Skip to main content Skip to bottom nav

Low=budget healthy stir fried rice options

User Profile: HyoidBone
HyoidBone June 18th, 2018

This on is for those of you who are on a tight budget, have a frugal lifestyle and/or are trying to save money. I'm sure we've heard of the usual staples: rice and beans, milk and potatoes... things that will get you by on little money but it gets boring real quick. Depending on what you have available at your own grocers, here is my own healthy mix-and-match stir fried rice that you might want to try out. I didn't add any specific cooking times because we all have different cooking tools, but hopefully it'll give you some ideas on how to mix up your meals:

1. Pick a rice or many [brown/cargo/wild].
2. Add half the amount of grain [lentils/barley/mung bean/etc.] as you would the rice.
3. Cook this mixture as you would with normal rice.
4. Pick an oil to put into your pan, at medium heat [sunflower/avocado/coconut/grapeseed/safflower/etc.]
5. Pick 2 different "hard" vegetables to chop up and put in the pan [carrot/daikon/onion/parsnip/broccoli/cauliflower/chayote/etc.]
6. Pick 2 more veggies to chop up and add while the first 2 are already cooking [bell pepper/string beans/snap peas/zucchini/okra/etc.]
6. While the veggies are cooking, pick a protein to add to the mix [chicken/beef/firm tofu/tempeh/etc.]
7. At around this point, your rice mixture SHOULD be fully cooked. You can move the rice into your pan.
8. Pick 2-3 leafy greens that are quicker to cook [spinach/kale/cilantro/parsley/bok choi/etc.]
9. Pick some flavours! [salt/spices/sauces/lemon juice/garlic/etc.]

Make sure to stir the contents of your pan every few minutes so that everything is evenly cooked. The most important point is to ensure that if you're using meat, it's completely cooked before you eat it or else you run the risk of getting sick. I usually make enough for 4-5 meals so the leftovers become lunch for the next few days and found that some combinations of vegetables and flavours make more "sense" than others. Feel free to ask any questions and I'll tell you what I know from experience.

If you have other low-budget easily modifiable recipes or meal ideas, please do share them with the rest of us!

2
User Profile: PoliteOcean
PoliteOcean June 19th, 2018

@HyoidBone

oh wow.. what a great post Hyoid! Thanks so much for sharing this with the community. Sounds really good!

User Profile: rebecca947
rebecca947 July 5th, 2018

@HyoidBone

Ooh, thanks for the awesome post and recipe! Will try it out one day- sounds delicious. Also, love your username haha xx