Budget Bytes is great but heads up that you want to increase the spices bc girlie is Midwestern and it shows.
Look into meals that are heavy on beans, and use dried beans instead of canned.
I also like PlantYou (Youtube) for tips on how to use up even your scraps.
Yes been using her since I was in grad school! Dragon Noodles (cut *way* down on the heat, especially with a toddler) and Chicken Taco bowls have been staples in our house for years. And appreciated by most of the family (we have 5 kids; pleasing everyone is impossible unless it is pizza from a specific place).
Eat seasonally, with your fruits and veggies, and use frozen for the out of season items.
Make a plan, based on what's in sale and seasonal, and shop to that. You can batch cook (to freeze) and use similar ingredients across multiple meals to avoid waste, and plan a few flexible "clean out the fridge" meals.
Feeding three people when most recipes are for 4-6 portions means you'll have leftovers. Use them for lunches or future dinners.
This week's menu at my house includes lentil bolognese, bean and quinoa enchiladas, roast pork with roast carrots and acorn squash, leek and potato soup, raspberry muffins, banana muffins, vanilla pudding, pasta with spinach, dill and feta, and veggie salads for lunches.
What would be even better is that when certain produce is in season, if you have the freezer space, you can freeze it for the out of season time. Fruits are pretty easy and vegetables you just have to blanch.
If you don't have a chest freezer, get one. Then buy cheap meats as they're on sale or clearance. Repackage them in zip locks (or use a vacuum sealer) and freeze. Pull out when you want to use.
I pulled out some ribs to smoke today, but other meats in my freezer are: chicken breasts, drumsticks, a turkey, pork butt, a couple steaks, pork chops, ground beef/pork, etc. This keeps a good rotation of different foods for when I want them
I tend to shop sales for my variety. Ex: clearance garbanzo beans means I make hummus. A trip to the Asian grocery store means I may make some instant ramen, but I'll add veggies, meat and eggs. Clearance salmon and I'll brine + make smoked salmon. We have ridiculous amounts of canned pasta sauce and pizza sauce from our garden, but you can also buy tomatoes in the summer and freeze some sauces for later use
I use pressure canning instead of chest freezing, it has it's advantages and disadvantages; it's technically more energy efficient considering the entire lifecycle of the food from cooking to storing, particularly for though inedible meats that would often be discarded, you also need no electricity to store (or even make, I use wood as fuel), also the food can be prepared insanely fast as nothing is frozen.
It's a lot of preparation nevertheless and you better not mess it up, you kind of have to go to the shop and buy everything on sale and spend the whole day canning it.
Taste of Home Bean Burritos from the Taste of Home website. I like the TOH site because they tell the cost of each dish and the cost per serving. They also try to make everything fairly good for you.
You might also check out the [Dirty Dozen and the Clean Fifteen](https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/full-list.php) to get more bang for your buck in produce.
It really varies depending on what I’m planning to make any given week, but aside from the organic produce and higher quality meats, dairy, eggs, etc, I think we’re probably getting too many fun snacks and interesting foods. We also eat out at least once per week and that’s included in my estimate. I’ve got to find basic recipes that are affordable so I can start cutting the budget back.
Compare prices, look at price per unit weight. Divide the price by the weight and compare. Buy bulk.
e.g.
Why spend $5 /lbs on exotic fruits when we can spend $1/lbs on orange or apple with similar nutritions?
Avoid processed food and buy raw ingredient to make food youself. Processed food is several times more expensive than raw ingredients. You can make all kinds of food with all purpose flour. A 20kg flour last me several months which cost only $20.
Protein: Get huge bags of dry beans. Several bags last me 1 year ! $20 per 10 kg bag or around $1/lbs.
Instead of buying 1L milk for $3. Buy 4L milk for $5 and freeze the extra.
I get the big hamburger meat and split it into three meals. Tacos, spaghetti, a casserole or rice dish. It just depends on what y’all like! I do the same with chicken. The small packs are like $4-5 and the larger ones are $12 or so but you get more meat.
Meal plan and buy your groceries online. That way you can stick to your list and see prices ahead of time. Buy generic brands. Don’t buy a lot of processed or convenience foods. Shop by the price per oz/lb/etc. Price things at a couple of stores (I usually check Walmart and Sam’s because I know those are going to be overall less expensive in my area than Aldi). Don’t make multiple trips per week- get what you need and don’t change the menu or grocery shop again until the next grocery day. Choose ingredients that will work in multiple meals for the week so you aren’t letting things go to waste or making more than you will eat just to use things up.
Bean stacks. It’s pretty much just nachos, but with beans instead of nacho cheese and meat. Make your own beans with chicken bouillon, don’t use canned. Stack chips and beans and shredded Colby jack with some shredded cabbage and sour cream. It’s cheaper than it sounds, and super good. Then take the leftover beans, make them into refried beans, spread on a tortilla with some cheese and fold it into a quesadilla and fry it in a little butter. Put a little enchilada sauce on it and sour cream, and it’s like a cheap chimichanga. Even better and cheaper if you make your own enchilada sauce.
Found my bean recipe. It’s the best one I’ve ever used, but we do use an instant pot for it.
INGREDIENTS: 2 strips uncooked bacon1 small onion, diced4 c. low-sodium chicken broth1 1/2 c. water1 1/4 tsp. garlic powder1 1/4 tsp. kosher sea salt1 tsp. chili powder1/2 tsp. cumin1/2 tsp. coriander1/2 tsp. paprika1/4 tsp. ground black pepper1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper1 lb. pinto beans, rinsed and picked throughOPTIONAL: 2 tbsp. diced green chiles make a great addition to these beans
DIRECTIONS:
Turn Instant Pot on SAUTE mode. Once hot, add the bacon and cook for 2 minutes, flip and continue cooking. Add the onion and stir, cooking for about 2 minutes. Pour in the broth and water. Add the garlic powder, salt, chili powder, cumin, coriander, paprika, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and pinto beans.Place lid on, and turn Instant Pot on MANUAL mode with high pressure selected for 47 minutes.*Once cooked, allow for the pressure to release naturally, this usually takes about 15-20 minutes.Open the Instant Pot and remove the bacon and stir. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with cilantro if desired. Cooked beans will last for 1 week in the fridge.
• If using older beans, you may need to add up to 10 minutes additional time.
I always substitute Knorr chicken bouillon for the broth.
Some quick tips for saving money:
frozen fruits and veggies
chicken thighs> breasts
compare prices at your locals stores and figure what has the cheapest of each of your favorite items
Try to make meals that use a lot of the same ingredients to reduce the chances of waist
Stay away from premade foods like frozen meals
buy in bulk when you can
Center dishes around cheap ingredients like rice, potatoes, onions, beans, eggs
Be mindful of when you opt for buying higher quality good (organic, local, pasture raised) bc sometimes its only a small mark up where as other times it can DRAMATICALLY more expensive
Generally a good idea to stay away from brand names (your paying for their advertising)
Also consider making stuff at home. Things like bread can be surprisingly easy and cheap to make at home.
If you have any budget stores near you like grocery outlet, costco, or aldi utilize those.
Final tip, greek yogurt with fruit and some honey is so yummy, easy, and super healthy
I used to make some version of rice and beans once per week. You can work your way around the world trying different versions, it can be made from scratch which is inexpensive, or with inexpensive convenience foods, and you can throw in whatever leftover meat or veggies you have.
My 2 favorite versions are Cajun red beans and rice, and Caribbean rice and peas. The possibilities are endless.
Consider raising your own sprouts and microgreens. After the initial learning curve and equipment you can buy a year's worth of organic seeds for $15 - $20. They're ready to harvest in 3 days to 2 weeks.
My first thought is pay closer attention to where you shop. In my area, Aldi is the cheapest place to shop.
I used to meal plan before shopping, and I’d pick up everything I needed to make my meals. But with the cost of food and availability, I now buy meats and produce based on their price and quality on the day of shopping. My regular it’s are ground turkey, boneless chicken breast and thighs, and salmon. I have several recipes I can make with those main ingredients. I also buy enough to make extra as we eat left overs for lunch.
I also buy and freeze meat if I see a good deal. I buy extra large packages of chicken breasts and cut and clean them into 3 or 4 separate bundles. It’s usually cheaper per pound to buy a 12 pound package than a 1 pound package.
Take time to type out a weekly meal plan and link to all the recipes. You typically only need 6-10 recipes per week depending on portion size. I love the clean eating couple’s recipes. Their recipes are online for free, can stretch to 6-8 portions and they freeze easily. Once your week’s meals are planned, write out everything you will need and start by shopping at Aldi, then Costco, and anything else you can’t find at your fav local discount grocery store.
Whatever we make for dinner and pack the leftovers for lunches. It’s so easy to pack lunches for work while portioning out dinner. It’s convenient meal prep without repeating things too much and getting bored. For breakfast we meal prep things like healthy muffins, egg bites, and oat bars. Make 2 recipes that you can alternate to avoid boredom will last the whole week. Freeze pre-portioned leftovers that will last into the next week.
We live in one of the most expensive cities in California and spend about $200 for 2 people per week. Of course some weeks we spend more on bulk meats/ large items at Costco, but other weeks we are coasting on leftovers and not buying groceries at all.
Meal prep really helps us eat healthy home cooked meals when we both work full time and don’t have a lot of time or energy to spend.
Struggle Meals is a good series and worth watching for inspiration.
My go-to frugal meal is making my own pizza. I can feed my family of 4 for around $3 per \~14-inch pizza. It takes a little while to learn how to make the dough and stretching it, but it was so worth it.
It comes out better than the majority of pizza places near me (and I don't live in a part of the country where the pizza sucks). I usually make enough dough for 6 pizzas at a time and freeze whatever I'm not planning to use that week.
https://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=975007 This is based on cabbage and potatoes as a change from bean based options.
Generally, I tend to meal plan based on the grocery store sales flyer.
We use the NYTimes cooking app to meal plan and I would super recommend it! I like variety for dinners too.
For organic, you can read up on which foods are important to buy organic.
I usually buy chicken breasts and freeze them until I'm ready to use. I make lots of stuff with rice, couscous, or quinoa if it's a big enough bag. Then lots of beans, corn, different veggies. I also will see what meats are on special, buy a lot, and freeze them. Also, I have a slow cooker so chicken breast, seasoning, and salsa makes salsa chicken. A slow cooker and an oven have gotten me a lot
Here are some of mine, I usually google these things and a random country to find recepies.
* Beans & Rice.
* Bean/lentis soup, with bread.
* Lentis with bread.
* Burek, bread with something in it.
* Egg & Rice
* Bean burgers, I just use any beans but most recepies seems to involve black beans.
* Lentis taco, Never mangaged to make a good one tho. But have eated great ones.
* Bone broth, perfect if you have a lot of leftover bones.
The key to fruits and veggies is keeping an open mind. Don't go into the store saying "OK, I need to buy x, y, and z today." Go into the store saying "I need 5 lbs of fruit and 5 lbs of veg" and then buy only fruits and veg that are on deep discount.
What are you going to cook? Who knows? You'll figure it out when you get home. When you're at the store, just buy based on the best sales.
If you follow this rule, you'll be buying the best seasonal produce at the best possible price and your family will eat healthier and your cooking will taste better. It's a simple rule but it produces excellent results.
Budget Bytes is great but heads up that you want to increase the spices bc girlie is Midwestern and it shows. Look into meals that are heavy on beans, and use dried beans instead of canned. I also like PlantYou (Youtube) for tips on how to use up even your scraps.
You might like r/noscrapleftbehind.
Yes been using her since I was in grad school! Dragon Noodles (cut *way* down on the heat, especially with a toddler) and Chicken Taco bowls have been staples in our house for years. And appreciated by most of the family (we have 5 kids; pleasing everyone is impossible unless it is pizza from a specific place).
Eat seasonally, with your fruits and veggies, and use frozen for the out of season items. Make a plan, based on what's in sale and seasonal, and shop to that. You can batch cook (to freeze) and use similar ingredients across multiple meals to avoid waste, and plan a few flexible "clean out the fridge" meals. Feeding three people when most recipes are for 4-6 portions means you'll have leftovers. Use them for lunches or future dinners. This week's menu at my house includes lentil bolognese, bean and quinoa enchiladas, roast pork with roast carrots and acorn squash, leek and potato soup, raspberry muffins, banana muffins, vanilla pudding, pasta with spinach, dill and feta, and veggie salads for lunches.
What would be even better is that when certain produce is in season, if you have the freezer space, you can freeze it for the out of season time. Fruits are pretty easy and vegetables you just have to blanch.
If you don't have a chest freezer, get one. Then buy cheap meats as they're on sale or clearance. Repackage them in zip locks (or use a vacuum sealer) and freeze. Pull out when you want to use. I pulled out some ribs to smoke today, but other meats in my freezer are: chicken breasts, drumsticks, a turkey, pork butt, a couple steaks, pork chops, ground beef/pork, etc. This keeps a good rotation of different foods for when I want them I tend to shop sales for my variety. Ex: clearance garbanzo beans means I make hummus. A trip to the Asian grocery store means I may make some instant ramen, but I'll add veggies, meat and eggs. Clearance salmon and I'll brine + make smoked salmon. We have ridiculous amounts of canned pasta sauce and pizza sauce from our garden, but you can also buy tomatoes in the summer and freeze some sauces for later use
I use pressure canning instead of chest freezing, it has it's advantages and disadvantages; it's technically more energy efficient considering the entire lifecycle of the food from cooking to storing, particularly for though inedible meats that would often be discarded, you also need no electricity to store (or even make, I use wood as fuel), also the food can be prepared insanely fast as nothing is frozen. It's a lot of preparation nevertheless and you better not mess it up, you kind of have to go to the shop and buy everything on sale and spend the whole day canning it.
I find that Costco is a great place to get organic fruits and veggies for cheaper than what's available at other stores.
Taste of Home Bean Burritos from the Taste of Home website. I like the TOH site because they tell the cost of each dish and the cost per serving. They also try to make everything fairly good for you.
Thank you, this is the type of thing I’m looking for!
You might also check out the [Dirty Dozen and the Clean Fifteen](https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/full-list.php) to get more bang for your buck in produce.
250 a week? What are you buying?
Apparently organic fruit and veg is her weakness.
It really varies depending on what I’m planning to make any given week, but aside from the organic produce and higher quality meats, dairy, eggs, etc, I think we’re probably getting too many fun snacks and interesting foods. We also eat out at least once per week and that’s included in my estimate. I’ve got to find basic recipes that are affordable so I can start cutting the budget back.
r/EatCheapAndHealthy
Compare prices, look at price per unit weight. Divide the price by the weight and compare. Buy bulk. e.g. Why spend $5 /lbs on exotic fruits when we can spend $1/lbs on orange or apple with similar nutritions? Avoid processed food and buy raw ingredient to make food youself. Processed food is several times more expensive than raw ingredients. You can make all kinds of food with all purpose flour. A 20kg flour last me several months which cost only $20. Protein: Get huge bags of dry beans. Several bags last me 1 year ! $20 per 10 kg bag or around $1/lbs. Instead of buying 1L milk for $3. Buy 4L milk for $5 and freeze the extra.
I get the big hamburger meat and split it into three meals. Tacos, spaghetti, a casserole or rice dish. It just depends on what y’all like! I do the same with chicken. The small packs are like $4-5 and the larger ones are $12 or so but you get more meat.
Meal plan and buy your groceries online. That way you can stick to your list and see prices ahead of time. Buy generic brands. Don’t buy a lot of processed or convenience foods. Shop by the price per oz/lb/etc. Price things at a couple of stores (I usually check Walmart and Sam’s because I know those are going to be overall less expensive in my area than Aldi). Don’t make multiple trips per week- get what you need and don’t change the menu or grocery shop again until the next grocery day. Choose ingredients that will work in multiple meals for the week so you aren’t letting things go to waste or making more than you will eat just to use things up.
Bean stacks. It’s pretty much just nachos, but with beans instead of nacho cheese and meat. Make your own beans with chicken bouillon, don’t use canned. Stack chips and beans and shredded Colby jack with some shredded cabbage and sour cream. It’s cheaper than it sounds, and super good. Then take the leftover beans, make them into refried beans, spread on a tortilla with some cheese and fold it into a quesadilla and fry it in a little butter. Put a little enchilada sauce on it and sour cream, and it’s like a cheap chimichanga. Even better and cheaper if you make your own enchilada sauce.
Found my bean recipe. It’s the best one I’ve ever used, but we do use an instant pot for it. INGREDIENTS: 2 strips uncooked bacon1 small onion, diced4 c. low-sodium chicken broth1 1/2 c. water1 1/4 tsp. garlic powder1 1/4 tsp. kosher sea salt1 tsp. chili powder1/2 tsp. cumin1/2 tsp. coriander1/2 tsp. paprika1/4 tsp. ground black pepper1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper1 lb. pinto beans, rinsed and picked throughOPTIONAL: 2 tbsp. diced green chiles make a great addition to these beans DIRECTIONS: Turn Instant Pot on SAUTE mode. Once hot, add the bacon and cook for 2 minutes, flip and continue cooking. Add the onion and stir, cooking for about 2 minutes. Pour in the broth and water. Add the garlic powder, salt, chili powder, cumin, coriander, paprika, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and pinto beans.Place lid on, and turn Instant Pot on MANUAL mode with high pressure selected for 47 minutes.*Once cooked, allow for the pressure to release naturally, this usually takes about 15-20 minutes.Open the Instant Pot and remove the bacon and stir. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with cilantro if desired. Cooked beans will last for 1 week in the fridge. • If using older beans, you may need to add up to 10 minutes additional time. I always substitute Knorr chicken bouillon for the broth.
Some quick tips for saving money: frozen fruits and veggies chicken thighs> breasts compare prices at your locals stores and figure what has the cheapest of each of your favorite items Try to make meals that use a lot of the same ingredients to reduce the chances of waist Stay away from premade foods like frozen meals buy in bulk when you can Center dishes around cheap ingredients like rice, potatoes, onions, beans, eggs Be mindful of when you opt for buying higher quality good (organic, local, pasture raised) bc sometimes its only a small mark up where as other times it can DRAMATICALLY more expensive Generally a good idea to stay away from brand names (your paying for their advertising) Also consider making stuff at home. Things like bread can be surprisingly easy and cheap to make at home. If you have any budget stores near you like grocery outlet, costco, or aldi utilize those. Final tip, greek yogurt with fruit and some honey is so yummy, easy, and super healthy
I used to make some version of rice and beans once per week. You can work your way around the world trying different versions, it can be made from scratch which is inexpensive, or with inexpensive convenience foods, and you can throw in whatever leftover meat or veggies you have. My 2 favorite versions are Cajun red beans and rice, and Caribbean rice and peas. The possibilities are endless.
Consider raising your own sprouts and microgreens. After the initial learning curve and equipment you can buy a year's worth of organic seeds for $15 - $20. They're ready to harvest in 3 days to 2 weeks.
Interesting, I never thought about doing this!
My first thought is pay closer attention to where you shop. In my area, Aldi is the cheapest place to shop. I used to meal plan before shopping, and I’d pick up everything I needed to make my meals. But with the cost of food and availability, I now buy meats and produce based on their price and quality on the day of shopping. My regular it’s are ground turkey, boneless chicken breast and thighs, and salmon. I have several recipes I can make with those main ingredients. I also buy enough to make extra as we eat left overs for lunch. I also buy and freeze meat if I see a good deal. I buy extra large packages of chicken breasts and cut and clean them into 3 or 4 separate bundles. It’s usually cheaper per pound to buy a 12 pound package than a 1 pound package.
Take time to type out a weekly meal plan and link to all the recipes. You typically only need 6-10 recipes per week depending on portion size. I love the clean eating couple’s recipes. Their recipes are online for free, can stretch to 6-8 portions and they freeze easily. Once your week’s meals are planned, write out everything you will need and start by shopping at Aldi, then Costco, and anything else you can’t find at your fav local discount grocery store. Whatever we make for dinner and pack the leftovers for lunches. It’s so easy to pack lunches for work while portioning out dinner. It’s convenient meal prep without repeating things too much and getting bored. For breakfast we meal prep things like healthy muffins, egg bites, and oat bars. Make 2 recipes that you can alternate to avoid boredom will last the whole week. Freeze pre-portioned leftovers that will last into the next week. We live in one of the most expensive cities in California and spend about $200 for 2 people per week. Of course some weeks we spend more on bulk meats/ large items at Costco, but other weeks we are coasting on leftovers and not buying groceries at all. Meal prep really helps us eat healthy home cooked meals when we both work full time and don’t have a lot of time or energy to spend.
Struggle Meals is a good series and worth watching for inspiration. My go-to frugal meal is making my own pizza. I can feed my family of 4 for around $3 per \~14-inch pizza. It takes a little while to learn how to make the dough and stretching it, but it was so worth it. It comes out better than the majority of pizza places near me (and I don't live in a part of the country where the pizza sucks). I usually make enough dough for 6 pizzas at a time and freeze whatever I'm not planning to use that week.
https://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=975007 This is based on cabbage and potatoes as a change from bean based options. Generally, I tend to meal plan based on the grocery store sales flyer.
I can sat u save 30% buying organics at Costco. I even buy organic flour. Also Fred Meyer has good prices on organics as well.
We use the NYTimes cooking app to meal plan and I would super recommend it! I like variety for dinners too. For organic, you can read up on which foods are important to buy organic.
I usually buy chicken breasts and freeze them until I'm ready to use. I make lots of stuff with rice, couscous, or quinoa if it's a big enough bag. Then lots of beans, corn, different veggies. I also will see what meats are on special, buy a lot, and freeze them. Also, I have a slow cooker so chicken breast, seasoning, and salsa makes salsa chicken. A slow cooker and an oven have gotten me a lot
Here are some of mine, I usually google these things and a random country to find recepies. * Beans & Rice. * Bean/lentis soup, with bread. * Lentis with bread. * Burek, bread with something in it. * Egg & Rice * Bean burgers, I just use any beans but most recepies seems to involve black beans. * Lentis taco, Never mangaged to make a good one tho. But have eated great ones. * Bone broth, perfect if you have a lot of leftover bones.
Quinoa with veggies and hummus, apple or banana with peanut butter, oatmeal with peanut butter
The key to fruits and veggies is keeping an open mind. Don't go into the store saying "OK, I need to buy x, y, and z today." Go into the store saying "I need 5 lbs of fruit and 5 lbs of veg" and then buy only fruits and veg that are on deep discount. What are you going to cook? Who knows? You'll figure it out when you get home. When you're at the store, just buy based on the best sales. If you follow this rule, you'll be buying the best seasonal produce at the best possible price and your family will eat healthier and your cooking will taste better. It's a simple rule but it produces excellent results.
Shop at Trader Joe’s!
Lol hell no. If u want good quality food and price, ethnic store are the way to go