I need cheap meal ideas

color_me_skinny
color_me_skinny Posts: 106
edited September 26 in Recipes
Bills are piling up and we're finding it harder and harder to keep up, and buy healthy foods. Maybe I am just not doing it right, but it seems that the "good for you" stuff is more expensive then the bad.

We tend to do grocery shopping 1 time for the month, sometimes 2. But gas prices are sky rocketing (We're supposed to see $5/gal by memorial day! And it's only $3.00 something now) so we try to get what we can in one trip if possible sinc we have to drive 45 minutes for the nearest grocery store. And our next months grocery shopping we will only have about $450 for groceries, to feed 2 adults and 2 children (1 year old and 4 year old).

Some people will probably say that is easy- but it's not for me. Grocery shopping is not my strong suit!
So please help!
What are some cheap meals we can do, that are still healthy? I've got to start getting it planned out, otherwise if I send my boyfriend to do the shopping, he will get all microwavable, precooked crap!

I wouldn't say we are picky eaters. Boyfriend is the most picky, he wont eat spaghetti, lasagna, etc (I think it's the spaghetti sauce that he doesn't like)., he wont eat fish either. My oldest daughter doesn't like meat- period. I have yet to figure out why. So...ideas please?

Replies

  • muskogee
    muskogee Posts: 11
    Beans and rice
    You can preboil the beans and season them differently to taste
    A pack of dry beans at walmart is like $1.50 .enough for 10 servings
  • sjh24f
    sjh24f Posts: 6
    I know how you feel. I have to same problem. Not to mention my boyfriend is a vegatarian so I tend to buy alot of produce, which is kinda pricey. I try to buy generic brands as much as possible.
    Now that summer is upon us, I have started going to the farmer's market. You can sometimes get better deals there. I also started growing my own garden. It is small and mostly herbs, but I have bell peppers and tomatoes (staples in mine and my boyfriends diet).
    I know this does not sound like much and probably does not save a lot, but it can add up.
  • kmitzell
    kmitzell Posts: 9
    Go to www.hungry-girl.com and look at her "trio" recipes. All recipes are lo-cal versions of high-cal meals, and they all have only three ingredients each! (You can also buy her new book - 300 under 300 [300 recipes under 300 calories] and there is an entire chapter of "trios".) Most of her other meals are super cheap-o to make, too. Check it out!
  • Pandorian
    Pandorian Posts: 2,055 Member
    Buy the basics... staples... dried beans, peas, rice, frozen bags of veggies (not the single serving steamer packs where you get... WOW a single serving for $1 while you can get a full kg bag for $2 just having to portion it out at time of serving.
    Lots of cheap options, BUY when on sale, I'll buy a 12 pack of soup at $0.59 a can to avoid paying the $1.89 each price when they're not on sale, they last about 2 years by the date on the can so no harm buying a few extra cases. When tuna is on for $1 a can I'll buy 24 of them again to avoid the $1.89 regular price.
    Bulk pasta rather than individual servings, you can get a 2kg bag of elbows for about $2-$3, you only get 3 boxes of kraft dinner for that and it's only 600grams of elbows.
    Buy bigger containers for the cheaper per unit price and portion it out (1kg bag of almonds is $11 here, but you can pay $1.39 for each 50 gram bag if you want to)
    Buy a block of cheese and portion it into whatever serving size you use, I always use an ounce of cheese if I'm bothering with cheese so I cut it into one ounce blocks and shred them as I need it. A bag of pre-shredded is $7 here for 380grams or I can get a 700 gram block for $9.... hmm almost twice as much cheese for only $2 more? It's worth it.
  • sarahsmom1
    sarahsmom1 Posts: 1,501 Member
    Bills are piling up and we're finding it harder and harder to keep up, and buy healthy foods. Maybe I am just not doing it right, but it seems that the "good for you" stuff is more expensive then the bad.

    We tend to do grocery shopping 1 time for the month, sometimes 2. But gas prices are sky rocketing (We're supposed to see $5/gal by memorial day! And it's only $3.00 something now) so we try to get what we can in one trip if possible sinc we have to drive 45 minutes for the nearest grocery store. And our next months grocery shopping we will only have about $450 for groceries, to feed 2 adults and 2 children (1 year old and 4 year old).

    Some people will probably say that is easy- but it's not for me. Grocery shopping is not my strong suit!
    So please help!
    What are some cheap meals we can do, that are still healthy? I've got to start getting it planned out, otherwise if I send my boyfriend to do the shopping, he will get all microwavable, precooked crap!

    I wouldn't say we are picky eaters. Boyfriend is the most picky, he wont eat spaghetti, lasagna, etc (I think it's the spaghetti sauce that he doesn't like)., he wont eat fish either. My oldest daughter doesn't like meat- period. I have yet to figure out why. So...ideas please?

    I wish gas was in the 3"s here the cheapest is 4.09 anyways you can make chili you can make navy bean soup soak and cook the beans while cooking put in ham hock or bacon I put carrots and peas,corn what ever you have or just beans and ham hock. vegetable and egg noodle soup, stew all those dishes you can cook and freeze very easy good luck
  • sarahsmom1
    sarahsmom1 Posts: 1,501 Member
    desserts bananas or strawberries in lite whip topping very yummy or yogurt with granola
  • emilex
    emilex Posts: 95 Member
    It sounds like you might live in a rural area...if your family eats meat...it's more cost effective to buy bulk. I have always wanted to go in with somebody to buy half a cow which I will do as soon as I find somebody to split it with me :) but also, do you have a sams or costco or something around you? Then you could buy some things in bulk and put them in your freezer. I would really recommend having a good freezer. When you can only make it a couple times a month to the store, and the store is so far away, it's really important to be able to freeze your meats and produce (or buy frozen fruits and vegetables, not the best but something you might have to do when you live that far out)

    Anyway, sometimes I will buy a pork roast and cook it in my crock pot. I split it in half and get two meals out of it. Typically I shred it with forks and use one half for tacos and the other half for sandwiches or tostadas or something. I also do this with a chicken or turkey. Bake in the oven or a roaster and then pick off all the meat and shred. Split your meat in half for two meals. You can make all kinds of stuff with the chicken like chicken noodle soup, plain roasted chicken breast, chicken sandwiches, chicken salad, chicken tacos etc.
  • MaryD4900
    MaryD4900 Posts: 135 Member
    homemade soup w/ beans and frozen veggies?
  • emilex
    emilex Posts: 95 Member
    Buy the basics... staples... dried beans, peas, rice, frozen bags of veggies (not the single serving steamer packs where you get... WOW a single serving for $1 while you can get a full kg bag for $2 just having to portion it out at time of serving.
    Lots of cheap options, BUY when on sale, I'll buy a 12 pack of soup at $0.59 a can to avoid paying the $1.89 each price when they're not on sale, they last about 2 years by the date on the can so no harm buying a few extra cases. When tuna is on for $1 a can I'll buy 24 of them again to avoid the $1.89 regular price.
    Bulk pasta rather than individual servings, you can get a 2kg bag of elbows for about $2-$3, you only get 3 boxes of kraft dinner for that and it's only 600grams of elbows.
    Buy bigger containers for the cheaper per unit price and portion it out (1kg bag of almonds is $11 here, but you can pay $1.39 for each 50 gram bag if you want to)
    Buy a block of cheese and portion it into whatever serving size you use, I always use an ounce of cheese if I'm bothering with cheese so I cut it into one ounce blocks and shred them as I need it. A bag of pre-shredded is $7 here for 380grams or I can get a 700 gram block for $9.... hmm almost twice as much cheese for only $2 more? It's worth it.

    That is really great advice
  • swtshortie08
    swtshortie08 Posts: 2
    I always buy lots of frozen vegatables, usually much cheaper than fresh and just as good. And when our local grocery stores have the buy one pound get one free sale on chicken breasts, I always stock up! I always try to buy what I can on sale. (Sometimes it involves going to different grocery stores.) Check your local grocery stores weekly circular to find good deals.
  • deadmittens
    deadmittens Posts: 536 Member
    Rice is going to be your savior. Brown rice! Just add some salt (or Ms. Dash if you're watching sodium). Then try costco for some naked nuggets :)

    Just buy basics. Basic chicken breast, basic rice, basic veggies... avoid premade meals and buy in bulk for your family :) I was REALLY broke for the longest time and found that Ramen noodles and italian sausage were a great, cheap way to survive (but know that's the most horrible meal for my poor heart)
  • 000angie000
    000angie000 Posts: 152 Member
    bump
  • melissaforster07
    melissaforster07 Posts: 145 Member
    bump
  • djwalt
    djwalt Posts: 1
    Try Kraft Foods website. They have budget meal receips, kid friendly receips, and healthy receips. I enjoy it and use it several times a month when I need meal ideas.
  • healthyjen342
    healthyjen342 Posts: 1,435 Member
    Totally understandable...some things DO cost more, but theres a lot of options out there that are healthy and cheap like:

    Beans
    BIG Bag of Brown rice (the kind that takes like an hour to cook..it will last longer)
    TUNA (this really is a wonderfish)
    Frozen veggies
    Bananas are pretty cheap...you can buy and then freeze when they start getting over ripe.
    Eggs
    Chicken Thighs and legs are fine in moderation and without skin
    Same with Chicken breast on the bone..it tends to be cheaper, just cut around the bone and peel the skin BEFORE cooking



    Theres a start...If they have sale papers at the grocery store in question, price matching, discount isles, ANYTHING, see what you can make out of it..it is time consuming sometimes, but in the end, much more worth it!

    Good Luck!
  • kellytime
    kellytime Posts: 23 Member
    Shop the loss leader sales (buy one get one free) sales and use coupons on them. You can save lots of money, but it does take planning. There are websites that can teach you how to do this. Look up couponing on youtube or google.
  • Sugar5593
    Sugar5593 Posts: 22
    I find that as long as you have meat, poultry, noodles, brown rice, potatoes, a variaty of frozen vegies, canned stewed tomatoes,and cream of __________ soup...... There are a ton of difrent combos you can make

    1 grilled chiken, rice, saute vegies
    2 cubed turky sauted with noodes vegies and cream of cheese soup (when using the soup to make a sauce i only add 1/2 can skim milk. It makes it thicker)
    3 lean steak, stewed tomatoes, sliced potatoes, mushrooms, broccoli, saute together, top w/mozzarella
  • brandilea_willoughby
    brandilea_willoughby Posts: 45
    I am a full time student with a $400 a month budget which needs to cover cell phone ($36.00), internet ($30.00), gas (3 full tanks a month at about $55-60.00 a pop) and groceries. This generally leaves me with about $50-60.00 a week for groceries. I buy as much frozen veggies and chicken and salmon, canned tuna, canned fruits and veggies. I drain the juice from the fruit and store in the fridge in water until I am ready to use it. I keep brown rice and dried beans, buy oatmeal in bulk, keep flour white and brown sugar, maple syrup and corn meal and corn starch and baking powder on hand. I make my own bread generally because I don't eat enough to warrant buying a loaf that goes stale before I use it. I buy milk by the gallon and freeze it in 1-2 cup portions until I am ready to use it. When you thaw the milk, make sure to shake it up a bit as it tends to separate a little but it tastes the same before and after. Watch you expiration dates. Milk that has been frozen will generally last a few days longer (3-4) If I am not drinking it, I use canned evaporated milk or powdered milk for recipes. I don't have time to shop and coupon hunt and I don't have the patience to insist on a price match with a store that does not value their customers unless they are spending boat loads of money. When I first started doing all of this 3 years ago, I didn't think I was going to make it. It takes some ingenuity and the ability to freeze in portions, but you'd be amazed at how well stocked my kitchen is. Also, as soon as you are out of a spice, buy the one, then you spend $4 on one instead $15 on three or four and it doesn't seem so bad. You can keep a small herb garden in your kitchen next to a window. Gardens are great if you have space. Good luck!
  • RillSoji
    RillSoji Posts: 376 Member
    You might check out http://www.e-mealz.com/ . When the hubby and I were on a very tight budget for a time we used them. It's $5/month but the do the whole shebang for meal planning and grocery list. They keep it cheaply priced and you can choose your meal plan according to your diet needs and # of people you're feeding. And it takes then something awesomely silly like 6 months before you'll see some repeat meals. We used emealz for 2 on the low fat plan for about a year. It was awesome. They'll even customize the plan according to where you shop!
  • CNYKrista
    CNYKrista Posts: 61
    I eat this almost everyday for lunch

    Lite Flatout Flatbreads (Wegmans has them in the section near the english muffins-if you have a Wegmans)
    Deli Turkey
    Sante Fe Marinade
    Lettuce, tomato, jalapenos

    Fat Free pringles

    You can also buy can of sauce and make pizza with the flatbreads

    I also cook alot of chicken and buy the value packs-
  • singingmom
    singingmom Posts: 29 Member
    I have one word Aldi. If you have an Aldi near you go there. I get most my food there because it is super cheap especially the canned goods, milk, eggs, and produce. I still need to go to a chain grocery store for things like my healthy life bread, cereal (cuz I do not like the Aldi brand, etc) but I get at least 75% of my food there and its much cheaper than a chain grocery store and even Wal-Mart.
  • Pearcecat
    Pearcecat Posts: 68
    Hi!..it's really hard trying to please everyone, save money & keep healthy..I feel your pain!. I agree with buying meat in bulk, seperating it down in to portions & freezing it.
    Do you like curry?..you can make it mild for the kids (by using low fat yoghurt when cooking it) and have it with steamed rice.
    I make a stew with carrots, onions, chuck steak pieces, roughly chopped potato, Oxtail packet soup (soo cheap) and water.
    You can dice chicken and fry it in light oil, then place it in a large oven dish & add a lot of chopped frozen broccoli. I mix low fat condensed chicken soup with water to thin it and pour in to the dish. Then I top it with mashed potato and cook in the oven until browned.
    I don't know if you've tried smoked fish before?..I cut it up in to chunks (raw) and place in a pyrex dish lined with low fat butter, then grate garlic over it. You just have to par-boil some potatoes and then cut them in to thin slivers-arrange them over the fish and cook in the oven until slightly browned..the fish underneath doesn't take long to cook. Then serve with a selection of veg.
    As someone already suggested, you can make chilli (maybe make a large batch, keep it bland and then add chilli for the adults).
    My little boy likes Pierogi Ruskie (you can buy a big bag of them in your local Eastern European shop). They're frozen dumplings with potato & cheese filling..very cheap!
    I buy a large batch of eggs each week and use them for breakfasts, omelettes, egg fried rice (healthy version), quiches & salads.
    You can get bumper packs of plain noodles. I cook up some mixed veg (frozen), add soy sauce and a bit of sesame oil. I boil the noodles in some chicken stock and then mix up everything. I put some extra hot chilli sauce on for my portion.
    You could maybe try to make some banana bread & apple crumble to get some fruit in to your kids..my boy hates it!.
    These meals might not be healthy enough for you but you could tweak them!. I think they key to success on a budget is just planning your 3 meals a day, writing them down, sticking them up on the kitchen wall and sticking to them. Good luck with it all!
  • prov31ms
    prov31ms Posts: 62
    Something that really helps my family is we have an Oroweat / Thomas Bread Outlet that I buy all our breads from - they sell the "good" stuff there (whole grain) at reduced prices - I can buy bread for my family for the entire month for about $10-$20, depending. They sell everything from plain bread to tortillas to bagel thins & english muffins. I know other bread companies have outlets as well (Wonder / Hostess, etc.). You can search online to see if you have one within driving distance - plus you can freeze bread for future use.

    I also recommend shopping the specials - you can view all the grocery store ads online & buy what is on sale - stock up on things you use all the time when they are on sale (canned tomatoes, frozen veggies, pasta & sauce, etc.). I will buy at least 10 cans of tomatoes and beans when they are on sale so I have them in stock when they are not on sale.

    Two cookbooks I would recommend are "Cheap.Fast.Good!" & "Saving Dinner" - both are filled with economical, family friendly, healthy recipes & ideas.

    There are also several websites you can sign up with to receive recipes daily or weekly that will help with budget cooking ideas. Sign up at "LivingOnADime.com" & check out PinchingYourPennies.com for some great budget living advice & recipes - both sites are free.
This discussion has been closed.

Categories