Eating Cheaply

[WoodsWoman]

Add stuff to the noodles.

 

[Argus]

I am sooo hungry!

The cheapest way to get food is to get other people to buy it for you.

 

[LEGERdeMAIN]

I buy fresh fruits and vegetables about 3 times a week, since they spoil easily. Pasta keeps for a long time and is also cheap. I've found that meat, although expensive per pound, is worth buying since it's highly nutritious. I usually buy meat that's on sale and cut it into small portions and freeze. I buy london broils twice a month and frozen salmon once a month. I get tuna, because it's also cheap(less than $1/pound) and a good addition to pasta recipes. I don't buy canned fruits(too expensive per pound) or frozen pizzas, dried foods, highly processed "tv" dinners. Even the cheaper frozen, microwaveable foods are more expensive that a decent steak. I grow food too, that might be an option if you have a yard and sunlight.

 

[JTG1984]

Taco Bell!

 

[Gewitter27]

Maruchan ramen instant lunch is a good idea. On sale you can get them for about 30 cents each with tax included, so you can have one for lunch and one for dinner, and that'd only be 60 cents not counting the amount used to get/heat the water needed. Breakfast tends to be more expensive though, and most would say that a Maruchan Ramen Instant Lunch is not fitting for breakfast.

My parents are/have trained me well in the ways of efficiency.

 

[Curious1]

And he's right. I just finished eating my cup noodles about half an hour ago with the peas and carrots. Makes for an amazing meal plus it's cheap.

lol, cheap is true

 

[Risen]

I buy fresh fruits and vegetables about 3 times a week, since they spoil easily. Pasta keeps for a long time and is also cheap. I've found that meat, although expensive per pound, is worth buying since it's highly nutritious. I usually buy meat that's on sale and cut it into small portions and freeze. I buy london broils twice a month and frozen salmon once a month. I get tuna, because it's also cheap(less than $1/pound) and a good addition to pasta recipes. I don't buy canned fruits(too expensive per pound) or frozen pizzas, dried foods, highly processed "tv" dinners. Even the cheaper frozen, microwaveable foods are more expensive that a decent steak. I grow food too, that might be an option if you have a yard and sunlight.

You can get cuts of meat for about the same price as tuna per pound. Check my above post.

 

[Thalassa]

Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

I mean, thanks, maybe I'll try that with my kids. No spices?

Ok...I am from the WV where people take great pride in their pinto beans.

Buy a bag of dried pintos. Dirt cheap. Seperate and soak and prepare according to package. Simmer on medium-low heat for a couple of hours with plenty of salt, some pepper, chopped onion, and fat back,ham,bacon, or pork shoulder to add flavoring. I believe that fat back is the cheapest. (If you use a particularly salty pork for flavor, back off on the table salt, of course.)

Rice can be served with butter and salt, as black cat noted, or with spices or hot sauce. Soy sauce is always an option with rice for me, of course. But you don't want to mix that with your pinto beans, no, no.

If you want it more Southwest style, drain your beans after cooking them, mix with plain rice, and add salsa or some other "red" sauce and melt cheese on top. Mmmm.

 

[Thalassa]

Bunches of banannas are insanely cheap, btw.

 

[Tiltyred]

Ok...I am from the WV where people take great pride in their pinto beans.

Buy a bag of dried pintos. Dirt cheap. Seperate and soak and prepare according to package. Simmer on medium-low heat for a couple of hours with plenty of salt, some pepper, chopped onion, and fat back,ham,bacon, or pork shoulder to add flavoring. I believe that fat back is the cheapest. (If you use a particularly salty pork for flavor, back off on the table salt, of course.)

Rice can be served with butter and salt, as black cat noted, or with spices or hot sauce. Soy sauce is always an option with rice for me, of course. But you don't want to mix that with your pinto beans, no, no.

If you want it more Southwest style, drain your beans after cooking them, mix with plain rice, and add salsa or some other "red" sauce and melt cheese on top. Mmmm.

Rice?? What's this about rice?? You gotta have cornbread if you're gonna eat proper West Virginia pinto beans! Break the cornbread up in your bowl, and pour the beans over it. I like a little pickle relish to perk that up. Yum. Extremely nutritious and you can't get much more cheap.

 

[Tiltyred]

Bunches of banannas are insanely cheap, btw.

Yes! And when they get too ripe, peel and freeze them in a zip lock bag, and use them with milk in a smoothie. Or make banana bread (also very cheap, especially if you leave out the nuts).

Eggs are cheap. I eat eggs over easy on brown rice.

 

[Thalassa]

Rice?? What's this about rice?? You gotta have cornbread if you're gonna eat proper West Virginia pinto beans! Break the cornbread up in your bowl, and pour the beans over it. I like a little pickle relish to perk that up. Yum. Extremely nutritious and you can't get much more cheap.

Of course you eat it with corn bread! I do. My family does.

But she specifically asked about fixing beans and rice for her kids, so that's why I mentioned rice.

 

[LEGERdeMAIN]

You can get cuts of meat for about the same price as tuna per pound. Check my above post.

I buy the $10/10.5 pound bag of assorted chicken limbs sometimes, but I don't eat pork. I eat a lot of tuna melts and tuna casseroles and such when my wallet is flat, but I wait for the bogo sales to stock up.

 

[Risen]

I buy the $10/10.5 pound bag of assorted chicken limbs sometimes, but I don't eat pork. I eat a lot of tuna melts and tuna casseroles and such when my wallet is flat, but I wait for the bogo sales to stock up.

Lol. I can't eat that much tuna, especially canned tuna. I need a hot meal with some variety in the flavor. That's why god made real meat . But yea, tuna is a great inexpensive source of protein (bovine, swine, birds, the occasional alligator). Man I want some alligator meat...

 

[FeatheredFrenzy]

Um. Vegetables? ...Blend it all together and voilà, healthy and cheap.

I've been getting in the habit of eating fruit as a snack, just anytime I want to stuff something in my mouth when I'm not necessarily hungry. A $3 bag of oranges or pears from a local market lasts me three weeks. I really think local produce is the way to go if one can get in the habit of eating that way. When I see an older person with severe arthritis, one who finds it excruciating to get up from their seat, it makes you consider other costs as well.

But another thing, if you go to a farmer's market an hour or two before they pack up shop, they're dying to get rid of that produce so they don't have to take it back with them. You can pick up a 2-3lb bag of zuccini or bell peppers for $1, a melon for $2, etc. You can go home and make a veggie quesadilla!

Also, a $20 Foreman grill is great for grilling a chicken breast or burger.

 

[MonkeyGrass]

Cooking from scratch is by far the cheapest way to eat food that doesn't destroy your body and sense of taste, lol. I personally love indian food, and lots of dahls. Eating less meat, too, brings your grocery bill way down. Eggs, beans, lentils, peanut butter and (sorry for this) tofu are generally much cheaper, and still great sources of protein.

Seriously, buy a decent cookbook and just try whatever sounds good and doesn't require super expensive ingredients.

I agree, buying in bulk is the best.

 

[nomadic]

sorry for this) tofu are generally much cheaper, and still great sources of protein.

Western recipes for tofu is pretty horrible.

I don't know why someone would take something and make it worse. Doesnt' make sense.

 

[FeatheredFrenzy]

Cooking from scratch is by far the cheapest way to eat food that doesn't destroy your body and sense of taste, lol.

Seriously, buy a decent cookbook and just try whatever sounds good and doesn't require super expensive ingredients.

I really like canned clam chowder but will only allow myself that once a month or so. Look at the label and the sodium content is like 60% daily value! That's not even the whole can either. Maybe they do that to compensate for lack of flavor.

I tried the cookbook route, but have yet to find one that's simple enough to be practical. But I've noticed that when I watch enough cooking shows, a technique here and there will start to sink in.

 

[Ivy]

if you have access to a crockpot you can make all kinds of tasty and cheap things in there. beans, IMO, are no good from a can. I like all kinds, but if you don't like kidney/pinto beans you could try black beans or great northern (white) beans. beans and rice or cornbread is a meal that is both cheap and healthy. I don't even think a slice of pork in a large pot of beans cancels that out. marmalade's cooking directions are excellent but if you use a crockpot you can cook them all day or overnight and pay a lot less attention.

 

[Ivy]

More stuff I remembered after hitting send:

"Shop the perimeter" is another tip I've picked up for eating cheaply and healthily. In other words, stick to the fresh foods rather than the prepackaged stuff when you can. I second the recommendation to skip packets of oatmeal- they're a lot more expensive, and less healthy, than making it yourself. Long cooking oats taste better to me, but they do take a few minutes to cook, and quick oats are.. well, quick.

Couscous is also pretty cheap and easy. Throw some chickpeas up in there and some curry spices or whatever you like, a little sour cream maybe, and it's a meal.

I don't buy canned foods anymore because I found out the can liners have Bisphenol-A, an endocrine disruptor. Even most of the organic canned foods have it. When I need quick stuff I go for frozen, which tends to be cheaper anyway, at least where I live. One of my standby quick/cheap meals is baked potatoes (in the microwave if we're in a hurry) and steamed frozen California mix (broccoli/cauliflower/carrots).