If your grocery budget is very small... - Page 2

2sunshines · 06-09-2016, 03:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by light of mine

MOS (and everybody really) Just wondering what everyone makes for lunches and breakfast. I have lot of cheap dinner ideas and meals, but needing to make something fast/easy while trying to get school and housekeeping in is harder for me.

Oatmeal is pretty inexpensive. I love crock pot oatmeal. Super easy and all the prep work (which is minimal) is done the night before. Just wake up to a delicious cooked pot of breakfast.

Mother of Sons · 06-09-2016, 04:00 PM

We do a lot of eggs, muffins, pancakes etc. sometimes cinnamon rolls if I have the energy. We make thes flat eggs that function as "wraps" for leftovers too.

WaitPatientlyOnTheLord · 06-09-2016, 06:48 PM

Yeah, I don't think I could do what you're doing on your budget. I'm really impressed.

We do lots of Mexican and Indian. I've found most Indian (vegetarian) dishes are made very easily with frozen veggies instead of fresh, so it's cheaper that way. Then it's served with rice, which is cheap. I buy the sprices dry from an Asian grocer in a town we sometimes go to (instead of buying the pastes or sauces.) Vegetarian Indian dishes are just super cheap.

Mexican dishes seem to do better with a bit more fresh produce than frozen, but sometimes, like for sauteed peppers and onion subbing frozen isn't terrible. Anyways, lots of variations on rice and beans so it doesn't get old.

Breakfast we do toast from homemade bread (with peanut butter) oatmeal, pancakes (with home tapped maple syrup!) and homemade Indian idlis with sambar curry made from powderd mix.

Lunch is usually left overs from the night before.

sweetpeas · 06-10-2016, 04:19 AM

We're vegetarian (except dh), family of 5. I THINK we spend around $500/mo on food, but I don't keep track specifically.

Each week I make a big crockpot of (2lb dry) beans (get them Aldi) I rotate through black beans, pinto beans, and garbanzos (those aren't at Aldi). We get 2-3 meals out of those. Usually the night I cook them we have beans and rice. Then use the leftovers for various other things over the next few days. Usually we have pasta at least once a week for supper. The easiest/cheapest sauce is diced tomatoes with cream cheese stirred into it (get both those at Aldi too).

I also try to make sure at least one dinner per week is potato-based. Baked potatoes (topped with your choice of steamed broccoli, shredded cheese, butter, sour cream, salsa . . . ), a favorite is cream cheese mashed potatoes (make mashed potatoes and stir butter, cream cheese, I think a little sour cream (confession, Lexie's my supper cook, my mom taught her to make this, and I've never actually made it LOL). Mom puts it in a casserole dish & bakes it to get it nice & crusty on top, but when we make it we usually don't bother). Serve w/ peas, and most, if not all, of us stir the peas into the potatoes, YUM! Sometimes roasted potatoes (with other roasted veggies).

Breakfasts. Honestly, the big girls & I aren't big breakfast eaters, so I've gotten lazy about breakfast. . . we do a lot of oatmeal. I let Lina stir a few chocolate chips into a bowl of oatmeal (made in the microwave so she can do it herself) and she's happy as a clam. Sometimes smoothies. I used to make cornmeal mush regularly, till the big girls stopped eating it. Lina asked for it recently, so I need to make it for her. Eggs are a cheap, easy, protein-y breakfast I should do more often. Baked oatmeal and muffins are other breakfast options.

Lunches. Winters I do lots of soups/stews. Summers I tend to do various salads (pasta salad, black bean salsa/salad, etc). And leftovers.

I've always had really good luck with produce from Aldi. I do look at it closely before I buy it, but I do that anywhere, and love Aldi prices. I get frozen veggies for cooked vegetables (broccoli, peas, etc) unless for some reason fresh is cheaper. The only canned vegetables I get are diced tomatoes and corn (dh doesn't like corn, so it's never a "side vegetable" by itself (except corn on the cob in the summer), so we use it in pasta salads and such, I find canned works just as well as frozen for that, and it's usually cheaper, and doesn't take up room in my freezer. When peppers are cheap in the summer I stock up and chop them up for using in recipes, and for fajitas and such, the rest of the year. Same with fruit, if I can get a good price, I freeze it to use in smoothies later.

Aldi is usually good for canned goods and dry beans & lentils, frozen veggies, cream cheese, shredded cheese (their shredded cheese is cheaper than their chunk cheese, if I'm getting cheese other places, I usually get chunk and shred it myself).

Costco is about 40 min away. So I try to stock up once a month or so (and/or go when I'm in that town for other things). I get toilet paper, basmati rice, peanut butter, coffee, butter, coconut oil, avocado oil (not cheap, but a healthy, tasteless oil).

We get raw milk ($3/gallon) and free range eggs ($2/dozen) from a local farm.

There are a couple "overstock" type grocery around here that I hit from time to time and get whatever is a good deal (cheese, one of them regularly has cases (12 ct) of yogurt that are near/past date for $3-5. When I can get the "healthier" brands (Chiobani, Fage, etc) in flavors the kids like, less than a month past date (yogurt is good at LONG time past the sell-by date). I get those for snacks for Lina.

I make milk kefir and stir juice concentrate into it and freeze it into popsicles. Lina LOVES them, the big girls aren't fans of anything yogurt-ish. They're also a cheap, healthy, option to offer her friends when they come over.

And kombucha. . . all the kids like it, and it's super healthy, so I have 2 continuous brew containers of it going. It's also a great way to use up any fresh fruit that is getting squishier than my kids like it . . . and I can also chop that fruit up and freeze it to add to the kombucha later.

JoannaV · 06-10-2016, 12:12 PM

I was just recently thinking that fresh veggies are cheaper than frozen. Maybe it depends what you buy and where you live? We eat a lot of kale and cabbage...

sweetpeas · 06-10-2016, 12:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoannaV

I was just recently thinking that fresh veggies are cheaper than frozen. Maybe it depends what you buy and where you live? We eat a lot of kale and cabbage...

In season, I can usually find fresh cheaper, otherwise, frozen seems to be cheaper. The main things I buy frozen are broccoli, spinach, lima beans, green beans, and peas. . . we only eat raw carrots, so buy them fresh. I've never seen frozen cabbage, we buy it fresh. Peppers, I buy fresh, and freeze if we don't use them in time. Same with onions. . . .

Reva · 06-10-2016, 03:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quiteria

I love Aldi's for pantry items...flour, sugar, cocoa powder, oil, etc.....milk, eggs, yogurt....snacky things if I'm buying them special to pack lunches to go somewhere....cereal if we're buying cereal...bread, bagels, etc. But we have never had luck there with produce.

Same here!

Breakfast for supper is pretty cheap (eggs, pancakes, etc). I also love making large amounts and getting multiple meals out of it-big pot of pasta, chicken and rice, homemade soups, etc.

2sunshines · 06-10-2016, 03:43 PM

We do a lot of fresh veggies from managers markdown. Not pre plaining meals but preparing meals based on these sales saves us a lot of $$$.

SalH · 06-10-2016, 04:17 PM

I'm thinking of going over to planning my meals after shopping so I can buy reduced / special offer food and spend less.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

graciousmomma · 06-10-2016, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SalH

I'm thinking of going over to planning my meals after shopping so I can buy reduced / special offer food and spend less.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

When I am actually organized, this is what I do

I read the weekly ads, buy/stock up on what is on sale, and then plan meals around what I bought.

SalH · 06-10-2016, 04:52 PM

I've been used to meal planning and shopping to a v tight list. I use a calculator as I go around the shop. I think I may devise a system of choices for myself so that I can do this but not buy too much, ie only the right number of meals.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

2sunshines · 06-10-2016, 05:06 PM

My meals are entirely planed by sales.

I am a fan of in season veggies.

ViolaMum · 06-10-2016, 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SalH

I've been used to meal planning and shopping to a v tight list. I use a calculator as I go around the shop. I think I may devise a system of choices for myself so that I can do this but not buy too much, ie only the right number of meals.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I shop like this, too. I use this printable to plan my trip. I fill in possibilities for meals, noting things I need to use up at home and any special events, then write my list. I adjust as I go if I haven't had a chance to check flyers. (These days, that is most of the time.)

Having a well-stocked pantry is key to being able to make meal adjustments on the fly. I try to save a little room in my budget to buy stock-ups that I won't necessarily use that week in order to maintain some flexibility.

SalH · 06-10-2016, 08:27 PM

Thank you! My budget has been very low for some time now and the pantry is running low. I'm inventing new meals ...

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

---------- Post added at 12:55 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:54 PM ----------

Just looked at your printable. I scribble mine in a similar format. I like yours more!

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

---------- Post added at 12:57 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:55 PM ----------

Also: I've just started a price book. And from this month I am are tying s bulk purchase budget. I will only be able to buy up in bulk if that fund has money in it. I know a number of the regular prices but certain things like dishwasher tablets etc and oats are tricky to remember.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Mother of Sons · 06-10-2016, 08:30 PM

I don't plan my meals around sales but I shop by sales. I try to stay stocked up so I shop from my own freezer. Cooking mainly Chinese is saving so much money! I buy whatever meat is marked down and then prep it for the freezer. That way I can just open it and throw it in the wok. I buy whatever veggies I need to go in the wok and that generally stays the same week to week. Then whatever fruit I can get to pad things.

06-09-2016, 04:00 PM	#17
Mother of Sons Rose Garden My kid shoots laser beams from his hands Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 21,900	Re: If your grocery budget is very small... We do a lot of eggs, muffins, pancakes etc. sometimes cinnamon rolls if I have the energy. We make thes flat eggs that function as "wraps" for leftovers too.

06-09-2016, 06:48 PM	#18
WaitPatientlyOnTheLord Rose Garden I'm most definitely an INFJ. ;-) Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: New England, USA Posts: 7,264	Re: If your grocery budget is very small... Yeah, I don't think I could do what you're doing on your budget. I'm really impressed. We do lots of Mexican and Indian. I've found most Indian (vegetarian) dishes are made very easily with frozen veggies instead of fresh, so it's cheaper that way. Then it's served with rice, which is cheap. I buy the sprices dry from an Asian grocer in a town we sometimes go to (instead of buying the pastes or sauces.) Vegetarian Indian dishes are just super cheap. Mexican dishes seem to do better with a bit more fresh produce than frozen, but sometimes, like for sauteed peppers and onion subbing frozen isn't terrible. Anyways, lots of variations on rice and beans so it doesn't get old. Breakfast we do toast from homemade bread (with peanut butter) oatmeal, pancakes (with home tapped maple syrup!) and homemade Indian idlis with sambar curry made from powderd mix. Lunch is usually left overs from the night before.

06-10-2016, 04:19 AM	#19
sweetpeas Rose Trellis Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 2,318	Re: If your grocery budget is very small... We're vegetarian (except dh), family of 5. I THINK we spend around $500/mo on food, but I don't keep track specifically. Each week I make a big crockpot of (2lb dry) beans (get them Aldi) I rotate through black beans, pinto beans, and garbanzos (those aren't at Aldi). We get 2-3 meals out of those. Usually the night I cook them we have beans and rice. Then use the leftovers for various other things over the next few days. Usually we have pasta at least once a week for supper. The easiest/cheapest sauce is diced tomatoes with cream cheese stirred into it (get both those at Aldi too). I also try to make sure at least one dinner per week is potato-based. Baked potatoes (topped with your choice of steamed broccoli, shredded cheese, butter, sour cream, salsa . . . ), a favorite is cream cheese mashed potatoes (make mashed potatoes and stir butter, cream cheese, I think a little sour cream (confession, Lexie's my supper cook, my mom taught her to make this, and I've never actually made it LOL). Mom puts it in a casserole dish & bakes it to get it nice & crusty on top, but when we make it we usually don't bother). Serve w/ peas, and most, if not all, of us stir the peas into the potatoes, YUM! Sometimes roasted potatoes (with other roasted veggies). Breakfasts. Honestly, the big girls & I aren't big breakfast eaters, so I've gotten lazy about breakfast. . . we do a lot of oatmeal. I let Lina stir a few chocolate chips into a bowl of oatmeal (made in the microwave so she can do it herself) and she's happy as a clam. Sometimes smoothies. I used to make cornmeal mush regularly, till the big girls stopped eating it. Lina asked for it recently, so I need to make it for her. Eggs are a cheap, easy, protein-y breakfast I should do more often. Baked oatmeal and muffins are other breakfast options. Lunches. Winters I do lots of soups/stews. Summers I tend to do various salads (pasta salad, black bean salsa/salad, etc). And leftovers. I've always had really good luck with produce from Aldi. I do look at it closely before I buy it, but I do that anywhere, and love Aldi prices. I get frozen veggies for cooked vegetables (broccoli, peas, etc) unless for some reason fresh is cheaper. The only canned vegetables I get are diced tomatoes and corn (dh doesn't like corn, so it's never a "side vegetable" by itself (except corn on the cob in the summer), so we use it in pasta salads and such, I find canned works just as well as frozen for that, and it's usually cheaper, and doesn't take up room in my freezer. When peppers are cheap in the summer I stock up and chop them up for using in recipes, and for fajitas and such, the rest of the year. Same with fruit, if I can get a good price, I freeze it to use in smoothies later. Aldi is usually good for canned goods and dry beans & lentils, frozen veggies, cream cheese, shredded cheese (their shredded cheese is cheaper than their chunk cheese, if I'm getting cheese other places, I usually get chunk and shred it myself). Costco is about 40 min away. So I try to stock up once a month or so (and/or go when I'm in that town for other things). I get toilet paper, basmati rice, peanut butter, coffee, butter, coconut oil, avocado oil (not cheap, but a healthy, tasteless oil). We get raw milk ($3/gallon) and free range eggs ($2/dozen) from a local farm. There are a couple "overstock" type grocery around here that I hit from time to time and get whatever is a good deal (cheese, one of them regularly has cases (12 ct) of yogurt that are near/past date for $3-5. When I can get the "healthier" brands (Chiobani, Fage, etc) in flavors the kids like, less than a month past date (yogurt is good at LONG time past the sell-by date). I get those for snacks for Lina. I make milk kefir and stir juice concentrate into it and freeze it into popsicles. Lina LOVES them, the big girls aren't fans of anything yogurt-ish. They're also a cheap, healthy, option to offer her friends when they come over. And kombucha. . . all the kids like it, and it's super healthy, so I have 2 continuous brew containers of it going. It's also a great way to use up any fresh fruit that is getting squishier than my kids like it . . . and I can also chop that fruit up and freeze it to add to the kombucha later. __________________ Busy Homeschooling Mom to 3 Sweetpeas: Lexie & Ashlyn 16 yr old twins and Lina, 9 Virtual Accountant and Bookkeeper in my "spare time"

06-10-2016, 12:12 PM	#20
JoannaV Rose Trellis Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: VA, USA Posts: 2,606	Re: If your grocery budget is very small... I was just recently thinking that fresh veggies are cheaper than frozen. Maybe it depends what you buy and where you live? We eat a lot of kale and cabbage... __________________ Joanna INTJ A Brit living in America DH (ISFP) 07/09 DS1 01/12 DS2 06/14 DD1 01/16

06-10-2016, 03:43 PM	#23
2sunshines Moderator in Celebrations, Cloth Diapering & EC, Empty Arms, Prayer & Praise, and Swap n' Shop Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 27,027	Re: If your grocery budget is very small... We do a lot of fresh veggies from managers markdown. Not pre plaining meals but preparing meals based on these sales saves us a lot of $$$. __________________ married 25 years mom to two young adults (23 and 20) and two teens (17 and 15)

06-10-2016, 04:17 PM	#24
SalH Rose Trellis Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Adelaide, South Australia Posts: 1,590	Re: If your grocery budget is very small... I'm thinking of going over to planning my meals after shopping so I can buy reduced / special offer food and spend less. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk __________________ Sal (41) wife to Matthew (41) Home educating mummy to: DS1 (13), DS2 (11) DS3 (9), DD1 (7), DD2 (5) and DD3 (3).

06-10-2016, 04:52 PM	#26
SalH Rose Trellis Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Adelaide, South Australia Posts: 1,590	Re: If your grocery budget is very small... I've been used to meal planning and shopping to a v tight list. I use a calculator as I go around the shop. I think I may devise a system of choices for myself so that I can do this but not buy too much, ie only the right number of meals. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk __________________ Sal (41) wife to Matthew (41) Home educating mummy to: DS1 (13), DS2 (11) DS3 (9), DD1 (7), DD2 (5) and DD3 (3).

06-10-2016, 05:06 PM	#27
2sunshines Moderator in Celebrations, Cloth Diapering & EC, Empty Arms, Prayer & Praise, and Swap n' Shop Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 27,027	Re: If your grocery budget is very small... My meals are entirely planed by sales. I am a fan of in season veggies. __________________ married 25 years mom to two young adults (23 and 20) and two teens (17 and 15)

06-10-2016, 08:27 PM	#29
SalH Rose Trellis Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Adelaide, South Australia Posts: 1,590	Re: If your grocery budget is very small... Thank you! My budget has been very low for some time now and the pantry is running low. I'm inventing new meals ... Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk ---------- Post added at 12:55 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:54 PM ---------- Just looked at your printable. I scribble mine in a similar format. I like yours more! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk ---------- Post added at 12:57 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:55 PM ---------- Also: I've just started a price book. And from this month I am are tying s bulk purchase budget. I will only be able to buy up in bulk if that fund has money in it. I know a number of the regular prices but certain things like dishwasher tablets etc and oats are tricky to remember. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk __________________ Sal (41) wife to Matthew (41) Home educating mummy to: DS1 (13), DS2 (11) DS3 (9), DD1 (7), DD2 (5) and DD3 (3).

06-10-2016, 08:30 PM	#30
Mother of Sons Rose Garden My kid shoots laser beams from his hands Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 21,900	Re: If your grocery budget is very small... I don't plan my meals around sales but I shop by sales. I try to stay stocked up so I shop from my own freezer. Cooking mainly Chinese is saving so much money! I buy whatever meat is marked down and then prep it for the freezer. That way I can just open it and throw it in the wok. I buy whatever veggies I need to go in the wok and that generally stays the same week to week. Then whatever fruit I can get to pad things.

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