The Super-quick, Cheap But Nutritious Cupboard -- Tips, Recipes

[SweetPeaandSunBird]

Many childhood traumas have me hate the kitchen space...and eating.:inpain: Those two make it too easy for me to grab the quick fix of food (normally laden with empty calories, too much sodium, and high fructose corn syrup). If food prep and cooking time requires more than 10 minutes, I'm overwhelmed with anxiety and anger. Then, too, I'm on such a tight budget. (Also, I'm semi-vegetarian; I do eat poultry and fish, but I stay away from pork and beef. Therefore, getting enough protein and iron can be tricky for me.)

Yet, nutrition is so crucial to self-care and clarity of thought.

I have enjoyed :happy: perusing other threads on the forum that share recipes, but, in case other folks are out there like me who have too many bad memories/traumas that took place in the kitchen, I thought this thread could try to be a tip/recipe thread that aims at the following "formula": the tip/recipe...

1) takes less than 10 minutes (prep + cooking)
2) packs proportionally better nutrients than empty calories (it's ok if there are some
"if-y" ingredients, but the other ingredients comprise more benefits, and so, outweigh the "if-y" ingredients)
3) respects the meager budget as best as possible...

Simple tips, too, are welcome!!

 

[The Albatross]

Wow tight criteria... looking forward to what we can come up with. The one I first thought of that is the quickest for me (but I wing it and don't have a recipe) is Gizpacho.

Another fast trick is a pesto over shirataki noodles (the noodles are low cal and high fiber also don't require cooking but should be rinsed in boiling water and I season them with some chili sesame oil), and garnish with slivered almonds, pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds.

 

[SweetPeaandSunBird]

OOps: I forgot to start with a recipe.

Here's a recipe...that was of necessity when I had all my teeth removed for my denture plates. I use it for a breakfast now that lasts me for energy from about 10am to 2pm. It takes approx. 5 minutes tops.

Breakfast smoothie (first one is for coffee/mocha lovers; second is for berry lovers) -- no chopping required.

******
Coffee/mocha recipe ingredients (warning: if you don't want caffein, skip down to the berry smoothie)--

***​

Half a banana; half a 10ounce bottle of Starbucks or generic brand of lower calorie Mocha; 4-5 ounces of skim milk; half a individual cup of honey-flavored yogurt; three teaspoons of instant hazelnut-flavored coffee; two capsules of fiber (since too much dairy constipates me ;))

***​

Once you take apart the fiber capsules and put the fiber in the blender, just add everything else, and violá, you get approximately 12 ounces of coffee bliss with protein, vitamin D, calcium, riboflavin and magnesium. Plus, a bit of fiber, too.​

​

******​

Raspberry/Acai Berry smoothie ingredients (NO CAFFEIN :) )​

​

Half a banana; one Eddy's Acai berry popsicle; half a 10ounce bottle of Starbucks or generic brand of lower calorie Vanilla drink; 4-5 ounces of skim milk; an individual cup of raspberry yogurt (I like yoplait, when its on sale); two capsules of fiber.​

​

Once you take apart the fiber capsules and put the fiber in the blender, just add everything else, and violá, you get approximately 12 ounces of berry bliss with protein, vitamin D, calcium, riboflavin and magnesium. Plus, a bit of fiber, too. And, even a little bit of vitamin C.​

​

******​

Expenses:​

​

The mocha and vanilla bottled drinks are the pricey things here, but I only use half a bottle per smoothie. And, with the honey flavored yogurt, I only use half of that per smoothie. Bananas are still inexpensive.​

​

With a four pack of mocha or vanilla drinks (7.00 at Kroger if Starbucks; 5-6.00 if store brand)​

Four yogurts: 4.00​

Four bananas: 2.00​

A box of popsicles: 3.00​

a tin of hazelnut coffee: 3-4.00​

= approximately 7+ breakfasts for 12.00​

​

(milk and fiber pills are a staples I have on hand, so I guess per smoothie at another dollar, 13.00 for 7+ breakfasts)​

 

[Sandstone]

Or add cashew nuts and crispy bacon bits to the pesto and pasta. If you're going to fry the bacon yourself you could chuck in some mushrooms too.

I've been falling back on this when desperate for years, and was amazed to find it was my grown up daughter's favourite comfort food "because it's like having you there, mum"

 

[SweetPeaandSunBird]

Wow, Albatross, the sprinkling of pumpkins seeds is great. Thank you for that recipe!!!

 

[SweetPeaandSunBird]

Stenni, that's great and now they even make turkey bacon bits so that I can give that a whirl!

 

[Sandstone]

If you've got a flat plate sandwich/pannini toaster, you can make what we call Eggy Bread, and I think is also known as French Toast or Cowboy Toast

I keep a brown sliced loaf in the freezer, so my method goes

Get out two slices of bread per person. Split them into separate slices - they come apart better while still frozen

Turn the toaster on to preheat
Lay the bread on top of the toaster to start defrosting

Mix one egg and a splash of milk per person in a wide flat bowl

When the toaster reaches temperature,
Take the bottom two slices of bread and dip them in the egg to coat

Pop them in the toaster till lightly browned.

Repeat till the bread or egg runs out.


I eat mine with lots of sugar, but you could go for ketchup, or drained tinned fruit and yoghurt

 

[Sandstone]

This takes a bit longer than ten minutes, but doesn't need you there for most of the time

Very Easy Tomato Soup - with options
Only the first four ingredients are essential

Roughly chop one of

• One medium onion
• One leek
• a few shallots
• two cloves of garlic

Put in a saucepan with some oil
Fry gently till browning and coming apart

Add

• One tin chopped tomatoes
• One tin water

And anything you fancy from the list below

• a small handful of red lentils. or pearl barley, or coarse oats or small pasta bits, or half a tin of beans
• a stock cube
• any fresh or dried herbs except mint
• a pinch of crushed chili
• half a teaspoonful of paprika

When it comes to the boil, turn down, cover and simmer gently.

Go and sit down for 20 to 40 minutes and congratulate yourself on cooking from scratch.

Serve as it is, or whizz with a hand blender.
You could stir in some yoghurt or cream cheese or sour cream to add protein.

 

[Changing4Best]

I have an applesauce cake recipe I play around with, making pumkin cake sometimes, etc. Today it is raining so I blenderized some corn (instead of going out for applesauce). I added a bit of extra sugar and Bingo, I had a corn CAKE (not bread). I got the corn from the local free food pantry so this was a great way to make use of something given to me for free.

Here is my recipe which I play with:

APPLESAUCE CAKE

1 cup flour
pinch of salt
1 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking powder

4 eggs
8 Tablespoons of oil
1 15 oz. can of applesauce, pumkin or whatever else you have to play with!

Mix n' fold ingredients together well and bake at 350 F. for 50-60 mins.

Have fun and enjoy.

 

[SweetPeaandSunBird]

That does sound tasty, Sheila, but that one would require too much proaction on my part; however, I have a friend who's a wonderful baker, and I'll be sure to pass it on to her with a coy nudge and a not-so-coy "pretty please...."

 

[JustBe]

You got me thinking about why I avoid cooking and baking Sweet. I used to love it. Thanks for the insight.

1) takes less than 10 minutes (prep + cooking)
2) packs proportionally better nutrients than empty calories (it's ok if there are some
"if-y" ingredients, but the other ingredients comprise more benefits, and so, outweigh the "if-y" ingredients)
3) respects the meager budget as best as possible...

I'm Vegan, so I make this often.

Quinoa and Edamame seasoned with soysauce and a side salad.

Just cook the Quinoa on the stove top. 1 portion dry Quinoa to 3 portions water, until tender. Toss in frozen Edamame and splash on soy sauce to taste. While it's cooking Make the salad of your choice and sprinkle on pumpkin and sunflower seeds. Olive oil and balsamic vinegar make a nice dressing.


Also, this is a very good source of protein. So are mushrooms if you put them on the salad or in with the Edamame.

 

[SweetPeaandSunBird]

(I guess I should mention that both my oven and my dishwasher are dead -- ugh. So I keep the dirty dishes down to a minimum, and I use the microwave; however, my stovetop still works. Plus, I'm cooking for one.)

****
Ok, here's one that's "if-y" because it's high in sodium and low in dignity. However, on those days when I'm happy to simply get food in me with some protein, I do the following. A plus is that this one only dirties one dish and lid! (Brevity, I'm all about brevity!)

This is based on a very cheap Texan/Tejano recipe -- oh, my, the Frito Pie, minus the pie. (It's ok; y'all are more than allowed to laugh and roll your eyes.) It's actually the cheater's chili for those who don't want to mess with making cornbread, which I love by-the-way.

1 can of Chili starter (I prefer Bush's Chili Starter, 1.25 per can)
1 small bag -- the smallest they make of Fritos brand original corn chips (only 50 cents) (There, I said it...)
Sliced jalepeños to taste (yeh, I admit, I use those already sliced and in a jar)
Diced tomatoes to taste (I look for the already diced and chilled tomatoes in the produce section at Kroger)
Some shredded mozzarella (fewer calories)

I heat up the chili starter in the microwave; then, I only use what I need for one serving and save the rest of the beans for a side to another meal later in the week). Place approximately half the bag of chips on the bottom of a paper bowl/plate. (Sorry, Mother Earth, but when I get over the "kitchen-aversion" I will mend my sorry ways.) Then, I add a serving size of beans; add 1/2 cup of the diced tomatoes, and sprinkle w/ shredded mozzarella cheese.

Five minutes; 75 cents beans; 25 cents chips; 1.00 tomatoes, approx. 1.00 jalepeños + cheese = 3.00.

Nutrients:
Fritos is one of the few chips that has only three ingredients: whole corn, corn oil, salt -- no perservatives.
Plus, though the sodium is high, there are nuturients:
dietary fiber, protein, some calcium, iron, B6, phosphorus, vit E, magnesium -- that's before the added protein and iron from the chili beans.

Bad news: sodium, but, I rarely have a lot of sodium in my diet....