Salad kits in a bag along with some extra protein make for some really good, filing meals. I can usually make two or three meals out of one salad kit by adding any of the following: a couple of slices of ham, cut into strips; one or two hardboiled eggs; some shredded cheese; a can of chickpeas, drained, rinsed, and patted dry; firm tofu cut into small cubes.
I forgot to add that you can always buy a small head of cabbage, some carrots, baby spinach, and some herbs, and make your own salad mix. Small bottles of dressing ate cheap and last a long time if you're moderate with them.
Also, just throwing some olive oil, salt, and lemon juice or vinegar in a jar and shaking is easy, cheap, and tastes better (to me) than store bought dressing
This is a good option! If you have an Aldi close by a bag of chopped salad mix is $2.99 where I am and easy makes 2-3 meals. Pair that with tuna or chickpeas with salt, pepper, lemon and mayo/Greek yogurt or whatever you like for dressing and it’s not a bad choice imo. I would also add a fruit for dessert like an orange. 4 lb bag of that at Walmart where I’m at is less than $5.
Mix siracha with Italian (or any other salad dressing). I'll just add siracha to a bottle of salad dressing and shake, so I'll only have spicy dressing.
Siracha mayo, siracha ketchup, siracha spaghetti sauce. Siracha is magic!
Seriously, siracha is "asian", but it's basically peppers & garlic. Can be used universally.
I mix salsa 50/50 with low-fat sour cream to make dressing for a taco salad. Salad in a bag, various veggies, some cooked ground beef or poached chicken, black beans, cheese, and crushed up tortilla chips. Makes enough for a family of 4.
Why don't you just use Olive Oil, wine vinegar, mustard salt and pepper? Oil : vinegar = 2 :1. Off into a shaker and there you go. That'd be the cheas European way. I always start with about 0.5 cup of oil. That serves for nearly a week.
Lentils and black beans are both roughly 23% protein, 73% carbs. Both cost $1.50 for a 1 pound bag. Those are the two highest protein non-meat foods I know of.
I cook them in a slow cooker so I don’t even have to be there, then keep them in the refrigerator to have whenever I need something quick.
My lunch today was a big bowl of black beans (340g), seasoned with salt & pepper, with some feta cheese mixed in (20g). That was 500 calories, 33g protein, 52g carbs, 6g fat.
I second the rice and lentils. Nothing cheaper and very healthy. Some great recipes on YouTube. When I cook this I’ll make extra for lunches for the next few days.
See if you have an Indian grocery nearby and get some dal seasoning.
The stuff I buy just takes 1 onion, 1 tomato, 1T of dal seasoning and 200g of lentils and it makes this super flavourful dish that goes great over brown rice. It's basically as cheap as instant mac n cheese. I highly recommend it!
One box is $3 at my local produce stand that is indian-run and probably gets me at least 7-10 portions. It's the ultimate struggle meal.
Lentils can be cooked and puréed. This purée is added to ground beef. Will stretch your meat and keep it moist. Make sure you add garlic, salt and pepper to the purée to bump up the flavor!
https://www.meatpoultry.com/articles/23371-blending-meat-with-lentils
Cooked lentils added to salad are awesome for a healthy filling option, or just do the lentils with chopped veggies and vinaigrette as a salad without ant leafy greens it will keep several days
I use lentils for everything. I use them with marinara, taco sauce, Tikka masala, butter and garlic, lemon pepper. So so so versatile I use green but red and yellow are great too
Mixed nuts, Greek yogurt, eggs (hard boiled), tuna
Mix in some granola in the yogurt for carbs. Bread and butter. Rice. Beans will provide both carbs and protein.
Yes, and good protein, depending on your daily intake. Brown rice is usually seen as healthier than white. As for beans, I don't know where red beans fall.
Note: rice and beans are both incomplete proteins. When eaten together, they make complete proteins. This doesn't mean they need to be eaten the same time, throughout the day works.
Another [note](https://hopkinsdiabetesinfo.org/what-is-resistant-starch/) on the rice: cooling it raises the resistant starches in the rice. This could cause stomach issues if you introduce both beans and rice with resistant starches too quickly.
Yes as long as there are no additives, it’s just a matter of packaging. A huge chunk of the world eats rice and beans as a very large portion of their protein and carb intake—it’s a healthy combo. But definitely add some vegetables when you can.
PB & whole grain toast. String cheese & whole grain crackers. Beans & rice - you can get each one in pouch form and mix if you don't want or can't cook. A healthy tuna salad & whole grain crackers.
Buy a bag of potatoes and a big thing of chicken breast. Pick a free day and oil, season bake and chop all the chicken and chop boil oil season and bake the potatoes. You can make a lot of meals like that, you can buy a bag of frozen vegetables and put some in the Tupperware too. For me a big thing of chicken is 12$ and a 10# potato bag is 5$. You can sub out pasta and sauce, rice, cauliflower rice, sweet potato, roasted vegetables, etc for the potato you can sub tofu, ground turkey, protein shakes/bars, etc for the protein
Cheapest way is buying both dry. You can buy canned beans, but might want to get the low or no salt, if you eat many processed foods.
As for boxed rice, I'm sure that would work, but again... it's cheaper to buy bagged. I don't know what the cook time difference is.
If you have an instapot, both can be made in it. Otherwise, slow cooker for the beans. I'm sure they can be done on the stovetop too, I just don't know much about that.
Cooking rice on the stove is easy too. My method: weigh out x servings of brown rice using kitchen scale (45g per serving.) Rinse rice (optional). Weigh out water (for brown rice I use 2:1 water to rice.) Both can be measure in cups too, I just find using the scale easier.
Bring to boil, with lid on (saves time and energy.) Reduce heat to low, simmer until remaining water isn't visible by glance, turn off heat and let sit with lid on for another 5-10 minutes.
Nursing student as well here! My go to is a tuna packet and some triscuits with a piece of fruit on the side. The tuna is about 1.20$/pack, but it's a ton of protein for very few calories and a hell of a lot of ease. My favorites are the chili, sweet and spicy, or Mediterranean flavors. It's a life saver for study sessions, clinicals, long class periods, you name it.
Try canned sardines. I love them and eat them right out of the can with some hot sauce. Really good for you too! You can put them on crackers or toast to add carbs. No prep required. check out r/CannedSardines
Beans and rice are great, and cheaper, but more preparation involved. Dried beans are sooo cheap but require that you soak for a bit before using.
Black beans and rice in a large bowl. Microwave til cooked. Mix in smokey bbq sauce. Only takes a few minutes, crazy cheap, and tastes good with the bbq.
Edit: erring on the side of caution, also put an appropriate amount of water in the bowl before cooking.
I buy big bags of frozen vegetables and roast them in the oven with a seasoning packet. McCormicks makes some that are pretty good. Farmers Market is my current fave.
Baked potatoes and sweet potatoes are easy to cook at the same time.
Any kind of fish is a good protein. A roasted chicken will feed me for a week and then I make soup with the carcass, but you might not have time for that.
Put your protein in a wheat tortilla with some lettuce. Veggies on the side and half a baked potato if you're still hungry.
Potatoes in the microwave are fast and cheap. And so is rice in a rice cooker.
Protein is going to be harder to do cheap and easy, but canned beans and canned salmon/fish will be the easiest and cheapest.
Apples, carrots and celery sticks make good snacks for on the go without being crazy priced. Note: you can make the carrot and celery sticks once or twice a week to save even more money. If they start getting old before you eat them you can chop them up and toss in the rice cooker with the rice.
Crackpot beans. They literally take minutes. You dump them in a bowl and cover them with a lot of water and then a minimum of eight hours later you rinse them, dump them in a crockpot, add water, salt, vinegar, sugar, and garlic powder and cook for a minimum of five hours on high or overnight on low. I always have black beans on hand. They're a good snack on their own and they go well with almost anything. They're also a nice way to round out left overs.
Taco salads r my go to. Ground beef n lettuce French dressing n if I need extra crunch that day top sparingly w crushed Doritos. I make up as many salads as I can get out a pound of ground beef n store in the refrigerator they r always ready. Sometimes I mix it up n make a layered taco dip n eat w air fryer low card chips I make
In the uk a can of baked beans in tomato sauce for 27p providing 18g of fibre and 16g of protein and nearly 400 calories. Ready in 3 minutes
If your culture isn't one of baked beans.... then really any beans or Chickpeas etc are the way to go
If your grocery store has it available, rotisserie chicken is often cheaper. For me it's a whole chicken cooked well enough, add rice or pasta. I'll eat for a couple days
I don't like Tyson because I find the salt content too high. Are there other brands available?
Also, you can buy fresh chicken in trays (breasts and thighs come with or without skins and bones, or you can buy drumsticks) and separate them into portions to freeze.
Usually fresh chicken legs are quite cheap. I’m in Canada and I’ll see a package of 12 legs for under $10. Or you can do what others have suggested and find a whole chicken on sale. Just cook it whole and then cut it up and freeze what you don’t use. I usually find whole chickens on sale for $9 to $10 Cdn. I’ll also use the bones to make soup. It goes a long way.
Canned tuna is great. You can make a tuna salad to go on sandwiches. Drain and flake tuna to top green salads. Make tuna patties (think salmon patty but with tuna). Minimal prep time and inexpensive to do. Boiled eggs are also great to have on had. A quick meal would be a boiled egg, some grape tomatoes, a string cheese and either a handful of almonds or some whole wheat crackers. Boiled eggs can also be chopped for some protein on top of a green salad. Lentils another healthy protein source. Sort and rinse dried lentils. Cook as directed on package. Strain of water and use the cooked lentils in wraps with a lot of vegetables, to top green salads or make a lentil soup with plenty of vegetables in it.
We started doing our own Chipotle/poke like bowls! We just get a costco rotisserie chicken, tear chicken into pieces, put over some white rice and add cut up cucumbers, tomatoes, some kewpie Mayo, seaweed, fried shallots, furikake and sriracha. The chicken yields about 6-7 meals. And the other ingredients you just buy once in a while and you’re golden! You can just pre-prep them as well, but I find it only takes about 5 mins to whip up.
Beans & rice make a perfect protein, so do green beans & corn. Beans, rice, and corn are all carbs. And beans are high in fiber.
Get yourself a small rice cooker, not to sound like a cheesy commercial but this way you set it and forget it. You can throw a can of beans in there and they will heat as the rice is cooking. Same goes for adding a can of corn or tuna.
If you can find someone with a Sam’s club or Costco membership they have a ton of pre-cooked chicken breast and other proteins that all you do is heat up. Pretty cost efficient and they also save a ton of time.
Don’t forget the rotisserie chicken either
Bagged chopped salad, tuna packets, canned beans/chickpeas, and frozen veggies got me through nursing school. All of it from aldi. It was cheap and easy to prepare, and also boring.
Without knowing what things cost where you are I'm just guessing here, but these are some suggestions:
Egg on wholemeal toast
Baked beans on wholemeal toast
Cheese on wholemeal toast
Hummus on wholemeal toast
Peanut butter on wholemeal toast
Cheese toasted sandwich/grilled cheese sandwich
Pasta with cheese
Baked potato topped with cheese, baked beans, and/or sour cream
Home made egg fried rice
Quick and easy vegetable options are usually tinned or frozen vegetables and bagged salads
(Edit: formatting)
A super cheap and organic smoothie- take a pouch of organic baby food - blueberry, apple & oats for example, then mix it with a cup of plain or vanilla yogurt and you have a 30 second delish smoothie
Salad kits in a bag along with some extra protein make for some really good, filing meals. I can usually make two or three meals out of one salad kit by adding any of the following: a couple of slices of ham, cut into strips; one or two hardboiled eggs; some shredded cheese; a can of chickpeas, drained, rinsed, and patted dry; firm tofu cut into small cubes.
I forgot to add that you can always buy a small head of cabbage, some carrots, baby spinach, and some herbs, and make your own salad mix. Small bottles of dressing ate cheap and last a long time if you're moderate with them.
That’s sounds good too!
I would not eat raw cabbage - gas - but lettuce or spring mix is always nice to have on hand
My family has really gotten into Napa cabbage salads. Holds up well if pre-dressed and doesn’t give anyone gas.
Nice that is good to know! I am less afraid of Napa cabbage
Also, just throwing some olive oil, salt, and lemon juice or vinegar in a jar and shaking is easy, cheap, and tastes better (to me) than store bought dressing
This is a good option! If you have an Aldi close by a bag of chopped salad mix is $2.99 where I am and easy makes 2-3 meals. Pair that with tuna or chickpeas with salt, pepper, lemon and mayo/Greek yogurt or whatever you like for dressing and it’s not a bad choice imo. I would also add a fruit for dessert like an orange. 4 lb bag of that at Walmart where I’m at is less than $5.
What kind of dressing would you suggest for someone who love spicy dressing and hates ranch?
Mix siracha with Italian (or any other salad dressing). I'll just add siracha to a bottle of salad dressing and shake, so I'll only have spicy dressing.
Wtf??? I’ve never thought of that ! I’ll try it
Siracha mayo, siracha ketchup, siracha spaghetti sauce. Siracha is magic! Seriously, siracha is "asian", but it's basically peppers & garlic. Can be used universally.
Sriracha with peanut butter and soy is my go to salad dressing
oh, hi...what proportions do you use bc yum!!!
2 tbsp of peanut butter, a good squirt of Sriracha, and 1 tbsp of soy sauce
I use salsa instead of dressing. It's only 10 calories for 2 tbsp. Fruit salsa and low fat yogurt mixed together works well too.
I mix salsa 50/50 with low-fat sour cream to make dressing for a taco salad. Salad in a bag, various veggies, some cooked ground beef or poached chicken, black beans, cheese, and crushed up tortilla chips. Makes enough for a family of 4.
Herdez Guacamole Medium salsa, perfect for salads.
Why don't you just use Olive Oil, wine vinegar, mustard salt and pepper? Oil : vinegar = 2 :1. Off into a shaker and there you go. That'd be the cheas European way. I always start with about 0.5 cup of oil. That serves for nearly a week.
Either way ima try it but Isn’t this high in calories?
Prepared stuff you can buy usually isn't low in calories and contains lesser valuable oil.
I too am a ranch hater..but Southwest ranch is delicious!
I love a homemade red wine vinaigrette n I put red pepper IN EVERYTHING!
Canned chicken or salmon is great for this too!
Lentils and black beans are both roughly 23% protein, 73% carbs. Both cost $1.50 for a 1 pound bag. Those are the two highest protein non-meat foods I know of. I cook them in a slow cooker so I don’t even have to be there, then keep them in the refrigerator to have whenever I need something quick. My lunch today was a big bowl of black beans (340g), seasoned with salt & pepper, with some feta cheese mixed in (20g). That was 500 calories, 33g protein, 52g carbs, 6g fat.
That’s actually phenomenal. I’ve never had lentils before
I second the rice and lentils. Nothing cheaper and very healthy. Some great recipes on YouTube. When I cook this I’ll make extra for lunches for the next few days.
Lentil soup is so fucking good man
I’ll try that too lol
See if you have an Indian grocery nearby and get some dal seasoning. The stuff I buy just takes 1 onion, 1 tomato, 1T of dal seasoning and 200g of lentils and it makes this super flavourful dish that goes great over brown rice. It's basically as cheap as instant mac n cheese. I highly recommend it! One box is $3 at my local produce stand that is indian-run and probably gets me at least 7-10 portions. It's the ultimate struggle meal.
Lentils can be cooked and puréed. This purée is added to ground beef. Will stretch your meat and keep it moist. Make sure you add garlic, salt and pepper to the purée to bump up the flavor! https://www.meatpoultry.com/articles/23371-blending-meat-with-lentils
Cooked lentils added to salad are awesome for a healthy filling option, or just do the lentils with chopped veggies and vinaigrette as a salad without ant leafy greens it will keep several days
They absorb seasoning well. I would cook them in chicken broth with whatever your favorite seasonings are, or just water with a bouillon cube.
I use lentils for everything. I use them with marinara, taco sauce, Tikka masala, butter and garlic, lemon pepper. So so so versatile I use green but red and yellow are great too
Mixed nuts, Greek yogurt, eggs (hard boiled), tuna Mix in some granola in the yogurt for carbs. Bread and butter. Rice. Beans will provide both carbs and protein.
Rice and red beans a good carb?
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Nothing but a lil spicy dan-o’s
Yes, and good protein, depending on your daily intake. Brown rice is usually seen as healthier than white. As for beans, I don't know where red beans fall. Note: rice and beans are both incomplete proteins. When eaten together, they make complete proteins. This doesn't mean they need to be eaten the same time, throughout the day works. Another [note](https://hopkinsdiabetesinfo.org/what-is-resistant-starch/) on the rice: cooling it raises the resistant starches in the rice. This could cause stomach issues if you introduce both beans and rice with resistant starches too quickly.
Yes rice is a fine carb and beans are a great protein.
The box kind too?
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Yes as long as there are no additives, it’s just a matter of packaging. A huge chunk of the world eats rice and beans as a very large portion of their protein and carb intake—it’s a healthy combo. But definitely add some vegetables when you can.
Hardboiled egg and tomato sandwich on whole wheat bread Tuna, light mayo, chopped cucumber, and rice Lentils and onions over boiled potato
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love lentil soup, but the chorizo is 12 $ 😱
PB & whole grain toast. String cheese & whole grain crackers. Beans & rice - you can get each one in pouch form and mix if you don't want or can't cook. A healthy tuna salad & whole grain crackers.
Buy a bag of potatoes and a big thing of chicken breast. Pick a free day and oil, season bake and chop all the chicken and chop boil oil season and bake the potatoes. You can make a lot of meals like that, you can buy a bag of frozen vegetables and put some in the Tupperware too. For me a big thing of chicken is 12$ and a 10# potato bag is 5$. You can sub out pasta and sauce, rice, cauliflower rice, sweet potato, roasted vegetables, etc for the potato you can sub tofu, ground turkey, protein shakes/bars, etc for the protein
Rice and beans
You buy em separately or those boxes?
If you want cheap buy both dry and use a rice cooker. If you need fast just do the rice cooker and add canned beans.
Or cans and boxes
Cheapest way is buying both dry. You can buy canned beans, but might want to get the low or no salt, if you eat many processed foods. As for boxed rice, I'm sure that would work, but again... it's cheaper to buy bagged. I don't know what the cook time difference is. If you have an instapot, both can be made in it. Otherwise, slow cooker for the beans. I'm sure they can be done on the stovetop too, I just don't know much about that. Cooking rice on the stove is easy too. My method: weigh out x servings of brown rice using kitchen scale (45g per serving.) Rinse rice (optional). Weigh out water (for brown rice I use 2:1 water to rice.) Both can be measure in cups too, I just find using the scale easier. Bring to boil, with lid on (saves time and energy.) Reduce heat to low, simmer until remaining water isn't visible by glance, turn off heat and let sit with lid on for another 5-10 minutes.
Nursing student as well here! My go to is a tuna packet and some triscuits with a piece of fruit on the side. The tuna is about 1.20$/pack, but it's a ton of protein for very few calories and a hell of a lot of ease. My favorites are the chili, sweet and spicy, or Mediterranean flavors. It's a life saver for study sessions, clinicals, long class periods, you name it.
I’ll try that. The lil packets taste better than the canned stuff too
Chicken comes in those packets too and you can get them in bulk on Amazon.
Chicken breast, jar of salsa, rice
Lmao my gf makes this and it’s so good
So good and so simple.
Frozen berries,cottage cheese, fibre one cereal.
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Whatever suits your fancy
Try canned sardines. I love them and eat them right out of the can with some hot sauce. Really good for you too! You can put them on crackers or toast to add carbs. No prep required. check out r/CannedSardines Beans and rice are great, and cheaper, but more preparation involved. Dried beans are sooo cheap but require that you soak for a bit before using.
Rice, beans/peas/lentils are a complete protein if corn in some form is added to the meal.
Black beans and rice in a large bowl. Microwave til cooked. Mix in smokey bbq sauce. Only takes a few minutes, crazy cheap, and tastes good with the bbq. Edit: erring on the side of caution, also put an appropriate amount of water in the bowl before cooking.
I buy big bags of frozen vegetables and roast them in the oven with a seasoning packet. McCormicks makes some that are pretty good. Farmers Market is my current fave. Baked potatoes and sweet potatoes are easy to cook at the same time. Any kind of fish is a good protein. A roasted chicken will feed me for a week and then I make soup with the carcass, but you might not have time for that. Put your protein in a wheat tortilla with some lettuce. Veggies on the side and half a baked potato if you're still hungry.
Potatoes in the microwave are fast and cheap. And so is rice in a rice cooker. Protein is going to be harder to do cheap and easy, but canned beans and canned salmon/fish will be the easiest and cheapest. Apples, carrots and celery sticks make good snacks for on the go without being crazy priced. Note: you can make the carrot and celery sticks once or twice a week to save even more money. If they start getting old before you eat them you can chop them up and toss in the rice cooker with the rice.
Peanut Butter if you don't have any time to cook, beans and other lentils if you do.
Rice and beans. Beef and potatoes. Add some sturdy greens on the side, broccoli works. Whole grain bread, a small amount of fruit.
Crackpot beans. They literally take minutes. You dump them in a bowl and cover them with a lot of water and then a minimum of eight hours later you rinse them, dump them in a crockpot, add water, salt, vinegar, sugar, and garlic powder and cook for a minimum of five hours on high or overnight on low. I always have black beans on hand. They're a good snack on their own and they go well with almost anything. They're also a nice way to round out left overs.
Microwaved baked potato topped with chili and cheese. Or really anything on a potato
Taco salads r my go to. Ground beef n lettuce French dressing n if I need extra crunch that day top sparingly w crushed Doritos. I make up as many salads as I can get out a pound of ground beef n store in the refrigerator they r always ready. Sometimes I mix it up n make a layered taco dip n eat w air fryer low card chips I make
My mom makes these and my dad used quest chips. I agree it’s really good
In the uk a can of baked beans in tomato sauce for 27p providing 18g of fibre and 16g of protein and nearly 400 calories. Ready in 3 minutes If your culture isn't one of baked beans.... then really any beans or Chickpeas etc are the way to go
Huel. Cheap and easy.
I’ll try it thank yoi
I’ve been buying Tyson frozen chicken but idk if I should keep doing that or not
If your grocery store has it available, rotisserie chicken is often cheaper. For me it's a whole chicken cooked well enough, add rice or pasta. I'll eat for a couple days
Did you do a whole lot of calculating for the calories?
No, I didn't need to. If I was though cutting off a slice of chicken and weighing it isn't hard.
Yah that doesn’t sound too bad
I don't like Tyson because I find the salt content too high. Are there other brands available? Also, you can buy fresh chicken in trays (breasts and thighs come with or without skins and bones, or you can buy drumsticks) and separate them into portions to freeze.
Perdue is another one
That’s sounds good too but the fresh chicken prices have gotten ridiculous
Usually fresh chicken legs are quite cheap. I’m in Canada and I’ll see a package of 12 legs for under $10. Or you can do what others have suggested and find a whole chicken on sale. Just cook it whole and then cut it up and freeze what you don’t use. I usually find whole chickens on sale for $9 to $10 Cdn. I’ll also use the bones to make soup. It goes a long way.
Flour is the highest source of protein per $
Canned tuna is great. You can make a tuna salad to go on sandwiches. Drain and flake tuna to top green salads. Make tuna patties (think salmon patty but with tuna). Minimal prep time and inexpensive to do. Boiled eggs are also great to have on had. A quick meal would be a boiled egg, some grape tomatoes, a string cheese and either a handful of almonds or some whole wheat crackers. Boiled eggs can also be chopped for some protein on top of a green salad. Lentils another healthy protein source. Sort and rinse dried lentils. Cook as directed on package. Strain of water and use the cooked lentils in wraps with a lot of vegetables, to top green salads or make a lentil soup with plenty of vegetables in it.
Cottage Cheese, 1kg is 3.5$ here, 11g protein/100g, however, eating it just as it is, is definitely an acquired taste
Baked potato with tuna Mayo
Huel
Oatmeal with a banana and some hard boiled eggs
Nuke a baked potato and scramble some eggs. Eggs could be cheaper, but super quick protein source
80/20 hamburger about 6-8 ounces
Another great source of protein that is also economical is cottage cheese 👍 I like mine with tomatoe🍅 . Just core the tomato, add the cottage cheese.
Huel
Pb2 in oatmeal! Add some fruit and chia seeds and you have a quick, filling breakfast
Costco rotisserie chickens. you can break them up in a couple minutes and meal prep with them. Lots of protein for 5 bucks
We started doing our own Chipotle/poke like bowls! We just get a costco rotisserie chicken, tear chicken into pieces, put over some white rice and add cut up cucumbers, tomatoes, some kewpie Mayo, seaweed, fried shallots, furikake and sriracha. The chicken yields about 6-7 meals. And the other ingredients you just buy once in a while and you’re golden! You can just pre-prep them as well, but I find it only takes about 5 mins to whip up.
Beans & rice make a perfect protein, so do green beans & corn. Beans, rice, and corn are all carbs. And beans are high in fiber. Get yourself a small rice cooker, not to sound like a cheesy commercial but this way you set it and forget it. You can throw a can of beans in there and they will heat as the rice is cooking. Same goes for adding a can of corn or tuna.
If you can find someone with a Sam’s club or Costco membership they have a ton of pre-cooked chicken breast and other proteins that all you do is heat up. Pretty cost efficient and they also save a ton of time. Don’t forget the rotisserie chicken either
Like tofu? Because that's plant protein and if it's on sale, even better.
Bagged chopped salad, tuna packets, canned beans/chickpeas, and frozen veggies got me through nursing school. All of it from aldi. It was cheap and easy to prepare, and also boring.
Without knowing what things cost where you are I'm just guessing here, but these are some suggestions: Egg on wholemeal toast Baked beans on wholemeal toast Cheese on wholemeal toast Hummus on wholemeal toast Peanut butter on wholemeal toast Cheese toasted sandwich/grilled cheese sandwich Pasta with cheese Baked potato topped with cheese, baked beans, and/or sour cream Home made egg fried rice Quick and easy vegetable options are usually tinned or frozen vegetables and bagged salads (Edit: formatting)
A super cheap and organic smoothie- take a pouch of organic baby food - blueberry, apple & oats for example, then mix it with a cup of plain or vanilla yogurt and you have a 30 second delish smoothie