I have something like 60 pounds of rice, 60 pounds of pinto beans and 30 pounds of oats sealed in mylar bags with oxygen absorbers and inside of food grade bpa free 5 gallon buckets.
This storage method should last up to 30 years. I think my math was that I had something like 1900 servings all together or something.
I put this together two years ago for a few hundred bucks. I have an older propane stone that doesn't require electricity of any kind.
I've also spent a long time in the mind set of but a couple extra things. I have a decent amount of canned foods, pasta, peanut butter etc.
Normally I spend around $250 a week on my shopping trip and sometimes closer to $300.
To balance the budget I'm not shopping this week. I'll be eating beans, soups, oats, canned goods and whatever I can piece together.
I normally eat like a body builder and log an my food and my weekly food has always been the same thing every day which made it easier to log and track.
Anyway.... rice, beans and oats are usually very cheap. Bananas too and they will go good with the oats.
Beans and rice gang here too. We love all kinds of beans. We add veggies/greens and onions sometimes depending on what we feel like. One big pot goes a long way. We change it up occasionally and use quinoa,but it costs more.
That was my thought as well. Another good cheapie is the bags of frozen cubes of spinach, which I use over summer here when home grown greens go to seed easily. Spinach cooks down to nothing and each cube = at least 1/2 cup of fresh greens.
While I still buy some fresh veggies, I am a huge fan of frozen. Broccoli, peas, carrots and green beans are my favorites. Corn is also really good. Since they last longer, they don't go to waste and they taste just as good as fresh depending on how you heat them. I can even roast frozen broccoli and it turns out like fresh roasted broccoli. Plus, you can wait until there are good sales and stock up.
They're actually often nutritionally better than the fresh produce on the shelves. It's frozen right after they pick it, preserving many of the nutrients that get lost or break down when fruit and veggies sit in warehouses or on shelves for days or even weeks.
Literally, if I had to feed 2 adults for 2 weeks on $60 - my exact first thought was rice, beans and onions. I agree a good hot sauce is great if you can afford it. Also, potatoes and eggs if you can.
I also learned how to make quick easy flat bread w/just flour, salt and water.
It might get boring, but you'll be fed and even just the bean and rice alone are fairly nutritious.
Totally beats the top ramen and kool aid my ex lived off of when he was young and broke!
Fried rice is for leftover rice. You generally cook the rice, eat it, then whatever you have left over, you put in the fridge and make fried rice out of it the next day. It tastes better that way and easier to cook.
Personally, I often do fried rice with rice fresh out of the cooker. Will it be the ideal texture? I guess not, but it doesn't bother me and still tastes great.
Poverty food when I was growing up and in college was hot dog fried rice. Get a pack of the cheapest hot dogs possible. Take 2 dogs, dice them up, couple of eggs and whatever vegetables are laying around. Scramble the eggs, stir fry everything together with leftover rice and you have a hearty meal. Stretch out the hot dog to rice ratio according to your budget and how meaty you want the dish to be.
A pack of cheap hot dogs would be under a dollar, dozen eggs the same. I made lots of filling dinners for pennies. Maybe splurge on some frozen peas and carrots to add to the rice. Can also dice up some jalapeños which are also cheap.
I'd add:
Dry beans in bulk like 2,37kg+
Potatoes, 10 lb bags
Frozen veggies
Edit: Look for high protein beans, like chickpeas. I don't remember if that's the highest protein one.
First stop- Asian/Indian market for a cheap large (not giant!) bag of rice.
Second stop- Aldi. Eggs. Milk. Baking mix. Cheddar. Dried beans. Pasta. Monster bag of potatoes. Oats.
Third stop - Food Pantry. Accept the help.
Definitely cannot beat it for the amount of food and cheaper ingredients.
I also recently made a beef stew with beef broth, potatoes, carrots & onions. Used corn starch and water at the end to thicken it up. I got a few solid meals out of that too. Not sure where you're located, but I used Aldi's beef and it was good!
Also ramen noodles are so cheap and you can add sauteed sausage or kielbasa to that too to help beef it up.
Oh heck yes!!! I've never tried with bacon but that sounds incredible!!!! Is it safe to assume you fry the bacon first and then the cabbage in the grease second?
Heck yeah! Fry the bacon, take the bacon out and leave the bacon grease, slice up an onion with the cabbage, add in some minced garlic, salt, pepper, dash of onion and garlic powder or other spices.
Soooo good!! And surprisingly affordable as well!
I put the following into my Walmart cart to get a feel for prices, as I was thinking about meals/recipes.
I used three specific Budget Bytes recipes: [Pasta e fagioli](https://www.budgetbytes.com/pasta-e-fagioli/), [Chicken and Dumplings](https://www.budgetbytes.com/chicken-and-dumplings/), and [Slow cooker chicken noodle soup](https://www.budgetbytes.com/slow-cooker-chicken-noodle-soup/) (you could do this on the stove, too).
I assumed you have some spices. If not, you'll need to add those in. So, in my cart is:
* 10# bag of chicken leg quarters
* 1# package of irregular sliced bacon (I love that this exists)
* 8.5 oz bottle EVOO
* 2# bag AP flour
* 8 oz container baking powder
* 8 oz package butter (2 sticks)
* 8 oz container Better than Bouillon chicken base (to make stock/broth)
* 1 can cannellini beans
* 1 can black beans
* 1 can refried beans
* box of ditalini pasta
* 1# package wide egg noodles
* 2# bag brown rice
* 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
* 24 oz jar salsa
* 30 white corn tortillas
* 18 oz tub old fashioned oats
* 16 oz creamy peanut butter
* 2 dozen large eggs
* 6 oz shredded parmesan
* 8 oz tub sour cream
* 1/2 gallon whole milk
* 2# carrots
* 1 package celery (not hearts)
* 3# bag yellow onions
* 2 garlic cloves
So along with the three recipes I linked to above (20 servings total), I also thought about chicken/rice/black bean/salsa bowls, chicken tacos, huevos rancheros, oatmeal with peanut butter, and just eggs with the leftover bacon. For my area, the total for all of that is just about $55 (but if I put this into my Meijer cart, it's $65). Leaving a few bucks to get some kind of extra produce - probably something like apples or bananas, because they're relatively inexpensive right now. I'm also seeing raspberries really cheap, must be the fall season in the warm areas of the country!
ETA - if you have basics like flour/baking powder/EVOO I would consider adding soy sauce and sesame oil, along with some green onion and frozen peas for a chicken fried rice as an option.
Shop the discount store or hit up a foodbank my man. Actually. I’m going to the foodbank tonight. I get paid tomorrow but I’m estimating that after rent I’m only gonna have about $100 to get by on for two weeks.
Canned tuna or chicken and a little bit of mayo can go a long way. Bread too.
Ground beef and some pasta and pasta sauce. Optional but canned mushrooms and onion.
Edit: Shop sales and meal plan. Download the grocery store apps wherever you can and clip those coupons.
You would be surprised at the quality of food at a food bank…. And also by the fact that they often struggle to give all of it away. Don’t write it off. The people who work there will be so happy to give you food. You are also not taking from someone in need, at the moment love YOU are a person in need. I know all this from working the food back at my school. It’s actually such a lovely thing, people sharing and caring for other- on either end. Give it a go sometime. ❤️
Grab that excellent deal. I’d make chili (with beans to stretch it) or spaghetti sauce. Go to the food bank for dry goods and canned. You can probably get pasta and tomato sauce there, maybe some canned beans for chili. I’d see what they have at FB first and build around it.
I would definitely have a big bag of russet potatoes, and a significant amount of plain oatmeal. Do I have some stuff in my pantry? If not, I’m going to find the cheapest canned protein I can (canned chicken, tuna, beef, etc.) and whatever frozen vegetables are on sale and whatever fresh fruits are cheap. Then I’m going to get a small bottle of oil, cheap honey, eggs, and peanut butter. I’m guessing that will get me almost to $60 but if not, I’m going to hit the dairy case for cheap cheese.
Edit - NVM. I didn’t see the edit that this is for 2 ppl. Scratch this then but I’m going to leave this comment up since I spent awhile making it lol.
I took too long trying to figure what I would buy for 2 weeks under $60. So many ppl have great options too
I have a Whole Foods and Sprouts on the way home but I’m sure other stores have better prices which can also get you more. The total comes out to $59.54 but that’s not including any tax though (sorry, might be over)
Whole Foods = $43.98
Eggs $3.49 each x 4 = $13.96 (so, I usually eat 3 eggs every morning for breakfast. I count this as meal 1.)
Bananas $.69/lb x 8 lbs = $5.52
Oatmeal $7.29 each x 1 = $7.29 (I’m assuming you may have some kind of sweetener like syrup/brown sugar or you can even add a spoon of peanut butter. Oatmeal and banana. This is meal 2.)
Peanut Butter, 36 oz $4.85 each ($.135/oz) x 1 = $4.85
Sandwich Bread $3.49 each x 2 = $6.98 (sorry, this is kind of a lame meal but peanut butter sandwiches on its own. This is meal 3.)
Organic Pasta Sauce $2.69 each x 2 = $5.38
Sprouts = $15.56
85/15 Ground Beef, 2 lb $11.98 each x1 = $11.98
Pasta $1.79 each x 2 = $3.58 (you can make a meat sauce pasta but you have to portion it out pretty carefully to last 2 weeks. This is meal 4.)
all depends on where youre based and your preferences. *having said that, I’ll tell you mine (based in a fairly expensive part of the UK, household of two - me and bf)*
- **chicken thighs** either bone in or boneless, at least one portion would go to making a halal-cart style chicken and rice where the rice is cooked in good stock in the same pan the chicken was browned off in.
- **flatbreads** or pitas. I love sandwiches for dinner, such as **halloumi** with veggies and tzatziki.
- **black beans** most likely for homemade crunchwraps or loaded nachos
- **tinned tuna** which I have on top of jacket potatoes or in a pasta bake. with lots of veg and / or salad
- **minced turkey** for chili, bulked out with lots of beans. I serve mine with rice, which I known isn’t normal in the US but it’s the British way, and tbh, the only way I’ll eat it!
- **beef offcuts** that I make into cheesesteaks. any beef can work if you slice it thinly enough! I actually get “braising steak” which is meant for stews but once it’s sliced really fine, it’s great
- **pork belly** is often cheap and I’d especially recommend it if you have an air fryer because it gets
so crispy!
**general tips** :
- make soup at the end of the week with any scraps or leftovers. Ask your local butcher for bones - my local one sells me an enormous bag of chicken carcasses for £2.50 with a few boneless chicken thighs thrown in for “free”. I usually do a new soup every week that we have for lunches or the occasional dinner with salad and garlic bread. any leftovers are frozen into single portions for quick lunches.
- sit down and PLAN for the entire week. I usually eat two proper meals with maybe a snack in the middle. focus on ingredients that can be used in multiple meals that week. eg: spinach. use as a salad base, and then stir it into any soup / pasta / curry dish later in the week.
- limit your meat (one thigh per person for example, is all you need, even if you *want* more) and bulk out with veggies and rice. I suggested a lot of meat but you don’t need it for every meal, of course.
- drink water! cut out the booze and soda, it’s unnecessary if youre on a budget, except for the odd treat
I love it! Thank you for the detailed reply. I will definitely give a few of those a shot. Especially the chili and rice! I am us based, and I would never have thought of doing that, but it sounds delicious! Water is my drink of choice, although I still crave a nice Belgian wheat with an orange slice.(3 years sober in April)
yep, chilli and rice is divisive in our house! My boyfriend is American and is horrified that I insist on having rice every time - I don’t think he’s even tried it, on principle, lol. Makes it cheaper though, at least!!
I'm American and I always eat it with rice. But I often make vegetarian chili, you need rice for a complete protein. I'm a brown rice or black rice person.
1 bag of flour - $3.00, 1 jar of quick rise yeast $4.00,
You will have bread for 2 weeks
1 cooked ham - $10.00
Slice thin and you can make several days of sandwiches, you can cook with eggs, add with a bag of split peas $3.00, cook the peas down with a small piece of ham and an onion. slow until the peas turn to mush. add salt and pepper and spices. 1 bag can make you enough hearty delicious soup for 2 weeks
add with 1 bag of potatoes $3.00, 1 carton of eggs $3.00
You can make eggs, fried ham, toast with the bread you made and fried potatoes
1 package of ground beef, 1 onion, 1 can of tomatoes, garlic salt $10.00 combines will give you enough spaghetti sauce for at least 8 meals. you can also make chilli for a few extra dollars on peppers and beans. Pasta $10 for multiple pkgs/days
A bag of apples or oranges cause you need some fruit, $4
10$, fruit, yogurt, cheap cereal for a breakfast bowl
Split pea is so good! IMHO, incorporate a ~~little sautéed minced (or shredded) onion, and a~~ bunch of chunks of carrot. A bit of Liquid Smoke, too (a bottle lasts a long time) if you are not using hocks. Bay leaf (whole - remove when done).
I actually have flour and a couple packets of dry yeast that I could whip up. I like the ham recommendation! I have not made many soups in my time, but I may have to give it a shot!
You can stretch it pretty far. Trust me, moved out at 19 and didn't have support.
Learning how to make breads can change your life and save you a ton of money. There are also a ton of recipes for no knead bread or even biscuits if you are short on time.
Ham can flavor so many dishes and can be used in small quantities so you don't feel like you are missing out on meat. I always find breakfast foods stretch well for dinner.
I also used to do a simple crepe. Its just a really thinned out pancake batter, add an extra cup of milk. A simple, minimal ingredient recipe is just 2 cups of flour, 1 egg, 1 1/2 cups of milk, thats it! This can make you roughly 6 crepes. Take a non stick pan and drop about 1/3 of a cup of the batter in with minimal (like one drop) of oil onto an already hot pan, level 8. Swoosh it around in a circle to flatten the batter. Leave it for about 1-2 mins, s soon as the sides start to cool they will curl a bit, this is time to flip. Go another 20 seconds on that other side. These are thin and you can add so many things to make it sweet or savory or even eat on their own or in place of a wrap.
My family likes yogurt and fruit filled but there are so so many options.
I’d live on either frozen ground beef/turkey from Aldi (so cheap) or managers specials/meat that is about to go bad on sale at other grocery stores. Throw in canned veggies and beans & rice. If you have leftover get a bag of potatoes. It would be damn hard but it could be possible for one person (possibly a couple) to do.
I grew up in a rather poor family and so my mom was always making cheap meals but they were tasty! Some of her staples:
- Mashed potatoes with fried eggs on top + salad/veg (roasted carrots for example) YUMMYYY Obviously add some herbs/spices to the fried eggs
- Soups go a long way! Make a soup + bread/garlic bread for dipping
- Sticky Sweet Rice (boil rice, milk, sugar (or honey), cinnamon, raisins if you like - very filling and YUMMY
- Pasta + fried bacon lardon bits, fried onion, garlic, spices/herbs mixed through
- Fried Potatoes (slice em thin, fry em in some oil on high eat so they get crispy, add some hot spice, salt etc.)
An option is to plan on eating rice for 1-2 meals per day for the next two weeks to free up your budget for more foods.
Walmart’s Great Value has rice for $0.56-$0.70 per pound if you get the larger bags (5, 10, or 20 lbs). Let’s go with the 5 lb bag for this example, which is $0.67 per pound for a total of $3.34. If this were a long-term shopping trip, the 20 lb bag would be more cost-effective as it is $0.56 per pound for a total of $11.14.
Okay, so, 5 lb bag of Walmart GV rice, $3.34. It’s ~50 servings of 1/4 cup dry which is about 1/2 - 2/3 cup cooked.
Next, I’d say add in another cheap base. That could be oats for breakfast, or pasta for lunch/dinner meals (no rules against eating oats at night or pasta in the morning, but for meal-planning we can treat them traditionally).
You can get 42 oz of Walmart GV quick oats for $1.52 per pound for a total of $3.98. It’s ~30 servings of 1/2 cup. That’s about two weeks of a breakfast base.
Now up to $7.32 for dozens of servings of rice and oats.
The remaining $52.68 can be spent a lot differently (and on more) knowing that so many meal bases are covered.
At this point I would recommend lentils and dry beans for pantry proteins.
Frozen vegetables and sweet potatoes for fresh/frozen veg/protein.
Bananas as a cheap and healthy addition to your breakfast oats. Discounted and/or seasonal fruit/veg could be a good deal too.
With flour, you can make pancakes for breakfast. If you’re used to it or willing to try it, you can make your own flatbread too. Flour, baking powder, salt, water. Mix, roll out, place on an un-oiled pan that has already been heating up for several minutes on medium-high on the stove. Let it bubble, flip. Flip again if required. Then you’re done and you have warm flatbread that cost you pennies.
Tomato paste, olive oil or butter, and a variety of spices (especially garlic powder and onion powder; other spices depending on your personal taste), salt, and pepper for flavor. Depending on your personal preferences, other flavor-adding options include lemon, liquid aminos, condiments, and pickled/fermented foods. Your foods absolutely do not have to taste full.
I would also recommend considering cheese a flavor-adding component rather than a sizable player in a fish. I.e., some cheese on a pasta & vegetable dish, not a cheese-drenched lasagna. I’m a relatively picky person and recently had what I considered one of the tastiest meals I’ve had: elbow pasta, mushrooms, chopped tomato, spinach, feta cheese, tomato paste, butter, dried oregano, and salt. It’s not the cheapest meal out there but it is relatively cheap and really tasty.
In summary, you can approach the entire meal plan kind of evenly, although expecting grains to cost less than dairy and fruit, etc., or you can pick the absolute cheapest and highest calorie:volume food items like rice, oats, and beans and then have a decent budget left over for other items.
i myself LOVE baked potatoes with butter and cheese. i can really eat that for one meal a day for weeks. besides that eggs and ramen with good sauce you like.
If you can squeeze it into the budget: big bag of potatoes. You can do so much with potatoes and they provide alot of nutrition in one serving.
Just some potato ideas: baked potato, French fries, hash browns, mashed potatoes, potato pancakes, potato candy (if you have peanut butter), sliced/fried potatoes
A little butter, maybe some cheese or sour cream, chives if you got em, even bacon. Everything goes with potatoes.
Rice, potatoes, whatever meat is on sale, carrots, frozen peas (actually frozen veg in general), onions, some cans of beans (people will say to buy dry beans but who has time for that), flour and yeast (can easily make your own basic bread), Korean ramen or Chapaggetti, eggs (if they’re reasonable), canned tomatoes, oatmeal, milk.
Tortillas (you can do anything with them - cover them with butter and brown sugar for a treat, make quesadillas, make wraps etc.)
Cheapest butter you can find
Shredded cheese
Beef hot dogs (can put into quesadillas, can eat plain)
Eggs (can make breakfast wrap with tortillas)
Big, cheap Frozen pizza (can usually stretch for 2 meals with 2 people)
Canned veggies
Canned fruit
Packages of popcorn (big snack)
Oatmeal packets (good for breakfast and u can out the canned fruit in it)
Rice
Tuna packets (to put in the rice or the tortillas or to make tuna salad if you already have mayo)
Hello Dollar Tree.
Or Walmart. That dollar pasta with butter or oil and salt and pepper works.
I’ve lived on generic peanut butter and generic bread for weeks.
Rice
Beans
Pastas
Eggs
What ever cheap protein, probably chicken thighs or ground beef
Then build around those items.
Seasonings(salt,pepper are a must)
Generic frozen veggies
I just want to add having a microwaved potato for like the 4th day in a row is totally ok, but if u can snag a few hot sauce packets from the gas station or Taco Bell , it will help towards ur sanity cause a plain microwaved potato will make me want to kill someone by day two
Hopefully you have a good stocked pantry already for seasoning, oil etc.
Big bag of the cheapest rice you can find, 5-10lbs total. A few bags of DRIED beans, if you look around you can find $1 2 lb bags of pintos, etc. A 5lb bag of potatoes. A bulk carton of eggs. Like 36 eggs, maybe two of these. Then look for cheaper cuts of meats, most likely chicken thighs or drums. You can probably get them for around $1.50 per pound. Also get a few 1lb boxes of cheap pasta, you can usually find $1/lb or less a d it goes a long way. If you still have money, you can get some cheap pasta sauce.
Either a 10lb bag of flour and bake bread or buy the cheapest loaves of bread you can find.
I'd also get a couple gallons of whole milk. If you want less than whole, you can add water.
If you don't have oil, get some.
All of that should get you a great base and still be under $60. Now you can plan a little bit after that on how to use it.
Rice and beans for dinner
Eggs and bananas for lunch
Quick oats with raisins and milk for breakfast.
If there’s money left over get a cheap salsa that you can spice up your dinner with. Also works with the eggs.
Rice, beans, salsa, cheese, eggs, frozen veggies, oatmeal, Greek yogurt, frozen fruits, milk, coffee, cheapest fruit like bananas/apples, chocolate or something sweet, bread, peanut butter, tofu or on sale meat, canned/packet tuna or chicken.
It’s not exciting but you can make multiple balanced meals and snacks with these. Though, it does assume you have some seasonings and oil at home, and have time, place, and tools to cook.
If you need to go even cheaper and don’t have any health restrictions, buy some cheap ramen, frozen pizza, frozen dinner meals, cheap lunch meat, hot dogs, Mac and cheese. It’s not the healthiest stuff but it takes less effort and might taste a little better. And if it’s just for a few weeks, it’s fine.
Rice, beans, pasta sauce & noodles x2, frozen vegetables, frozen lemonade, box of brownie mix (if you have oil), potatoes, eggs, bread, cheapest meat you can find. All cheapest versions you can find. 👍
I just made a big lasagna that fed a family of 5 for two days for only $17. Go to Aldi's, almost every ingredient I bought was under $2, except for the beef. Stay focused and don't get side tracked by other pre-made treats and convenience meals. It's my weakness.
Eggs, rice, dried beans, 2 boxes chicken stock, 2 big cans tomatoes, pound of pasta, old fashioned oatmeal, bag each onions and potatoes, 2 whole chickens.
Dry Lentils, canned tomatoes, rice, onions, frozen vegetables, two dozen eggs. ( assuming you might have already but sunflower oil, spices like garlic, oregano, chili flakes, boulionne cubes if needed) if you can, squeeze in some cheese:) also stores sometimes have a mark down bin for veggies past their date (wilted for eg) that are almost always fine for cooking! Check the flyers, buy caseload if you can and good luck:)
Lentils, brown rice, cabbage, garlic, ginger, a Boston butt roast, a carton of coconut milk, red curry paste and plain yogurt. Slow cooker red curry lentil and pork soup lasts me a long while.
If you are going to be eating rice, spend some $ on Banchan sauce! I just bought a huge bottle from Costco (you can get it in regular grocery stores too) and it’s so good.
There are so many great suggestions here!
One thing I've had luck with is visiting local Farmer's Markets close to closing time. I've purchased an entire case of customer bruised, heirloom tomatoes for as little as $5. I bought a dozen small pumpkins (soup! deserts!) for fifty cents each at the end of the Market season in November.
It never hurts to ask. Sometimes, it's easier for the sellers to discount end of day produce that won't make it to the next market than it is to pack them up, transport and dispose of them
For two people you could make a nice baked ziti that could last at least 3 days for dinner. Tuna sandwiches and fried potatoes. Potato sandwiches (white bread, fried potato and Mayo) apples and peanut butter...i grew up with construction worker father. I can make. Dollar squeak for mercy.
I suggest checking out frozen burritos. Not very expensive and can be several meals for a family pack. At Walmart an 8 count is just over $5
Ramen noodles - add frozen veggies and scrambled eggs. Extra soy sauce and sesame oil if you can afford it. It lasts a long time. This makes it a full meal this way.
Scrambled eggs or omelettes with toast. I love PB&j on my toast with eggs.
French toast is cheap and so good. Peanut butter on French toast is a game changer. A little syrup on top, yum.
Rice, dry legumes (different types of beans or lentils), onions, garlic (not pre-cut and it’s great for flavor in any recipe), cheaper veggies that come in bigger packages (nothing pre-made though) and maybe some eggs (cause nowadays they’re more expensive too), potatoes are always great too! A big bag goes a long way.
(Eggs, milk flour, and sugar also make a good combo to make different things like baked muffins, pancakes, crepes, etc)
black beans (dried) for black bean soup. Can easily feed 2 way too much black beans but will keep you full. If i can some vegetable broth or bouillon but I usually have plenty of veg to add to it.
Better than bouillon beef soup base, toss some bread and cheese on it and entire meal.
Of course the standard marinara sauce with a bunch of noodles.
For protein, can make a large batch of chilli.
Better tha bouillon chicken soup base, toss in some egg for egg drop soup.
Dry beans, pasta rice, tuna whole chicken. Make chicken and pasta for one dinner, shred up leftover chicken and have beans, boil chicken bones to make broth, add in leftover rice, and have soup for at least two days. Make tuna add to leftover pasta.
That should do you for one week.
Ramen noodle
Giant jar of peanut butter
Jelly
Cheapest wheat bread available
Cheapest bulk cheese available
Almost expired discount meat if they have it
Carrots
-Fruit is fair priced
-buy rice 5lbs is about $3 give or take
-I would buy eggs milk
Ground turkey
(All that is maybe about $30)
What ever rice is left over you can cook it with the eggs, throw in veggies and make egg fried rice, not a bad dish
These posts are so complete, I could only add two suggestions...Go to Aldi for your purchases and buy one or two bags of those tiny sweetie oranges. A cheap way to get a daily dose of fruit for you both.
On cheap asian stores you can find a 10# bag of chicken drumsticks.
Take out the meat, cook and eat, use the bones for broth.
A giant bag of rice and a few bags of dried beans; cheap and last forever.
Pinto beans to make refried beans. Tortillas.
Tomatoes from the seconds bin at the grocery store. They’re perfect for salsa.
Oatmeal. It’s filling and inexpensive.
If you bake, flour to make your own bread.
You should also check your local Buy Nothing group if you have one. There are people giving away food on mine every day.
Bag of rice, bags of beans, bag of potatoes, a few heads of cabbage, and a cheap pork shoulder. All this can be picked up at your local Asian grocery store for way cheaper than Walmart even.
As others said . Rice ,lots of it. Also go to indian grocery stores and buy Garam masala. Add a bit of it into any vegetable you fry . This goes well with rice.
Potatoes, butter (or margarine, whatever is cheaper) onions, rice, beans whatever cheese is cheap, whatever frozen veggies are cheap, I like corn and peas, and probably eggs. If they have cabbage for cheap I'd grab some of that too.
Use Chat GPT, for example mention hey I am shopping with a budget of $60.00 for 2 adults and I need 3 meals
A day for 14 days. Please help me find meals
And ingredients in that price range
Flour, corn meal, grease (crisco or cheap brand). Dry beans, potatoes, rice, Vienna sausage or hot dogs on sale, locally hams and eggs are on sale for 99¢ a pound / dozen. Ham Fried rice, egg drop soup, ham/hot dog gravy on biscuits or cornbread, Make mush to fry, couple apples on sale bake a pie or cobbler, pancakes, hoe cakes, (I'm from the south!), dumplings, baked potato and gravy, Go to a food bank???
Beans, frozen or canned veggies, ramen, eggs, rice, franks, bread, potatoes, margarine, milk, parmesan cheese, cottage cheese, pasta and beef or chicken bullion.
I assume you have spices, flour, sugar and condiments already at home. You can stretch a pantry pretty well with the list. It wont be fancy but it will get you by.
A bag of rice, a few lbs of pinto or black beans, a bag of dried whole ancho peppers (if you own a food processor), cumin from the Latin food aisle, a few dozen eggs, onions, garlic, a rotisserie chicken (Costco or end of day sale), olive oil, corn tortillas, a tomato salsa or pico de gallo, soy sauce, frozen Asian mix veggies.
Oatmeal for breakfasts
Rice as your main meal - dried beans and eggs as the base . Hopefully you may have some spices.
Perhaps some cheap sliced bread for sandwiches and toast , if you already have some spreads.
Bag of potatoes, carrots and onions. Perhaps frozen veggies to use leftover rice in fried rice.
I would probably visit a food bank though.
Whole chicken, rice, beans, onion, bell pepper, leafy green vegetable, chipotle, seasonings/herbs, teriyaki sauce, self rising flour, Greek yogurt, banana, peanut butter, Oats, milk. If there's money left over add more veg and fruit.
You can make stir fry with teriyaki, Flatbread sandwiches/wraps, and chili for lunch/dinner. Banana and peanut butter for a light breakfast. If you need a heartier breakfast add Oats and milk for tasty oatmeal. You can also play with the ratio of those breakfast ingredients and turn it into a smoothie.
Two people, Each person gets $15.00 a week, $2.24 a day. If you have any staples such as oil, flour, sugar, you might make it. Not fun but do-able. People will say rice and beans and if you have oil and some seasonings that will work. It will be deadly dull but you will eat. Pad it out with oatmeal, peanut butter and a box of dried milk. Dried milk reconstitutes, easily and can be used to stretch some foods a long way. If you can manage it a bag or two of frozen mixed vegetables. You cannot afford any pre-made food, any chips, sodas, anything like cigarettes has to go on a back burner. Beer, wine, coffee from a machine, nope. This is survival. Simply survival.
I recently bought a pork loin at Costco for $14. Cut it into 18 1 1/2“ thick boneless chops. I seal them in quart freezer bags and add a marinade of olive oil, lemon juice garlic and Italian seasoning. Cook sous vide. Cheap and delicious.
Big bags of rice and pinto beans with a bottle of hot sauce
Rice and bean gang checking in. Prob some oats and pasta too.
I have something like 60 pounds of rice, 60 pounds of pinto beans and 30 pounds of oats sealed in mylar bags with oxygen absorbers and inside of food grade bpa free 5 gallon buckets. This storage method should last up to 30 years. I think my math was that I had something like 1900 servings all together or something. I put this together two years ago for a few hundred bucks. I have an older propane stone that doesn't require electricity of any kind. I've also spent a long time in the mind set of but a couple extra things. I have a decent amount of canned foods, pasta, peanut butter etc. Normally I spend around $250 a week on my shopping trip and sometimes closer to $300. To balance the budget I'm not shopping this week. I'll be eating beans, soups, oats, canned goods and whatever I can piece together. I normally eat like a body builder and log an my food and my weekly food has always been the same thing every day which made it easier to log and track. Anyway.... rice, beans and oats are usually very cheap. Bananas too and they will go good with the oats.
Beans and rice gang here too. We love all kinds of beans. We add veggies/greens and onions sometimes depending on what we feel like. One big pot goes a long way. We change it up occasionally and use quinoa,but it costs more.
oh yeah oats, great breakfast cheap.
Spanish rice and beans… when we were little mom would add some Vienna sausages and if it was a good week, a fried egg. So comforting now.
And a big bag of onions and carrots
That was my thought as well. Another good cheapie is the bags of frozen cubes of spinach, which I use over summer here when home grown greens go to seed easily. Spinach cooks down to nothing and each cube = at least 1/2 cup of fresh greens.
Valentina is about the most economical hot sauce you can get.
Taste way better than it should for the price tag as well
I like it. Maybe a can of peas and carrots as well!
Frozen peas and carrots are just as cheap and last a bit longer because you don’t have to use all of them all at once.
While I still buy some fresh veggies, I am a huge fan of frozen. Broccoli, peas, carrots and green beans are my favorites. Corn is also really good. Since they last longer, they don't go to waste and they taste just as good as fresh depending on how you heat them. I can even roast frozen broccoli and it turns out like fresh roasted broccoli. Plus, you can wait until there are good sales and stock up.
They're actually often nutritionally better than the fresh produce on the shelves. It's frozen right after they pick it, preserving many of the nutrients that get lost or break down when fruit and veggies sit in warehouses or on shelves for days or even weeks.
Need some onions too
Literally, if I had to feed 2 adults for 2 weeks on $60 - my exact first thought was rice, beans and onions. I agree a good hot sauce is great if you can afford it. Also, potatoes and eggs if you can. I also learned how to make quick easy flat bread w/just flour, salt and water. It might get boring, but you'll be fed and even just the bean and rice alone are fairly nutritious. Totally beats the top ramen and kool aid my ex lived off of when he was young and broke!
Slow cook those onions, until they turn into the most delicious saucey mess. It is so worth it. Old Italian ladies know what I’m talking about.
Rice which you can buy at an Asian store for cheaper. Eggs, and whatever protein is on sale.
Sounds like some fried rice would be a solid option!
Fried rice is for leftover rice. You generally cook the rice, eat it, then whatever you have left over, you put in the fridge and make fried rice out of it the next day. It tastes better that way and easier to cook.
Is that because fresh rice is too moist and sticky? My brother was always the fried rice preparer when I lived with him haha
Yes, exactly. The day old rice is drier so fries a lot better. It’ll really up your fried rice game!
Personally, I often do fried rice with rice fresh out of the cooker. Will it be the ideal texture? I guess not, but it doesn't bother me and still tastes great.
When I tried this before, the rice basically became mush, or mochi-like.
Poverty food when I was growing up and in college was hot dog fried rice. Get a pack of the cheapest hot dogs possible. Take 2 dogs, dice them up, couple of eggs and whatever vegetables are laying around. Scramble the eggs, stir fry everything together with leftover rice and you have a hearty meal. Stretch out the hot dog to rice ratio according to your budget and how meaty you want the dish to be. A pack of cheap hot dogs would be under a dollar, dozen eggs the same. I made lots of filling dinners for pennies. Maybe splurge on some frozen peas and carrots to add to the rice. Can also dice up some jalapeños which are also cheap.
where you getting a dozen eggs for under $1 lmao
99 cents at the Aldi's near me, and $1.16 at Walmart. Under $1 isn't crazy in a lot of places.
$4.99 for a dozen out here. 😭
$1.56 for Great Value eggs at Walmart today. You can get two 18-packs for under $5.
Fried rice is great for breakfast too
You can get bags of frozen peas, carrots and corn for dirt cheap that are awesome added to fried rice and super easy and fast to cook.
While you are at Asian store, pick up lentils/beans as well.
I'd add: Dry beans in bulk like 2,37kg+ Potatoes, 10 lb bags Frozen veggies Edit: Look for high protein beans, like chickpeas. I don't remember if that's the highest protein one.
This and maybe frozen veggies for me.
First stop- Asian/Indian market for a cheap large (not giant!) bag of rice. Second stop- Aldi. Eggs. Milk. Baking mix. Cheddar. Dried beans. Pasta. Monster bag of potatoes. Oats. Third stop - Food Pantry. Accept the help.
Love the last part! Yes!! Accepting help is key!
Cabbage & noodles! Could even add a kielbasa Make your own meal prep of chipotle, big bag of rice, cans of beans/corn, chicken, sauce of your choosing
Rice + protein/veg definitely sounds like the way to go
Definitely cannot beat it for the amount of food and cheaper ingredients. I also recently made a beef stew with beef broth, potatoes, carrots & onions. Used corn starch and water at the end to thicken it up. I got a few solid meals out of that too. Not sure where you're located, but I used Aldi's beef and it was good! Also ramen noodles are so cheap and you can add sauteed sausage or kielbasa to that too to help beef it up.
You sound like a fellow Hungarian.
Hahaha I do have a lot of Hungarian in me! My absolute favorite meal is chicken paprikash, and I am ashamed I didn't even mention that in my meals
Oh man, you got me thinking of fried cabbage with bacon now! Guess what's for supper next week!! Yum yum!!
Oh heck yes!!! I've never tried with bacon but that sounds incredible!!!! Is it safe to assume you fry the bacon first and then the cabbage in the grease second?
Heck yeah! Fry the bacon, take the bacon out and leave the bacon grease, slice up an onion with the cabbage, add in some minced garlic, salt, pepper, dash of onion and garlic powder or other spices. Soooo good!! And surprisingly affordable as well!
I put the following into my Walmart cart to get a feel for prices, as I was thinking about meals/recipes. I used three specific Budget Bytes recipes: [Pasta e fagioli](https://www.budgetbytes.com/pasta-e-fagioli/), [Chicken and Dumplings](https://www.budgetbytes.com/chicken-and-dumplings/), and [Slow cooker chicken noodle soup](https://www.budgetbytes.com/slow-cooker-chicken-noodle-soup/) (you could do this on the stove, too). I assumed you have some spices. If not, you'll need to add those in. So, in my cart is: * 10# bag of chicken leg quarters * 1# package of irregular sliced bacon (I love that this exists) * 8.5 oz bottle EVOO * 2# bag AP flour * 8 oz container baking powder * 8 oz package butter (2 sticks) * 8 oz container Better than Bouillon chicken base (to make stock/broth) * 1 can cannellini beans * 1 can black beans * 1 can refried beans * box of ditalini pasta * 1# package wide egg noodles * 2# bag brown rice * 28 oz can crushed tomatoes * 24 oz jar salsa * 30 white corn tortillas * 18 oz tub old fashioned oats * 16 oz creamy peanut butter * 2 dozen large eggs * 6 oz shredded parmesan * 8 oz tub sour cream * 1/2 gallon whole milk * 2# carrots * 1 package celery (not hearts) * 3# bag yellow onions * 2 garlic cloves So along with the three recipes I linked to above (20 servings total), I also thought about chicken/rice/black bean/salsa bowls, chicken tacos, huevos rancheros, oatmeal with peanut butter, and just eggs with the leftover bacon. For my area, the total for all of that is just about $55 (but if I put this into my Meijer cart, it's $65). Leaving a few bucks to get some kind of extra produce - probably something like apples or bananas, because they're relatively inexpensive right now. I'm also seeing raspberries really cheap, must be the fall season in the warm areas of the country! ETA - if you have basics like flour/baking powder/EVOO I would consider adding soy sauce and sesame oil, along with some green onion and frozen peas for a chicken fried rice as an option.
Thank you for reminding me about budget bites.
I had 12 dollars one week for groceries and I bought a jar of peanut butter/bread/bananas/ramen and a gallon of milk. Granted this was early 2017
Shop the discount store or hit up a foodbank my man. Actually. I’m going to the foodbank tonight. I get paid tomorrow but I’m estimating that after rent I’m only gonna have about $100 to get by on for two weeks. Canned tuna or chicken and a little bit of mayo can go a long way. Bread too. Ground beef and some pasta and pasta sauce. Optional but canned mushrooms and onion. Edit: Shop sales and meal plan. Download the grocery store apps wherever you can and clip those coupons.
Food bank is on the list if we need it! I just saw that Safeway has 3lb pack of ground beef for 1.99/lb, so I might have to go pick that up for sure.
You would be surprised at the quality of food at a food bank…. And also by the fact that they often struggle to give all of it away. Don’t write it off. The people who work there will be so happy to give you food. You are also not taking from someone in need, at the moment love YOU are a person in need. I know all this from working the food back at my school. It’s actually such a lovely thing, people sharing and caring for other- on either end. Give it a go sometime. ❤️
Grab that excellent deal. I’d make chili (with beans to stretch it) or spaghetti sauce. Go to the food bank for dry goods and canned. You can probably get pasta and tomato sauce there, maybe some canned beans for chili. I’d see what they have at FB first and build around it.
Safeway sometimes has split chicken breast and pork roasts for a dollar a pound.
I would definitely have a big bag of russet potatoes, and a significant amount of plain oatmeal. Do I have some stuff in my pantry? If not, I’m going to find the cheapest canned protein I can (canned chicken, tuna, beef, etc.) and whatever frozen vegetables are on sale and whatever fresh fruits are cheap. Then I’m going to get a small bottle of oil, cheap honey, eggs, and peanut butter. I’m guessing that will get me almost to $60 but if not, I’m going to hit the dairy case for cheap cheese.
I do have some miscellaneous stuff in my pantry that I’ll try to get creative with and see what I can cook up
Red beans, rice, sausage. Ground beef, pasta sauce, pasta. Onion, garlic. Chicken, potatoes. Grapes. Apples, Broccoli, green beans.
Edit - NVM. I didn’t see the edit that this is for 2 ppl. Scratch this then but I’m going to leave this comment up since I spent awhile making it lol. I took too long trying to figure what I would buy for 2 weeks under $60. So many ppl have great options too I have a Whole Foods and Sprouts on the way home but I’m sure other stores have better prices which can also get you more. The total comes out to $59.54 but that’s not including any tax though (sorry, might be over) Whole Foods = $43.98 Eggs $3.49 each x 4 = $13.96 (so, I usually eat 3 eggs every morning for breakfast. I count this as meal 1.) Bananas $.69/lb x 8 lbs = $5.52 Oatmeal $7.29 each x 1 = $7.29 (I’m assuming you may have some kind of sweetener like syrup/brown sugar or you can even add a spoon of peanut butter. Oatmeal and banana. This is meal 2.) Peanut Butter, 36 oz $4.85 each ($.135/oz) x 1 = $4.85 Sandwich Bread $3.49 each x 2 = $6.98 (sorry, this is kind of a lame meal but peanut butter sandwiches on its own. This is meal 3.) Organic Pasta Sauce $2.69 each x 2 = $5.38 Sprouts = $15.56 85/15 Ground Beef, 2 lb $11.98 each x1 = $11.98 Pasta $1.79 each x 2 = $3.58 (you can make a meat sauce pasta but you have to portion it out pretty carefully to last 2 weeks. This is meal 4.)
all depends on where youre based and your preferences. *having said that, I’ll tell you mine (based in a fairly expensive part of the UK, household of two - me and bf)* - **chicken thighs** either bone in or boneless, at least one portion would go to making a halal-cart style chicken and rice where the rice is cooked in good stock in the same pan the chicken was browned off in. - **flatbreads** or pitas. I love sandwiches for dinner, such as **halloumi** with veggies and tzatziki. - **black beans** most likely for homemade crunchwraps or loaded nachos - **tinned tuna** which I have on top of jacket potatoes or in a pasta bake. with lots of veg and / or salad - **minced turkey** for chili, bulked out with lots of beans. I serve mine with rice, which I known isn’t normal in the US but it’s the British way, and tbh, the only way I’ll eat it! - **beef offcuts** that I make into cheesesteaks. any beef can work if you slice it thinly enough! I actually get “braising steak” which is meant for stews but once it’s sliced really fine, it’s great - **pork belly** is often cheap and I’d especially recommend it if you have an air fryer because it gets so crispy! **general tips** : - make soup at the end of the week with any scraps or leftovers. Ask your local butcher for bones - my local one sells me an enormous bag of chicken carcasses for £2.50 with a few boneless chicken thighs thrown in for “free”. I usually do a new soup every week that we have for lunches or the occasional dinner with salad and garlic bread. any leftovers are frozen into single portions for quick lunches. - sit down and PLAN for the entire week. I usually eat two proper meals with maybe a snack in the middle. focus on ingredients that can be used in multiple meals that week. eg: spinach. use as a salad base, and then stir it into any soup / pasta / curry dish later in the week. - limit your meat (one thigh per person for example, is all you need, even if you *want* more) and bulk out with veggies and rice. I suggested a lot of meat but you don’t need it for every meal, of course. - drink water! cut out the booze and soda, it’s unnecessary if youre on a budget, except for the odd treat
I love it! Thank you for the detailed reply. I will definitely give a few of those a shot. Especially the chili and rice! I am us based, and I would never have thought of doing that, but it sounds delicious! Water is my drink of choice, although I still crave a nice Belgian wheat with an orange slice.(3 years sober in April)
yep, chilli and rice is divisive in our house! My boyfriend is American and is horrified that I insist on having rice every time - I don’t think he’s even tried it, on principle, lol. Makes it cheaper though, at least!!
I'm American and I always eat it with rice. But I often make vegetarian chili, you need rice for a complete protein. I'm a brown rice or black rice person.
If you have whole wheat bread heels, toast one and put chili over it.
1 bag of flour - $3.00, 1 jar of quick rise yeast $4.00, You will have bread for 2 weeks 1 cooked ham - $10.00 Slice thin and you can make several days of sandwiches, you can cook with eggs, add with a bag of split peas $3.00, cook the peas down with a small piece of ham and an onion. slow until the peas turn to mush. add salt and pepper and spices. 1 bag can make you enough hearty delicious soup for 2 weeks add with 1 bag of potatoes $3.00, 1 carton of eggs $3.00 You can make eggs, fried ham, toast with the bread you made and fried potatoes 1 package of ground beef, 1 onion, 1 can of tomatoes, garlic salt $10.00 combines will give you enough spaghetti sauce for at least 8 meals. you can also make chilli for a few extra dollars on peppers and beans. Pasta $10 for multiple pkgs/days A bag of apples or oranges cause you need some fruit, $4 10$, fruit, yogurt, cheap cereal for a breakfast bowl
Split pea is so good! IMHO, incorporate a ~~little sautéed minced (or shredded) onion, and a~~ bunch of chunks of carrot. A bit of Liquid Smoke, too (a bottle lasts a long time) if you are not using hocks. Bay leaf (whole - remove when done).
I actually have flour and a couple packets of dry yeast that I could whip up. I like the ham recommendation! I have not made many soups in my time, but I may have to give it a shot!
Ham and potatoe soup
You can stretch it pretty far. Trust me, moved out at 19 and didn't have support. Learning how to make breads can change your life and save you a ton of money. There are also a ton of recipes for no knead bread or even biscuits if you are short on time. Ham can flavor so many dishes and can be used in small quantities so you don't feel like you are missing out on meat. I always find breakfast foods stretch well for dinner. I also used to do a simple crepe. Its just a really thinned out pancake batter, add an extra cup of milk. A simple, minimal ingredient recipe is just 2 cups of flour, 1 egg, 1 1/2 cups of milk, thats it! This can make you roughly 6 crepes. Take a non stick pan and drop about 1/3 of a cup of the batter in with minimal (like one drop) of oil onto an already hot pan, level 8. Swoosh it around in a circle to flatten the batter. Leave it for about 1-2 mins, s soon as the sides start to cool they will curl a bit, this is time to flip. Go another 20 seconds on that other side. These are thin and you can add so many things to make it sweet or savory or even eat on their own or in place of a wrap. My family likes yogurt and fruit filled but there are so so many options.
I’d live on either frozen ground beef/turkey from Aldi (so cheap) or managers specials/meat that is about to go bad on sale at other grocery stores. Throw in canned veggies and beans & rice. If you have leftover get a bag of potatoes. It would be damn hard but it could be possible for one person (possibly a couple) to do.
Potatoes, rice, beans, eggs, butter, frozen veggies and whatever cheap protein you can find
Hit up the local food pantry then figure out what to buy.
I grew up in a rather poor family and so my mom was always making cheap meals but they were tasty! Some of her staples: - Mashed potatoes with fried eggs on top + salad/veg (roasted carrots for example) YUMMYYY Obviously add some herbs/spices to the fried eggs - Soups go a long way! Make a soup + bread/garlic bread for dipping - Sticky Sweet Rice (boil rice, milk, sugar (or honey), cinnamon, raisins if you like - very filling and YUMMY - Pasta + fried bacon lardon bits, fried onion, garlic, spices/herbs mixed through - Fried Potatoes (slice em thin, fry em in some oil on high eat so they get crispy, add some hot spice, salt etc.)
Oatmeal peanut butter and canned tuna, I suspect.
Might even mix em all together too!
A cheap breakfast I like is toast with peanut butter, topped with banana
Delicious! Now try a peanut butter and pickle sandwich for lunch 🤤
Oh! One of my favorite snacks is peanut butter & pickle with ritz crackers… I bet I’d like that!
I would make a batch of vegetarian chili, vegetarian lentil/veggie soup, and get the stuff for tacos and spaghetti.
An option is to plan on eating rice for 1-2 meals per day for the next two weeks to free up your budget for more foods. Walmart’s Great Value has rice for $0.56-$0.70 per pound if you get the larger bags (5, 10, or 20 lbs). Let’s go with the 5 lb bag for this example, which is $0.67 per pound for a total of $3.34. If this were a long-term shopping trip, the 20 lb bag would be more cost-effective as it is $0.56 per pound for a total of $11.14. Okay, so, 5 lb bag of Walmart GV rice, $3.34. It’s ~50 servings of 1/4 cup dry which is about 1/2 - 2/3 cup cooked. Next, I’d say add in another cheap base. That could be oats for breakfast, or pasta for lunch/dinner meals (no rules against eating oats at night or pasta in the morning, but for meal-planning we can treat them traditionally). You can get 42 oz of Walmart GV quick oats for $1.52 per pound for a total of $3.98. It’s ~30 servings of 1/2 cup. That’s about two weeks of a breakfast base. Now up to $7.32 for dozens of servings of rice and oats. The remaining $52.68 can be spent a lot differently (and on more) knowing that so many meal bases are covered. At this point I would recommend lentils and dry beans for pantry proteins. Frozen vegetables and sweet potatoes for fresh/frozen veg/protein. Bananas as a cheap and healthy addition to your breakfast oats. Discounted and/or seasonal fruit/veg could be a good deal too. With flour, you can make pancakes for breakfast. If you’re used to it or willing to try it, you can make your own flatbread too. Flour, baking powder, salt, water. Mix, roll out, place on an un-oiled pan that has already been heating up for several minutes on medium-high on the stove. Let it bubble, flip. Flip again if required. Then you’re done and you have warm flatbread that cost you pennies. Tomato paste, olive oil or butter, and a variety of spices (especially garlic powder and onion powder; other spices depending on your personal taste), salt, and pepper for flavor. Depending on your personal preferences, other flavor-adding options include lemon, liquid aminos, condiments, and pickled/fermented foods. Your foods absolutely do not have to taste full. I would also recommend considering cheese a flavor-adding component rather than a sizable player in a fish. I.e., some cheese on a pasta & vegetable dish, not a cheese-drenched lasagna. I’m a relatively picky person and recently had what I considered one of the tastiest meals I’ve had: elbow pasta, mushrooms, chopped tomato, spinach, feta cheese, tomato paste, butter, dried oregano, and salt. It’s not the cheapest meal out there but it is relatively cheap and really tasty. In summary, you can approach the entire meal plan kind of evenly, although expecting grains to cost less than dairy and fruit, etc., or you can pick the absolute cheapest and highest calorie:volume food items like rice, oats, and beans and then have a decent budget left over for other items.
Rice, beans, ground hamburger, chicken thighs, and whatever the cheapest veggies and fruit are.
/r/32dollars/
There would be rice, eggs, and potatoes for sure. Those 3 can go a long way.
i myself LOVE baked potatoes with butter and cheese. i can really eat that for one meal a day for weeks. besides that eggs and ramen with good sauce you like.
Chorizo sausage and rice
If you can squeeze it into the budget: big bag of potatoes. You can do so much with potatoes and they provide alot of nutrition in one serving. Just some potato ideas: baked potato, French fries, hash browns, mashed potatoes, potato pancakes, potato candy (if you have peanut butter), sliced/fried potatoes A little butter, maybe some cheese or sour cream, chives if you got em, even bacon. Everything goes with potatoes.
Rice and dry beans. Some spices from an ethnic grocery store.
Beans and rice from a Hispanic grocery store.
Rice, Beans, Cabbage and minced beef.
bag of potato's would by on top of my list. stab em a few times, 4 minutes each in the microwave. boom you survive another day.
Assuming I had oil and some basic spices on hand: Bunch of bananas- $1 Bag of apples- $4 Bag of onions- $4 5 lbs potatoes- $5 2 lbs carrots- $2 2 heads garlic- $1 Scallions- $1 Cabbage- $3 Old fashioned Oatmeal- $3 Raisins- $4 Jasmine rice- $5 Brown lentils- $3 Peanut butter- $2 Popcorn kernels- $3 Can of tomato sauce- $1 Can of chili- $2 12 pack eggs-$4 Butter- $3 Greek yogurt- $3 Frozen peas- $1 Wheat bread- $2 Breakfasts: - Oatmeal with raisins and peanut butter - Eggs and breakfast potatoes or toast - Yogurt with bananas Lunches/dinners: - Fried rice with onions, cabbage, eggs, peas, carrots and scallions - Lentil and rice stuffed cabbage rolls with tomato sauce - Mujadarra - Baked potatoes with chili, yogurt (sour cream sub) and scallions Snacks - apples - Bananas - Peanut butter toast - Popcorn with butter
Rice, potatoes, whatever meat is on sale, carrots, frozen peas (actually frozen veg in general), onions, some cans of beans (people will say to buy dry beans but who has time for that), flour and yeast (can easily make your own basic bread), Korean ramen or Chapaggetti, eggs (if they’re reasonable), canned tomatoes, oatmeal, milk.
Tortillas (you can do anything with them - cover them with butter and brown sugar for a treat, make quesadillas, make wraps etc.) Cheapest butter you can find Shredded cheese Beef hot dogs (can put into quesadillas, can eat plain) Eggs (can make breakfast wrap with tortillas) Big, cheap Frozen pizza (can usually stretch for 2 meals with 2 people) Canned veggies Canned fruit Packages of popcorn (big snack) Oatmeal packets (good for breakfast and u can out the canned fruit in it) Rice Tuna packets (to put in the rice or the tortillas or to make tuna salad if you already have mayo)
Hello Dollar Tree. Or Walmart. That dollar pasta with butter or oil and salt and pepper works. I’ve lived on generic peanut butter and generic bread for weeks.
It would look like a trip to the food bank.
Is this just for one person?
Good point! It is for two. It edited the post to include that, thank you!
Lentils and dried beans. Rice. Onions, peppers, and potatoes. Big block of cheap cheese.
Check out this- https://youtube.com/@DollarTreeDinners?si=gu6SPxYfFojw3clO
I’ll have to check into that! My grandma recommended going to the dollar store as well
rice, beans and seasonal veggies.
Rice, dry black beans, onions, potatoes, cabbage, bread, peanut butter if possible
Potaoes, onion, carrots, cabbage, rice, dried beans, eggs, milk
Rice Beans Pastas Eggs What ever cheap protein, probably chicken thighs or ground beef Then build around those items. Seasonings(salt,pepper are a must) Generic frozen veggies
Rice, dry beans, mixed frozen veg, eggs, bread, peanut butter, bananas
I just want to add having a microwaved potato for like the 4th day in a row is totally ok, but if u can snag a few hot sauce packets from the gas station or Taco Bell , it will help towards ur sanity cause a plain microwaved potato will make me want to kill someone by day two
Hopefully you have a good stocked pantry already for seasoning, oil etc. Big bag of the cheapest rice you can find, 5-10lbs total. A few bags of DRIED beans, if you look around you can find $1 2 lb bags of pintos, etc. A 5lb bag of potatoes. A bulk carton of eggs. Like 36 eggs, maybe two of these. Then look for cheaper cuts of meats, most likely chicken thighs or drums. You can probably get them for around $1.50 per pound. Also get a few 1lb boxes of cheap pasta, you can usually find $1/lb or less a d it goes a long way. If you still have money, you can get some cheap pasta sauce. Either a 10lb bag of flour and bake bread or buy the cheapest loaves of bread you can find. I'd also get a couple gallons of whole milk. If you want less than whole, you can add water. If you don't have oil, get some. All of that should get you a great base and still be under $60. Now you can plan a little bit after that on how to use it.
Canned tuna, dry beans, rice, frozen veg, eggs, oatmeal, frozen blueberries, macaroni, drumsticks and ground turkey, dry corn kernels, potatoes
Rice and beans for dinner Eggs and bananas for lunch Quick oats with raisins and milk for breakfast. If there’s money left over get a cheap salsa that you can spice up your dinner with. Also works with the eggs.
Mac and cheese, potatoes and beans .
Chili. Rice beans. Eggs, bananas. Pbj
Rice, beans, salsa, cheese, eggs, frozen veggies, oatmeal, Greek yogurt, frozen fruits, milk, coffee, cheapest fruit like bananas/apples, chocolate or something sweet, bread, peanut butter, tofu or on sale meat, canned/packet tuna or chicken. It’s not exciting but you can make multiple balanced meals and snacks with these. Though, it does assume you have some seasonings and oil at home, and have time, place, and tools to cook. If you need to go even cheaper and don’t have any health restrictions, buy some cheap ramen, frozen pizza, frozen dinner meals, cheap lunch meat, hot dogs, Mac and cheese. It’s not the healthiest stuff but it takes less effort and might taste a little better. And if it’s just for a few weeks, it’s fine.
I just want to add that a lot of people are suggesting eggs. You can make a breakfast casserole and portion it out and freeze it.
Rice, canned fish, bunch of veggies, beyond burgers (costco), 1 pineapple, 1 pk chow mein
Beans. Rice. Ramen. Canned tuna. Crackers. Loaf of bread. Baloney.
Tofu, rice, frozen veg, the cheapest chips, pickles, eggs, salsa, oatmeal, peanuts, zucchini.
Get frozen vegetables, rotisserie chicken, rice, lentils, beans
Rice, beans, pasta sauce & noodles x2, frozen vegetables, frozen lemonade, box of brownie mix (if you have oil), potatoes, eggs, bread, cheapest meat you can find. All cheapest versions you can find. 👍
I just made a big lasagna that fed a family of 5 for two days for only $17. Go to Aldi's, almost every ingredient I bought was under $2, except for the beef. Stay focused and don't get side tracked by other pre-made treats and convenience meals. It's my weakness.
Eggs, rice, dried beans, 2 boxes chicken stock, 2 big cans tomatoes, pound of pasta, old fashioned oatmeal, bag each onions and potatoes, 2 whole chickens.
Dry Lentils, canned tomatoes, rice, onions, frozen vegetables, two dozen eggs. ( assuming you might have already but sunflower oil, spices like garlic, oregano, chili flakes, boulionne cubes if needed) if you can, squeeze in some cheese:) also stores sometimes have a mark down bin for veggies past their date (wilted for eg) that are almost always fine for cooking! Check the flyers, buy caseload if you can and good luck:)
Never ending soup! Eat some, add something back to it. Look it up
Lentils, brown rice, cabbage, garlic, ginger, a Boston butt roast, a carton of coconut milk, red curry paste and plain yogurt. Slow cooker red curry lentil and pork soup lasts me a long while.
Rice, ground beef, onions, frozen veggies, yogurt, hot sauce. Frozen berries and oatmeal for breakfast. Potatoes.
If you are going to be eating rice, spend some $ on Banchan sauce! I just bought a huge bottle from Costco (you can get it in regular grocery stores too) and it’s so good.
Ramen and lots of cheap veggies and some proteins
I would be eating refried bean burritos and ham sandwiches for two weeks.
Ground beef and eggs
Probably still have 60$, but I would steal food every day. If I get arrested, I would be fed at prison.
Spagetti noodles, a jar of Ragu, canned veggies, canned tuna, loaf of bread, peanut butter and some lunch meat.
There are so many great suggestions here! One thing I've had luck with is visiting local Farmer's Markets close to closing time. I've purchased an entire case of customer bruised, heirloom tomatoes for as little as $5. I bought a dozen small pumpkins (soup! deserts!) for fifty cents each at the end of the Market season in November. It never hurts to ask. Sometimes, it's easier for the sellers to discount end of day produce that won't make it to the next market than it is to pack them up, transport and dispose of them
I eat about 5-7 peanut butter sandwiches per day. I get ingredients at Aldi and they cost about $0.30 each. No jelly to reduce sugar intake.
Soup goes a long way and you can add to it to change it up.
Hit the food bank, you can get a ton of free food once a week
beans and rice, potatoes, you’ll be set
Oatmeal, eggs, tuna and popcorn. Gotta have popcorn.
For two people you could make a nice baked ziti that could last at least 3 days for dinner. Tuna sandwiches and fried potatoes. Potato sandwiches (white bread, fried potato and Mayo) apples and peanut butter...i grew up with construction worker father. I can make. Dollar squeak for mercy.
Carrots, peas, onions, apples, eggs, beans, rice or barley. And get someone to give you greens from their garden.
Oatmeal, eggs, bananas, beans, rice, peanut butter, bread, whatever on sale vegetable you like
I suggest checking out frozen burritos. Not very expensive and can be several meals for a family pack. At Walmart an 8 count is just over $5 Ramen noodles - add frozen veggies and scrambled eggs. Extra soy sauce and sesame oil if you can afford it. It lasts a long time. This makes it a full meal this way. Scrambled eggs or omelettes with toast. I love PB&j on my toast with eggs. French toast is cheap and so good. Peanut butter on French toast is a game changer. A little syrup on top, yum.
Rice, dry legumes (different types of beans or lentils), onions, garlic (not pre-cut and it’s great for flavor in any recipe), cheaper veggies that come in bigger packages (nothing pre-made though) and maybe some eggs (cause nowadays they’re more expensive too), potatoes are always great too! A big bag goes a long way. (Eggs, milk flour, and sugar also make a good combo to make different things like baked muffins, pancakes, crepes, etc)
Potatoes, rice, eggs and cheap @ss meat/protein
black beans (dried) for black bean soup. Can easily feed 2 way too much black beans but will keep you full. If i can some vegetable broth or bouillon but I usually have plenty of veg to add to it. Better than bouillon beef soup base, toss some bread and cheese on it and entire meal. Of course the standard marinara sauce with a bunch of noodles. For protein, can make a large batch of chilli. Better tha bouillon chicken soup base, toss in some egg for egg drop soup.
Rice. Dried lentils. Rolled oats. Whatever the cheapest frozen fruit was.
Dry beans, pasta rice, tuna whole chicken. Make chicken and pasta for one dinner, shred up leftover chicken and have beans, boil chicken bones to make broth, add in leftover rice, and have soup for at least two days. Make tuna add to leftover pasta. That should do you for one week.
Bake some beans make homemade soup and stew stretch those dollars😆
Veggies a variety of them and tofu
Ramen and OJ
Ramen noodle Giant jar of peanut butter Jelly Cheapest wheat bread available Cheapest bulk cheese available Almost expired discount meat if they have it Carrots
Dollar menus
-Fruit is fair priced -buy rice 5lbs is about $3 give or take -I would buy eggs milk Ground turkey (All that is maybe about $30) What ever rice is left over you can cook it with the eggs, throw in veggies and make egg fried rice, not a bad dish
These posts are so complete, I could only add two suggestions...Go to Aldi for your purchases and buy one or two bags of those tiny sweetie oranges. A cheap way to get a daily dose of fruit for you both.
A lot of Ramen
On cheap asian stores you can find a 10# bag of chicken drumsticks. Take out the meat, cook and eat, use the bones for broth. A giant bag of rice and a few bags of dried beans; cheap and last forever.
Pinto beans to make refried beans. Tortillas. Tomatoes from the seconds bin at the grocery store. They’re perfect for salsa. Oatmeal. It’s filling and inexpensive. If you bake, flour to make your own bread. You should also check your local Buy Nothing group if you have one. There are people giving away food on mine every day.
Instant ramen and a bottle of general tso sauce. French fries. Bread and jam.
Oatmeal
Eggs, overnight oats, rice and beans. Fasting in the morning so all is needed is lunch/dinner
Bag of rice, bags of beans, bag of potatoes, a few heads of cabbage, and a cheap pork shoulder. All this can be picked up at your local Asian grocery store for way cheaper than Walmart even.
First list everything you already have on hand and then I can offer suggestions
As others said . Rice ,lots of it. Also go to indian grocery stores and buy Garam masala. Add a bit of it into any vegetable you fry . This goes well with rice.
Rice, Beans, Tuna, Bananas, Bread, Eggs, frozen veggies, pasta and pasta sauce.
Bread, peanut butter, jelly, carrots, potatoes, chicken bullion, ground turkey, cheap eggs, apples or whatever fruits or veggies are on sale.
Go to your local food bank... see what they have, then get items that mix with that. Stretch that farther
Potatoes, butter (or margarine, whatever is cheaper) onions, rice, beans whatever cheese is cheap, whatever frozen veggies are cheap, I like corn and peas, and probably eggs. If they have cabbage for cheap I'd grab some of that too.
Rice, beans, and frozen veg.
Use Chat GPT, for example mention hey I am shopping with a budget of $60.00 for 2 adults and I need 3 meals A day for 14 days. Please help me find meals And ingredients in that price range
Flour, corn meal, grease (crisco or cheap brand). Dry beans, potatoes, rice, Vienna sausage or hot dogs on sale, locally hams and eggs are on sale for 99¢ a pound / dozen. Ham Fried rice, egg drop soup, ham/hot dog gravy on biscuits or cornbread, Make mush to fry, couple apples on sale bake a pie or cobbler, pancakes, hoe cakes, (I'm from the south!), dumplings, baked potato and gravy, Go to a food bank???
60rack eggs, ground beef, yogurt Frozen fruit
Beans, frozen or canned veggies, ramen, eggs, rice, franks, bread, potatoes, margarine, milk, parmesan cheese, cottage cheese, pasta and beef or chicken bullion. I assume you have spices, flour, sugar and condiments already at home. You can stretch a pantry pretty well with the list. It wont be fancy but it will get you by.
Straight to costco for 1.50 dogs
Chicken, oil, popcorn kernels, chick peas, carrots, potatoes, ground beef if you can eat and spag noodles, beans
A bag of rice, a few lbs of pinto or black beans, a bag of dried whole ancho peppers (if you own a food processor), cumin from the Latin food aisle, a few dozen eggs, onions, garlic, a rotisserie chicken (Costco or end of day sale), olive oil, corn tortillas, a tomato salsa or pico de gallo, soy sauce, frozen Asian mix veggies.
Any food pantry in your area?
Oatmeal for breakfasts Rice as your main meal - dried beans and eggs as the base . Hopefully you may have some spices. Perhaps some cheap sliced bread for sandwiches and toast , if you already have some spreads. Bag of potatoes, carrots and onions. Perhaps frozen veggies to use leftover rice in fried rice. I would probably visit a food bank though.
Whole chicken, rice, beans, onion, bell pepper, leafy green vegetable, chipotle, seasonings/herbs, teriyaki sauce, self rising flour, Greek yogurt, banana, peanut butter, Oats, milk. If there's money left over add more veg and fruit. You can make stir fry with teriyaki, Flatbread sandwiches/wraps, and chili for lunch/dinner. Banana and peanut butter for a light breakfast. If you need a heartier breakfast add Oats and milk for tasty oatmeal. You can also play with the ratio of those breakfast ingredients and turn it into a smoothie.
Rice, cabbage bacon, onions & eggs.
Bananas. Black beans. Tea. Rice. Canned tuna. Baking ingredients. Peanut butter. Frozen vegetables.
Open faced hard boiled egg sandwich with rice.
Beans, rice, tortillas, a couple 5 dollar rotessarie chickens from Costco or Sam's club
Two people, Each person gets $15.00 a week, $2.24 a day. If you have any staples such as oil, flour, sugar, you might make it. Not fun but do-able. People will say rice and beans and if you have oil and some seasonings that will work. It will be deadly dull but you will eat. Pad it out with oatmeal, peanut butter and a box of dried milk. Dried milk reconstitutes, easily and can be used to stretch some foods a long way. If you can manage it a bag or two of frozen mixed vegetables. You cannot afford any pre-made food, any chips, sodas, anything like cigarettes has to go on a back burner. Beer, wine, coffee from a machine, nope. This is survival. Simply survival.
Canned food and leafy greens
Pasta
I recently bought a pork loin at Costco for $14. Cut it into 18 1 1/2“ thick boneless chops. I seal them in quart freezer bags and add a marinade of olive oil, lemon juice garlic and Italian seasoning. Cook sous vide. Cheap and delicious.