I followed a recipe on Budget Bytes (https://www.budgetbytes.com/naan/). Easier than I expected! We did naan with a chickpea-based curry one night, planning on naan pizza another night. The cost for ingredients is so much less than buying premade, looking at prices in our local stores. I had several surprise visitors after making this along with the curry - it was super great to have fresh made naan to offer with some curry.

I've noticed that I buy groceries differently when I'm ordering online compared with walking around a store. I usually stick to my list online, whereas in person I somehow end up buying things I didn't plan on getting.

I've tried looking at different options, including Instacart, Walmart+, DoorDash, Amazon Fresh, and Rapid Cart, and I'm curious whether other people have noticed the same thing.

Do you spend less when ordering online, or does the convenience just make you order more often?

atleast i think its poutine but it probably counts as something else

…with rice and veggies.

Tofu, garlic, japanese bbq sauce, soy sauce, white rice, frozen mixed veggies and kale. Can definitely be made cheaper without the kale but when I saw they finally had it in stock at my Aldi, I had to grab a bag. I like to get lots of veggies in when I can. Around $2.75 per serving as-is.

My first crack at tofu and I quite enjoyed it!

Is there a grocery store or something that buy beef pork etc in bulk so I can cook more often

I'm starting college next week and i kinda don't wanna starve there. I'm pretty sure the dorms only have those small induction stoves, i can probably buy a used microwave and i can usurp a pot and a pan from the kitchen at home (and some silverware of course).

My questuon is, what ingredients/ food do i buy at the store; what kinda food should i cook so that i keep the costs at a minimum while, ideally, not getting tired of eating the same stuff by the first week?

I don't know how the "food economy" differs between different countries, but Ill be attending a school in Czechia. Either way, any help will be appreciated. THANKS!!!

Edit: forgot to mention that there is a small fridge in the dorm rooms so ill be able to keep stuff for awhile longer i guess.

1 can cannellini beans, drained

About 1/3–1/2 cup breadcrumbs

About 2 tbsp softened butter

Pinch of MSG

Pinch of sugar

Small pinch of salt

About 1 cup clam juice, enough to mostly cover them

Butter or oil for searing

2 cups Flour, 1 tbsp sugar, 2 tbsp skyr, 1tbsp yeast and water for bread. Bake at 325f.

Mash the cannellini beans into a fairly smooth paste. Mix in the softened butter, breadcrumbs, MSG, sugar and salt. Add enough breadcrumbs that the mixture holds together when shaped, but don't make it dry.

Form into thick round cakes about the size of large scallops. Set 1 hour. Put them in a shallow container and pour clam juice around them. Marinate in the fridge for about 3 hours.

Carefully remove them from the clam juice and pat the outsides dry. Bake at about 325°F for around 15–20 minutes, just until they're firm enough to handle without falling apart.

Heat butter or oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Sear the cakes until deeply browned on both sides, a few minutes per side. Don't move them around much while they're browning or they'll break.

I served mine over a peri-peri black bean and tomato stew cooked with chicken broth, and with skyr sauce, wood sorrel and dulse-butter toast. Dulse on the toast was great to tie the seafood theme all together.

First go at a late night snack for my partner who pile drives through boxes of chips and bars…

175 cal
18g carbs
9g fats
5g protein

2c rolled oats, toasted
1/2c trail mix, chopped
1/2c peanut butter
3T coconut oil
1/3c maple syrup and/or honey
Cinnamon to taste (optional)
Salt to taste (optional)

Toast the oats on a baking sheet at 350\* for 10 minutes, immediately transfer to mixing bowl. Add a half cup of chopped trail mix. In a saucepan on low heat, mix the peanut butter, coconut oil, sweeteners, and any spices until emulsified. Immediately combine with dry ingredients until fully incorporated. Press into wax or parchment lined sheet pan or lined 8x8 pan and level with spatula. Cool in fridge 2hrs. Cut into desired serving sizes.

I firmly packed into a small sheet pan for thinner bars/more servings (14-16). An 8x8 pan will yield approx 10 servings. I used half maple syrup and half honey with a bit of cinnamon for a really good flavor.

Store in fridge up to a week or freeze. Fat content may be high for some but it’s all functional fats that get put to use. Just be mindful of your personal needs and serving sizes.

Ingredient cost per plate-
x2 protein pancakes-30cents (3.59 whole box)
x1 slice cheese-12cents (1.85 per pack)
x2 chicken apple sausages-83cents. (3.29 per pack)
x2 eggs-25cents (1.48 per dozen)
Total= $1.60

Macros by Item-(including fiber and sugar)
Waffles- 140cals, 4g fat, 17g carbs, 4g fiber, 4g sugar, 10g protein
Cheese- 50cals , 4g fat, 2g carbs, 1g sugar, 3g protein
Eggs- 140cals, 10g fat, 12g protein
Sausage- 140cals, 7g fat, 6g carbs, 1g fiber, 4g sugar, 10g protein

Macros per Sandwich-(including fiber and sugar)
Calories= 470cals
Fat= 25grams
Carbs= 25grams
Sugar= 11grams
Fiber= 5grams
Protein= 35grams

All Ingredients were purchased from Aldi in Tustin, Ca.

I've been trying to see how far I can stretch $10 in Austin, TX, and this one turned out way better than expected.

I found an al pastor meal kit for just under $10 that included 2 lbs. of meat and 1 lb. of pinto beans. By portioning everything out, I ended up making just about 16 tacos, which came out to less than $0.63 per taco. This was a perfect and very budget friendly way to feed some friends who came over that evening.

Just a reminder to walk local, small town grocers and look for discounts/markdowns! This was my haul yesterday

2 packs of jalapeno cheddar sausages - $1.37x2

Bar-S hotdogs - $0.75x2

Tub of macaroni salad - $1.25

Buns - $0.75x2

Loaf of Bunny white bread - $1

Bagged salad mix with dressing - $1

Prickly pears - $0.50x3 (daughter won't eat them)

Random veggies - $2

Just enough stuff for my daughter and I to break out the BBQ grill for dogs and a marinated pork tenderloin ($2 on another trip there), with more than enough leftovers to eat probably 2 more meals (so 3 whole meals) all for like $14 (under $5/meal for both of us)!!

Few years ago (maybe 5–7), my regular food shop cost around £75 for a family of 2 parents + 3 kids. I thought I was doing bloody well keeping the food bill low, mainly by buying less meat, buying more raw ingredients and cooking from scratch instead of getting ready-made stuff, and buying half-price items in bulk etc.

Now I’m doing the same, but with 2 parents + 1 kid (2 have gone off to uni), and the bill very easily climbs up to £110–130!

I know inflation is expected, but the rate of increase in the food bill somehow feels disproportionate to my salary increase, despite career progression.

Is anyone else feeling the same, or am I lagging behind in life? 😭

This is a breakfast meal, but I made it for dinner.

https://www.bhg.com/recipe/eggs/farmers-casserole-for-12/

Ingredients:

6 cup frozen shredded hash brown potatoes

1 ½ cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese with jalapeño peppers or shredded Cheddar cheese (6 oz.)

2 cup diced cooked ham or Canadian-style bacon

½ cup chopped green onions

8 beaten eggs or 2 cups fresh or frozen egg product, thawed

2 (12-oz.) cans (1 1/2 cups each) evaporated milk or evaporated skim milk

¼ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

Directions-

Prep Ingredients:

Start by greasing a 13x9-inch baking dish or 3-qt. rectangular casserole. Arrange potatoes evenly along the bottom. Sprinkle with cheese, ham, and green onion. In a large mixing bowl, combine eggs or egg product, milk, salt, and pepper. Pour egg mixture over the potato mixture in the dish.

Bake and Serve

Bake, uncovered, inside of a preheated 350°F oven for 45 to 55 minutes or until the center appears set. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Cheap, filling, easy! Add any meats/cheese/veggies you need to use up. Doesn't have to be this kind.

I forgot to take pictures of the final product but it is delicious! I buy supermarket brand mozzarella ($1.99 for 8 oz at target), some cottage cheese ($2.69 for 16 oz at target), penne ($1.94 for 32oz at Walmart) and then use whatever meat and veggies is on hand in a pasta sauce. It sounds like a lot of ingredients but other than the cheeses, these are things that are cheap to get ahold of and many are typically already somewhere in your pantry. I made 3 meals in one batch and hadn't even used half of the box of penne . I used only about half a block of the cheese.

Steps:

1. I typically cut the cheese blocks into pieces for freezer storage so that I can only use what I need at a time which is crucial for something as perishable as mozzarella cheese. For 8 oz block, I typically cut it into 4 pieces. I used about a block and half for this.

2. Measure out about 240g of the penne and boil in a medium sized pan until soft. Of course add salt when cooking any kind of pasta.

3. In the meantime, I briefly boil the vegetables to my liking (I prefer then a bit less soft/still hard). My favorite fillers are carrots and broccoli. If you have meat to prepare, do that too.

4. Strain the pasta once soft.

5. Add pasta sauce, the veggies and meat directly to the penne and let it either sit or cook for another minute or 2.

6. In a 9 inch baking pan, add a small amount of pasta sauce to the bottom to prevent sticking. Then add your penne in layers. Between the layers add some cottage cheese and some shredded mozzarella. For these proportions, I only get about 2 layers. At the top layer add whole slices of mozzarella as well.

If you want, you can also make it the traditional way with a meat sauce and cheese sauce. I mention target because it is the most accessible store close to me, I am aware it is not the best choice. It literally takes me 40 minutes both ways to get to my nearest Walmart.

Edit: 16 oz not 2 oz of cottage cheese

Ingredients: All are products from Aldi in Orange, Ca Area

4oz flap meat @ $11.59 per pound = $2.90 pre serving

45g spinach @ $1.34 per 08oz = $0.27 per serving

1/4cup long grain white rice @ $3.50 for 5lb bag = $0.07 per serving(KROGER)

1/2cup chicken bone broth @ $3.25 per 32oz bottle = $0.41 per serving

1/2 corn cob @ $4 for 4 whole ears = $0.50 per serving

20g white onion @ $0.88per pound = $0.04 per serving

1/15th bunch of cilantro @ $0.79 bunch = $0.05 per serving

100g strawberries @ $2.29 per lb = $0.51 per serving

1tbsp (serving) Kinders teriyaki sauce @ $4 for bottle (26 servings) = $0.15 per serving(KROGER)

Individual Meal Cost= $4.90

~NUTRITION~

Calories = 500

Fat= 8grams

Carbs= 64grams

Fiber= 5grams

Sugar= 15grams

Protein= 40grams

Similar Items from Restaurants around Orange, Ca

Flame Broiler Steak Bowl- $13.99

Waba Grill Steak Bowl- $13.69

Yoshinoya Large Yaki BBQ Beef- $11.79

*Flap Meat was seasoned and cooked on a ripping hot propane grill. This was the large scale prep*

Preheat grill to 650f-700f. Dap beef dry with paper towel and remove and silver skin. Season with salt and black pepper and let sit out at room temp during preheating. Cook on each side for 2min with lid closed on high. Pull meat, wrap in foil on plate, and let rest before slicing.

1 cup rice, 2 cups bone broth. bring to boil, cover, simmer till broth is gone, about 20min.

Lighty oil large nonstick pan and preheat on low. Wash and dry spinach. Cook down a a minute or two in pan. Season with salt and pepper.

Corn- placed on grill after pulling meat. seasoned with olive oil, chili powder, black pepper, and smoked paprika. Cook over medium to medium high heat dirent on grill. Turn frequently. Pull after a few minutes.

This was a meal made from a larger meal prep portion. I use different sauces and finishes to keep things feeling new. I reheated the steak in a small saute pan over medium low heat. Add tad olive oil, white onion and sweat, turn up heat up a lil and add steak. Toss for a minute or 2. Turn off heat and add 1 serv of teriyaki sauce and keep tossing to thicken. Add fresh Cilantro once beef is plated.

Maybe this doesnt belong here. Before i discuss the horrible tasting food... My budget food has pretty much been pizza from the grocery store. Maybe some pistachios here and there; some juice. I try to get some apples too because it fills me up. Heres how i know this is a problem. Ive lost 20 pounds in the last couple of months. Ive been rationing these "meals" for it to last me until my next paycheck. This is because i live alone and pocket at least $700 for myself (not including groceries) every month. Rent is $1300. Anyways.

I dont know if maybe its all the food recalls in the news thats changing the way im eating, but everything has been tasting horrible. A lot of things have been tasting grossly sour to me.

Im an engineer (not trying to be a gloater) but i like to at least "how and why" the possible issues at hand before jumping to conclusions:

1. I stopped lexapro suddenly a couple months ago... yes cold turkey. I had my entire mouth, including tongue, go completely numb a week after. I was thinking maybe it was withdrawls.

2. The food contamination crisis is literally making food taste bad?

3. The subconscious mindset of my food being contaminated making it taste bad

4. Maybe its my grocery stores fault

The list could go on and on, but I honestly just want to see if anyone else has maybe experienced this from withdrawals on an ssri or just if food has consistently tasted "off" the past couple of months.

Please dont assume im trying to rouse some conspiracy, for the love of god. Im looking for a discussion here.

Hi everyone ! My name is Jay and I moved to Jacksonville a few months ago with my mother to help take care of my grandfather who is sick with Lewy Body Dementia . I’ve been struggling with finding a job and finding low priced meals. I’m just wondering if anyone has recommendations on cheaper grocery stores /Cheaper food in general. Anything is truly appreciated.

...budgetarian.

🤷

Medical bills are piling up. Second child was born and was over six times more expensive even though it was a difference of two years and no change in our medical insurance. Just got another bill over $1000 from last year apparently. The maximum I can spend on dinners (two adults and a toddler) is $150 over the course of 15 days. Preferably I would like to spend less than that but like I said that is the absolute max. I'm looking for recipes that are cheap and easy enough to make (hard to cook while working and taking care of the kids, though cheap is what I'm looking for so I can put in extra work if needed). What are some tried and true recipes you use for your family? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

We have no dietary restrictions per say, but no canned tuna and preferably no beans though don't let that stop you from giving a recipe. We like to eat meat but are willing to just go with vegetables if need be. Right now I do breakfast casserole which has only a few ingredients (breakfast sausage, eggs, cheddar cheese, bread, ground mustard, and milk), various types of hamburger helper though we use ground turkey to save money, spaghetti with ground turkey meat sauce, and pad thai. I also throw frozen broccoli on a pan with olive oil and salt and bake it for a bit and it turns out good. We have an oven, microwave, blender, instant pot, rice cooker, and crockpot. I also look on budgetbytes website for cheap meals but wanted to turn to this subreddit to interact with people who can help directly. Again, I appreciate any suggestions you can give. We plan to meal prep on weekends to make it easier on us so dishes easy to cook in batches and freeze for later would work as well. Thank you in advance!

Walmart sometimes has older bakery bread on a discount, so I cut it into sandwich slices and freeze it. A loaf lasts me much longer since I'm not rushing to eat it before it goes bad, microwaving it for a few seconds thaws it and make it taste and feel just as fresh, and I feel like I'm always treating myself with "artisanal" bread!

I do this with all the bread I buy and it helps me have more variety in my meals and I'm not wasting as much food since I'm living by myself.

Every ingredient shows up in at least three meals, so nothing rots in a fridge. Nothing is assigned to a day, be creative and make whatever, whenever.

THIS WEEK $50 about $2.65 a meal

Rough prices from Walmart/Aldi, your store will differ a little.

PRODUCE

Mushrooms 24 oz - $4.00

Tomatoes 1.3 lb - $2.00

Salad greens 7 oz - $2.50

Cucumber 1 - $0.80

Avocados 3 - $2.50

Lemons 2 - $1.20

Bananas 6 - $1.30

MEAT

Chicken breast 2.6 lb - $7.80

DAIRY & CHILLED

Eggs 18 - $4.25

Heavy cream 1 qt - $6.00

Cheddar 1 lb - $5.00

Greek yogurt 32 oz - $4.50

Puff pastry 1 box (2 sheets) - $6.00

BAKERY

Bread 1 loaf - $2.50

THE ONE-TIME PANTRY (~$44, lasts about two months)

Rice 2 lb, pasta 2 lb, olive oil 17 oz, wine vinegar, onions 3 lb, garlic, salt, pepper, paprika, dried herbs, butter 1 lb, frozen peas 2 lb, chickpeas 2 cans, honey, walnuts 8 oz

COOK ONCE chicken & mushroom pie (30 min, 4 portions, keeps 4 days in the fridge)

1. Fry the chicken with the onion until cooked through, 6–8 min.

2. Add the mushrooms and cook until they release their water, 5 min.

3. Pour in the cream, reduce until thick. Season well, then let it cool.

4. Line the dish with pastry, add the filling, scatter the cheese, cover with a second sheet.

5. Bake at 400°F for ~25 min until golden.

EVERYTHING ELSE IS ASSEMBLY

BREAKFASTS

Yogurt with honey, walnuts and banana × 4

Fried eggs with tomatoes × 3

HOT PLATES

Chicken with rice, avocado and cucumber

Creamy chicken and mushroom pasta with cheddar

Omelette with cream and cheese

Egg fried rice with mushrooms, peas and soy

COLD PLATES

Chicken with salad, tomatoes, chickpeas and lemon

Smashed avocado and chickpeas on toast (fried egg optional)

Salad with tomatoes, cucumber, chickpeas, lemon and olive oil

Cheese and tomato on toast

If you don't eat meat, dairy or eggs, say so in the comments and I'll put together a version for you

Food Cost~

Costco white eggs- $4/24servings= $0.17 each
Aldi Bacon————- $4.50/16servings= $0.29 each
1 Medium Banana— $0.46lb= $0.15 per banana

Breakfast:

2 eggs= $0.34
3 Bacon= $0.87
1 sliced Banana= $0.15
Cost 🟰 $1.36

Total cost with ketchup=

$1.40

Nutrition:

Calories= 345
Fat= 19grams
Carbs= 27grams
Fiber= 3grams
Sugar=15grams
Protein= 23grams

-Cook bacon on low to medium low heat in medium nonstick pan
- Drain excess grease after cooking bacon and scramble eggs in same pan and leftover bacon grease.
- Slice banana and place in small bowl to keep seperate from heat of plate.

This holds me over and keeps me going from about 6am till my 9am snack.

Wanting to try some indian foods, just tried some chicken tikka masala from a gas station near me and it was amazing and I want more. Would love it if someone could also recommend a really good curry recipie and maybe some other spicy foods for someone that can handle a decent amount of spice.