Post: #1

I'm looking for a recipes that are hybrid between being cheap, fast to make, and nutritious. Taste isn't the most important thing, low cost and nutritious are. Not recipes you would make for a date or for friends. Share any you have.

Anti's Chili
Bunch of beans and some meat in a pot.

8 cans of assorted beans
2 lbs ground beef or pork
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
1 onion
1 small bag of frozen mixed vegetables
1 off the shelf chili or taco seasoning packet
random amount of tomato sauce

prep:

1.)Open all beans and drain. Do not drain if you get ones that are already in their own chili sauce.
2.)Put all beans in crockpot on high.
3.)Brown ground beef + onion in frying pan
4.)Add ground beef to crockpot.
5.)Add diced tomatoes/paste/mixed veggies/and seasoning packet.
6.)Cook on high until it starts to boil, turn to low for an hour. Store in mason jars in freezer.

Cost:
One mason jar is equivalent to one meal. Costs between 2-2.50 per meal depending on what type beans you buy. Makes about 11-12 meals.

I like it because it takes only about 20 minutes to prepare. Then about 5-10 minutes to store in jars. I place all but one jar in the freezer, the last one the fridge. Everytime I take one out the fridge, I replace with one from the freezer. I can also it right out of the jar.

My friends actually love this recipe for some reason. It tastes bland to me, but maybe that's because I eat it so damn much.

Post: #2

Shaved Steak Sandwich

Handful of shaved steak
Diced oniones + peppers
Toast

Prep:

Put a small tab of butter in a frying pan on high. Through peppers in, cook for about 3-4 minutes. Throw in onions and shaved steak. Cook until shaved steak is no longer red, usually only a few minutes. Put between toast with some mayo and cheese if you want.

I like it because again its super fast to make, good protein, some veggies, and some fat.

I bough $10 of shaved steak and it made 4 of these. So all together its probably around $3 a meal.

Post: #3

I do skillet potatoes and minced pork (sausage isn't much of an option in Thailand) and make enough for 2-3 days. Then each morning I scramble it up with 5 eggs in grass fed butter.

Post: #4

Do not use canned tomatoes. They are supposed to release pseudo hormones in the can. Tetrabrik/box ones are safe.

Post: #5

Breakfast Protein Shake

12oz water or milk
1 package of quaker instant oatmeal (~ 1/2 cup)
Raw egg
Couple drops of honey

Somewhere around 40g of protein, depends on if you use water or milk. Tastes good. I normally combine with a simple breakfast sandwich for a bomb start to the day.

Simple Breakfast Sandwich

4 eggs
Diced peppers and onions
little bit of diced ham
toast

Make a four egg omelet, cut it in half so it fits on the toast. Add a piece of cheese/mayo/ketchup/sriracha. Takes about 5 minutes, costs around $1.50.

Post: #6

(12-29-2014 02:30 PM)GauchoNomade Wrote:  Do not use canned tomatoes. They are supposed to release pseudo hormones in the can. Tetrabrik/box ones are safe.

You have a link to a good resource to verify that? There's tons of broscience and soccer mom scares out there.

Post: #7

My go-to is pulled pork.

1.5-2lbs or so pork shoulder (fucking kgs )
A couple small onions
A couple cloves of garlic
Some seasoning -- Cracked pepper and salt will do, but I also add a little cayenne; a little red pepper flakes if you want to really give it a kick
Bottle/can of dark beer
Optional: Liquid smoke
Optional: BBQ or hot sauce

1) Dice the onions and garlic
2) Season the pork on both sides, using the back side of a spoon to rub it in
3) Add everything to the crockpot in layers -- pork, onions/garlic, pork, onions/garlic
4) Add the beer -- pour it down the side so it doesn't wash off the seasoning
5) Add the liquid smoke (you can get a little more generous than usual, since there's already so much beer)
6) Cook on low for 8 hours
7) Pull the pork out and shred it with a couple forks; run the liquid through a strainer to catch the cooked onions, which can be added back to the pork
Extra:
8) Add the pork back to the pot with a little BBQ (about 1/3 to 1/2 the bottle, depending how wet you want it), just for 10-20 minutes or so to heat up the sauce

There's a lot of different ways to eat this. Over brown rice or on a toasted hamburger bun (with some sliced tomatoes and/or green pepper, if I'm feeling fancy). But then I switch up the sauces also. Sometimes I'll use brown BBQ, sometimes I'll use a Carolina-style mustard-based BBQ (which is fucking delicious), others I'll just keep the pork plain and drizzle a little hot sauce on there. You could also make tacos and all kinds of other shit.

This recipe makes roughly four or so meals (including the rice), but it doesn't take up the whole crockpot, so you could easily double (or possibly even triple) it. About 10 or 20 minutes of prep time.

My price numbers would be off for most of you, since everything except the barbecue sauce is dirt cheap out here. It's around $1.50 to $2.00 a meal.

Post: #8

that sounds awesome enigma. I'll make a batch of it in a couple days and let you know how it comes out

Post: #9

Super simple and delicious:

Crock pot ribs

Buy 3-4 pounds of pork ribs, and 1-2 18oz bottles of BBQ sauce (I haven't made my own yet). Chop up 1-2 cloves of garlic. Throw the ribs in the crock pot, then the garlic, then 1 tsp of sea salt, then empty the entire bottle of BBQ sauce. Turn on low, 6-8 hours (3-4 hours on high if impatient). Turn occasionally. When done, turn the oven on broil HIGH, top the ribs with some more sauce, throw in oven for 10 minutes. Serve.

Crock pot wings

Buy a bag of chicken wings. 1 large bottle of frank's red hot sauce, 1 packet of hidden valley ranch dry powder (original recipe). Mix the hot sauce with the ranch and 2 tbsp of melted butter. Throw the wings in the crock pot, top with sauce. 6-8 hours on low OR 3-4 hours on high. Take out of crock pot, top with hot sauce, 10 minutes on broil HIGH in the oven, serve.

Crock pot rib roast

Recipe coming soon.

AKA buy a crock pot. Stuff from a crock pot is ridiculously tender and juicy. These are super high in good fat and good protein. The BBQ sauce adds a little bit of carbs. If you must add carbs to the meal, just add sweet potatoes.

Edit: Buy some quality glass tupperware. If you live alone as I do, these recipes make WAY WAY more food than you can eat, even on a heavy bulk. Save it, reheat later.

Post: #10

Raw egg?

I know people are all about that but it just seems gross to me.

Post: #11

(12-29-2014 02:48 PM)Enigma Wrote:  My go-to is pulled pork.

1.5-2lbs or so pork shoulder (fucking kgs )
A couple small onions
A couple cloves of garlic
Some seasoning -- Cracked pepper and salt will do, but I also add a little cayenne; a little red pepper flakes if you want to really give it a kick
Bottle/can of dark beer
Optional: Liquid smoke
Optional: BBQ or hot sauce

1) Dice the onions and garlic
2) Season the pork on both sides, using the back side of a spoon to rub it in
3) Add everything to the crockpot in layers -- pork, onions/garlic, pork, onions/garlic
4) Add the beer -- pour it down the side so it doesn't wash off the seasoning
5) Add the liquid smoke (you can get a little more generous than usual, since there's already so much beer)
6) Cook on low for 8 hours
7) Pull the pork out and shred it with a couple forks; run the liquid through a strainer to catch the cooked onions, which can be added back to the pork
Extra:
8) Add the pork back to the pot with a little BBQ (about 1/3 to 1/2 the bottle, depending how wet you want it), just for 10-20 minutes or so to heat up the sauce

got this brewing up in a slow cooker right now. It'll be in there for about 9 hours until morning.

Grocery store was out of pork shoulder, so I'm going with pulled chicken instead. I also picked up a premixed bbq pulled pork seasoning packet and rubbed the hell out of the chicken with it. Hopefully it will taste fine using chicken with a pulled pork seasoning packet. I'm sure it will be fine.

I didn't know how much liquid smoke to us, I ended up using about 1/4 to a 1/3 of a small bottle.

Cost breakdown:

2.2lbs of skinless boneless chicken breast - 6.43
3 small yellow onions - 1.12
1/4 bottle liquid smoke - .76
pulled pork seasoning packet - 1.50
Hickory smoke BBQ sauce - 1.50
1 Extra Stout Guiness - 1.50
Total cost - 12.81

I don't know how many servings. with 2.2 lbs of chicken I'm hoping for 5. That would $2.56 per serving. Add the cost of whatever I put it on, rice/bread/potatoes/etc. Total cost of the meal should be right around $3 or so.

I'll let you know how it goes. Oh yeah, prep time was about 15 minutes.

Post: #12

(12-29-2014 04:40 PM)DJ-Matt Wrote:  Raw egg?

I know people are all about that but it just seems gross to me.

I used to think that too, but it adds a nice creamy texture to shakes. Maybe try it and see if its for you.

Post: #13

Cans? Thats not cooking.

Post: #14

(12-30-2014 09:18 AM)germanico Wrote:  Cans? Thats not cooking.

Thanks for your profound contribution to the thread.

Post: #15

(12-29-2014 09:01 PM)AntiTrace Wrote:  got this brewing up in a slow cooker right now. It'll be in there for about 9 hours until morning.

Grocery store was out of pork shoulder, so I'm going with pulled chicken instead. I also picked up a premixed bbq pulled pork seasoning packet and rubbed the hell out of the chicken with it. Hopefully it will taste fine using chicken with a pulled pork seasoning packet. I'm sure it will be fine.

I didn't know how much liquid smoke to us, I ended up using about 1/4 to a 1/3 of a small bottle.

Yeah, pulled chicken is good too. I need to jump on some of that soon, actually.

I read online that goat meat turns out really well also. Been meaning to track some down.

As for the liquid smoke, I usually only use a tablespoon or so, as opposed to the couple drops they recommend with most cooking. You'll probably still be fine, it's just really easy to overdo it with that stuff so I'm always a little cautious.

Once you throw the barbecue on there, it's tends to overpower a lot of the seasonings anyway.

Post: #16

^ that's basically what I do all the time.
Throw any piece of meat I can get my hands on in the crockpot.
Add some onions, liquid smoke, spices,celery, tomatoes,garlic,apple cider vinegar and a spoon of honey.

I put it in the owen over the night on 100 degrees celsius.
In the morning I rip everything a part with a fork and let it rest during the day.
In the evening I take a few big spoons of meat and some sauce and heat it up in my pan.
Then I crack 5-10 eggs over it and mix them until they are scrambled.
Voila!

Eating this together with Chaos' carb free bread is not a bad idea.

Another meal I make all the time is :
500gr of ground beef.
In the pan together with some garlic, onion and peppers and then I crack 5-10 eggs over it. Voila!

I'm able to do much more advanced cooking, but this is so simple,cheap, nutritious and tasty so I basically eat it every day.

If a girl comes over I usually prepare together with her a big salmon with potatoes and white mushroom sauce and a salad.
Tasty as fuck.

Now I'm hungry as a wolf.

Post: #17

(12-30-2014 01:05 PM)Enigma Wrote:  

(12-29-2014 09:01 PM)AntiTrace Wrote:  got this brewing up in a slow cooker right now. It'll be in there for about 9 hours until morning.

Grocery store was out of pork shoulder, so I'm going with pulled chicken instead. I also picked up a premixed bbq pulled pork seasoning packet and rubbed the hell out of the chicken with it. Hopefully it will taste fine using chicken with a pulled pork seasoning packet. I'm sure it will be fine.

I didn't know how much liquid smoke to us, I ended up using about 1/4 to a 1/3 of a small bottle.

Yeah, pulled chicken is good too. I need to jump on some of that soon, actually.

I read online that goat meat turns out really well also. Been meaning to track some down.

As for the liquid smoke, I usually only use a tablespoon or so, as opposed to the couple drops they recommend with most cooking. You'll probably still be fine, it's just really easy to overdo it with that stuff so I'm always a little cautious.

Once you throw the barbecue on there, it's tends to overpower a lot of the seasonings anyway.

this came out awesome! Have enough pulled chicken for a good 4-5 meals. tastes amazing! Super easy recipe, super easy prep. Well done Enigma!

Post: #18

I built a real simple program that you can use to calculate cost of recipes as accurately as possible, just enter information from the receipt.

Basically you take all the ingredients you use, enter in how much the ingredient you use (1 for the entire thing, like you used all the chicken you bought, .5 or whatever for using something like half an onion), and enter in how much the item cost from the grocery store receipt.

Gives you the total cost, and the cost per serving (if you enter # of servings you expect). I'll probably expand it to count for macros too. If anyones interested shoot me a pm and Ill email you the file.

Post: #19

Baked Chicken:

1 pack chicken drums or thighs
Rub with olive oil
Put seasoning (salt & pepper OR seasoned salt OR montreal steak seasoning)
Bake at 350 for 1 hour

If you want to do chicken breast, bake for 450 for 20 minutes, it will come out perfect.

Prep time is almost 0, and is easily the cheapest possible, yet tasty meat dish.

Post: #20

Chili is a great, simple meal. Only adjustment I would make to anti's chili is to use cans of "6 bean blend" vs buying a bunch of different single variety cans. If you've got a good variety of spices, skip the packaged seasoning as it tends to be high in salt/msg. Cumin, crushed chili peppers, cayenne pepper.. half a can of beer. Just finished off a huge pot of chili I just made. Good shit!

Tired right now but I'll drop a recipe for some killer jerk chicken pasta sauce tomorrow if I remember. Awesome on penne/rice/subs/wraps.

Also have a killer crispy unbreaded drumstick recipe to drop.

Post: #21

I've done Chilli and slow cooked pull pork on my crock pot. But I gotta know. How do you guys eat the same thing 3 to 4 days in a row???

The one thing I can do 2 days in a row (which is my max) is beef burgers.

1 lb minced beef
Small Shallot, grated
Clove garlic, grated
1 egg
Salt and Pepper to taste.

Make into desired thickness, grill n serve.

Post: #22

^ 3-4 days in a row?
Hah. I have eaten the same food for 3-4 months in a row.
It would never bother me.

Two things.

-You need to start cooking the food what you truly enjoy.
I do that. I wouldn't want anything else.
I eat exactly what I want every day.

- You need to start looking on food as fuel.
What's the best possible fuel you can put in your body?

Drive your body on good fuel and you will never go back to eating crap.
Even if it means eating a lot of the same dishes.

Post: #23

Cornish Hen

1 cornish hen - They normally come in packs of two.
Handfull of asparagus
Mashed sweet potatoes
Diced red peppers and onions

Prep:

That cornish hen, heat oven to 350. Rub spices if you want on it, I like me hens like I like my women, au natural. Pop in oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Baste with butter a few times if you want.

At the one hour mark, throw the asparagus with some better in a skillet. Splash in some water, and cook on high. I like to cook on high because it chars a bit which I like.

At the same time, throw a handful of diced red peppers and onions surrounded the cornish hen.

When the hen comes out at the 75 minute mark, throw your mashed sweet potatoes in the microwave.

I buy pre mashed sweet potatoes, it's cheap enough and healthier than any type of flavored mashed potatoes. They heat up while the hen cools.

Enjoy. You have chicken, potatoes, and veggies. It gets into the more expensive side, as the hen is normally 3-4 bucks and the asparagus bundle is a buck or two. Also you can replace the peppers and onions with apples slices, apple slices cooked in chicken fat taste amazing.

Post: #24

Some low carb, decent protein soup recipes from the file, all pretty cheap and good for building lean muscle -

[Edit to below, I've since discovered that mixing the cheese in with a roux first will help it emulsify better, at the cost of adding carbs]

Broccoli + cheese

2 quarts chicken stock
3 Broccoli crowns (1.5 lbs)
1.5 lbs cheddar cheese
2 cups mushrooms chopped
2 cups spinach chopped
1 cup chopped ham
1 tsp crushed hot pepper
4 large garlic cloves chopped fine
3 tbsp corn starch
1-2 tbsp soy lecithin

Chop broccoli bite sized, florets in stock, bring to simmer, add garlic, pepper, lecithin, cheese, and ham

Broccoli stalks in smaller pot with 1 inch of water, add mushrooms, spinach bring to simmer. After 10 minutes blend up, mixing with stock if necessary and pour in with rest of soup. Add corn starch.



Chicken, leek + cabbage
2 quarts chicken stock
2 lbs chicken breast, cooked and diced
½ large or 1 small head cabbage
1 bunch (3-4) leeks
2 cups chopped spinach
2 cups chopped mushrooms (shitake caps good)
½ cup olive oil
1 tbsp soy lecithin
1 tbsp crushed savory (opt)

Simmer cabbage and leeks in broth 20-30 minutes. Add chicken and other veggies, mix oil and lecithin on surface and stir in. Simmer another 20-30 minutes.



French onion

1 quart beef stock (small batch since onions go soggy if sitting for days)
2 lbs onions
1 lb shredded mozzarella
1 loaf “When Pigs Fly” whole wheat low carb crusty bread

Simmer broth and onions for ½ hour, toast bread, put on top bowl of soup, douse in cheese, toast again.

Post: #25

I been living on peanut butter and and banana sandwiches in Peru :/