Low Income and On A Budget... HELP!

Bump! Always want new links and ideas!

Potatoes, lentils, fruits and veggies in season... Most lentil recipes freeze very well, so you can make a big pot of them and freeze them in meal size portions.

Excellent ideas. Thank you!

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something I do is buy black beans, either canned or dry, and then add salsa, some cheese, and tortillas to make quesadillas. very cost efficient and very tasty

coupons are awesome. coupons.com has an app where you can email coupons to yourself or you can print them off the computer. that always helps, this most recent shopping trip i have $28 in coupons from going through various ads, newspapers and the internet.

i don't have any kids but it is me and my boo on a budget.
dried beans and lentils. you can cook them over night in a slow cooker then even freeze them in portions and use when needed. i like to make soups in a slow cooker for the week can add different veggies, chicken, diced tomatoes with juice, water broth and seasonings.

beans can be mixed in for rice and beans with some chili powder and other similar seasonings served with some steamed veggies or on a tortilla.

rice and pasta is cheap and as long as you eat a serving really not unhealthy. i stock up when pasta is like 80 cents a box, sometimes the jarred sauce is cheap but you can also get a can of tomatoes puree it add some seaonings and make sauce, can of tomatos is like 70 cents a can here in ny (not sure where you live).

i know it can be boring with chicken but it is cheaper to buy a whole chicken and you can cook it in the slow cooker. you can portion it and freeze it to keep it longer. you can use it for soups, pasta dishes, on salads, in mexican dishes like enchiladas, in stir frys.

i buy frozen veggies when they are on sale and stock up. they are frozen right away so at least the nutrients are still packed in. i like to get spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, pepper onion blend, a soup blend, mixed veg and a stir fry blend.

eggs can be cheap from there you can make a frittata with veggies or egg sandwich. breakfast for dinner is always great, pancakes are cheap to make as well.

i use a lot of the same ingredients but depending how i season it can taste totally differnt. can use chili powder, cumin cayenne on something, and another night the same ingredients with a marinara sauce instead, another night with curry spices. add in different proteins like beans or chicken. if there are other meats that go on sale get that and then freeze them to hold (like sausage or something else).

casseroles are awesome too bc you can throw together a bunch of stuff and portion it for the week. make a few different casseroles and rotate them. an enchilada casserole is fairly cheap to make, also stroganoff is good (ground beef/turkey/sausage, cream of mushrooms soup, canned mushrooms, sour cream over noodles).

a bag of potatoes, can throw them into soups, mash them up, or cook with other veggies or make a shepherds pie. i like to dice them, toss with olive oil, garlic and oregano and then bake in the oven they are very tasty that way too!

http://family.go.com/food/pkg-low-cost-recipes-from-a-real-mom/

http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/cookbooks.asp?cookbook=58000

http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/recipes/quick-recipes/dinner/money-saving-meals-healthy-low-cost-dinner-recipes/

also check local fliers at different stores. i usually do the shop at home from shoprite where i can search everything online, search by unit price and sales. i go to save a lot for things like produce, cereal, bread and milk because it is much cheaper there (a gallon if milk is 2.99, unheard of!)

best of luck!

also, in season produce will be cheaper as well, try to freeze what you can to keep it longer

I feel your pain. I'm feeding four adults and one child on 300 a month. We buy a lot in bulk like chicken and hamburger. Ill seperated it all and stock up the freezer that way I kno how much I have left. We eat lots of quinoa and lentils and barley. I make a lot of smoothies and I found it much cheaper to buy frozen berries. You get more for your money with the baggies. I make a crock pot of 15 bean soup and that normally lasts for at least two meals. Super cheap... Just a pack of dried beans from Walmart a can of diced tomatoes and a pd of hamburger if you want some meat in there

I am a single mom of two boys, I have struggled with my weight all my life and have now really found the inspiration and motivation to eat and live healthier. I have found that one of my biggest set backs is that I don't know what to make for dinner on most nights. I live on a very small budget and only spend an average of maybe $30 a week for food to get through the week. Most of that just consists of stuff for my breakfast and lunch at work and then vegetables and chicken. What does everyone else do for meals for the family that is fairly inexpensive and lower in calories/healthier? I use a lot of chicken, tilapia and shrimp as these are the things that I can fit best in my budget, but plain chicken with veggies is getting boring, does anyone have any good suggestions?

A favorite site of mine is www.livingonadime.com. Newsletters biweekly, along with a message board and plenty of recipes and advice.

Coupons can work, as long as you pay attention to store policies and expiration dates.

Also, have you considered gardening? Even if you can only grow things in containers, most veggies will grow nicely that way. Herbs will do nicely in small pots.

You can get many of the boxed and canned foods at the dollar store.

Sometimes we have "breakfast for dinner": pancakes or bacon and eggs.

Some foods (sauces, soups, etc) can be made ahead and frozen (but wrap tightly and don't forget to label).

Take advantage of sales when you can and stock up on basic stuff.

bump..... i'm in same position

I'm kind of in the same boat. I'm a single mom of a 2-year old little girl. I found that meal planning helps a lot. If you have an Aldi near you I highly recommend buying the bulk of your groceries there. Much cheaper than even Walmart. I bought 6 frozen veggie steamer packs at Walmart which was roughly $12. I got the rest of my stuff at Aldi. I got enough for 2 weeks of groceries Ans it came to $66. That's about $40/week. Here's my meal plan:

Breakfasts:
Eggs n toast
Whole wheat cereal
Oatmeal
"Egg McMuffins" (egg and cheese on a whole wheat English muffin)
Repeat.

Lunches:
Veggie steamers
Aldis soups
Burritos (tortilla, light cheese, mashed pinto beans)
Turkey sandwiches
Chicken wraps


*keep in mind my daughter eats breakfast and lunch at the babysitter's. I just pay her a little extra for the cost of food.*

Dinners:
Chicken and veggies , usually 3x a week
Meatloaf and mashed potatoes
Spaghetti with no meat with bread
Breakfast for dinner
Salads

Hope this helped! Eating well on a budget is tough but if you plan it out it makes it a bit easier.

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