I am on a very tight budget and have been surviving on unflavored rice/pasta supplemented by food gifts here and there, but I've been dealing with some health condition-based nausea due to this diet.
What are some simple/cheap ways to get more calorie dense and protein rich foods? Foods that are savory and filling trend toward helpful with my nausea. I am generally happy eating chicken and ground beef, but I strongly dislike beans
Simple recipes/ways to get more protein?
byu/sunny3bee inFrugal
Posted by sunny3bee
33 Comments
What aspect of beans do you dislike, because they’re probably the best solution to your issues.
Alternatively, you can often get meat close to its sell-by date or buy in bulk and freeze it to save a little money.
Beans and rice are a complete protein. Dry beans are really cheap and versatile.
Go to a food bank they will give you canned beans or tuna and sometimes even actual meat
Some options:
– Anything made with eggs. A simple frittata for example. Scrambled too often quick and easy to digest
– Salmon. Canned is simple. Can also bake, pan fry.
– Yoghurt
– Grains like wild rice, spelt, quinoa, buckwheat, and oats
– Seeds like chia, pumpkin, sunflower, and flax. Can add to yoghurt or other dishes.
Eggs are good source of protein. Make chilli with ground beef, you can leave out the beans.
Tofu can also be fairly cheap per calorie (I’m not vegan but exploring more plant based proteins, and it’s cheaper per gram of protein where I’m at than chicken)
I am not fond of beans either but then again there are lentils and chickpeas and splt peas and fava beans which are very diferent than beans.
buy them dry
soy dry proteins and tofu are cheap too
check the freezer section for chicken you can get really nice prices , buy drumsticks or quarters
sardinbes are cheap and healthy
you can also find cheap fish in the frozen section
corn is an alternative too and it’s reasonably cheap
add veggies to your diet : diced canned tomatoes and beets are cheap
if you are in the us canned pumpkin is too
mixed frozen veggies too
Walmart has chicken leg quarters for $8.72 per 10 lb bag at my store, but in some locations there are as low as $7.72. For cheap veg you might look at cabbage. Sweet potatoes are satisfying and filling.
You should also look into food banks/pantries. Some places like churches and shelters have free meals, there are two in my town that I know of. I volunteer at a pay what you can cafe.
Big tub of Greek yoghurt! NOT Greek style though!
At least around here bone in chicken and whole cuts of pork tend to be most affordable. I favor chicken thighs , pork loin, and pork shoulder.
All pretty comparable to beans in protein per dollar, but not necessarily by calorie per dollar. They will of course shift your diet towards protein and fat rather than carbs.
Personally I like to get the bulk of my carbohydrate from beans. They bring significant protein to the table compared to grains. To each their own though, if they don’t agree with you they don’t agree with you. I would ask though if you’ve given them a solid try. Going from a low fiber diet to a high fiber one can come with digestive issues. Most of our bodies will adjust in time though and the high fiber tends to be a better strategy long term.
Peanut butter toast for in-between meals.
I’ve been buying powdered bone broth to flavor my rice with. That and a bag of green peas (and some egg or tofu) can turn into a fried rice situation. Legumes, which beans are, all have some protein, so green peas do as well. Edemame and lentils are also good if you can’t do actual beans.
If money’s tight, look for chicken or beef bouillon to season up your rice and pasta.
Add eggs, peanut butter, tuna, maybe Greek yogurt.
Greek yogurt – it’s high in protein and the unflavored kind is very versatile, making it a great ingredient to round out a meal with some extra protein. I use it as a salad dressing base, in protein shakes, as a base for homemade desserts (like a parfait type thing), as a substitute for sour cream, etc. The possibilities are endless. This is location dependent, but I can get a 32 oz container from Aldi for $3.19. I personally use the low-fat kind (fits macros for my weightlifting diet), but if you’re looking for something with more calories, the full fat kind would probably be better.
Cottage cheese!
OP: I really don’t like beans
Half the people in this thread: Have you tried beans?
Tofu is very versatile, cheaper than most meats, and high in protein. We like to do a tofu scramble in the morning sometimes, mix with seasonings of choice, throw in some veg and have at it. You can add potatoes for a breakfast bowl-style meal (think Jimmy Dean bowls).
You said you’re not fond of sour cream but what about cottage cheese? That tends to be an easily blended in calorie/protein increase (I’ve seen folks do egg muffin cups with veg and cottage cheese before – just blend the cottage cheese in with the scrambled eggs)
Lentil dahl is so cheap but very tasty and filling. I can give you my recipe if you’re interested.
Quinoa is like part grain, part protein. part fibre and has all the amino acids – clever little thing. Used to be expensive but is now more affordable and can be bought at LIDL and most supermarkets. I would say it doubles in size, you just boil it and you can add half a stock cube for flavour.
Feta and beetroot salad. (try non brand “salad cheese”)
Some supermarket delis also sell meat scraps.
There is an app called toogoodtogo as well
Broth / egg drop soup
Dog food made a nice circulation in the gym world at one point, lot of crude protein. Check the health effects for yourself though! Not recommended
Almonds and nuts are insanely calorie dense and nutritious
A few suggestions:
* Add tuna to your pasta. If you can spare a little extra money, a can or two of tuna, some frozen peas and a can of cream of something soup together with a 1lb of pasta will make 3 – 4 meals
* While we’re on the subject, peas have a higher protein content than a lot of other veggies (they’re legumes). I’d get frozen as it would be easy to add directly into whatever you’re eating. They’ve risen in price, like everything, but I can still get them for about $1.25 per lb at the discount grocery where I live. If you cook, you can also get dried split peas and make soup.
* Lots of folks love a runny fried egg over rice, or you can scramble an egg and make fried rice with leftover rice.
* Talking about frying, are you getting enough fat? Cooking with oil, maybe adding a pat of margarine or butter (sticks of margarine are cheaper) to you carbs can help you feel satiated.
* Other folks have some good suggestions on how you can make beans less bean-y (refried beans for example) and the split varieties of legumes cook down so they don’t resemble beans. This would be split peas or red split lentils
If you have a local Mexican grocer you can buy dried soy that is chunky like granola. It can be used as a meat substitute. It will take on any sauce flavor you want or serve as a filler for ground meat.
Ground turkey,
Peanut butter/peanut powder
canned tuna
also protein powder
Quinoa and lentils are good for protein…!
Well, you can kind of hide beans. You can squish them up and mix them with tofu to make (along with herbs and seasonings) protein burgers. I use a quarter cup lentils to a cup of Jasmine rice or basmati, both pretty aromatic, and you don’t really notice the lentils because they are only 1/5 of the whole. Be sure to also prepare that with some broth in the water. All nuts contain protein, but don’t go too nuts with them because they do have a lot of fat, though it’s healthy fat.
Eggs and chicken are my protein go-tos. And I really don’t get bored because you can prepare them is so many different ways!
Look up recipes for a Mediterranean diet https://www.themediterraneandish.com/
Lentils are cheap, fast to make and easy. I cook mine in chicken broth and add chopped veggies. Good protein. You can add rice in too.
Greek yoghurt, cottage cheese
The best way I’ve found to increase protein and density is cottage cheese. I thought for 70 years I hated it, but what I hated was the way my parents ate it, as a food. It is completely different as an INGREDIENT, and even better if you run it through a blender. I made a pasta bake yesterday and added some garlic powder and seasoned salt as it blended, then used it as a layer (between pasta and red sauce with a little ground meat, topped with some mozzarella.) You’d never know it was in there. Adaptable for savory AND sweet.
Some people call blended cottage cheese “whipped” cottage cheese. Add a little maple syrup or honey, whip it, and eat it as a “filling” with French toast.
You can find recipes on the internet for an ice cream type dessert made with cottage cheese. Like I said, it’s gross and a texture problem by itself, but utterly amazing as an ingredient. Good luck!
Some beans are also adaptable. I don’t have food issues, but I learned to make very convincing “brownies” using mashed black beans for a gluten-free friend. Fooled my granddaughter!
You can make tofu taste like anything so I really like it for that reason. I also add tofu into meat stuff to make my meat dishes go further. Stir fry? Add tofu. Scrambled eggs? Add tofu. Chili? Add tofu. I will blend silken tofu into sauces as well for added protein and creaminess. Anytime I make a meat thing I also get tofu and prepare it the same way and it stretches my meal!!
I like tofu and mushrooms.
Been making a tofu mushroom hash crumble ( tofu ) an chop mushroom small cooked in skillet till some of the tofu is crisp. Then add a lemon pepper sauce i make. ( soy sauce , lemon juice, lemon pepper seasoning thicken with corn starch ) great with rice.
Check out food pantry in your area and try to apply for snap benefits if you are struggling to afford food.
You can look on findhelp.org to look for food pantries in your area if in the USA.
-eggs
-lentils (like beans yes, but you can get the texture quite firm and not very beany at all, the texture varies depending on what kind of lentils you get)
-rotisserie chicken (it’s a loss leader for stores so it’s worth more than what they charge, you can use it for 3-4 meals’ worth of chicken at least and then boil the remnants for stock)
-canned chicken and tuna. Don’t eat too much tuna per week for safety but otherwise these are very inexpensive protein options