Meal Advice

anl90

So I find when my husband and I are having a bit of a short week financially, that is when I tend to reply on the cheap, unhealthy meal options. Do any of you have any suggestions on what a good alternative would be? I feel like no matter what I think up, it ends up being more than we can really afford.

Thanks in advance for any recommendations!

kommodevaran

Buy cheap single ingredient foods and cook at home. Every combination that relies heavily on oatmeal, eggs, beans, rice, pasta, frozen vegetables, onions, carrots, potatoes, canned tomatoes, is good, for health and wallet, as long as you stter away from the upmarket versions, and eat up everything.

L1zardQueen

Get a whole chicken and buy the vegetables/fruit which are in season. Rice goes a long way.

Mumstrongbow

On a flush week, cook double recipes and freeze half, then on a short week use these and top up with vegetables, rice etc

janejellyroll

I have no idea what your budget is, but I find things like oats, rice, potatoes, dried beans, frozen vegetables, and pasta, and canned tomatoes to be very affordable.

What are you eating now that you want to replace with other things?

fitoverfortymom

Mumstrongbow wrote: »

On a flush week, cook double recipes and freeze half, then on a short week use these and top up with vegetables, rice etc

^^^^^^^^

anl90

janejellyroll wrote: »

I have no idea what your budget is, but I find things like oats, rice, potatoes, dried beans, frozen vegetables, and pasta, and canned tomatoes to be very affordable.

What are you eating now that you want to replace with other things?

I get things like stuff for spaghetti, hamburger helper, brats, etc. Just a lot of processed stuff, that I feel like is going to be packed with calories.

anl90

Mumstrongbow wrote: »

On a flush week, cook double recipes and freeze half, then on a short week use these and top up with vegetables, rice etc

I have been thinking about trying to utilize our crockpot more. Did not think to freeze part of it - thanks!

anl90

Thank you for the suggestions! You all are amazing.

Cbean08

Nothing wrong with spaghetti! Personally, I feel like you can get better tasting food than hamburger helper, but if that's what fits the budget, then go with it. For both of those meals, see if you can add in a bag of frozen broccoli (about 1 dollar/ bag). Then, eat a smaller portion of hamburger helper or spaghetti with a couple scrambled eggs for additional protein and nutrients.

janejellyroll

anl90 wrote: »

janejellyroll wrote: »

I have no idea what your budget is, but I find things like oats, rice, potatoes, dried beans, frozen vegetables, and pasta, and canned tomatoes to be very affordable.

What are you eating now that you want to replace with other things?

I get things like stuff for spaghetti, hamburger helper, brats, etc. Just a lot of processed stuff, that I feel like is going to be packed with calories.

Some processed food is calorie-dense, some isn't. If you find yourself in a situation where you can't choose exactly the food you'd like to eat, you can always control your portions.

When I eat a more calorie-dense ingredient (like pasta), I always try to make it go further volume-wise by adding things like vegetables. You can pick up some bags of frozen vegetables for pretty cheap and depending on your location and time of year, fresh vegetables like carrots, cabbage, or greens may be an affordable option to add volume as well.

nic_27_grassisgreener

Lots of good ideas here which I use weekly!

Here's another one for you that I made last night. Vegetarian chili: 2 cans beans, 1 14oz can diced tomatoes, 8 oz tomato sauce, 1 can of beer, 2 T chili seasoning. Add water to thin out. (The beer adds surprising deep flavor, but you can use broth instead). This is around $5 for 4-6 servings. It's even cheaper if you cook beans from dried, but I was lazy yesterday. I also made some cornbread muffins - I just buy cornmeal and make the recipe on the side, I always have the other ingredients on hand (flour, milk, etc).

mgookin

I usually buy a large ham (I have a few in the deep freezer already from when they were clearancing them out after the holidays) and turn it into several meals.
Black eyed peas, white bean soup, omletes, casseroles, sandwiches, salads, etc.

I wait to make the soups after most of it is gone, and use the bone to make own broth.

deannalfisher

i make a barley and sweet potato risotto for less than $6 which serves me for up to 6 meals

the blog budgetbytes has ideas for cooking on the cheap

ValeriePlz

I second dried beans, they are so amazingly cheap, and with rice form a complete protein at a low cost.

amtyrell

Beans and rice.
Eggs
Things free after coupons. This week I got 10 potatoes, two yogurts, 5 boxes of special k bars, a small amount green onions , and 2lbs oranges.
Build pantry on cheap but good items use that to stretch other weeks

LookingBusy

Take advantage of the coupon/cashback offers to stretch your grocery budget. My grocery store offers me points (which I can redeem for credit at the store), plus price matching. A good price matching app will help make that easier.

Then on flush weeks, or when you find a good deal, buy things and freeze it in individual (or dual) portions. Boneless pork loin is usually cheap near me, so I can freeze each and then pull it out when I need 1 or 2, etc.

Eggs also make a great meal. Cheap, easy and you can do much with them.

lporter229

Look for sales on meat and stock up. Cooking some of the cheaper cuts of meat in a crock pot will usually make them tender and shreddable. Portion in individual servings and freeze them to serve over beans, rice, pasta, etc. Another item that is cheap is cornmeal. You can make polenta, which is very versatile.

diannethegeek

Ramen noodles with an egg and a heaping handful of frozen veg is one of my staple meals when I'm really out of money.

ritzvin

anl90 wrote: »

janejellyroll wrote: »

I have no idea what your budget is, but I find things like oats, rice, potatoes, dried beans, frozen vegetables, and pasta, and canned tomatoes to be very affordable.

What are you eating now that you want to replace with other things?

I get things like stuff for spaghetti, hamburger helper, brats, etc. Just a lot of processed stuff, that I feel like is going to be packed with calories.

You can probably find something cheaper than the brats in terms of price per protein gram (those tend to be very high fat and sold in smaller packages). Pricerite/shop-rite, for instance, sells large packages of generic turkey franks for $4-ish. When chopped/sliced up (I usually cut up the whole package and then toss in freezer baggies to add to batches of stuff later), they work pretty well in rice & beans and soups, or just tossed on top of some frozen veggies and microwaved. Same store has some surprisingly lean boneless ham quarters for $2-something/lb that also works well for all of that. You'd have to check around and look at the packages at the stores near you to find out what options you have available. Rice & beans are very cheap and stretch far. Frozen and canned veggies can bulk it out to larger portions per calorie. Note: where I am the price for canned veggies varies quite a bit between the main supermarket chains versus the discount grocery chains - and it definitely adds up. Aldi generally has a 'weekly special' meat item that will be a very good price. I got a hunk of pork (pretty lean cut too) at less than $2/lb last week. This week, boneless, skinless chicken breasts were $1.89/lb. Definitely check to see what is available for any 'weekly specials'.

Hamburger helper is probably not worth the price tag unless an incredibly cheap store brand (if memory serves: it comprises some pasta, powdered cheese, spices - all stuff that is cheap to buy in full sizes and would last a long time). And ground beef has gotten fairly expensive (at least where I am) even for the high fat content stuff. Even ground turkey is pricier than a lot of the other available meat options at my local stores.

As someone else mentioned, a pressure cooker and/or crockpot are incredibly useful, especially for a lot of the cheapest meals to make. They'll both make cheap tough cuts of meat tender. Pressure cooker will make short work of dried beans. Batches of soups/stews/chili. Also having certain staple items always on hand that can be used with whatever meat is available. janejellyroll's list above is a pretty good one for that. I always have rice, dried beans, canned tomatoes, canned mushrooms, frozen vegetables, some canned vegetables on hand. If I had to be more frugal on the grocery bill, then oats, peanut butter, potatoes would definitely join that list (replacing the morning protein bar and some of the now protein calories later in the day).

Cbean08

Tortillas are incredibly cheap too. You can usually find a pack of 8 small ones for around 50 cents. Buy 2 of those. Cook up a bag of frozen pepper and onion mix (about 2 dollars) with a can of beans (80 cents) and a can of corn (80 cents) and a jar of salsa (2 dollars). Do a portion of the pepper/bean/corn mix, 2 tortillas and a couple eggs or whatever other meat you might have lying around.