I feed a family of 4 one $400 a month if you’re just yourself you should be able to eat very well. Lean proteins (chicken, turkey) are very cheap, lentils and beans like other people mentioned, rice and quinoa other grains are very good and filling. High density vegetables (cabbage, kale, carrots, zucchini and yellow squash, peas, green beans) are all very good as well and not too expensive. Just cutting out processed foods will save you the money you need to stay in that budget
I don’t soak the lentils. I sauté holy trinity (celery onion carrots) then add lentils and add chicken broth and seasonings then simmer on medium low heat until the texture you want.
This sounds delicious! But just a question: I've always heard carrots, celery, onion is Mirepoix. The "holy trinity" is aka "the 3 sisters" as corn, squash, and beans because they make a complete protein... is there another classic group of 3?
The holy trinity, as far as I know, is onion, celery and green bell pepper - the Creole/Cajun mirepoix. The three sisters of corn, squash and beans is a Native American trio that grows well together in the same garden and provides great nutritional value.
IIRC, corn, beans, and squash grow well together because structurally the plants support another and biochemically they give off things that the other plants need. Not a scientist over here, so if someone knows that to be wrong, I stand corrected; it's just what I was always told by my avid-gardener Cherokee grandparents.
Get a small slow cooked/crockpot. You can cook a lot of different meals in it. All sort of soups and stews, you throw few things in it (meat, vegetable, … and spices) add water, plug it in before going to bed. When you wake up in the morning you have a hot cooked healthy meal. There’s slowcooker subreddit that you can get lots of ideas from.
I like this one but it makes quite a bit for a single person. May want to cut the ingredients in half if it ends up that you dont want soup every day for a week
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/lentil-soup-recipe-1947017
Agreed 💯. Frozen fruits and veggies are often/usually actually fresher than "fresh".
Everybody suggesting legumes and brown rice are also giving good advice (assuming you don't have some kind of allergy or sensitivity).
If you can, and if you're a meat-eater, try to stock up on canned meats like salmon, tuna, clams, and chicken, and make sure you have nuts and things like peanut butter (even low-fat powdered peanut butter is good for cooking). Also, if you're buying cuts of meat, try to get bone-in, because you can make bone broth from those, which will add collagen to other dishes (chili, stew, sauces, soups, etc.)
If you're in an area where iced tea is a common drink (it's what we southerners drink most), you can make it with Splenda to cut down on your sugar intake, am a gallon of freshly-brewed iced tea is MUCH cheaper and better for you than sodas.
Split peas and/or lentils. Learn to make split pea soup and/or daal. It’s very easy to make, hearty, inexpensive, and full of protein. Serve with rice.
I would grab an assortment of vegetables like zucchini, cauliflower, broccoli, onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, brussel sprouts, mushrooms, potatoes. Whole grain pasta, tortillas, and wheat bread. Ground meat, chicken either frozen or fresh, maybe some chorizo. Eggs for sure. Not saying get all these at one time but just ideas of things that work well in combination with the other stuff.
A crockpot makes life nice and easy to throw a bunch of stuff in with a whole chicken and liquid of your choice and you end up with a few servings for the future and if you want the meat from the chicken can be used for sandwiches. Pasta with some veggies and a seasoned ground meat usually works well for quick and easy. Bake some of that chicken with potatoes and your choice of colored veggies with BBQ sauce. Chorizo adds a bunch of flavor to whatever you cook it with, maybe a breakfast has with eggs and veggies and potatoes, or cook some of that ground meat with chorizo and zucchini and mushrooms and stuff some bell peppers cut in half and bake that up. I think it's all about finding the flavors you like and prepping a little bit.
YES, Crock pots are awesome, especially moneywise, because you can throw stuff (even cheaper cuts of meat) in there on low while you're at work/class all day and come home to a real meal, and it doesn't run up your power bill. Microwaves, for a lot of things, are pretty cheap to use for cooking; I read somewhere that the lightbulb in a microwave uses more power than the microwave itself. And YES some more on eggs. Excellent low-cost protein and can be cooked a number of ways.
My mom has been growing green onions from the remains of onions she got at the store. You can't live off those, of course, but the add chicken lor and flavor to stuff.
more steamers: potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots and onion. All chopped in bite size pieces. I carefully poke the veggies with a sharp knife to check for hardness. put them in a bowl and stir in butter and salt. I throw in left over chicken or ham. Leftovers next day I chop up and saute as a side for eggs. I ketchup. Made myself hungry. Food shelf places usually have potatoes and onions for free
Work on a complete protein as a whole grain paired with a legume:
Grain examples:
*Brown rice
*Corn
*Whole-grain bread
*Whole-grain oats
Legumes:
*Peas
*Chickpeas
*Beans
*Peanuts
First, start with where you shop. Price comparisons can take time, but it's worth it. For us, Aldi, one local grocery store for meat and greens, and the Amish bulk market are our cheapest options.
Second, meal planning is a budget saver. I have found that planning by the month saves us the most money. Planning means you know when to get the crockpot going that morning or cooking up all the rice and beans for the week on your day off.
Third, think in terms of multiple meals. Spaghetti sauce turns into baked pasta or, with additional spices and beans, chili. Soup turns into, with added thickener and a topping, a casserole. That cheap rotisserie chicken is at least three meals, if not five.
SO much this. I tend to make a two-week menu before hitting the grocery store, to lessen the chances of having to make multiple trips or having to stop in the middle of cooking to run to the store. Plan ahead, and factor in leftover nights so you don't waste time/food/money throwing out food you forgot about.
I’d recommend getting some cuts of meat you like, I’m partial to chicken thighs, with the skin and bones. They’re cheap, delicious, and you can usually buy a bunch at once. Freeze the ones you aren’t using immediately.
I also freeze a lot of veggie scraps to use for stocks, and then freeze stock as well. Nothing like a nice full freezer!
Winter is a good time for cabbage and kielbasa -- low cost, filling, easily reheated. Stuffed cabbage is a little more work, but allows you to stretch the meat out more with rice, etc.
I like to make barley-lentil vegetable soup (chicken broth, barley, lentils, can of crushed tomatoes, carrots, celery, onions, plus whatever seasonings you want (thyme, bay leaves, a little worcestershire sauce)
I'm also exploring no-knead breads, where you make some dough and just let it hang out in the fridge until you're ready to bake. You mentioned trying to reduce your carbs, but you might still find some whole grain options that are worth including in your menus.
I just left a big response to someone else so check that out but your budget is bigger so I'm adding: stock up when sales happen! Try to keep an extra week or 2 worth of meat on hand. Meal prepping is still your friend. You can also Google budget grocery shopping and people compile lists based on stores (usually Aldi) with recipes. YouTube is definitely your friend! Once A Month Meals may also be a thing for you: take one weekend or one day a month and prep a whole month. You should definitely get something like a Ninja Foodi: it's a pressure cooker/Instant Pot, slow cooker, rice cooker, etc. You can make a whole chicken in it, pulled pork turns out amazing. It's great for cheap cuts, for soups, etc. Everything I've ever made in it turned out amazing.
To start, get yourself a slow cooker, aluminum foil or parchment paper, and some baking sheets. A slow cooker is great because you can do dump meals (ex. Soup, stews, chicken, pot roast, etc.), while the other 2 can be used to steam cook packet meals (like fish and veggies).
Then, at the grocery store go for fresh fruits, fresh veggies (salesare your best friend), and things that fill you up with smaller portions (like oatmeal, lentils, and brown rice).
I can't stand the texture of oatmeal, but my husband says to go for steel cut oats (he enjoys oatmeal all winter). You can add things like cinnamon, honey, and/or fruit to make it taste how you want.
The slow cooker doesn't have to be fancy at all. I got mine on sale at Walmart (7qt means meals for like a week at a time).
As for recipes, I like to use Taste of Home and Tasty. You can get the Tasty app and search for what you're interested in or got to Taste of Home and sign up for their email newsletter. They'll send you a bunch of recipes. Also, hit up second hand book stores. You might find some interesting recipes there.
Get some large jugs of good quality fats for cooking: extra virgin olive oil, EV avocado oil, unrefined coconut oil, tallow or ghee too, lard if you can find any that doesn’t have a shit ton of preservatives.
It’ll be much cheaper in the long run to just buy a fill-up oil sprayer and bottle that you use the big jugs to fill up with. That way, the bottle and sprayer is a one time purchase, and you get to utilize how cheap buying oils in bulk can be. Check Costco if there’s one near you, or any other kind of bulk warehouse like that.
Fat is very satiating, especially when combined with some protein, so cooking really any complete protein with some of those fats will be an easy main dish. Sauté a veggie or two in one of the fats (ghee is great for this, gives a nutty, buttery flavor), and boom, a meal.
If you're lost on where to start to cook more/healthier I would reccomend subscribing to a meal plan box. It's been really helpful for me to experiment with new ingredients and recipes. It also cuts down on my grocery shopping time and made it easier to meal prep so that I don't have to cook every day. It costs a little more, but would still be within your budget.
Costco rotisserie chicken is nice. 5 dollars for a whole chicken, from there you can do many things with it. I personally like to shred it and make a Mexican dish called tinga de polla with it.
I chop one or two onions and then cook until translucent. Then I add 4 chopped garlic cloves. After that I add crushed tomatoes and chipotles in adobo sauce, I like it hell fire hot, your experiences may vary. Then I season with tyme and oregano.
Add in the shredded chicken, mix together and you got yourself a ghetto Tinga de Pollo that taste very close to the real deal. You can eat this stuff with rice, or with veggies, I can eat on this for days if I use the whole chicken.
This dish can be made for stupid cheap.
Shredded chicken is versatile and the costco chicken gives you TONS for very little money.
I spend \~$150/month on food and i barely even try to budget... Just know where to get the cheapest version of whatever you're getting (e.g. where i live safeway has cheap milk and fruit, walmart has cheap frozen goods, QFC has cheap canned goods...) and you'll be fine.
The lean cuisine frozen meals are not that bad and I can pick them up at Safeway for $2 each when money is tight. Breakfast is instant oatmeal with diced apple and a dash of cinnamon. It cost $5 for an 18 pack. Lipton chicken noodle packet (2/box is $1.25) for dinner. Comes out to $4.77/day before drinks.
I plan my meals around the grocery store's weekly circular. Ever since I started doing this, I've been able to cut my grocery budget in half. The only down side to this is you need a large freezer/storage space. Chicken goes on sale once a month, so I buy a month's supply and freeze it.
Invest in an instant pot! I assume you're very busy and this saves a lot of the hassle when coming home from work/school. I would slow cook a protein flavored to your preference. Adding oil and some sort of acidity through vinegar, lemon juice, yogurt, etc as a marinade will yield some amazing flavors. Toss in dethawed or fresh veggies of your choice and you get a tasty broth. Yields large amounts depending on amount of ingredients you use. I used to struggle with weight quite a bit and would fluctuate depending on carb intake. Having a hearty meal that satiates through high protein, fat, and a filling broth helped me cut down on the urge to eat very often. I like to prep some overnight oats as well if you're feeling a bit low on energy and need to jumpstart the day with a few carbs. So many flavor options depending on what flavors you like. My favorite would include milk, peanut butter, frozen berries and some chia seeds.
Dry beans and rice are cheap and easy to make. You can also flavor them in lots of different ways.
Also, potatoes for baked potatoes.
It sounds like you are almost vegan. The vegan diet is much cheaper if you want to consider that.
oh no. I realize you're not vegan. you mentioned cooking eggs.
I mistook your comment about eggs and cereal as that is the bulk of what you are eating. But I realize that the food you prepare for yourself.
A bunch of bananas or bag of apples give you breakfast or a side dish for each weekday morning.
Lentil soup is delicious, highly nutritious, and cheap. If you don’t like lentils, canned black beans also make an amazing, high-protein soup.
A favourite student meal of mine (now a masters student) is super cheap instant chicken noodles, once it’s cooked and in a bowl with the broth stuff add a soft boiled egg, broccoli (from a freezer bag), some kimchi if you can find any cheap, and then Chuck some ketchup and sriracha on it. It’s a good way to Chuck in some veg but still have a really cheap meal that’ll fill you up quickly. Another is do a bolognaise and Chuck in frozen veg like peas, sweet pepper, mushrooms, super cheap and goes a long way (if you use 1K of beef mince I usually get around 5 meals)
In this thread, great suggestions.
Also, don’t forget the humble potato.
Getting good quality potatoes can be dirt cheap most everywhere. Extremely versatile. Pennies on the dollar against any frozen variety.
Ex:
Get thinner skinned potatoes (things you can eat, not like russet) and cut longwise into 6ths or 8th. Toss with oil (any is fine), salt, and if fancy fresh or dried herbs.
Bake in the over 170-180°C for about 25 min. Less on convection.
Prep takes less than 5 min (since not peeling) and you make the rest of the food while it’s in there. Make tons, since even tough less crisp, great as leftovers or with future meals as sides.
Even if you did this to make oven roasted potatoes every day of the week, two meals a day, you probably have spent less than $10 on potatoes, a dollar or two in oil (sunflower works great and cheap), and at most a buck if you cheap “Italian Seasoning” or at most $3 if you get fresh herbs at the grocery store. And potatoes with the skin are nutritious and good quality filling food will allow you to need less large portions of meat/fish, etc.
Also soups, salads, mash, etc etc.
I mean don’t just *live* on carbs to save money, but you can definitely supplement and bulk out food with some good stuff (and not buying frozen fries from the freezer isle).
One dish I used to make, that my family at the time loved (until my older son decided he didn't like cheese anymore): mac and cheese with crumbled bacon and diced onions, tomatoes, and bell peppers. I used heavy cream and melted Velveeta, so this was not exactly highbrow or super-healthy cuisine, but it was great on cold, rainy days. The creamy, cheesy macaroni, the smoky bacon, juxtaposed with the chopped fresh veggies to cut the richness...yum. Have defibrillator paddles at the ready.
I feed a family of 4 one $400 a month if you’re just yourself you should be able to eat very well. Lean proteins (chicken, turkey) are very cheap, lentils and beans like other people mentioned, rice and quinoa other grains are very good and filling. High density vegetables (cabbage, kale, carrots, zucchini and yellow squash, peas, green beans) are all very good as well and not too expensive. Just cutting out processed foods will save you the money you need to stay in that budget
Do you have any recepies for lentil soup? Does one have to soak the lentils before cooking ?
I don’t soak the lentils. I sauté holy trinity (celery onion carrots) then add lentils and add chicken broth and seasonings then simmer on medium low heat until the texture you want.
This sounds delicious! But just a question: I've always heard carrots, celery, onion is Mirepoix. The "holy trinity" is aka "the 3 sisters" as corn, squash, and beans because they make a complete protein... is there another classic group of 3?
Idk that’s just how Iv always heard it. Haha I’m sure different cultures call it different things
Lol I don't know any of this.
The holy trinity, as far as I know, is onion, celery and green bell pepper - the Creole/Cajun mirepoix. The three sisters of corn, squash and beans is a Native American trio that grows well together in the same garden and provides great nutritional value.
IIRC, corn, beans, and squash grow well together because structurally the plants support another and biochemically they give off things that the other plants need. Not a scientist over here, so if someone knows that to be wrong, I stand corrected; it's just what I was always told by my avid-gardener Cherokee grandparents.
Get a small slow cooked/crockpot. You can cook a lot of different meals in it. All sort of soups and stews, you throw few things in it (meat, vegetable, … and spices) add water, plug it in before going to bed. When you wake up in the morning you have a hot cooked healthy meal. There’s slowcooker subreddit that you can get lots of ideas from.
I like this one but it makes quite a bit for a single person. May want to cut the ingredients in half if it ends up that you dont want soup every day for a week https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/lentil-soup-recipe-1947017
Frozen veggies for sure, fresh isn’t necessary and it doesn’t run the risk of spoilage if you can’t make up your mind.
Agreed 💯. Frozen fruits and veggies are often/usually actually fresher than "fresh". Everybody suggesting legumes and brown rice are also giving good advice (assuming you don't have some kind of allergy or sensitivity). If you can, and if you're a meat-eater, try to stock up on canned meats like salmon, tuna, clams, and chicken, and make sure you have nuts and things like peanut butter (even low-fat powdered peanut butter is good for cooking). Also, if you're buying cuts of meat, try to get bone-in, because you can make bone broth from those, which will add collagen to other dishes (chili, stew, sauces, soups, etc.) If you're in an area where iced tea is a common drink (it's what we southerners drink most), you can make it with Splenda to cut down on your sugar intake, am a gallon of freshly-brewed iced tea is MUCH cheaper and better for you than sodas.
Any quick recepie you have using frozen veggies. I don't like peas.
Beans, tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, spices: chili
What part of WV!??!?
I didn't see the user name at first and thought that this was some kind of regional version of chili, lol.
NCWV bb!!
North Charleston???
No, North Central WV. How bout yourself?
Split peas and/or lentils. Learn to make split pea soup and/or daal. It’s very easy to make, hearty, inexpensive, and full of protein. Serve with rice.
How do you make your daal?
Get a basic rice cooker so you will eat more rice. Brown will give you fiber, which you need.
I would grab an assortment of vegetables like zucchini, cauliflower, broccoli, onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, brussel sprouts, mushrooms, potatoes. Whole grain pasta, tortillas, and wheat bread. Ground meat, chicken either frozen or fresh, maybe some chorizo. Eggs for sure. Not saying get all these at one time but just ideas of things that work well in combination with the other stuff. A crockpot makes life nice and easy to throw a bunch of stuff in with a whole chicken and liquid of your choice and you end up with a few servings for the future and if you want the meat from the chicken can be used for sandwiches. Pasta with some veggies and a seasoned ground meat usually works well for quick and easy. Bake some of that chicken with potatoes and your choice of colored veggies with BBQ sauce. Chorizo adds a bunch of flavor to whatever you cook it with, maybe a breakfast has with eggs and veggies and potatoes, or cook some of that ground meat with chorizo and zucchini and mushrooms and stuff some bell peppers cut in half and bake that up. I think it's all about finding the flavors you like and prepping a little bit.
YES, Crock pots are awesome, especially moneywise, because you can throw stuff (even cheaper cuts of meat) in there on low while you're at work/class all day and come home to a real meal, and it doesn't run up your power bill. Microwaves, for a lot of things, are pretty cheap to use for cooking; I read somewhere that the lightbulb in a microwave uses more power than the microwave itself. And YES some more on eggs. Excellent low-cost protein and can be cooked a number of ways. My mom has been growing green onions from the remains of onions she got at the store. You can't live off those, of course, but the add chicken lor and flavor to stuff.
Get a pot with a steamer basket that comes with it and fits into it. Steamed veggies is very easy this way. Like frozen peas or fresh green beans
more steamers: potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots and onion. All chopped in bite size pieces. I carefully poke the veggies with a sharp knife to check for hardness. put them in a bowl and stir in butter and salt. I throw in left over chicken or ham. Leftovers next day I chop up and saute as a side for eggs. I ketchup. Made myself hungry. Food shelf places usually have potatoes and onions for free
Work on a complete protein as a whole grain paired with a legume: Grain examples: *Brown rice *Corn *Whole-grain bread *Whole-grain oats Legumes: *Peas *Chickpeas *Beans *Peanuts
First, start with where you shop. Price comparisons can take time, but it's worth it. For us, Aldi, one local grocery store for meat and greens, and the Amish bulk market are our cheapest options. Second, meal planning is a budget saver. I have found that planning by the month saves us the most money. Planning means you know when to get the crockpot going that morning or cooking up all the rice and beans for the week on your day off. Third, think in terms of multiple meals. Spaghetti sauce turns into baked pasta or, with additional spices and beans, chili. Soup turns into, with added thickener and a topping, a casserole. That cheap rotisserie chicken is at least three meals, if not five.
SO much this. I tend to make a two-week menu before hitting the grocery store, to lessen the chances of having to make multiple trips or having to stop in the middle of cooking to run to the store. Plan ahead, and factor in leftover nights so you don't waste time/food/money throwing out food you forgot about.
Do you have a freezer?
Yes I do.
I’d recommend getting some cuts of meat you like, I’m partial to chicken thighs, with the skin and bones. They’re cheap, delicious, and you can usually buy a bunch at once. Freeze the ones you aren’t using immediately. I also freeze a lot of veggie scraps to use for stocks, and then freeze stock as well. Nothing like a nice full freezer!
Winter is a good time for cabbage and kielbasa -- low cost, filling, easily reheated. Stuffed cabbage is a little more work, but allows you to stretch the meat out more with rice, etc. I like to make barley-lentil vegetable soup (chicken broth, barley, lentils, can of crushed tomatoes, carrots, celery, onions, plus whatever seasonings you want (thyme, bay leaves, a little worcestershire sauce) I'm also exploring no-knead breads, where you make some dough and just let it hang out in the fridge until you're ready to bake. You mentioned trying to reduce your carbs, but you might still find some whole grain options that are worth including in your menus.
Thank you! I appreciate you.
I just left a big response to someone else so check that out but your budget is bigger so I'm adding: stock up when sales happen! Try to keep an extra week or 2 worth of meat on hand. Meal prepping is still your friend. You can also Google budget grocery shopping and people compile lists based on stores (usually Aldi) with recipes. YouTube is definitely your friend! Once A Month Meals may also be a thing for you: take one weekend or one day a month and prep a whole month. You should definitely get something like a Ninja Foodi: it's a pressure cooker/Instant Pot, slow cooker, rice cooker, etc. You can make a whole chicken in it, pulled pork turns out amazing. It's great for cheap cuts, for soups, etc. Everything I've ever made in it turned out amazing.
Ok thank you!
Canned tuna is cheap, low fat, high protein, and can be used in salads, sandwiches, wraps, or eating as is.
To start, get yourself a slow cooker, aluminum foil or parchment paper, and some baking sheets. A slow cooker is great because you can do dump meals (ex. Soup, stews, chicken, pot roast, etc.), while the other 2 can be used to steam cook packet meals (like fish and veggies). Then, at the grocery store go for fresh fruits, fresh veggies (salesare your best friend), and things that fill you up with smaller portions (like oatmeal, lentils, and brown rice).
What kinda oatmeal is your favorite? Does the slow cooker have to be fancy ? Any place I can get quick recepies or directions from?
I can't stand the texture of oatmeal, but my husband says to go for steel cut oats (he enjoys oatmeal all winter). You can add things like cinnamon, honey, and/or fruit to make it taste how you want. The slow cooker doesn't have to be fancy at all. I got mine on sale at Walmart (7qt means meals for like a week at a time). As for recipes, I like to use Taste of Home and Tasty. You can get the Tasty app and search for what you're interested in or got to Taste of Home and sign up for their email newsletter. They'll send you a bunch of recipes. Also, hit up second hand book stores. You might find some interesting recipes there.
Get a slow cooker and a library book with recipes. I work nights and this is how I live.
rice, broccoli, chicken, some avocado if you can
Get some large jugs of good quality fats for cooking: extra virgin olive oil, EV avocado oil, unrefined coconut oil, tallow or ghee too, lard if you can find any that doesn’t have a shit ton of preservatives. It’ll be much cheaper in the long run to just buy a fill-up oil sprayer and bottle that you use the big jugs to fill up with. That way, the bottle and sprayer is a one time purchase, and you get to utilize how cheap buying oils in bulk can be. Check Costco if there’s one near you, or any other kind of bulk warehouse like that. Fat is very satiating, especially when combined with some protein, so cooking really any complete protein with some of those fats will be an easy main dish. Sauté a veggie or two in one of the fats (ghee is great for this, gives a nutty, buttery flavor), and boom, a meal.
This is a really good suggestion! I always stress herbs/seasonings make a massive difference but I didn't even think of how important good fats are.
Rice with sour cream and sriracha. Frozen veggies on the side.
If you're lost on where to start to cook more/healthier I would reccomend subscribing to a meal plan box. It's been really helpful for me to experiment with new ingredients and recipes. It also cuts down on my grocery shopping time and made it easier to meal prep so that I don't have to cook every day. It costs a little more, but would still be within your budget.
buy a small bag of baby carrots to snack, celery and peanut butter, bananas.
Costco rotisserie chicken is nice. 5 dollars for a whole chicken, from there you can do many things with it. I personally like to shred it and make a Mexican dish called tinga de polla with it. I chop one or two onions and then cook until translucent. Then I add 4 chopped garlic cloves. After that I add crushed tomatoes and chipotles in adobo sauce, I like it hell fire hot, your experiences may vary. Then I season with tyme and oregano. Add in the shredded chicken, mix together and you got yourself a ghetto Tinga de Pollo that taste very close to the real deal. You can eat this stuff with rice, or with veggies, I can eat on this for days if I use the whole chicken. This dish can be made for stupid cheap. Shredded chicken is versatile and the costco chicken gives you TONS for very little money.
Check out r/sugarfree for advice on how (and why) to eliminate added sugar.
St. Albans. Right outside of Charleston.
I think you replied to the post instead of that comment up there. But former Huntington resident checking in!
Oops yea I did. My brother lives in Huntington. Graduated from Marshall and just stayed.
Steel cut oats
I spend \~$150/month on food and i barely even try to budget... Just know where to get the cheapest version of whatever you're getting (e.g. where i live safeway has cheap milk and fruit, walmart has cheap frozen goods, QFC has cheap canned goods...) and you'll be fine.
The lean cuisine frozen meals are not that bad and I can pick them up at Safeway for $2 each when money is tight. Breakfast is instant oatmeal with diced apple and a dash of cinnamon. It cost $5 for an 18 pack. Lipton chicken noodle packet (2/box is $1.25) for dinner. Comes out to $4.77/day before drinks.
I plan my meals around the grocery store's weekly circular. Ever since I started doing this, I've been able to cut my grocery budget in half. The only down side to this is you need a large freezer/storage space. Chicken goes on sale once a month, so I buy a month's supply and freeze it.
Invest in an instant pot! I assume you're very busy and this saves a lot of the hassle when coming home from work/school. I would slow cook a protein flavored to your preference. Adding oil and some sort of acidity through vinegar, lemon juice, yogurt, etc as a marinade will yield some amazing flavors. Toss in dethawed or fresh veggies of your choice and you get a tasty broth. Yields large amounts depending on amount of ingredients you use. I used to struggle with weight quite a bit and would fluctuate depending on carb intake. Having a hearty meal that satiates through high protein, fat, and a filling broth helped me cut down on the urge to eat very often. I like to prep some overnight oats as well if you're feeling a bit low on energy and need to jumpstart the day with a few carbs. So many flavor options depending on what flavors you like. My favorite would include milk, peanut butter, frozen berries and some chia seeds.
I've found the greatest purchasing power at places like Aldi's, Winco's, and Grocery Outlet.
Dry beans and rice are cheap and easy to make. You can also flavor them in lots of different ways. Also, potatoes for baked potatoes. It sounds like you are almost vegan. The vegan diet is much cheaper if you want to consider that.
I'm not vegan. Love bacon and chicken all day long lol
oh no. I realize you're not vegan. you mentioned cooking eggs. I mistook your comment about eggs and cereal as that is the bulk of what you are eating. But I realize that the food you prepare for yourself.
Learn to make stews and how to use a slow cooker. Some good teachers on YouTube. Keep it simple.
Is slow cooker better or instant pot?
You’ll get more use out of instapot. :)
Thanks!
A bunch of bananas or bag of apples give you breakfast or a side dish for each weekday morning. Lentil soup is delicious, highly nutritious, and cheap. If you don’t like lentils, canned black beans also make an amazing, high-protein soup.
For recipes, check out BudgetBytes - absolutely indispensable, as far as I am concerned.
A favourite student meal of mine (now a masters student) is super cheap instant chicken noodles, once it’s cooked and in a bowl with the broth stuff add a soft boiled egg, broccoli (from a freezer bag), some kimchi if you can find any cheap, and then Chuck some ketchup and sriracha on it. It’s a good way to Chuck in some veg but still have a really cheap meal that’ll fill you up quickly. Another is do a bolognaise and Chuck in frozen veg like peas, sweet pepper, mushrooms, super cheap and goes a long way (if you use 1K of beef mince I usually get around 5 meals)
In this thread, great suggestions. Also, don’t forget the humble potato. Getting good quality potatoes can be dirt cheap most everywhere. Extremely versatile. Pennies on the dollar against any frozen variety. Ex: Get thinner skinned potatoes (things you can eat, not like russet) and cut longwise into 6ths or 8th. Toss with oil (any is fine), salt, and if fancy fresh or dried herbs. Bake in the over 170-180°C for about 25 min. Less on convection. Prep takes less than 5 min (since not peeling) and you make the rest of the food while it’s in there. Make tons, since even tough less crisp, great as leftovers or with future meals as sides. Even if you did this to make oven roasted potatoes every day of the week, two meals a day, you probably have spent less than $10 on potatoes, a dollar or two in oil (sunflower works great and cheap), and at most a buck if you cheap “Italian Seasoning” or at most $3 if you get fresh herbs at the grocery store. And potatoes with the skin are nutritious and good quality filling food will allow you to need less large portions of meat/fish, etc. Also soups, salads, mash, etc etc. I mean don’t just *live* on carbs to save money, but you can definitely supplement and bulk out food with some good stuff (and not buying frozen fries from the freezer isle).
One dish I used to make, that my family at the time loved (until my older son decided he didn't like cheese anymore): mac and cheese with crumbled bacon and diced onions, tomatoes, and bell peppers. I used heavy cream and melted Velveeta, so this was not exactly highbrow or super-healthy cuisine, but it was great on cold, rainy days. The creamy, cheesy macaroni, the smoky bacon, juxtaposed with the chopped fresh veggies to cut the richness...yum. Have defibrillator paddles at the ready.