The price of eating healthy is sorely overrated. It’s not difficult to eat delicious and healthy meals on a regular basis without breaking the bank.
Those that might need recipes will eventually have their own blog posts, but for now, I’ll give you some general ideas below and you can make them your own. I’ve included rough price estimates, assuming you have certain staples at home and only have to buy some of the more specific ingredients mentioned. I’ve estimated the price based on the total grocery bill, and not necessarily by portion or serving size.
Salmon and Asparagus
Salmon is a well-known healthy form of protein and Omega 3. It can be baked, seared, grilled, or poached. Asparagus can be cooked in any of these ways as well. Depending on how you do cook it, the calorie count will be minimal with a higher nutrition value.
If you choose to sear it in a pan (I cannot stress enough), get your skillet screaming hot with a little oil, then put that baby skin side down and let it get crispy before flipping. Delicious.
Salmon can be a little pricy, but it’s very filling and satisfying. It’s more of a once-in-a-while protein and not necessarily something you’d eat every day.
Salad
Salads are pretty popular and surprisingly versatile. You can customize it to your needs and tastes. My personal favorite is basic spring green and lots of vegetables, fruit, and a protein dressed with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
I guesstimate the total bill of the ingredients needed for a homemade salad to be about $30, give or take what you want on your salad. However, this can last you several meals as long as you eat it quickly enough to avoid any of the fresh produce going bad.
Open-Faced Warm Sandwich
I was recently taught this by a friend of mine. It’s another meal that is easily customizable, but the way I like it and the way she made it was with a few slices of turkey, topped with a layer of sliced tomatoes, and a few slices of pepper jack cheese. Throw that bad boy under the broiler for a couple of minutes, get it as melted and golden as you’d like, then top it with some avocado, balsamic glaze, and basil. Excellent.
Depending on where you get your ingredients and what brand you choose, you can keep this meal under $20 and let it last you a few meals before having to get more cheese or meat.
Baked Potato
This is something that could either be pretty light on calories or very heavy. It all depends on what you put on it or what the rest of the meal looks like if you want it to be a side.
This price tag varies a lot on what you want to add to your potato, but you can keep it easily under $10 or even $5.
Burger (No Bun)
A burger without the bun is a great way to add protein to your plate without the extra carbs of a bun, which leaves more space in your stomach and on your plate for more healthy options. Of course, if you want a bun, add it. It’s a free country and you have one life.
You can find a pound or two of ground beef on sale for under $7, and it will make you a few burgers, tacos, or spaghetti meals.
Chicken Breast and Veggies
Chicken breasts are a great source of lean protein. It’s championed all over numerous health sites and is delicious when cooked well. It’s an easy meat to make come out dry, though, so research how you’d like to cook it best. The veggies are an obvious source of nutrition, especially when cooked with minimal oil or butter.
A pack of frozen chicken breasts is usually under $12, and bags of frozen vegetables are often under $2. This meal has a lot of bonuses because the ingredients won’t go bad. Therefore, you don’t have to have the same meal several times in a week if you get tired of it, the volume is enough to last you many many meals, and they can be used in more than one way.
Chicken and Dumpling Soup
Though this may seem like a complicated meal, I found a simple but delicious chicken and dumpling soup will last me several days of meals. It has leeks, chicken, and parmesan dumplings. Excellent.
This is also a recipe you can kind of make up as long as you have a basic idea of the components, and can easily adjust to your tastes.
This can be a little pricier, closer to $30-$50 roughly, but one recipe makes 4-6 servings.
Stir-Fry
I like to make stir-fry when I have leftover rice, either that I made or got from takeout. It’s a great baseline for adding veggies, eggs, and additional meat. It can be perfect for a high-volume, low-calorie meal, and depending on what you have on hand, can be extremely flavorful and quite satisfying.
This meal can easily come out to less than $10 and give you 3-6 servings.
Boxed Mac ‘n Cheese with Add-ins
Cooking with boxed mac ‘n cheese sometimes gets me side-eyes, and I can understand why. Don’t think I can’t make real mac ‘n cheese, but sometimes I just don’t have the time, ingredients, or desire. What I do have is a $0.89 box of mac ‘n cheese, whole milk, butter, and real cheese to add. When I do this, I make sure to add tons of peas, corn, mushrooms, and some kind of meat. It’s still not the most healthy thing out there, but it certainly tastes better and is healthier than the alternative, and it fixes my mac ‘n cheese cravings.
This another one that can fluctuate based on what you want to add, but if you keep it to the box and frozen veggies, one batch will only cost you about $5.
Smoothie
I’ve shared my favorite smoothie recipe here. I’ve found when I make a delicious smoothie, it can reach about 900 calories depending on what I add, but it fills me up for most of the day. Plus, frozen fruit is just as healthy if not more healthy than fresh fruit or veggies.
Frozen fruits can be more expensive than frozen vegetables for sure, but if you’re careful about where you get them and which ones you want, you can still keep the price tag under $20 and it will likely make you at least 2-3 smoothies.
Again, these are all just ideas of simple, healthier meals you can easily make at home. Add lots of veggies wherever you can to take up more space in your stomach while keeping calories low. Adjust them to your health and taste preferences, and enjoy!