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  1. #1
    Gastric Sleeve Member Dutchie's Avatar
    Name
    Simonne
    Surgery date
    01/03/2017
    Surgeon
    Dr. Pablo Enriquez Valens
    Join Date
    Dec 2016
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    07-05-2020 12:35 AM
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    Default Please share you favorite budget-friendly recipe?

    We all know that eating healthy can be really expensive.
    A hot dog is way cheaper than whole foods after all.
    I eat as healthy as I can, but sometimes I use processed ingredients for the sake of easy and cheap cooking.
    I meal plan, make freezer meals, and try to stay low budget at the same time.

    So, here is the challenge:
    Can you share your budget-friendly, but still healthy recipes here?
    Meat, fish, vegetarian, vegan, anything goes...
    I really hope to get much inspiration from this thread!

    I will start:

    Spanakorizo.
    Very tasty and feeds a crowd.


    INGREDIENTS
    4 servings
    2 pound fresh spinach, chopped (or use frozen spinach as I do)
    1 red onion, finely chopped
    6 large cloves of garlic, sliced
    ½ cup of olive oil, plus ¼ cup more
    1 teaspoon dried dill
    150g tinned chopped tomatoes (5.5 oz.) or 200g of fresh tomatoes, if in season.
    1 tbsp tomato paste
    1 cup brown rice, washed and soaked for 15 minutes
    2 cups water
    1 and ¼ teaspoon sea salt or to taste
    Black pepper to taste
    Lemon juice or squeeze fresh lemon
    Feta, about ¼ pound

    Cook onion, garlic and tomato paste in the olive oil until slightly browned.
    Add the tomatoes and cook for a few minutes.
    Add spinach in batches and stir in (Or throw frozen spinach in the pot).
    Add the water, rice, salt and pepper, bring to a boil and cook until the rice is done.
    Squeeze some lemon juice on top.

    I eat this with feta cheese as my protein, but it will also taste great with a boiled egg.
    English is not my first language anymore, so I may and do make mistakes in my spelling, or say things oddly. Please ask me, if you want any clarifications.



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  3. Gastric Sleeve Surgery With Weight Loss Agents
  4. #2
    Gastric Sleeve Member WANAGL's Avatar
    I have had a gastric sleeve.
    Name
    Cyndi
    Surgery date
    12/30/2015
    Surgeon
    Dr. Robert Marema
    Join Date
    Mar 2016
    Last Activity
    01-09-2020 06:15 PM
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    Hampton Beach, FL
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    Default Re: Please share you favorite budget-friendly recipe?

    Ratatouille is a favorite of mine. I don’t measure when I make it...served with any meat/poultry/fish!



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  6. #3
    Gastric Sleeve Member Sandra3's Avatar
    I have had a gastric sleeve.
    Name
    Sandra
    Surgery date
    01/20/2016
    Surgeon
    Dr W
    Join Date
    Dec 2015
    Last Activity
    06-25-2020 09:15 AM
    Location
    France
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    Default Re: Please share you favorite budget-friendly recipe?

    I love making split peas soup. It takes like 20 minutes with the instant pot and it's really cheap!!
    Usually I make it with one pound of peas, 2 carrots, 1 onion, twice the pea's volume of broth.
    It's always better with home made broth but a cube of organic stock/broth can be ok too.
    I do put bay leave, thyme, little clove powder, lots of garlic but you can add whatever you like, and you can add sausages or ham to make it a one pot meal. For some reason my sensitive stomach really really likes split peas, even without meat it's full of vitamins and protein, just a tad too much carbs but that's good complex carbs!! I usually would have leafy greens on the side, so the fibers will decrease the net carb total..


    HW : 150 kgs
    09/02/2014 : 142 /1st apt
    01/20/2016 : 134 /surgery
    01/30/2016 : 130 /1st post-op
    02/27/2016 : 126 /2nd
    04/23/2016 : 118 /3rd
    07/16/2016 : 109 / 4th
    10/01/2016 : 103 /5th
    01/21/2017 : 98 /1 year post-op
    February 2017 : 100 lbs lost
    07/22/2017 : 96
    10/21/2017 : 93
    12/22/2017 : 91
    01/02/2018 : 96!! regain (medication)

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  8. #4
    Gastric Sleeve Member Ann2's Avatar
    I have had a gastric sleeve.
    Name
    Ann2
    Surgery date
    08/18/2014
    Surgeon
    n.a.
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Location
    Missouri
    Posts
    6,630
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    Default Re: Please share you favorite budget-friendly recipe?

    Where you shop for groceries (assuming you have shopping choices where you live) can make a huge difference in how budget-friendly your food is.

    My two fave grocery choices in the small town where I live are Aldi and Walmart. And shockingly (!!!) the produce (both organic and not) and organic milk at Aldi are 30-50% less expensive than at Walmart. So I shop first at Aldi, then go to Walmart and get the rest.

    Most days I have a big salad for lunch, usually something like a couple of black bean spicy veggie burgers and Skinny Girl balsamic vinaigrette (from Walmart) and (from Aldi) spinach/baby arugula mix (pre-washed), mini-avocado, various colors of small tomatoes, and a mini cucumber. It's delicious, very filling, and 425 (plus or minus 25 calories, depending on the size of the avocado).

    I'm also a big fan of chicken canned in water. It goes into so many things. Likewise, I bake a lot of chicken breasts and put 2-3 ounces in some chicken dishes to ramp up the protein.

    When berries are in season, I eat TONS of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries. I also love higher-calorie mangoes and honeycrisp apples. I buy almost all my fruit at Aldi. I eat it with Fage non-fat Greek yogurt, sweetened with Torani sugar-free vanilla syrup (yogurt and syrup from Walmart).

    Confession time: I don't cook a lot at home. Truth is, I'm not the world's best cook. But I do rinse, slice and peel a lot of foods. I finally figured out that the more I'm working with a knife in the kitchen, the healthier I'm eating.

    That's all I got.



    Consult: 235 lbs
    My and doc's preop diet: 216 -19 lbs
    M1 postop 205 -30
    M2 193 -42
    M3 184 -51
    M4 174 -61
    M5 167 -68
    M6 162 -73
    M7 156 -79
    M8 151 -84
    M9 148 -87
    M10 146 -89
    M11 144 -91
    M12 143 -92
    M13 142 -93
    M14 140 -95
    M15 139 -96
    M16 137 -98
    M17 135 -100

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  10. #5
    sraebaer
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    Default Re: Please share you favorite budget-friendly recipe?

    Taco Soup! It's 0 points on Weight Watchers, so full of good stuff.

    1 to 2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts
    1 onion, cooked first with a little non-stick spray
    1 can Mexicorn
    1 can Shoepeg corn
    1 can ranch style beans
    1 can chili hot beans
    1 can diced green chilis
    1 large can petite diced tomatoes
    3 regular sized cans Mexican flavored diced tomatoes
    1 envelope taco mix
    1 envelope ranch mix

    Just dump it all together and simmer until the chicken is cooked. Take out the chicken and shred or dice it into pieces. It makes a ton and freezes well.

    If you can't find something, like the specific corn or beans or tomatoes, just substitute any corn or beans or tomatoes. I'm a huge tomato lover, you may want to use less. If you want it spicier, use 2 packs of taco seasoning, or buy the hot taco seasoning.

    If you want to add some calories, you can serve with cheese and sour cream on top, or add taco chips. But then it's not Weight Watcher '"free"

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  12. Gastric Sleeve Surgery With Weight Loss Agents
  13. #6
    Gastric Sleeve Member Sandra3's Avatar
    I have had a gastric sleeve.
    Name
    Sandra
    Surgery date
    01/20/2016
    Surgeon
    Dr W
    Join Date
    Dec 2015
    Last Activity
    06-25-2020 09:15 AM
    Location
    France
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    Default Re: Please share you favorite budget-friendly recipe?

    Quote Originally Posted by Ann2 View Post
    Where you shop for groceries (assuming you have shopping choices where you live) can make a huge difference in how budget-friendly your food is.

    My two fave grocery choices in the small town where I live are Aldi and Walmart. And shockingly (!!!) the produce (both organic and not) and organic milk at Aldi are 30-50% less expensive than at Walmart. So I shop first at Aldi, then go to Walmart and get the rest.

    Most days I have a big salad for lunch, usually something like a couple of black bean spicy veggie burgers and Skinny Girl balsamic vinaigrette (from Walmart) and (from Aldi) spinach/baby arugula mix (pre-washed), mini-avocado, various colors of small tomatoes, and a mini cucumber. It's delicious, very filling, and 425 (plus or minus 25 calories, depending on the size of the avocado).

    I'm also a big fan of chicken canned in water. It goes into so many things. Likewise, I bake a lot of chicken breasts and put 2-3 ounces in some chicken dishes to ramp up the protein.

    When berries are in season, I eat TONS of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries. I also love higher-calorie mangoes and honeycrisp apples. I buy almost all my fruit at Aldi. I eat it with Fage non-fat Greek yogurt, sweetened with Torani sugar-free vanilla syrup (yogurt and syrup from Walmart).

    Confession time: I don't cook a lot at home. Truth is, I'm not the world's best cook. But I do rinse, slice and peel a lot of foods. I finally figured out that the more I'm working with a knife in the kitchen, the healthier I'm eating.

    That's all I got.
    I totally agree!! it also depend on where you are!
    When working in DC, I would go to Trader Joes's and Wholefood, Walmart was way too far, no Aldi around at that time!
    My food budget was huge.

    In Phoenix, prices where like 30% cheaper, we had lots of Walmarts and Trader Joes was still a favorite. I stopped going to Wholefood because it was so expensive compare to the other stores. Almost the same prices we had in DC!

    Back in France, I live in the countryside, 1h from Paris, prices are at least 20% cheaper compare to Paris. Here there is an Aldi, and they've been adding more and more organic those past two years.
    They actually had a special on organic last week, they did add many more things to their inventory, amazing prices!

    Also I make an online order (to a supermarket where you just pick up the order) to complete what I can't find at the discounter, and also save that way because I stick to what I need only when I order, no temptation.

    Little story, Trader Joe's in own by Aldi (German company) and when we where in Australia for a holiday two years ago, I was amazed the store was so different (more gourmet, a little like Trader Joe's) compare to the version we have in France. They seem to adapt "the style" to each country.

    I've known Aldi since I was like 2 years old, my mum used to drive to Germany once or twice a month (we lived near the border) because we didn't have grocery discounters at that time in France and she was seriously pinching pennies doing that.
    I was in Germany for a few days last Summer, did go to Aldi (was so curious!) and was amazed to find some of the goodies (chocolate) they had 40 years ago...wow!!
    Also came back with lots of organic things they didn't carry in France...was so cheap!!


    HW : 150 kgs
    09/02/2014 : 142 /1st apt
    01/20/2016 : 134 /surgery
    01/30/2016 : 130 /1st post-op
    02/27/2016 : 126 /2nd
    04/23/2016 : 118 /3rd
    07/16/2016 : 109 / 4th
    10/01/2016 : 103 /5th
    01/21/2017 : 98 /1 year post-op
    February 2017 : 100 lbs lost
    07/22/2017 : 96
    10/21/2017 : 93
    12/22/2017 : 91
    01/02/2018 : 96!! regain (medication)

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  15. #7
    Gastric Sleeve Member jerzeygirl's Avatar
    I have had a gastric sleeve.
    Surgery date
    07/20/2011
    Surgeon
    Dr. Louis Balsama
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Last Activity
    01-22-2020 03:10 PM
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    NJ
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    Default Re: Please share you favorite budget-friendly recipe?

    Ricotta bake with ground chicken, recipe on worldaccordingtoeggface.com. It lasts me a few times and freezes well as I find it easy to digest and it's quick, sometimes I add a salad to the side to add fiber.



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  17. #8
    Gastric Sleeve Member JessNP's Avatar
    I have had a gastric sleeve.
    Surgery date
    05/23/2019
    Surgeon
    Dr Shillingford
    Join Date
    Feb 2019
    Last Activity
    07-14-2019 02:12 PM
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    South Florida
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    Default Re: Please share you favorite budget-friendly recipe?

    Quote Originally Posted by jerzeygirl View Post
    Ricotta bake with ground chicken, recipe on worldaccordingtoeggface.com. It lasts me a few times and freezes well as I find it easy to digest and it's quick, sometimes I add a salad to the side to add fiber.
    I was wondering if I could freeze the ricotta bake. It seems that everyone loves that recipe so I can't wait to try it, but I could definitely see having leftovers. I've been trying to freeze my leftover protein shakes but that has not worked out so well. I hate to waste food!



  18. #9
    Gastric Sleeve Member kenson's Avatar
    I have had a gastric sleeve.
    Surgery date
    01/13/2014
    Surgeon
    Dr. Karl Strom
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    Oct 2013
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    06-29-2023 07:07 PM
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    Default Re: Please share you favorite budget-friendly recipe?

    I make chili a lot. It's easy and packed with protein.
    1 pack of ground turkey or ground beef
    1 onion chopped
    1 green pepper chopped
    1 packet of chili mix (this is usually in the aisle with the broths and soups)
    1 can of black beans
    1 jar of tomato sauce
    red pepper flakes (if you like a little heat)

    I also add garlic powder and more onion powder if needed.

    Saute onions, peppers, in a little oil, add your turkey or ground beef until done. Add your chili packet and stir. Add your black beans and stir. Add your tomato sauce. I let simmer on low until it gets nice and thick.



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