12 Meals that are Easy, Cheap, and Healthy

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This is a guest post by Erica, a 1L at UC Davis.  If you’re interested in writing a guest post at The Frugal Law Student, Contact me. Thanks, for the great post Erica!

One of my big challenges as a law student on a budget is to find recipes that fit all of these criteria. I’ve included 12 of my boyfriend and my staples. This gives a nice two week rotation since we usually end up cooking about 6 times a week. I would love to know if anyone else has other ideas.

Note: We cook with a lot of green pepper because they are cheap and local here in CA. You might want to substitute whatever fits that description in your area. These recipes generally feed 2 people generously. Also, I usually sauté in olive oil but some sort of broth or white wine also works if you are really trying to cut out fats.

1. White Beans and Tomatoes - You need: Crock-pot, Olive oil, onion, garlic, 3 6” stalks of fresh rosemary, large can of diced tomatoes, and 2 cans of white/northern beans. Sauté chopped onions in olive oil in the crock-pot on the high setting for about 15 minutes. Add chopped garlic and sauté for 5 more minutes. Then add the rest of the ingredients and let it cook on low in the crock-pot for however long you want. Nothing in this recipe needs cooking so its just a matter of the longer it cooks together the more flavor it will have. I live in Northern California and rosemary is a ubiquitous landscaping plant here so I have an endless free supply. I think it is prolific in other parts of the country too. You might add a little cumin or Tabasco sauce too. Serve with brown bread and a little parmesan cheese.
2. Black Bean Salad – You need: 1 can black beans, 1 can corn or frozen corn, 1 lime, ~2T fresh chopped cilantro, a fresh veggie (I like green pepper or tomato or avocado if you want to splurge). Add all ingredients to a tuper-wear and juice the lime. You might also add some chili powder or tobasco. Let it marinate together for at least 30 minutes. Eat with corn chips.
3. Pasta – You need: whole wheat pasta, jar of marinara sauce (I like Classico’s selections), chopped frozen broccoli, parmesan cheese. I like to mix all these ingredients together but you could eat broccoli as a side dish.
4. Ramen Stir Fry – You need: 2 pack ramen noodles, green pepper, onion, 3 eggs, 2T roasted peanuts, stir-fry seasoning. Soak the ramen noodles in warm water while you prep other ingredients. Sauté onion and green pepper. Add 3 eggs and scramble in the same pan as onion and green pepper but keeping the egg somewhat separate. Add the noodles and seasoning. I like to season with a sauce made from soy sauce, ginger, a little sesame oil, a little brown sugar, and quite a bit of lime juice.
5. Burritos – You need: Green pepper, onion, can of black beans, tortilla’s, cheese and salsa. Sauté green pepper and onion. Add black beans and season with chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, and lime juice. Serve on flour tortilla’s with cheese (I think grating is worth it) and salsa.
6. Fried Rice – You need: Rice, frozen peas, 2 eggs, onion, garlic, soy sauce, and ginger. I like to make rice ahead of time on the weekend and eat it several times. I usually cook rice in chicken bouillon for flavor. So sauté onion and add frozen peas to defrost. Scramble eggs in same pan. Add rice, ginger, and garlic. Add soy sauce and some sesame oil to taste.
7. Curry Mushroom “Chicken” - You need: Cooked chicken breast or fake chicken (I like Quorn), frozen chopped broccoli, cream of mushroom soup, lemon juice, curry powder, shredded cheddar cheese. Defrost frozen items in microwave. Add a scoop of mushroom soup, ½ T of curry powder, some lemon juice and shredded cheddar to the bowl and microwave again. You could eat with brown rice.
8. Baked potato – Baked potatoes are great because you can put so many things on top of them. Some of the thing I like to put on are Morningstar crumbles (fake hamburger meat), sautéed mushrooms (season with Worcestershire), broccoli, salsa, shredded cheese, or black beans.
9. Salmon Cakes – You need: 1 can pink salmon, 1 can white/northern beans, lemon juice, dill or thyme, minced garlic, 1 egg. Mix all ingredients together mashing beans and salmon. Make into patties and fry in olive oil. Serve on brown bread and add a dollop of plain yogurt or sour cream if you like.
10. Veggie Burgers – Buy a pack of frozen veggie burgers (Morning star veggie burgers will usually go on sale for about $.75/patty.) serve on wheat toast (b/c I don’t like to buy special buns) with thinly sliced cheese and mustard.
11. Hot dogs – Depending on whether cheap or healthy is more important to me at the time, I will buy veggie hot dogs (healthy) or turkey hot dogs (cheap). We like eating them on whole wheat sandwich bread with sauerkraut and mustard. We usually have a can of baked beans on the side.
12. Heuvos Rancheros – You need: 4 eggs, flour tortillas, black beans, salsa, and shredded cheese. Scramble eggs. Warm tortillas in the microwave. Warm black beans sprinkled with lime juice, chili powder, and garlic powder in the microwave. Top tortillas with beans, egg, shredded cheese, and salsa.

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21 Comments

1. shawna on 05.09.2007 at 13:39 (Reply)

   A slice of swiss cheese on a baked potato is really good too

2. Jenn on 05.09.2007 at 14:08 (Reply)

   My personal favourite is tuna casserole out of the “Joy of Cooking” cookbook: 2 cups of pasta (I use whole wheat) a can of mushroom soup, a can of tuna and usually some green onions and crumbled soda crackers on top. I think the basic directions are:
   Prepare pasta (doesn’t really matter what type)
   Grease a medium-depth pan
   Layer noodles, tuna, noodles etc so that the last layer is a layer of pasta
   Throw on the can of mushroom soup
   season with Worcestershire sauce, curry or green onions (my fave) and crumble unsalted saltine crackers on top.
   Now, I believe it tells you in the original recipe to mix the crackers with a bit of butter, but I’m both cheap and trying to be healthy, so I nix it altogether
   Bake at 300 until the top is golden brown and the casserole is cooked all the way through! It’s absolutely delicious and you can throw in some veggies as well
   I find this serves 2-4 people (or one person for most of the week)

3. Mrs. FLS on 05.09.2007 at 20:26 (Reply)

   These are super great ideas Erica! I have trouble thinking of new ideas and will definitely try some of these. Thanks for the post. I like that they are healthy, cheap, and tasty and avoid meat, since those are all things we look for here in the FLS household.

   What exactly is Quorn? I have heard of it before, but also heard it was a fungus or something and have steered clear. Though I guess mushrooms are a fungus and I love them….

   One of our favorite quick and easy meals are pita pizzas. We take a whole wheat pita and then top it with marinara or pesto sauce and cheese. Broil or bake. Our most favorite is a Mexican pizza: you take a can of refried beans and mix it with salsa for the sauce. And then we top the sauce with olives, jalapeños, and a Mexican cheese blend. Really delicious.

4. Erica on 07.09.2007 at 21:49 (Reply)

   Quorn is indeed made from a type of mushroom originally found in the Thames river. Their products are quite delicious and taste remarkably like chicken. (Not a cliche in this case.) I’m afraid they aren’t much cheaper than chicken though.

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7. Rachel on 24.09.2007 at 09:36 (Reply)

   Good tips and recipies. Eggs are great - they are not just cheap relative to meat but they’re a near perfect balance of ammino acids and some brands contain Omega 3’s too. There are lot’s of egg recipies to stretch a dollar at egglandsbest.com

8. Jasi on 29.09.2007 at 21:37 (Reply)

   Rice, veggies, protein. This is how I got through college and continue to live.

   Shop produce, shop fresh and in season. If you’re realistic about the portions you consume, you’ll find it’s relatively cheap. Keep protein to correct serving size. Not only will this trim the bill, it will trim the waistline. Most people consume far more protein than is healthy or necessary. Keep to this diet and you’ll feel better, physically and fiscally.

   Also, stay away from sugar. It’s crap for you and winds up being addictive and expensive. Not good for anyone. Except perhaps your trainer and dentist.

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12. paulette on 10.12.2007 at 09:34 (Reply)

    Those recipes are very mouth-watering. Im almost salivating while reading the titles of each recipes. But beware beans can also agravate your athritis

13. ettle on 10.12.2007 at 09:40 (Reply)

    These foods are really easy to cook. I tried it by myself. But I love the most the baked potatoes.

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15. Deborilla on 21.01.2008 at 06:01 (Reply)

    I really liked you recipes…

    i want to to try them… i am trying to think of something to add… the only thing i can think of is”

    “mexican cornbread”

    1lb of ground turkey browned
    1 can of corn
    2 cups of whatever cheese you like
    2 packages of cornbread mix
    (however man eggs your mix calls for and the milk)

    Layer the browned turkey meat in the bottom of a 13×9 pan, then the corn, cheese, cornbread mix (i like to add jalapenos!!) it’s delish!

    You bake it at the temp and however long the cornbread says…

    happy eats!

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17. paulette on 02.02.2008 at 12:09 (Reply)

    The recipies make me hungry. I find the post nutritious.

18. Crystal on 07.04.2008 at 02:10 (Reply)

    Thanks for the recipes, saving money on food is always a challenge for me sometime I find it hardest not to spend too much on food when I all day at the university.

19. Pamela Grundy on 18.05.2008 at 11:28 (Reply)

    Great list! We eat rice and beans a lot. A cup of rice, cooked, a can of refried beans, and a little cheese melted on top. For just a little over $1 this feeds two generously. If you have leftovers, you can make burritos out of it the next day.

20. komodo dragon on 16.06.2008 at 20:15 (Reply)

    ramen always has to be on the list of cheap foods haha

21. Genesis Bible on 17.06.2008 at 14:39 (Reply)

    i love veggie dogs and burgers these are some great healthy options!

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