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Crap. $83 till next Monday
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Anonymous
| I really blew it this pay period. I only have $83 and it needs to cover meals for 4 for the whole week. DH eats lunch at work. 1 child in preschool, one in grade school. I have basic staples at home but not much in the fridge or freezer. Give me ideas! |
Anonymous
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Go to a mercado - Latino grocery - and buy the following in bulk. More work cooking, yes, but cheaper!
1. If your family likes beans - dried beans, buy a bag, leave in the crockpot overnight to soak then crockpot all day with sauces/whatever you like on beans. 2. Rice. With beans. 3. Asian grocery stores for cheap, fresh veggies in bulk. 4. Wegmans for 50-cent packages of mac and cheese for the little ones. Mix in cut-up green beans for a complete meail if they'll eat them. Yes, preservative- and sodium-laden but on 83 bucks....? 5. Wegmans again - they've got hot dogs on sale right now, 1.50 for a package. Buns at 99 cents. That's one meal right there. |
Anonymous
| Not sure if your young ones will like this but... I just got 1+ pound of ground turkey for $3 at Giant. Brown that in a large saucepan, and then add (a) one box of small cooked pasta (eg, penne), (b) a package of frozen (thawed) corn, and (c) if you have it, 1 - 2 cans of mild salsa and mix it all together and cook until heated through. If no salsa, just use plain canned tomatoes (much cheaper) and add whatever spices you have for flavor. That should work for 2 meals. We usually chop up an onion/pepper and add that after the meat has browned (saute for another 5 minutes until soft), and we also add shredded cheese (chedder or mexican mix) at the end. We also usually only use half a box of pasta, but using more will stretch out the meal. |
Anonymous
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Tuna salad or mac and cheese all week for lunch (thermos). Or ramen noodles of course. Bananas and apples in bulk are cheap fruits.
Ditto the ethnic markets, even the latino section of chain grocery stores are much cheaper for certain staples. Target and Walmart grocery areas are cheap too. Have a breakfast night for dinner with pancakes/waffles/french toast/omelets, choose by whatever ingredients you already have on hand. Pick up meats on the day they expire at the grocery store for super-cheap. But the more meatless you can go, the cheaper the meal will be. Soup night. Mac and cheese night for everyone, plus some steamed broccoli. Spaghetti and sauce with no meat. Bagged frozen veggies can be very cheap in bulk. If it's corn or peas every night, so be it. You can do a casserole with the following: 1 can cream of "anything" soup 1 cup of chicken (leftovers from a roasted chicken are great. you can sub with cooked lentils for a protein, or leave it out) 1 cup of minute rice 1 bag of frozen veggie your choice a cup or two of shredded cheese bake at 350 for about 45 minutes. |
Anonymous
| And there's always the dreaded hamburger helper or tuna helper stuff. If you've got $83 for 3 meals a day for a family of 4, I'd definitely put health on the back burner for this week. If that $83 is for just dinners, you can do it both healthy and fun with a good bit of planning and shopping. |
Anonymous
| OK, so I'm glad I'm not the only one who blew through my budget this month...We're planning to do: breakfast for dinner, pancakes/waffles and scrambled eggs; black beans and rice, black bean (left over) quesedillas, tacos (we do this weekly and have all the stuff already prepared and frozen), soup (choose your own can) and grilled cheese. I'll add fresh fruit and frozen veggies. |
Anonymous
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OP here -- Great ideas everyone! Thanks, and keep them coming! I mostly need lunch/ dinner inspriation.
I do have breakfast cereals and pancake/waffle stuff here, also eggs. I do need bread and more milk. I'll cut the kids back on the milk though for the rest of the week -- that's expensive. Milk for breakfast and dinner otherwise water. Snacks -- I have apples, oranges, and popcorn, also a big chunk of cheddar cheese. I have stuff to bake whole wheat bread which my kids like as a snack. Have carrot sticks. Lunch -- mac and cheese is a great idea; also my kids eat tuna fish which I have. Dinner: I have stuff like rica, noodles, a big bag of potatoes, canned tomatoes, onions, celery.. Pancakes for dinner is great. Spaghetti is cheap of course. I like the ground turkey suggestions and casserole ideas. I think I can at least get to THursday with all of those. |
Anonymous
| Potato, onion and egg = tortillia espanola |
Anonymous
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Have you done a "clean out the pantry" day yet? I would find all the non-perishables you have in the house and try to find something to do with those.
This week: no dessert, just starch, protein, and fruits/veggies. The most expensive items tend to be the proteins and fruits/veggies. I would buy cheap proteins: beans, eggs. Fruits and veggies: whatever's on sale. Bananas tend to be cheap and filling. Pasta, rice, and bread are all inexpensive. A stick of butter will go a long way to making things taste good. You don't need to cut down on milk, just buy cheap store-brand milk by the gallon. Instant coffee, instead of freshly ground. |
Anonymous
| Also, frozen veggies tend to be cheaper, and are as nutrient-rich as fresh. |
Anonymous
In many cases, more nutrient-rich because they are flash-frozen within hours of being picked instead of transported and on shelves for weeks losing their nutritional value! |
Anonymous
| At Wegmans you can get a pack of boneless skinless chicken breasts in their large family pack for $1.99/lb. It is a great deal and you could (easily) make the chicken stretch for 3 or more meals. The pack typically costs about $12. |
Anonymous
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Juts got back from the store. I got several packs of meat on sale -- some pot roast, chicken legs, and ground turkey, for under $10 total. I bought about 8 pounds of fruits and vegetables that were $1.99/lb or less -- cost about $16. Bananas, kale, red peppers on sale, green beans, and sweet potatoes. I got some frozen veggies and 2 frozen pie crusts plus some tortillas and pita bread; another $10.
Mon: Pot Roast, mashed potatoes, kale with walnuts Tues: egg noddles and canned chicken casserole; frozen peas Wed: chick pea marinated salad with pita bread, chunks of cheese, olives and vegetables i have on hand; cuke/yogurt dip. Thurs: ground turkey and bean tacos with choopped lettuce, onions Friday: spinache quiche Saturday: grilled chicken legs with sweet potato fries Sunday: not sure yet! |
Anonymous
Is this you OP? Regardless of who it is, awesome buys! That's a lot of food for under $40. |
Anonymous
| Yes -- it was me, the OP. I didn't buy all that stuff -- I do have a lot of items in the pantry (like a bag of walnuts, egg noodles, spices, baking stuff.) Just nothing that says "meal" all by itself -- and few veggies/meats/cheeses. People's ideas though got me thinking, and then finding three meat packs on sale -- smaller sizes, too, not the big family packs that ARE a great deal but I usually throw out half of the food after a few months in the freezer -- helped me too. On problem is one child is kind of vegetarian and won't eat chicken legs. But he will eat tuna so that will do for him. |