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Cooking meals at home is a great way to save money and eat healthy. And using ingredients that cost less in your meal planning will help you save even more. Items like canned or frozen vegetables (get the no salt added options), dried or canned beans, canned tuna, rotisserie chicken, eggs, pasta, grains, and potatoes. Plant-based proteins, like tofu, can also be budget-friendly.
Try a more relaxed way meal plan using ingredients that cost less this week because we did the work for you! Check out some of our favorite cost-saving, healthy recipes.
Our Recipe Roundup
Chilaquiles with Sunny-Side-Up Eggs is a recipe that can be served for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It uses several cost-friendly ingredients, including canned crushed tomatoes, onion, corn tortillas, spices, and eggs. This dish contains vegetables, protein, and carbohydrates. Serve with cooked green beans.
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Chicken Nacho Casserole is a family-favorite recipe that uses canned beans and tomatoes to help lighten the budget. A good source of protein, this quick meal cooks in one baking pan. Serve this dish with steamed broccoli.
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Easy Turkey Chili is a one-pot recipe that is not only cost friendly, but it also is less prep time. Serve this chili with a salad loaded with in season non-starchy veggies like leafy greens, cucumbers, and bell peppers to help keep the costs down.
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Modern Tuna Noodle Casserole is a one-pan recipe that uses canned tuna for a cost-friendly source of protein. When at the grocery store, be on the lookout for when canned tuna goes on sale or choose the store brand to help cut costs.
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Southern Turnip Greens and Black-Eyed Peas is a recipe that uses black-eyed peas that you can buy either dried or canned. The flavor for this favorite southern dish relies on the spices used often, so you probably already have them in your kitchen!
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Crumbled Tofu Taco Lettuce Wraps is a budget-friendly dish because it uses tofu, a plant-based protein that is less costly than animal proteins. This recipe uses butter lettuce leaves, but if that type is too expensive, you can use any type of dark leafy lettuce. It won’t change the nutritional information.
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Sweet Chili Chicken, Sweet Potatoes, and Broccoli is a complete meal that follows the Diabetes Plate guidelines and uses cost-friendly ingredients. Check the price of a whole chicken versus boneless, skinless chicken breasts to get the most food for your dollar. Also, make sure to compare the price of fresh broccoli versus a bag of frozen broccoli to keep the costs lower.
Keep Cooking
Looking for even more budget-friendly recipes? Check out the thousands of others featured on Diabetes Food Hub and learn how to use the site and all its features.
