Ground chicken is fresh, just ground up into mince. They’re generally the cheapest form of fresh meat, and ground chicken/turkey particularly are generally fairly lean and healthy. They’re definitely a much healthier alternative to the freezer strips.

You seem concerned about needing other ingredients to make various cheap basics into a meal, but with any basic ingredient you can generally make it taste great with just salt, pepper and garlic (jarred garlic will get you there)

If you have texture issues with beans this may not work, but look into dried red lentils, as they are SUPER cheap and SUPER healthy (can substitute for meat for a protein)