Five Ingredients or Less – And cheap!

Creating healthy meals can be difficult.  Creating healthy meals on a budget can be even harder.  And creating meals that are healthy, low-cost AND your whole family will like?  It can make your head spin.

So here are some 5-ingredient-or-less recipes that are healthy and are very inexpensive and which, through careful couponing, I am enjoying for pennies (or free) per meal this week:

Breakfast or Any Time Strawberry Vanilla Shake (serves 1)

• 1/2 oz fat-free sugar-free instant vanilla pudding mix
• 2 cups strawberries, sliced (they are in-season right now and dirt-cheap)
• 1 cup fat free or 1% milk
• 1/2 cup plain fat-free or low-fat yogurt

Place all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth.  Yields about 1 1/4 cup

Ham Wraps & Soup (lunch or dinner)

• 6″ whole wheat tortilla
• tbsp mayonnaise of mayonnaise
• 2 slices deli ham
• 1 slice low-fat cheese
• Progresso Zero-point Vegetable soup

spread tortilla with mayo, lay on ham & cheese, roll & microwave until the cheese melts (if desired).  Serve with a cup of soup

Caeser Chicken Pasta Salad

• 1 box Sudenly Salad Caesar (use the Coupon Bar in my sdiebar to print off up to 2 $.40 coupons…they go on & off sale all summer for $1.  After doubling they are $.20 each)
• 3 Tbsp olive oil (instead of the vegetable oil in the package directions)
• 1 package Purdue Shortcuts (plain variety) (these go on sale BOGO all the time…just clip & save your coupons and wait!) or 1/2 pound grilled chicken, cubed
• any lightly steamed veggies you care to throw in (even though it isn’t “technically Caesar”, I throw in halved grape tomatoes, but I don’t steam those)
• Parmesean cheese for topping (if desired)

Prepare pasta according to package directions.  Mix in all other ingredients + seasoning package from box.  A very filling main dish!

What are your favorite frugal dishes?

This post if part of Works For Me Wednesday, hosted by Rocks In My Dryer