Life of Boris has a funny (and actually useful) series on budget cooking if you’re into that. Great watch imo
Subscribed. Cheers.
Sandwiches and soup. I always preferred tuna, but grilled cheese or ham and cheese are solid too.
Tuna and cheese are cheap???
A can of tuna is about a dollar, that’s probably good for 2 sandwiches.
I think that qualifies as cheap. I mean 1 tuna sandwich probably costs about the same amount as a pack of ramen, and it contains actual food.
While chicken from Walmart (or Costco) about $5 and it becomes 4-8 meals.
Air pop popcorn. Buy popcorn by the huge bags, so I only buy every few years.
Rice is cheap. Bread is cheap. Pancakes. Bananas (it’s like $1 for the week)
Also check out your local food bank, lots of free stuff to fill the kitchen, then you just have to buy a few staples that are missing from the food bank items. (The one near me doesn’t have milk, eggs, meat, etc. but they have plenty of vegetables and fruit and some snacks) also a monthly box filled with canned foods.
Who eats popcorn for dinner? They asked about food, not snacks. Popcorn contains basically zero nutrition.
My recommendation is to look around your grocery store and see what ingredients are cheapest. That can help to come up with ideas I think.
That being said look up Congri. It’s a Cuban dish that’s quite tasty and uses very few ingredients.
I just found a great cheap meal that’s tasty, healthy, easy to cook, and ridiculously cheap. I thought I’d share it as so many people have shared theirs.
I bought a bag of dried peas, added to cups of cold water, bring to boil, then simmer for 10 minutes. You now have a pan full of peas to use any way you wish. I decided to make a pea soup. So I added a bunch of stuff I had in my kitchen already: garlic, sugar, ginger powder, a dollop of margarine to make it taste not so watery, and cornflour to thicken it a tiny bit. It cost almost nothing to make, and I’ll get 3 small meals out of it (all accompanied with bread). I might try a similar thing with lentils, to build my confidence cooking with them.
So I added a bunch of stuff I had in my kitchen already:
In a lot of discussions about cheap food, that phrase is often replied with “man, I wish I had anything lying around in the kitchen already” 😅
But seriously, investing even a little bit in spices whenever you happen to have the money does go a long way! Having decent access to salt and pepper does wonders, and I guarantee it’s all up from there. I’m always wondering, like, “am I brave enough to check if this stuff tastes good with hot sauce? Guess today is the day we’ll finally find out!”
Microwave meatball subs and raw broccoli.
I don’t have a microwave. Sounds good, though.
I can get many varieties of squash and brassica cultivars locally for a ridiculously low price as most of the entire county I live in used to be all farmland and we have a ton of actual farmers markets that aren’t fully commercialized
So I eat a lot of acorn and spaghetti squash, broccoli and cabbage in many forms, peppers are usually cheap as well as carrots. Onions are cheap as well as bananas
Beef and chicken bouillon for cheap flavor, whatever fruit is on sale for desert
Tofu for protein as I can’t stand the texture of beans
I used to fry a pan of frozen veggies with salt and thyme, but these days I’m often lucky enough to be able to get a lot of rescued food for free.
Kraft Mac n cheese. You can add all sorts of stuff to it to make it stretch and be somewhat healthier. Frozen riced cauliflower, onions, beans, hot dogs, whatever.
Suddenly salad works well this way too. Add tomato, carrot, bell pepper, etc.
I used to do the same with instant ramen but the sodium level in it is way too high for me to eat anymore.
You can fancy up top ramen by putting some sliced onion, basil, egg etc in it.
Pasta and sauce. As long as you have a few basic herbs and spices on hand (garlic powder, Italian seasonings, salt pepper), you can buy a can of crushed tomatoes, and a box of pasta, and you can have several delicious, filling meals for less than 5 bucks total. Spend a little more and toss in ground beef, ground pork, or mushrooms, or a combination of all three.
Aldi has the ingredients for really cheap. You can even buy a pound of ground pork for only about $3. The spices are only about a buck each.
A bag of onions and a jar of minced garlic punch above their price tag for pasta enhancement as well.
I like to saute the onion (diced) until golden and translucent, then add a scoop of the minced garlic, then just as it starts to brown, dump in the sauce, Italian seasoning, and stir at a very low simmer while the noodles cook.
Add some pasta water to the sauce before you strain so it sticks to the noodles better.
I didn’t know that about the pasta water, thank you!
I eat cheap all the time, but rice and beans is the classic. If you can afford a can of tomatoes and some spices, then you can upgrade this to rajma masala. That’s one of my fav post workout meals. Throw in some alliums, and other vegetables as you can (frozen is often p cheap).
Actually just look up vegan Indian recipes and source ingredients as cheaply as you can. Like dried beans, lentils, chickpeas, and spices — ideally purchased from bulk store — and you’ll be healthy and satisfied for less money than you would believe.
When very low on money, it’s what’s in the cupboard,.which is oil, butter and pasta. Cheese is a bonus but the fridge will be empty before the cupboard.
You should always have rice and pasta available. Cheep and quick. So good for when tired or lazy, as well as when broke. Lots of people recommend beans but I don’t like them so much.
Look at the specials in your supermarket. Many please discount heavily for stuff that is close to expiry date. If you shop daily you’ve less waste and get food deals.
Rice and beans.
Oatmeal
Pasta
Marked down produce
