With food getting so expensive, I made a list of dirt-cheap meals in my bullet journal. Some of it is kinda ridiculous. Much of it is the opposite of foodie. Most of these meals can be adapted to be vegetarian or vegan. If you need a recipe, google it. You may have to sift through a 3,000-word blog to find a recipe, though. I hope you get some ideas, or at least a laugh. Here’s my list:
- Oatmeal with (pick one): peanut butter, trail mix, milk and apples, egg, chicken nuggets and honey, cheese, chocolate chips, etc. I’ve discovered that nearly everything is good in oatmeal. It makes a great base for vegan bowls, and I find it amusing to pour oat milk over oatmeal
- Tuna on iceberg lettuce salad. Salad is good because you can add any vegetables you have in the house
- Cheese sandwich and carrot sticks.
- Baked potato with practically anything on it
- Pasta with practically anything. You can add many different things to pasta, and marinara sauce is cheap
- Apple with peanut butter or cheese. An apple alone is high-glycemic so you should have it with protein
- Chicken patty on a bun
- Rice and beans
- Peanut butter sandwich with (pick one): butter, jelly, green olives, sriracha, raisins, or trail mix
- Mac-n-cheese, boxed hamburger helper, or anything that comes out of a box. Yes, it’s a highly-processed food, but it can be made into practically anything with the ingredients you already have
- Plain noodles with butter and an egg
- Any of the frozen $1.25 meals from Dollar Tree
- Yogurt parfait made with the plain giant tub of store-brand yogurt
- Any trail mix that doesn’t come from a bougie store. You can even make your own trail mix
- Pancakes with protein powder. Or banana and protein powder pancakes. Pancakes are easy and can be made from practically anything. You can even make pancakes from a muffin mix
- Smoothie with protein powder. Like pancakes, smoothies can be made from practically anything
- Potato skillet with cheese
- Five-ingredient banana bread: 3 ripe bananas, 2 eggs, 1/4 cup honey, 1 tsp baking soda, 2 cup oats. Put it all in a blender. Cook in a 9×5 oiled pan at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.
- Fried rice with practically anything
- Bisquick and cheese casserole in a mug
- Burrito bowl with rice, beans, salsa, and cheese. Top with guacamole (optional)
- Crescent roll chicken casserole with cream of mushroom soup
- Tuna noodle casserole. Optional: panko and melted butter topping
- Pumpkin bread with chocolate chips
- Cottage cheese and corn chips
- Baked beans with hot dogs
- Pizza fries
- Seven-layer dip with corn chips, taco salad, nachos, burritos, or quesadillas. Most Mexican food is pretty cheap to make
- Rice and chicken and any sauce: bbq, Cajun, Indian seasoning, teriyaki, etc.
- Stir fry with peanuts or peanut butter
- French bread pizza
- Anything on a bagel. If you’re in NYC, buy a $2 bagel at the deli and then put toppings on it at home
- Cheddar cheese melted on fancy ciabatta rolls, cut into quarters, and dipped in marinara sauce. Yum!
- Cereal with trail mix
- Riced cauliflower with chicken nuggets
- Hot dogs with anything
- Quiche in a cheap pie crust with practically anything in it.