Eating on a budget

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  • trisH_7183
    trisH_7183 Posts: 1,486 Member
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    Dried beans,any of your choice will make great bean soup.Soak 1 lb beans overnight,drain,cover with water,bring to a boil,then simmer on low,covered. Sauté onion& celery....if you have it.Onion is needed.Pepper....add to beans.Add meat if you have it.
    If not,use a couple Tbl of any flavoring you have.Even Ramen:laugh: A can or two of broth adds more flavor.Even better reheated.Keep in fridge,eat till it's gone. No reason you can't toss in any veggie you have.Not broccoli tho.It looks nasty when cooked/ reheated.


    Potato soup.....no meat needed.Use on line recipes.

    My fav soup is veggie. I like to simmer the cheapest beef I can find,or soup bones if cheap.Just adds flavor. You can start with 4 C water,any & all veggies,fresh,frozen or canned......a can of tomato paste or large tomato sauce. Add more veggies,simmer on low for an hr or 2. BTW,you can usually find dried onion in cheap spices,same with garlic.
    The beauty of veggie soup,you can eat some,then add more veggies.Freezes great.

    Use a couple cans or dry packs of noodle soup as a base. Add a couple cans or cups of water,then veggies. You can do the same with other canned soup.

    Add sliced hot dogs to canned baked beans,along with any type onion,a squirt of catsup,mustard a dab of sugar.Tsp or 2.Keeps in fridge several days.You Prob need just a couple spoons of water to reheat any beans.

    Add veggies to Ramen noodles.Make egg salad with those eggs. Make egg drop soup.Make rice,then a big pan of rice with a veggie,onions,garlic & scrambled egg.French toast using bread & eggs.......a bit of water should work.Fried potatoes with eggs scrambled in.if you have a grocery,some meat depts will sell you meat by the piece,one chop,bacon slices etc. BTW,save the bacon grease. add just a Tbl of bacon fat to beans,egg & potato dishes for a ton of taste.Just a Tsp makes fried eggs Sooo good.

    You can add whatever to Mac & cheese.Hot dogs,bacon grease (Tsp) for a serving,Boil the pasta (till almost done) in Mac & cheese. Drain.......add veggies,couple hard boiled eggs,well drained,onion,relish,dill pickle,what ever seasoning you have. Add what you like & will eat.You now have macaroni salad.

    Look up budget soups on line.You can use recipes & omit meat. Hey,you won't starve.Kudos for budgeting. Also,go to search in MFP ,look for low cost food.
    Didn't mean to write a book,but have been thru lean times.You can come thru it . :flowerforyou: Ppl on here will help you out. You are doing great. Hope you will let us know how it's going. Pat
  • Fit_Housewife
    Fit_Housewife Posts: 168 Member
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    My heart goes out to you, I wish you lived close you could come eat at my house :). Maybe look into switching one of your jobs for a restaurant that offers employees a free meal.

    As others have said soup is a good route. Most of my soup bases are carrot onion and celery. I usually buy a rotisserie chicken and use the bones for broth. Any bone in chicken will do, there is a lot of nutrition in the broth when you make it this way. So if you can get any cut of meat on sale roast the chicken, eat the meat and then save the bones for broth. I'm sure any type of meat will do with bone in, pork is usually very cheap. If not bouillon will do for flavor, then add beans for protein. Dry beans are cheaper. You could do a meat free chili with beans and canned tomato, I'm sure you can google a vegan chili. Like others have said oats, yogurt, milk ( I would actually buy the full fat since your not eating so much), pasta, rice, Canned fruit and vegetables or frozen. Check if your store has a reduced for quick sale section I have gotten very ripe fruits and vegetables dirt cheat. They sometimes have dented cans and boxes as well. If they don't have a reduced section ask the manager what they do with stuff that's about to go, they may sell it to you for next to nothing. If you won't eat it before it goes bad or stock up on an excellent deal you can freeze a lot of fruit and veg.

    Eggs are great nutrition, so try to get as much of those as you can.

    You can make overnight oats with milk oats and canned fruit it's delicious.

    Soups are good for lunch and dinner. So are pasta and rice and beans.

    With coupons you can get a lot of boxed and canned items as well as condiments for free . Just stick to the healthier options like pasta rice canned veggies. Keep an open mind sometimes I get baby food for free, I have babies but a jar of sweet potatoes is nutritious and if is free why not. I've also added puréed veggies like carrots and peas to sauces to hide veggies in meals. Check out living rich with coupons.com if they have your store.

    If you eat the ramen noodles I would at least try to cut the flavor pack in half, there is a lot of sodium in that.

    Best of luck to you I will keep you in my prayers. I'm going to send you a for request, I grew up in a pretty frugal family, and have been on all different budget levels, if you have any questions I would love to help you. If I think of anything else ( I'm sure I will once I click post reply). I will msg you lol
  • Fit_Housewife
    Fit_Housewife Posts: 168 Member
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    Also if you haven't already google ways to cut down on your utility bills. There are a lot of tips and tricks for electric and heat. Also you can try to negotiate the interest rates on cards/ loans or refinance a car loan.
  • daniwall94
    daniwall94 Posts: 3 Member
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    I like to buy bulk meat when it's on clearence (about to expire) then I make a couple different kind of freezer meals. such as precooked your groundbeef with taco seasoning and freeze it or homemade meat pies are delicious and if you make your own pastry it's time consuming but cheap
  • daniwall94
    daniwall94 Posts: 3 Member
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    just make sure you do it the day you buy it
  • FaatSara
    FaatSara Posts: 14 Member
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    Chicken and tuna in a can are very inexpensive, high protein foods. Chicken in a can really isnt that bad either, IMO. I make chicken salad and eat it in a wrap or with veggies. Peanut butter is high fat, calorie and protein... but not very horrible for you. It's really tough with such a small budget. Most cheap foods are FULL of sodium.

    I'd say check out local food banks maybe? At least you can supplement with that.

    Remember, you don't have to eat like a rabbit to lose weight. Just watch the numbers and portions.
  • skinnyforhi
    skinnyforhi Posts: 340 Member
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    Dried rice, beans, and lentils. Large containers of rolled oats. Frozen vegetables. Fresh bananas. Eggs. Peanut butter. Loaves of whole wheat bread (peanut butter and banana sandwiches). Ground chuck (drain the fat out in a colander and saute with frozen vegetables and spices to serve over rice or use the chuck to make meatballs for pasta). Cheap cans or jars of tomato sauce for spaghetti and meatballs. Shop the expired bins- a lot of times the food is still fine. Gallons of milk, twin packs of cereal, served with bananas.

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