Low budget... Like really low
ZeldaBeastTM
Posts: 11 Member
I have barely any money to correctly eat right. Any one know any good recipes that are cheap. I mainly suck at breakfast foods and lunch. I'm trying to eat right. 
P.S. I will add anyone willing to support me and I will support you
P.S. I will add anyone willing to support me and I will support you
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Replies
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I like sticking to the same meals and or foods when I try to reel in my spending. Here's a few ideas
BREAKFAST
Oatmeal- You can mix in a variety of things and keep things interesting. Fruits fresh or frozen, raisans or just plain old sugar or honey or cinnamon
Eggs- Again same idea, through some vegetables and make a frittata or omlette. Breakfast sandwich or wraps with
Parfaits- Whatever yogurts on sale during the week with a cheap fruit like Bananas skip the granola and top with whatever u have on hand
Lunch- Sandwiches have been my go to lately. Tuna or eggs or low fat cuts of turkey
Dinner- I'm boring so rice rice and more rice they're pretty cheap and taste great with stirfry meals. You can throw in frozen vegetables
Lentil and/ or bean stews or curries taste great with rice as well and are a good source of protein.
Shop the sales if you can but my key items that keep me going are rice oatmeal frozen vegetables and eggs. My protein options pretty much are dependent on (a ) what's on sale and my preference for the week.
Hope that helps0 -
Thank you SO much0
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What she said. I'd also invest in bags and bags of frozen veggies.0
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Eggs are good and fairly cheap. I always check the marked down meat bins - but still check to make sure it's in your budget. Sales. Go shopping more often, buy less food per trip. If there's no good sale don't buy. Dried beans, lentils, split peas, brown rice. See if you can find bones- they're in the freezer section where I go. Some of the bones (i think it's the ham hocks) have 2-3 servings of meat for less than $2. Plus you can make broth with the bones afterwards! IDK where you live, but the biggest bang for my buck was SAARS, Grocery Outlet, Winco, and local discount grocery stores. Look into Vegetarian and Vegan recipes- meat and dairy are usually what's most expensive. Also invest in good quality freezer bags so when you do find meat or something on sale you can freeze any leftovers. Good luck!0
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As always Jack Monroe. She lived through having no money and she is a great cook.
Her site is aptly called cooking on a bootstrap0 -
Frozen fruits and vegetables are cheaper than fresh ones. Buy in bulk if you can. I also usually buy an extra pack of meat when it's on sale then just freeze it.0
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^^^ What everyone is saying! Buy on sale, shop around at different grocers. I try not to waste much either so if I've got a bunch of veges in the bottom of the fridge that aren't tempting to eat fresh i usually trim them down and throw them in a soup pot, blend them with some stock cubes, add some spice and a can of beans and have taco soup!
But yeah: eggs, oatmeal, bulk meats on sale, make soups for lunches and freeze so you're not throwing stuff out. Your freezer is your best friend!0 -
Eggs, as said above, are a cheap way to get some protein. Tuna is $0.75 per can at Walmart here in Florida (their brand). Dry lentils are cheap and filling. Frozen vegetables are a good suggestion like jplinis stated. If you have a Dollar Tree store nearby you can save a lot of money on spices and condiments to make bland meals more palatable, just keep an eye on the sodium content. The Dollar Tree by me has 8oz. (after draining) cans of mackerel for, obviously, a dollar apiece and that's an excellent source of protein with some omegas. Definitely buy in bulk whenever possible; you can always freeze what you're not going to use quickly.0
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Anyone mentioned beans yet? Beans and rice. Yes and oatmeal and popcorn by the kernel. Bulk lentils.0
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http://www.budgetbytes.com/
The blog is filled with affordable, inexpensive and yummy recipes with prices listed for each and every ingredients.
Do go and check it out!0 -
Thank you so much everyone0
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ZeldaBeastTM wrote: »I have barely any money to correctly eat right. Any one know any good recipes that are cheap. I mainly suck at breakfast foods and lunch. I'm trying to eat right.
how much money?
as a single person I was able to eat 3000 calories per day (probably way more than you need) on $140 per month. It wasn't the tastiest, but it was all good wholesome food with the proper nutrients.
top foods: rice, beans, lentils, eggs, peanut butter. frozen green veggies, onions, potato, cabbage. bananas, milk. chicken and pork (cheaper cuts). butter, olive oil.0 -
ZeldaBeastTM wrote: »I have barely any money to correctly eat right. Any one know any good recipes that are cheap. I mainly suck at breakfast foods and lunch. I'm trying to eat right.
how much money?
as a single person I was able to eat 3000 calories per day (probably way more than you need) on $140 per month. It wasn't the tastiest, but it was all good wholesome food with the proper nutrients.
top foods: rice, beans, lentils, eggs, peanut butter. frozen green veggies, onions, potato, cabbage. bananas, milk. chicken and pork (cheaper cuts). butter, olive oil.
Well I only have $355 a month but I have to feed a child0 -
Use the money you spend on food now to buy less of the same food. Or,
Use the money you spend on food now to buy other food. Or a combination. This really isn't good food vs bad food.
Don't start with recipes. Go to Recipes board after you've learnt what constitutes nutritious foods. Think food groups, balance, variety, needs. Use your food diary, your fridge, freezer, pantry, plan meals, write shopping lists. Don't think high end, health food, wild caught, organic. Think seasonal, store brand, unit price, single ingredent. Don't think eat right, think eat well. Buy food you like and eat it up.0 -
Ask the butcher at your local grocery store when they mark their meats down. The grocery store I pass every morning actually marks down meat at 6 a.m. every morning. So I know when I go there at 7 a.m., I am likely to find some good meat deals to feed my family of three.
Also, look for a discount warehouse store. I have one near me that i stock up on things like low sodium veggies, rice, pasta, bread, and some seasonings.0 -
Everything everyone else said. Also, meal plan. Before I shop, I pick out our 7 dinner recipes for the week. I also buy exactly what I need or plan to use all of what I buy. If one recipe calls for 1/2 a bag of spinach, I make sure I have another recipe planned that week to use the other 1/2 bag or plan a spinach salad so nothing is wasted. If I have bananas that are about to go bad, I freeze them to use in other recipes or make up a batch of my favorite *kitten* pot steel cut oats that include them. If I'm making soup, I make 1/2 the recipe or plan to freeze it and incorporate it into the meal plan another week - one free meal! woohoo!! I do my best to make sure left overs are used or only make the amount I know we will eat to get the most bang for my buck. Also, stop buying as much processed junk as possible. 1lb of potato chips costs $6.86 and has a mountain of calories. You could buy a 3lb bag of apples almost any time of the year for $2.99, less in the fall. We buy whole kernels of popcorn & make it on the stove Occasionally pretzels (I know, not overly healthy, but low in calories & cheap!) to satisfy our snackiness. Buy what's in season & on sale. Buy up extra when its on sale if you can. It's possible! We feed our family of four mostly whole foods, a lot of organic for $125 or less a week. And I don't coupon.0
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I think I can eat good food cheaper than junk food. Breakfast I get a $6.00 box of Quaker oats from Costco, Its so big I can eat on it for several months. I add almond milk, fresh Strawberries, Blueberries, banana, chia seeds and walnuts. So I would guess about $13.00 a week maybe a little more if you can't buy in bulk with membership. Frozen fruit can save some more but doesn't look as nice after cooking. Lunch a low carb wrap with some meat and guacamole. Whether a wrap or sandwich you can't beat getting a rotisserie chicken, once again Costco has them for about $5.00. You can eat on it for dinner and then pick the meat off for lunches, several days worth. For veggies grill bake some fresh with a little olive oil.0
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Also not sure why c rock pot got started out??0
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Just adding, some stores offer rewards programs, I'm in Canada where food tends to cost a fair bit, some stores here offer a card you scan before you pay for your food, it gives you offers for points based on what you buy. IE 250 pts per dollar spent on bananas, then the points equal free food. I've gotten 100s of dollars free of food this way.
Last year SO's hours got cut right down and we fed two adults and a toddler on 300 a month. It can be done, lots of beans and rice, pasta bulked up with veggies, soups and stews. Make a plan, helps SO much!0 -
Dry beans may be more work but they are much cheaper than canned and you can control the sodium.0
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meal planning helped me. I'd take the flyers and plan out what to eat based on the sales. Rice and beans, lentils, and then things like roast a chicken for one dinner, use the carcass for soup the next day.0
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That cookingonabootstrap.com is an amazing blog - read the "Hunger Hurts" section - you may cry.0
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Ditto to Lindsay87- great tips-
Need to find out which day of week store puts out their specials ( usually mid week) the meat50% off- buy it and freeze-or cook up right away- dry beans (you have to soak over nite or it'll make you sick) easy to cook though -bay leaf-salt /pepper and oregano or other herb- but they are cheap excellent source fiber and protien- stretch along way! Also, you probably qualify for WIC program if you state has it- it's for single women with children- you get $$ for milk cheese
Peanut butter- check it out- it'll help you through this difficult $$ time- you can eat well and raise a healthy child- 10 yrs from now you'll be amazed at how strong you are/ were and what good example you are to you kid- living on a budget takes guts and determination. Try sweet potato instead of regular potato- can slice up one & mix with some protein and spices it will make huge pan breakfast hash and you got quite a healthy hash( lots vitamin A/C & fiber and a few grams protien in yam) Good luck ( Ho ya only feed yourself and baby- anyone coming around for free meal better bring at least a side dish !!!!)0 -
Cut other areas back to make more room in the food budget. Use rags instead of paper towels and napkins. No disposable plates, cups or cutlery. Etc....0
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Meal plan. Find a grocery with a marked down produce rack and use it today or tomorrow.0
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One of my favourite subjects. I was a poor single parent back in the day. I made sure always I had flour, eggs, and powdered milk on hand. There are dozens of foods I can make with just these three. (Biscuits, breads, pizza crust)(Scrambled, Souffle, Crustless Quiche, Omelet)(White Sauce for an Alfredo for instance).
Hot cereals like oatmeal can be made in batches and warmed up for breakfast.
Lunch can be leftovers from the night before, perhaps in a wrap.
Dried beans and lentils can be made up in to cheap filling meals. I am eating Hungarian bean soup right now, made from the stock from a chicken I'd made earlier, and white beans. There's onions and carrots in there, too.
Slow cooker meals like chili, stew and soups can feed you and your little one for a long time. Slow cookers are also kinder to tough cuts of meat; like pulled pork.0 -
I had a bean salad for lunch -1 cup beans, 1/2 med. onion, 1/2 med. bell pepper, olive oil, vinegar, salt & pepper - cost of a 2 cup serving is about $10
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You can do this! My grocery budget is $125 per week and there are 6 of us.
*Buy only in-season produce.
*Frozen fruits and veggies are great and last for a long time, unlike fresh that can spoil.
*Rice is good for bulking up meals.
*Meal plan, sit down with the circular to see what is on sale any given week.
*Look for marked down meats and stock your freezer - my store typically marks meat down early Tuesday mornings and it is generally 1/4 the cost because it is about to hit the sell-by date. Freeze what you don't need immediately.
*canned tuna can be a cheap, quick, protein packed meal with some crackers, or if you are low carb, in lettuce wraps
*buy in bulk when you can
*save all your bones in a bag in a freezer, when you have enough, make stock and then freeze in ice cube trays0 -
I'm not sure how things are priced where you live, but I've enjoyed quite a few of EatingWell recipes and they have a budget cooking book
http://www.eatingwell.com/sites/default/files/uploads/pdf/EatingWell_Budget_Dinners_Cookbook.pdf0
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