I grew up on Hamburger Helper and Tuna Helper. 🤣 I actually tend to like the generic Great Value better (maybe it's just me, but I swear it has a cheesier flavor), and I like to swap out tuna for packaged salmon in Tuna Helper, plus add a few seasonings of my own. 😋 I do the same with Great Value three cheese shells boxed macaroni and cheese (again, for some reason I like their brand better than Kraft and find the flavor to be better). Not bad for a boxed dinner!
Otherwise, I usually like to buy pasta, rice, and soup mixes like Knorr and Bear Creek for something quick, easy, and cheap.
I also like to buy meat and produce and cook home cooked meals of various sorts. If you buy non-organic produce that isn't pre-chopped, it usually isn't very expensive to feed you for a week or more, IME.
I like to make Mississippi pot roast, which can last me several days, as well. Chuck roast, packet of ranch dressing mix, packet of au jus mix, 5-7 pepperoncini peppers, and half a stick of butter on low heat in the Crock Pot for 8 hours. 😋 If you want it to be extra filling, you can boil egg noodles in some beef broth and water, and serve it over the top. Perfect!
I've made the aforementioned roast with a pork roast as well, and it was also great!
I like to make salads and sandwiches during the week as well. The ingredients usually don't cost much and last awhile, and they're pretty healthy depending on the ingredients you use.
That food in that plate? I'd be hungry still and I'm skinny lol...
. we migjt have to cook to budget wisely, in most countries, .. save the mostby cooking at home... since I don't want to eat the same thing daily... well simply not buying ready made meals... we can buy multiple whole foods that last us a week or more for the price of a meal.. can also be healthier and still tasty.
A few ideas of Ingredients and cooking styles to alternate with.
Cheddar Cheese.
Carrot
Flour
Macaroni
Rice
Egg (can be used to create both dessert or appetizer)
Dry peas (chickpeas)
Milk.
Channa
Ginger
Sugar and Powder seasoning vs fresh (not sure which is the better quantity to price but most seasonings are cheap)... garlic... salt.. pepper... masala, curry powder
Meals
1) potatoe fritters (I hate boiled potatoes unless they're put in a casserole or something
2) mac and cheese
3) sandwich
3) curried potatoes and channa
4) Naan (seasoned tasty flat bread)
5) curried stuff goes well with rice
6) Pancakes
7) caseroles
Dessert
1) Carrot cake
2) Ginger cookies
3) brains starts to malfunction from thinking so much
HH= 99¢
Ground pork = $1.99/#
Salad = free from Food Pantry excess
Dressing = 1/16 of $1.00 = $0.0625
Milk for the HH= 1/8 of $1.17 = $0.14625
Garlic bread = Bread free from food pantry excess
Butter for bread= 1/32 of $1.99 = $0.0621875
Garlic powder = 1¢
Total for four servings of HH. = $3.251 + tax.
My target is usually $1.00 per serving for the main course, and 25¢ for each side, for everyday eating.
But, I would be more likely to make some pre-cooked, seasoned ground pork in some pasta, canned + scratch sauce, salad (no bread though, usually - there are other carbs I prefer or just omit that).
Or another is broccoli/cheese soup, ala Panera Bread. 1 T flour, 1 T butter, 3 c milk, 4 oz shredded cheese, broccoli minced, so this is under $1.00 serving for two.
I make my own pork "sausage" - ground pork, brown sugar, sage, Kosher salt, pepper, pinch of red pepper/shake of hot sauce, garlic powder, marjoram, paprika. Form into patties and cook, or drop in a big pan, keep sautéing and breaking up about 10 minutes until done. Layer on cookie try, let cool, put in freezer about 1/2 hour+, put bits in freezer bag = instant meat for meals. So, $1.99 + "walk through the pantry" = about $2.40 for 4, 3 ounce "after cooked" patties, or, about 60 cents each.
I don't have the calculations here but honestly depending on how much time you have to prepair your meals..
If you make more things from scratch like the bread for example and then choose less expensive meat (or some other type of protein /- B12). You could probably bump it down to under 10 maybe even below 5USD/meal.
Here's a good youtube series called "what you can cook for" by Pro Home Cooks:
https://youtube. com/playlist? list=PLt_lOWx8jR_OB8aEmBuonqc2Rx5aoYWFc
It usually land you at around 2$/meal.
Opinion
42Opinion
Ramen/cup of noodles (Add stuff to it!)
Soup (soup is the best food if you're poor/don't have much, you can boil kitchen scraps and get the nutrients out of it! Use whatever you have, meat, bones
Buy whole chickens and cheap mixed/frozen veggies, cheapest soup)
Potatoes
Deer (between hunting and road kills I get almost all of my meat for free, obviously you have to process it)
Foraging (there's free wild onion and garlic anywhere, watercress is in pretty much every stream, there are other cresses and wild edibles you can make soup out of or stir frys)
You can make stir frys out of pretty much anything, just oil and veggies, instant noodles, meats
Make flour from walnuts and acorns (in the fall)
Thereās a few different recipes I personally love that are super cheap (all high in protein though)
1) egg fried rice: cook rice in bulk with light soya sauce, eggs, and frozen green peas. I like to add canned tuna for extra protein
2) beans on toast. Classic one really canāt go wrong with it. Canned baked beans with toast, maybe grate some cheese on it or eggs on side
Other dishes canāt think on the top of my head but as for carb sources oats, pasta, potatoes and rice will always be super cheap. Protein: eggs, canned tuna, chicken, ground mince meat. Fats: peanut butter, regular butter, cheese
20 $ is a lot for me! Not a budget meal but luxury these day (as unemployed) :D. I can get a decent steak with sides for that money. Or a quality sushi roll from my fav restaurant <3. I am not judging, just saying everything is relative and my life and economy is different :).
I personally go meat free if on a budget. My go to meal is noodle soup from a big noodle pack ~1,50 $, with whatever fresh vegetables I have, an egg, good spices (ginger, curry) and lemon juice. If I am more hungry I eat a piece of rye bread with cheese. Less than 10 $ for sure. I also do burger for like 10-15$ now and then, yum yum. Cheaper if meat free (homemade chickpea pattie)
Soup.
2 cans of pinto beans $3
1 can of fire roasted tomatoes $2
vegan ground beef $5
Rice and beans. Chop up a ham steak and saute with a diced onion and sofrito (I always have this in my fridge or freezer homemade but you can get it premade in the grocery store) until the onions are translucent. Add a can of your beans of choice, drained, a small (8 oz) can of tomato sauce, some green olives and sazon and adobo (again I mix my own from seasonings in the cupboard but you can buy the packets/jars of seasoning). Once that comes up to a simmer, add 2 cups white rice and let cook for about 60 seconds. Add 2 cups water, stir. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer on low heat until all the liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and let sit 10 minutes before serving.
Altogether you'll likely spend less than $10-15 on ingredients and you'll easily get 4-6 meals from it.
Hamburger helper, tuna sandwiches, buddig lunch meat and store brand everything. That was the kind of stuff I lived in growing up. In a way growing up broke can make you a good cook. Because it can make you really creative in the kitchen. You know you have to use everything you have and do your best to ensure meal time does not get boring or repetitive.
My meals are Pasta with Meat sauce / Skinless chicken breast/ I'm thinking of making a Meatloaf with Potatoes, and carrots with it.. I make foods that stretch for me and my cousin cause I can not afford to make all these meals also we eat lunchmeat with cheese sandwiches
Some sort of stew or soup in a crock pot, makes a lot so I have left over so long I can never eat it all. Feeds both my dog and myself for a week.
Usually, potatoes, onions, carrots, misc. veggies, some sort of meat, roast or hamburger, can use whatever I have around the house from beans to pasta of some sort.
Back in my broke days, when shit got REALLY real, like choosing between food or electricity in my home, I would buy ājust add waterā pancake mix, a bottle of maple syrup, and a pack of bacon. I could usually survive off of pancakes/waffles for a few days to get by👍
Carbonara - you can get eggs, cheese and ham/rashers pretty cheaply if you're not concerned about quality
Vegetable soup made with addition of frozen veggies - honestly one of my favourities
Egg fried rice with whatever veggies or meat I can spare
Spaghetti with some kind of store bought sauce comes out cheat every time
Pancakes are also cheap to make and quite filling
Grilled cheese and tomato toasties, soup, lentils, bolognaise and pasta, vegetable stirfry. You can get still good discounted food from some grocers towards the end of the day too. Then of course, you have cheap noodle packets, bags of frozen vegetables and rice and canned beans which are cheap on a budget.
Wraps. Get a pack of them for a couple of bucks then you can throw whatever you have in your kitchen in them: tuna, beans, salad, spam. Or you spend like $5 on salad mix and roll of mixed meat. $10 for 2 days of (4) meals.
When I am alone sometimes I will just grab a "Members Mark" chicken sandwich out of my freezer, nuke it and eat it with a handful of chips. I get these from Sams Club! A box of 10 runs for around $19.
I just throw stuff together I have around the house and hope it works. Eg this weekend I made lasagna of sorts, lasagna pasta which I cut in pieces, mince meat, tomato sauce, bbq sauce and chilli cheese balls. Last week I made pasta salad - pasta, tuna, mayo, capers, and chilli.
I mean, I'm not on a budget.
But if I was, then my go to would be baked beans, brown rice and broccoli.
Cheap as hell and healthier than 99% of the population.
Hash browns and eggs.
Spaghettio's.
Spaghetti.
Fried potatoes and spam.
banana and peanut butter or celery, or pick from garden some green beans.
I used to enjoy hh as a kid, haven't had in decades.
Turkey and cheddar burritos. I make them all the time. When my chica and her neighbors go crazy for em you know it's good. Especially since they're all Mexican. "Gringo can cook!" They tell her. They beg me for em lol.
Depends on the definition of budget... In college I made a lot of gormet ramen noodles with some frozen vegetables and cheese for less than $4. The struggle was real...
Soup. What kind depends on what I have on hand and how tight my budget is. I can make a huge pot of chicken soup for under $10.
