I F19 am trying to gain muscle, and to do so I need to gain weight. I feel full after a cup of coffee. I don't know how to grow my appetite. Im 5'1 at most and about 115 lbs. I've tried protein snacks but my stomach can't handle a lot of synthetic protein I think as I get cramps and constpation. Im a broke college student so suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Edit: hey! Thank you all for the suggestions! I’ll try to respond asap. I know I’m at healthy weight but I don’t mind gaining some weight for more muscle in my figure. My weight bounces around a lot from like 110-125 and 115 is my most recent weight I’ve checked. Also I made myself eat salmon and white rice tonight so now I’m at 1076 calories and 106 grams of protein so woo. I know that’s barely hitting my maintenance amount of calories but I’ve gone days where I only hit like 700 calories so I’m pretty happy. Definitely will be trying out these recommendations on how to get my protein in and to help my stomach problems with protein. Thank youuu!

Hey guys, I was soaking my strawberries in a vinegar and water solution to clean them and I totally forgot about them. I believe they stayed in there for over 8 hours

They taste quite sour now, and idk what to do to fix them. Is there anything I can do?

They were so good and sweet and I just ruined them 🥲

anyone know of any not so unhealthy water enhancers? something natural that has actual benefits and makes the water taste a little better? i cant have artificial sugars and strawberries in water wont cut it!

The crispy edges on this recipe were so tasty, like crispy brussels sprouts, and it was super easy! Great way to prep a head of cabbage.

Roasted Cabbage: https://www.seriouseats.com/easy-roasted-cabbage

Ingredients

• 1 medium head cabbage, cut into 6 to 8 wedges
• Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling (I used avocado oil spray)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper (I used Trader Joe's everyday seasoning grinder)

Directions

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 500°F (260°C). Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.
2. Arrange cabbage wedges on baking sheet in a single layer. Drizzle with olive oil on one side, then season with salt and pepper. Flip wedges, drizzle other side with oil, and season with salt and pepper.
3. Place baking sheet in oven and roast until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Flip wedges and continue roasting until tender and deeply browned, another 10 minutes, then serve.

I used to add it to my meals and it worked fine, but I haven't cooked lately and I'm struggling to come up with a good way to eat it otherwise.

Is there some type of snack you like to eat where it's pretty easy to add 30+ grams of chia seeds to it?

Anyone ever use dehydrated whole fresh fruit powder in place of sugar for baking/recipes? I’ve read it’s possible, but not sure how well it works taste or texture wise. Also, since the natural fruit sugars are concentrated to the point where it’s more calories than, say honey or cane sugar, is it not worth the money & trouble of the swap if I’m trying to reduce my sugar intake? Basically I’m asking, am I just eating more grams of sugar in the long run?

What's everybody's take on canned salmon? I meal prepped frozen keta salmon this week (already decently cheap) and was wondering how comparable the taste is for the canned stuff. Canned tuna makes me gag but canned chicken is fine for me when warmed up

I really like healthy recipes and food, but several months ago I struggled with dishes, recipes and groceries management.

I tried a lot of tools and approaches to find my ideal.

First of all, I plan my meals on weekends or sometimes the day before cooking. Then I make a delivery with Instacart.

I think a big problem is to find recipes to use existing groceries as well as new groceries. For that task I tried several tools such as Food Buddy, Paprika, Recipe Keeper, but the first app is super minimalistic and I found it super useful for my case.

With the price of eggs going up (it's now $20 for a 60pk of eggs at Walmart in my area), I'm thinking about looking into alternatives for breakfast. I used to do 2 fried eggs over easy and a serving of hash browns (total: ~210 calories). This week I included a piece of bacon as well since I made bacon when I was meal prepping on Sunday. Total (excluding bacon since it's normally not included): ~$36/month.

I'm wondering if there are cheaper breakfast alternatives I could try? I attempted overnight oats multiple times and was absolutely not a fan. I thought about getting a big jug of vanilla Greek yogurt, a serving or two of granola, and whatever berry is cheaper for the week.

https://www.instagram.com/momspersianplates?igsh=MTl5djhpaTdjbWlwdg==

My husband mainly drinks sparkling water and likes it mixed with juice, and I always put a small splash in my kids water. Juice in the half gallons are so expensive, more expensive than milk! I’m looking for a cheaper alternative. When I was a kid we got the frozen concentrate tubs and mixed with water but all I can find is apple and orange, and no one here likes orange.

I'm looking for suggestions to accompany my brown bag sandwich besides my go-to chips, Snack Pack, and apples. Prep ahead is fine, but I don't have a means of reheating.

I recently tried the Oats Overnight premade packs and really enjoyed the drinkable texture. Now I am trying to make overnight oats at home to save money but I'm not sure how to get the smooth, drinkable consistency that Oats Overnight has. Should I blend it?? Or put the oats in a food processor before soaking it overnight?

I have a huge soda addiction but I've been kicking it steadily with Polar Seltzer -- I love seltzer in general but Polar has the most flavor of any I've tried and a 12-pack is like $5 at target. I seriously cannot recommend the Black Cherry enough.

I've been losing weight, perhaps from EPI. Nutritionist recommended Kate's Farm Peptide 1.5x (500 cal). Boost VHC seems 1/3 the Kate price. I'm not on a feeding tube so not sure I want to pay the Kate premium.

I plan to use it as a smoothie base and add more protein, greens and frozen fruit.

What other meal replacement shakes are the right combo of good tasting/for you and decent price?

I’m not expecting people in this sub to be experts with picky toddlers per se, but sets the context that I’m looking for “simple” ideas.

I’m struggling to pack daycare lunches that aren’t just fruit and crackers… Mostly I see ideas like lunchables, etc. but I’m concerned about serving lunch meats high in sodium, nitrates, etc daily to a growing human. So what’s healthy and easy and cheap that’s escaping my notice?

Bonus points if main ingredients of your idea can be bought at Costco!

healthy food is expensive these days. i’m not the best cook or have the patience or time to cook. what are the best things to eat and easy meals to make that are affordable and fast? please help

What is a good broth with nutrients and protein that tastes good? I know I can make my own but short on time usually.

In these times of crazy food prices this has been one consistently affordable option that feeds my family, but I'm fairly tired of all of my go-too recipes and am looking for new ideas.

Honestly i seen this everywhere, some said its bad some said its good, right now i am on rolled oats , which i know the best one to get is the steel cut but it just out of my range. Is rolled oats still considered good? I have type 2 diabetes so i wouldn’t want to spike my insulin levels , and if you guys could help me to suggest some high fibre food would be appreciated.

Hi I'm having a birth day party strawberry themed and I want to make appetizers that are strawberry themed please help me out with some suggestions

Does anyone know any good fast lunch / dinner recipes good for PCOS and snacks! I need to revamp my meal prep.

For around $10 I got a silicone popcorn popper on Amazon. It works well, tastes great, and kernels are cheap! Healthy because it’s just air popped kernels. You can add whatever seasoning you like.

I recently had some South American housemates move out and leave me two bags of arepa flour. Doñaarepa (yellow precooked corn flour) and P.A.N ( white precooked corn flour)

I don't looove arepas. How else can I use the bags up? I have more yellow than white.

Hi! This sub has given me some lovely tips and I wanted to share my own that I have been using for years now as a very broke, but highly health motivated person.

1. Super cheap produce.

I live in one of the most expensive towns in the country, getting fresh veggies will break your bank. I didn’t know about this before but most grocery stores have little stands with bagged up produce that is about to go bad or just needs to be gotten rid of to make room for new shipments. This week I got a whole weeks worth of produce for about $5, it would’ve been $20 regularly. ( if you don’t think your store has discount produce section, ask a worker and it might just be in an unusual place) This adds so much variety, flavor, and nutrition to my meals. I am also able to freeze, ferment, and stew a lot of it. It is typically a steady supply of bananas and potatoes as well which are great carbs when you get tired of rice.

2. Protein

I am very protein forward since I lift, however this is often one of the more expensive parts of a meal, particularly lean protein ( I define as having close to a 10:1 calorie:protein ratio). Soybeans are an amazing source of lean protein, are cheap, and also supply the body with Omega-3’s. A block of tofu is usually around $1 and can make 2-3 meals depending on your needs. Shelled soybeans are a great protein addition to salads and rice bowls, and they can be bought cheap frozen.

2.1 Bone Broth Going to your local butcher and asking for scrap bones and making bone broth is another way to improve protein intake and nutrient density. Often you can get a ridiculous amount of bones for very cheap.

2.2 Eggs Right Now During avian flue times if you live in suburbs or the country, try finding a neighbor with chickens via Facebook groups. I get mine for about $4 a dozen right now which is much cheaper than stores (and better quality).

2.3 Organ Meat Organ meat is very nutrient dense and can fill in some gaps for us broke people who are more prone to nutrient deficiencies. Same deal as the bones with the butcher, they usually go through a ton of organ meat as it isn’t a big seller and will give it to you for practically free (maybe even free if they are cool). I personally have a hard time with liver but you can use it to stretch out your ground meat. But heart meat is usually quite good.

3. Flavor

It’s usually cheaper to make your own sauces at home (especially with discount peppers and aromatic veggies and herbs) so look for some staple recipes. Also HERB GARDEN!! I have a couple herbs in a windowsill herb garden that I got on Facebook marketplace for free. A lot of local gardening stores or just avid gardeners will give you starters for various herbs for very cheap or free since a lot of herbs grow like weeds. It’s a great way to up the flavor in your food, as well as reap the health benefits of fresh herbs such as rosemary.

4. Restaurant Food

If you live in a city it’s worth looking into an app like “get to go”, which is an app for restaurants to reduce food waste and sell food at very discounted costs at the end of the day. I live in a small isolated town right now so it is not use to me, but I’ve heard it works in some cities.

Hey all! So many recipes I see call for broth or vegetable broth. Now, I have no experience with broths since my family never used them.

I always figured if i’m cooking soups and throwing in a bunch of vegetables or meat i’m going to eat it right away, and i never really have enough to freeze. I’m on a pretty shoestring budget so i’m not sure how I feel about getting veggies or meat/bones just for the purpose of making broth, when I can use them for things I can actually eat without additional effort.

Any thoughts?

Edit: thank you guys so much for the answers! i have a follow up question - i make chicken soup pretty often with chicken thighs. Can I use those bones for stock too? Or because they were already cooked in a soup there’s no point?

Mom of 2 kids (ages 4 and 1). Looking for ways to feed my family of 4 and bring our grocery bills down. We live in the Midwest in a major city and shop at Jewel Osco. The main reason we go there is because it’s right across the street and we can’t justify going anywhere else. I’m on their app and clip digital coupons, try to plan out all our meals for the week, and make sure we eat all our meals at home. Our grocery bills are really high and I’m open for suggestions of ways to eat cheap and healthy!

Maybe this is a big ask, but both people that I live with are fairly newly-vegetarian and we have been struggling to find recipes that contain under 6-7 ingredients and take under 1 hour (1h30min ͟m͟a͟x͟) that also aren't like...sad-tasting?

As such, a lot of the low ingredient count, quick & (potentially) tasty recipes we find aren't very filling, so I'm wondering if anyone could suggest protein sources that would be easy to add in without ruining a dish.

Thanks!!

I made a ton of pulled pork in the crock pot yesterday, and I’d like to find some recipes other than BBQ (we love eastern North Carolina style, but there’s only so much my daughter and I can eat of that). Can I use it to make something that can be served over rice? I feel like I had maybe some kind of Japanese dish where the pork was in a yummy sweet/spicy sauce and served over rice, but I have no idea what that would be or how to prepare that with the pulled pork already cooked - heated and stirred in a sauce? Don’t want any of this to go to waste. Thanks!

I have a chronic illness and am incredibly exhausted 99% of the time. There are obviously a ton of amazing recipes out there with a lot of vegetables, and if I could, I would cook them all the time. But I can't. Most of the time, I can maybe throw together an instant oatmeal with some apple I chopped on a better day, or a smoothie made with frozen fruits, or a baked potato. My "I feel pretty decent today" meal is sheet pan roasted sausage, frozen veg, and chopped potato, but I get sick of it if I eat it too much. Does anyone have a good vegetable meal that's somewhere in those levels of effort? I can't meal prep either, because I don't really have GOOD days often, so really just chopping one thing at a time is all I can manage. Standing for an extended period of time to manage something that's in a frying pan or something is a no go, too. Frying an egg or something is fine.

I know I can just eat raw vegetables, but I'm not supposed to have a lot of them, and due to the chronic illness a lot of fiber can be bad for me. I used to have "salad dinner" multiple nights a week and it did not go well.

I'm not concerned with a meal being high in fats, sugars, whatever. My main concern here is getting the nutrients vegetables provide. I don't care much what I eat alongside them as long as I get the vegetables too.

I know this is very specific, sorry, and thank you in advance to anyone who comments.

EDIT: Was not expecting so many comments to quickly! Thank you everyone. I feel like I'd just be commenting "Thank you!" to each one so saying Thank you up here. :)