5 Simple & Affordable Meals for Budget-Friendly Eating

Lots of blogs and websites claim to offer recipes for budget meals, however once you look at the details they expect you to have over 20 different ingredients and the preparations are complicated and take forever!

So here at MoneyStrands we have put together a list of 5 affordable and simple meals for you to try. No fancy ingredients or complicated instructions – just good food.

Let’s get started:

1. Avocado Toast

Start your day off right with a tasty breakfast. Avocado toast is all the rage, but adding a poached egg on top takes it to a whole new level and completes the nutritional trifecta of: protein, unsaturated fats, and carbs. Parmesan cheese and fresh herbs sprinkled on top can be added for that extra pinch of flavor!

Cooking ingredients: Toast, eggs, avocado.

2. Tacos

Tacos. Who doesn’t like them? They can be incredibly versatile and you can use any food you have on hand to create this magical meal. The only real requirement here is whether to use taco shells or tortillas. Thats entirely up to you. Fill these beauties with whatever you prefer or try the follow

Cooking ingredients:

• Any meat (ground beef, chicken, or fish)
• Any beans (black beans, pinto beans, refried beans, or black eyed peas)
• Any veggies (tomatoes, avocado, lettuce, peppers, salsa, etc.)
• Don’t forget the taco shells or tortillas! Or get creative and use both.

3. Super Simple Salmon

This salmon dish is a quick and healthy option full of Omega 3. Simply bake until your seasoned salmon is cooked all the way through (about 12 to 15 minutes). It should be brown and flakey on each side when done. Add a bit of lemon for an extra flavor boost.

Cooking ingredients: Salmon, lemon, butter, and garlic (season with salt/pepper/basil if you like!)

4. Mac ‘N’ Cheese

Treat yourself to a tasty and creamy pasta dish that is easy to make! This has been a dorm room food staple for quite some time. You only need a few ingredients to impress your family and friends with this dish, and we assure you that everyone will be wanting seconds.

Cooking ingredients:

• Penne pasta
• cheese cooking sauce
• cheese
• and bacon (Add some breadcrumbs on top to kick it up a notch.)

5. Burritos

Similar to taco’s, and definitely worth a try. Again, with this dish you can use anything. Leave it up to your culinary imagination but make sure to combine some of your favorite ingredients to find the right balance. Easy to make, quite filling, and low cost, don’t forget to do a quick pan-fry of the tortilla to seal the edges as well as make the outside a bit crispy!

If you can’t think of what ingredients to use, you can always default to the standard choices of beans, veggies, meat of your choice, rice, and cheese.