so who can give me some "menu" idea for a family of 3...say about UNDER $10.00 a day...is it...*read on*

Question

to try to help keep our food budget to say around $200.00 to $250.00 a month? WITHOUT COUPONS....lol help me plan some cheap meal people haha Please help me get a "SHOPPING LIST' and MENU together,,, We trying to save as much as possible to pay hospital bills off....thanks to all that can help us out

we do NOT have access to any coupons..we dont receive any magazines or newspaper to have any coupons....ty for all that can help

Answer 1

You got some terrific answers here, so I only have a couple of suggestions.

1. Check your local library for coupons. Ours keep baskets of coupons that people aren't using for anyone to take.

2. You can also print coupons online. Check web sites for specific products, or just do a general serach for coupons. Not all stores will take online coupons, though, so check with your local stores.

3. Our church did this thing where you paid $20 for a box of food and you got enough for four people for several weeks. It was some type of food co-op program. Maybe there's something like that in your area. A lot of people really liked it since they saved so much money and there was a great variety in the box from month to month.

4. Check the web site www.americascheapestfamily.com. They have a bunch of money saving tips. They also have a book you might want to look for if you make it to the library.

5. Look for crock pot recipes. You can usually use a cheaper cut of meat since it cooks for so long. Try
www.crockpot.com or www.crock-pot-recipes.info

Answer 2

I understand the coupon thing...I don't usually use them, myself. I do, however, stock up on sale stuff whenever I can!

Good basic to always have on hand, that are not usually expensive:

Bread
Whole chicken
Chicken parts
Fish
Ground Beef
Fresh fruits
Fresh Veggies
Lettuce
Dried Pasta
Dried bread crumbs
Rice
Milk
Eggs
Canned tuna
Canned whole tomatoes
Canned crushed tomatoes
Canned beans - black, northern, kidney, etc
Cheese (chunks and shredded)
Tortilla's (for wraps)
Good, basic herbs - Basil, oregano, thyme

Most inexpensive things are to make tomato sauce and stocks from scratch, and freeze.

Whole chicken, roasted can be one dinner, then leftovers made into chicken salad for sandwiches or wraps. Use the carcass to make chicken stock.

Tomato sauce can be used with pasta, of course, but also for chicken or eggplant parmesan.

Eggs are always a great, inexpensive meal. A beautiful omelet with veggies and cheese, with a side salad is a nice dinner. Also, egg salad, of course.

Canned tuna can be used in place of canned salmon, sometimes...mix with bread crumbs, chopped onions and herbs and make tuna patties.

Pasta will give you a ton of options. Just about any veggie can be sauteed with olive oil and tossed over noodles. And a big pan of lasagna will usually go pretty far. Casseroles made with tuna or left over chicken, along with some shredded cheese melted on top.

Meatloaf is another great budget stretcher, sided with mashed taters and a veggie.

Broiled fish with a side of rice and veggie is super easy, and fast, not to mention healthy!

I hope this helps!

Answer 3

Do you have space to plant a garden? I live in Mississippi where things are pretty cheap and I see no other way to spend $10/day to feed a family of 3.
Of course, keep the basics on hand...flour, sugar, cornmeal, rice....
You could do dry beans. Good luck....great question.

Answer 4

Noodles Hamburger Tomato sauce
Rice Chicken Mac & cheese
Cream of Mushroom soup Onions
Potatoes Macaroni

Make a lot of pasta and rice dishes....chicken and noodles, hamburger gravy over rice or noodles, goulash, etc. etc. Make sure you add vegetables to make sure everyone gets their nutrients. I am on a tight budget also, so we do a lot of that. Also grilled cheese and soup, etc. etc.

Answer 5

some ways that I use to cut the food bill....buy generic or store brands, only buy meats when it is on sale...oh heck I only buy sale items for everything...lol plus I like to go to Aldi foods...they are really cheap! you can get whole chickens for .69 a pound! canned vegee's for .33 if you have a store like that around you go there. food has gone up so much in price lately I almost had a heart attack when I went to pick up hot dogs at Sentry...$4.00 for one package! unreal!!!
typical weekly meal at our house (family of 5 here and one is a teeneager..lol) I also always try and buy alot of the meats that usually are on sale around the different holidays and freeze them for later...like now ham is .98 pound so I bought 3 and froze two for later...same goes for turkey around thanksgiving. one thing that I do is make sure to make out my meals for the week and then write my shopping list...and I never take the kids with me...lol you can guess why...can I have that?...lol and I stick to the list for the most part.
meatloaf, buttered noodles and grean beans (had a garden and I froze a lot)
chicken alfredo over fettucini noodles, garlic bread
pulled bbq pork on rolls, homemade potato salad (this is usually enough for two meals)
hot dogs wrapped in crescent rolls with tater tots

roasted chicken , mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, cranberry sauce (if I have left over chicken I make chicken salad for sandwhiches during the week)
taco's
chicken supreme (marinated chicken breasts grilled or fried) serve over rice pilaf and some kind of vegetable (whatever is on sale)...if you like any of the ideas for your menu and need a recipe feel free to email me and I can send it to you

Answer 6

Lots of good ideas here already..... here are some more:


http://chefmichele.blogspot.com/

http://community.cookinglight.com/showthread.php?t=4251&highlight=budget
http://community.cookinglight.com/showthread.php?t=4251&highlight=budget
http://community.cookinglight.com/showthread.php?t=53696&highlight=budget
http://community.cookinglight.com/showthread.php?t=96460&highlight=budget


…budget grocery shopping
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLC,GGLC:1969-53,GGLC:en&q=budget+grocery+shopping

… budget recipes
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLC,GGLC:1969-53,GGLC:en&q=budget+recipes
...healthy buget recipes
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLC,GGLC:1969-53,GGLC:en&q=healthy+budget+recipes
…budget meals
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLC,GGLC:1969-53,GGLC:en&q=budget+meals
…budget menus
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLC,GGLC:1969-53,GGLC:en&q=budget+menus


Definitely look into all kinds of recipes involving various kinds of beans and "pulses" too, --and when eaten along with grains (and even bits of meat too), they're really cheap.


HTH, and good luck!

Diane B.