$75-$100 Budget for 2 weeks of meals! D:
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-Buy store brand products whenever possible. Especially pasta, cereal, bread, and those type of things. They are really just as good as name brand, and much cheaper. Eat a LOT of pasta and rice.
Eeek. Save yourself and DON'T eat a LOT of pasta and rice. Your waistline will thank you.
As for my husband and I, we usually spend anywhere from $50-$150 for two weeks. It really depends on the types of things we need, and if there are good sales on meat. We always shop at Aldi for basic items, and use coupons at Kroger. Clip coupons like crazy. Believe me, I save about $30-$40 average on groceries each week just by using coupons.
Our two week shopping list looks like this:
2 loaves of wheat bread, 1 goes right into the freezer. Each is only $1.09 at Aldi
10 cups of fat free yogurt. Fat free yogurt is only $0.39 a cup at Aldi
2 bags of baby carrots, each only $1 at Aldi
2 pounds of lunch meat, ham and turkey, each package is $3.29 at Aldi (or you can get Kroger brand for $3.19)
2 pkgs Diced peach cups, you can get a 4-pack at Aldi for less than $3
2 pkgs apple sauce with cinnamon, you get a 6-pack at aldi for less than $3
1 bundle fresh asparagus, $2 at Kroger
1 bundle fresh broccoli, $1.30 at Kroger
1 bundle fresh cauliflower, $1 at Kroger
1 bundle fresh green onions, $0.50 at Kroger
2 bags of Clancy's veggie chips (great snack, low-cal!), each is $2.19 at aldi
1 lb bag of white rice, only $1.19 at Aldi
2 jars of Ragu light alfredo sauce, only $1.60 at Kroger, each
2 boxes of Wheat pasta, you can get wheat spaghetti at Aldi for only $1
Boneless skinless chicken breasts, if they are on sale.
4-6 cans of chunk light tuna, only $0.59 a can at Aldi
3 cans of black beans, $0.59 each at Aldi
1 pkg flour tortillas, $1 at Aldi
93/7 Fresh Ground Turkey. A 1.2 lb package is only $2.79 at Kroger, Kroger brand turkey
3 lbs of bananas, usually $0.54 a pound
Frozen fruit
1 half-gallon of milk, usually $2 at Aldi
2 cartons of fit and active egg substitute, only $1.69 at aldi, each
1 lb of fit and active turkey bacon, only $1.60 at Aldi
1 box of assorted oatmeal packets, only $2 at Aldi
1 pkg of string cheese, $3
~~$65.00 total
Like other people, we usually stock up the freezer once every other month with meats, etc. $1.79 is a good price to pay for boneless skinless chicken breasts. Buy the big package and split up into 8oz baggies and freeze (a serving for you and your husband). If you buy a 4-lb package, you can get 16, 4oz servings of chicken, for only $0.45 per serving.
Tuna salad is great on bread or crackers.
Turkey bacon, eggs, oatmeal are all good breakfasts. You can also make a "quiche" with eggs, bacon, and cooked vegetables. Mix together, throw in the oven for about 1/2 hour at 350 and tada! Yum!
Grilled chicken, chicken alfredo, chicken with mixed vegetables, etc.., are all good dishes to make with chicken.
Chili is a great and easy meal to make, and you'll have left overs.
Hope this helps.0 -
Wow- you all are extremely helpful!
cjangelo, I’d be really interested in this recipe if you want to send it to me. Thank you.Since you mentioned carrots, I thought I should tell you about a delicious carrot soup I made a couple weeks ago. It was basically just carrots, an onion, a leek, some homemade stock (I think you could substitute water), plus ginger, honey, butter or oil, and lemon juice. I got six 150-calorie meals out of it, it couldn't have cost more than $5, and it was so delicious and filling. Soups in general are very inexpensive to make.
MaraDiaz, thanks for the chipotle peppers suggestion!
Sassylilmama- Great idea using meat as the side instead of the main dish. My husband may not like it but I do! Local Stores: Sam’s Club (I have a membership), Wal-Mart, Target, Coburn’s Grocery, and Cash wise Grocery.What stores are in your area? I can probably give you a site with coupon matchups for your area. Use meat as a side rather than the main part of your meal.
Foremant86, Thank you for posting up a shopping list and what you have for meals. It is a big visual aid help!
MomOfTwo, love your tofu idea… but my husband would kill me if he knew. Feel free to send me tofu recipes anytime! Haha
Drunkwithword, thank you for the YouTube suggestion! Also, thank you for posting your meals. Big help!
AwesomeJobe, homemade bread! I’ll have to try this. Thanks.
kjloiselle, thanks for the tips and grocery list! I like the menu plan idea as well- I’ll try to work that out with the husband.
Umeboshi,
I love my rice cooker! Thank you for the ideas to mix things up. Very helpful. Oh- and the freezing rice!
Smpreston, I really love this idea. Unfortunately, I have a tiny apartment kitchen- so freezing a lot of big things is most likely not going to happen. I couldn’t fit two turkeys in there if I wanted to! GREAT Idea though. I will check out that show!Buy a turkey or two left from Thanksgiving and toss them in the freezer. A turkey roasted on Sunday can feed you for several days. Make open faced sandwiches, serve with that rice you have, make a turkey soup, etc. I buy whole chickens when they are on sale. You can do a lot with a piece of meat that is less than $1 per pound. You can bake your own whole grain bread.
Food Network has a show called $10 dinners. Get some good ideas there.
CoraGregoryCP, I am for sure trying to stay away from any sort of fast food places. I’ll take any ideas over going there at this point. Thank you for the help and a list of things to get.Some of these ideas may not be the BEST health wise, but it's still better than fast food. I'm sorry but people that can't eat on a budget are using it as an excuse.
We spend $50 a week. It feeds two adults including lunches and breakfast that we take to work. We still eat healthy and don't buy the cheap things. 0 -
-Buy store brand products whenever possible. Especially pasta, cereal, bread, and those type of things. They are really just as good as name brand, and much cheaper. Eat a LOT of pasta and rice.
Eeek. Save yourself and DON'T eat a LOT of pasta and rice. Your waistline will thank you.
As for my husband and I, we usually spend anywhere from $50-$150 for two weeks. It really depends on the types of things we need, and if there are good sales on meat. We always shop at Aldi for basic items, and use coupons at Kroger. Clip coupons like crazy. Believe me, I save about $30-$40 average on groceries each week just by using coupons.
Our two week shopping list looks like this:
2 loaves of wheat bread, 1 goes right into the freezer. Each is only $1.09 at Aldi
10 cups of fat free yogurt. Fat free yogurt is only $0.39 a cup at Aldi
2 bags of baby carrots, each only $1 at Aldi
2 pounds of lunch meat, ham and turkey, each package is $3.29 at Aldi (or you can get Kroger brand for $3.19)
2 pkgs Diced peach cups, you can get a 4-pack at Aldi for less than $3
2 pkgs apple sauce with cinnamon, you get a 6-pack at aldi for less than $3
1 bundle fresh asparagus, $2 at Kroger
1 bundle fresh broccoli, $1.30 at Kroger
1 bundle fresh cauliflower, $1 at Kroger
1 bundle fresh green onions, $0.50 at Kroger
2 bags of Clancy's veggie chips (great snack, low-cal!), each is $2.19 at aldi
1 lb bag of white rice, only $1.19 at Aldi
2 jars of Ragu light alfredo sauce, only $1.60 at Kroger, each
2 boxes of Wheat pasta, you can get wheat spaghetti at Aldi for only $1
Boneless skinless chicken breasts, if they are on sale.
4-6 cans of chunk light tuna, only $0.59 a can at Aldi
3 cans of black beans, $0.59 each at Aldi
1 pkg flour tortillas, $1 at Aldi
93/7 Fresh Ground Turkey. A 1.2 lb package is only $2.79 at Kroger, Kroger brand turkey
3 lbs of bananas, usually $0.54 a pound
Frozen fruit
1 half-gallon of milk, usually $2 at Aldi
2 cartons of fit and active egg substitute, only $1.69 at aldi, each
1 lb of fit and active turkey bacon, only $1.60 at Aldi
1 box of assorted oatmeal packets, only $2 at Aldi
1 pkg of string cheese, $3
~~$65.00 total
Like other people, we usually stock up the freezer once every other month with meats, etc. $1.79 is a good price to pay for boneless skinless chicken breasts. Buy the big package and split up into 8oz baggies and freeze (a serving for you and your husband). If you buy a 4-lb package, you can get 16, 4oz servings of chicken, for only $0.45 per serving.
Tuna salad is great on bread or crackers.
Turkey bacon, eggs, oatmeal are all good breakfasts. You can also make a "quiche" with eggs, bacon, and cooked vegetables. Mix together, throw in the oven for about 1/2 hour at 350 and tada! Yum!
Grilled chicken, chicken alfredo, chicken with mixed vegetables, etc.., are all good dishes to make with chicken.
Chili is a great and easy meal to make, and you'll have left overs.
Hope this helps.
WOW- Thank you so much greenpianokey! This is a perfect example of things I am looking for!0 -
Some other things I would like to add-
I really appreciate all this help, please, please keep all these ideas coming and if you can relink this so your MFP friends can help me that would be great!
I am very interested in learning more about how people freeze entire meals ahead of time. I’m trying to get into portion control for various reasons- budget included.
Also, my husband works (I do not.) so he takes lunches for work. I try to get him to take left overs or sandwhichs for lunch. Any other ideas to change things up for him and he says he is still hungry- it’s not enough food I hear a lot… ideas, suggestions?0 -
I'm not too sure on the budget. But I love white rice for breakfast. Put raisins and no calorie sugar if you got any. At wal mart they have great value no calorie sweetener for like 5 bucks but a big thing of it. I buy one every couple months.0
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Scour online circulars and check for printable coupons before you go shopping. Sometimes you can find amazing deals on some basics... My favorite whole grain bread is sometimes "buy one, get TWO free!" Stick the two you won't be using right in the freezer. Same goes for English Muffins. Keep them frozen until the day before you'll use them.
I buy boneless skinless chicken breasts when they're around $1.99 a pound for the "big pack," and again, freeze what I won't immediately use. Frozen fish fillets can be pretty economical, too. I got a 5# bag of Whiting for $10. Lots of meals there, and they thaw quickly. I just take out some fillets and thaw them in a bowl of cool water before I start cooking.
Store brand bags of frozen mixed vegetables. Soooo easy to plan meals this way. Italian blend veggies, some pasta (in normal sized portions it won't hurt your waistline unless you are very, very sensitive to carbs), chicken or fish cooked with marinara sauce, and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese... YUM. Oriental blend veggies, brown rice, chicken or pork, and teriyaki sauce... YUM. Pasta or rice, plus chicken or fish, plus frozen veggies, plus sauce is pretty much every meal I cook.
Some stores have deep discounts on fruits and veggies slightly past their prime. Still totally edible, and always worth checking.
I typically don't spend much more than $50 a week on groceries, and that includes about $10 a week worth of Hot Pockets my husband insists on eating for breakfast. :grumble: And the $5 frozen pizza I insist on eating. :laugh:0 -
Oatmeal for breakfast. It gets tedious and a little nerve racking but it will last for a while when you do the right portions.
Same with eggs.
If you get the healhy versions, pb&J will last you a while. Tuna fish and any of the leftovers from dinner are cheap.
For fruits and veggies, I eat a ton of veggies and maybe one or two fruits a day. I find appples can be cheap and last a while. Same with cranberries. I also say any kind of cheap frozen veggies. Just make sure you are eating the portion sizes and you should be ok.0 -
Scour online circulars and check for printable coupons before you go shopping. Sometimes you can find amazing deals on some basics... My favorite whole grain bread is sometimes "buy one, get TWO free!" Stick the two you won't be using right in the freezer. Same goes for English Muffins. Keep them frozen until the day before you'll use them.
I buy boneless skinless chicken breasts when they're around $1.99 a pound for the "big pack," and again, freeze what I won't immediately use. Frozen fish fillets can be pretty economical, too. I got a 5# bag of Whiting for $10. Lots of meals there, and they thaw quickly. I just take out some fillets and thaw them in a bowl of cool water before I start cooking.
Store brand bags of frozen mixed vegetables. Soooo easy to plan meals this way. Italian blend veggies, some pasta (in normal sized portions it won't hurt your waistline unless you are very, very sensitive to carbs), chicken or fish cooked with marinara sauce, and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese... YUM. Oriental blend veggies, brown rice, chicken or pork, and teriyaki sauce... YUM. Pasta or rice, plus chicken or fish, plus frozen veggies, plus sauce is pretty much every meal I cook.
Some stores have deep discounts on fruits and veggies slightly past their prime. Still totally edible, and always worth checking.
I typically don't spend much more than $50 a week on groceries, and that includes about $10 a week worth of Hot Pockets my husband insists on eating for breakfast. :grumble: And the $5 frozen pizza I insist on eating. :laugh:
LorinaLynn, I laughed so hard that the Hot Pockets comment. I know the feeling! Thank you for these great suggestions and meal ideas.0 -
I buy $1-2 wheat bread from ralphs thats only 110cal for 2pcs, and I buy roma tomatoes/cucumber, and fat free miracle whip mayo ( i buy the huge one cause it lasts FOREVER), I make tomato/cucumber sandwich out of those. It's cheap and healthy! Also same ingredients except do it with ralphs tuna in water (about $0.60-1 per can, sometimes they have even better deals). I also buy sometimes cheap turkey meat with bread/mayo/vegies combo. Typically in "season" produce is cheaper than others so eat those cause veggies/fruits are not only healthy but feel you up better than other foods. Beans are also cheap, and great source of energy before workout. You can also buy eggs in sets of 64 for like $2-3 at like Johns/Food for Less or one of those cheap markets!
I will try and think of more
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The freezing thing is easier then you might think. You just freeze dinner meals. When I started doing this, I was afraid too. I hate waisting money and didn't want to lose the food. But I soon realized that you have to play around with certain foods to see what you don't like frozen. I haven't had any issues. I've made an entire recipe in a cook book, then divide the portion into two before the final baking stage. Eat one now, and freeze the rest for another dinner in the week. Try to freeze the dish at the point before the final baking process.
For example, if you made a lasana, build the lasana in two smaller pyrex dishes. The one you are going to freeze, wait for it to reach room temperature (if not already), wrap with clear wrap as close to the food as possible then put a lid on it and throw it in the freezer. When you decide to eat the frozen one, place it in the oven and cook it an extra 15-20 minutes or so. I like to freeze soups in individual zip lock bags, then give it to my fiance for lunch. Does your husband have a kitchen at work to heat up soup or other frozen foods? If no kitchen, then try to not throw in the "bad carbs" so he will stay fuller longer. Men are picky though. I'm still learning.
I wish a male responds to that question so we know what is good to give to them!Some other things I would like to add-
I really appreciate all this help, please, please keep all these ideas coming and if you can relink this so your MFP friends can help me that would be great!
I am very interested in learning more about how people freeze entire meals ahead of time. I’m trying to get into portion control for various reasons- budget included.
Also, my husband works (I do not.) so he takes lunches for work. I try to get him to take left overs or sandwhichs for lunch. Any other ideas to change things up for him and he says he is still hungry- it’s not enough food I hear a lot… ideas, suggestions?0 -
Assuming you have flour, this soup (the mild version) could be made for virtually pennies and it's delicious. If you don't have the Asian pantry items on hand you could easily americanize it by just using some chicken broth or bouillon.
http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/sujebi
If I had to work under that budget it'd be with a lot of dried beans, lentils, split peas, etc. along with rice and homemade pastas and breads. Also frozen veggies (can't abide canned) and anything crazy on sale at the meat counter.
Good luck!0 -
We spend a max of $70 a week on our shopping for two, it's normally more around the 50's mark unless we are stocking up on specials. Buying in bulk is good especially if you have a big freezer.
We have a shop around the corner from us that sells products too close to there best before dates and because of this they are extremely cheap.
We normally buy frozen veges as they are cheaper and last a lot longer I have also heard they have more nutrients than fresh ones.
We always buy our bread when it is a bulk special and freeze the ones we aren't using
Breakfast is normally cereal - for me a weight watches one and milk. On weekends we have eggs (free as they are from my parents chickens) on toast or pancakes (homemade) as a treat.
Lunch is normally a filled roll - lettuce, avocardo, ham and cheese. Or a toastie.
Dinner varies- pasta bake, cottage pie and vege, toad in the hole and vege, lasagna and salad, chciken salad, stuffed chicken vege and baked potato, lamb chops mash and vege, chicken salad etc
There is heaps of cheap meals you can make. Buy mince in bulk and divide it up into snap lock bags when you freeze it makes portions easy and is cheaper in the long run, we do this with all our meat.
All the vege is frozen and you can get a good variety of frozen veges.
For snacks we buy muesli bars and we pop our own pop corn (nothing added to it) the odd time I'll bake something too.0 -
I just shop for myself and I rarely go over $50 a week so that should be fine for two people. My staples are:
Perdue chicken
Yogurt
Frozen Spinach (like $2 a bag for Shop Rite brand and there's a lot of servings in there)
Lettuce
Celery
Carrots
Hummus
Oatmeal
Fruits
Granola bars
Bread
Turkey
And whatever else I feel like that week0 -
There are a lot of great suggestions in here! This is definatly one area my wife and I need help in. I'm excited to give these a shot!0
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Bump0
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hillbilly housewife site...This is a great site for penny pinching.....0
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I agree with everyone who said look at the loss leaders in your grocery store to meal plan. After that, you need to step out of the comfort zone (at least for me). When I am on a tight budget, anything with a label marked LIGHT, SHREDDED, INSTANT, COMPLETE, PREWASHED, INDIVIDUAL, SLICED, READY TO EAT etc means you are paying for convenience and you don't have the budget for that. However, without convenience that is so built into our society, you will find lower prices on food. Skip the baby carrots, buy a giant bag of carrots. I can't claim it's exciting but here is what I would look for:
Beverages- Water, Water and water, make that tap water.
Breakfast: Oatmeal (not instant and certainly not in little envelopes). I eat steal cut oats made in the crockpot. Leftovers last 3 days at least when heated with a splash of milk. I think you could spend $3 and both of you could eat for a week. Toss in some brown sugar. Eat whatever fruit is on sale.
Lunch- Grab your boxes of rice and a bag of dried black beans ($1), tortillas (I can get 36 for $4 at BJs), a block of cheddar cheese ($4?), and a big jar of Salsa ($4?). Cook those beans, shred that cheese. Mix all of it together and throw it in your burrito and heat. You can add anything to it.. corn, chicken, peppers if you have the $. (these also freeze REALLY well for on the go lunches). Let's say this makes 24 burritos, that's 50 cents each. Eat with a banana (8 bananas or so at BJs cost $1.25 in New England).
PBJ sandwiches
Snacks- Popcorn. Buy kernels and cook on the stovetop. Yogurt (big containers divided up). Celery w/ PB, Carrot sticks, 1/2 sandwiches.
Dinner- I'd probably go with some pasta (maybe with meat sauce if there is $), breakfast egg casseroles, breakfast for dinner, quiche, sandwiches, tuna casserole, baked potatoes or chicken stir fry. Use up any extra rice. Eat with whatever vegetable is on sale.
Try to shop for things not on a great sale in a place that has low prices.. aldi, walmart, target etc
Good luck! Let us know how it goes.0 -
idothin has excellent ideas!
We don't buy any drinks at the grocery store either, except milk and occasionally wine. Soda, juice and beer can run up the bill.0 -
Check out 100 Days of Real Food. She provides meal plans and recipes for $125 /wk for 4 people. You should be able to cut that in half for 2!
http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/category/100-days-of-real-food-on-a-budget/0 -
oh woow that's bad...and also really unhealthy!! try and cut out sth else..maybe walk to the store/gym/etc. the next time..that saves you gas money that you could spend on healthier food AND is healthy for you by training of calories (: also you could cut out things like alcohol (that is really bad for you anyways if you want to lose weight) , cigarettes, magazines..i have no idea what you usually buy i'm just giving some ideas here because you can't really have a healthy eating habbit with that amount of money..0
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