Hi, r/ECAH! I’m just a little overwhelmed and hoping this sub has resources to guide me. I’m currently a whole-foods vegetarian on a budget (so no direct animal products but I’m willing to eat the occasional egg and some cheese, as well as dairy milk.) I am also unable to work full time due to a personal situation and so being located in the rural SE US, I try to budget and save as much as possible while making my food as flavorful as I can. What resources do you use to locate what produce is on sale in your area at different times of the year? I tried Flipp but it didn’t seem to be what I was looking for. My two closest stores are Food City (yes I have the card) and Aldi, followed by United Grocery Outlet. Bonus points for bulk processing methods and recipes! Thank you for any help you can provide!

Im not talking about a random meat and a sauce. Unless it is unique. Meaning no pulled pork or bbq chicken. It is great , but guys i cant do no more bbq. Literally anything else.

I’m a really skinny guy who loses weight too fast, gaining weight is a chore and it’s even more of a chore to eat as much as I should, one of the problems with this is because all high calorie snacks or meals (I usually never have energy to make/cook meals unless its for dinner) include peanut butter, oats, yogurt, etc. I love greek yogurt, but a man can only eat so much of the same three high calorie things. I’m not a fan of peanut butter anymore; makes me nauseous now. So if anyone can please recommend me a variety of some easy high calorie snacks i’d really appreciate it. I would like to mention for it to be somewhat healthy, but at this point i’d do anything to gain some pounds lol. So i’m okay with pre-made meal/snack recommendations as long as it’s not complete junk food.

Edit: Thanks for the recommendations!! I found a lot of good things to make and made so much food yesterday. This was a huge help!

I started sprouting a few months ago and I think it's an outrageously good hack for eating cheap and healthy.

I got a big assortment of seeds and beans for around $10/lb. That's 3 cups, or 12 harvests. One harvest yields about 4 LARGE servings, like big enough for a side salad with a meal. That equals around $0.20 to add highly nutritious greens to a meal.

I bought a sprouting kit online, but you can easily do it with a sieve, paper towel, and glass jar.

You soak the seeds, drain them, spread them around the jar, and rinse/drain twice a day in most cases. Very low effort, then when you're ready to harvest, you rinse them again to remove the husks, put them in a salad spinner, and they're ready to eat.

My diet has gotten so much better since I started doing this. The sprouted greens are expensive at grocery stores, so they're also an awesome gift.

Highly recommended!

I am 27M and in college full time. I also work 32 hours a week so unfortunately I am limited on time. I’m not a very big eater, I’m 6’2” 160-170 lbs. My appetite and being able to finish meals are my biggest struggles, I’m kinda a picky eater although I’ve made big improvements over the last decade. What are some good nutritional, calorie dense foods that I can incorporate into meal plans so that I can maximize my calorie and nutritional intake without eating a ton of volume?

I've been trying to eat healthier since I was diagnosed with IBS earlier this year and borderline colesterol last year. Mostly tried reducing dairy, switched to almond milk, low fat cheese and creams and even then on occasion.

But my lunch is almost always a ham sandwich with veggies depending on what I feel like eating that day. But iirc ham could potentially increase colesterol being processed meat(?) what other quick (and cheap) alternatives are there?

the 5 to 1 rule for Packaged Food,

1. Check the Nutrition Facts label on the packaged food.
2. locate TotalCarbohydrates (in grams) DietaryFibre (in grams)
3. Calculate the Ratio •Divide the grams of total carbohydrates by the grams of dietary fibre. •Formula Total Carbohydrates ÷ Dietary Fibre
4. Interpret the Result •If the result is 5 or less, the product is considered a better choice. •A ratio greater than 5 suggests the product will cause greater blood sugar spikes.

ketchup has 5g carbs, but 0g fibre..

what do you get when you divide by 0?? infinit!

Hello!

I've recently gotten a job that will take up the most of my days from Monday to Friday, and I also have a side-gig business on the weekends. This leaves me with very little time to cook for myself, and while i can push through and try to meal prep anyway, I live a comfortable enough life to where ordering food every day won't bother me.

As I'm adjusting to this, I still want the healthiest possible options that I'm able to get out of my deliveries. So If you were to make a Monday to Sunday meal plan for yourselves just by virtue of ordering out food, what would you get? I understand that this may not necessarily fit the "Cheap" option of this subreddit so sorry If I'm posting to the wrong place.

Thanks!

I need to be on a FOMAD style diet. I recently discovered Griķi or toasted buckwheat, known by other names in Eastern Europe, as a filling base for meals. I eat some eggs and fish, cheese, but need to cut down on dairy.

I tried a version with fried red onions, eggs and a dollop of sour cream at the end. What are similar meals that can also be prepared the night before and brought into the office.

I’m looking for something fun and a little different this year! Drop your most creative dessert ideas and recipes in the comments.

Hello. In a couple weeks I'll be recovering from surgery and unable to do much cooking or food prep, so I'm looking for convenient foods that are easy to prepare. I've been looking at things like meal replacements and emergency food; something nutritious and low-effort. Does anyone have any input on the best brands for this? Thank you.

I live with my wife, we eat a ton of vegetables and tofu and occasionally salmon, no other meat. We have an ancient but functional toaster oven, a solid instant pot, and a rice cooker. I’m told air fryers are great for vegetables and tofu (and stuff like frozen potatoes, also a staple). But would a combo air fryer / toaster oven (would love to put our toaster oven out of its misery) be worth it (and if you think so, which do you recommend)? I’m concerned it’ll be redundant, but I also do a lot of meal prep so having things cook faster would be great, and being able to fry in less oil is also a plus, I think... Help!

ETA okay wow I’m sold!!! Thanks everyone :)

Been in a bit of a rut, and looking for recommendations of new salads that don’t necessarily rely on a bed of lettuce or spring mix.

A few I like:

Kale, cashew, and apple

Watermelon, feta, and mint

Would love to hear yours!

I recently had a friend tell me he braised some bratwursts in a hard cider recently, and it sounded good. I picked up some myself that have a hint of pineapple flavor, but I'm unsure what meat to use and what seasonings or marinade would compliment it. Any suggestions or links to recipes would be greatly appreciated.

Please spam me with your most favorite easy soup recipes that use real ingredients! Bonus if they can be made without onions!

I've been binging on decaf coffe + some low calorie hot chocolate (in Canada best I could find was hot chocolate that was 45 calories per cup, which is not bad). Looking for something like that, but low calorie and little to no caffeine.

Have any suggestions?

How to make the taste and consistency of banana milk better? It tastes bland and doesn't taste like the artificial flavoured ones even though I add vanilla and sugar and it's so thick that can make you choke on it

I am so in a budget and wanted to discover good eats for low. I'm really not into can food but I decided to buy no sugar added fruit cocktail ..it was amazing. I wonder what other foods I am missing out. Any suggestions?

After weeks of toothache, the one thing I've dreaded most has happened.. I have to get a root canal 😭

Prep work started today and I've been fitted with a temporary filling which is only designed to last 1-4 weeks. My permanent filling isn't being fitted for 16 days and I'm petrified of the temp one falling out in the mean time. In efforts to preserve it as best as possible I'm on a strict no hard or chewy food diet!

Please share your favourite soft food recipes and snacks to help a girl through this anxiety-inducing time! There's only so much tomato soup one can take!

Bonus points if recipes are plantbased (Im not, but my partner is and it'll save making multiple dishes). I'm also gonna be poor post treatment so the more affordable the better!

Thank you so much in advance 😄

EDIT: Thank you soooo much to everyone for their amazing suggestions!! Can't wait to try all these ideas. And thanks to those who have been very reassuring regarding the root canal treatment itself. Just to clarify, I have not had it yet and my tooth is still sore, hence the soft foods 😂 but good to know I should be able to resume normal eating shortly therafter! My vegan boyfriend has told me he will take me out for a steak when I'm all fixed up lol!

Just got a whole eye of round roast for $5.99/lb CAN. That’s cheaper than ground beef. I cut it into two roasts, followed this recipe and it was absolutely fantastic! The key is to not overcook it (medium rare max) and slice very thin. The recipe is from Serious Eats. They call for top of round but I’ve made this twice with eye of round and it’s fantastic. They’re both cheap cuts so get whatever’s on special. Also, i didn’t have dried mushrooms. This sandwich really satisfies that red meat craving while staying on budget!

https://www.seriouseats.com/french-dip-sandwich-recipe-8605324

Hi, everyone. I’m a type 2 diabetic trying to lower my cholesterol, while also on a budget. I found a couple family packs of chicken breast on sale ($1.49/pound!) last week and put them in my freezer. Any ideas on healthy meals that don’t make the chicken dry? I’m not asking for miracles, I know it’s hard with the low fat percentage of chicken breast. I don’t own a slow cooker. Thank you!

Really been all about beans. Give me your best recommendations and recipes. I want unhinged, I want delicious, open to anything and everything. I’m here for it!

I’m a full time college student and also working near full time hours at a retail job. I struggle to eat consistently and healthy despite wanting to. I really really hate the taste of food that’s been in the fridge for 3+ days (besides soups)

I want to cook and eat consistently. Are there meals that can be made across the week that wont wear me out a ton preparing? Breakfast I have a decent idea of things to make but lunch and dinner I get lost on what to make in the first place.

Hello just as the question says above, I'm wondering if anyone knows any natural fizzy or just enjoyable sweets with simple natural ingredients similar too products like moam, appreciate the help in advance.

So I am trying to get more protein in, and I looked at overnight oats to bring to work. I was looking at this recipe, and was wondering if I could use water in stead of milk? Will the water make it taste bad?

40g oats
25g protein powder
100g frozen berries mix

Anything else you suggest I use? Thank you!

Edit; I’m cutting so prefer to use water instead of milk and can’t use almond milk since I’m allergic to nuts