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Your favourite frugal, healthy breakfasts and lunches

4K views 32 replies 24 participants last post by  OhPioneer1806 
#1 ·
Now that 2011 is here and lots of us are dedicating this year to getting healthier and slimmer, I was wondering what your one favourite healthy breakfast and one favourite healthy lunch meal would be?

I'm always on the lookout for new, healthy, quick and affordable meal time ideas, so thought we could maybe share them.

Breakfast is usually tea, coffee or fruit juice for me :couch: and as I eat my lunch in an office most days, my favourite lunch is pretty basic: chicken salad sandwiches with mayo. I could live on them. So what's yours? :)
 
#2 ·
I am not a good breakfast eater whatsoever. I need to work on this.

I'm making an effort to include more whole grains and such in my diet. When I eat breakfast it's typically whole or multi grain toast with peanut butter.

Lunch is usually leftovers, but I found a recipe I want to try for black bean burritos. Just rinse black beans and heat with Mexican stewed tomatoes. Serve with a tortilla. Seems easy, healthy, and filling.
 
#3 ·
Eating breakfast is an important part of so many challenges here because it's what gives us the fuel to get up and get moving!

My favorite frugal breakfasts are:

1) Oatmeal (I eat in plain, without butter, although I will be the first to admit that swimming in cream, butter and sugar tastes really, really good! But since that's not particularly good for me, it has to be relegated to the category of very rare treat and I have learned to like it plain!).
2) Eggs and rice, with or without a couple pieces of bacon or sausage. I wouldn't have thought of having rice with breakfast before I lived in Hawaii there, but it is really good!
3) In a rush I'll have a small handful of nuts, usually almonds or brazil nuts that we've purchased from the bulk bins.

I'm thinking it might be a good idea to rename this thread the Eat Your Breakfast challenge or something like that? Otherwise it doesn't seem to belong in a challenge thread, but I think the intent was to challenge us all to have a healthy breakfast each a.m. :)
 
#6 ·
You know, you're definitely right, it doesn't quite fit in properly here as it is. In retrospect, I think I should have put it in the 'Health and Beauty' section - whoops, sorry :dunce:. It's either that or making it a Eat Your Healthy Breakfast and Lunch challenge - whatever you think works better :).

Some delicious stuff so far that I definitely want to try :hungry:
 
#4 ·
My frugal and healthy breakfast would be oatmeal banana muffins plus i add 1 cup chopped nuts to recipe so i just call it oatmeal,banana,nut muffins.they make 18 by adding nuts so i wrap them in saran wrap and freeze some.
 
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#8 ·
I have Greek Yogurt with some granola in it almost every work day. I take it to work and eat it at my desk once I get there. Sometimes I'll have toast and peanut butter, sometimes a protein bar or a protein shake. I bring fruit for a mid morning snack, then lunch is either leftovers, some homemade soup, a salad from home or a sandwich. I have something sweet in the afternoon as a snack.
 
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#9 ·
My favorite breakfast is Chocolate malt o meal with peanut butter stirred in. Cheap, tummy and very filling

Little Miss's favorite breakfast is omelet in a mug. It is easy for her to cook and is filling She can change it up to by adding or deleting items (except cheese ans eggs she must have those)Omelet in a Mug Recipe - Allrecipes.com
 
#11 ·
I'm also a yogurt and granola breakfast person. If you get the Kashi granola, it comes with dehydrated bits of fruit in it already, so you get the extra points!! :)

Lunch is very often just a protein bar or fruit for me. I never know where I'm going to be, so I typically don't pack anything, because I'm often not somewhere where I have access to a fridge or a place to sit down and eat!!

Occasionally, if I do bring lunch into work, I'll try to bring something that will keep a day if I don't get to it (have a fridge in my office), such as leftovers or pasta.
 
#12 ·
My favorite healthy breakfasts are :
oatmeal/raisins
egg&toast
toast&peanut butter
greek yogurt and fruit
waffle with defrosted blueberries for syrup
pumpkin bran muffins

I'm going to be trying to healthify my lunches. I plan on:
soups/cracker or roll/fruit
beans in a tortilla w/salsa
brown rice and veggies
 
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#14 ·
Am gonna try to do the oatmeal in the rice cooker more often...each person can add in their own favourite accompaniments. Coffee chains sell precooked oatmeal for $2-$5/2c portion. A 1kg bag of oatmeal costs me $1.50 on sale which is when I stock up - 5 bags at a time. ;)

Weekday Breakky Quickies:
Usually its toast with marg/jam or pb/jam or cheese, a hard boiled egg (prepped weekly so its just grab and go in the am's) and a fruit - whatever we have on hand. Drink of choice is coffee, soy/reg milk or water.

Quickie Lunches: instant dried noodles (not ramen) with premade frozen wontons and greens, lunchmeat sammies, cheese or tuna w/crackers & salad and/or fruit with a cup of soup packet OR leftover homemade soup, larger salad w/can of tuna or eggs on top. Leftovers are frugal and fine with me also :)
 
#15 ·
we cook oatmeal in the microwave

Individual servings so every can make their own when ever they want.

1/2 cup rolled oats and 1 cup water in a microwave safe bowl. we set the microwave for 3 mins and walk away. We use to have to watch it so it didn't boil over but that doesn't happen in our "new" bowls.

Stir in what is desired

My Hubby and son like with with brown sugar and peanut butter.

Little Miss like syrup.
 
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#17 ·
Thanks for the ideas, folks. There are plenty of things here that I never would have thought of; rice at breakfast, for instance.

This month, I'm going to try having a glass of fruit juice or a smoothie and a multi-vitamin every single morning. Hopefully this will get me accustomed to having something first thing and I can step it up to a more substantial meal in February.
 
#19 ·
I do the same as well as homemade yogurt, waffles and healthy breakfast cookies for the kids. I love salads and homemade forcaccia for lunch.
 
#21 ·
I bought some steel cut oats at the grocery this weekend. I eat a high protein diet, and they have 7 grams of protein per serving. I have them cooking on the stove now and then I will just warm them up when I get to work.
 
#26 ·
This is how I found the recipe for rice cooker oatmeal originally before testing it out with reg oatmeal.

For the steel cut type (which I want to try soon) - the ratio is 1c steel cut oatmeal with 1-1/2 to 1-3/4c water and let soak overnight in the rice cooker. Press cook once in the am and it apparently turns out nice, soft with a bit of chewiness to them.

For the reg oatmeal (not instant pouches) the ratio is 1c oatmeal to 1-1/2c to 1-3/4c water, press cook once and voila - cooked perfectly and no need to fear the microwave boil over.

I store the leftover oatmeal in the fridge and eat whenever I feel like it - as a starch instead of taters or rice or as a snack - mix in some light pancake syrup or pb or choc chips and nuke gently. Yum!
 
#22 ·
I also have breakfast at work. I usually rotate the following: otmeal with nuts and raisins/dried cranberries or blueberries, half a pb sandwich and banana, hm granola and milk.

Lunch is usually leftovers
 
#24 ·
I like eating an egg and an English muffin with some juice for breakfast. I also make homemade breakfast burritos with homemade salsa, spinach wraps, eggs, onion, a little sausage and some sour creme.
 
#25 ·
-cereal with milk & fruit (a nice and healthy cereal that's not loaded with SUGAR)
-eggs, toast and usually a hunk of some type of cheese
-I often will eat LO for breaky
 
#27 ·
I bought large bags of frozen fruit at Costco and have been loving 1 cup of that with either homemade drop-biscuits or oatmeal for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert. Anytime I'm wanting filling but sweet food.
 
#31 ·
I double Alton Brown's Crockpot Oatmeal recipe and when it is done, I divide it up into single servings. Hubby heats in the microwave and eats on the way to work. I heat and eat most every morning. I love it with dehydrated apricots, bananas, and craisins.

Hubby thinks he has died and gone to heaven. I did not like oatmeal until I tried this. I use whatever dried fruit I have on hand and powdered milk or 1% milk instead of Half and Half (cuts the calories). No sweetener is needed because of the natural sugar in the fruit.

Overnight Oatmeal Recipe : Alton Brown : Food Network
 
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