Meals for two ... on no budget

Stefanny91
Stefanny91 Posts: 223 Member
in Recipes
So currently I am piss poor! I'm trying to avoid buying too much food... what healthy cheep recipes do people have?
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Replies

  • asarwe
    asarwe Posts: 73 Member
    Lentil soup:

    Lentils, onion, tomato purée, spices of your choice.

    Sauté the onion, pour in the lentils and tomato purée, pour in water, put in spices.

    Can also be done with chick peas.
  • katy_trail
    katy_trail Posts: 1,992 Member
    legume soup all the way or chilli. keep that crock pot busy baby :) but chicken broth or cubes is a must.
    and saute your veggies.
    how bout veggie burgers? I'll have to add more later. I lived rubbing 2 pennies together for a really long time :)
    actually, I still am.


    all about the sales and what's in season first.
    we do all the shopping in 1 place or 1 geographic area. also, depending on where you shop, sometimes there's a significant
    difference in sales tax from one city or state to the next.

    10 min. asian night:

    use your peeler (of food processor, I don't have one) to get the carrots in long strips, or whatever shape you want.
    in long strips it's like noodles. then you can steam these in the microwave or saute in a pan. (need at least 2 carrots)
    serve with noodles or spagetti squash or a combo. I love peanut sauce with this. great way to use up the last bit of pb.
    more veggies on top if you want, or if you're really scrapped could prob. make the whole thing with just carrots and sauce.
    how's that for cheap and healthy? ha ha.

    I make up whatever i'm going to make mostly by just what we have at the time.
    some of my best ideas come when we are limited in ingredients.
    I almost never think of something new when we have a full fridge.

    what kind of diet restrictions do you have?
    kid friendly, fast, easy, healthy.....any foods either of you can't eat?
  • AmyMadeUp
    AmyMadeUp Posts: 19
    Summerset stew, here is the link.... (mash optional)

    http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1089635/somerset-stew-with-cheddar-and-parsley-mash

    amy x

    amymadeup.wordpress.com
  • sally414
    sally414 Posts: 51
    Check out BudgetBytes.Blogspot.com. Great recipes for people on a budget, I can cut most of her recipes in half for two people and they are CHEAP! You can healthify most of them too.

    I also started saving $ on groceries by not tossing leftovers or freezing things for later. I used to just toss leftovers and make a new meal the next day. That was a bad habit!
  • Cobweb200
    Cobweb200 Posts: 49
    I definitley agree on the soups front it is amazing what you can do if you have tinned tomatoes in the cupboard. I love a spicey red lentil and tomato soup. But I make all sorts of variants depending upon what I have in the fridge or cupboard. Weekends I often make up a "whats left in the fridge" soup or curry. Ring the changes with whatever spices and herbs you have in the store cupboard.

    If you need something more filling, chop up a couple of poatoes into a panful of the soup mix and when they are cooked and you blend the soup it will be lovely and thick and creamy!

    You can also make healthy low calorie "cheats" pizza's on slices of bread or best of all, if the budget will allow, on a Tortilla wrap. This is one of my favoutie low budget, healthy diet friendly options. My OH and family also love these and do not realise they are one of my "diet" meals.

    Good Luck - I have been there xxx
  • davidbronkalla
    davidbronkalla Posts: 28 Member
    I purchased this cookbook off of amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0881507237/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00

    It has already proven its worthiness with some delicious recipes. I have made turkey and white bean chili multiple times out of there which is cheap and very filling.
  • vim_n_vigor
    vim_n_vigor Posts: 4,089 Member
    egg drop soup with a can of sweet corn - it is tasty and eggs are cheap and so is the corn. It is surprisingly filling too.
  • katy_trail
    katy_trail Posts: 1,992 Member
    love egg drop soup!
  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
    Buy a whole chicken - about £3.50 in the UK. Have it roast on Sunday, then the rest of the week make curry, risotto, sandwiches, stir fries, salads - whatever takes your fancy. When you've just got bones left, make soup.
  • spiralated
    spiralated Posts: 150 Member
    Check out BudgetBytes.Blogspot.com. Great recipes for people on a budget, I can cut most of her recipes in half for two people and they are CHEAP! You can healthify most of them too.

    I love this blog!
  • mltaylor948
    mltaylor948 Posts: 1
    Menu plan for the week and only buy exactly what you need. Try to make foods from scratch and quit eating out. We have recently had to make these changes for our budget.
  • jw17695
    jw17695 Posts: 438 Member
    red beans and rice

    split pea soup

    baked potatos/sweet potatos

    You can usually find pasta and canned tomatos super cheap too.

    Also try the dollar store. There are usually fruits, veggies, frozen food and some boxed type foods.

    If you have a Kroger or Farmer's Market near by, they usually have "manager's specials" which is food nearing it's shelf life. Usually those foods should be frozen or eaten within a couple of days.
  • moebius13
    moebius13 Posts: 39
    bump
  • Lindseyelizabeth87
    Lindseyelizabeth87 Posts: 151 Member
    Honestly I find the cleaner you eat the cheaper it is.
    Just had my breakfast.. apple, orange and banana was $1.52. Add an egg for protein and it's still under $2.00

    Same goes for the lovely soups mentioned.. clean, simple foods are really not so expensive!
  • cmeiron
    cmeiron Posts: 1,599 Member
    Lentils, chick peas, yams, beans, frozen veggies, whole wheat pasta...

    Make food from scratch. PLAN every single meal for the week before going grocery shopping - this was a biggie for me; we were throwing out food because we were impulse buying stuff then letting it go bad. Now our fridge is empty (except for condiments) by grocery day.

    Figure out ways to use any leftovers of fresh veg/fruit if you've had to buy more than you need for one recipe (like yesterday I used half a squash in one recipe, today I roasted the rest and am going to make a salad with it).

    Buy in bulk when you can (especially meat - repackage and freeze into appropriate portions). Double any casserole-style or pasta recipe you make and freeze the leftovers for future meals (great especially for particularly "broke" weeks).

    I'm pretty budget-conscious and pick recipes that don't have a lot of expensive ingredients. You can check my Pinterest board, which I'm slowly starting to add to: http://pinterest.com/tgiq/recipes-main-courses/
  • castadiva
    castadiva Posts: 2,016 Member
    Chickpea casserole is very inexpensive - you can add a bit of chorizo/bacon/pancetta/sausage/left-over shredded bits of Berry's roast chicken as the budget allows:

    Slice half a red onion, and fry in a heavy casserole pot with a little butter or olive oil until soft. Add chilli powder to taste (or hot paprika) ad cook for 1 minute, stirring. Then, add a drained tin of chickpeas and a tin of tomatoes, cover and cook on low heat for 25-30 mins. Add sliced peppers (I prefer red) and/or carrots, green beans, broccoli - whatever you like/have, and maybe a sprinkling of chopped dried fruit and slivered almonds if you have them and the budget - financial or calorific - will allow. Serve with couscous and a dollop of plain or greek yoghurt. Serves 4-6, and is even better after a day or two in the fridge.
  • katy_trail
    katy_trail Posts: 1,992 Member
    http://www.rachaelray.com/food/collections/budget/index.php?cat=weeknday
  • Four_Leaf_Clover
    Four_Leaf_Clover Posts: 332 Member
    Check out BudgetBytes.Blogspot.com. Great recipes for people on a budget, I can cut most of her recipes in half for two people and they are CHEAP! You can healthify most of them too.

    Great blog, thanks!

    Here is another good link for buying nutritious food on a tight budget - her emphasis is on nutrients.

    http://www.ellenskitchen.com/faqs/improv.html
  • samnco
    samnco Posts: 16 Member
    Pasta Carbonara. Very easy to make for two people.

    Cook 1-2 pieces of bacon per person and crumble them up.
    Add 1 egg to a soup bowl (this will be the dish you eat from) w/ 1 tbs parmesean cheese. Add bacon.
    Cook 1 portion of pasta and once its done move the hot drained pasta to the bowl and stir.

    Done! So delicious, the hot noodles cook the egg!
  • ecka723
    ecka723 Posts: 148 Member
    So currently I am piss poor! I'm trying to avoid buying too much food... what healthy cheep recipes do people have?

    I'm a college student, and my husband and I live on a very strapped income! I hear ya! My cheapest ingredients are big bags of brown rice, dried beans/lentils, eggs, peanut butter, pasta, oatmeal. Often, I will make a large pan of spanish rice and cook black beans in the crockpot. I get sick of eating beans and rice, but it's filling and healthy. I have eaten oatmeal at lunch and dinner when in a pinch. It's crazy, but it's super filling and definitely worked for us. I am sort of becoming a pro at this whole "spending nothing on groceries" game. If you need some more help, feel free to ask!
  • jbdowns35
    jbdowns35 Posts: 352
    Do you have an Aldis grocery store in your area?? If so - SHOP THERE. And definately meal plan out the entire week & only buy what you need.
  • nekoface
    nekoface Posts: 149 Member
    I think lots of people are in the same situation right now. Don't underestimate frozen and tinned foods and dried pulses like lentils and beans. Large bags of rice and pasta are cheaper in the long term and we also get giant bottles of things like cooking oil and dishwashing liquid to refill small empty ones. I make red beans and rice in the crockpot and things like lentil soup and curry.

    Get some curry powder and you can make all kinds of curries with frozen veg, lentils and tinned things. If you have soy sauce and ground ginger you can make fried rice. It's tasty and filling. When I was growing up and we were running out of money at the end of the month my mother made fried rice with frozen mixed veg and frozen chicken. If you eat meat, frozen chicken is a lot cheaper than fresh chicken. Do compare the price of frozen vs tinned veg though - I found it cheaper for me to buy tinned peas rather than frozen peas.

    Freeze things. There's only two of us as well and a regular loaf is way too much bread for two people to use up. You can freeze stuff like loaves of bread and tortillas and you won't need to buy bread for a month. I know that bread is cheap relative to other stuff, but it's a shame to waste food and the pennies add up.

    And one word: coupons. You don't need to go crazy but it will help.

    I like this site for easy budget recipes: http://pennysrecipes.com/
    They're actually easy and actually budget - family meals from lentils, etc. It isn't one of those 'budget' recipe sites which rely a lot on you having time and space to grow your own carrots or whatever to keep the cost down.
  • sportyredhead01
    sportyredhead01 Posts: 482 Member
    I agree planning is everything. Also shop the sales. No matter what I'm craving, I'm usually eating whatever is on sale.
    On sale this week were flat iron steaks, red and yellow peppers and romaine for 99 cents a head.
    So I ended up with 6 lunch salads for the husband and I for around $13. And around where I work you can't get a sandwich for less than $7.

    Also do you have a slow cooker? You can make soups and sauces that would last you two for days! Last week I made an all-day pasta sauce in the crockpot. It should have been called all-week because for the two of us I stretched it by making a lasagna with stuff that we had on hand and ate it from Tuesday-Friday. Then froze the rest.

    Never throw anything out. Freeze it and take it for lunch later. :happy:
  • cmeiron
    cmeiron Posts: 1,599 Member
    Check out BudgetBytes.Blogspot.com. Great recipes for people on a budget, I can cut most of her recipes in half for two people and they are CHEAP! You can healthify most of them too.

    Holy crap, this is GREAT! I spent a couple of hours poring over the recipes, and I'm in love <3 THANK YOUUUUU
  • Stefanny91
    Stefanny91 Posts: 223 Member
    Thanks guys there rae some great ideas in here, I was a student for three years and I learnt the power of freezing everything!! literally everything! but now feeding two people in much more difficult because boys eat a lot!!
  • hnewell1030
    hnewell1030 Posts: 13
    Check out BudgetBytes.Blogspot.com. Great recipes for people on a budget, I can cut most of her recipes in half for two people and they are CHEAP! You can healthify most of them too.

    I also started saving $ on groceries by not tossing leftovers or freezing things for later. I used to just toss leftovers and make a new meal the next day. That was a bad habit!

    same here, I'm the queen of using all of everything I buy, left over from dinners are always lunches for me and my son at some point in the week
  • AnnMombourquette
    AnnMombourquette Posts: 66
    Hi there,

    As a single parent for many years of 2 growning boys, money was tight and I got creative. It's all about the planning and prepping at the beginning of the week. It's cheaper to make from scratch than to buy processed foods and I even had numerous people ask me to show them how I was doing it, right down to taking them shopping (lol).

    Saturday morning I would make up a menu and shop for groceries. I would check the flyers and buy things on sale and work my food around them. On Sunday I cooked for the week or most of it. My crockpot was my best friend and savior as I worked 3 jobs and by the time I got home from work, leftovers or crockpot suppers were a must.

    Some suggestions are:

    - Cook a chicken and debone. Have chicken, potatoes, veggies the first night. Chicken on salads, sandwichs/wraps or add to soup.

    - I make soup on Sundays and it's great for taking to lunch (had it today with chicken I cooked on Sunday). Add a carb, yoghurt and fruit, and you have a well balanced lunch. Soups are wonderful in the freezer as well.

    - Chili is another great one. Chili with nachos, taco salad or just a bowl of chili. Freezable for days you don't have a lot of time or are between pays.

    - I buy veggies in bigger bags such as turnip and squash. I take the time to chop and freeze and then pull out a bag for veggies at supper.

    - I boil eggs on Sunday for a quick breakfast, egg sandwich at lunch or add to a salad.

    - Egg creations make wonderful omlettes. I use half a cup every morning and add precut veggies we do up and put in containers and grated cheese. Saves on time, is nice and filling and you can customize depending on what you have in the fridge.

    By the end of the week everything I have cooked or chopped is gone, no wastage, and I have had healthy, quick and delicious meals. I seen lots of great suggestions here as well.

    Good luck!
  • whatjesseats
    whatjesseats Posts: 228 Member
    Check this out: http://commonground.coop/?page_id=130

    My old food co-op has a series of recipes on their site that work out to less than $2 per serving (based on their prices). Of these, I've only tried the red lentil dal so far, but it's one of my favorites and I plan on trying more soon.
  • ewhsweets
    ewhsweets Posts: 167 Member
    Menu plan for the week and only buy exactly what you need. Try to make foods from scratch and quit eating out.

    Agree 100% and if you overbuy for the week...soups, stir fry and fajitas are an AWESOME way to use up that random leftover single carrot, 1/2 piece of chicken, partail bag of frozen corn etc....this way NOTHING goes to waste. Just make sure you keep things like low-sodium chicken stock, whole wheat tortillas and brown rice....on hand :)
  • allifantastical
    allifantastical Posts: 946 Member
    bump

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