Pantry and Freezer Staples

 * Indicates budget tips. Like if you have more money do this, or if you have less money do this. Read them! Some of them are quite funny!

Pantry Essentials:

First and foremost you need a well stocked pantry. It's essential to low budget and low calorie food.

Whole Wheat Pasta- Great for regular pasta in tomato sauce but can also be used with peanut sauce to make Asian noodles.
*Though it is slightly more expensive then white pasta it is much more flavorful and keeps you full longer. Plus you are only talking a 20 cent difference on average!

Tomato Sauce- Though it can get boring a great go-to meal with pasta. You can add in any left over meat or frozen veggies to make it more exciting. Actually canned tuna is a good addition to tomato sauce for protein and flavor.
*When good sauce goes on sale buy it! It's worth the extra 50 cents (but only when it's on sale!)

Canned Tuna or Salmon- Less funky then caned chicken you can add it to anything salad, pasta, stir- fry and add low cost low calorie protein.
*If you want to get fancy get then in the pouches they are less watery and often come flavored but can be more expensive, once again stock up when on sale!

Brown Rice- Though it is a pain to make you can make a lot and keep it cooked in a container in the fridge for a few days. Keeps you fuller longer and is nice and chewy. Try to branch out from just Asian dishes with the rice and add taco seasoning and salsa to make healthy and fast Mexican rice.
* If you are pressed for time and are willing to spend some more money. Kashi makes good pre-cooked whole grain rice in pouches that can be microwaved in 90 seconds and Trader Joes has a frozen version.

Canned Beans- They are the musical fruit! More importantly when paired with rice they are a complete protein and are great if you don't have meat. You can use black beans for Mexican food and pair them with kidney beans for a fast chili. Garbanzo beans are great in salad.
*It's tempting to buy them in bulk because they are so cheap but unless you are going to devote a couple hours on the weekend to making them you are better off with canned.

Artichoke Hearts- They are sold in jars and cans they are less then $3 and a few go a long way. Great on salads or on chicken or in pasta. I recently discovered they are great in eggs as well.
*If you buy a can open the top then place plastic wrap over the opening it should last for a few days.

Olives- Great to add to salad, sauce, over meat or to eat from the can. They are cheap and add salt and flavor to almost everything!
*It's worth it to buy them pitted if you are going to cook with them. It's less expensive to buy pitted olives then to go to the dentist!

Corn Bread Mix- If you are tired of rice and pasta or want to spice up caned chili corn bread is awesome! You can get mixes for less then a dolor and jazz them up with some creamed corn. Not exactly healthy but a nice change for the ordinary.
*It's great the next morning for breakfast toasted in a pan with a little melted butter in it. You can get a box of Jiffy Mix for around 60 cents a box.

Flavored Cous Cous- Though it can sometimes be expensive, it's worth stocking up when it's on sale. They come in lots of flavors and can be made in five minutes. They are great as a side. But I admit sometimes I just eat it for dinner with a salad. Oh and get the whole grain kind!
*You can buy whole wheat cous cous in bulk and add flavors (olive oil, thyme, olives, etc) yourself and save a significant amount of money.

Hot Sauce- Despite all of my wonderful advice you will most likely get tired of what you are eating. Add hot sauce (tabasco/tapatillo/or chipotle tabasco) to eggs, chicken etc. Invest in some asian chile sause (the kind in the squirt bottle aka syracha) to dress up stir frys. Get dried taco seasoning to spice up rice and beans. Add dried red pepper flakes to pasta sauce to spice things up.
*Trust me a little hot sauce can make boring veggies taste good! Most of these are less then $2 each and will last a long time, tapatillo (found in the Hispanic grocery section is about 75 cents a bottle!)

 Frozen Essentials:

Your freezer doesn't have to be filled with frozen prepared meals. Here are some other ideas...

Frozen Chicken Breasts- They are expensive fresh but if you buy them frozen most come with a saline (salt) solution that helps prevent freezer burn. You can get 3 to 4 pounds for $10. The chicken tenders are individually portioned and you can cook them and add them to anything. I throw them in a plastic bag in the morning with a little marinade (BBQ or soyaki/terriaki sauce) and leave them in the fridge. Throw them on the grill pan or George Foreman in the morning and there you go!
*Make sure you don't go crazy and eat a bunch of them! A little protein goes a long way!

Frozen Peas- Great to add to pasta or a way to dress up mashed potatoes (throw them in with the potatoes and mash them). They are great with bacon in pasta.
*They also are great if you are accident prone and may need to use them on a wounded knee.

Frozen Waffles- I add fruit like blueberries to mine in the morning when I am tired of just syrup. Peanut butter works good too and has the benefit of being portable. Get the whole grain ones they keep you fuller longer.
*The whole grain is more expensive but Trader Joes has cheap ones or buy them in bulk.

Frozen Fruit- It's great to freeze your own fruit to makes smoothies. When strawberries, blueberries or mangoes are on sale buy a bunch clean them and cut them and throw them in plastic bags. It's cheaper then buying them already cut and you can throw them on top of ice cream or in smoothies.
*You can buy them already frozen if fruit is out of season or you don't have time to cut it up. It's still cheaper then Jamba Juice!

Frozen Veggies- There is nothing wrong with frozen veggie mixes. You don't have to prep them and you can use them as an easy side dish or throw them into a main dish. There is no problem mixing frozen veggies with fresh ones in a stir fry just thaw the frozen ones first!
*Don't buy name brand, they are exactly the same. If the store brand doesn't have the mix of veggies you want buy the veggies separately and mix them yourself.

Convenience Food that is Worth the Money
 In general packaged and prepared food is a rip off, there are however some exceptions.

Broccoli/Veggies in a bag- These are great you can microwave them in the bag in three minutes then throw them into stir fry or eat them as they are. The veggies are a consistent price and you can change it up by getting different combination of veggies.
*Unless you are planing on eating broccoli all weak, don't buy it in bulk.

Marinades- Throwing some frozen chicken into a baggie with a little marinade is a delicious and convenient. Get low calorie marinades and buy them when they go on sale.
*You can also use cheap Italian dressing as a marinade!

Whole Roasted Supermarket Chicken- Yes it is totally worth it. The whole roast chicken costs about the same as doing it yourself but without the hassle. They now have low sodium ones available too, all for around $6!
*You can mix up how you use it have it with veggies and rice one night. Then add it to salad the next day, then make a chicken salad sandwich the day after that.


Diced/Shredded Potatoes- Potatoes are very cheap but hard to work with. Throw fresh diced potatoes (sometimes found near the eggs and breakfast food) and make a breakfast burrito. Or buy frozen roasted potatoes as a side for a meat dish. They are normally under $2 and fast to make.
*Use the frozen potatoes for dinner then add them to eggs in the morning!

Tortillas- I eat them with everything. If you are pressed for time throw some rice beans and salsa in them and add a salad it's a great cheap lunch or dinner. They are also great with eggs in the morning.
*Buy corn not flower tortillas they are only $1.50 for 20 and they taste better then flower ones. They are also smaller which helps control portion size.

How to stock up:

There is no need to go crazy and run to the grocery store and buy all of these ingredients. Chances are some of this will sound more appealing to you then others. For example, I don't like tuna but I always have canned salmon at home. Start off with a few pantry items and frozen items and start from there. Even just adding a new marinade or hot sauce will spice things up. Let me know if you have any questions!