[obelus]

One meal I love that is very versatile and cheap is a bowl of rice with veggies and a protein. You can eat each on their own on a plate, but I prefer to toss it all into one bowl and mix it together. I buy off brand minute rice that I make in a big bowl the microwave in the bowl I will be storing it in (no pot involved!) for convenience, but you can also buy large bags of rice to cook in an actual pot on the stove. As for veggies, I buy frozen. You can buy them in bulk too if you wish and there's a lot of variety, too! If you want fresh veggies, always buy what's in season to get a better deal on the price. As for protein, I personally use ground chicken or turkey. If you're vegetarian or vegan, you can easily swap that out for tofu, beans, and any other kind of thing.

The possible combinations for a rice bowl is almost endless. I also add sriracha hot chili sauce almost every time and occasionally gravy, ranch, or curry sauce. One thing I do to the rice before I microwave it is toss in some spices. Nothing to fancy. Just to your own taste. I like garlic, onion, curry, and pretty much any spice works if you like it (maybe except cinnamon).

I've lovingly named this "recipe" the Dump Bowl. Not as appetizing as it sounds, but when I'm low or without cash I go through my kitchen pantry and refrigerator to find things to toss in my bowl of rice.

Oh if you do eat meat/fish and like canned tuna, keep cans in the fridge. Instant cold tuna salad. Unless I'm the only person who gets frustrated about waiting for their tuna salad to get cold for a sandwich. (Tuna salad is another thing I add hot chili sauce too. I put that on virtually everything savory. )

If I think of any of my other ~poor~ relatively healthy recipes I'll post them.