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We have only been on the McDougall diet for three days and my trip to the grocery store for only a 3 day supply cost me nearly $200! I am doing the free 12 day program right now. I think the biggest problem is the amount of ingredients in each dish...... I am not a gourmet and don't enjoy cooking much.

Anyone know of some easy simply recipes that I can afford to feed my family of four on?

Here is how simple it can be:
1 huge baked potato
1 carrot, raw or boiled
1 apple

That is it! Not enough food?: Multiple by 2, 3, or more.

Also, do a search here for Jeff Novick's SNAP recipes for simple, nutritious, and affordable meals.

viewtopic.php?t=10519

Here's an example of one of my frequent daily meals:
Rice
Beans
Green salad or steamed vegetable

Here's a link to recipes with few ingredients:
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=5046

Last year I did a $3 a day challenge for a month. Here's how I did it.

viewtopic.php?f=21&t=22365&hilit=+%243+a+day+challenge

Kate

Don't give up!! Keep trying new recipes until you find some that you all like. Think about what you enjoyed eating before this WOE and find some similar things to try. Post here some things you would like to try -- lots of folks here have been where you are and can help. As you get the hang of this, I think you will find your grocery bill goes down ...at least mine did.

Some things that I find work for me:

I cook dried beans on the weekend and make enough so I have some to eat in different ways all week -- what I call the "bean of the week." Dry beans are dirt cheap -- I buy mine at an Amish grocer, but even at the regular grocery store, they are cheap, cheap, cheap.

Soup - my basic recipe -- simmer a diced onion and some sliced carrots in 2-3 cups water until tender. Add 2-3 cans diced tomatoes, the bean of the week, a bag of mixed veggies and some flavoring -- garlic, chili powder, etc. Adjust the proportions til it looks right and tastes good. One night, reheat it with some pasta in it, one night, add potatoes, one night, serve over rice -- I tend to take it to work for lunch, too.

Mary McDougall's corn and bean enchiladas -- these are super good!

Pasta and broccoli -- cook some pasta and just before it is done, throw some cut up fresh broccoli into the pasta pot and let it simmer til the broccoli is done. Drain and eat!

Rice and a bag of frozen veggies.

Oven roasted potatoes -- cut up some potatoes, put them on parchment paper on a cookie sheet, stick them in the oven at about 375 for about 45 minutes (or until they are brown). These are great with some frozen veggies for dinner and put the leftovers in the fridge to snack on.

Veggie burgers -- I asked for help with this on this forum and got some great ideas. Do a search here and you will find some great recipes. Jeff Novick has a good basic recipe to start with.

corn tortillas -- I just tried this this week. Get some corn tortillas (read the label) at the grocery store -- cut into fourths, put on parchment paper in the microwave -- about 3 minutes and you have delicious corn chips - yummy!

Hang in there -- there is hope!

Sharon

There's some good tips in this article, "Grocery Shopping on a Budget" - from the Engine 2 Diet blog:

http://engine2diet.com/the-daily-beet/g ... -a-budget/

I found that I spent more money earlier on before I settled into a routine with my meals. At first I was worried about getting enough to eat and satisfying cravings, so I thought I needed a lot of variety and fancy recipes, but it turns out that my cravings have been minimal and I am satified with just regular meals based on a few foods. I try a couple of new recipes every month but for the most part my eating plan is very simple and actually requires a lot less preparation and cooking time than when I was eating SAD.

Stick with it and I think you will soon settle into a routine with your meals and have your grocery list pared down some as you get stocked up on staples and figure out what it is you prefer to eat on a regular basis.. Good luck

I found that the meal plans on the site or in the books were also too much work. Pick a recipe and try it rather than trying a bunch of new recipes each day or several days in a row. Fill in with the simple meals other have already suggested. Also, here is a newletter article on keeping costs down. Beans and rice, potatoes, etc are quite inexpensive, so you are just in a learning curve right now. You'll settle into a pattern that will work for you.
http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2008nl/mar/080300.htm

I admit, I have never tried any of the recipes suggested for the 12 day program. I suspect they're there to give you an idea of what you CAN eat, and are designed to offer a variety to show you don't have to eat the same thing every day. I can see how that could get expensive.
But there is a lot to be said for eating the same thing every day. My diet is very boring, in the sense that I do not have a large number of recipes I eat. Oats with fruit. Potatoes. Soup, usually the same kind. Rice and beans. I had been doing pizza once a week and pasta once a week, but not lately, due to trying to go gluten free.
By keeping it simple, I have reduced my grocery spending so much that I'm able to afford a large percentage of my food to be organic, and still spend less money than I did before.
Find a handful of meals that you and your family like, and stick with them, trying new recipes maybe once a week or so until you build up a number of them you're happy with.

-Norm

I've found that with most recipes, no matter what type of eating, I end up spending a lot on ingredients and I really hate to cook.

As others have noted, Jeff's SNAP idea is great and cheap. And, at the simplest level, I just have a potato and a vegetable for each meal.

I have found this to be true, too

Dinner can be a starch and two steamed veggies with some beans over top, or
a starch, a steamed veggie and a salad.
Use an inexpensive tomato sauce as a sauce or make some. Make a bean sauce and use it till it's gone.

When I started I made several recipes that called for lots of ingredients, but I didn't even end up liking them. Like others have said, simple is cheap. Oatmeal, potatoes, brown rice, beans, frozen veggies, seasonal fruit. I find that once I learned what I liked and what satisfied me that my grocery bill went way down. As you move along you'll see that it will be more reasonable.

I recently met some new plant-based eaters. They were a little frantic trying to make meals they enjoyed. Hubby and I encouraged them to stay with it and shared that it takes time to learn what you like and to get into the flow of it all. I think this is one reason why people give up. They don't get over the hump and become comfortable with the new lifestyle.
Keep with it. Soon you'll be surprised and happy you did. You'll be loving' your food too.

I eat cheap too:

Oatmeal
Frozen fruits/berries
Apples/bananas

sweet potatoes
Potatoes
Onions
Mushrooms

Broccoli
zucchini
Carrots
Kale

Lentils
other beans I buy in bulk and cook up


Riva