Eating well on a tight budget

rachellynn89

Times are hard at our house and it seems like the cheap stuff I find is all so unhealthy.

Any ideas on cheap meals for a family of four? (One being a toddler)

eseeton

I would aim for protein (chicken is cheap) and vegetables. A bunch of filler vegetables are very cheap and will keep your family full! If you're looking for something creative to do with meat that the toddler will eat, we tried this recipe and it was really good: http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/crispy-baked-chicken-tenders/

2snakeswoman

I've got the same problem. Do a search for feeding a family on a budget - lots of good ideas out there!

piyapontruski

One tip I have for busy or financially strapped folks are that pre-chopped frozen vegetables are a lifesaver. You use what you need, so you won't waste. They are picked and bagged at peak freshness so they retain much of their vitamin content. The quantity makes you feel full, even though calorie count is low and nutrient count is high. Here are some recipes that I have cobbled together over the years:

esaucier17

I buy canned beans,brown rice...if you don't buy organic....veggies and fruits are usually not too expensive. If you have a Wal-Mart they have that new organic brand food (Wild Oats) that is very inexpensive....whole wheat pasta,sauces without a lot of sugar and calories, canned veggies with no salt added. I try to stick to mostly store brands. My family doesn't mind or can really even tell the difference. Do you have an Aldi where you live? They are soooo inexpensive...I love that place. Chicken, ground turkey and lean pork chops are staple meats in our house too. Hope this helps!

hurleycutie142

beans, soups chicken and frozen fruits and veggies r a life saver...

i am still in that situation amd i find that i can last on 40 a week for 3 people... my best advice and what i live by is keep it simple stupid lol... chicken can be made in a million ways and its a lean protein... buy a big package and portion it out will help save time and money...

like said above frozen veggies r amazing... before.i go shopping i go on coupons.com and see if any of my staples have a coupon... i have been couponing for a while and have saved thousands on stuff i use everday...

my fav meal is the end of the week soup... its basically water i throw a couple chicken breasts in it let it cook than i add all the veggies that i have bought and r gonna go bad... then i add whatever spices and lime juice and not only does it have fight burning qualities but tates amazing and it can be eaten through the next week...

add me im always looking for new friends

piyapontruski

I pull two cooking pans out; one takes the frozen vegetables (onion/pepper blend) and the other pan takes the cubed meat (usually chicken, but other meats are fine. Use whichever is on sale). Turn stove tops on medium heat to start. open 1 can of rotel, strain the juice from the can over the meat pan and toss the rest of the cans content/tomatoes/other firm bits into the vegetable pan. Stir pans off and on as you work. (Also, you can substitute cheaper alternatives here even though rotel is pretty cheap: left over salsa, left over fast food packets of taco/hot sauce, or any left over tex-mex type spices). To this, add other spices to the vegetable and meat mixture; garlic is good, cilantro or whatever you have in your cupboard that smells good along with the cooking meat and vegetables. Cooking time varies though the pans will usually be somewhere between med to med high for 20 to 30 minutes. Some may want the mixture firmer, so turn down the heat towards the end and let evaporation take over. HOW ABOUT A SIDE? While you have your two pans cooking on the stove, take two pyrex pie pans. Into one put 1 cup of rice and 2 cups of water. invert the other pan on top and place in microwave for around 18 minutes (cooking time varies and some microwaves have rice settings that will do this for you). If you don't like/want rice, this mixture goes well over baked (or microwave steamed potatoes). It also is plenty good just by itself with the vegetables on the bottom. If your diet allows, grate some cheese or cheese substitute on top. viola! diner done in <30 minutes and fairly cheaply too.

piyapontruski

Lentils and other dried goods are useful for keeping costs down. Spicy curry sauces can liven them up. Eggs are still one of the cheapest sources of protein out there. Look into slow cooker recipes, as these can also be a good way to rehydrate dried foods and get them flavorful.

dawnmcneil10

Dry beans and bags of rice are huge money savers. Yes they take time but it's well worth it. I cook my beans in the crockpot, soak overnight, rinse in the morning and then add water and let them cook all day.
Rice I just whip up a decent sized batch and then store in small containers in the freezer, they thaw well and then you can just warm in a frying pan with a little olive oil and seasoning or just plain.

Frozen veggies are great and if you see fresh veggies starting to go, clean them, chop them and toss in the freezer, no need to throw them out.

Find out when discount meat day is at your local grocery store and shop for meats on that day, go home and immediately portion it out. Lots of times I'll cook up ground meat and freeze so it's easy to just pull out of the freezer and toss into a recipe.

For spices hit up Christmas tree shop, Big Lots, Ocean State or Aldi's if you have those places near you, huge cost saver.

piyapontruski

Like you, I have always wondered when someone is going to put out a cookbook with healthy recipes that are low on time investment. I mean, rachel ray was on the right track with her 20 minute meals...but who can keep up at that pace whizzing through the kitchen grating this, chopping that plus having a huge pile of prep dishes along with dishes that everyone eats off of to deal with when its all said and done? It may be 20 minutes for her, but for the rest of us it takes twice as long. I would love someone to come out with a cookbook that uses the more common frozen vegetable blends from the store and shows different ways of creating meals with these as the base. It sure would be better for time/cash strapped people that don't want to eat the processed junk that is out there. Hope this helps.

Queenmunchy

Use your freezer to save money by buying in bulk, cooking once for several meals, and prolonging the life of your food.
Cut your meat with vegetables - I do 50/50 ground beef with mushrooms, add shredded/finely chopped vegetables into meatloaf, meatballs, burgers, nuggets, etc. Try to go meatless a few times a week.
Shop at discount stores (Aldi, Pricerite, local Asian markets) to get the best bang for your buck.

Terpnista84

Thighs and drumsticks.

Belle8312

Pretty much what everyone said above. I also use my crock pot quite a bit and make multiple meals in it so that I can freeze it for the next week.

urloved33

potatos, chicken, rice, in season fruit, chili goes a long way, tomato sauce goes a long way, eggs, cheese (on sale) pizza, soups...

cosmichvoyager

Do you live somewhere with chinese or Indian supermarkets? Those places can have incredible deals on produce, beans and grains, etc.

ahoy_m8

Where I shop, whole chicken is $0.95/# vs breasts $2.86/#. Buy whole & roast in oven, smoke slow on grill or stew in crockpot. Whatever you do, save the skin & bones to make stock! A 5# bird feeds my family of 5 (3 teenagers) two meals. Making enchiladas or tacos or chicken salad or stew can stretch the 2nd meal.

Legumes are another blessing. 1# costs around $1 (I'm getting lentils and pintos for less at present), makes 10 servings, are high in fiber & protein, and are delicious. They have a long shelf life so you can always have a variety in the pantry. I serve as the main dish with rice (I like on a bed of spinach vs rice), maybe with a little meat (a couple strips of bacon in the pot) or maybe not. There's an andouille chicken sausage made with chicken my family loves for $0.50 per sausage (85g).

I second the eggs suggestion, too. Soufflés are my family's favorite treat, and honestly, they cost less than $1 each. A labor of love, but a fancy celebration meal that's easy on the wallet. If you don't count the wine.

determined_14

Great suggestions going on here; lots of what I was going to say! I'll just reiterate the ones I use: dried beans, frozen veggies, chicken breasts ($1.99/lb at my Sam's/Walmart, and I'm not paying for bones/skins). I also buy grass-fed ground beef from a local farm for cheaper than you can get the standard stuff at the grocer. Not sure if you have an option like that, but worth checking.
Dinner last night was beef stroganoff: 1lb ground beef, browned with onion. I mixed about 8oz sour cream with 3/4cup beef broth and 2 tbs flour and stirred into the beef. Cook until warmed and bubbly. I threw a bag of whole wheat egg noodles into boiling water, steamed a bag of frozen beans, and chopped some carrots and tomatoes to toss with greens for a salad. The actual time spent in the kitchen cooking was less than 20 minutes I think.
Friend me if you like-- we can brainstorm. Good luck!

ahoy_m8

determined_14 wrote: »

... chicken breasts ($1.99/lb at my Sam's/Walmart, and I'm not paying for bones/skins).

Lol. I love the skin and bones. I use a gallon of stock every week. Soaking the bones with lemon juice (roasted chicken) or cider vinegar (smoked) to dissolve/render nutrients before boiling makes a rich gelatinous stock. Mmmm... I do buy breasts when they're on sale, but I'm lost without good stock.

NekoneMeowMixx

www.budgetbytes.com is probably one of my all-time favorite recipe sites. Absolutely delicious food (I've tried a number of her recipes, and have yet to be disappointed) and she's a number cruncher, so each recipe is made with a tight budget in mind. It also shows the price of the overall meal, and price per serving (it will obviously fluctuate, depending where you shop, but she posts the prices she got everything at, so you can compare!) Best of luck!

randomtai

NekoneMeowMixx wrote: »

www.budgetbytes.com is probably one of my all-time favorite recipe sites. Absolutely delicious food (I've tried a number of her recipes, and have yet to be disappointed) and she's a number cruncher, so each recipe is made with a tight budget in mind. It also shows the price of the overall meal, and price per serving (it will obviously fluctuate, depending where you shop, but she posts the prices she got everything at, so you can compare!) Best of luck!

I came here to say this.... LOVE this website!

dottyb1tchmouse

Cooking with most vegetables isn't too expensive if you keep it simple with just a few ingredients. Also healthy grains/bulk food like rice, lentils, etc are healthy and cheap. Or you can take a recipe and cut out steps to save money, like using water instead of buying stock for soup.

bunnywestley81

I buy a lot of my meat and fresh fruit and veg reduced as the display by date is almost up.

I'm not dead yet!

Also look out for deals...its Easter so I just got me a whole leg of lamb for under £10.

MamaJ1974

I second the vote for Aldi. Very inexpensive.

A lot of what I do has been said here already but I'll reiterate. Dry beans. Rice. Potatoes. Eggs. Tuna. Frozen veg. Fresh fruit and veg in season, and then you have bananas which are almost always cheap.

pcrucifer

We try to eat frugally and to eat well. The hard part is changing cooking habits. Now that we made the switch it seems easy. We cook a frozen chicken (w 1c water) in a crock pot for 8-10 hours. After dinner we strip the chicken and freeze the leftovers. Then we boil what is left in a stock pot with an onion (not chopped) for a couple hours after dinner, then strain out and refrigerate the liquid. The next day we make a big pot bean and rice soup with the liquid. We eat the soup and refrigerate the leftovers. A frozen chicken and a couple dollars worth of beans and rice feeds us 2 days, plus leftovers for several more days.

Sebismom

ahoy_m8 wrote: »

determined_14 wrote: »

... chicken breasts ($1.99/lb at my Sam's/Walmart, and I'm not paying for bones/skins).

Lol. I love the skin and bones. I use a gallon of stock every week. Soaking the bones with lemon juice (roasted chicken) or cider vinegar (smoked) to dissolve/render nutrients before boiling makes a rich gelatinous stock. Mmmm... I do buy breasts when they're on sale, but I'm lost without good stock.

Agreed on the skin and bones here! We buy organic, so that $17 chicken has to do double or triple duty. Also, the roasted bones make for the tastiest stock (made with veggie scraps saved in the freezer). I will admit to buying a Costco rotisserie chicken every once in a while (a few times per year isn't too often). They are cheap ($5), plump, and the stock is just as good. Later in the week the stock is great for chicken pot pie, soups, or to flavor sautéed dishes.

Ahoy_m8: I am so jealous of the food prices in your hometown. We live in Boston, and everything here is sooo expensive, even in the discount and ethnic grocers (those tend to have lower prices, but just slightly lower). We definitely eat a legume-heavy and veggie-heavy diet, everything made from scratch.

Laurend224

Aldi. Seroiusly. I feed my family of 5 for @ $70 a week. We are vegan, and eat copious amounts of fruit and veggies along with beans, rice, and pastas. They even have organic soy milk and I just discovered veggie burgers in their freezer section. Its a win. I agree with the person above who said it's about cooking habits too. I save all my veggie scraps in the freezer until I have enough, and dump them in a pot full of water to boil for veggie broth. I buy mostly dry beans, and seasonal produce, oh and bananas are always .44/lb at Aldi. It can be done.

ahoy_m8

Sebismom: Totally in on the roasted bones, too. You live in one great town, but expensive, I give you that. Real estate is insanely cheap here, too. But our summers are triple-digit and our politicians are flat out insane. Texas.

Nix143

Meal planning will be your biggest money saver. I don't know if there is a US equivalent (I'm sure there will be) - in the UK this forum http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=33 is an AMAZING resource.

As others have said you sacrifice convenience for whole foods cooked properly with very little waste. You have to think a little harder and put a little more effort in but it can be done. Good luck

Afura

I gained back all the weight I lost when I was unemployed due to having to eat what I could afford, so I understand the sentiment. For low carb options there are some good "budget paleo" recipes you can google (though some of them I wonder what their version of budget is).

Seraphin954

Oats, rice, beans, potatoes, tuna, canned salmon, frozen vegetables. These are some inexpensive ideas of things you can fill your household with. I'm sure You've gotten a good sense through the rest of the responses here.

kristydi

Terpnista84 wrote: »

Thighs and drumsticks.

Yup. And if you don't mind learning to separate them yourself, the 10lbs bag of leg quarters (the thigh and leg sometimes with some back) is less than $7 here. I've nearly stopped using breasts and switched to thighs. Its pretty easy to take off the skin and debone them and after that they work fine in any recipe you'd use breasts in.

NekoneMeowMixx wrote: »

www.budgetbytes.com is probably one of my all-time favorite recipe sites. Absolutely delicious food (I've tried a number of her recipes, and have yet to be disappointed) and she's a number cruncher, so each recipe is made with a tight budget in mind. It also shows the price of the overall meal, and price per serving (it will obviously fluctuate, depending where you shop, but she posts the prices she got everything at, so you can compare!) Best of luck!

Yup love budget bytes.