Not sure if you have ever did this with lentils BUT this is a FAV at my house for a hearty breakfast or delish dinner. Cook lentils in whatever stock you choose until the desired tenderness is achieved. Meanwhile sauté diced carrots, diced onion and minced garlic carrots should caramelize. once lentils are done combine carrot mix with lentils top with fried eggs and YUM.
This is a great lesson not just in how to budget meals but just how to be less wasteful with food. We are financially comfortable but I still get so much out of videos like this. They truly inspire me.
Swapping a cup of salsa for a cup of the water when making rice is a super easy way to make mexican rice. Fry the rice first in a little oil, then add the wet stuff and cook like normal. ❤
I laughed when you checked the eggs. I do that too but I jiggle each egg to make sure none of them are stuck. Because sometimes it could be cracked on the bottom where you can’t see. People look at me funny because it looks like I am counting the eggs. 😂
Just an FYI the weight of the canned food includes the water, so in the case of corn, you might be getting a better deal on frozen because about 50-60% of a can is water
Another super simple black bean soup is to just sauté half a diced onion, add a bit of cumin, then 4 cans of beans (or an equivalent quantity of homemade), an entire container of chunky salsa and water or broth. Simple, tasty, very filling. Top with a dollop of sour cream and some shredded cheese, if you have it. I always serve it with cornbread. This is a family favorite.
Adding rice to a meal with beans will give you a complete protein. Adding a teaspoon of baking soda helps to soften beans, even if they are past their "best buy" date. Frozen corn is healthier than canned, no added sodium, plus it tastes better, not overcooked. Something to keep in mind is potassium and magnesium content in foods. These are vital minerals needed by our bodies for sooo many functions, heart health, blood pressure are 2 really important ones. Glad to see you using butter, not veg oil, which causes inflammation in the body, or margarine. Butter is a healthy fat. Our brains need healthy fats to function best, some vitamins are fat soluble, A, D.
This is the first video of yours that I've seen. The fact that this video is a meal plan for one person is what caught my eye. My son's girlfriend is away at college and is struggling stay within a food budget. She is used to fast food and door dash. What a bad plan for someone with very little money. I'm introducing her to cooking, budget planning and not making all decisions on a whim. Most of the other extreme food budgeting videos I watch are for families. This one is right up her alley (or it will be after I show it to her!). Thanks, Laura! Side note: I love your sparkly top!
Thank you so much! I plan to do more of these single person meal plans soon with varying budgets. It’s definitely my most requested type of meal plan lately I hope y’all love the recipes! And thank you so much for watching and sharing ☺️
you can make an oat bun really fast with just a little over a 1/3 cup of oats, an egg and some baking powder. spray a ramekin with cooking spray and set oven at 400F. grind 40 grams of oats into a flour, add 1/2 tsp of baking powder and a pinch of salt, mix in egg till well blended. pour into ramekin and bake for 15 minutes. allow to cool and use butter knife to loosen. this is a great GF option, super filling! you can toast this, add a nut butter and banana or fruit of your choice! i love the banana bread roll up - a super fun treat for everyone!
Oh my goodness, I can’t wait to try this!! It sounds so easy and delicious! Thank you for the suggestion. I’m going to write it down and give it a try soon!
With my Oatmeal, I Saute an Apple, Cranberries, Banana with a Tad of Butter and 1-2 TBSP brown Sugar. Makes a nice Addition. Add nuts if you have them.
Great ideas. I use smashed lentils to fill a half of bell pepper , add a bit of cheese on top and bake 375 for 10-15 min or till pepper gets tender. I am going to try the banana roll up’s. They look delicious.
I love your recipes because I'm PRIMARILY plant based. I do consume animal products (mostly eggs and Greek yogurt) but I always try to sub for vegetarian/vegan when I can. I'm glad someone is showing alternatives to meat heavy meals!
Thank you so much! ☺️ I’ve been working on reducing meat in our meals for the last couple years and we’re slowly switching most of our meals to meatless options. I’m having fun and trying to be creative 😄
WOW! I am fascinated by these low budget cooking videos, and I watch al lot of them. However, you have the MOST creative recipes I have seen! Great job!
am crying at your food prices - your 20.00 is our 27.03 HOWEVER your food prices have always been far cheaper than ours - will dry my eyes - ignore the prices - see what recipes I can try - thnx for sharing 🇨🇦🙏 your 2.58 dozen eggs would be 3.49 up here BUT half dozen eggs today were 3.69 😢
This is excellent! Great job! I do a similar budget/meal plan from Aldi often but add a can of diced tomatoes (for soups or loaves), peanut butter (for sandwiches, oatmeal, or mixed with a few pantry staples for a peanut sauce), and whatever the cheapest lettuce/cabbage (for sandwiches, soups, and salads) I can find. Also, I grab another banana or two to make 2 ingredient oatmeal/banana cookies. Can also add peanut butter to them for a healthy treat. Adds some more options, veggies, and protein to the meals for under $25 a week.
YEESSS!!! I thought that was what you were doing, but when you said it I literally jumped out of my seat and cheered! As a Chef - that is one of the best ways to utilize would-be "waste" in the kitchen. Those peels and cores and whatever else still have so much use! LOVE THIS VIDEO!!
West coast canada, what you got for you groceries would be around $70-$100 depending on what brand you choose. Will be more next month as taxes are going up again. Yay. Edit: i wrote that at the very beginning of your video, i love your recipes! Gives me some really good ideas! Thank you ❤
You always have some great ideas. You’re very good at doing these videos and you keep it interesting by having such a variety in your content. Thanks for sharing your recipes and tips 😊
Main course & desert for 2 MIDGET POT ROAST Serves: 2 Prep time: Cook time: Ingredients: 2 beef shanks (about 1 1/2 pounds) 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided 1 1/2 cups cold water, divided 1/2 cup beef broth 1 Tablespoon dry onion soup mix 1 garlic clove, minced 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme 1 large potato, peeled and cut into eighths 2 carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces 6 boiling onions salt and pepper to taste Directions …. Sprinkle meat with 1 Tablespoon flour; place in shallow 2 qt. baking dish. Mix 1 cup water, beef broth, soup mix, garlic, Worcestershire sauce and thyme; pour over meat. Cover and bake at 325 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. Turn meat ; add potato, carrots and onions. Cover; return to the oven for 30 to 45 minutes or until tender. Remove meat and vegetable to keep warm. To prepare the gravy: skim off the fat from pan juices. Measure 1 cup of the juices and space in a small pan or skillet. Combine remaining flour and cold water; stir into juices. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly; cook & stir 1 minute longer. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with meat and vegetables. Notes Baked Custard for two: 1 egg, 1 cup milk, 3 Tablespoons sugar, 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract,1/8 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg. In a bowl, lightly beat the egg. Add milk, sugar, vanilla and salt. Pour into two ungreased 6 oz. custard cups. Sprinkle with nutmeg. Set in a pan containing 1/2 to 1 inch of hot water. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until set. Yield 2 servings
I usually have a mix of older and greener bananas. My teen prefers them a little green. I prefer lightly spotted. As they get a bit to soft to eat straight, if I'm not able to use right away... I'll put in the fridge. Usually gives me an extra week or so before I need to mashup for muffins or other recipes.
I started off by reducing the meat to about ½ lb per dinner. I used it as a garnish and paired it with beans and other protein packed foods. After about 6 months of doing that, I started incorporating 1 meatless meal into every week. Now I’m trying to increase my meatless meals to a few a week and eventually I’d like to use meat very sparingly, if at all. I think it’s the slow introduction to meatless that really did the trick for my family ☺️
Could you get away with making a chili or a Spaghetti Sauce with less hamburger but adding Mushrooms or Lentils ? When using sirloin tips or stew beef you can stretch it by adding mushrooms for that meat flavor and cutting the pieces smaller. Does he grocery shop with you ? Does he meal prep with you ?
Our cheap and easy at home was pasta, pancakes, my mom made mashed potatoes one day the leftovers she cooked them like a pancake. Potato pancakes (shred potatoes), you can add bacon
this is my favorite low budget meal plan! Everything looks so delicious. Cooking healthy, for one on a retirees budget, is not always easy. I am definitely going to try some of these recipes. Thank you for sharing. 🥰
Yay! I’m so glad to hear that! And thank you so much! I designed this meal plan while thinking about ALL my favorite things to eat 😋 I really enjoyed the week!
I cannot tell you how much I appreciate the way you shop and cook. You use a budget, check unit prices, use seasonings, and buy actual food. Thank you! We shop on a different schedule (monthly) than you. However, our fridge, freezer and pantry looks a lot like yours. I like to cook and can make most anything but sometimes I run out of ideas, and then I check one of your videos and I've got it! Hint: If you have a little salsa to use up, add it to your red sauce. It doesn't make it spicy but complements the original sauce. I'm not sure what my late Italian husband would think but, as always, he would enjoy the meal, and thank me. (Our son does the same thing.)
@@tamaraliscia3408 I’m so glad to hear that! ☺️ I love watching cooking channels for inspiration too. It’s so nice to get some new ideas for meals. And thank you for the salsa tip! I’ll definitely give that a try!
Ground beef (grass-fed if possible) is a great ingredient for simple and quick meals: G. beef+broccoli+potatoes G. beef+pasta G. beef+peas+rice G. beef patty+ caramelized onions+bread
Really great budget meal prep video! Well done. Definitely trying your black bean burger and savory oatmeal and fried egg. The banana roll up idea looks delicious.
Thank you. I made my own baked beans last weekend! They were great. These recipes look delicious. Thank you. This is the first time seeing your channel. I just subscribed 😊
@@LauraLegge thank you. I am glad to be here. You are so right about salsa sauce! I also love Worcester sauce in things! I am making your black bean burger this weekend! Looking forward to more of your videos!
You can fry banana peel with few Seasonings to make it taste like bacon incase you wanna add some more food to all this 😅. I think this video is so wonderful for truly straggling families with super tight budget. Awesome 🙏
Hi Laura, I'm cooking for 1 here in Manhattan (NYC) groceries are extra expensive. My cost was $19.33 at Aldi without corn, ketchup & onions because I have them on hand. This is amazing for a week of groceries. I can't wait to start cooking. Thank you.
@LauraLegge I did my prep and took small tastes. So far I made the patties which have great flavor but mine were definitely not as wet as yours. Meatless loaf is to die for but I added some shredded carrots. Black bean and lentil soups were super delishious but oh boy I am a little shy of filling 7 one quart mason jars. The rest of the menu seem quick so I'm going to make them as I go. I can't wait to try the savory oatmeal & banana wraps. I am a big eater and I think this is more food then I could eat in a week. I can't thank you enough.
@@MsEllen918 yay!! I’m so glad to hear that!! Thank you for coming back to let me know how everything is turning out for you! That meatless meatloaf is definitely our absolute favorite meatless meal so far! I’m so glad you loved it too! ☺️
You could make your own ketchup for pennies. The one you bought was processed and liaded with sugar. Processed foods are also loaded with salt and chemicals.
New subscriber here! Love your ideas and recipes, we are going through some tough financial times. Thank you. P.S. You have beautiful and sparkling clean kitchen ❤
Your recipes and budget are amazing!! Very good vegetarian recipes and options!! I must also tell u I love your old grey doggos that are "helping"!! They are soooo cute!!
I love Aldi so much!! It really makes surviving on a budget possible, especially here in upstate NY, where EVERYTHING except milk is super expensive. EDIT I LOVE YOUR VEGGIE STOCK IDEA
Two things: 1. I completely agree about Aldi's frozen broccoli. It's the best. 2. The egg thing. Wow! Never even thought to look at what I always assume will be the more expensive product. Thank you for that tip. I'm enjoying your videos.
This is my first time seeing your video. After watch I am now a new subscriber. I really watching the shopping and then creating the recipe. You are a very talented cook. I look forward to seeing more videos.
Made your Green lentil, onion meatloaf. I accidentally added the topping before I put the meatloaf in the oven. It seemed slightly undercooked at 45 minutes in the oven. It was pretty good, though and certainly cheaper than a beef meatloaf by a lot! I also bought 3 lb ground beef and 1 lb ground pork. I will be making hamburger patties raw/freeze out of one lb and mix the rest of the meat together and make meatballs (cook, freeze cooked to be thawed and heated in spaghetti sauce.
@@chrisl418 that sounds so good! I bet it’s so nice to have burgers and meatballs ready to go in the freezer. I need to do that soon I’m so glad you tried the meatloaf! How much longer did you end up cooking it for?
All of these recipes look delicious! I love that you didn’t use meat😋. I especially loved the melts and another way to eat the leftover “meat” loaf is cold with mayo and catch up, trust me it’s so delicious even though so simple. Also, thank you for the idea of putting mustard with your ketchup to top the loaf😋
We love Aldi. I agree, their frozen broccoli is great. I like black bean burgers, yours look delicious, as does your "meat" loaf sandwich Yum ! . Thanks for sharing , Happy Easter 🥰🌷💐🌿🐣🐇🥚💗✝
Shredded cheese has “powdered cellulose” to prevent clumping. That is actually powdered wood chips 🤮 It also has “Natamycin” for mold prevention, and that my friends is a prescription eye drop for bacterial and mold eye infections!
Love that you're shopping at Aldi's. Best prices in my area (and that includes Walmart) and good quality products. Smart choice. (Even though those eggs were pricey, they're cheaper than the supermarkets. BUT - watch for sales at the big stores. I recently saw 18 eggs for around $2 at Big Y. Of course, that's a "loss leader" meant to get people into the store and buy other stuff. If you can avoid temptation, though, it's a great way to save some money.)
@@asimskentzos9231 I guess that's a plus for all our high taxes. Not a very accessible healthcare system anymore. We don't pay up front but wait so long for care.
@@asimskentzos9231yeah but most of us won't go to drs much anymore after the whole co vi farce. Don't think ppl trust them much anymore. At least where I'm at in America. I think prices are going up everywhere though. In America food prices have increased about 300% in the last 3 years according to a recent survey done. Crazy!
You did an amazing job! I am definitely going to make up some of those burgers for in my freezer for my vegetarian daughter-in-law nice to have on hand when the rest of us are eating beef and I will of course dry them myself as I like the black bean burgers too
I haven’t got to that part yet to see what you do with everything but I’m sure I’m going to copy all of it lol. I need to get some lentils to make more nacho lentils. I did a while back just cooked them and then added taco seasoning like I would if I were using meat. Then I put it in containers and froze it. I usually do that with meat but we have used it just the same. I take one out of freezer and use it for nachos or taco salad or add refried beans (also homemade from freezer) and make burritos.
I buy a can of sardines and 1 potato, and that’s dinner for under $5. I also buy those breakfast sandwiches that have 4 in a box that covers most of the week’s breakfast.
I would get potatoes before I would purchase bread. Tomatoe paste before ketchup. The Southern cooks holy trinity is celery, onions, and peppers. I actually go for soybeans, fava beans, and quonia for complete proteins.
When ever I cook I save any ends or peels or vegetables that are looking a little old till full in a zip lock bag in the freezer till full.. I also save any bones from roasted or from COSTCO or a local grocery stores have Roasted chicken for $5.00 I buy 2 take them home and take all the meat off the chicken and either freeze the bones or make broth/stock as soon as possible in my crock pot. I love to combine all my frozen vegetable scraps with the chicken bones and make a really great broth! Root to Stalk Vegetable Broth Homemade broth is one of those things that is SO worth it, but can feel like such an effort. We love this root to stalk broth because you can save up all your vegetable scraps in a non-reactive freezer container and make it when you have an extra hour in the kitchen. Our favorite part about this broth is that you get to use the parts of the vegetable you might normally compost, so it's like making delicious broth for free! Root to Stalk Vegetable Broth Homemade broth Serves: makes approximately 1 gallon broth Ingredients ⦁ 3-4 leeks, green parts and ends ⦁ 1 bunch of carrots, tops and bottoms plus 3 whole carrots (remove large parts of green) ⦁ 1 zucchini, roughly chopped ⦁ 1 bunch of celery, tops and bottoms ⦁ 1 large onion, quartered or 3 onions tops and bottoms ⦁ 1 handful parsley ⦁ 1 handful thyme ⦁ 2 cloves garlic, peeled Instructions Directions: ⦁ Dump your vegetable roots and stalks in a large pot. Fill the pot until the water just about covers the vegetables. (The ratio here is about 4 cups water to 3 cups vegetable scraps). Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil, then turn the heat down and simmer for 40 minutes to an hour. ⦁ After the cooking time is up, place a colander over another large pot and strain the broth into the new pot. Season with salt and pepper to taste. The broth will keep in the fridge for up to a week, or freeze for several months. ⦁ You can also make this broth with whole celery, carrots, onions and whatever else you have, so if you don't have a stockpile of frozen vegetable scraps, don't feel left out. ⦁ Here are some other ideas for vegetable scraps you could use depending on the season: asparagus ends, green bean ends, carrot peels, fennel stalks and bottoms, pea pods, chard and kale stalks, cucumber peels, zucchini peels and ends, dried mushrooms, herb stems such as parsley, oregano, thyme and cilantro
I absolutely LOVE that! Thank you so much for sharing your recipe! I do something very similar. I do the same exact thing with the veggie scraps ☺️ they make such a great stock!
First time watching you. Wonderful video. Going to share it with friends who are also on a tight budget. Looking forward to watching more of your videos. ☺️
VIDEO REQUEST: Please do an info video about lentils. I was an adult before I ever heard anyone talk about lentils, & I’ve never eaten them or heard anyone I know talk about them or eat them. It would help a lot of people to know how to use them, recipes that are familiar flavors besides the lentils, what beans, etc. they taste similar to, etc. A lot of people can’t afford to spend their food budget on unknown foods that their family, especially kids & picky eaters may not like.
Ok! That’s an absolutely wonderful idea! I’ll work on that for sure. I have some really delicious lentil recipes I’ll do with them too. Thank you so much for the suggestion!
Electricity is very expensive in my country, so it would be cheaper for me to buy red meat and grill it on some woodfire grill outside instead of cooking beans for hours on the stove then in the oven.
