Frugal

Lentils and rice. Saute 2 tablespoons of cumin seeds and 2 tablespoons of coriander powder in some neutral oil. Add 5 cups water, salt and pepper, bring to a boil. Put in a cup of brown lentils and reduce to simmer. Simmer for 10 min. Add a cup of rice, cover and cook on low for 20 min.

Serve with caramelized onions and yogurt if you're fancy. Skip that and serve with cheese if you're me. I shamelessly stole this and bastardized it from Christopher Kimball's mujaddara recipe.

It sounds like more work than it is. Toast spices, 5c water, 1c lentils for 10 min, 1c rice for 20 min, bob's your uncle.

My frugal go-to is instant ramen with a handful of frozen veg and whatever leftover protein is in the fridge or a fried egg on top. Also if you don't like the flavour packets that come with them,just add some siracha or soja or chilli flakes :)

White rice cooked with an egg with a small piece of baked Salmon. Mix in some Soy sauce, Wasabi and walnuts.

Spaghetti with tomato sauce. I don't many my own pasta, but a couple pounds of spaghetti will keep me going for a week. Just gotta watch for acid reflux and shirt stains.

I don't eat meat but back when I did and was very poor, Meijer always had turkey legs for practically nothing. You can brown a couple in oil then boil them in broth or bouillon cubes until they are falling off the bone then either mix up some homemade dumplings or take a cheap can of biscuits and make dumplings from that. If you can't afford cream, instant mashed potatoes works very well to thicken the broth. Most people I know that eat meat don't like turkey except at Thanksgiving, but it was quite delicious and filling.

Breakfast: Oatmeal with milk, a spoonful of yoghurt and a banana.

I either use ramen as a base and put eggs and veggies in it, or I have scrambled eggs with hashbrowns. For some reason, these meals don't fatigue me and I can eat them constantly.

I once had someone go, "But what about all the salt in the ramen?" Thing is, I don't snack and I don't eat big meals so I'm not actually getting a lot of salt from other sources, and the ramen doesn't put me over what a normal adult should have.

It's always important to put nutrition in context. Things that are "unhealthy" if you are eating them AND THEN snacking all day from dawn to dusk are providing necessary calories and fat for someone who is not eating to excess.

Hotdogs with or without bun. Ketchup and mustard.

Red rice and pinto beans, veggie and beef stuffed red sauce enchiladas. Uses only a pound a ground beef mostly veg. End up with 10 meals.

Bananas, clementines, apples, or grapes for fruit.

Waffles and bagels for breakfast.

Peanut butter sandwich and pretzels for lunch.

Kraft Mac and cheese for dinner.

Bagels or ice cream for dessert. (I like bagels ok?

Typical day: 2 waffles ($0.55) 2 bagels ($2.25) 1 banana ($0.40) 2 clementines ($0.80) 1 PB sandwich ($0.75) 1/3 Kraft Mac and cheese ($0.50) 1/5 pounds of pretzels ($0.80) 1/8 tub of ice cream ($0.65)

Total cost: $6.70/day for all my food.

5-pack bratwurst on sale for $2.99. 5-lb bag of potatoes regular price is $2.99. 5lb Bag of frozen green beans from Costco is $8. Considering the bratwurst gets you 5 meals of protein, the potatoes will get you about 10 meals of carbs, and the beans will get you 10 meals of fiber/veg....1 bratwurst, 1 potato, and 1/2 lb of green beans per meal ends up costing: $1.70 per meal. This is one of my many go-to weekday meals.

I've been doing potato cabbage soup with sausage as my go-to but I'm looking for some other ideas.