CheapHealthyFood

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This is a place to share ways to eat inexpensively - whether that's with recipes, finding coupons, or preservation techniques like freezing or pickling.

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Easy meal prep ideas (sh.itjust.works)

submitted 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) by Sciaphobia@sh.itjust.works to c/cheaphealthyfood@lemmy.world

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Hello! Hopefully this isn't a done to death topic, or if it is it isn't annoyingly so. If it is please tell me and I'll remove it!

So I am starting a masters program soon with a very aggressive course load. I have been thinking about a relatively keep-me-aliveable, easily makeable for a week, at least somewhat inexpensive food I can make in one evening that'll last a week.

What I currently have as an idea is:

3 cups uncooked brown Botan calrose rice.
5 pounds uncooked boneless skinless chicken breast.
10 cups spinach or kale.
2 cups uncooked dried garbonzo beans
6 tbsps olive oil

Which would produce 7 servings at about 800 calories each. The downside is this would be about half the calorie intake I should have daily at a minimum, and mostly because of the chicken and rice choice isn't particularly cheap. It would not be crazy expensive, but not what I'd call "cheap".

It would however be fairly filling, and would be pretty reasonably nutrient dense for the calorie cost. It is also something that could be made nearly entirely untended with a rice cooker and crock pot.

Any thoughts, or suggestions to improve the idea without transforming it into something that would be cumbersome to make?

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[–] FranGram26@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

I like the topic! Your recipe is simple and very nutritious! Anything special about that rice?

I have been working on whole-meal recipes that freeze well, wanting to reduce old foods in the frig and freezer - and it worked! Most or all meals use an instant pot because of convenience and less cleanup. Oh, and I did invest in an extra instant pot liner, the metal basket, and a few cook cookbooks. If anyone is interested, I can share more in a post. I will say that rice doesn't freeze as long as the 4-month (+) recipes I do, so I cook that up later. Rice and breads have only about a month in the freezer. Still faster than looking around to see what dinner I should make today!

[–] Sciaphobia@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 week ago

Botan calrose rice is a medium grain rice with some starch but not a lot. Gives it a soft, chewy texture, and some stickiness but not too much. It's good for Japanese curries that I also make sometimes, and it just happens to work for this as well!