$40 grocery budget-what should I get that I can cook on a weekly basis?

Question

I usually buy pasta(no, not Easy Mac), bread, eggs, ham and cheese, water, granola(or granola bars) and save the leftover money for next week. I also look out for sales. I want to cook inexpensive things without breaking the bank...any suggestions?

Answer 1

if you have the space...plant a garden. if not, you can plant herbs in little pots and place them near a window. herbs are wonderful to spice up bland inexpensive foods such as rice or pastas and different herbs can make a variety of meals with just the basic groceries.

Answer 2

I'm hoping someone in your house knows how to cook some basic home made meals. Stock up on staples like rice, pasta, flour, oil, canned tomato products etc Potatoes and seasonal vegetables are always a good choice. Don't buy strawberries in December unless you have a local greenhouse. Whole chickens can create not just dinner when baked with herbs, leftovers can be used for casseroles, sandwiches etc. Scrub the coupons, weekly fliers with the store sales. The internet coupons can often be found for your favorite items. Stick with the store brand or generic. Own a slow cooker, a pressure cooker is your friend if you want to learn how to use one. You can turn a big cheap roast, some veggies into a meal for a couple of days.

Answer 3

That tuna recipe above is really good and its realllllly good on rice.

Also you can make something similar with ground beef and serve on mashed potatoes.

Grilled cheese sandwiches can be cheap too, all you need is the cheap margerine the cheap cheese singles and bread :) yummmy

Also when I am outta cash I buy the generic mini frozen pizzas its like 3 bucks for a box of 12

Answer 4

Rice, lentils, beans, fresh produce...carrots, potatoes, and whatever fruit or veg is on special. Chicken thighs/tenders and ground beef are usually fairly inexpensive.

Despite the suggestions above, I wouldn't spend money on soda...if you're craving something sweet, get Kool-aid. Same basic ingredients, but a fraction of the cost.

I heard once that if you shop around the edge of the grocery store you'll get better quality food that's mostly cheaper.
Also, don't underestimate buying things on special and freezing them for the weeks ahead.

Answer 5

You could buy hot dogs, and look for coupons in the news paper places that you go because they will save you a little bit of money and look for sales that have stuff for sandwiches that is on sale and also buy a cheap cereal instead of granola because it is cheaper and it will save you a little money also buy stuff like fruit a lot of times fruit is cheaper then meat items in some places.

Answer 6

Actually, what your buying is really good! You could always buy Lean Cuisene or another frozen meal. You could also just do what your doing and about 3 or 4 times a month you can eat out to a nice and cheap restaraunt, like Olive Garden (but you need to know how to order properly to have a cheap bill), or Golden Corel, CiCi's Pizza, or Sweet Tomato ( this is a really good restaraunt)

Answer 7

Meat and animal based products tend to be more expensive than other items. Consider reducing your meat intake or becoming vegetarian.

My husband and I cook a big pot of rice and add various spices to it to eat throughout the week. Black beans and brown rice is super healthy and super cheap!

Buying basic ingredients and cooking from scratch is much cheaper than buying prepared foods.

Last but not least, always check your grocery store receipt to make sure you were charged correctly. If you'd like to read my personal account of this at our local Super Target, the link to my article is:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/322521/dont_be_overcharged_at_the_grocery.html

Answer 8

Another cost-cutter is buying dried beans in bulk instead of canned, and a big bag of normal rice (not instant). I shop sales too, buy generic, and buy burger in 5 pound rolls and portion it up myself for the freezer. When you can splurge a bit, buy your cheese in bricks and shred it yourself and freeze it in ziplocks. I also learned how to make my own tortillas and do my own croutons and bread crumbs. You can get really creative on a budget. We pinch pennies to save up for a vacation next year.

Here's my husband's recipe for what I call "glop", but it's really good.

2 cans of tuna, drained
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 soup can of milk
A big handful of frozen peas

Heat all that together and serve on toast.

Answer 9

potatoes can be cooked lots of ways and help stretch the budget. use the ham and cheese in the potatoes, and not just make sandwiches.

Peanut butter. good source of protein.

How about ceral other than granola.

Answer 10

Hello:

Eggs

Pasta

Jars of spaghetti sauce

Macaroni and Cheese

Tuna fish

Bananas

Chicken or Beef Pot Pies

Ramen Noodles

Animal Crackers

Bread

Hot Dogs