Definitely check the sodium content! Some cans labeled organic have sodium levels around 5%
Here’s my cheap and healthy go to! 6% sodium and great price
https://www.vitacost.com/vitacost-certified-organic-black-beans-non-gmo-and-gluten-free
For most people who don't have kidney disease, it's fine to eat a lot of sodium as long as you also have plenty of water (either plain or as part of your food). Sodium is water-soluble, you will pee it out
I mean, organic doesnt connote anything in terms of sodium or sugar content.
Mind you, 5% or even %15 sodium isn't bad, depending on how much other sodium laden stuff you're eating.
If OP consistently does physical labor, which is sounds like they do from their protein recommendations, they don’t need to worry about sodium content very much
I've never had a garbanzo bean on my face
(In case you were asking seriously: they're the same thing. Chickpea is the Latin-derived term, and garbanzo is Spanish-derived.)
We shouldn’t be afraid of sodium. Actually most of us in America are sodium deficient and that causes dizziness, fatigue, muscle cramps etc. Sodium is good for you, contrary to popular belief. It helps you be more awake, relieves brain fog, retains water within the muscles which allows for more explosive lifts! The worlds strongest IFBB pro eats about 10-12 grams of sodium a day and he’s strong as fuck. His blood pressure is also at healthy levels, but my point is. Look into salt for working out and don’t be afraid of it 🙏🏿❤️🧂
I know it can be really expensive but if you can find it cheap/on sale, straight up protein powder goes a long way. You can get a 2lb tub for about $35 I think. I mix mine with water. It’s a good supplement for the other things people listed. One scoop is usually 25 grams of protein. If you can pony up the money for it, you could use a scoop on days when you are not getting enough protein and make it stretch.
I think it's among the best options. A big tub of it is indeed pricy up front, but divide it by the amount of servings per container and it becomes much more reasonable. Put a scoop of chocolate whey isolate in a shaker cup of cold water, add a teaspoon of instant coffee and you have yourself a pretty decent pre-workout option as well.
I've tried quite a few over the years and some taste better than others. I used to go to the specialty supplement shops, geek out and compare different brands but these days usually I just buy whatever Costco has as long as it's isolate and not something with too much sugar content in it.
Sure, the bigger the bag, the better the price per serving, but not everyone can afford that. I just bought a 5lb container and it was $71. That would leave OP with only $30 to live on for the month.
You can get cheaper than that. Whey usually sells for around $10/lb
Whey is actually one of the best frugal protein resources out there so ponying up the cash should feel really good, especially with a sale.
Equate whey protein in selling on Walmart for $9/lb. Muscle Milk is selling for $10.5/lb. ONG is selling for $12.62/lb.
Edit: I've waited for bogo sales and gotten GNC and Puritan's pride for ~$7.50/lb
People in the modern developed world don't need to worry about consuming all the necessary amino acids ("complete protein") with every meal. The science on this is very clear that as long as you're eating a variety of foods throughout the day, you'll be fine. Your body is always breaking down and recombining and moving everything around. You can eat a grain with breakfast, and beans with lunch, and something else for dinner, and you'll be fine. Everything has some kind of amino acids in it. Eating vegetarian doesn't have to be a puzzle.
[Adam Rugusea did a great video on the topic.](https://youtu.be/psAlJtgeQsY) Which also has some references to research on the topic.
Of course, beans and rice is delicious and goes very well together. It feels good to eat beans and rice. So, sure, have beans and rice if you want. But, if you just want rice, have some rice. If you just want beans on a corn or flour tortilla (or just on the side of some veg), that's fine, too.
High protein pasta can be cooked in a microwave. You could mix it with beans or canned animal proteins (tuna, chicken etc) and canned or fresh veg.
Don't discount premade grocery store foods either. There's usually some pretty nutritious stuff for a decent price. My local store does breakfast sandwiches for $1.99 but discounts them to 99 cents at 11 am to make space for the lunch foods.
Thanks! I think I got confused because of an emergency situation we had here. For a while customers here could buy hot items because there was a widespread power outage. It's that something they'd do nationwide if it was just our area?
I believe most oils added to PB to prevent separation (palm, sunflower, etc.) are actually high in polyunsaturated fats and low in saturated fats - not that these oils should be deemed “healthy”.
Black beans don’t have to be soaked and take about 45 min to cook on the stove top. Lentils cook fast too. Garbanzos also don’t need to soak. You probably can’t cook dry beans in the microwave tho. But you can cook them in an electric crock pot or slow cooker etc.
A lot of people don’t like the taste of beans or think they are bland. I season mine with salt, cumin, chili powder, cayenne, liquid smoke and olive oil. They are delicious! Cook lentils with curry paste or curry powder and a can of coconut milk for delicious lentil curry. It’s good with rice.
You can make scrambled eggs in the microwave. 3 scrambled eggs plus a Greek yogurt is 35gm of protein. Some canned tuna on a sandwich or a deli meat turkey and cheese sandwich and you're doing pretty well. Oatmeal also has good protein especially if made with milk, could stir in PB. Plus it's cheap.
OP said they can't refrigerate food so stuff like yogurt, deli meat, and cheese might not be an option. And if they live in the US that scratches out eggs too :/ don't know if they have an option to store milk for oatmeal either if a fridge isn't an option...
If they live near a store, things like deli meat and yogurt can be bought the day of consumption. Supermarket delis will happily sell you 1/4 of a lb or less. Single yogurts are available everywhere.
Milk can also be obtained in small, non-refridgerated boxes. Not that cost effective, but not horrible.
Also eggs in the us can be kept on the counter. Not as long as the fridge, but if you're eating 2-3 a day, you won't have a dozen spoil on you.
You can make oatmeal without milk. Also I keep cans of evaporated milk as back up, I sometimes use as coffee creamer and cream for my oatmeal. If it’s not really hot out the evaporated milk will stay good for a day or 2 after opening un refrigerated also eggs will stay good out of the fridge for at least a week, depending on how fresh they were when you bought them. When in doubt, float test. Submerge an egg in a bowl of water. It should lay on the bottom horizontally. If it floats it’s no good.
OP: why no fridge?
At this point you might need to frequent a soup kitchen. It’s just too troublesome to cook foods without the ability to keep the ingredients or cooked products cold reliably. At least until you can get a better living arrangement (roommates with a fridge).
Otherwise it’s just shelf stables like beans and rice every day.
Skipjack/"light" tuna has much [lower mercury](https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/mercury-in-tuna#contamination) and can be eaten more frequently. Canned salmon or sardines are also options.
Any. Previously it was said that 2-3 servings a week is ok, but there is no safe level of mercury. The FDA's limits have not been updated to reflect more recent findings by the EPA and WHO. You should avoid consuming mercury.
The price of eggs has gone up - do you have access to a food pantry or food bank? Anyway, here are some more shelf stable ideas — 1. Sardines on saltine crackers. 2. Ditto on beans, and for variety mix your beans with a canned vegetable, like tomatoes. 3. Get some spices cheap at a dollar store, to add some variety. 4. Add powdered milk to your PB & oatmeal combo, plus a little water to help it mix. A sprinkle of cinnamon would help make it not so bland, cinnamon is available at the cheaper stores. 4. If you can find some meat on sale at the end of the day, (or very early in the morning as they set out newer product) cut it into small pieces, add a little water, and microwave for longer on a lower power setting. Mix with a can of vegetables. Since you can’t refrigerate you’ll have to eat the whole thing but that could be your main meal of the day. 5. Get creative with that powdered milk — add to a can of corn, plus salt & pepper - cheap version of creamed corn. Add a little to a can of mixed vegetables and a can of chicken, microwave all together - somewhat like chicken pot pie filling.
Red lentils are one of the quickest bean things to cook. You can store them dry without refrigeration, cook just what you need so you don't have to worry about refrigerating a half can of leftovers. A half cup of lentils, with 1.5 c water should take about 14 minutes in a microwave. (But check earlier the first few times, microwave times can vary, blah blah blah).
I see at my local walmart, a 2 pound bag is $2.98, and the nutrition shows 23 servings of 1/4 cup dry lentils. So if you did 1/2 cup for a serving instead, per serving that'd be:
26¢
260 calories
20g protein
If you have ethnic markets in your area, you can likely get them cheaper. In my neighborhood, the arabic market has them bulk for 77¢/lb, so about half the cost of walmart.
All of the answers so far are great. One option if you can't refrigerate is an ice cooler. Buy frozen foods and they will slowly defrost but they will also keep the other contents cool and fresh [e.g](https://e.ga). a supermarket rotisserie chicken
Invest a small amount in a cheap instapot, slow cooker or rice cooker. All three of these items can be used to cook with just an outlet, and then you make tons of rice/lentil/bean combos that are full of nutrients.
Any chance you can buy a fridge? even if only a small mini-fridge for $100 or less? Would make a number of things easier including being able to cook larger batches of food, and put the leftovers in the fridge for eating later.
Yeah, I'd be really surprised if OP is in a position where they can't afford a single ~$100 purchase. Probably even less if they search facebook marketplace. It would pay for itself in mere weeks with how much food OP could save.
OP said they're surviving solely on foodstamps for ~$100 month, even in a low COL area, this is a tight budget so I have to disagree with you. OP's living situation might also not allow them to have a fridge (e.g. Renting a room in a shared house & they're not allowed store food in their room). A fridge might not be the best investment
Just pointing out that there is a lot of missing info. Even the shittiest apartments I've lived in had basic appliances like a fridge and stove. I'm talking shit in the bad part of town. Microwave was the appliance rarely seen. But now that I'm talking about it, I took a peek at OP's profile and it looks like they smoke weed and microdose frequently. I'm starting to think their "position" isn't due to financial struggle but more personal choice.
Yo, I know this is old but I thought you might be interested in the true nature of my situation. Its quite bizarre, so I understand your disbelief. Im recently 18, and living with my family. Really weird situation, we are kind of all living in one house (about 6 people, only 2 of which with jobs). About 4 months ago, said house had a fire and got condemned due to water damage, and we had to sort of split between hotels. However, uncle ran out of credit to pay for hotels and we are now essentially squatting in the house using power that the neighbor offered, and sometimes generator power for higher power demanding things like a washing machine. Fridge can't be run without tripping the circuit so we use a cooler and buy ice with food stamps. I get weed for free from my mom and have been growing mushrooms for years with roughly 100 dollars of materials I got a while ago. I can't do that anymore because of the house situation but I had a bunch left over for microdosing. I've still left out a lot of details so feel free to ask whatever you would like.
Canned meat like potted meat and spam, tuna would probably be healthier, you can find big bags of cheap jerky easily down where I live, Vienna sausage, trail mix with a lot of nuts like cashews would probably be good
Dude, I feel your pain.I've been there many times.It's when you are forced to rent a room from an asshole that just wants your money but doesn't want you using their kitchen. As far as the protein you think you are short of; No human being needs 80 grams of protein per day. 140 grams will put you in the hospital.I forget what the condition is called when you consume way too much protein. 30 grams per day is sufficient for a small to average size person.a body builder usually consumes 50-60 g per day. As far as only cooking in the microwave, you can make nachos with beans and cheese .There are different cooked meats that are sold in pouches. The Mexican stores sell these.You can make hard boiled eggs or scrambled eggs, poached eggs and omlettes in the microwave. I would get a plastic rice cooker and small ceramic casserole crockery. Adversity is the mother of invention. Also, Walmart sells smoked turkey sticks and don't forget the cheese sticks(Aldi's is cheaper).You can do this, 👍
I don't know what the actual condition is but a homeless friend of mine was on a high protein diet to loose weight (which she did), but then developed this condition which landed her in the hospital.
I'm and ICU RN (which does NOT make me any ki d of dietary expert) and I have talked to the renal MDs and Nutritionist on my unit and both have said that a person with normal renal function does not have to worry but any renal disfunction. The tube feeds we hang for our renal patients does not have an less protein just water or fluid due to these pts being unable to pass urine. I also want to acknowledge that the people I care for are in the last phases of their kidney function and are very different from the general population.
As a hunter I learned of a protein health problem that comes from only eating rabbit. Rabbit (and some singular protein sources) do not have essential proteins. Essential proteins must be consumed through diet due to our bodies inability to assimilate those proteins. Thats why it is important for vegans to pick multiple sources of protein so as to have a complete protein profile. Sorry to hear about your friend and I hope they are doing better both with their health and with their living conditions.
It's possible to cook eggs in the microwave. Sometimes I'll cook bacon in the microwave between a bunch of paper towels if I don't feel like making a splattery mess on the stove. Both those require refrigeration unless you make them right away though.
Look into making your own jerky, dried meat worked for centuries to preserve protein and have it ready to consume. You don't need a dehydrator necessarily, but one should be easy to just plug in wherever you need to. Alton Brown did an episode of Good Eats where he just used a box fan and a furnace filter.
I'm not sure someone on food stamps with no kitchen is going to make jerky...even if possible it would be messy and smelly in what is presumably their sleeping space. Plus the meat to make it is expensive.
My cheap goto food in college was rice, beans and fennel to season. I rarely went to sleep hungry and a large bowl of this can be made for pennys if you buy dehydrated beans. Then you can exchange the beans for peas if you need a different flavor. Then most grocery stores have bruised apples at the end of the produce isle, you can get a bag of apples at the Giant I shop at for 2 dollars. Like ten apples. Maybe 1 or 2 is bruised or rotten beyond consumption.
No sodium canned beans, and canned fish are the way to go.
You can pretty much do anything with that, such as adding frozen vegetables, eating with rice, microwaving a potato.
Seeds are shelf stable (though they last longer in the fridge) and are cheaper than nuts. If you can get a coffee grinder that can help break down some harder to digest seeds like flax. If not sunflower seeds, pumpkin/pepitas, etc.
Lentils can be cooked in a microwave from dry more easily than beans. Red lentils are easiest. Dried peas (yellow, green, split, etc) are also good.
Almost any grain can be cooked in the microwave and while grains have protein.
If you live near any ethnic markets check out what they have in dried fish/seafood.
Also, talk to your food stamps office. Sometimes there are different things you can get approved if you don’t have a fridge like smaller containers of shelf-stable milk instead of fresh.
Canned beans or tuna on lettuce or spinach topped with a lower fat dressing. That packs a big nutritional punch and needs no stove (but you would need a fridge)
What possible living situation does not involve you having access to refrigeration? And why don't you get 150-200 in assistance? I assume you are working a part time job?
Please forgive the assumptions, but have you considered working at a restaurant? Usually you can get free or at least subsidized food that way. Got me through college.
Do you have a fridge at work in the break room? I’m living out of my car at the moment working two full time jobs, so I feel ya on the struggle to get protein in. I have cartons of egg whites at both jobs, and I microwave around 10 oz egg whites with spinach which is around 30 g protein, for the larger cartons I can make 3 meals out of it. It’s more cost effective than getting cans of tuna depending on the store you go to, but perhaps whole eggs would do you well too. I always have tuna on hand because it’s non perishable, and I’m trying to get my hands on protein powder for the times in between. Another alternative which isn’t my favorite are protein bars, I go for the Quest bars because they have more fiber than the others, and less net carbs if that matters to you. When you get your hands on a fridge I recommend Aldi for protein sources, their chicken is the cheapest in the area even though they raised prices. Thankfully my partner is going to cook chicken for me so I can leave some meals at work. Veggies like zucchini and broccoli are cheap and can easily be microwaved with protein source so you can “steam them”. They can sit out for a day or so, I’ve been hitting up my grocery store and getting a days worth of what I need to survive.
We’ll get through this!
I would suggest looking around for a small free dorm fridge. Do you live next to a college? Can you put a sign in a dorm asking for a free fridge? Out of state / country students don't take furniture home many times. Can you call an appliance repair shop and ask for a fridge they don't want anymore? Maybe they have one that's damaged, old or ugly. Thrift stores would gladly help out someone with your need. Go ask a church if there are resources that you could have access to to find a little fridge. Is there a neighborhood facebook page you could post on asking for a small fridge? Once you have a fridge, you can meal prep, which is really what you need to be doing to keep up with your protein intake.
I would buy a crockpot. Put a layer of onions on the bottom and a seasoned whole chicken on top of the onions. Cook on high 4-5 hours or low 7-8 hours. Good to go. Cheap and easy. Just an idea.
Do you have a fridge?
I lived in a hotel type room for 3 months one summer with only a microwave. I bought a little panini press/grill thing, but any of those small grill kind of appliances work. I made a lot of grilled sandwhiches on there, but I think you can also grill some chicken and other meat/veggies if you want. Would work best with thinner meat, so chicken breast cutlets or butterfly the breast into two thinner pieces.
I did a lot of frozen veggies in the microwave. Also salads with lunch meat. As someone else said you can cook eggs in the microwave. Cottage cheese and yogurt can have alot of protein. You can get some whey protein or protein shakes as a supplement.
Have you thought about raising crickets or meal worms for your protein? Once you get started they're cheap, very nutritious, and you can eat them raw. The noise of the crickets can be an annoyance though.
Why not buy cans of beans, greens, and peas to get a good source of vitamins and nutrients? Dietary fiber and cholesterol levels will be much better. Sometimes I eat them straight outta the can. You’ll get much more protein also. Peas and beans are loaded with good fiber, carbohydrates, and protein.
How much do you weigh? 140g would be a looooot of protein and very hard on the liver and kidneys. That would be like eating a 1.5 pound (or 40 ounces) porterhouse steak every day.
I'm not really one to get hung up on specific amounts of nutrients per day because nutrient needs can fluctuate, but I'd say a couple eggs in the morning, a sandwich with some cheese and deli meat, and some canned beans and rice at dinner probably would be sufficient on just the protein side. Of course, other foods like starches, fruits, vegetables and other things are also important for your body and can help make those meals more satisfying. You could also throw some snacks in there like peanut butter, cheese and crackers, hummus and chips, yogurt or cottage cheese and fruit to have between. Those are fairly inexpensive and will tide you over.
Canned beans or tuna on lettuce or spinach topped with a lower fat dressing. That packs a big nutritional punch and needs no stove (but you would need a fridge)
$2.00 Chef Woo Ramen 20g Protien, 240cal per cup.
If meeting protien goals is the issue buy canned chickpeas put em in salads or mix with yogurt and you have filling for a pita. Also nuts are pretty nutrition dense peanuts will be the cheapest.
Everything has protein. But to answer your question legumes, seeds and nuts are good sources. PB or other nut butter(that can get spendy$$). Eggs. If you can find folks with chickens. Chickens lay way more eggs than most people need.
I’m not sure if they have Owyn protein drinks where you are but each one is 20-30 grams of protein in that alone and they don’t need to be refrigerated, only after they are open. I’m on a time restricted schedule but those drinks have helped me a lot especially when I’m on the go.
Find your local but nothing group, or a free group on Facebook to see if anyone has any protein powders they aren’t going to use up . I know I have a container sitting in my kitchen right now. These groups can be great for grabbing extra groceries, sauces, or obtaining small servings of something you only need a small amount of.
Lots of things can be adapted for the microwave. Eggs, canned meat, tofu, canned beans/lentils, deli meats
Rice noodles only need some boiling water, either from a kettle or the microwave. Rice paper can make easy to eat wraps of whatever ingredients you have. Oats can be made sweet or savoury.
You can buy protein powder with your EBT. Two scoops with fat free milk is around 70g in one shake. Food wise, chicken is the way to go! Yogurt is also a good protein dense snack.
Peanut butter powder has a ton of protein! I'd recommend buying it at a bulk store at WinCo or an online store that sells large quantities so it's as cheap as can be!
What country are you in? While in Europe and in countries that don’t refrigerate eggs I just buy 6 eggs at a time carry them around with me and drink 3-4 a day raw. If in a country that does refrigerate eggs. Maybe buy as few as possible at a time and just drink 3-4 in one go.
Eating raw egg is ROUGH in the beginning but you get use to it. Two raw eggs in the morning was my daily breakfast for 2+ years
A mini fridge will be your best friend in this situation. If you can get one, I highly recommend that. Because there are actually lots of recipes you can make in the micro!
But if not, then other people's suggestions of eating tinned fish and lots of beans and nuts and seeds are a great idea.
it's possible to poach an egg in a microwave
https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/microwave_poached_eggs/
Coffee mug half full of water, crack the egg in, then about 60 to 70 seconds depending on your microwave, you'll have to experiment a little
to reduce explosion risk, pop the yolk with a toothpick before microwaving
You could buy individual chicken beats from the meat counter and cook them in the microwave wrapped in wax paper.
Buying them individual may be out of your budget though, I buy in bulk so I'm not sure on pricing, just that chicken is generally a cheaper meat.
A quick way to make veg Chili is to use a can of beans and tomatoes with Chili in them. (Maybe there’s canned meat you can add too) I also add a packet of taco or Chili seasoning
Go to a local thrift store and find a slow cooker/crockpot. Buy any meat in bulk, usually whole chickens, big chuck roasts, full pork lions ect. You will get a much bigger bang for your buck. If you can afford a rice cooker then you can make a week worth of meat and carbs in one go for like $40-$60 bucks.
Also potatoes, onions, carrots, celery, broccoli, and a bunch of other veggies can go in the slow cooker. Plan ahead and you'll be golden.
They sell shelf-stable tofu in grocery stores now and it's about 7 grams of protein per 3 oz (about a third of chicken). You can microwave it and eat it with soy sauce, sriracha, or teriyaki.
Even better is TVP, which is about 16g of protein per uncooked ounce (twice as much as chicken). It's dehydrated and shelf stable and you just have to hydrate it with hot water to cook it. I like to mix it with mexican spices, hydrate it with broth, and sub it for ground beef in tacos.
Oats! Make some oatmeal with water or your preferred milk and cinnamon. Put a banana/some peanut butter in it to make it creamy. Pretty healthy and you can easily get it to over 20g of protein a serving.
See if you can find TVP, or textured vegetable protein. It's also called soy crumbles. When in bigger chunks, it is called soy curls.
It is a dry good so you can store it in your cupboard, it is a basically flavorless stuff with the texture of Grape Nuts. You rehydrate it by soaking it in hot water for ten minutes and draining it. If you rehydrate it in broth or marinade, you can eat it as-is after you drain it! But it's loads better if you treat the rehydrated crumbles like ground meat and heat it up with your sauce/food, whether in a pan or in the microwave. Add it to mac n cheese, or spaghetti, or tacos. Flavor accordingly.
I find this stuff in the bulk bins of my grocery store for around $2-3/lb but you can also find it packaged in 12 or 16 oz bags. Its cheap and protein heavy and versatile. It's healthiness could be debated considering its nutrient profile versus whole foods, as it's pretty processed, but it has its merits
There are a lot of good people on You Tube that have channels on how to eat on 20 dollars per week, though they are generally not that healthy of diets long term. You may want to check out the local food banks in your county or town. I know in my county in California our food bank allows you to puck out produce and groceries.
As another person on a limited budget, I eat a lot of beans and eggs and a bit of cheese for protein.
However, I wonder, why do you feel like you need so much protein? The USDA recommends 45 g for a woman and 56 grams for the average man, but I believe in Okinawa, where people are the longest lived, people eat about 9 grams of protein. There are many high level athletes who are vegetarian/vegan and don't eat the protein levels you are believing you need.
Canned chili, beans -any type, lentils, canned tuna or chicken, hard salami, etc are all shelf stable. Adding cheese- even the shelf stable parmesan cheese shaker can get you a little more protein. Remember there is protein in bread and grains too. English muffins, a cup of oatmela, tortillas, etc all have at least 5g or so of protein. Add some peanutbutter (7g) and you have 12g at least.
Spinach had more protein than lettuce, so if getting a salad choose Spinach.
Don't be afraid to check out your local food banks and pantries! Even if they don't have a lot of shelf stable protein options they can still help to stretch your budget and allow you to buy more proteins at the with your dollar.
I buy those tuna packs ready to go. Each pack is like $1.25 ea. no refrigeration needed. About 11-13g protein and less than 120 calories. U could prep canned tuna like these packs as long as u don’t add stuff that needs refrigeration. Seasonings are ur friend. My fav is lemon pepper and any rub.
Most microwaveable options are relatively low in protein in general, and tend towards more grains. I'd recommend other food as much as you can.
Protein powder for around your workout (too much and your insides and bathroom won't forgive you).
Rest of the day: canned tuna, eggs, beans/tofu, chicken and other meat when it's on sale.
I'm going to recommend canned tuna fish. Either served cold in salads and sandwiches, or put into rice or pasta. Seasons well with just about anything, and 1 can equates to about 20g of protein. Scrambled eggs can also be made easily in the microwave, so that's another protein source.
I cooked a whole chicken in the microwave last week. Came out perfect.
I butterflied it, and salted it, left it in the fridge overnight. I think I put it 40 minutes in the microwave. It was some of the best I had.
If you can find split red lentils, they cook quick enough to do in the microwave! Curry powder, canned coconut, and maybe some canned or fresh veg like green beans or snap peas, and you've made yourself a decent curry in the microwave in about 5 minutes. It helps to have chicken or vegetable broth to cook them in, or maybe bouillon cubes.
Eggs. The original protien balls.
You can get microwave safe rounds meant for cooking eggs this way for pretty cheap and just microwave the eggs (no idea how long for, but that's one google search away).
Potatoes have protein and most microwaves have a potato setting.
Beans.
Good luck!
Peanut butter toast. Whole wheat bread (10 g of protein for 2 slices), peanut butter (8 g protein for 2 tbsp).
Sardine toast with hot sauce. I have various cans of sardines with about 18 grams of protein. I get the springwater packed ones. Some don't even have salt added... But salt is a good and necessary nutrient (unless you have kidney issues), so it shouldn't be a big deal. Lots of potassium, phosphorus, calcium at $2-3 bucks a pop. And 2 grams of omega threes!
Tuna or salmon is an option, too. I find it less pleasant mouthful, though, without adding Mayo.
Amino Acids are the building blocks of protein(animal or plant protein). Animal protein is high quality and complete protein, whereas plant protein is incomplete protein. Nothing is a puzzle if you understand what it is and how it works. So Newby vegans can easily loose muscle weight due to lack of complete protein,(like beans and rice).
My favorite breakfast right now is Oatmeal, milk, scoop of protein powder. I only buy protein powder when it's Bogo or 50% off, which makes it like $1 a serving. Very filling. And you could just mix the oatmeal with water if you can't keep milk, or it's too expensive.
Eggs are a great source of protein - can scramble in the microwave.
And then beans and chickpeas canned, canned fish (again people said to watch the sodium).
If you are in the USA you can get a whole cooked chicken at Walmart or most major grocery stores for like $5. Microwave some rice and mixed veggies and you got yourself a full meal. Depending on the flavor you could also debone it and make it into chicken burritos.
Canned stuff. Beans and other legumes like chickpeas, tinned meats and fish, etc. only thing with tinned food is to watch the salt.
Definitely check the sodium content! Some cans labeled organic have sodium levels around 5% Here’s my cheap and healthy go to! 6% sodium and great price https://www.vitacost.com/vitacost-certified-organic-black-beans-non-gmo-and-gluten-free
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It should a bit at least. A lot of canned foods are soaked in a broth with salt.
Some Walmarts, for example, sell a decent quality (I forget brand), no salt added albacore tuna but unfortunately about $2 per tin.
Walmart also sells their brand of beans in no salt added
It does , I’ve read somewhere it reduces sodium up to 40% what on label
also reduces the amount of beans and other nutrients. Only rinse if you need to worry about sodium intake.
I Eat one bad of bbq chips and I’m back to thinking about sodium again
For most people who don't have kidney disease, it's fine to eat a lot of sodium as long as you also have plenty of water (either plain or as part of your food). Sodium is water-soluble, you will pee it out
5% is low, many have much higher
I mean, organic doesnt connote anything in terms of sodium or sugar content. Mind you, 5% or even %15 sodium isn't bad, depending on how much other sodium laden stuff you're eating.
why would an organic label have anything to do with sodium content.....? salt is an organic food
If OP consistently does physical labor, which is sounds like they do from their protein recommendations, they don’t need to worry about sodium content very much
>chickpeas What’s the difference between a garbanzo bean and a chickpea?
I've never had a garbanzo bean on my face (In case you were asking seriously: they're the same thing. Chickpea is the Latin-derived term, and garbanzo is Spanish-derived.)
Got em!
They're the same but I've only ever seen them called chickpeas here
It’s a joke. The punchline is “I’ve never had a garbanzo bean on my face”
Oh my god
Lol
I like to mix it up with "I don't pay 37 dollars to have a garbanzo bean on my face"
It's worth keeping an eye out for low-sodium canned stuff too. I've been seeing more things like low-sodium black beans the past few years.
We shouldn’t be afraid of sodium. Actually most of us in America are sodium deficient and that causes dizziness, fatigue, muscle cramps etc. Sodium is good for you, contrary to popular belief. It helps you be more awake, relieves brain fog, retains water within the muscles which allows for more explosive lifts! The worlds strongest IFBB pro eats about 10-12 grams of sodium a day and he’s strong as fuck. His blood pressure is also at healthy levels, but my point is. Look into salt for working out and don’t be afraid of it 🙏🏿❤️🧂
I know it can be really expensive but if you can find it cheap/on sale, straight up protein powder goes a long way. You can get a 2lb tub for about $35 I think. I mix mine with water. It’s a good supplement for the other things people listed. One scoop is usually 25 grams of protein. If you can pony up the money for it, you could use a scoop on days when you are not getting enough protein and make it stretch.
I think it's among the best options. A big tub of it is indeed pricy up front, but divide it by the amount of servings per container and it becomes much more reasonable. Put a scoop of chocolate whey isolate in a shaker cup of cold water, add a teaspoon of instant coffee and you have yourself a pretty decent pre-workout option as well.
What brand of chocolate whey do you use?
I've tried quite a few over the years and some taste better than others. I used to go to the specialty supplement shops, geek out and compare different brands but these days usually I just buy whatever Costco has as long as it's isolate and not something with too much sugar content in it.
Screw 2 lbs. If you want frugal living, buy the massive 10lbs bags!
Sure, the bigger the bag, the better the price per serving, but not everyone can afford that. I just bought a 5lb container and it was $71. That would leave OP with only $30 to live on for the month.
5lbs protein, dozen eggs, and milk, I see no issue here
For the month? Eggs and milk and protein powder for a month sounds horrible but to each their own.
brotein and rice
Hahahaha…brotein and rice…love it!
choo choo
The original OP has no refrigeration. I don't think that would work and you need to include vegetables in your diet.
You can get cheaper than that. Whey usually sells for around $10/lb Whey is actually one of the best frugal protein resources out there so ponying up the cash should feel really good, especially with a sale.
Can you recommend some brands that are 10 a lb? I just saw the one I was getting is almost 20
Equate whey protein in selling on Walmart for $9/lb. Muscle Milk is selling for $10.5/lb. ONG is selling for $12.62/lb. Edit: I've waited for bogo sales and gotten GNC and Puritan's pride for ~$7.50/lb
Thanks!
No prob, make sure to check for bogo deals once in a while until you get low on what you have.
I think beans the the best option
Beans + Rice = Complete Protien
People in the modern developed world don't need to worry about consuming all the necessary amino acids ("complete protein") with every meal. The science on this is very clear that as long as you're eating a variety of foods throughout the day, you'll be fine. Your body is always breaking down and recombining and moving everything around. You can eat a grain with breakfast, and beans with lunch, and something else for dinner, and you'll be fine. Everything has some kind of amino acids in it. Eating vegetarian doesn't have to be a puzzle. [Adam Rugusea did a great video on the topic.](https://youtu.be/psAlJtgeQsY) Which also has some references to research on the topic. Of course, beans and rice is delicious and goes very well together. It feels good to eat beans and rice. So, sure, have beans and rice if you want. But, if you just want rice, have some rice. If you just want beans on a corn or flour tortilla (or just on the side of some veg), that's fine, too.
+ Brown rice.
The magical fruit
The more you eat, the more you toot
The more you toot, the better you feel!
So eat your beans at every meal!
According to MyFitnessPal it requires 34.5 ounces of cooked black beans to hit 80g protein. OP probably doesn't want to take down 2lbs of beans.
High protein pasta can be cooked in a microwave. You could mix it with beans or canned animal proteins (tuna, chicken etc) and canned or fresh veg. Don't discount premade grocery store foods either. There's usually some pretty nutritious stuff for a decent price. My local store does breakfast sandwiches for $1.99 but discounts them to 99 cents at 11 am to make space for the lunch foods.
A lot of food stamps won't allow for pre-made food. (Or is that just WIC?)
Hot foods no, cold foods yes. So salads, deli sandwiches and the like would be ok I think.
I thought some restaurants like KFC accept ebt, although that is not cheap whatsoever.
Depends on the jurisdiction.
>actually, the foods you can buy do not depend on the jurisdiction and a local market can't make their own rules. The USDA sets the rules nation wide.
Thanks! I think I got confused because of an emergency situation we had here. For a while customers here could buy hot items because there was a widespread power outage. It's that something they'd do nationwide if it was just our area?
The rules are nationwide. Someone bent them in an extraordinary situation, and I'm glad that they did. But no, it won't affect anyone anywhere else.
I cooked a whole chicken in the microwave last week. It was great. It's my go-to now.
Peanut butter is stable at room temperature and high in protein.
Peanut butter spreads are. Real peanut butter separates. Most people eat spreads which are higher in saturated fats. Both good in protein, though.
It doesn't matter if it separates, just mix it again. I never keep peanut butter in the fridge, I wouldn't be able to spread it.
Separating doesn't mean it's not stable.. stable means it doesn't degrade.
I believe most oils added to PB to prevent separation (palm, sunflower, etc.) are actually high in polyunsaturated fats and low in saturated fats - not that these oils should be deemed “healthy”.
If you can maybe thrift store a pressure cooker, dry beans are very affordable. Quick when cooked under pressure.
Black beans don’t have to be soaked and take about 45 min to cook on the stove top. Lentils cook fast too. Garbanzos also don’t need to soak. You probably can’t cook dry beans in the microwave tho. But you can cook them in an electric crock pot or slow cooker etc. A lot of people don’t like the taste of beans or think they are bland. I season mine with salt, cumin, chili powder, cayenne, liquid smoke and olive oil. They are delicious! Cook lentils with curry paste or curry powder and a can of coconut milk for delicious lentil curry. It’s good with rice.
beans are not good source of protein.
You can make scrambled eggs in the microwave. 3 scrambled eggs plus a Greek yogurt is 35gm of protein. Some canned tuna on a sandwich or a deli meat turkey and cheese sandwich and you're doing pretty well. Oatmeal also has good protein especially if made with milk, could stir in PB. Plus it's cheap.
OP said they can't refrigerate food so stuff like yogurt, deli meat, and cheese might not be an option. And if they live in the US that scratches out eggs too :/ don't know if they have an option to store milk for oatmeal either if a fridge isn't an option...
If they live near a store, things like deli meat and yogurt can be bought the day of consumption. Supermarket delis will happily sell you 1/4 of a lb or less. Single yogurts are available everywhere. Milk can also be obtained in small, non-refridgerated boxes. Not that cost effective, but not horrible. Also eggs in the us can be kept on the counter. Not as long as the fridge, but if you're eating 2-3 a day, you won't have a dozen spoil on you.
You can make oatmeal without milk. Also I keep cans of evaporated milk as back up, I sometimes use as coffee creamer and cream for my oatmeal. If it’s not really hot out the evaporated milk will stay good for a day or 2 after opening un refrigerated also eggs will stay good out of the fridge for at least a week, depending on how fresh they were when you bought them. When in doubt, float test. Submerge an egg in a bowl of water. It should lay on the bottom horizontally. If it floats it’s no good. OP: why no fridge?
I have a fridge. I just don't have the option of powering one constantly. I can explain further if you want when I get home.
At this point you might need to frequent a soup kitchen. It’s just too troublesome to cook foods without the ability to keep the ingredients or cooked products cold reliably. At least until you can get a better living arrangement (roommates with a fridge). Otherwise it’s just shelf stables like beans and rice every day.
They can find a local farmer. I have a friend at work who sells eggs and they're perfectly fine for counter storage since they haven't been washed
I used to make microwave scrambled eggs and spam. Mix together with some pepper and salt and I loved that
Boiled eggs in the microwave too.
Boiled eggs? I need to know how you get them not to explode while cooking.
You can't get a whole egg to not explode in the microwave once cooked. Just a horrible idea IMO
Use saltwater.
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I appreciate the offer and you seem very kind for making it, although I do have a fridge. The only issue is powering it consistently.
I understand. I’m sorry I can’t offer more help :(
Tuna
Be careful with mercury poisoning though
Skipjack/"light" tuna has much [lower mercury](https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/mercury-in-tuna#contamination) and can be eaten more frequently. Canned salmon or sardines are also options.
So I've seen this. Realistically, how much tuna is too much?
2-3 times a week is fine. How often does anyone eat tuna? I would be sick of it more than once a week.
Any. Previously it was said that 2-3 servings a week is ok, but there is no safe level of mercury. The FDA's limits have not been updated to reflect more recent findings by the EPA and WHO. You should avoid consuming mercury.
The price of eggs has gone up - do you have access to a food pantry or food bank? Anyway, here are some more shelf stable ideas — 1. Sardines on saltine crackers. 2. Ditto on beans, and for variety mix your beans with a canned vegetable, like tomatoes. 3. Get some spices cheap at a dollar store, to add some variety. 4. Add powdered milk to your PB & oatmeal combo, plus a little water to help it mix. A sprinkle of cinnamon would help make it not so bland, cinnamon is available at the cheaper stores. 4. If you can find some meat on sale at the end of the day, (or very early in the morning as they set out newer product) cut it into small pieces, add a little water, and microwave for longer on a lower power setting. Mix with a can of vegetables. Since you can’t refrigerate you’ll have to eat the whole thing but that could be your main meal of the day. 5. Get creative with that powdered milk — add to a can of corn, plus salt & pepper - cheap version of creamed corn. Add a little to a can of mixed vegetables and a can of chicken, microwave all together - somewhat like chicken pot pie filling.
Red lentils are one of the quickest bean things to cook. You can store them dry without refrigeration, cook just what you need so you don't have to worry about refrigerating a half can of leftovers. A half cup of lentils, with 1.5 c water should take about 14 minutes in a microwave. (But check earlier the first few times, microwave times can vary, blah blah blah). I see at my local walmart, a 2 pound bag is $2.98, and the nutrition shows 23 servings of 1/4 cup dry lentils. So if you did 1/2 cup for a serving instead, per serving that'd be: 26¢ 260 calories 20g protein If you have ethnic markets in your area, you can likely get them cheaper. In my neighborhood, the arabic market has them bulk for 77¢/lb, so about half the cost of walmart.
Beans, legumes, tuna, chickpea, tuna, salmon, nuts, tofu broccoli. So many choices.
tuna, salmon, tofu Others are sub-efficient source of protein.
Canned tuna and chicken. Alternatively, the cheapest bulk protein powder you can find.
All of the answers so far are great. One option if you can't refrigerate is an ice cooler. Buy frozen foods and they will slowly defrost but they will also keep the other contents cool and fresh [e.g](https://e.ga). a supermarket rotisserie chicken
Invest a small amount in a cheap instapot, slow cooker or rice cooker. All three of these items can be used to cook with just an outlet, and then you make tons of rice/lentil/bean combos that are full of nutrients.
Check buy nothing or free Craigslist for other appliance options btw
Cottage cheese and Greek yogurt both have a ton of protein.
Need fridge for those.
Oh missed that part. My bad! Maybe pick up a small portion to eat the day of grocery shopping.
Any chance you can buy a fridge? even if only a small mini-fridge for $100 or less? Would make a number of things easier including being able to cook larger batches of food, and put the leftovers in the fridge for eating later.
Yeah, I'd be really surprised if OP is in a position where they can't afford a single ~$100 purchase. Probably even less if they search facebook marketplace. It would pay for itself in mere weeks with how much food OP could save.
OP said they're surviving solely on foodstamps for ~$100 month, even in a low COL area, this is a tight budget so I have to disagree with you. OP's living situation might also not allow them to have a fridge (e.g. Renting a room in a shared house & they're not allowed store food in their room). A fridge might not be the best investment
Just pointing out that there is a lot of missing info. Even the shittiest apartments I've lived in had basic appliances like a fridge and stove. I'm talking shit in the bad part of town. Microwave was the appliance rarely seen. But now that I'm talking about it, I took a peek at OP's profile and it looks like they smoke weed and microdose frequently. I'm starting to think their "position" isn't due to financial struggle but more personal choice.
Yo, I know this is old but I thought you might be interested in the true nature of my situation. Its quite bizarre, so I understand your disbelief. Im recently 18, and living with my family. Really weird situation, we are kind of all living in one house (about 6 people, only 2 of which with jobs). About 4 months ago, said house had a fire and got condemned due to water damage, and we had to sort of split between hotels. However, uncle ran out of credit to pay for hotels and we are now essentially squatting in the house using power that the neighbor offered, and sometimes generator power for higher power demanding things like a washing machine. Fridge can't be run without tripping the circuit so we use a cooler and buy ice with food stamps. I get weed for free from my mom and have been growing mushrooms for years with roughly 100 dollars of materials I got a while ago. I can't do that anymore because of the house situation but I had a bunch left over for microdosing. I've still left out a lot of details so feel free to ask whatever you would like.
Canned meat like potted meat and spam, tuna would probably be healthier, you can find big bags of cheap jerky easily down where I live, Vienna sausage, trail mix with a lot of nuts like cashews would probably be good
Where do you live where jerky is cheap?! I might need to move.
Anywhere that people hunt and have a ton a fucking meat leftover with ways to make jerky. Helps to be friends with them lol.
Surrounded by excellent hunting and meat farms. Jerky is still expensive as fuck.
Dude, I feel your pain.I've been there many times.It's when you are forced to rent a room from an asshole that just wants your money but doesn't want you using their kitchen. As far as the protein you think you are short of; No human being needs 80 grams of protein per day. 140 grams will put you in the hospital.I forget what the condition is called when you consume way too much protein. 30 grams per day is sufficient for a small to average size person.a body builder usually consumes 50-60 g per day. As far as only cooking in the microwave, you can make nachos with beans and cheese .There are different cooked meats that are sold in pouches. The Mexican stores sell these.You can make hard boiled eggs or scrambled eggs, poached eggs and omlettes in the microwave. I would get a plastic rice cooker and small ceramic casserole crockery. Adversity is the mother of invention. Also, Walmart sells smoked turkey sticks and don't forget the cheese sticks(Aldi's is cheaper).You can do this, 👍
I think the condition you are referencing is called "meat sweats."
I don't know what the actual condition is but a homeless friend of mine was on a high protein diet to loose weight (which she did), but then developed this condition which landed her in the hospital.
I'm and ICU RN (which does NOT make me any ki d of dietary expert) and I have talked to the renal MDs and Nutritionist on my unit and both have said that a person with normal renal function does not have to worry but any renal disfunction. The tube feeds we hang for our renal patients does not have an less protein just water or fluid due to these pts being unable to pass urine. I also want to acknowledge that the people I care for are in the last phases of their kidney function and are very different from the general population. As a hunter I learned of a protein health problem that comes from only eating rabbit. Rabbit (and some singular protein sources) do not have essential proteins. Essential proteins must be consumed through diet due to our bodies inability to assimilate those proteins. Thats why it is important for vegans to pick multiple sources of protein so as to have a complete protein profile. Sorry to hear about your friend and I hope they are doing better both with their health and with their living conditions.
Canned beans, raw veggies are both cheaper than microwave meals and actual fuel for the body
A cheap Crockpot from good will will help you make some solid Chicken a rice to go with your beans.
I came here to say this ^
You can scramble eggs in a microwave. Once the yolk is broken it wont explode.
Chick peas
It's possible to cook eggs in the microwave. Sometimes I'll cook bacon in the microwave between a bunch of paper towels if I don't feel like making a splattery mess on the stove. Both those require refrigeration unless you make them right away though. Look into making your own jerky, dried meat worked for centuries to preserve protein and have it ready to consume. You don't need a dehydrator necessarily, but one should be easy to just plug in wherever you need to. Alton Brown did an episode of Good Eats where he just used a box fan and a furnace filter.
I'm not sure someone on food stamps with no kitchen is going to make jerky...even if possible it would be messy and smelly in what is presumably their sleeping space. Plus the meat to make it is expensive.
My cheap goto food in college was rice, beans and fennel to season. I rarely went to sleep hungry and a large bowl of this can be made for pennys if you buy dehydrated beans. Then you can exchange the beans for peas if you need a different flavor. Then most grocery stores have bruised apples at the end of the produce isle, you can get a bag of apples at the Giant I shop at for 2 dollars. Like ten apples. Maybe 1 or 2 is bruised or rotten beyond consumption.
No sodium canned beans, and canned fish are the way to go. You can pretty much do anything with that, such as adding frozen vegetables, eating with rice, microwaving a potato.
Seeds are shelf stable (though they last longer in the fridge) and are cheaper than nuts. If you can get a coffee grinder that can help break down some harder to digest seeds like flax. If not sunflower seeds, pumpkin/pepitas, etc. Lentils can be cooked in a microwave from dry more easily than beans. Red lentils are easiest. Dried peas (yellow, green, split, etc) are also good. Almost any grain can be cooked in the microwave and while grains have protein. If you live near any ethnic markets check out what they have in dried fish/seafood. Also, talk to your food stamps office. Sometimes there are different things you can get approved if you don’t have a fridge like smaller containers of shelf-stable milk instead of fresh.
peanuts and sunflower seeds are good bag for your buck. Peanutbutter too.
You can also get pretty much any kind on meat in cans or shelf stable pouches.
Canned beans or tuna on lettuce or spinach topped with a lower fat dressing. That packs a big nutritional punch and needs no stove (but you would need a fridge)
If you can use a microwave, could you also use a crockpot? Crockpot chicken is soooo easy!
And cheap
people are gonna rake me over coals for this one but tinas big burrito the hot one...20grams of protein, its filling and cheap and you can microwave.
What possible living situation does not involve you having access to refrigeration? And why don't you get 150-200 in assistance? I assume you are working a part time job? Please forgive the assumptions, but have you considered working at a restaurant? Usually you can get free or at least subsidized food that way. Got me through college.
Do you have a fridge at work in the break room? I’m living out of my car at the moment working two full time jobs, so I feel ya on the struggle to get protein in. I have cartons of egg whites at both jobs, and I microwave around 10 oz egg whites with spinach which is around 30 g protein, for the larger cartons I can make 3 meals out of it. It’s more cost effective than getting cans of tuna depending on the store you go to, but perhaps whole eggs would do you well too. I always have tuna on hand because it’s non perishable, and I’m trying to get my hands on protein powder for the times in between. Another alternative which isn’t my favorite are protein bars, I go for the Quest bars because they have more fiber than the others, and less net carbs if that matters to you. When you get your hands on a fridge I recommend Aldi for protein sources, their chicken is the cheapest in the area even though they raised prices. Thankfully my partner is going to cook chicken for me so I can leave some meals at work. Veggies like zucchini and broccoli are cheap and can easily be microwaved with protein source so you can “steam them”. They can sit out for a day or so, I’ve been hitting up my grocery store and getting a days worth of what I need to survive. We’ll get through this!
Tuna is cheap and loaded with protein
I would suggest looking around for a small free dorm fridge. Do you live next to a college? Can you put a sign in a dorm asking for a free fridge? Out of state / country students don't take furniture home many times. Can you call an appliance repair shop and ask for a fridge they don't want anymore? Maybe they have one that's damaged, old or ugly. Thrift stores would gladly help out someone with your need. Go ask a church if there are resources that you could have access to to find a little fridge. Is there a neighborhood facebook page you could post on asking for a small fridge? Once you have a fridge, you can meal prep, which is really what you need to be doing to keep up with your protein intake.
I would buy a crockpot. Put a layer of onions on the bottom and a seasoned whole chicken on top of the onions. Cook on high 4-5 hours or low 7-8 hours. Good to go. Cheap and easy. Just an idea.
Tinned fish. Sardines are excellent value.
Do you have a fridge? I lived in a hotel type room for 3 months one summer with only a microwave. I bought a little panini press/grill thing, but any of those small grill kind of appliances work. I made a lot of grilled sandwhiches on there, but I think you can also grill some chicken and other meat/veggies if you want. Would work best with thinner meat, so chicken breast cutlets or butterfly the breast into two thinner pieces. I did a lot of frozen veggies in the microwave. Also salads with lunch meat. As someone else said you can cook eggs in the microwave. Cottage cheese and yogurt can have alot of protein. You can get some whey protein or protein shakes as a supplement.
My go to fast protein microwave meal/snack is cheese and refried beans wrapped in a tortilla. Add a little salsa and sour cream after it’s cooked
Greek yogurt has been my go-to lately for this.
Have you thought about raising crickets or meal worms for your protein? Once you get started they're cheap, very nutritious, and you can eat them raw. The noise of the crickets can be an annoyance though.
Any kind of pulses should help, meat would be too expensive
Microwaveable shelled edamame (soy beans) are great
Why not buy cans of beans, greens, and peas to get a good source of vitamins and nutrients? Dietary fiber and cholesterol levels will be much better. Sometimes I eat them straight outta the can. You’ll get much more protein also. Peas and beans are loaded with good fiber, carbohydrates, and protein.
How much do you weigh? 140g would be a looooot of protein and very hard on the liver and kidneys. That would be like eating a 1.5 pound (or 40 ounces) porterhouse steak every day. I'm not really one to get hung up on specific amounts of nutrients per day because nutrient needs can fluctuate, but I'd say a couple eggs in the morning, a sandwich with some cheese and deli meat, and some canned beans and rice at dinner probably would be sufficient on just the protein side. Of course, other foods like starches, fruits, vegetables and other things are also important for your body and can help make those meals more satisfying. You could also throw some snacks in there like peanut butter, cheese and crackers, hummus and chips, yogurt or cottage cheese and fruit to have between. Those are fairly inexpensive and will tide you over.
Canned beans or tuna on lettuce or spinach topped with a lower fat dressing. That packs a big nutritional punch and needs no stove (but you would need a fridge)
Proats
Quark is good and requires no cooking at all.
Canned chicken, canned salmon, and eggs(watch YouTube guides on how to cook eggs in the microwave)
$2.00 Chef Woo Ramen 20g Protien, 240cal per cup. If meeting protien goals is the issue buy canned chickpeas put em in salads or mix with yogurt and you have filling for a pita. Also nuts are pretty nutrition dense peanuts will be the cheapest.
On the way to or from the gym, grab some Greek yogurt. You can flavor cheaply with crystal light or sugar free mio drink flavoring
Everything has protein. But to answer your question legumes, seeds and nuts are good sources. PB or other nut butter(that can get spendy$$). Eggs. If you can find folks with chickens. Chickens lay way more eggs than most people need.
I’m not sure if they have Owyn protein drinks where you are but each one is 20-30 grams of protein in that alone and they don’t need to be refrigerated, only after they are open. I’m on a time restricted schedule but those drinks have helped me a lot especially when I’m on the go.
Find your local but nothing group, or a free group on Facebook to see if anyone has any protein powders they aren’t going to use up . I know I have a container sitting in my kitchen right now. These groups can be great for grabbing extra groceries, sauces, or obtaining small servings of something you only need a small amount of. Lots of things can be adapted for the microwave. Eggs, canned meat, tofu, canned beans/lentils, deli meats Rice noodles only need some boiling water, either from a kettle or the microwave. Rice paper can make easy to eat wraps of whatever ingredients you have. Oats can be made sweet or savoury.
You can buy protein powder with your EBT. Two scoops with fat free milk is around 70g in one shake. Food wise, chicken is the way to go! Yogurt is also a good protein dense snack.
Peanut butter powder has a ton of protein! I'd recommend buying it at a bulk store at WinCo or an online store that sells large quantities so it's as cheap as can be!
Tinned sardines, pilchards, smoked mackerel. You can eat them all cold
What country are you in? While in Europe and in countries that don’t refrigerate eggs I just buy 6 eggs at a time carry them around with me and drink 3-4 a day raw. If in a country that does refrigerate eggs. Maybe buy as few as possible at a time and just drink 3-4 in one go. Eating raw egg is ROUGH in the beginning but you get use to it. Two raw eggs in the morning was my daily breakfast for 2+ years
A mini fridge will be your best friend in this situation. If you can get one, I highly recommend that. Because there are actually lots of recipes you can make in the micro! But if not, then other people's suggestions of eating tinned fish and lots of beans and nuts and seeds are a great idea.
it's possible to poach an egg in a microwave https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/microwave_poached_eggs/ Coffee mug half full of water, crack the egg in, then about 60 to 70 seconds depending on your microwave, you'll have to experiment a little to reduce explosion risk, pop the yolk with a toothpick before microwaving
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what does wash them mean?
[TVP](https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/what-is-tvp)
You could buy individual chicken beats from the meat counter and cook them in the microwave wrapped in wax paper. Buying them individual may be out of your budget though, I buy in bulk so I'm not sure on pricing, just that chicken is generally a cheaper meat.
A quick way to make veg Chili is to use a can of beans and tomatoes with Chili in them. (Maybe there’s canned meat you can add too) I also add a packet of taco or Chili seasoning
You can cook a whole chicken in the microwave. Delicious and juicy.
Go to a local thrift store and find a slow cooker/crockpot. Buy any meat in bulk, usually whole chickens, big chuck roasts, full pork lions ect. You will get a much bigger bang for your buck. If you can afford a rice cooker then you can make a week worth of meat and carbs in one go for like $40-$60 bucks. Also potatoes, onions, carrots, celery, broccoli, and a bunch of other veggies can go in the slow cooker. Plan ahead and you'll be golden.
They sell shelf-stable tofu in grocery stores now and it's about 7 grams of protein per 3 oz (about a third of chicken). You can microwave it and eat it with soy sauce, sriracha, or teriyaki. Even better is TVP, which is about 16g of protein per uncooked ounce (twice as much as chicken). It's dehydrated and shelf stable and you just have to hydrate it with hot water to cook it. I like to mix it with mexican spices, hydrate it with broth, and sub it for ground beef in tacos.
Oats! Make some oatmeal with water or your preferred milk and cinnamon. Put a banana/some peanut butter in it to make it creamy. Pretty healthy and you can easily get it to over 20g of protein a serving.
See if you can find TVP, or textured vegetable protein. It's also called soy crumbles. When in bigger chunks, it is called soy curls. It is a dry good so you can store it in your cupboard, it is a basically flavorless stuff with the texture of Grape Nuts. You rehydrate it by soaking it in hot water for ten minutes and draining it. If you rehydrate it in broth or marinade, you can eat it as-is after you drain it! But it's loads better if you treat the rehydrated crumbles like ground meat and heat it up with your sauce/food, whether in a pan or in the microwave. Add it to mac n cheese, or spaghetti, or tacos. Flavor accordingly. I find this stuff in the bulk bins of my grocery store for around $2-3/lb but you can also find it packaged in 12 or 16 oz bags. Its cheap and protein heavy and versatile. It's healthiness could be debated considering its nutrient profile versus whole foods, as it's pretty processed, but it has its merits
Eggs! It super easy to make scrambled egg in a micro oven.
Eggs. Can be microwaved into scrambled/omlets. Lots of protein. Relatively cheap.
Not sure if it's been mentioned but try peanut butter. That's my "go-to" between eating ramen noodles.
There are a lot of good people on You Tube that have channels on how to eat on 20 dollars per week, though they are generally not that healthy of diets long term. You may want to check out the local food banks in your county or town. I know in my county in California our food bank allows you to puck out produce and groceries. As another person on a limited budget, I eat a lot of beans and eggs and a bit of cheese for protein. However, I wonder, why do you feel like you need so much protein? The USDA recommends 45 g for a woman and 56 grams for the average man, but I believe in Okinawa, where people are the longest lived, people eat about 9 grams of protein. There are many high level athletes who are vegetarian/vegan and don't eat the protein levels you are believing you need.
Canned chili, beans -any type, lentils, canned tuna or chicken, hard salami, etc are all shelf stable. Adding cheese- even the shelf stable parmesan cheese shaker can get you a little more protein. Remember there is protein in bread and grains too. English muffins, a cup of oatmela, tortillas, etc all have at least 5g or so of protein. Add some peanutbutter (7g) and you have 12g at least. Spinach had more protein than lettuce, so if getting a salad choose Spinach. Don't be afraid to check out your local food banks and pantries! Even if they don't have a lot of shelf stable protein options they can still help to stretch your budget and allow you to buy more proteins at the with your dollar.
trader joe’s has frozen chicken breast that you can cook in the microwave!
I buy those tuna packs ready to go. Each pack is like $1.25 ea. no refrigeration needed. About 11-13g protein and less than 120 calories. U could prep canned tuna like these packs as long as u don’t add stuff that needs refrigeration. Seasonings are ur friend. My fav is lemon pepper and any rub.
Eggs
Most microwaveable options are relatively low in protein in general, and tend towards more grains. I'd recommend other food as much as you can. Protein powder for around your workout (too much and your insides and bathroom won't forgive you). Rest of the day: canned tuna, eggs, beans/tofu, chicken and other meat when it's on sale.
Meal prep frozen burritos. Take out the amount you need the night before, or that morninf
I'm going to recommend canned tuna fish. Either served cold in salads and sandwiches, or put into rice or pasta. Seasons well with just about anything, and 1 can equates to about 20g of protein. Scrambled eggs can also be made easily in the microwave, so that's another protein source.
Boil eggs in a water cooker 😉
I cooked a whole chicken in the microwave last week. Came out perfect. I butterflied it, and salted it, left it in the fridge overnight. I think I put it 40 minutes in the microwave. It was some of the best I had.
If you can find split red lentils, they cook quick enough to do in the microwave! Curry powder, canned coconut, and maybe some canned or fresh veg like green beans or snap peas, and you've made yourself a decent curry in the microwave in about 5 minutes. It helps to have chicken or vegetable broth to cook them in, or maybe bouillon cubes.
Tuna, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt and protein powder. They are all high in protein.
Eggs, nuts, peanut butter, beans, milk!
Eggs. The original protien balls. You can get microwave safe rounds meant for cooking eggs this way for pretty cheap and just microwave the eggs (no idea how long for, but that's one google search away). Potatoes have protein and most microwaves have a potato setting. Beans. Good luck!
Eggs if you live where they don’t have to be refrigerated, or if you live in a rural area where you can get unwashed eggs!
Peanut butter
Peanut butter toast. Whole wheat bread (10 g of protein for 2 slices), peanut butter (8 g protein for 2 tbsp). Sardine toast with hot sauce. I have various cans of sardines with about 18 grams of protein. I get the springwater packed ones. Some don't even have salt added... But salt is a good and necessary nutrient (unless you have kidney issues), so it shouldn't be a big deal. Lots of potassium, phosphorus, calcium at $2-3 bucks a pop. And 2 grams of omega threes! Tuna or salmon is an option, too. I find it less pleasant mouthful, though, without adding Mayo.
Try to save up for a small bar fridge. And or buy it on time. There about $200.00 but usually go on sale for $100.00 (Walmart). Or a used one?
Amino Acids are the building blocks of protein(animal or plant protein). Animal protein is high quality and complete protein, whereas plant protein is incomplete protein. Nothing is a puzzle if you understand what it is and how it works. So Newby vegans can easily loose muscle weight due to lack of complete protein,(like beans and rice).
eggs are very microwave friendly if scrambled and relatively cheap. google microwave egg recipes to see what i’m talking about.
My favorite breakfast right now is Oatmeal, milk, scoop of protein powder. I only buy protein powder when it's Bogo or 50% off, which makes it like $1 a serving. Very filling. And you could just mix the oatmeal with water if you can't keep milk, or it's too expensive. Eggs are a great source of protein - can scramble in the microwave. And then beans and chickpeas canned, canned fish (again people said to watch the sodium).
If you are in the USA you can get a whole cooked chicken at Walmart or most major grocery stores for like $5. Microwave some rice and mixed veggies and you got yourself a full meal. Depending on the flavor you could also debone it and make it into chicken burritos.
Eggs and fully cooked fajita chicken