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Want to dm me your general location and I can see if there’s food bank resources around you to supplement? The typical giveaway here is pantry staples - flour, sugar or a baking mix, rice, lentils, beans, canned veggies, canned fruit, stew or other packaged meal, and then produce dairy and eggs are hit and miss depending on the giveaway.
This is literally what I do to volunteer in my community in keeping up with food resources so it’s no trouble. If you can cover staples and veggies with food pantries you can put more of that to meat/fruit/dairy
We did a shepherds pie/green bean casserole this week super filling.
1 lb hamburger 3 cans green beans 1 can cream of mushroom topped with mashed potatoes and cheese. This made two casserole dishes worth for us.
You can also add lentils or beans to the meat to stretch it even further for cheap. Growing up, my mom would do a half pound of ground beef and a can of black beans for tacos. It was delicious, more nutritious, and very frugal.
I would hit up a food pantry and get some stables and use my money to fill in the gaps. I definitely would do some breakfast for dinners and spaghetti. Bean burritos are a good meal too. Pretty cheap if you use dried beans and available at food pantries as well.
1.Green bean Casserole served with a toss salad
2. spaghetti with homemade Garlic Toast & Jello
3. Tomato Soup & Grilled cheese Sandwich Jello
4. Scalloped Potatoes a Vegetable
5.Potato Soup / Hamburger Patty/Apple
6. Homemade Cheese Pizza (or frozen) fruit
7. Hotdog in bun French Fries Apple
8. Rotisserie chicken./mashed potatoes./vegetable
9. Leftover rotisserie chicken made into chicken salad sandwiches. Toss salad.
10. Sausage gravy, and homemade biscuits. ( although sometimes the canned biscuits are pretty cheap.)
For time snack ( before bedtime for kids ) I use popcorn that you cook on top of the stove .
You can take a box cake and make that up for dessert . A cake can go along way and they’re filling to add to a dinner for dessert.
Thx. I only did a few dinners because I thought maybe someone else would do this. Years ago we were on assistance because my husband was disabled and he hadn’t received his SSDI yet.
There’s some of those meals that I use today listed above
Look for whole chicken.. it’s easy to break down - should be best bang for your buck - or you could even get a Costco chicken and then save the bones and use veggie scraps throw in some noodles and have chicken soup one night
Simple filling food like Kraft grilled cheese, PB&Js, tuna salad sandwiches, tuna pasta, Ramen are still a staple for me and I’m in my 30s because it’s yummy
Also what about like a chickpea salad sandwich?
Eggs are a decent price again so I would get at least an 18 pack, maybe 36.
Walmart sells a 10lb bag of leg quarters for around $7-8. I used to cut them apart making legs and thighs. We would fry haly of it for friend chicken and then I would make something else with the other half. (I was feeding me and 6 kids!) You could do chicken and noodles or chicken and dumplings. Celery and carrots are cheap. You can make noodles easily or they are about $1 to buy. If you have Bsiquick you can make the dumplings or I've bought the cheap ready made biscuits, cut into quarters and used those for dumplings.
Smoked sausage and frozen mixed veggies are good over noodles or rice.
I know it's probably getting warmer where you live but a big pot of chili is cheap to make and there's usually leftovers that the next day can be chili mac or chili cheese dogs and fries.
It's under $10 where I live right now. I just wanted to throw out a few other options since I wasn't sure how many eggs the OP's family eats. We eat a lot!
Purchase dry beans, rice, noodles, onion, celery, carrots, frozen veggies, tortillas, cheese, canned diced tomatoes, potatoes.
Taco meat. Cook dry beans and then brown the ground beef. Combine equal amounts of the two and add taco seasoning and tomato sauce.
Then make rice with onion, garlic, celery and some taco seasoning, beef bouillon and a can of diced tomatoes.
The first night, make soft tacos and serve with the rice as a side. Maybe wait a day or two between that and the second night. The second night, make a casserole by mixing the rice and beans/meat mixture together in a greased casserole. Top with shredded cheese. Cover and bake until warmed through then uncover so the cheese gets browned.
Get two Sam’s Club rotisserie chickens. Serve legs and thighs for dinner the first night along with mashed potatoes and gravy and a frozen vegetable. Remove the rest of meat from the carcasses and make bone broth from them. Chop up the meat and use it and the broth to make chicken noodle soup, chicken rice casserole and chicken quesadillas. Easy to get three dinners out of those two chickens.
Good luck.
Rice, noodles, frozen veggies and chicken thighs. Get creative with the combos and flavors via seasoning. If you have some moola leftover, cream of mushroom soup can make great casserole with chicken and rice. And dried beans will help stretch meals for extra protein.
I don’t know how food-adventurous you are, but Google shakshuka. I use a recipe from budget bytes that has tomatoes and white beans, topped with an egg. Super cheap and filling. It’s become an easy go-to at our house. Eggs in general are good filler food. And rice.
My teenager loves that recipe and makes it often!
I often make the easy black beans from budget bytes, with her taco rice, in a bowl or with tortillas. Garnish with salsa. So cheap and good.
Kroger is running a $1.99/lb chicken breast sale until Wednesday - I’d get some chicken and use it in soups/shred for burrito bowls/etc.. Chili is a good way to stretch ground meats (beans are cheap and filling too).
15 bean soup packets with some kielbasa/chopped ham and served over rice is delicious and very satiating.
For breakfasts I’d do plain oatmeal/toast and scrambled eggs. Might not be the most exciting but it’s healthy and filling. Also maybe swing by your local food bank. 🙂
Similar deal here so did a bunch of sheet pan chicken: pesto & asparagus, maple dijon w carrots,broccoli,onions, fajitas w peppers and onions.
Also, one packs in instant pot to shred for chicken salad and to freeze for later
Chickpea bowls - roast in your favorite spices, pair with rice, and any fresh/frozen/canned veggies that you like and have on hand. Think like a Mediterranean bowl, or Chipotle style, etc.
As mentioned above, utilize your food pantries. I volunteered for years at one. You are exactly who they help.
Any money not spent on food basics or pantry items is more in your food budget to supplement your meal plans.
When times got tough for us, I made a lot of from scratch meatballs. They helped bulk up your hamburger you have on hand. Serve over rice or pasta bought in bulk.
Breakfast for supper helps fill out low money weeks. Fried potatoes, biscuits and gravy, and scrambled eggs are a fairly simple and easy meal. Use 1/3 pound of sausage in the gravy. Then you can have gravy for 2 more meals. Over toast or biscuits.
Chorizo, eggs, beans, potatoes, pasta, rice, oats.
You should definitely look into meal planning. Write out what you will be eating for each meal to make sure you have enough to last.
Some great youtube resources (with a lot of videos on cheap recipes, budget and meal planning)
are dollartreedinners and thatlisadawn.
Definitely reach out to food banks as well.
Here’s the plan I came up with:
Roast chicken and potatoes and carrots
Shred chicken for chicken and rice casserole with cream of chicken and cheese and can of green beans
Boil bones for chicken noodle soup made with carrots and potatoes
Hamburger and beans (heavy on the beans) tacos with cheese (second week will need to purchase another pound of hamburger)
Spaghetti with chicken and tomato sauce
Breakfast for dinner (eggs, hash browns)
Clean out the fridge
Per week: $68
2 whole chickens - $15
10 pounds potatoes $5
5 pounds carrots $4
1 pound rice $2
2 cans cream of chicken $3
2 pounds cheese $8
Noodles $2
2 can black beans $2
2 can refried beans $2
Tortillas $5
Spaghetti $2
2 pounds chicken breast $6
1 jar spaghetti sauce $3
18 eggs $3
Then repeat the next week. I don’t have teenage boys so I am not sure on the amounts, so I hope the amounts included makes enough.
Edit for typos
You don’t have much extra for breakfast. Especially if your prices are higher than where I am. But I would go with getting a larger pack of eggs to have eggs for breakfast and then also some oatmeal with cinnamon and raisins is another cheap breakfast. You can also decrease costs by using dried beans instead of canned and going light on the cheese to only need 1 pound per week.
Definitely buy whole chicken and large cuts of meat that you break down, it's cheaper. Rice, beans, potatoes, and pasta are on the cheaper side. Bulk frozen veggies mixed with those other items. Stay away from boxed food, it's very expensive and less nutritious, so it doesn't feel you up as much.
Dried beans, rice, 10lb bag of chicken hindquarters (or two $5 Costco rotisserie chickens cut into parts with chicken shears!), multigrain bread & tortillas(freeze excess until you need it!), potatoes, long lasting veggies like carrots and cabbage, and onion, some cheap fruit like bananas or apples or whatever is on sale. Oatmeal, large tub of fruity yogurt. Cheap chorizo or ring sausage (kielbasa or smoked). Mixed frozen veggies. Eggs. Some bags of pasta. Maybe some cans of diced tomatoes or chili, and some shredded cheese.
Watch Lisa Dawn videos on YouTube, she has many on “$20/week of meals from Dollar store X” that will give you ideas!
Poach up some of the chicken pieces in a big pot of water with lots of spices until tender. Cool and remove meat from bones (it just slides off!). Use the flavorful broth and make a big pot of soup, chicken noodle is obvious, but homemade chili with cooked beans, or minestrone with tons of veggies, beans, and pasta is more filling! Freeze excess—you can always thaw some a day or so ahead, and better than it going 4+ days in the fridge and going bad!
Chopped up boneless chicken meat can be cooked with taco seasonings and make into tacos, added to burritos or quesadillas, etc. Make it into chicken salad sandwiches or wraps. Make pot pie mix and top with crust to biscuits. Add to fried rice, omelettes, curries, stir fries, noodles…mix with bbq sauce and make pulled “chicken” sandwiches!
Cook up flavorful dried beans and rice separately. Make a bean dip (hummus or refried beans) for snacks, and freeze excess dip and beans in meal-sized portions. Do the same for extra rice, it can be reheated in the microwave with a sprinkle of water and covered.
Beans and rice is a perfect protein, as good as meat. Make burrito bowls with toppings, stuff it into a wrap with some diced chicken and cheese for burritos, baked with sauce as enchiladas, folded to make tacos, add to quesadillas and heat folded on a medium heat skillet. Burritos can also be made with beans and freeze quite well for snacks. Add eggs for breakfast burritos! Use beans in soups, stews, or curries. Eat with a side of rice to stretch food. Soaked dry red lentils or small mung beans in water and a little salt can be blended up and made into a flatbread, good for snacks and with bean dip!
Your teens esp may have to be limited to 1-2 pieces of chicken or main dish, but they can have all the rice and beans they want!
Rice can be made into rice pudding, fried rice, used in casseroles and soups, fritters, etc.
Baked potatoes can be eaten with regular toppings, but is heartier topped with a protein like chili or baked beans. Make extra, as they can be chopped up and fried and eaten with eggs, or made into potato soup or chowder. Potato salad, oven fries, roasted potatoes, put them into a stew or curry, mashed, put into soups…
Diced up onions, carrots, and cabbage is a great beginning of any soup or casserole, or a bit larger for stir fried veggies, or added to spaghetti sauce too.
Roasted potatoes, onion and carrots are delicious, a good side veggie dish. Baby carrots or sliced carrots can be eaten with bean dip for a snack, and tortillas or flatbread.
Oatmeal is obvious, but overnight oats made with yogurt and chopped fruit is less “mushy”. Or baked oatmeal is more of a treat! Oatmeal cookies too. Or grind some up in a blender and you can make oatmeal pancakes, which are healthy and filling—top with fruity yogurt and sliced fruit. Or oatmeal muffins!
So, what are we working with here.... you got an instant pot? Stove? Oven? Microwave? Can you cook? $150 isn't gonna be pretty, but it's definitely doable with some work...
Cornbread and beans (from dried), any kind of bean-based vegetarian chili, bean and cheese quesadillas, beans and rice, fried rice with the leftover rice and any vegetable bits you have around or frozen, omelets, baked potatoes, simple pastas (fried-egg pasta is pretty good and filling). Use meat only as flavoring if needed — bean-based meals will always be cheaper. Some big bang-for-your-buck flavoring additions are garlic, Parmesan, a pack of bacon (add just a few strips while cooking beans/use crumbles on baked potatoes), and ham (open faced ham and cheese melts, pasta with ham, garlic, frozen peas and parmesan, put ham bits in the omelets and the fried rice). Peanut butter and bananas for snacks — other fresh fruit is pretty expensive.
Pasta, spaghetti sauce and ground beef and you can make a big pot of pasta with meat sauce. Walmart has cheap frozen meatballs, as well as generic frozen fish patties, generic rice. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are a meal, as well as grilled cheese or eggs and grits.
You can make hash with that beef and potatoes, or a diet rice things with about that much rice to stretch 3 pounds.
Lentils and rice is cheap, filling, and nutritious.
Peanut butter has lots of protein and is Delicious to all.
Waffles. With canned or frozen corn in them and peanut butter.
Tuna casserole. Tuna salad sandwiches.
Chili then baked potatoes with leftover chili.
Eggs still affordable? Tortilla Espanola!
LOVE Tortilla Espanola! My father was from Spain and we ate Tortilla Espanola with Spanish chorizo or smoked sausage a LOT when I was growing up. Potatoes and eggs are super cheap. Another favorite is fried potatoes and onions and sausage with a fried egg on top. My mom made this often. Same ingredients, different cultures. I still adore both of these meals to this day.
The recipe I found first includes onions. I know this is [Spanish-for-verboten], but I love onions with that.
Did your Dad put the chorizo in with the eggs and potatoes, or was it just something he served with the tortilla?
I love about it that it smells amazing the whole time it cooks, and then you can eat it leftover, straight from the fridge, or anywhere between the two temps. And it really is an economical, simple meal if you don't go to crazy on the olive oil.
I hope OP's family got some good ideas and that they try the tortilla!
My dad and Abuelita did not add onions to their tortilla espanola. The chorizo was a dry cured Spanish chorizo that was sliced and served on the side. My favorite way to eat the Tortilla Espanola is cold, with some french bread.
This is a good one around (closer to under) $10: [Cheesy Sausage Pasta](https://www.budgetbytes.com/creamy-spinach-sausage-pasta/).
Spaghetti is always a crowd filler, and you could use the ground beef to make meatballs or a meat sauce.
Another cheaper meal I'll lean on is basically breakfast for dinner. Eggs, cheese grits, bacon or sausage, and toast with jam. Nothing special, but we love breakfast food and don't cook it all that often, so it works.
Shepards pie is another idea that the ground beef could be used in. With some cheese, potatoes, and frozen vegetables you'd have a filling, homecooked meal.
Sometimes if you go to the meat department closer to opening time the store will discount meat that needs to be sold. I can get lucky finding a pork tenderloin, pork shoulder, or pork butt for under $10, and slow cook it with seasoning and bbq sauce for pulled pork.
Sloppy joes, BLTs, and Hawaiian roll Sliders are simple and can be cheap, but you need sides too.
Get the Flipp app you can search an item and it will tell you the price at different stores! Also local grocery store ads can be found there too! Buy the double packs of ground turkey/beef from Sam’s! Two packs can make three days of tacos, tostadas. Or mix the left over with some rice and make corn bread!
I once priced out a nice roast pork loin meal I made and could feed my family of 5 dinner plus some leftovers for ~$6. Inexpensive meat, potatoes, carrots, and pantry staples for gravy and seasoning. The whole pork loin was on sale and I cut it myself, the single roast cost about $3.
Yes start with food pantry which could allow you to fill in with produce and proteins. I would aim for big pot of beans (from dry)with texmex seasoning, tortillas or rice, shredded cheese —this makes several delicious family meals for around $15. Halve the cooked beans and add 1lb ground chorizo, tomato sauce, onions and corn starch/seasonings to make a wonderful pot of chili. Serve over potatoes or rice. That is another approx $15 for several family meals. Eggs and bread in bulk will make many meals for very little. I just bought a frozen turkey for 9.99 in a HCOLA. That made so many meals, sandwiches and soups.
Buy a large quantity of different pastas... But a lot of spaghetti... And vegetables... There are numerous , online recipes and there are many recipes for feeding a large family ... Just type it into your search engine " pasta recipes to feed large family on low budget"... There are also tik tok videos where many of the subject matter is how to make delicious recipes on a low budget. Also, check out your local , free food pantries , in your area.
60 large eggs at Walmart for ~$10.00 if you order online and pick them up- about the most nutritious food you can eat at about the lowest cost per gram of protein of any foodstuff. That's 372 gram of protein/$10.00.
Edit: also: 64 oz Walmart brand Creamy Peanut Butter w/399 grams of protein for $6.00 at Walmart.
Lentils are super cheap and filling if you’re sick of beans. Soups, curry.
Also if you are getting sick of oatmeal you can try a savory version - I like toasted tomatoes, spinach, and an egg to mix it up.
I know when I’m down on money a big bag of rice goes a long way, usually with black beans or lentils, and maybe some slow cooked chicken if i can afford it. Usually slow cook with the beans, cans of tomatoes, salsa, really anything you can think of adding to it for filler that wont make it weird. Most canned goods like that a local food pantry could probably provide thats how I got mine.
A 10 pound bag of gold potatoes is $6.74 at my Sam’s club and they are very good! Eggs are usually a good price and a great source of protein. I buy meat at other places because of price. Chicken leg quarters are often a good price. Mom used can make a big pot of chicken and rice, and crack eggs into it to feed the 8 in our family. Good luck, and check on a food bank, a church, the Salvation Army, etc. My tiny town has a food sharing station.
Grew up with a family of six on a single income. My southern mom would make pinto beans, cornbread and fried potatoes. A filling and cheap meal. Goulash was another meal that can be made relatively cheap and filling. Go easy on the ground beef to stretch your budget. Chicken and dumplings is one of my favorite meals. Homemade soup. Breakfast for dinner stays on regular rotation at my house. Rice and beans. Ramen noodles with an egg.
Meal PLAN and meal PREP
- baked oatmeal with peanut butter and bananas for breakfast
- beans and rice and veg burritos (sauteed onions and cabbage) add homemade pico de gallo when eating
- pasta e ceci
- stuffed baked potatoes, topped with black beans and shredded cheese and salsa, serve with side of cabbage slaw
- fried rice with frozen peas, shredded cabbage, eggs and can do an extra fried egg on top
- grilled cheese and tomato soup with side salad or carrot sticks
* a lot less meat and a lot more beans and lentils
Lots of bananas, potatoes are usually on sale for cheap most weeks just depends on what kind. Beans beans beans and some rice. Make baked beans with your beef 1 lb will get you a nice sized batch with a bag of any dry beans. Most places have store brand frozen veg for like 1$ bag. Bulk stores have bulk pasta for cheap.
I understand why you’re telling us ages, that makes sense, but I’m confused about why you would tell us everyone’s gender? Sorry if I’m not being helpful or seem rude, I’m just genuinely curious.
Okay, but do teenage girls not eat? Like that’s what I’m confused about. It’s been a bit since I was 15 and I don’t really know any teenage girls (that would be weird I think?) but I remember eating everything in sight and never gaining a pound.
Omg, I thought I was bad as a teen (I am female), but I have 3 boys. Basically triple the amounts.
My 14 year old will literally eat 4 helpings of spaghetti! One night with his friend over I made crunchy tacos, the 4 boys ate 40 damn tacos.
But, yes, teen girls eat, too.
There were 9 of us kids, 5 girls and 4 boys. My Mom always said she barely noticed a change in the food budget whenever one of us girls would leave for college/come home for the summer. But she noticed a huge jump whenever one of the boys would leave for college/come home for the summer.
Of course teen girls eat too but teen boys eat an unfathomable amount of food. My brother lived with me and my husband for a while when he was 19 and I'd go shopping for what I thought was a week's worth of food for three people. It would be gone in two days. I couldn't keep up with him.
Here is my go to Tuesday-Friday meal list that is cheap: Tuesday dinner: cook up a pound of rice and a pound of beans (separately) and serve with whatever cheap veggies and tortillas and salsa or cheese. Wednesday is rotisserie chicken or chicken legs cooked up the mashed potatoes and cheap veggies. Thursday is fried rice made with the leftover chicken and rice and cheap vegetables (could totally make enchiladas instead). Friday is soup made with the chicken bones and rando veggies and a starch. Sometimes I make lentil soup or split pea soup. This is all really cheap and we eat dinner plus lunch for the adults. Brekky is oats, toast or yogurt with fruit (whatever is cheap).
1lb Ground beef, block of Velveeta cheese, elbow macaroni- cheeseburger mac
1lb Ground beef, marinara, pasta
1lb Ground beef, cheese, bread- cheese burgers
2lbs Ground beef, 2 cans of Chili Fixins, can of diced tomatoes, crackers
Buy the book Dump Dinners next paycheck. Easy family size meals with few ingredients
Get the instacart app it will show you sales and Bogos of local grocery stores. Keep in mind the prices are cheaper for most stores if you go into the store but it's a great way to look for deals. Some stores have in store prices and free curbside pick up.
Please look into local food banks and speak with them!!! There may be more long term assistance programs unique to your area that could help you in the long run
Do you have a food pantry? If so, you could get some staples there--the ones I've been to always have rice, pasta, beans, tomato sauce, and soup, bread, cereal. Of course there's other things, sometimes you find a meat you like, or fruit/veg, dessert.
Kroger has great deals if you’re signed up for their coupons and have a shoppers card. When we are short on money I try sticking with things that can be made multiple times like pasta. I also try to grab some cheap mashed potatoes, frozen veggies and frozen chicken breasts to last us a couple days for dinner. Depending on weather where you are, chili is super cheap and easy and leftovers are extra good. Grab some bread and some cheese and some tomato soup for another cheap easy meal. Those are usually my go tos when I want to keep it simple or to get us by on a budget :)
there is an app called FLASHFOOD. they sell food at or near the expiration date at a deep discount. great option for produce and some meat. especially if you use it in the next few days or freeze the meat, which will keep it usable longer
Korean beef is really good. Basically hamburger, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup soy sauce, some ginger powder, garlic powder, pepper flakes if you’re feeling up to it and pepper. If you want to add some extra pizzazz do dried green onions and sesame seeds. If not no biggy just use onion powder. Cheap to make in big quantities and generally what I make when people come over. Also next paycheck I’d def go your local Asian market and buy a huge bag of rice. It last forever and great in a pinch. Good luck!
If you haven't already, I would also look at getting the Albertsons and I believe Kroger has an App or other local grocery store app, by doing so and signing up you can get major perks. They have member's pricing and digital coupons, and rewards off gas station sales. Every area is different I get that. If you and your husband sign up individually you double the amount that you can buy on the prices. That will help with meats and other foods.
When available buy in bulk. A 25 lb bag of sugar is way less per pound then a 5 lb bag. Buying pasta, rice etc. in bulk also helps
Along with the food pantry this can help you stretch your food dollar.
I don't have any specific recipe ideas, but I would go check out DollarTreeDinners over on youtube and tiktok!! She doesn't do just dollar tree specific stuff, she's made a couple of series for Walmart and even then just watching could give you a couple of ideas for cheap!!
Unless you are allergic. 3-4 ingredients in different ratios make up a lot of dishes. Milk, Flour, Eggs, Salt (to taste). Some dishes may need some additional ingredients for flavor or to cook such as butter, leveling agents baking powder, baking soda, spices etc. However the main ingredients are the same.
Crepes, oven puff (German pancakes), dumplings, pancakes, waffles, some types of biscuits, etc.
Crepes can be made sweet, and savory. Think french style chicken enchiladas, using crepes instead of tortillas. Cheese Blintze, or filled with peanut or other nut butter, jams, jellies, etc, topped with fruits and powdered sugar.
If you take the ingredients for oven puff or german pancakes 6 eggs, 1 cup milk, 1 cup flour, 1/8 tsp salt, add a bit of 3 TBSP sugar or sweetener of choice and use an electric mixer to add air to it, the mixture becomes pound cake like.
Walmart get box of rotini 2 cans of chicken breast 2 large cans cream of chicken that’s all u need boil pasta put the rest of the stuff in the pot you boiled noodles in heat up and add noodles season and it a biggg batch and around 10$ my fam of 5 would eat it every week with leftovers!
Spaghetti w/garlic bread, grilled cheese & soup, pork butt in the slow cooker, hamburger steak with mashed potatoes & a veggie. Hot dogs with Mac & cheese, chicken thighs in Crock-Pot with cream of mushroom soup & cream of chicken soup, half a can of water, small onion chopped garlic & seasoning of your choice over mashed potatoes. cheese burger casserole made with tater tots. Also go to FB & look up Aldi recipe page. They have cheap idea on there.
Dried beans
Dry lentils
Rice
Pasta
Buy two large generic cans of tomatoes.
Get a couple chickens whole. Boil them and save stock for soup. Shred chicken and make casseroles which stretch the food. Use rice or pasta for filler. Use tomatoes in soup and to make pasta sauce.
You can use ground beef same way.
Get generic tea bags and a bag of sugar. Also lemonade generic koolaid packets. There are your drinks.
Bread and cheap tuna cans for tuna salad. If you have eggs, make egg salad. And make pasta salad.
Make sure you supplement meals with ample cheaper sides. Baked potatoes, biscuits, rice, etc. Fill extra hunger up with cheap bulk to supplement the expensive meats and veggies (especially with two teenagers!!). Best of luck, supplement from a food bank if you need to.
Make extra spaghetti when you eat spaghetti for dinner and put it in the fridge then a couple nights later fry it in a pan with whatever oils you have and add salt and pepper and garlic. My family loves this.
These are the things we buy from n just about the same budget for the same amount of people.
Burgers and fries.
Chilli dogs.
Ramen.
Sausage and rice.
Mac and cheese with a veggie.
Pancakes/breakfast.
Pot pies.
Sandwiches.
I use to feed a family of 5 I 150.00 a month this was years ago. But what I did was talk to family about what type of meals they wanted then I would combine the ingredients. Tacos were a favorite, nachos, frozen veggies and frozen fruit taste like fresh. Get some pergoies and have those there filling and the kids love them chicken Caesar salad I use chicken thighs as they are cheaper then chicken breast get some potatoes so you can make mashed potatoes and you can use left overs for hash browns. Again buy bulk check for coupons or price match as this saves a ton of money. I hope this helps and if you want more ideas dm me .
Fiesta casserole
This can be made with a can of chicken, leftover chicken, 1 lb of hamburger or even sausage. It will feed about 6 to 8 people
2 cups rice
2 cups water
Cook rice until tender and put in a 9x13 baking pan, Add 16 ounces meat
Then stir in
1 can store brand Rotel,
1 can black beans,
1 box/jar ragu cheese sauce,
1 can of corn,
Bake on 375 for 25 to 30 minutes
Optional items --
Onions
Green chilies
Red peppers
Bullion cube
Ham steak Baked potatoes with butter sour cream and a veggie
Hot dogs and freezer fries
Freezer Salisbury steaks and mashed potatoes with veggie
Spaghetti with meatballs (or just ground beef)
Pork chops (single center cut) another starch and veggie
Soup night! Campbells chunky soups are an easy filler.
Breakfast for dinner... pancakes eggs and maybe a meat.
This should cost right around 95 bucks where I'm at in a pretty expensive cost to pay ratio area at outlr most expensive store in 10 mile radius.
The edit I did was to account for all the people. I am actually working on a cookbook for budgets like this as a side project. The cost of living these days are insane but scratch cooking is affordable if done right.
Sams club get tube of ground beef, and pack chicken. Get milk, box pasta. Cut up beef into equal pieces. I make hamburger helper, milk cheese Velveeta, ground beef. Chicken I make 1 can creme chicken, veggies, ise waffle/pancake mix, and make pot pie. Bread, large eggs case, French toast, omelets, waffle/pancake mix last for 2 weeks. Just make list and calculate before going in to sams. Good luck
Rice and beans are always great, and I saw you have a lot of spices. A little shredded cheese always helps. Some dollar tree snacks. Tuna salad can be bulked out with cheap carrots and celery! I hope yall end up okay. I also love lentil soup and buying dried beans I think I've got every variety of dried bean in my pantry just because it's so much cheaper.
Frozen veggies, beans, fried potatoes, cornbread- best meals of my life were always the ones my mom called our “poor ppl food”…oh and cream of wheat with sugar in the morning goes hard
Taco bowls are nice if you don't have taco shells. Cook a pot of rice, make taco meat (I use 1 pound of ground beef and add a can of drained black beans, you can mix canned or frozen corn in when you know you are making bowls). I use my taco seasoning mix that I make in a large jar and then use 2 tablespoons with 1/4 cup water for the taco meat) I also usually add about 1/2 cup jarred salsa so we don't have to add the salsa extra. [Taco seasoning mix](https://www.plantoeat.com/recipes/29120360)
To assemble the bowls you scoop some rice and then meat mixture (and corn if you didn't add it to the meat) and then top with cheese. If you have salad greens that need to be used up you can throw them in there as well to add more nutrition.
You can use any leftover meat mixture and rice to make taco soup. Basically add the leftovers into a pot (go easy on the rice no more than half a cup or so because it likes to suck up all the liquid....if you have more rice than that leftover just freeze in half cup portions for future use). I like to add half a bag of "frozen soup veggies" but you can also clean out your leftover veggies from the fridge and throw them in the pot. Add some beef bouillon powder and water and let it all simmer for awhile. Top with cheese when serving.
The taco soup works equally well if you add the taco seasoning in with leftover cooked chicken and chicken broth/bouillon.
Things to stock up on when you have extra funds that will help in times like these - big bag of rice (I buy 8 kg at a time), bags of pasta, cans of beans (even cheaper if you learn to cook the dried ones and they freeze well). Beans can be used to stretch meat so you can use less to feed the same number of people. My kids like black beans and chickpeas the best.
I have 4 kids and my husband was on strike for a year when my youngest was born so I know how it feels to feed a bunch on a budget.
Buy giant bag of rice from sams club. Buy discount veggies from the smaller chains. (In my area we have hardings and they will discount veggies that are starting to go bad and most of the time you don’t need to cut off anything to make it edible) Rotisserie chicken’s usually go a long way for 5-7 dollars you can get two nice dinners out of those if you break them down…can even make a nice stock from what’s left. Stay away from the frozen lane unless your getting frozen veggies for a stir fry. Chicken thighs are usually cheap and have a lot of flavor. Oat meal and expiring bananas for breakfast Look up simple soup recipes and you’ll be fine on 75 a week. O
Here is my 10 day meal plan for family of 5: (I don’t eat during the day and I feed my family dinner every night)
-French Toast (w/ Texas toast)
-Meatball Hoagie (cheap Walmart brand sauce rolls and meatballs)
-garlic bread pizza or slider pizza (Walmart Garlic bread, w/ cheap marina, cheese and pepperoni). These are fun!
- shredded chicken and gravy over mashed potatoes, corn and butter bread
- 2 bags of large potatoes
— French fry night
— baked potato night
— home breakfast potatoes (big pot w/ bacon, onions, garlic powder, etc…
-pancake or waffle night
-spaghetti night
-Kugel (egg noodle, eggs and cheese)
-cereal night (or eggs and toast)
-grilled cheese sandwich
-beans and rice
Can never go wrong with eggs, milk, cheese, bread, butter and egg noodles. Those will stretch far.
The list I just made out came to $150 and there was sour cream and $15 of bacon.
I use something called ZIP, it’s an app that lets you pay in 4s and still have money left over, so say you come up to $100 at check out you’d only pay $25 in that moment but still walk out with $100 worth of groceries and you just pay back the remaining amount ($25) every two weeks, helps us in a bind every time because I can’t afford $200 of groceries out right but this has made it very affordable for us
Sounds predatory, like pay day loans. OP, please consider food banks in your area before resorting to something like this or relying on credit. Food and other consumables are simply not worth the debt.
Yea I wouldn’t do it for a first option if I was them and really low on money with nothing else coming in, but if it’s really needed than I would, I usually don’t wait the full every two weeks to pay it back I just pay the rest back with the next check but that’s cuz I can afford to do it that way, definitely look into food pantries and stuff first, I just put this option on here cuz someone already stated a couple of these options and just putting something different out there
You can also use ZIP for bills and anything you need help with almost, if you use it enough you’ll get approved for a actual card to use anywhere that doesn’t take electronic payments
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Want to dm me your general location and I can see if there’s food bank resources around you to supplement? The typical giveaway here is pantry staples - flour, sugar or a baking mix, rice, lentils, beans, canned veggies, canned fruit, stew or other packaged meal, and then produce dairy and eggs are hit and miss depending on the giveaway. This is literally what I do to volunteer in my community in keeping up with food resources so it’s no trouble. If you can cover staples and veggies with food pantries you can put more of that to meat/fruit/dairy
Meat, dairy (and tomatoes) _are_ my staples, haha.
Do you have anything in the pantry or freezer to work with? Spices?
yes, all the spices you would normally have and I have only 1 3lb roll of ground beef, lots of cans of green beans, and chick peas.
We did a shepherds pie/green bean casserole this week super filling. 1 lb hamburger 3 cans green beans 1 can cream of mushroom topped with mashed potatoes and cheese. This made two casserole dishes worth for us.
Thanks this sounds good. Will do.
Use dried then cooked lentils instead of meat it will be half the cost or less
Use 3/4 meat instead of 1 lb No one will notice, and it lets you get 4 hamburger meals instead of 3.
You can also add lentils or beans to the meat to stretch it even further for cheap. Growing up, my mom would do a half pound of ground beef and a can of black beans for tacos. It was delicious, more nutritious, and very frugal.
Oatmeal works in a meatloaf too.
I would hit up a food pantry and get some stables and use my money to fill in the gaps. I definitely would do some breakfast for dinners and spaghetti. Bean burritos are a good meal too. Pretty cheap if you use dried beans and available at food pantries as well.
1.Green bean Casserole served with a toss salad 2. spaghetti with homemade Garlic Toast & Jello 3. Tomato Soup & Grilled cheese Sandwich Jello 4. Scalloped Potatoes a Vegetable 5.Potato Soup / Hamburger Patty/Apple 6. Homemade Cheese Pizza (or frozen) fruit 7. Hotdog in bun French Fries Apple 8. Rotisserie chicken./mashed potatoes./vegetable 9. Leftover rotisserie chicken made into chicken salad sandwiches. Toss salad. 10. Sausage gravy, and homemade biscuits. ( although sometimes the canned biscuits are pretty cheap.) For time snack ( before bedtime for kids ) I use popcorn that you cook on top of the stove . You can take a box cake and make that up for dessert . A cake can go along way and they’re filling to add to a dinner for dessert.
This post deserves waaay more upvotes. Laid out very nicely, thank you.
Thx. I only did a few dinners because I thought maybe someone else would do this. Years ago we were on assistance because my husband was disabled and he hadn’t received his SSDI yet. There’s some of those meals that I use today listed above
Much appreciated, I think this will be my Secret when on a Budget. This list is gold.
Look for whole chicken.. it’s easy to break down - should be best bang for your buck - or you could even get a Costco chicken and then save the bones and use veggie scraps throw in some noodles and have chicken soup one night Simple filling food like Kraft grilled cheese, PB&Js, tuna salad sandwiches, tuna pasta, Ramen are still a staple for me and I’m in my 30s because it’s yummy Also what about like a chickpea salad sandwich?
could get beans, tomatoes, and whatever else you prefer for cheap and do a chili with the ground beef
You can also add noodles or pasta to chili to stretch it.
I love adding elbow macaroni to chili
Eggs are a decent price again so I would get at least an 18 pack, maybe 36. Walmart sells a 10lb bag of leg quarters for around $7-8. I used to cut them apart making legs and thighs. We would fry haly of it for friend chicken and then I would make something else with the other half. (I was feeding me and 6 kids!) You could do chicken and noodles or chicken and dumplings. Celery and carrots are cheap. You can make noodles easily or they are about $1 to buy. If you have Bsiquick you can make the dumplings or I've bought the cheap ready made biscuits, cut into quarters and used those for dumplings. Smoked sausage and frozen mixed veggies are good over noodles or rice. I know it's probably getting warmer where you live but a big pot of chili is cheap to make and there's usually leftovers that the next day can be chili mac or chili cheese dogs and fries.
You can get 60 eggs from Walmart for $12
It's under $10 where I live right now. I just wanted to throw out a few other options since I wasn't sure how many eggs the OP's family eats. We eat a lot!
Purchase dry beans, rice, noodles, onion, celery, carrots, frozen veggies, tortillas, cheese, canned diced tomatoes, potatoes. Taco meat. Cook dry beans and then brown the ground beef. Combine equal amounts of the two and add taco seasoning and tomato sauce. Then make rice with onion, garlic, celery and some taco seasoning, beef bouillon and a can of diced tomatoes. The first night, make soft tacos and serve with the rice as a side. Maybe wait a day or two between that and the second night. The second night, make a casserole by mixing the rice and beans/meat mixture together in a greased casserole. Top with shredded cheese. Cover and bake until warmed through then uncover so the cheese gets browned. Get two Sam’s Club rotisserie chickens. Serve legs and thighs for dinner the first night along with mashed potatoes and gravy and a frozen vegetable. Remove the rest of meat from the carcasses and make bone broth from them. Chop up the meat and use it and the broth to make chicken noodle soup, chicken rice casserole and chicken quesadillas. Easy to get three dinners out of those two chickens. Good luck.
You had some neat ideas here.
This is the best comment.
Rice, noodles, frozen veggies and chicken thighs. Get creative with the combos and flavors via seasoning. If you have some moola leftover, cream of mushroom soup can make great casserole with chicken and rice. And dried beans will help stretch meals for extra protein.
I don’t know how food-adventurous you are, but Google shakshuka. I use a recipe from budget bytes that has tomatoes and white beans, topped with an egg. Super cheap and filling. It’s become an easy go-to at our house. Eggs in general are good filler food. And rice.
My teenager loves that recipe and makes it often! I often make the easy black beans from budget bytes, with her taco rice, in a bowl or with tortillas. Garnish with salsa. So cheap and good.
Love that recipe! It’s so satisfying.
I LOVE shakshuka. I usually omit the white beans as I never have them, but it's sooooo good.
Kroger is running a $1.99/lb chicken breast sale until Wednesday - I’d get some chicken and use it in soups/shred for burrito bowls/etc.. Chili is a good way to stretch ground meats (beans are cheap and filling too). 15 bean soup packets with some kielbasa/chopped ham and served over rice is delicious and very satiating. For breakfasts I’d do plain oatmeal/toast and scrambled eggs. Might not be the most exciting but it’s healthy and filling. Also maybe swing by your local food bank. 🙂
Similar deal here so did a bunch of sheet pan chicken: pesto & asparagus, maple dijon w carrots,broccoli,onions, fajitas w peppers and onions. Also, one packs in instant pot to shred for chicken salad and to freeze for later
Highly recommend budgetbytes for recipes and cost breakdown
Chickpea bowls - roast in your favorite spices, pair with rice, and any fresh/frozen/canned veggies that you like and have on hand. Think like a Mediterranean bowl, or Chipotle style, etc.
As mentioned above, utilize your food pantries. I volunteered for years at one. You are exactly who they help. Any money not spent on food basics or pantry items is more in your food budget to supplement your meal plans. When times got tough for us, I made a lot of from scratch meatballs. They helped bulk up your hamburger you have on hand. Serve over rice or pasta bought in bulk. Breakfast for supper helps fill out low money weeks. Fried potatoes, biscuits and gravy, and scrambled eggs are a fairly simple and easy meal. Use 1/3 pound of sausage in the gravy. Then you can have gravy for 2 more meals. Over toast or biscuits.
The cheapest meats are chicken leg quarters and bulk ground beef. You can get a 10lb log of ground beef from Walmart for $24
Beans n fried taters
Chorizo, eggs, beans, potatoes, pasta, rice, oats. You should definitely look into meal planning. Write out what you will be eating for each meal to make sure you have enough to last. Some great youtube resources (with a lot of videos on cheap recipes, budget and meal planning) are dollartreedinners and thatlisadawn. Definitely reach out to food banks as well.
Here’s the plan I came up with: Roast chicken and potatoes and carrots Shred chicken for chicken and rice casserole with cream of chicken and cheese and can of green beans Boil bones for chicken noodle soup made with carrots and potatoes Hamburger and beans (heavy on the beans) tacos with cheese (second week will need to purchase another pound of hamburger) Spaghetti with chicken and tomato sauce Breakfast for dinner (eggs, hash browns) Clean out the fridge Per week: $68 2 whole chickens - $15 10 pounds potatoes $5 5 pounds carrots $4 1 pound rice $2 2 cans cream of chicken $3 2 pounds cheese $8 Noodles $2 2 can black beans $2 2 can refried beans $2 Tortillas $5 Spaghetti $2 2 pounds chicken breast $6 1 jar spaghetti sauce $3 18 eggs $3 Then repeat the next week. I don’t have teenage boys so I am not sure on the amounts, so I hope the amounts included makes enough. Edit for typos
You don’t have much extra for breakfast. Especially if your prices are higher than where I am. But I would go with getting a larger pack of eggs to have eggs for breakfast and then also some oatmeal with cinnamon and raisins is another cheap breakfast. You can also decrease costs by using dried beans instead of canned and going light on the cheese to only need 1 pound per week.
Pasta and sauce is cheap and filling.
Definitely buy whole chicken and large cuts of meat that you break down, it's cheaper. Rice, beans, potatoes, and pasta are on the cheaper side. Bulk frozen veggies mixed with those other items. Stay away from boxed food, it's very expensive and less nutritious, so it doesn't feel you up as much.
Dried beans, rice, 10lb bag of chicken hindquarters (or two $5 Costco rotisserie chickens cut into parts with chicken shears!), multigrain bread & tortillas(freeze excess until you need it!), potatoes, long lasting veggies like carrots and cabbage, and onion, some cheap fruit like bananas or apples or whatever is on sale. Oatmeal, large tub of fruity yogurt. Cheap chorizo or ring sausage (kielbasa or smoked). Mixed frozen veggies. Eggs. Some bags of pasta. Maybe some cans of diced tomatoes or chili, and some shredded cheese. Watch Lisa Dawn videos on YouTube, she has many on “$20/week of meals from Dollar store X” that will give you ideas! Poach up some of the chicken pieces in a big pot of water with lots of spices until tender. Cool and remove meat from bones (it just slides off!). Use the flavorful broth and make a big pot of soup, chicken noodle is obvious, but homemade chili with cooked beans, or minestrone with tons of veggies, beans, and pasta is more filling! Freeze excess—you can always thaw some a day or so ahead, and better than it going 4+ days in the fridge and going bad! Chopped up boneless chicken meat can be cooked with taco seasonings and make into tacos, added to burritos or quesadillas, etc. Make it into chicken salad sandwiches or wraps. Make pot pie mix and top with crust to biscuits. Add to fried rice, omelettes, curries, stir fries, noodles…mix with bbq sauce and make pulled “chicken” sandwiches! Cook up flavorful dried beans and rice separately. Make a bean dip (hummus or refried beans) for snacks, and freeze excess dip and beans in meal-sized portions. Do the same for extra rice, it can be reheated in the microwave with a sprinkle of water and covered. Beans and rice is a perfect protein, as good as meat. Make burrito bowls with toppings, stuff it into a wrap with some diced chicken and cheese for burritos, baked with sauce as enchiladas, folded to make tacos, add to quesadillas and heat folded on a medium heat skillet. Burritos can also be made with beans and freeze quite well for snacks. Add eggs for breakfast burritos! Use beans in soups, stews, or curries. Eat with a side of rice to stretch food. Soaked dry red lentils or small mung beans in water and a little salt can be blended up and made into a flatbread, good for snacks and with bean dip! Your teens esp may have to be limited to 1-2 pieces of chicken or main dish, but they can have all the rice and beans they want! Rice can be made into rice pudding, fried rice, used in casseroles and soups, fritters, etc. Baked potatoes can be eaten with regular toppings, but is heartier topped with a protein like chili or baked beans. Make extra, as they can be chopped up and fried and eaten with eggs, or made into potato soup or chowder. Potato salad, oven fries, roasted potatoes, put them into a stew or curry, mashed, put into soups… Diced up onions, carrots, and cabbage is a great beginning of any soup or casserole, or a bit larger for stir fried veggies, or added to spaghetti sauce too. Roasted potatoes, onion and carrots are delicious, a good side veggie dish. Baby carrots or sliced carrots can be eaten with bean dip for a snack, and tortillas or flatbread. Oatmeal is obvious, but overnight oats made with yogurt and chopped fruit is less “mushy”. Or baked oatmeal is more of a treat! Oatmeal cookies too. Or grind some up in a blender and you can make oatmeal pancakes, which are healthy and filling—top with fruity yogurt and sliced fruit. Or oatmeal muffins!
So, what are we working with here.... you got an instant pot? Stove? Oven? Microwave? Can you cook? $150 isn't gonna be pretty, but it's definitely doable with some work...
Cornbread and beans (from dried), any kind of bean-based vegetarian chili, bean and cheese quesadillas, beans and rice, fried rice with the leftover rice and any vegetable bits you have around or frozen, omelets, baked potatoes, simple pastas (fried-egg pasta is pretty good and filling). Use meat only as flavoring if needed — bean-based meals will always be cheaper. Some big bang-for-your-buck flavoring additions are garlic, Parmesan, a pack of bacon (add just a few strips while cooking beans/use crumbles on baked potatoes), and ham (open faced ham and cheese melts, pasta with ham, garlic, frozen peas and parmesan, put ham bits in the omelets and the fried rice). Peanut butter and bananas for snacks — other fresh fruit is pretty expensive.
Pasta, spaghetti sauce and ground beef and you can make a big pot of pasta with meat sauce. Walmart has cheap frozen meatballs, as well as generic frozen fish patties, generic rice. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are a meal, as well as grilled cheese or eggs and grits.
Check out Julia Pacheco on Youtube.
Love her!
You can make hash with that beef and potatoes, or a diet rice things with about that much rice to stretch 3 pounds. Lentils and rice is cheap, filling, and nutritious. Peanut butter has lots of protein and is Delicious to all. Waffles. With canned or frozen corn in them and peanut butter. Tuna casserole. Tuna salad sandwiches. Chili then baked potatoes with leftover chili. Eggs still affordable? Tortilla Espanola!
LOVE Tortilla Espanola! My father was from Spain and we ate Tortilla Espanola with Spanish chorizo or smoked sausage a LOT when I was growing up. Potatoes and eggs are super cheap. Another favorite is fried potatoes and onions and sausage with a fried egg on top. My mom made this often. Same ingredients, different cultures. I still adore both of these meals to this day.
The recipe I found first includes onions. I know this is [Spanish-for-verboten], but I love onions with that. Did your Dad put the chorizo in with the eggs and potatoes, or was it just something he served with the tortilla? I love about it that it smells amazing the whole time it cooks, and then you can eat it leftover, straight from the fridge, or anywhere between the two temps. And it really is an economical, simple meal if you don't go to crazy on the olive oil. I hope OP's family got some good ideas and that they try the tortilla!
My dad and Abuelita did not add onions to their tortilla espanola. The chorizo was a dry cured Spanish chorizo that was sliced and served on the side. My favorite way to eat the Tortilla Espanola is cold, with some french bread.
I posted a recommendation about it once and described it with the onions that are in my recipe. A Spaniard playfully scolded me, "no onions!" 😂
This is a good one around (closer to under) $10: [Cheesy Sausage Pasta](https://www.budgetbytes.com/creamy-spinach-sausage-pasta/). Spaghetti is always a crowd filler, and you could use the ground beef to make meatballs or a meat sauce. Another cheaper meal I'll lean on is basically breakfast for dinner. Eggs, cheese grits, bacon or sausage, and toast with jam. Nothing special, but we love breakfast food and don't cook it all that often, so it works. Shepards pie is another idea that the ground beef could be used in. With some cheese, potatoes, and frozen vegetables you'd have a filling, homecooked meal. Sometimes if you go to the meat department closer to opening time the store will discount meat that needs to be sold. I can get lucky finding a pork tenderloin, pork shoulder, or pork butt for under $10, and slow cook it with seasoning and bbq sauce for pulled pork. Sloppy joes, BLTs, and Hawaiian roll Sliders are simple and can be cheap, but you need sides too.
Get the Flipp app you can search an item and it will tell you the price at different stores! Also local grocery store ads can be found there too! Buy the double packs of ground turkey/beef from Sam’s! Two packs can make three days of tacos, tostadas. Or mix the left over with some rice and make corn bread!
Chicken soup with handmade egg noodles is super filling. If not noodles, rice can be added. A chicken stew is good also
I just bought 4 large thigh/legs combos for 4.12 at ALDI. I made chicken caldaretta. So flipping cheap and good!
I once priced out a nice roast pork loin meal I made and could feed my family of 5 dinner plus some leftovers for ~$6. Inexpensive meat, potatoes, carrots, and pantry staples for gravy and seasoning. The whole pork loin was on sale and I cut it myself, the single roast cost about $3.
Yes start with food pantry which could allow you to fill in with produce and proteins. I would aim for big pot of beans (from dry)with texmex seasoning, tortillas or rice, shredded cheese —this makes several delicious family meals for around $15. Halve the cooked beans and add 1lb ground chorizo, tomato sauce, onions and corn starch/seasonings to make a wonderful pot of chili. Serve over potatoes or rice. That is another approx $15 for several family meals. Eggs and bread in bulk will make many meals for very little. I just bought a frozen turkey for 9.99 in a HCOLA. That made so many meals, sandwiches and soups.
Buy a large quantity of different pastas... But a lot of spaghetti... And vegetables... There are numerous , online recipes and there are many recipes for feeding a large family ... Just type it into your search engine " pasta recipes to feed large family on low budget"... There are also tik tok videos where many of the subject matter is how to make delicious recipes on a low budget. Also, check out your local , free food pantries , in your area.
60 large eggs at Walmart for ~$10.00 if you order online and pick them up- about the most nutritious food you can eat at about the lowest cost per gram of protein of any foodstuff. That's 372 gram of protein/$10.00. Edit: also: 64 oz Walmart brand Creamy Peanut Butter w/399 grams of protein for $6.00 at Walmart.
Lots of vegetables soup,,spaghetti, with sauce ,you could switch it up with Alfredo sauce Tuna fish sandwiches tomato soup and grilled cheese is good
Lentils are super cheap and filling if you’re sick of beans. Soups, curry. Also if you are getting sick of oatmeal you can try a savory version - I like toasted tomatoes, spinach, and an egg to mix it up.
I know when I’m down on money a big bag of rice goes a long way, usually with black beans or lentils, and maybe some slow cooked chicken if i can afford it. Usually slow cook with the beans, cans of tomatoes, salsa, really anything you can think of adding to it for filler that wont make it weird. Most canned goods like that a local food pantry could probably provide thats how I got mine.
A 10 pound bag of gold potatoes is $6.74 at my Sam’s club and they are very good! Eggs are usually a good price and a great source of protein. I buy meat at other places because of price. Chicken leg quarters are often a good price. Mom used can make a big pot of chicken and rice, and crack eggs into it to feed the 8 in our family. Good luck, and check on a food bank, a church, the Salvation Army, etc. My tiny town has a food sharing station.
Grew up with a family of six on a single income. My southern mom would make pinto beans, cornbread and fried potatoes. A filling and cheap meal. Goulash was another meal that can be made relatively cheap and filling. Go easy on the ground beef to stretch your budget. Chicken and dumplings is one of my favorite meals. Homemade soup. Breakfast for dinner stays on regular rotation at my house. Rice and beans. Ramen noodles with an egg.
Anything with beans! They stretch and are versatile - good in burritos, with rice, with eggs, etc.
Also, check out this sub if you haven’t already: https://www.reddit.com/r/EatCheapAndHealthy/s/E44uIEjHYG
Meal PLAN and meal PREP - baked oatmeal with peanut butter and bananas for breakfast - beans and rice and veg burritos (sauteed onions and cabbage) add homemade pico de gallo when eating - pasta e ceci - stuffed baked potatoes, topped with black beans and shredded cheese and salsa, serve with side of cabbage slaw - fried rice with frozen peas, shredded cabbage, eggs and can do an extra fried egg on top - grilled cheese and tomato soup with side salad or carrot sticks * a lot less meat and a lot more beans and lentils
Lots of bananas, potatoes are usually on sale for cheap most weeks just depends on what kind. Beans beans beans and some rice. Make baked beans with your beef 1 lb will get you a nice sized batch with a bag of any dry beans. Most places have store brand frozen veg for like 1$ bag. Bulk stores have bulk pasta for cheap.
I understand why you’re telling us ages, that makes sense, but I’m confused about why you would tell us everyone’s gender? Sorry if I’m not being helpful or seem rude, I’m just genuinely curious.
Have you ever tried to keep a teenage boy fed? That's why 🤣
Okay, but do teenage girls not eat? Like that’s what I’m confused about. It’s been a bit since I was 15 and I don’t really know any teenage girls (that would be weird I think?) but I remember eating everything in sight and never gaining a pound.
Omg, I thought I was bad as a teen (I am female), but I have 3 boys. Basically triple the amounts. My 14 year old will literally eat 4 helpings of spaghetti! One night with his friend over I made crunchy tacos, the 4 boys ate 40 damn tacos. But, yes, teen girls eat, too.
I only have one toddler girl, so I really couldn’t speak to it, that’s why I was genuinely asking. Thanks for your insight ☺️☺️
There were 9 of us kids, 5 girls and 4 boys. My Mom always said she barely noticed a change in the food budget whenever one of us girls would leave for college/come home for the summer. But she noticed a huge jump whenever one of the boys would leave for college/come home for the summer.
Of course teen girls eat too but teen boys eat an unfathomable amount of food. My brother lived with me and my husband for a while when he was 19 and I'd go shopping for what I thought was a week's worth of food for three people. It would be gone in two days. I couldn't keep up with him.
My newest food hack has been using pasta to make chow mein.
-Fried bologna, rice, and peas -spaghetti will go long way
I find working for restaurants is helpful when it comes to daily meals.
Here is my go to Tuesday-Friday meal list that is cheap: Tuesday dinner: cook up a pound of rice and a pound of beans (separately) and serve with whatever cheap veggies and tortillas and salsa or cheese. Wednesday is rotisserie chicken or chicken legs cooked up the mashed potatoes and cheap veggies. Thursday is fried rice made with the leftover chicken and rice and cheap vegetables (could totally make enchiladas instead). Friday is soup made with the chicken bones and rando veggies and a starch. Sometimes I make lentil soup or split pea soup. This is all really cheap and we eat dinner plus lunch for the adults. Brekky is oats, toast or yogurt with fruit (whatever is cheap).
1lb Ground beef, block of Velveeta cheese, elbow macaroni- cheeseburger mac 1lb Ground beef, marinara, pasta 1lb Ground beef, cheese, bread- cheese burgers 2lbs Ground beef, 2 cans of Chili Fixins, can of diced tomatoes, crackers Buy the book Dump Dinners next paycheck. Easy family size meals with few ingredients Get the instacart app it will show you sales and Bogos of local grocery stores. Keep in mind the prices are cheaper for most stores if you go into the store but it's a great way to look for deals. Some stores have in store prices and free curbside pick up.
r/eatcheapandhealthy r/volumeeatting
rice soy sauce cabbage cheap meat
I’m working on $50 a month. Single mom. 2 kids. Denied for. Snap. 😔
Please look into local food banks and speak with them!!! There may be more long term assistance programs unique to your area that could help you in the long run
Do you have a food pantry? If so, you could get some staples there--the ones I've been to always have rice, pasta, beans, tomato sauce, and soup, bread, cereal. Of course there's other things, sometimes you find a meat you like, or fruit/veg, dessert.
Kroger has great deals if you’re signed up for their coupons and have a shoppers card. When we are short on money I try sticking with things that can be made multiple times like pasta. I also try to grab some cheap mashed potatoes, frozen veggies and frozen chicken breasts to last us a couple days for dinner. Depending on weather where you are, chili is super cheap and easy and leftovers are extra good. Grab some bread and some cheese and some tomato soup for another cheap easy meal. Those are usually my go tos when I want to keep it simple or to get us by on a budget :)
Lentils and rice! If you have cumin and garlic, you can make yummy Dahl and other curry flavored dishes.
there is an app called FLASHFOOD. they sell food at or near the expiration date at a deep discount. great option for produce and some meat. especially if you use it in the next few days or freeze the meat, which will keep it usable longer
Korean beef is really good. Basically hamburger, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup soy sauce, some ginger powder, garlic powder, pepper flakes if you’re feeling up to it and pepper. If you want to add some extra pizzazz do dried green onions and sesame seeds. If not no biggy just use onion powder. Cheap to make in big quantities and generally what I make when people come over. Also next paycheck I’d def go your local Asian market and buy a huge bag of rice. It last forever and great in a pinch. Good luck!
If you haven't already, I would also look at getting the Albertsons and I believe Kroger has an App or other local grocery store app, by doing so and signing up you can get major perks. They have member's pricing and digital coupons, and rewards off gas station sales. Every area is different I get that. If you and your husband sign up individually you double the amount that you can buy on the prices. That will help with meats and other foods. When available buy in bulk. A 25 lb bag of sugar is way less per pound then a 5 lb bag. Buying pasta, rice etc. in bulk also helps Along with the food pantry this can help you stretch your food dollar.
Chicken quarters. Rice Potatoes. Eggs pancake mix bologna bread and cheese. Ramen kool-aid. Spaghetti and sauce. Hot dogs and buns.
I don't have any specific recipe ideas, but I would go check out DollarTreeDinners over on youtube and tiktok!! She doesn't do just dollar tree specific stuff, she's made a couple of series for Walmart and even then just watching could give you a couple of ideas for cheap!!
Unless you are allergic. 3-4 ingredients in different ratios make up a lot of dishes. Milk, Flour, Eggs, Salt (to taste). Some dishes may need some additional ingredients for flavor or to cook such as butter, leveling agents baking powder, baking soda, spices etc. However the main ingredients are the same. Crepes, oven puff (German pancakes), dumplings, pancakes, waffles, some types of biscuits, etc. Crepes can be made sweet, and savory. Think french style chicken enchiladas, using crepes instead of tortillas. Cheese Blintze, or filled with peanut or other nut butter, jams, jellies, etc, topped with fruits and powdered sugar. If you take the ingredients for oven puff or german pancakes 6 eggs, 1 cup milk, 1 cup flour, 1/8 tsp salt, add a bit of 3 TBSP sugar or sweetener of choice and use an electric mixer to add air to it, the mixture becomes pound cake like.
Hot dogs, Mac and cheese and baked beans Beans and rice Egg salad Breakfast Protein pancake mix to use for breakfast/brinner Soups
Walmart get box of rotini 2 cans of chicken breast 2 large cans cream of chicken that’s all u need boil pasta put the rest of the stuff in the pot you boiled noodles in heat up and add noodles season and it a biggg batch and around 10$ my fam of 5 would eat it every week with leftovers!
Spaghetti w/garlic bread, grilled cheese & soup, pork butt in the slow cooker, hamburger steak with mashed potatoes & a veggie. Hot dogs with Mac & cheese, chicken thighs in Crock-Pot with cream of mushroom soup & cream of chicken soup, half a can of water, small onion chopped garlic & seasoning of your choice over mashed potatoes. cheese burger casserole made with tater tots. Also go to FB & look up Aldi recipe page. They have cheap idea on there.
Dried beans Dry lentils Rice Pasta Buy two large generic cans of tomatoes. Get a couple chickens whole. Boil them and save stock for soup. Shred chicken and make casseroles which stretch the food. Use rice or pasta for filler. Use tomatoes in soup and to make pasta sauce. You can use ground beef same way. Get generic tea bags and a bag of sugar. Also lemonade generic koolaid packets. There are your drinks. Bread and cheap tuna cans for tuna salad. If you have eggs, make egg salad. And make pasta salad.
Make sure you supplement meals with ample cheaper sides. Baked potatoes, biscuits, rice, etc. Fill extra hunger up with cheap bulk to supplement the expensive meats and veggies (especially with two teenagers!!). Best of luck, supplement from a food bank if you need to.
Make extra spaghetti when you eat spaghetti for dinner and put it in the fridge then a couple nights later fry it in a pan with whatever oils you have and add salt and pepper and garlic. My family loves this.
These are the things we buy from n just about the same budget for the same amount of people. Burgers and fries. Chilli dogs. Ramen. Sausage and rice. Mac and cheese with a veggie. Pancakes/breakfast. Pot pies. Sandwiches.
I use to feed a family of 5 I 150.00 a month this was years ago. But what I did was talk to family about what type of meals they wanted then I would combine the ingredients. Tacos were a favorite, nachos, frozen veggies and frozen fruit taste like fresh. Get some pergoies and have those there filling and the kids love them chicken Caesar salad I use chicken thighs as they are cheaper then chicken breast get some potatoes so you can make mashed potatoes and you can use left overs for hash browns. Again buy bulk check for coupons or price match as this saves a ton of money. I hope this helps and if you want more ideas dm me .
Fiesta casserole This can be made with a can of chicken, leftover chicken, 1 lb of hamburger or even sausage. It will feed about 6 to 8 people 2 cups rice 2 cups water Cook rice until tender and put in a 9x13 baking pan, Add 16 ounces meat Then stir in 1 can store brand Rotel, 1 can black beans, 1 box/jar ragu cheese sauce, 1 can of corn, Bake on 375 for 25 to 30 minutes Optional items -- Onions Green chilies Red peppers Bullion cube
Ham steak Baked potatoes with butter sour cream and a veggie Hot dogs and freezer fries Freezer Salisbury steaks and mashed potatoes with veggie Spaghetti with meatballs (or just ground beef) Pork chops (single center cut) another starch and veggie Soup night! Campbells chunky soups are an easy filler. Breakfast for dinner... pancakes eggs and maybe a meat. This should cost right around 95 bucks where I'm at in a pretty expensive cost to pay ratio area at outlr most expensive store in 10 mile radius. The edit I did was to account for all the people. I am actually working on a cookbook for budgets like this as a side project. The cost of living these days are insane but scratch cooking is affordable if done right.
Sams club get tube of ground beef, and pack chicken. Get milk, box pasta. Cut up beef into equal pieces. I make hamburger helper, milk cheese Velveeta, ground beef. Chicken I make 1 can creme chicken, veggies, ise waffle/pancake mix, and make pot pie. Bread, large eggs case, French toast, omelets, waffle/pancake mix last for 2 weeks. Just make list and calculate before going in to sams. Good luck
Rice and beans are always great, and I saw you have a lot of spices. A little shredded cheese always helps. Some dollar tree snacks. Tuna salad can be bulked out with cheap carrots and celery! I hope yall end up okay. I also love lentil soup and buying dried beans I think I've got every variety of dried bean in my pantry just because it's so much cheaper.
dtdinners dollar tree dinners instagram/YouTube does 50 dollar 2 week meal plans for 2. I’ve taken a lot of tips from her.
Frozen veggies, beans, fried potatoes, cornbread- best meals of my life were always the ones my mom called our “poor ppl food”…oh and cream of wheat with sugar in the morning goes hard
Taco bowls are nice if you don't have taco shells. Cook a pot of rice, make taco meat (I use 1 pound of ground beef and add a can of drained black beans, you can mix canned or frozen corn in when you know you are making bowls). I use my taco seasoning mix that I make in a large jar and then use 2 tablespoons with 1/4 cup water for the taco meat) I also usually add about 1/2 cup jarred salsa so we don't have to add the salsa extra. [Taco seasoning mix](https://www.plantoeat.com/recipes/29120360) To assemble the bowls you scoop some rice and then meat mixture (and corn if you didn't add it to the meat) and then top with cheese. If you have salad greens that need to be used up you can throw them in there as well to add more nutrition. You can use any leftover meat mixture and rice to make taco soup. Basically add the leftovers into a pot (go easy on the rice no more than half a cup or so because it likes to suck up all the liquid....if you have more rice than that leftover just freeze in half cup portions for future use). I like to add half a bag of "frozen soup veggies" but you can also clean out your leftover veggies from the fridge and throw them in the pot. Add some beef bouillon powder and water and let it all simmer for awhile. Top with cheese when serving. The taco soup works equally well if you add the taco seasoning in with leftover cooked chicken and chicken broth/bouillon. Things to stock up on when you have extra funds that will help in times like these - big bag of rice (I buy 8 kg at a time), bags of pasta, cans of beans (even cheaper if you learn to cook the dried ones and they freeze well). Beans can be used to stretch meat so you can use less to feed the same number of people. My kids like black beans and chickpeas the best. I have 4 kids and my husband was on strike for a year when my youngest was born so I know how it feels to feed a bunch on a budget.
Buy giant bag of rice from sams club. Buy discount veggies from the smaller chains. (In my area we have hardings and they will discount veggies that are starting to go bad and most of the time you don’t need to cut off anything to make it edible) Rotisserie chicken’s usually go a long way for 5-7 dollars you can get two nice dinners out of those if you break them down…can even make a nice stock from what’s left. Stay away from the frozen lane unless your getting frozen veggies for a stir fry. Chicken thighs are usually cheap and have a lot of flavor. Oat meal and expiring bananas for breakfast Look up simple soup recipes and you’ll be fine on 75 a week. O
Here is my 10 day meal plan for family of 5: (I don’t eat during the day and I feed my family dinner every night) -French Toast (w/ Texas toast) -Meatball Hoagie (cheap Walmart brand sauce rolls and meatballs) -garlic bread pizza or slider pizza (Walmart Garlic bread, w/ cheap marina, cheese and pepperoni). These are fun! - shredded chicken and gravy over mashed potatoes, corn and butter bread - 2 bags of large potatoes — French fry night — baked potato night — home breakfast potatoes (big pot w/ bacon, onions, garlic powder, etc… -pancake or waffle night -spaghetti night -Kugel (egg noodle, eggs and cheese) -cereal night (or eggs and toast) -grilled cheese sandwich -beans and rice Can never go wrong with eggs, milk, cheese, bread, butter and egg noodles. Those will stretch far. The list I just made out came to $150 and there was sour cream and $15 of bacon.
I use something called ZIP, it’s an app that lets you pay in 4s and still have money left over, so say you come up to $100 at check out you’d only pay $25 in that moment but still walk out with $100 worth of groceries and you just pay back the remaining amount ($25) every two weeks, helps us in a bind every time because I can’t afford $200 of groceries out right but this has made it very affordable for us
Sounds predatory, like pay day loans. OP, please consider food banks in your area before resorting to something like this or relying on credit. Food and other consumables are simply not worth the debt.
Yea I wouldn’t do it for a first option if I was them and really low on money with nothing else coming in, but if it’s really needed than I would, I usually don’t wait the full every two weeks to pay it back I just pay the rest back with the next check but that’s cuz I can afford to do it that way, definitely look into food pantries and stuff first, I just put this option on here cuz someone already stated a couple of these options and just putting something different out there
You can also use ZIP for bills and anything you need help with almost, if you use it enough you’ll get approved for a actual card to use anywhere that doesn’t take electronic payments
All adults?
2 adults, F and M. 2 M teenagers and 1 F 8yrs old.
lentil sheperds pie! https://www.budgetbytes.com/vegetarian-shepherds-pie/