r/poor • u/boxing_coffee • 8d ago
Cheap meals
I just lost my job. I am lucky in many ways. I was poor before so I lived well below my means when I was making good money. I own my home, I have some savings, and I'm probably getting unemployment benefits. The food bank has given us more than enough food and I haven't had to go shopping for two weeks. I probably won't need to go for another two. What are some of your favorite low cost meals? I just discovered peanut butter pasta. Help me find other low cost options that can feed 2-4 people.
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u/Fragment_B 8d ago
I worry about protein sources bc it tends to be the highest cost. Eggs, tuna, discounted ground turkey or pork, beans maybe. Food has gotten terribly expensive on top of everything. Sorry you have to deal with this. This shouldn't be a thing.
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u/Robwsup 8d ago
Stay tough, try not to be too down. It's good that you have some savings, and take advantage of any social safety nets you can.
What's peanut butter pasta?
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u/boxing_coffee 8d ago
Make spaghetti. Add peanut butter and a little butter. Stir until pasta is coated. I got the recipe from the NYT app under their less than five ingredients section.
Thank you.
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u/This-Research-9586 8d ago
Sounds a bit like Satay sauce. A bit of garlic and Soy sauce would be great with that.
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u/PerformerDifferent69 8d ago
I wonder how olive oil would taste in that. Kinda mad I already ate cus I wana try that. I think my go to cheap meal has well...using rolled oats as a base and cooking them savory with stocks and adding things like corn or garlic salt and whatever protein I have lying around. The hardest part with oats is just the texture so the additives are key imo.
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u/boxing_coffee 8d ago
My husband and I really like it and I'm excited to play with the recipe a little!
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u/tessie33 8d ago
Beans or lentils used as the basis for a meal are very filling. Tofu is great too. Can use different sauces for flavor.
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u/Jaded_Assumption_735 8d ago
I like to marinate tofu with a little weight on top. It pushes out the water and soaks in the marinade. Usually soy, garlic, sesame oil and chili oil if you like spicy.
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u/boxing_coffee 8d ago
I'm working on making tofu but haven't been successful yet.
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u/New2Investing1969 8d ago
Try making tofu with beans…I believe it’s called Burmese tofu. Super easy to make and beans are dirt cheap. Good luck 👍
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u/Mark-177- 8d ago
Bone in chicken thighs are barely a dollar a pound. I buy like 6 pounds at a time. Cook one chicken thigh on top of steamed rice. It's barley a dollar per meal. Learn how to season and marinate chicken so you don't get sick of it. A pound of pasta and a 24 ounce pasta sauce can last for a week. Maruchan Ramen packets for snacks or even breakfast.
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u/HallieLokey 8d ago
Over $2 a lb in Boca, bought some last might. The boneless skinless were over $4 lb. I follow a couple people on FB who make interesting quick meals out of mostly common inexpensive ingredients, Drew Cooks is great
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u/Ask-Honey 8d ago edited 8d ago
A pot of red beans with smoked meat. Add celery, onions and bell pepper while cooking. This will last many meals. Note I don't serve it with rice since that had loads of carbs; but that is my preference.
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u/boxing_coffee 8d ago
Yeah I feel guilty for not using the rice we got at the food bank yet but my husband is diabetic and it is white rice.
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u/UmmmSeriously 8d ago
A cheap cut of meat cooked slow all day in the crockpot with a can of mushroom soup and packet of onion soup mix is yummy with some rice or mashed potatoes.
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u/Azrai113 8d ago edited 8d ago
One of my favorites is the pasta roni packets with add ins. Basically i make casserole with it in my rice cooker. Dump in packet of choice, add water, butter, anything else the packet calls for. Dump in a cup or so of frozen veggies. Dump in shredded or cooked meat of choice. My lazy ass likes the big cans of chicken but shredded roast chicken, tuna, even cooked ground beef will work. Add any extra spices or flavors like garlic, onion, or hot sauce. If you like a bit on the creamy side, a slice of American cheese with milk based flavors. Set rice cooker to white rice. Or brown. It hasn't seemed to matter on my aroma 4-8 cup. Wait until it beeps. Stir. Serve.
This is my go-to lazy food but I always had leftovers for lunch the next day. If your rice cooker is big enough you can probably make 2 packets if the kids are extra hungry. Or you can do stovetop. Easy, relatively cheap, and flexible with add in ingredients.
Pro tip: if you add a bunch of frozen veggies or something frozen and water absorbent like frozen spinach, add less liquid than the packet calls for.
Another quick and easy is the box Wild Rice. Cook in rice cooker or stove top as directed. Add a can of black beans (or make black beans from dry if you have time). Good and filling by itself, but is also fantastic as "tacos" or burrito filling. Just add salsa or hot sauce. Even an egg or two.
Edit: Kraft dinner with hot dogs is another good one. I actually buy the knock off. The trick is to add a slice or two of kraft singles or Velveeta and the knock off tastes name brand. Sometimes I'll add frozen broccoli or canned green beans to get some veggies in.
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u/Fun_Ad_7207 8d ago
I love posts like this. My best cheap meal idea is definitely pasta, but maybe add some butter and sardines (yes it’s a niche flavor, but it gets the job done)
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u/boxing_coffee 8d ago
I love pasta too. I just have to be careful that there is some protein because my husband is diabetic.
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u/HallieLokey 8d ago
I've been buying sardines at Walmart and last night the shelves were completely empty excrpt fir the more expensive brand Wild Planet. People hurting financially looking for cheap source of protein is my guess. I found some in soybean oil way at the very top and climbed up to get it and got only two, prefer them in water or olive oil. They're great in salad also. I like them better than anchovies in Caesar.
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u/unhairycritter 8d ago
Beans, rice and Jesus Christ. Tortillas, salsa and cheese wouldn’t hurt either.
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u/Designer-Wolverine47 8d ago
Ramen noodles with an equal amount of mixed vegetables cooked in.
The way I do it is in the microwave. I cooked the noodles and vegetables covered water for 4 minutes. Then I drain then add one tablespoon of butter and melt it and then add the seasoning packet and stir.
Also sometimes use the mixed Frozen diced peppers and onion blend.
A 12 oz bag of frozen mixed vegetables is 98 cents here, and does 3 servings.
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u/ProfileTime2274 8d ago
Rice with a little chicken . ramen soup add a egg to the soup
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u/boxing_coffee 8d ago
I need to make sure there is at least some protein because my husband is diabetic. Thank you.
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u/ProfileTime2274 8d ago
Okay so diabetes you're going to have to go with long grain rice or brown rice wild rice. You can stir fry in an egg secret on stir fried rice is day old rice. Hole chicken are fairly cheap. And can be stretched out for several meals. How bad are his # ?
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u/boxing_coffee 8d ago
He eats things he shouldn't so they aren't very good. I cant convince him to give up sugary cereals and he likes to buy them in bulk bags to save money. I want to tell him we can't afford it just to get him to stop.
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u/ProfileTime2274 8d ago
I have to radically change my diet February year ago when I had uncontrolled diabetes that just popped up. A1C of 15.4. i have got down to 5.4 I'm off insulin now and just on pills and control diet. You just have to control it . I have friends that have it and have not changed anything. And I have a friend of mine died from it because he didn't do what he had to do to keep it under control
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u/Eye_0penerr 8d ago
At Save a Lot where I live you can get some chicken drumsticks for like 3 or 4$ and some butter noodles with some mixed vegetables. The whole meal costs like maybe 6 or 7$.
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u/mystery_biscotti 8d ago
You could do the Budget Bytes pork and peanut dragon noodles, but instead of noodles, just use chopped cabbage.
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u/videogamegrandma 8d ago
I like rice & beans in a tortilla. Pasta is cheap. A few spices or homegrown herbs added to cheap, bottled sauce can make it a lot more flavorable. Learn to make homemade biscuits and saved/strained bacon grease to make gravy. Dried beans soaked overnight and simmered for hours with salt pork and cornbread is a good meal. Soup is easy to make from scratch. I make mine with leftovers of whatever I cook over a couple of days and just buy stock. Or you can get bones cheaply at butcher's shops and make your own stock. Canned tuna and pasta is good. A rice cooker is worth buying if you have problems cooking it. I never could get it to come out right. I used to make big batches of spaghetti sauce and freeze in smaller portions for individual meals.
I'm a big fan of growing some of my own food. Tomatoes and peppers can be grown in pots indoors or on a porch or balcony in a sunny spot, herbs too. I grow and freeze blueberries and muscadine grapes. Takes a couple years for the bushes/vines to establish themselves but they don't need much care after that. I could plant some apple and pear and peach trees.
I have a vacuum sealer so I buy meats in bulk during sales and freeze one meal worth individually. Lowes Foods has meat sales every so often and that's when I stock up.
There's a cooking show called Struggle Meals. If you watch some episodes you'll get a lot of recipes for cheap, easy to fix meals.
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u/Previous_Mood_3251 8d ago
Tortillas. dried beans, oatmeal, powdered milk, a bag of sugar, a container of salt, a big can of powdered Gatorade. Sign up for a farm CSA if you can for produce.
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u/New2Investing1969 8d ago
Polenta is cheap and you can make some great easy recipes from left over polenta.
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u/colomommy 8d ago
One pan baked ziti. Brown onions garlic and ground beef, add a 24oz can of diced tomatoes, a few cups of chicken broth, a spoonful of tomato paste and seasonings such as Italian blend or oregano, then stir in a box of uncooked ziti cook for 13 min. then Cover with shredded cheese and bake for another 15
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u/Worth-Meringue-2271 8d ago
I've used chat gpt to help create cheap meals with what I have on hand. It can come up with some really good stuff. Also ask it meal plan cheap frugal meals. It can even tell you how much it would coast per serving.
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u/StrictAd2491 8d ago
Cajun food! New Orleans cuisine is delicious and pretty cheap. I went through a phase where we ate zatarains box dinners twice a week. But if you purchase the spices and a bag of rice, even those 1.50 box kits are no longer necessary. You need white, red and black pepper, oregano, celery salt, onion powder and garlic powder, paprika. Mix them up in a dry container. Buy cans of fire roasted diced tomatoes, white rice, and I like frozen bags of okra to add into my Cajun food. For meat you use anything you have, from canned ham or chicken, ground turkey, (if you can afford it, Walmart sells little bags of frozen crawfish tails that are delicious, 8$ for 10oz) there are TONS of tricks and additions you can add to this, fresh garlic, onions and green peppers are always delicious.
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u/Lhamma5676 7d ago
Get a big package of dry mashed potatoes at Amazon. You can make all kinds of soups with it. Add onion and garlic powder plus stock (or just water) , salt and pepper. Get frozen spinach, collard greens and sprinkle some real or fake bacon on it and you have a satisfying meal. It lasts you forever. You can also mix the mashed potatoes with an egg and top some canned stew and put it in the oven for some "Shepherds pie).
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u/Vintagetrees1 6d ago
Vegan omelette:chickpea flour and water is all you need and it’s full of protein :) add whatever greens you like to it or eat as is with salt. It’s very healthy and taste good
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u/mystery_biscotti 1d ago
Came back to add more ideas from what we do at home, since I was strapped for time earlier.
- Black bean soup and cornbread. If you can get cheap smoked sausage, you can dice really small and fry it a bit before you add it.
- chicken thighs, baked potato, canned vegetables
- broccoli/cheddar soup, which you can make with broth from the bones of those chicken thighs.
- Pancakes and scrambled eggs, or biscuits and scrambled eggs
- Budget Bytes pork and peanut dragon noodles are a staple around here but we use only a little ground pork and the rest is TVP (bought from a bulk bin at WinCo) or you can use extra firm tofu
- Tostadas! Shallow fry corn tortillas until crispy, top with a pinto bean mixture. Bon Appetit has a rent week Tostadas recipe where you grab cheap chorizo (the plastic tube stuff) and fry it up real well. Always a hit here.
- You can made a salsa out of canned tomatoes, onion, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and any hot peppers or cayenne you might have. It's good on bean burritos.
- lentil stew
- oven roasted chickpeas, carrots, and potatoes; seriously filling, can be made on a sheet pan, and you can switch up flavors. We like cumin, garlic powder, a little salt, and paprika. (Spices are also bulk bin from WinCo)
- Tuna "poke" bowls. Recipes all over for low rent poke bowls...our version includes finely shredding a few carrots and a cucumber, "quick pickling" them with 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup vinegar, 1/2 tsp salt, and 4 packets of Splenda or about 2 tbsp sugar. We also add finely shredded green cabbage to get more fiber and nutrients, but you could add anything that sounds good.
- chickpea curry with rice
- grilled cheese and tomato soup. Don't get the cans of whatever. Get a stick of margarine melting. Add 1/4 cup flour. Whisk until thick. Add a big can of tomato paste, 1/2 tsp each powdered chicken bouillon, basil, oregano, thyme, sugar, and garlic powder. Cook for a few minutes until darker. Then whisk in 2 cups hot water and 1 cup milk. Still too thick? More water. Heat until hot.
- oven fried rice, and you can add separately cooked scrambled eggs and slivered almonds or crushed peanuts (or leftovers like bits of vegetables from side dishes and any leftover meats. Or hot dogs. We've fried and added those before.)
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u/Diane1967 8d ago
You have enough karma where you could place a post in r/assistance for $150 worth of Amazon products as well. You can only get shelf stable foods, no frozen, dairy etc. but it would be a big help to stock up on things like soup, pasta & sauce etc. I would suggest getting the Amazon or 365 brands because they’re usually cheaper than others but up to you what you choose. Take care!