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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP

It's much cheaper to cook from scratch but it takes meal planning. As you cook more, you naturally have things on hand (i.e. breadcrumbs, spices, flour, etc) so it really doesn't factor into the price of every meal.

For example when I make mac and cheese I use colby jack or cheddar jack. Mix with milk and flour to make a roux, add spices, pour over pasta, top with breadcrumbs and bake. It's pretty cheap to make and provides dinner and lunch. Not made with expensive cheeses but we'll live.

Meat's expensive, so I stock up and freeze when it's on sale. Rice and produce is pretty inexpensive. Beans are a cheap protein and delicious in soups and chilies.

Produce really isn't super expensive, Whole Foods is but Trader Joes and Wegmans is much less. I make a beef stew with 2 dollars worth of carrots and 18 cents worth of green beans, a dollar or two worth of celery, etc. Apples on sale aren't usually too terrible, bananas are 69 cents/pound, you can get a few onions for a few bucks, etc. Frozen veggies are cheap and will last a while because they don't go bad as fast as fresh veggies (and most are flash frozen so they still have their nutrients).

If bananas turn too brown, you can mash them and make a delicious banana bread.

You can cook a delicious meal for 15 dollars or less in most cases, many meals you can cook for 7 or 8 dollars. And often they will give you leftovers for another meal. That's much cheaper than eating out (will cost 30-50 for a family) or doing frozen meals (3-5 dollars per person with no leftovers). Plus homemade food is usually much for satisfying and healthier.

My mom was the epitome of cooking on a budget. We didn't have much money, but we always ate well. She used to cook for 5 and stretch a meal across several days. For example she'd make a chicken dinner for our dinner and my dad's lunch. Then she'd make another meal out of it by making another chicken meal (i.e. chicken salad). Then she'd boil the carcass of the chicken with veggies and spices to make a stock and make a chicken soup.

There are a lot of blogs and recipes out there for eating on a budget.[/quote]

I love this post - and I don't cook enough at my home. So thank you. My best friend is a multimillionaire and she cooks like your mom. I learned so much when I went to visit her for a week last summer. She never lets anything go to waste. 
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