Healthy Meals To Stretch Your Budget

Cooking at home is a time and a money saver. A family of four can eat a homemade spaghetti dinner for under $9.00 as compared to a restaurant meal costing four times that much. Additionally, home-cooked meals often contain fewer fats and calories. When stretching your food budget, learn ways to save money and make healthy, satisfying meals.

Vegetarian Meals

Eating one or two vegetarian meals a week can save you money, because the main ingredients in healthy vegetarian meals -- rice, grains and beans -- can be less expensive than many meats. Additionally, eating vegetarian meals can help you increase the amount of fiber you eat and reduce the amount of saturated fats you consume. Season black beans with chopped tomatoes, minced or dried garlic and chopped onions. Serve over rice. Use grilled, marinated tofu in place of chicken in salads, and fill whole-wheat wraps with a mixture of cooked red beans and rice. Saute textured vegetable protein in onion and 1 tsp. olive oil. Mix with a tomato-based pasta sauce and spoon over cooked, whole-wheat spaghetti noodles. Serve vegetarian meals with a green salad.

Beef Meals

You may find that the leaner types of ground beef cost more than ground beef with more fat. You can still use leaner cuts of beef by purchasing it on sale and reducing the amount of ground beef in a recipe by half. Use less ground beef in sauces or combine whole-wheat bread crumbs with ground beef for meatballs. Serve two vegetable dishes with the main dish to save even more money. When using whole cuts of beef, select less expensive round or flank steak, trim visible fat and cut into thin strips. Grill the strips for use in Mexican fajitas filled with mostly vegetables or stir-fry in low-sodium stir-fry sauce and add to Asian vegetables served over rice.

Poultry Meals

Chicken and turkey often cost substantially less per pound than beef. Purchase whole chickens when on sale. Boil or bake the chicken and remove the meat. Use the shredded, cooked chicken rather than pork for barbecue sandwiches, in wraps for lunches, and in casseroles. When preparing chicken casseroles, use skim milk in place of expensive, high-sodium canned soups and reduce the amount of costly cheese to save money and reduce the fat content. Grill or roast chicken thighs and drumsticks, remove the skin and brush with fat-free Italian dressing. Serve with rice, cooked frozen vegetables and a side of fruit.

Soups and Salads

Soups and salads can be part of a budget-saving, healthy menu. Purchase a variety of dried peas and beans such as black, kidney, pinto, white and split peas. Soften the beans in water. Rinse thoroughly and add water, tomatoes and vegetables to the beans to make a hearty, inexpensive bean soup. Other choices include chicken noodle or minestrone soup, vegetarian chili, vegetable beef stew and lentil soup. Purchase non-bagged romaine, arugula and iceberg lettuces to save money over bagged, pre-washed salads. Wash the greens thoroughly and top with your favorite chopped vegetables. Serve salads as main dish one night and a side dish the next day.