cheapest foods to fill you up(healthy)

[rusty@saving]

i work in a grocery store, and i see the prices all day long. i saw a 4 lb bag of rice for $1.99 and thought to myself "i could eat that for about 2 weeks!"(or longer)
obviously i would tire eating so much rice, but if you add things inexpensively to it(beans for example for protein) you can eat for next to nothing for quite a while....
what am i missing(pasta, tuna, beans)? cheap frozen pizza and stuff like that would be out because i like to eat healthy(3000 calories a pizza is crazy).

thanks, lets all help each other eat better for cheaper.

Actually, I am a fan of Dr. Steven Pratt's book, Superfoods RX. If I would actually eat those foods, I am sure I would be much healthier.

Beans are a SuperFood and he suggests eating 1/2 cup 5 days of the week, I believe.
Oats/Oatmeal/Oatbran are another, and an orange a day - the fruit more so than the juice because of the white pithy stuff has anti-oxidants, as well as an apple a day.
Tomatos, canned, as well as fresh because of lycopenes. One-half cup of canned pumpkin a few times a week (I was making smoothies with a bunch of cans I had gotten on sale at Wal Mart after XMAS the previous year - unfortunately that even did not reoccur this year. - and that is the pumpkin, not the pumpkin pie - you can tell the difference on the Libby cans).
1/2 to 1 cup of broccoli a day (or sub cabbage, brussel sprouts).

1 cup of cooked or two cups of raw spinach a day (or romaine lettuce). Turkey is a good source of protein, and has other benefits, and a serving of salmon or tuna 3 or 4 times a week (canned is fine). A cup of blueberries or other berries - I am able to buy the frozen, organic blueberries at Costco for the same price as the non-organic in the grocery.

Eating this way is not necessarily bare bones cheap, but actually were I to actually eat this way all the time, it wouldn't cost anymore than the take out and frozen dinners and processed pasta dishes, etc that I buy, anyway.
Tea everyday - and a handful of walnuts a few times a week.

[getforfree]

The cheapest foods IMO are rice, beans, bread (if homebaked), potatoes.

Chicken quarters are usually cheap, you can get them as low as 39c/lb. I buy 10-lb bag frosen, cut it in smaller pieces and freeze.

I buy lots of fruits and veggies if under 50c/lb (carrots, cabage, sometimes cucumbers, watermellons), but if it's over 99c/lb, I consider a splurge.

I don't buy frozen veg. for soup, because it's usually like $1/lb, I buy raw instead, it's cheaper that way, at least here in CA.

I buy nuts and berries for kids only, they are way too expencive.

About a week ago we went on a trip, where my Dh cut some fish, and I picked lots of blackberries, so we got about 4 days worth of meat and 5 days worth of fruits for $5 that we spent on gas. I want to go again!!!

I buy my spices at WinCo in bulk. It's just plain shreded herbs w/o any salt in it. Even if it's like $5/lb, it's still ok, because 30c worth of that stuff can fill 10 oz container and last me for 3 weeks. I found some pumpkin seads there in bulk, they are I think $1.77/lb. I usually buy them instead of nuts. Kids love it.

[jaksilee]

Rasins are very cheep and very good for you! paired with peanut butter you get a very nice snack.

[Ima saver]

Well Mac and cheese is pretty cheap, I buy the chef karlin brand, 3 for $1.

[rusty@saving]

thanks for all the advice, keep it comin!!!

[scrava]

if you have a farmers market near by it's a great way to get fruits & veggies grown locally for a lot less than the grocery store.

Pasta is inexpensive. You can pair it w/ veggie added sauce.

Originally Posted by rusty@saving

thanks for all the advice, keep it comin!!!

[contrary1]

Think ethnic. I head to my Mexican recipes to really make food stretch and it's mainstays are rice & beans. Cook a pot roast in the crock pot and you're set for a week! Dozens of meals you can come up with from breakfasts to dinners.

Ethnic markets are a great place to stretch food dollars too.

[jacquelynrose]

I think Ramen and Mac & Cheese are cheap foods, also hot dogs, if no one cooks its hot dogs....

[kealina]

i definately recommend ethnic foods... my mom gave me a case of MAMA brand instant pho (vietnamese beef soup)... it is similar to ramen/saimin but taste tons better and is healthier with less fat too... and it's less than 50 a serving... the thing i've noticed about certain ethnic foods too is that they use way less meat and processed items than american food and generally this is healthier too... rice is such a staple here in hawaii that most of us buy it in 20lb bags and eat it every day... it is good with all kinds of stuff... it is good with stir fry, meat and veggies, etc. etc... and fried rice is easy to make too...
also, i agree with mac and cheese... we also bought those $3 giant bags of premade salad from SAMS for awhile until we got really sick of them... crockpots are great too...

also, we try to eat whatever we can make with the grocery store loss leaders... once, chickpeas/garbanzo beans were really cheap so we made homemade hummus for 2 weeks... luckily the storebrand wheat thin were also on sale cheap so that was cool... and we buy whatever produce are in season and abundant...

also, i don't know if you have anybody like that but people (my mom and DH's best friend) will give us stuff when they clean out their fridge... and free is the best price... plus usually my mom always has extra fruits which people are always giving her or she is always buying... last week she gave us a mango and thai watermelon and this week a small bag of lychee... yum...

[flash]

QUINOA!!!! Healthier than rice, a true super food. Any one else love this stuff?

[PrincessPerky]

never heard of it?

but on filling you up cheap, whole grain and 'brown' stuff stays wit you longer than white...supposedly red potatoes work better than white, I like the idaho though. (and so does my 'full sensor' ok so I am never full really but I am not starving minutes after idaho with bacon and cheese (but I am with white potaotes and cheese..), wait you said healthy? nevermind.

seriously, complex fills you up longer than simple.

[flash]

Everything in moderation!

Bacon is not that bad if you fry it correctly. On potatoes, it's just bits/chunks, not whole slices, right? Cheese, actually the best item for CLA, which people are taking as a supplement now...helps prevent diabetes, fat storage around the belly, and many other body functions. Fitness trainers live by the stuff...and the supplement is required in many diets because they don't eat CHEESE. Of course, there is poor quality cheese loaded with bad oils and stuff...But you can melt your cheese, blot up the extra oil, and transfer it to the potato, long as you are using a non-stick pan, it's pretty easy...

all things in moderation.

[flash]

Oh yeah, quinoa is a grain that's HIGH protein.

[puppypal]

Well, I thought about this and then took a peek at my pantry.....
I have tons of rice
Tons of noodles
mounds of potatoes
dried beans of every sort! Pintos
White beans bean soup mix
SSSSSSHHHHHH Even a box of instant potatoes in case! blushing
Powdered milk
I mix 1 gallon of powdered milk with 1 gallon of whole milk and it compares to 2%
I have even added 1/3 water to whole milk and it turns into 2%
Now I eat correctly
But I eat cheaply
I buy peanut butter at damaged frieght sale stores. It is the protein king!
We as a family eat now! Two teen boys! They really prefer a meal as to junk!
I have flour in 10 pound areas
Buy surgar in 25 pd bags and separate
Buy brown eggs from lady in town
What I am trying to say is if you keep basic ingredents on hand you can find a meal within
We have corn meal and make tator cakes, to cornbread to most bread out of it!
We use flour surgar eggs vanilla for cake mixes and go from there.
Industrail cans of pumkin! Goodness i love pumkin bread. The tight wad lady book recipe is my standerd.
I really hate to cook but don't tell because of our tight budget it is a chore of mine. Well at least DH sees it as a good thing because he gets the chore of clean up!

[PrincessPerky]

Originally Posted by flash

Everything in moderation!

Bacon is not that bad if you fry it correctly. On potatoes, it's just bits/chunks, not whole slices, right? Cheese, actually the best item for CLA, which people are taking as a supplement now...helps prevent diabetes, fat storage around the belly, and many other body functions. Fitness trainers live by the stuff...and the supplement is required in many diets because they don't eat CHEESE. Of course, there is poor quality cheese loaded with bad oils and stuff...But you can melt your cheese, blot up the extra oil, and transfer it to the potato, long as you are using a non-stick pan, it's pretty easy...

all things in moderation.

OK good I like my potaot with cheese

[markio26]

i made crockpot lasagna last nite for supper, used zucchini, thin spinach lasagna noodles, homemade sauce, onions sauteed in butter, cottage cheese, green peppers, ricotta cheese, provolone cheese, parmesean, parsley, basil...garlic. it was delish..

i also made parslied potatoes with onions and lil butter.....my herb garden is paying off.

i think pasta and rice are the cheapest dishes to prepare and enjoy....tuna fish is cheap when on sale.

[cschin4]

Hot air popcorn. No oil. I do my popcorn in the microwave with one of those microwave popcorn bowls you can get at Walmart. 15 calories per popped cup. You can add some butter if you like, but a little salt is just fine with me.

[lrjohnson]

Bulgur. Yogurt, non-fat non-flavored. Oatmeal. Oatmeal made into homemade granola. Cabbage and carrots. Yogurt made into a veggie dip with added herbs/salt/pepper. Potato with yogurt as sour cream.

[Frugal Father (tm)]

Ramen of anykind ( add to it, left overs etc), Canned Jack macral (omega 3's),rice especially if you buy in an asian grocery store, pasta (like ramen add to it),beans on sale, pickled veggies ( buy day old or good sales and place in vinegar,water and some sweetner/we put garlic inplace of sweetner) great way to preserve them and inexpensive.