Eating on a budget help

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mariahruby
mariahruby Posts: 130 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hopefully someone out there can help me out! Basically I need help with how to cook and bake good healthy meals on a budget. It is extremely hard to see amazing looking recipes and then see all the ingredients I would have to buy and then I cannot make them because it is wayyyy too expensive! Does anyone know of good websites or I would really appreciate some low cost recipes:)

Replies

  • teerene
    teerene Posts: 16
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    great question .. i would lve to know what others are eating that is healthy and cheap.
    Sometimes i google cheap recipes or 5 ingrediant recipes and find a few good ones.:smile:
  • raindancer
    raindancer Posts: 993 Member
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    Keep it as fresh and simple as possible. I am a old fashioned cook and just make lighter choices for my ingredients.
  • midwesthiker
    midwesthiker Posts: 144
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    I am always amazed at how much it costs to eat healthy! Fresh fruits and veggies are so expensive. I find all my recipes at Allrecipes.com and just do all my shopping when things are on sale and if I can find a coupon that is even better. Good luck! I can't wait to see what others have to add. :)
  • doramouse
    doramouse Posts: 160
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    I use fresh herbs for seasoning. I grow them myself - you can put some in pots if you don't have yard space. Cheap, delicious and healthy.
    Dried beans are cheap and easy to cook; you can do a lot with them.
    Buy dried spices in bulk - it's cheaper and you can buy a small amount
  • Goal_Seeker_1988
    Goal_Seeker_1988 Posts: 1,619 Member
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    Well, here's one really cheap idea for which my fiance and I made tonight to last for a couple of days.

    Easy chilli in crock pot:
    1 lb. Extra lean hamburger
    1 large can tomato sauce
    1 large can diced tomatoes
    1 large can of kidney beans
    2 small cans of black beans
    chilli powder

    Fry hamburger
    Drain kidney beans and black beans add to crock pot with tomato sauce and diced tomatoes
    mix everything together and add chilli powder to taste

    You can add extra ingredients as well, such as ioions and green peppers. Everything is pretty cheap and makes a couple of meals off of.
  • cleigh86
    cleigh86 Posts: 25
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    Buying grains and beans in bulk definitely helps...I also read Cooking Light, and in the magazine and on the website they offer "5 Ingredient Recipes" that I go back to a lot. But I hear ya...if only 10 cent packs of Ramen were good for you!
  • mariahruby
    mariahruby Posts: 130 Member
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    The chili sounds yummy! might have to try that with ground turkey:)
  • staceyo1211
    staceyo1211 Posts: 163
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    I like AllRecipes.com and sparkrecipes.com
    Hope it helps
  • Goal_Seeker_1988
    Goal_Seeker_1988 Posts: 1,619 Member
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    The chili sounds yummy! might have to try that with ground turkey:)


    It is really good! He made it last week and I kept eating it so I told him I wanted to pack it for lunch for work bc I am tired of sandwitches. I couldn't believe how good it taste with very few ingredients.
  • fitterpam
    fitterpam Posts: 3,086 Member
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    Slow Cooker meals are great for a budget. They use cheaper cuts of meat and usually feed hordes of people. Casseroles are also great and lots of them use frozen veggies (which are cheaper than fresh, out of season and more nutritious). Once you get into eating clean it actually works out a little cheaper than processed foods because you need less to feel full. Freezer cooking is great too because on those days you're too tired to make a whole meal, you have one ready to pop in the oven.

    I made 10 lasagnas a few months ago using lower cal ingredients for around $40 not including the disposable aluminium foil trays. Each tray made 4 servings (2 for dinner & 2 for lunches). All in we made em in a few hours and stuck them in the freezer and we've just finished the last one, but for $1 a serving, you cant beat it - it really is comfort food and for only 300 cals\serving, it's not a budget cruncher or a waist cincher.

    I read something just the other day on how to make 1 chicken last a family of four for 3 meals. We just had a sale on chicken for $4 a piece. At that price I picked up 4 of them - because there is just 2 of us, it lasted about 5 meals. First I made roast chicken and portioned it out using the dark meat. I shredded the white meat and we had chicken salad wraps for two lunches. Finally I roasted the chicken bones and then threw them into the slow cooker and covered in water and let simmer for around 36 hours. Popped the remaining dark meat in and added some macaroni noodles and lots of veggies (heres where the frozen stuff really shines). I was eating that for lunches and snacks for almost a week. That was $4 worth of meat. As for veggies: the first night with the roast chicken we had mashed califlower & sauteed green beans (around $2). With the wraps we added carrots and celery and had salad greens on the side (around $2 for both lunches). Finally in the soup I put frozen mixed veggies (around $0.75 for the whole pot plus 0.75 for the macaroni). The five full meals for us essentially cost us less than $10 and everything was made from scratch and I really only had to cook once.

    You can also do a websearch for fr$ugal mom recipes. They are meant for people feeding a family of growing children on a tight budget, so you'll find a lot of yummy healthy foods for less money. I use them even though it's just two of us because kemake enough for at least 2 meals. http://www.frugalmom.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=16 Is an example.
  • Cmuchoa
    Cmuchoa Posts: 161 Member
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    My husband and I are both disabled and therefore we are on a really tight budget but this is what I do and it seems to work.

    Use coupons whenever possible.

    Only buy when items are on sale and stock up at that time - that goes for food, cleaning items, paper & toilet goods, personal hygeine items, etc...

    I buy my chicken, steak, chopped beef in larger quantities whenon sale. When I get home I open and divide these items up into enough for a meal for both of us by wrapping them in waxed paper and then aluminum foil and slip them into plastic freezer bags. By the way the waxed paper, foil & bags are not brand names as I buy the store brand as they are just the same and usually cheaper.

    I find that the local farm markets tend to be less expensive for fresh produce - fruits & veggies.

    You can find spices in the dollar store but check out yr supermarket brands as they are much cheaper than say McCormick. Also, if you have a Costco you may find a spice that you use a lot of and then it may be worth your while to buy a huge container and fill up yr smaller container to keep in yr spice cabinet.

    Cooking really isn't hard if you enjoy it - I love to cook and to experiment - rip out recipes in magazines if they sound good - you can always substitute an ingredient if you don't like it - change it up and have fun. Check out all the cooking shows on TV and have a pce of paper near you so you could write down what these chefs are using. Check online for recipes too as there are millions out there. Better to cook it yourself and know exactly what you are eating. Besides going out to a resturant or diner may be easier but when you think about they tend to expensive and their meals taste so well because they are usually packed with calories. I would always think when ordering something out that I most likely could have purchased all the ingredients for less than what they are charging for the meal.

    Cooking is a learning experience - have fun because you have to eat the rest of your life so you might as well enjoy it.
  • mariahruby
    mariahruby Posts: 130 Member
    Options
    Slow Cooker meals are great for a budget. They use cheaper cuts of meat and usually feed hordes of people. Casseroles are also great and lots of them use frozen veggies (which are cheaper than fresh, out of season and more nutritious). Once you get into eating clean it actually works out a little cheaper than processed foods because you need less to feel full. Freezer cooking is great too because on those days you're too tired to make a whole meal, you have one ready to pop in the oven.

    I made 10 lasagnas a few months ago using lower cal ingredients for around $40 not including the disposable aluminium foil trays. Each tray made 4 servings (2 for dinner & 2 for lunches). All in we made em in a few hours and stuck them in the freezer and we've just finished the last one, but for $1 a serving, you cant beat it - it really is comfort food and for only 300 cals\serving, it's not a budget cruncher or a waist cincher.

    I read something just the other day on how to make 1 chicken last a family of four for 3 meals. We just had a sale on chicken for $4 a piece. At that price I picked up 4 of them - because there is just 2 of us, it lasted about 5 meals. First I made roast chicken and portioned it out using the dark meat. I shredded the white meat and we had chicken salad wraps for two lunches. Finally I roasted the chicken bones and then threw them into the slow cooker and covered in water and let simmer for around 36 hours. Popped the remaining dark meat in and added some macaroni noodles and lots of veggies (heres where the frozen stuff really shines). I was eating that for lunches and snacks for almost a week. That was $4 worth of meat. As for veggies: the first night with the roast chicken we had mashed califlower & sauteed green beans (around $2). With the wraps we added carrots and celery and had salad greens on the side (around $2 for both lunches). Finally in the soup I put frozen mixed veggies (around $0.75 for the whole pot plus 0.75 for the macaroni). The five full meals for us essentially cost us less than $10 and everything was made from scratch and I really only had to cook once.

    You can also do a websearch for fr$ugal mom recipes. They are meant for people feeding a family of growing children on a tight budget, so you'll find a lot of yummy healthy foods for less money. I use them even though it's just two of us because kemake enough for at least 2 meals. http://www.frugalmom.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=16 Is an example.

    Great ideas! Thanks!
  • kscutie
    kscutie Posts: 32 Member
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    Good thread.....anxiously watching to see ideas!

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