Some healthy but cheap meals to make on small budget in crockpot low calorie carb crock po
I am a PhD student. I say that to give you an idea of the time crunch I usually have. I am, therefore, always on the lookout for meals that are nutritionally balanced, filling and quick to make. There are several out there, I am sharing the ones I recall now. edit I have added several more recipes, hope yall find it useful Breakfast Need fiber, protein, vitamins? No problem. On weekends I make a decent sized loaf of banana or spinach bread with whole wheat flour. I prefer jam or jell o with it so I put very less sugar in it. I substitute all oil with greek yogurt. I use dark chocolate chips, raisins, cranberries, even fresh orange juice, etc for sweetness with a dash of nutmeg/cinnamon. So good! If you are as big a fan of eggs as I am, you probably already know this recipe. Whip together as many eggs as you want. I usually toss out the yolks. Add spice, salt, herbs optional I like dill/oregano/garlic pdr/dried celery leaf/parsley and put it on a pan. Meanwhile, make a quick guacamole with avocados, feta, lemon juice, tomatoes, onions, yogurt, salt/cajun, pepper all optional except avocados. Spread over your omelette and fold it over. Its heavy enough to last till a late lunch and its so delicious. Need something even quicker? I take a deep bowl and toss chopped tomatoes, onions, spinach, mushrooms etc all optional and nuke it in the microwave for about a minute until the veggies are soft. I break in 2 3 egg whites, whisk it in with salt and pepper and microwave again for 1 2mins. I add cheese next, followed by 30 sec more or for longer, if you like the eggs well set. Smoothies!! Specially in this hot summer. Quick Oats. I use the steel cut ones, the quick cooking type wor.ks fine too. If you are on a calorie rtricted diet, you might want to measure all of these out with a proper measuring cup. I add 1/2 cup of oats to 1 cup of soymilk, 1 tsp of chia, 1 tsp of quinoa, pumpkin seeds, berries, fruits anything and everything goes well. I add a dash of nutmeg or cinnamon and put it in fridge overnight. Next morning they are nice and all ready to be devoured. Lunch/Dinner Grilled salmon. It doesnt take too long to cook. 12 15 min in the oven at 450 F is more than enough. I like to marinate my salmon in cajun spices for 10min before. While it is being done, you can choose to saute/blanch some veggies or cook brown rice/quinoa if you like. Brown rice takes around 45 mins to cook though. On the same lines, I like to make grilled chicken. I chop chicken breast in small pieces, marinate in spices and put in oven at 375 until well cooked. You can try a variety of spices like honey mustard, mojito lime, tandoori, yogurt, whatever floats your boat. Butternut squash/sweet potato casserole. I love this dish. Not only do I cook it for my own meals, but it is decadent enough to be cooked when people are coming over. Put a whole squash/pumpkin/sweet potatoes in the oven at 350, until the ski.n can be easily pierced with a fork. The insides should be nice and mushy by then. Meanwhile you can chop whatever vegetables you like. I prefer carrots, onion, asparagus, mushrooms, spinach, corn, peas and beans. I put finely chopped garlic in olive oil in a pan and turn on the heat. Once the garlic sizzles, I add onions and then the rt. If you have time, you can also boil chicken breast separately until tender, mash it down with a fork into fibres, add salt, pepper and sriracha anything else goes great too and toss it in the pan for a bit. Keep separate. Now take out the softened flesh from your butternut, mash it well with salt and pepper. You can add and mash with a little sour cream, yogurt, mayo careful, there! to make it creamier. Avoid adding too much, it will make your casserole runny. Spread the mash on a nice heatproof pan. Add the veggies layer. Add cheese if you want greek yogurt goes great too. Add chicken. Top it off with skimmed mozarella cheese. Put back in oven for 10 mins, until the cheese has melted. Enjoy! As a modification to a heavier meal, you can add more layers, including pasta or lasagna sheets. I occasionally add walnut and pistachios too, somehow it goes great with the mild sweetness of butternut. Chicken soup. I take a big bowl, add chicken breast with all vegetables I can get my hands on carrot, turnip, mushroom, brussel, celery, brocolli, beans, corn, peas, seaweed, onions, garlic,asparagus etc. I strongly suggt adding broccoli, garlic, carrot, onion and celery since these give a nice flavor to your soup. Add enough water to cover all and boil until everything is tender. You can either add the cooked chicken breast to the previous recipe or use a fork to break it down in your soup. Add eggs at the end and whisk away wildly until it forms nice stringy patterns optional. Yumm! You can also dissolve a tsp of corn
