Help me come up with cheap meals
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Anonymous
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I can make without a kitchen :shock:
I just moved into a basement with my 5 year old and we do not have a kitchen. I own a food processor, a ninja, and a microwave. I have largish mini fridge. I am going to buy a crock pot but any other purchases will have to wait atleast a month (I hope to buy an electric grill or something) I need the meals to be cheap and healthy. so ideas? Id love to keep my food budget to about 50 a week. |
Anonymous
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Crockpots are probably your best bet in the current situation, especially if you work and are gone all day. If you're home, I might get an electric range instead. If you make a handful of recipes at once with the raw ingredients, you can keep them for the week in the fridge. A lot of crockpot meals include a handful of the same ingredients so you can buy them in bulk and save money there.
http://www.lifewith4boys.com/2012/10/25-meals-in-4-12-hours-freezer-to.html http://tipnut.com/crockpot-recipes/ |
Anonymous
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If you get a cheap rice cooker, you can put rice in the rice cooker and beans in the crock pot and do red beans and rice, black beans and rice, pinto beans and rice, etc.
Try to find one of those electric griddles that have removable grill plates as well, so you can use the grill plates to grill meat but can use the griddle side to scramble eggs and make pancakes, both of which are low cost. I think I've seen them for about $45 at Target. |
Anonymous
| You can get those microwaveable steam packs of rice. Mix that with some microwaved canned beans - easy meal. Dice some tomato, grate some cheese, and top with avocado. Yummy! |
Anonymous
$50/week for groceries for 2 people in the DC area is absolutely impossible unless you eat carryout A LOT. For 2 ppl, it will be more like $75-$125/week. Put de-skinned checken thighs in the crock pot with water, chopped 1/2 onion, and either a) Adobo (red top), or b) McCormick Lemon Pepper (lots of it) and a dash of Allspice. |
Anonymous
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Instant Rice with Canned Black beans on tortillas (burritos).
Maybe add cheese or lettuce |
Anonymous
Agreed. Get a few different NO SALT spice mixes to change the flavor, change the type of beans (kidney, black, garbanzo etc. ), and the grain (rice, instant bulgar etc) Also, microwave frozen veggies and then blend with fruit in the ninja and chill in fridge. Google for easy recipes. Just be sure to cook the veggies first for safety. |
Anonymous
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Mom w/ one kid age 8.
The crock pot is a waste. Makes too much and who wants the same thing 5 days in a row for lunch/dinner. We spend btw $50 - $60 on groceries. About half is spent at Whole Foods on basics. We do minimal amounts of processed food. I buy more fruits than veggies and stick to in season and on sale as much as possible. I try and coupon but its time consuming so every few months I might score a good deal on something boxed or canned and stock up. |
Anonymous
She doesn't have an oven or stove. She basically NEEDS a Crock Pot if she's going to have anything hot that isn't microwaved. And if she's trying to keep her grocery bill at $50/week for two people, leftovers are going to be pretty necessary. |
Anonymous
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When you are able to spend a little, getting a Foreman grill from a goodwill store might be a good option. During a period when we didn't have a kitchen, I used ours to grill veggies and make grilled cheese and other grilled sandwiches. You could also get a used griddle from a goodwill store for easy, cheap things like pancakes, french toast, eggs, etc. You can cook potatoes in the microwave, steam some broccoli in the micro, and shred some cheese, and that's a meal.
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Anonymous
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9:48 here...you can also make bacon on a griddle or in the microwave, so BLTs may be an easy/relatively cheap meal. Also, you could just do "snacky" type food, like cheeese and crackers, baby carrots, maybe some hummus. My kids would love it if I served that every night for dinner!
If you don't shop at Aldi, I highly recommend it for staying on a budget! |
Anonymous
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Don't be discouraged. $50 per week for you and your 5 yo son is not going to be impossible as the prior pp suggested. It can be done. I've done it.
1st - I suggest shopping at Aldi where your $50 will get you ALOT of food. 2nd - I would suggest purchasing and electric skillet. My mom and I were homeless when I was growing up and we had our stuff in a storage facility. We used to go to the storage facility each day to plug up our electric skillet and cook meals. On the special days (maybe once per month) we fried up and steak in the skillet and it was yummy! We had one of these which cost about $20: http://www.amazon.com/Presto-06620-11-Inch-Electric-Skillet/dp/B0000BYD65/ref=sr_1_10?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1374500785&sr=1-10&keywords=electric+skillet 3rd - If you have access to a backyard or open space you can cook as though you are camping, with real pots/pans over a can of sterno. My mom and I used to go to a public park and set up the sterno and cook up some delicious meals. Here's a link to the sterno: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sterno-Gel-Fuel/14913075 You will probably want to also get the portable folding stove. You can put the can of sterno inside and then set your pans on top to cook your food: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sterno-Portable-Folding-Stove/20434298 4th - Look for websites or blogs that are dedicated to making cheap meals. Here's a good blog for you to check out: http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2010/10/21/20-favorite-dirt-cheap-meals/ When all else fails refer back to # 1. Aldi needs to be your best friend. You can get tons of good quality food within your budget from Aldi. I'm not sure where you live but I go to the one in Alexandria, VA down Richmond Hwy (Rte.1 ). I usually spend about $50 per week on average for myself and my 3 year old. Also, if you are ever in a bind don't feel bad about going to a food bank or even a local church they will be able to give you food to supplement your needs which will help you to stretch your budget even more. Right now it sounds like you are in an adjustment period. The goods news is that with creative solutions you CAN make it work. My mom and I lived homeless in her car for at least 7 years from when I was about 6 years old to when I was 13 years old and the electric skillet and sterno w/ portable stove that I outlined above were lifesavers for us in terms of still being able to cook our own healthy meals and not having to eat fast food everyday. |
Anonymous
| I think a crockpot is a great idea. You can do rice and beans in the crockpot... no need for a separate rice cooker. My kids love this recipe (I finish it off my mozzarella): http://www.thenakedkitchen.com/slow-cooker-lentils-and-rice/, also, see: http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/. I recently finished off a month with no cooktop (I did have a oven, though). We all survived, and I even had a week when my BIL/SIL and their 5 kids stayed with us (I fed 11 ppl 3 meals / day for 4 days). |
Anonymous
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Can you get an inexpensive rice cooker or slow cooker, as a PP suggested? Dried beans, brown rice, fresh or frozen greens, fresh or frozen corn, chopped tomatoes, avocado, cheese, Greek yogurt, hot sauce - an infinitely variable combination of good, whole foods. If you can't get the appliances you can buy frozen brown rice and canned beans, but they are much more expensive.
I also like chopped salads with chickpeas, nuts, and a variety of toppings. That's a no-cook option. |
Anonymous
09:42 again - No she doesn't NEED a crock pot. What she needs is a good toaster oven. For 2 people, its sufficient. To the OP - purchase the best toaster oven you can. I use it far more than our actual oven and you can basically cook anything in there. Read the reviews for them on amazon before purchasing no matter where you end up buying from because some models are prone to catching fire, smoking more and some will fit in more than others. |