Low Budget Meals that Stretch
Weaz66
Posts: 1,846 Member
Recently laid off, very unexpected, so financially I was not prepared. Looking for inexpensive meals that stretch. I'm not going to have much money for food and of course eating healthier costs more. I'm going to concentrate on chicken meals and probably low cost fish. I've always been a meat and potato type of person. Not big on Veggies but learning to like them. I know it's hard to suggest things to people you don't know especially when you don't know what they like or not. I thought if people could list what "they like" that's low cost it might give me ideas.
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In addition to chicken/low cost fish, beans are a great budget source of protein. You can get canned beans, but dried beans will make your money go even further. I like combining beans/frozen vegetables, and pasta, rice, or potatoes for low budget meals. You can vary the spices for different flavor profiles (Mexican, Italian, Greek, cajun, etc) for more variety. You can also control the calories by varying the amount of vegetables (if I want to go lower calorie, I make more of it frozen vegetables -- if I can have more calories, I may include more beans or starch.7
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I usually make enough dough for 4 small loaves per week - mine are half white/half wholegrain and I grow herbs so sometimes I'll through those in for variety. I know carbs are not the best for dieting, but for cheap meals - hot fresh bread with salad or a soup is really* delicious. dried beans, industrial sized bags of rice, shopping for vegetables and fruits that are still good but have bruises or are almost about to go also really helps. A lot of organic markets here have bags of 99cent organic vegetables or fruits that are just about to go but if you use them that day its a really good deal. You can simmer almost any vegetable with onions and stock and blend it up to make a good soup. Buying things in bulk when they're on sale and keeping them in the freezer is also helpful.
When cash is lean for me my go to meals:
- bread and soup
- veggie chili + rice (can last for days)
- rice + stir fries
- stews and curries
- iceberg lettuce salads with vinegar or lemon and homegrown herbs
- putting anything in a tortilla from the mexican market (they're cheap and fresh there - sometimes still warm when i buy them!)
I avoid anything already premade, because it's always more expensive, processed foods (bad for you anyway), drinks other than water or coffee or tea.2 -
Eggs2
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@janejellyroll thank you, great idea! Gives me something to research. I've never made dried beans before so this will be a first. I like the ideas of mixing them with frozen veggies (I really need to incorporate them into my daily plan) and changing up the spices, again all new to me to experiment with.0
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when I stayed home with my kids I would buy large chicken quarter bags and cook them in the oven or crockpot.
Then shred the chicken and use the meat in all of our lunches and dinners. Throw the bones back in the crockpot to make chicken broth. Use the broth for soups or rice.
I still buy french bread, rolls that are marked down and throw them in the freezer.
Hang in there.2 -
@janejellyroll thank you, great idea! Gives me something to research. I've never made dried beans before so this will be a first. I like the ideas of mixing them with frozen veggies (I really need to incorporate them into my daily plan) and changing up the spices, again all new to me to experiment with.
If you have a crockpot, preparing beans is super-easy. Even if you don't, you can do it in any large pan. The bonus is that cooked beans freeze really well so you can make a big batch and then save some for later meals. I will often cook a whole pound at once and then save what I don't plan on eating right away.2 -
When I am strapped for cash, I pretty much live off of lentils and frozen veggies. Depending on the severity of the cashflow shortage, I may buy a big tub of protein powder if I can get it on sale. I mix it with soy milk or oatmeal. I also try to stock up on cans of tuna. I also like baked potatoes. Plain or with plain yogurt, they fill you up. Also eggs. They're a relatively cheap form of protein.1
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I like making dried beans too. Look for discount meat that's nearing expiration. I love seeing yellow and orange tags. I frequently find chorizo for 2 dollars a pound and chicken thighs and legs for less than that. I also like steel cut oats and pasta.2
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Check out the website budgetbytes.com. everything I've made from there has been delicious!3
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Eggs are a cheap source of protein, even more so since the prices seem to be normalizing again. I often boil up a dozen at a time and use them over the following two weeks in salads, sandwiches and even just eating them whole.
Hit your local dollar store for produce, bread, etc. You'll have to keep an eye on grocery store prices, too, so you can know what's a good deal and what isn't but we usually get some great deals at the one closest to us. Bags of baby carrots, radishes, yellow squash and potatoes for $1 are almost always a great deal.
If you know someone with a Costco, Sam's Club or B.J.'s, get them to take you shopping. You can buy frozen veggies, rice, beans, etc. in bulk and save a ton of money. Things like ground beef are also cheaper although you're buying 5 or 6 pounds at a time. I use my kitchen scale to weigh out individual portions, squish them flat in freezer bags (also bought there more cheaply) and freeze them.
Look at other things there, too. While buying food cheaply is a good way to save money there are other ways to cut back, too. For example, I've switched from using fabric softener in the laundry to using vinegar in the rinse cycle. I've done it because fabric softener ruins the wicking ability of technical fabrics, and more and more of our clothing now is, and it also makes towels less absorbent. However, I'm also saving a lot of money; that stuff can be expensive. I can buy two gallons of vinegar at Sam's or Costco for about $3.50. A gallon of the Costco branded fabric softener is about $11.00. Buying Downy at Target is even more expensive. You can also use vinegar in the dishwasher instead of JetDry, soak showerheads to remove hard water build up, etc.
Get in the habit of making meals in bulk and packaging up the leftovers to eat during the week. Don't just cook for one meal at a time. You can freeze individual servings, too, for a little further in the future so you aren't eating the same thing all week. Meals like stew, chili and casseroles are great for this.1 -
devil_in_a_blue_dress wrote: »I like making dried beans too. Look for discount meat that's nearing expiration. I love seeing yellow and orange tags. I frequently find chorizo for 2 dollars a pound and chicken thighs and legs for less than that. I also like steel cut oats and pasta.
A girl after my own heart.
Some people pass the yellow and orange tags but I gladly pick them up.
Quick tip-in my area they mark down bakery items and meat the day before the weekly circular goes out. The store by my school would mark the food down that night or early the next morning.3 -
If you have a Nu-Wave (or even grill, for that matter) roasting or grilling a whole chicken in one shot is usually less expensive than buying the prepackaged parts. Nice thing about the NuWave is you can do something else while the chicken is roasting - grills require a little more supervision1
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You're single, so get to Texas and get to work. My daughter, who is 20, has not graduated high school yet and she was able to get on with a temp labor agency. I know, it's not a career, but it's something for cash while you look for your real job.1
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lentils are easy to cook, 1 cup = 3 eggs, healthy, and filling.0
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Eating healthier doesn't cost more if you are careful about how you shop. Couple bits of common advice:
Of course use coupons if available, shop sales.
Figure out when your local grocery does a turnover of their goods. You can often find sales on chicken/meat/fish if they're on the sell by date and sales on produce if it's been at the store for a little while.
Stick to veggies and fruit in season and locally grown if possible (less distance traveled == usually less cost). Also be sure to check prices of frozen produce. Often it's cheaper than fresh if not local and in season.
Look at less-processed ingredients - again, it's usually less expensive if you're having to do more prep work. Buy heads of lettuce instead of pre-washed and packaged, whole carrots and not baby carrots, whole chickens rather than parts, for example. Things like whole chickens and root veggies with greens have the bonus of making more meals as well.
Buy in bulk when you can for more savings per unit. Things like rice, beans, grains are cheap and make good fillers with more expensive produce and meat.
Cook dishes that keep well so you aren't wasting food by having it go bad and be sure you use every scrap of food that you can. Use those bones and giblets, trimmings, leftovers, etc.
Hope that helps some.1 -
I was in your shoes a year ago. If you have an Aldi Grocery store in your area--this is where you should be doing 90% of your shopping. In the Orlando area, I have found the produce last LONGER, the house brands are very good (some better than name brand).
Anyways, as far as low-budget meals--anything you can stretch with rice, beans that reheats well. Items with pasta as well--very little meat stretched with pasta goes a long way.
Good luck with the new job search--don't let it get you down.2 -
Beans and lentils, beans and lentils! Super cheap, filling, and good! I will hop on with what everyone else is saying about dry beans. I'm also big on frozen veggies. When I was living by myself and short on cash, I would hit up the grocery store's salad bar and fill a container with small portions of veggies already pre-cut. For example, if I wanted a bunch of veggies to add to a chili, I'd get them all from the salad bar, as it was way cheaper than buying all the veggies on their own - especially as a party of one, if I knew I wouldn't be using a whole item. I'd look for frozen veggie sales, like 10 bags for $10 and stock up on those. And don't be afraid to look into SNAP programs. I know there's a huge stigma...but use them if you need them to make sure you don't go hungry. I had too big of an ego when I could have used them, and struggled a lot more than I needed to.2
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Oh, and as Dave Ramsey says, "Beans and rice, rice and beans."1
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Pasta, with a meat sauce. Not what I'd generally call ideal, but it can go a ways.1
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Eating healthily doesn't cost more than any other eating, but picky eating will. Buy and cook smart. Lots of things have been mentioned, I'll just address this, some may be repetitions:
- Buy ordinary food, not low cal, low fat, low carb, gluten free, dairy free, sugar free, enriched, precooked, prechopped, mixed, name brand, health food, organic; steer away from anything that looks like hipster food or items aimed at children - unless there is a real saving in time and/or money.
- Keep a stock of versatile staples like pasta, rice, canned tomatoes, dried beans, oatmeal.
- Consider keeping an updated list of all food items on hand, sorted into categories.
- Stick to mostly sturdy produce like potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, apples.
- Predominantly buy foods and cook meals that you are certain are going to get eaten. If you have a family, everybody has a vote. But the cook has two.
- But also aim for variety. You will want to get in the best nutrition available. Try new things occasionally.
- Choose cheap foods for most days; then you can allow some more expensive foods for weekends/special occasions (and they will feel more like treats too).
- Buy just what you will be able to go through before it spoils. Meal plan so you can use it up. Cook just enough for meal and planned leftovers.
- Buy in bulk if you have the proper storage facilities, and having more doesn't make you overeat or get bored before it expires.
- But don't take expiration dates as gospel. Use your eyes, nose, tongue to determine if a food is safe.
- Buy frozen, fresh or canned according to price and quality, and purpose.
- Use recipes as hints and guidelines. Most of the time, you can omit or replace ingredients and get just a good meal.
- Get enough of everything every day, but don't overdo it. Focus on getting in appropriate amounts of protein, which is expensive, but also essential. 2-3 pieces of different fruit is plenty.
- Consider baking your own bread.
- Don't buy drinks (soda, juice, alcohol, squash) more than occasionally - bottled water only if tap water is undrinkable.
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To every single one of you......THANK YOU Your responses are all greatly appreciated and I will be incorporating them. Looks like I need to learn to do beans in a crockpot.0
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janejellyroll wrote: »@janejellyroll thank you, great idea! Gives me something to research. I've never made dried beans before so this will be a first. I like the ideas of mixing them with frozen veggies (I really need to incorporate them into my daily plan) and changing up the spices, again all new to me to experiment with.
If you have a crockpot, preparing beans is super-easy. Even if you don't, you can do it in any large pan. The bonus is that cooked beans freeze really well so you can make a big batch and then save some for later meals. I will often cook a whole pound at once and then save what I don't plan on eating right away.
So can you walk me through how to make beans in a crockpot so I can freeze them?0 -
Beans and rice FTW.
Beans in a crockpot, I could only get them to work by soaking overnight, draining, putting the beans in the crockpot and pouring boiling water over them to start them.
LOL at "a whole pound", that's maybe one meal for us. Usually two pounds makes enough for everyone plus lunches the next day.
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With falafel, you don't even have do more than just soak the chickpeas. You DO NOT want to cook them prior to baking or frying or even grilling the patties. Falafel dough freezes extremely well so you can make a large batch and divide it into quart Ziploc bags to pull out of the freezer whenever. I have actually a huge bowl of chickpeas soaking for tomorrow to make freezer falafel and chana masala with.
Here is a starter recipe:
http://toriavey.com/toris-kitchen/2011/01/falafel/
I generally will food process the beans first, put into a large bowl, and then process the spice binder. You can add baking powder if you like. I find it adds an extra fluffy element, but that's entirely up to you. I also use egg whites to help bind, but again, not necessary.1 -
Check out A girl called jack ......2
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A lot of great ideas, thank you everyone!
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My favourite cheap filling recipe is mushy pea curry and yes it's all tins and is relatively high in sodium but when you've only got £2 for a meal it fits the budget.....2 tins m.p, 1 baked beans in tomato sauce, 1 tin plum tomatoes, an onion, curry powder to taste...a touch of sugar or a tin of sweetcorn....soften onion add all tins (not s.c) and curry powder....heat and simmer for 10-20 mins blend if you want add s.c to.warm serve with boiled rice....1
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Love all these tips! One I'd like to add is don't be afraid or too proud to get assistance from a food bank. My ex had to use one for a month or two before and she came out with a months worth of veggies, fruit, proteins...some of it was even organic! A lot of people don't think of this as a viable resource, but they are there to help for this reason1
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grigglipuff wrote: »Love all these tips! One I'd like to add is don't be afraid or too proud to get assistance from a food bank. My ex had to use one for a month or two before and she came out with a months worth of veggies, fruit, proteins...some of it was even organic! A lot of people don't think of this as a viable resource, but they are there to help for this reason
I actually just started to volunteer for a local church's food bank. They have 2 per month. One day is for regular pantry and produce type items, the other is for frozen/refrigerated items. My role is to pull a garden cart, other volunteers load it and I take it to the person's car and help them load their vehicle. There are a lot of elderly. When we are finished what ever food is left over the volunteers get to have and we split it among us. So that will help me out a lot. I want to think of little inexpensive things I can do on special occasions (like holidays) to donate for people to have as a "Pay it Forward".. I was thinking of maybe some homemade drink mixes or spices/rubs. I can't afford the meal in a jar type but was thinking the others would be on a lower and cheaper scale. Or collecting from friends/neighbors/family items that may be needed...for instance they just had a table of school supplies that families could take for free....maybe for winter I can get people to donate scarves, hats, gloves, etc.0
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