
Bean and rice meals:
Beans and rice are two of the most nutritious and inexpensive staples in your kitchen.
Beans and rice dishes are common in various cultures around the world and there’s many ways of preparing them. Kidney beans are often used, but black beans or pinto beans work too. Add some diced tomatoes and/or diced onion and whatever spices you like (chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, etc.). Add sliced sausage if you’re wanting some meat with it.
Rice with vegetables and soy sauce is simple, healthy, and can be made cheaply (especially if using frozen vegetables). Add some chicken (and maybe teriyaki sauce) if you’re wanting a more substantial meal.
Chicken and tuna meals:
Chicken and tuna are usually the least expensive meats. Cans of tuna usually go for about two dollars. Whole rotisserie chickens can be purchased for around $10 and have enough meat for at least 4 servings.
Plenty of chicken stew and chicken casserole recipes can be found online.
Get some mayonnaise, cheese, and buns when you buy your canned tuna, and you’ll have all the ingredients you need to make yummy tuna melts!
Tuna mixed with mayonnaise, served on crackers, pairs well with soups.
Snack foods to keep on-hand in your kitchen:
Peanuts: Nuts are always a good snack choice. They’re filling and full of fiber and protein. Peanuts are usually cheaper than most other nuts.
Fresh fruit: Apples, bananas, grapes, oranges are all great for a grab-and-go snack. Look for what fruits are on sale when you’re at the grocery store.
Fresh vegetables: Cut up some celery sticks, carrot sticks, slice up a bell pepper, maybe some cauliflower or broccoli, and keep them sealed up in your fridge. You’re much more likely to eat them for a snack if they’re already cut up. Get ranch dressing for dipping to make them even more appealing. And slicing them up yourself is way cheaper than buying the pre-cut veggie trays at the grocery store.
Baked potatoes: Easy to make. Russet potatoes work best for baked potatoes. They just need to be pierced in several places with a fork, then wrapped in foil and baked in the oven at 350 F for up to an hour, depending on size. Serve with butter or sour cream.
A side salad: A kit from the store is fairly inexpensive, especially when they’re on sale. They are the ideal size for a household of four, and are more likely to get eaten before spoiling than if you buy larger quantities of salad ingredients that you need to chop up yourself.
Yogurt is often on sale and can stay good in the fridge several days after the best-before date.
Hamm, T. (2021, April 16). 20 Favorite Dirt-Cheap Meals. The Simple Dollar. https://www.thesimpledollar.com/save-money/20-favorite-dirt-cheap-meals/