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Cheap meals

dotcomkari

dotcomkari

The Deaf Superstar
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May 24, 2012
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I am very short on money and recently became a single mom...my income barely makes it...and I am looking for ways to save big time....I need your cheapest easy to make kid friendly meals please....and other tips you may have?
 
when i originally became a single mom i had to learn rather quickly how to scrimp and make meals last. we ate a lot of pasta at first- because it was like 90 cents a box, but that's not really healthy long term. Portioning out really became important. My best advice is to make stir frys. You can make a small amount of meat into a much larger and filling meal. Buy frozen veggies on sale (we frequently have 10 for 10 sales at my market) and grab a very large bag of rice. Sometimes i'd throw an egg or two into a stir fry too for a little extra oomfph. Stir frys work great with kids because you can hide the less desirable veggies in there, but it all tastes *good* and they get a nice balanced filling meal out of it.
 
The thing that sucks is that the cheapest things are rice, pasta, and potatoes, none of which you want EVERY meal to be based on. But sometimes you just have to go with that when you are scrimping. Make pasta with tomato sauce, ramen with an egg or 2 and some peas, or make soups. I buy frozen veggies too and then just saute an onion with a bit of olive oil, add whatever veggies - a lot of times brocolli - and then add water or broth and seasonings, cook till soft, then blend it up to a puree soup and then add a bit of cream or some cheese (whatever is on hand). My kids love soups and they can be very cheap. I know it is hard though to feel healthy meals with very little money! Oh, another thing we do is a big bag of pinto beans in the crockpot, add some salsa and seasonings/cheese, then mash when its all cooked. That makes enough for our family of 7 to have 2 meals like burritos, beans and rice.
 
i love cheap.
i love fast.
i love easy.

my kids favorite meals, are tacos - (sometimes i add potatoes to the meat, cheap and healthy and big for new mexicans)
spaghetti
taco stack ups
and breakfast for dinner.
we eat lots of chicken. my husband hates it, but it's cheap. chicken casseroles, chicken stir fry, chicken and rice 3 different ways. LOL lots and lots of chicken. LOL
 
Chicken here too! Its all my youngest will eat. Hubby gets tired of it LOL
crazygirl said:
i love cheap.
i love fast.
i love easy.

my kids favorite meals, are tacos - (sometimes i add potatoes to the meat, cheap and healthy and big for new mexicans)
spaghetti
taco stack ups
and breakfast for dinner.
we eat lots of chicken. my husband hates it, but it's cheap. chicken casseroles, chicken stir fry, chicken and rice 3 different ways. LOL lots and lots of chicken. LOL
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Cheap is my middle name! LOL

We eats pasta once a week, breakfast for dinner once a week, lots of chicken, soup during the winter months, fish/mac n cheese, tacos...

We look out for things on the 10 for 10 all the time!!!
 
Sounds like you've gotten some great advice so far. Check flyers for coupons, 10 for 10 sales, etc. Bulk buy meat on sale, divide into meal portions and freeze. Buy sale items and plan meals around what was on sale. If beef is on sale, make tacos, chili, sloppy joes. If chicken is on sale, make crockpot soup and chicken, stirfrys, chicken fingers, etc. Make big batches of soup, chili and spaghetti sauce and freeze it. I bulk buy soup, spaghetti sauce, tomato sauce/paste, canned veggies, beans, etc b/c I know they are staples that will always get used up long before the expiration date. I also bulk buy cheese when on sale and shred it, mix with a bit of cornstarch, bag it and put in freezer (much cheaper than buying bags in the store). I bulk buy rice on sale and make big batches to freeze in meal serving sizes too b/c it'll keep for months in the freezer but not very long stored in your cupboard.
 
do you have a friend that has a Costco or Sam's card? Ask if next time they go you guys can split the ground beef or some of the meats. They have the cheapest and best quality meal in town, but of course most people don't want 6 pounds of it!
 
Crock Pot Turkey Chili... you can get away w/ a small thing of ground turkey and the rest can be canned goods which are cheap (diced tomatoes, green chiles and chili beans) plus chili powder... I have a huge generic container that is good. We make a meal of the chili, then I add noodles to the leftovers and it's Chili-Mac :)

We had this tonight, in fact. And I can feed all 6 of us twice if I add enough beans and tomatoes, LOL.
 
Here's an easy dutch meal - my kids love it but maybe it's weird if you're not dutch?
Boil potatoes and carrots with some chopped onion till everything quite soft. Drain and mash together with milk (or some of the cooking water), a bit of butter or sour cream, salt & pepper. For a little extra flavour, serve with bacon bits or sausage.
You can do this with kale or cauliflower too.
 
There are a LOT of food ministries around where I live. We used to have one called Angel Food Ministries where you could buy boxes of food for like $25, and they were packed with meat, veggies and other items. You weren't required to earn a certain amount either to buy it..anyone could do it. There are also food pantries where you can get it for free. I think that's a good place to start and to supplement.

We did a lot of ramen and while it's cooking, stir in a few beaten eggs, a little chopped meat (chicken or ham), some veggies if you have them. It makes a filling meal for under a dollar.

We also did a lot of the breakfast for dinner. Pancakes are inexpensive and very filling.

We would buy a lot of bread at the day old bakery and freeze it...especially the sourdough and then we'd make french toast!

We did what Jacque mentioned and grated potatoes into our ground beef when making tacos. (carrots too are nice)



We have a store here called Winco. You have to bag your own items, but it is cheaper to buy there than anywhere else. They don't have sales...it's just always cheaper...even than the sale prices at other grocers!
 
Left overs really are your friend. We were losing a ton of money throwing food away. Buy what you will eat and eat what you buy.
make a menu and stick to it, seriously it helps

We had hamburgers and french fries, lots of fries left over, they get chopped up and go into the taco meat the next day. The taco meat goes inside egg roll wrappers for fried burritos the next day, with cream of mushroom soup on top. It is an ongoing surprise to my kids, what to do with what they don't eat.
When they begin to look at me with that, oh no, mom not that again, It goes in a freezer bag for a few weeks from now, where it will be resurrected! bhahah
Nine here, and 4 teens! Crazy amounts of food, so I pad the meat with rices, potatoes, and noodles, yes I do. I have been known to pour instant mash pots in sauces, and with hamburger meat.
We eat avlot of vegis with cheese as a main meal. NO meat. Zuchini and Squash seared with onions and cheese, yums
Beans are at least once a week, and I make a ton, cause those babies are going in everything thru the week!

Saturdays are fend for, I pull all the containers out of the fridge, and it is a first come (thee who has finished chores first) first served. They can all push the buttons on microwave, and it is a free for all!
 
Angie4b1g said:
There has never been a leftover french fry in my house. LOL
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ahahaha, well, 2 sick boys, and I think my oldest was a work? now that I ponder it? and I make 2 bags! lol but I hear ya, left overs sometimes have to be put away before I serve the piranahas!
 
I will agree on the Sam's Club! We just recently got one and the chicken is very cheap, like I can make 4 or 5 meals worth out of an $11 pack of chicken. And it's a lot nicer than the frozen stuff.
 
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we do taco night every week and chili once a week also

and for taco night I make my own tortillas, super easy and super cheap

and we do lots of chicken too and we actually buy the rotisserie chickens because they're cheaper than buying the raw meat, and it's already cooked so we just pull and serve with some veggies on the side

meal planning really helps with the budget too, so you aren't buying stuff you won't eat

lentils are good and cheap too and you can make lentil soup or even just sub it for meat
 
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