What's the cheapest hot meal you can make every day with multiple fresh vegetables?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some variation of beans and rice. My parents are Indian immigrants and my mom’s go-to meal to cook when she’s feeling lazy is a rice and red lentil soup. You can add whatever veggies you want and a giant pot (10-12 servings?) costs about $5. It’s also delicious.

Like kitchdi?

http://lapetitchef.in/recipe/khichdi-one-pot-rice-lentil-stew

1/2 c rice
1/2 c lentils
1 cup chopped veggies
onion
garlic
ginger
red chili
green chili

plus a LOT of spices...

[Anonymous]

One of my staple meals is rice, a lentil and veggie stew and a veggie side. Use whatever veggies that you can find on sale and seasonal (for instance cabbage is generally cheap). You can skip the veggie side and just go with rice and lentil/veggie stew. Vary spices, vary the actual veggies and vary the grains and you have endless combinations.

[Anonymous]

Menemen/shakshuka is inexpensive, veggie forward and tasty

[Anonymous]

No one has mentioned beans?

Red beans and rice with onion, green peppers, and some kind of spicy sausage. You don’t need a whole pound of sausage because you get a complete protein from the beans and rice— the sausage is for flavor.

When I make this, it costs $5-6 for 6 servings (3 servings per night over two nights). It’s not super veggie focused but still very healthy.

You do need the right seasoning on hand though. Cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, garlic (fresh is better but I’ll use powder in a pinch).

This is a good way to feed a lot of people cheaply.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some variation of beans and rice. My parents are Indian immigrants and my mom’s go-to meal to cook when she’s feeling lazy is a rice and red lentil soup. You can add whatever veggies you want and a giant pot (10-12 servings?) costs about $5. It’s also delicious.

Like kitchdi?

http://lapetitchef.in/recipe/khichdi-one-pot-rice-lentil-stew

1/2 c rice
1/2 c lentils
1 cup chopped veggies
onion
garlic
ginger
red chili
green chili

plus a LOT of spices...

PP here - ha, yes, but my mom’s is the lazy version so she literally just boils rice, salt, turmeric, and lentils together and sometimes throws in vegetables if she wants to chop them, no other spices or garlic/onion. We serve it with lemon and spicy pickle (aachar) so the flavoring mostly comes from that.

[Anonymous]

Lettuce and tomato aren’t really quality veggies.

Stir fry
Fried rice
Veggie bean soup
Veggie omelet
Salad with hard boiled eggs
Veggie burritos or fajitas

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm trying to think but my guess so far is Mexican tacos. A head of lettuce is $1.50-2 and lasts two weeks. Tomatoes for a week is $3. Taco shells are $3 for a week. Cheese is $3 for a week. 1 pound of meat is $5.

So 7-10 meals for $15-16 isn't bad I think.

NP. I make taco filling with lentils, canned tomato, onion, spices in the crock pot (lots of recipes if you Google). Lentils are about $1.50/ lb where I live, sometimes on sale for 99 cents, and are very filling.

[Anonymous]

Here's to frozen vegetables. I think at Lidl the frozen broccoli is $1 per pound. They have lots of other choices too, but I love broccoli.

Toss it frozen with some olive oil and soy sauce and put in 425 degree oven for 30-40 minutes until it browns a bit. Try to spread it out on a cookie sheet so some of the moisture evaporates.
Pan fry a few Lidl sausages, or roast on another pan. I think on sale this week they were like $2 a pound.
Toss together. Maybe serve with pasta or rice if you like to spread things out.

Also agree with the mushu vegetables poster. Cabbage is pretty cheap, and forms the bulk of this dish. Can also spread a little bit of meat here, if you eat that, and delicious without.

[Anonymous]

Beans and rice

Beef stew. Just use a small amount of beef for flavor. One pound can make a huge pot. Add an onion, canned tomatoes, and any kind of veggies (potatoes, carrots, corn, green peas, Lima beans, etc.), thyme and a couple of bay leaves.