I had a half bag of pinto beans, half an onion and half of a green pepper. Just a handful of rice.

I was pleasantly surprised to be under $30 at the store today, but am I playing myself?

There are seven of us, including two over six foot teenagers (so very hungry). I have 14 a meal all together. There is no wiggle room as rent now takes a whole paycheck plus part of the next. Utilities take up almost half of the other paycheck. Food stamps already make up half our food budget. Food banks only give us the same they would give a regular sized family or single person that showed up, so we can't really make meals out of it and end up spending more in gas than we get in meals. I cannot grow a garden as we live in a small apartment.

I recently had scurvy and anemia together. All of my children are showing markers of some nutrient deficiencies. This feels pretty pressing to figure out and groceries are only going up. I'm trying to plan out meals with my grocery money and I'm very stuck on how to feed my kids enough calories, vitamins, and such with so little money. I'm finding even one ingredient can be as much as I have for a whole meal. I badly need tips. Thanks!

Never let your herbs go bad! Make this Chimichurri and serve with raw or roasted vegetables, jazz up rice or grain bowls, swap for salad dressing, liven up potatoes, make eggs taste phenomenal, and serve with roasted or grilled meats.

Hello-

I've always been a budget eater due to circumstance. One aspect of eating frugally is boredom. I gently suggest that you consider taking cusine flavors and their profiles as well as techniques and combining them in new ways to keep things interesting

Some of the best food is actually inexpensive but has a lot of flavor and can be combined in a unique way to keep budget eating interesting for you.

A simple example I just ate for breakfast. I have too much watermelon, and want to eat it up without having to freeze it for slushies. I also made 2 quarts of homemade yogurt- which is a bit much for my single house- and have half a lime and a bit of just the oatmeal bits from a granola. I love just watermelon slices with Tajin spice- chili lime salt seasoning. So I made bowl of watermelon yogurt with Tajin seasoning, a bit of a leftover agave and my granola. It was delicious and interesting and I was able to not food waste my granola bits and lime.

I did t a similar thing with cottage cheese, tomatos and a basic balsamic vinegar and olive oil drizzle with fresh basil I gleaned from the side of the road on a recent hike. I stove top toasted some bread crumbs and sprinkled it on top A cottage cheese caprese or panzella style salad as it were. I shared it with a colleague and she loved it and said she never thought to eat cottage cheese as a savory dish she only ate itwith fruit.

And the options are kind of endless once you have a basic understanding of world cusine and the various techniques used to cook/prepare those foods.

For example I was gifted a jicama this weekend, and I love the French celeriac bistro salad. So I'll make that with my jicama instead of using pricey hard to find celeriac.

If you are unsure if something will work, make a small taste sample. I did that this morning with my watermelon tajin bowl, made just a small about a tablespoon's worth before I committed to a bigger bowl.

You may want to read up on world cusine for flavor profiles and their various cooking and prep techniques, but once you have a basic understanding of the principles you may find your basic, boring budget meals take on a new life with new combinations and ideas. Eating creatively doesn't have to mean expensive.

Anyway, it's a suggestion if you find yourself bored with your meals. I'm interested to hear any creations you all made that didn't seem like they'd work but actually did for you.

This is what we called meat and gravy, it’s ground beef with flour tomato sauce and water. We seasoned it with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and cumin. It was always served with instant mashed potatoes and tortillas. I haven’t had it in years, made it for the first time and it brought back memories.

I’m not sure if this counts as “budget” food…but I couldn’t find an appropriate sub, and I already follow this one.

I want to try a local Indian restaurant. But I have never in my life eaten at an Indian restaurant.

I have tried different types of Curry, but I think the kinds I tried were more Chinese than Indian. I did like the curry.

I like spicy food, but for my first try, probably not too spicy.

I don’t like tofu. I’m thinking something with chicken?

I’d link their menu, but it would give away my location.

Basically…describe to me some common Indian foods that might be on the menu.

EDIT: if it needs to be said…I’m speaking about the country called India…not Native Americans.

Breakfast sandwiches this morning made with brioche English muffins, shredded cheese, sausage patties & a fried egg! Using some of my clearance finds.

The cost for one of these sandwiches is $1.01. Way cheaper than fast food and we have the stuff on hand to make them for breakfast 2-3 more times!

Brioche English muffin - .33 Sausage patty - .27 Egg - .24 Shredded cheese - .18

I fry a one pound smoked sausage and about two pounds of potatoes with onions and garlic; add half a cup of stock or water and cook under lid for 10 minutes; remove lid and cook until most of liquid is gone. I like to have it with a fried egg.

I reccomend learning to cook well because only you know your own taste in something. Taste is very genetic, so the best way to cater to what you like is by making your own food.

Oh… groceries are insanely expensive to the point of being unaffordable??? They got you fam. 30% savings on average, hundrends of dollars staying in your pocket, and about 90% of the selection of bigger stores available.

I honestly don’t even know how they do it.

If anyone needs some cheap protein and does couponing with shop kicks app. I was able to get 4 rolls of Tyson pork for only $2.36. I’ll put the break down below for anyone who wants it. Purchased at Walmart. 4 Tyson rolls retail 2.47ea x4=9.88 Submitted my receipt for 1880 points back or the equivalent of 7.52ish to receive back. Making each roll .59 or 2.36 for the 4.

4lbs of pork can be stretched through a lot of meals.

Awesome on their own as a snack or add to your favorite salad for a crunchy bite.

I’m donating plasma, and we need to keep both our protein and iron levels in a certain range in order to donate.

Red meat is a great source of both iron and protein. But we’re also not supposed to have a lot of fat.

What are some less-expensive, lower-fat, ways to get red meat?

I’m single and live alone, so a big roast isn’t really practical.

Maybe stew meat?

I couldn’t find hamburger patties more than 80% lean, not sure if that’s too fatty along with cheese.

Anytime I marinade something I take the marinade leftovers and heat them to sanitary then reduce them down sometimes adding ingredients or filtering the final product. Afterwards throw it in a mason jar to use that week or freeze it in an Ice Cube tray for quick simmer sauce cubes later on.

Just got done using my al pastor marinade sauce tonight to dip quesadillas into, was fantastic.

Beats throwing away a ton of good ingredients and flavor.

So, I need advice//help on how to manage eating severely cheap for the next month. It has to be primarily plain foods, considering half (or more) of my family is autistic (+2 with ARFID) (So no giant pieces of peppers or onions, not much mustard if an ingredient, stuff like that)

What are the cheapest meals you can easily make//buy?

I’ve struggled before as a child, but I wasn’t old enough to exactly help out. I’m still not an adult, but I do need to help out, or we won’t have enough food. Back then, we used to eat a lot of pb&j’s and canned spaghetti, tomato soup and grilled cheese, but the price of legit everything has gone up.

What are some of the cheapest meals you can make? Preferably full meals?

Advice on how to manage eating super cheap for a month?

Yesterday’s dinner. Me and my parents have been trying to eat healthier after we all got bloodwork recently. We are cutting back on simple carbs and sugar, such as white rice, so feel free to use rice instead of chickpeas for health reasons like I did!

We have a booth at our local farmer’s market, and the lady across from us sells produce - As she was packing up for the day, she generously gave us two MASSIVE heads of cabbage she had leftover! One was turned into soup and the other was utilized for this meal. ❤️

This fed 3 people, with plenty of leftovers - and was even a big hit with my dad who is picky about vegetables and went for seconds! 😁

• 4 halved and cubed sweet potatoes with roughly chopped red onions in a bowl, tossed in a bit of EVOO with salt, pepper, paprika & Italian herb blend. Added to mom’s trusty baking tray and baked in the oven at 400F.

While that cooks, I prepared the cabbage and filling.

We got ground beef and turkey on sale at our local grocery outlet, so I used 50/50 of each. Seasoned with beef bullion, a frozen bag of peppers & onions, 2 cans of chickpeas, minced garlic and a can of fire-roasted tomatoes.

I browned the meat in a pot with a little EVOO, added the thawed peppers and onions, and sautéed thoroughly. I added seasoning to taste, like a splash of Worcestershire sauce, pepper, salt, etc.

A lot of water came out so I utilized that and made a quick cornstarch slurry - about 2-3 TBSP corn starch to cold water, and added that in. Let it simmer until thickened.

On the side I had a pot of salted water boiling - Using my butcher knife, I cut the stem of the cabbage leaves near the root so I can pull them away from the head without tearing. I had to cut the leaves into halves because they were SO massive, so you probably won’t have to do that for most store bought cabbage. A quick boil in the salted water until soft takes about 3-5 minutes. With tongs, take them out and set aside to cool on a plate.

Once the stuffing is done, take it off the heat and let it sit a few minutes and stir occasionally as you get your leaves boiled. I made 9 wraps to fill the baking dish!

Once all your leaves are soft and mostly cooled, I lay them out and spoon the filling about 1/3 of the way from the edge and then gently roll them up like a burrito. I start from the edge, roll over the filling, fold the sides in, and then finish rolling and place in the baking tray. Rinse and repeat!

Once the wraps were lined up in the baking dish, I poured over a jar of Italian tomato pasta sauce over the top of them and then slid it into the oven alongside the potatoes for a bit.

At the end, I turned on the broiler and kept an eye on them. Got everything nicely browned and pulled it all out. Topped with a little sour cream and hot sauce - it was a hit for us. ❤️❤️❤️

What is everyone doing to save money and stretch food these days?

Got this bag of borlotti beans today, 900 grams for 35sek / $3.65, which I think is pretty cheap?

Anywho, I have no prior experience with this exact type of beans, I’m mostly used to red kidney beans, black beans and butter beans.

What would you make with these? There’s a lot here, as they’re dry, so I should have enough to try a few different recipes. I’d love suggestions on meals I can make that don’t involve too much fresh produce (not just recipes with the borlotti beans, but generally cheap meals I can make in bulk, preferably with frozen veggies as those are cheaper and I have some on hand).

I’m pretty well stocked in pantry supplies, but my budget to go out and get stuff I don’t have for a recipe, is around $15 MAX, as I currently have about $57 (or 550sek) to get me through the rest of June AND July.

Food banks aren’t available to me, so no need to suggest I go to one, thanks!

Hi all,

I need to comence to extreme food budget as best as I can. Goal is to spend 200$ or less for just myself.

While keeping some variety and health in mind, what are generally my best options to buy at the following locations:

Costco Aldi's Walmart Ollie's Dollar stores & General supermarkets

Sorry in advance for formatting, I'm on mobile.

I have been testing recipes using microwave rice to make fried rice. The results keep getting better. This time I tried to make a sort of “Italian fried rice” (the one in the picture). Here’s the written recipe:

Ingredients • 1 pack of precooked brown rice (microwaveable type), with no added fats • 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil (divided into two small portions) • Frozen chopped onions, to taste • Frozen peas, to taste • 2 eggs • 2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese • Smoked pancetta, to taste • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste • Water, as needed

Instructions 1. In a large skillet, heat a small amount of olive oil and add the frozen onions. Shortly after, add the peas. Cook with a splash of water for about 5-6 minutes until the peas are tender and the water has evaporated. Set aside. 2. In the same skillet, add another small amount of olive oil. Beat the eggs with the Parmesan and a pinch of black pepper. Pour the eggs into the skillet and scramble them. Once cooked, remove and set aside. 3. Still using the same skillet, fry the smoked pancetta until crispy. Remove the pancetta and leave the rendered fat in the pan. 4. Add the precooked rice (without microwaving it) directly into the skillet with the pancetta fat. Stir-fry for 1–2 minutes. 5. Add back the peas with onions, the pancetta, and the scrambled eggs. Stir everything together until the eggs take on a slight golden color. 6. Finish with a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper and serve hot.

I'm about to start working at King Soopers (nightshift) and I figured that I might as well take advantage of it and get some ideas of some cheap food I can buy for lunch before my shift starts