CHEAP meal ideas

kait_marie25

I'm living on a very low budget right now. I really only have $50 to spend on groceries for 2+ weeks. What are some really cheap food items that I can buy that can last me that long?

JoRocka

Bag of black beans
bag of rice
2 dozen eggs
pack of bacon
loaf of bread
1 pack of chicken breasts
as many bags of veggies as you can buy.

that should get you through 2 weeks.

paj315

Add to Joroacka's list
Rolled oats

ALso you could Make a big batch of chili or veg soup with meat and portion it out for lunches.

melimomTARDIS

i have responded to a few posts like these since I became a member here (feb of last year) and I decided to take my typical post content and make a blog post of it. If you read that blog post ( I have only one post on the myfitnesspal blog) i go in depth on what I do eat very cheaply.

Cliffnotes- dry beans cooked in the crockpot, pot of rice on the stove, cheap fruit (apples, raisins, bananas,calcium fortified OJ), cheap veggies (frozen broccoli and peas, green cabbage, potatoes, carrots)

and a backup of healthy-ish processed foods for when life gets busy. (ie- canned vegetarian chili, Campbells tomato soup, bulk oatmeal/total cereal. )

melimomTARDIS

2 weeks-
a box of black tea bags (lipton or similar)
a large canister of oatmeal
1 lb sugar (to flavor your oats and tea)
2 loaves of bread
Calcium fortified OJ or Milk
a jar of peanut butter
a carton of eggs
a 3lb bag of apples
1 bunch bananas
1 lb of frozen peas
1 tub margarine spread flavoring potatoes/spreading on toast/buttering rice
a bag of rice or potatoes (as big as you can afford)

If there is any money leftover- I'd get some hard candy from the dollar store to have on hand between meals/for dessert.

Meals look like-
cup of tea, 1 cup oats with sugar, 1 banana

Peanut butter sanwhich, glass of OJ

rice with butter,salt and peas mixed in

baked potatoes with margarine and salt

scrambled eggs and buttered toast

apple w/peanut butter toast, glass of milk

rbfdac

I second a lot of the things previously mentioned

peanut butter
loaves of bread
brown rice
potatoes
apples
Quaker oats
canned beans or dry beans
frozen vegetables

Walter__

Easy.

Chicken breast
Potatoes
Oats
Rice
Peanut Butter
Bananas
Pasta & Pasta Sauce
Milk

libbydoodle11

What they all said...Oh and popcorn kernels by the bag or from the bulk section of your store.

Kriptikk

Carbs:
Oats
Rice
Potatos


Protein:
Canned Tuna
Frozen Fish (usually cheap)
Lentils
Chicken Breast (if cheap)
Unflavoured protein powdered


Fats:
Cheese Yellow/White
Oils/Butter

Micronutrients:
Frozed mixed veg
Frozen Spinach
Frozen Brocolli
Apples
Oranges
Bananas

Kymmu

red lentil daal- a bag of lentils, onion garlic and spices. you can make two weeks worth of dinners from it for under $5...add rice for more cheap food- freeze into portions.

mathandcats

Lentils, beans, frozen veggies are good choices.

I made a post a few months back for my family's chili recipe. Depending on the price of the beans you get, it can be very cheap: about $15 or less makes about 10 dinners for me. Here's a link: Chili

MKEgal

Here's a cookbook of cheap eats. Nice variety, nice pictures.
It's titled Eat Well on $4 / Day.