Eating well on the cheap

joelleh26

Has anyone got any ideas on how to eat well cheaply, moneys a lil tight this month. So need ideas. Got rice, noodles, pasta , two bags of frozen veg. Umm brought 3 packs of meat for £10 chicken pork and beef... Portioned and frozened. Will prob need another one..... Got sweet n sour sauce and stroganoff sauce portioned n frozen!
What else? Breakfast n lunches? As I thinking I mend up skipping a meal which I don't want to do

mallory3411

For breakfast eggs are relatively cheap. Only $2 a carton here in Ontario. Oatmeal is also really cheap and if you buy a large bag it works out to be only a few cents per serving.

Shop sales! Best advice I've ever gotten. Pasta is cheap and can be made into tons of different things.

When my hubby and I were tight on money we would cook up some pasta, cut up a chicken breast and add some frozen veggies. Decent meal for really cheap.

Beef you can cut up and make into a stew and a large pot doesn't cost a ton to make and makes enough for a few meals. Soups are cheap! See what you have in your fridge, freezer, pantry etc and go from there.

You don't have to skip meals. You can have some great meals for cheap. Sandwiches are a cheap lunch. Breakfast for dinner is a cheap meal as well. Dried beans are a great way to get protein in without the cost of meat.

Not sure if any store around you does this but where I am the grocery stores mark down the meat that will expire in the next day or two. It is usually at least 50% off. We buy this, portion it as soon as we get home and freeze.

Salad with chicken is pretty cheap to make per serving. Stir fry can be done cheap as well.

Good luck!!

bashiera

I've gone flexitarian (mainly eating vegetarian meals, sometimes meat) just to save money. Meat around here is so expensive, I don't bother eating it unless I find a phenomenal sale on chicken. Dry beans/can beans if they're on sale, brown rice, birds's eye frozen veggies are cheap, store brand frozen veggies when bird's eye isn't on sale for 1$, canned fruit in their own juice or water for pre-workout snack, oatmeal (I can get boxes of Oat Revolution 5 for 4 dollars if I'm smart- that's 25 packets of old fashioned low cal oats for 4 dollars) or just store brand quick oats since steel cut is expensive (inb4 "steel cut oats are the only oats good for you") As long as I don't add more than a drop of honey and a splash of milk they keep me full and are low calorie for how much of them I can eat. I go to a local discount store and they have produce that's about to expire marked down, so I grab that and use it all in one night for prepared dishes or I end up having a huge bowl of salad for dinner. Eggs are cheap, but I get them for free from my grandparents, but eggs are cheap, tasty, wholesome and versatile. So I pretty much eat a lot of rice and beans, oatmeal, marked down almost expired produce, and eggs, but I save a ton of money. It's not fancy, but I like it and doesn't hurt my wallet.

leslisa

Eggs are cheap, but I get them for free from my grandparents, but eggs are cheap, tasty, wholesome and versatile. So I pretty much eat a lot of rice and beans, oatmeal, marked down almost expired produce, and eggs, but I save a ton of money. It's not fancy, but I like it and doesn't hurt my wallet.

What she said. Also, adding in almost expired meat that you cook right then and then freeze, peanuts (cheap here in the states in large bags, not sure about where you are), potatoes, and squash (cheap in my area, again don't know the price in yours, but a $1.29 squash can be 4 meals for me . Tomato sauce or pasta sauce can be added to almost everything and is cheap. Also, if you are in a country area, pick your own dandelion greens (before they flower) and ask farmers if they will sell milk directly. Can be very cheap, the cream is on top and basically skim milk is at the bottom as it is not homogenized.

For long term, grow your own window tomatoes from seeds and also your own herbs and scallions.

Good luck!

:flowerforyou:

AprilOneFourFour

I find that one of the best budget tools is to sit down for 20 minutes and write a meal plan for the next 3-7 days, starting from the point of what I've got to use up. Then I can freeze anything perishable and buy the minimum extra. It sounds like you've got enough to cover lunches and dinners, so all you need is whatever you like for breakfast.

mes1119

I have found that eating healthy has been cheaper than the way I ate before. I was eating a ton of fast food and eating out though, which was getting expensive. (plus I was just eating "more" food).

Eggs are very cheap and I eat those every morning. Plan oats for oatmeal is cheap too and doesn't go bad quickly. A good loaf of bread and some peanut butter will hold you over for lunches. Or maybe get some canned soup (probably not the best but cheap and filling and can be low calories) get big bags of almonds or tubs of fat free yogurt for snacks (bulk is cheaper) and it seems like you have a good handle on dinners. I buy a huge thing of chicken when they are on sale and portion them out into individual tupperware containers and pop them in the freezer. I'll take them out the day before and put them in the fridge to thaw.

foss44

Bumping to read later:

leslisa

Forgot to add, cooking from scratch can save money (or not) depending on what you are making. Be careful to consider both ways. And don't be afraid of new stuff. I got some almond flour on clearance a few months back and the made these awesome high protein pancakes and muffins from a recipes I found on the internet.

stephenatl09

Just shop smart. Look for sales. I shop at Sam's (wholesale club) also. I can get a whole pork loin for $16 and eat on it for weeks. I go ahead and cook it up then freeze it. It is so much I get tired of it before it's gone. Also, see if you can get a whole chicken or sale or not it is cheaper. I don't now about your cooking skills, Dried beans are good and you can find almost outdated meat too which is a really good deal as previously posted. I'm not much on coupons but they can help you save too. Good luck !!.

bisland

Make a batch of chilli. Beans, tomatoes & gr beaf or turkey in the crock pot. Very inexpensive I portion it out & put in the freezer for lunch. Also home made chicken soup. Less expensive & healthier than canned.

MelanieSpicegurl

I have found that eating healthy has been cheaper than the way I ate before. I was eating a ton of fast food and eating out though, which was getting expensive. (plus I was just eating "more" food).

Eggs are very cheap and I eat those every morning. Plan oats for oatmeal is cheap too and doesn't go bad quickly. A good loaf of bread and some peanut butter will hold you over for lunches. Or maybe get some canned soup (probably not the best but cheap and filling and can be low calories) get big bags of almonds or tubs of fat free yogurt for snacks (bulk is cheaper) and it seems like you have a good handle on dinners. I buy a huge thing of chicken when they are on sale and portion them out into individual tupperware containers and pop them in the freezer. I'll take them out the day before and put them in the fridge to thaw.

Sounds Just like me !
I live on Peanut Butter Toast and Oatmeal !!
Eggs are also good !