• A delicious, healthy meal for less than $1.50

    Posted on February 12th, 2009 Saver Queen 19 comments

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    Okay, so you’ve all heard me rant and rave over the popularity of so-called cheap convenience foods, arguing that meals can be made for the same price or less than the cost of a box of Kraft Dinner.

    In order to prove my point  offer some helpful suggestions for those of you interested in cheap, healthy alternatives, I thought I would share with you a few meals I’ve made recently that have cost less than $1.50 a serving.

    I love eating food that is frugal, simple, easy to make, but full of flavour.  I like taking short-cuts in the kitchen, and I especially love making use of what I already have.  If a recipe calls for something that requires a new trip to the store, forget it.  I prefer to make one trip a week, give or take, and just make the best of what I’ve already got.

    Here is one meal I made this week, with a little mild experimentation on my part, as an attempt to use up foods in the cupboard and fridge, without sacrificing taste or nutrition.

    The prices will vary depending on where you live. I have included the price I paid for the ingredients, divided by the quantity it yields.  Remember that cheap meals are made cheaper by creative shopping.  Stock up on the great deals, search the flyers, use coupons, buy in bulk when practical, and buy generic.  

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    1. Curried chickpeas & tomatoes

    Ingredients:

    1 can chickpeas - 69¢ (Cheap Tip: buy dried chickpeas and save.)

    1 can diced tomatoes - 79¢

    1 cup Basmati rice - 50¢ (approx.)

    1 green pepper - 89¢

    1 onion - 10¢

    1 garlic clove - 3¢

    spices - 1 tbsp curry, 1 tsp coriander, large pinch kosher salt, pepper, ginger - 10¢

    Directions

    Cook the rice according to package directions.  Drain about 90% of the liquid out of the can of tomatoes and rinse the chickpeas. Pour the tomatoes with liquid and chickpeas into a large saucepan; add spices. Cook on a medium-low temp and let simmer for about 15 minutes, allowing the mixture to reduce.  Meanwhile, sauté the onion and peppers until done - I like them slightly crunchy - and then add to the tomato/chickpea mixture.  Instead of green pepper, you could add broccoli, red pepper or whatever veggies you prefer. (I used green pepper because it was what I had.)  Add minced garlic and veggies and stir. Season with the above spices to taste - you may want to add more as you go.  After the mixture has reduced to the point where there is only a little liquid in the pan and chickpeas are a nice bright colour, you’re done - just add on top of the rice. Easy, huh? 

    Makes 4 portions.

    Total cost: $3.10, - or 78¢ a portion.

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    2. Cucumber salad

    This side dish is a pleasant addition to the Curried Chickpeas & Tomatoes above.  

    Ingredients

    1 English cucumber - $1.79 

    1/2 cup plain yogurt - 54¢

    1 garlic clove - 3¢

    Spices - large pinch s&p, 1/2 tsp coriander, pinch cumin - 9¢

    Directions

    Cut the cumber lengthwise and then widthwise in order to make thinly sliced triangles.  Mix with the yogurt, along with minced garlic and spices.  You will have to season to taste as my spices are just estimates (I taste as I go along).

    Makes 4 portions.

    Total cost: $2.45 - or 61¢ per serving.

    Added with the Chickpea & Tomato dish above, the meal comes to $5.55 in total or $1.39 per person.

    What is your favourite frugal meal? Have you priced out the serving cost? 

    The Saver Queen

    Groceries, Recipes, Uncategorized
     

    19 responses to “A delicious, healthy meal for less than $1.50”

    1. Kaycee February 12th, 2009 at 18:23

      That Cucumber Salad looks really good, I think I have everything I need to make it at home.

    2. noble pig February 12th, 2009 at 18:26

      I’ve never priced out my meals…these looks delicious for such a great price!

    3. Erran February 12th, 2009 at 18:45

      Makes big batches, tasty, simple/quick and I think even cheaper than your chickpea dish. ;)

      http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Quinoa-and-Black-Beans/Detail.aspx
      http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chickpea-Curry/Detail.aspx

      Love from da ‘Peg. :)

    4. Jennifer February 12th, 2009 at 18:55

      I agree with you completely! Cooking simple meals with fresh ingredients bought at good prices can be very economical. I have been figuring out the cost per serving of the meals and snacks my family likes recently too. Thanks for sharing.

    5. Nancy February 12th, 2009 at 21:25

      Great price for a good looking meal..

    6. Sandra February 13th, 2009 at 00:15

      Looks great and what a great price too :)

    7. TD@inqboutfinance February 13th, 2009 at 00:24

      Hey,
      for the chickpeas you might want to soak it in water for some time if you dried it.
      Another cucumber variation: Add chopped peanuts.

      TD

    8. Frugal Liz February 13th, 2009 at 01:03

      That cucumber salad looks great! I love salad recipes that use yogurt. I’ve got some recipes at my blog, if you want to check it out.

    9. sharon rose February 13th, 2009 at 04:17

      Hi there-I love chickpeas and use them regularly, they are very cheap and nutricious. Try a potato and chickpea curry, thats delicious too!

    10. Bente February 13th, 2009 at 07:24

      Great post!

      I love making couscous with various ingredients:
      - with feta cheese, sun dried tomaties, garlic, olives, mint, yellow pepper, courgette
      - with onions, garlic, carrots, almonds, brie and lots of lemon juice
      or with anything else I have lying around…

      Another favourite:
      Chinese or Japanese noodles or rice
      - with cabbage, carrots, onions, almonds, soy sauce
      - with tofu, tauge, leek, soy sauce
      - with broccoli, mushrooms, red onions, cashew nuts, soy sauce
      (I like soy sauce…)

      Now that I am cooking for only myself during my internship I make large quantities which I then divide over several containers that I keep in the freezer. Otherwise my meals would become really expensive…

    11. Didi February 13th, 2009 at 10:27

      Thanks SaverQueen… I have been saying the same thing as this post for years! You just need to be a little creative but there are many many meals that can be made for less than the so called “convenience” foods.. and so much better for you too!

    12. Alex February 13th, 2009 at 17:01

      What meal is in the first picture in your post, it looks delicious!

    13. Saver Queen February 13th, 2009 at 17:09

      Alex - the meal in the top picture is my Curried Tomatoes & Chickpeas, after being mixed with the rice.

      Bente - those suggestions sound amazing. I haven’t eaten Quinoa for a while, but it is so healthy, cheap and versatile I’d like to eat more of it. Thanks for sharing those great ideas!

      Erran - those are great links, the meals there look excellent too, thanks!

    14. Andy @ Retire at 40 February 16th, 2009 at 05:32

      Wow, they both look fabulous. As you say, it’s amazing what you can do when you’re a little creative. I wish I was that good in the kitchen though I know I can learn a little each day :-)

    15. Judy February 20th, 2009 at 18:40

      hey saver queen!

      i made this recipe last night after seeing it on your site, and it was delicious! just before serving i added in a cup of plain yogourt with a couple of spoonfuls of flour mixed in, to get the nice creamy consistency you get at some indian restaurants. delish!

    16. Saver Queen February 20th, 2009 at 20:14

      so glad you enjoyed it! Good call with the yogurt-flour mixture. That would make a really nice consistency.

    17. Sue Caissy April 11th, 2009 at 06:44

      Lovely post again,

      my thoughts are that if we take a look at what foods and recipes poorer countries use then we will find a rich source of nutritious and simple meals. Our public libraries have many cookbooks from all over the world that we can make in our homes for a fraction of the cost of “western meals”. The use of rice/couscous/bread/pasta with the addition of a little meat(optional), plenty of vegies and some tasty additions/sauces/herbs etc.
      Try sprouting green lentils for instance…easy, economical and versatile.
      Have a look at the cuisines of Asian countries, Sth America, Africa…..all frugal but so tasty and cheap to make. Save power/money by stir-frying too

      Opps I feel like I’m hogging your blog, ’twas not my intention but I have a long lasting interesting in brilliant, inexpensive meals! ;)

      Bon Appetite,
      Sue Caissy

    18. Sue Caissy April 11th, 2009 at 07:03

      What I just forgot was to stress the beauty of buying beans/lentils/chickpeas in bulk, cooking a decent sized batch and then freezing them in smaller parcels so that they are there ready to grab when you’re busy. This way you eliminate all that salt and goodness knows what in the canned goodies.
      I live in Australia and can;t really compare costs but I’m sure I save at least 70% on the cost of canned stuff. (lol Once I opened a can of chickpeas from Italy(my regular brand back then) and there were only 4 chickpeas floating in a can of salty water!!!!)

      Cheers
      Sue Caissy

    19. Saver Queen April 11th, 2009 at 11:16

      Sue, I love your enthusiasm (and share it!) I completely agree that there is an abundance of delicious recipes from different regions of the world that are very frugal. Many happy accidents arose in kitchens across the world from limited funds!

      Great to hear from you! Thanks for your lovely comments!

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