I help people make their bucket list ideas happen by saving them time, energy and money.

Cheap Dinner Ideas and My Three for Me Salad Rule

There might be affiliate links in this post. If you click on a link and make a purchase, I receive a small commission. Read my disclosure policy here.

cheap-dinner-ideas-pic
Pin it for later here.

The benefits of eating salads are straight forward:

  • It’s good for you.
  • You can customize what you eat.
  • It can be more economical.
  • They can be quick and easy to prepare.

The question remains, “Why don’t I eat more salads?”

We already know they are good for us.

According to ChooseMyPlate.gov, People who eat more vegetables and fruits as a part of an overall healthy diet are likely to have a reduced risk of some chronic diseases.

And you will see, this post contains many ideas for making salads with fruits and vegetables. Many of which include them as a main dish. (More on that later.)

First, I share my “Three for Me Salad Rule” to help you eat salads more often.

The Secret of Sneaking In More Salads

1. Choose three items you can easily put together to make a bare bones salad. I always choose lettuce, cucumber and tomato. I know that no matter what else is on my grocery list, I can at least put these three together to eat a salad on a regular basis. Obviously you can buy more ingredients but I just want you to pick three so you make sure to make it a habit.

2. Create a checklist. You can easily type up items you buy on a regular basis and print it out to use over and over. If for some reason you completely draw a blank, take out some of your grocery receipts and type up what you normally buy.

super market checklist

 

3. When you do this, be sure to add your three salad items. I highlighted mine here.

super market checklist-1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And when you use it over and over, you can easily establish a routine when you shop in an effort to throw a salad together INSTANTLY.

Let me know how you plan to use this new tip. Leave a comment below.

We can use these comments as a virtual pinky promise to eat more salads. : )

Now for the recipes I promised. Drum roll, please.

Here are 10 cheap dinner ideas:

1. 10 High Protein, Main Dish Salad Recipes [My Natural Family]

2. Dinner for a Week: Spend Only $40 [Hubpages]

3. Spiced Eggplant and Cucumber Salad [A Couple Cooks]

4. Asparagus, Tomato and Avocado Salad [Something Sweet, Something Salty]

5. Twenty Sensational Healthy Salads [A Family Feast]

6. BBQ Chicken Salad [Damn Delicious]

7. Spicy Chicken Rigatoni (A Buca di Beppo Knock Off) [Pearls, Handcuffs and Happy Hour]

8. Black Bean Quinoa Salad [Food Gawker]

9. 26 Main Dish Salad Recipes [Yahoo Shine]

10. 10 Main Dish Salads Under 300 Calories [My Recipes]

Get your hands on more cheap dinner ideas today!

 

Now I want you to do 3 things:

1. If you know someone who can benefit from this information, maybe a relative or old college buddy? Send them an email with a link to this post.

2. Share it on social media.

3. Go eat a salad!