How can me and my family eat right on a really tight budget?

Question

As you all know the holidays are coming and the bills just never stop! it's going to be a broke *** christmas and I'm wondering; besides pasta and hot dogs and b.s. what can me and my husband eat that is remotley healthy and a good solid meal. Suggestions please?

bla sick of rice too but thanks for the answers

Answer 1

I have the same problem but I have a good answer! I shop the bargain bin marked down meat is good alot of times but look closely. Get a big bag of chicken legs and thighs, for two it'll make 5 or 6 meals for about $6.. You can boil some use the meat for chicken salad or in a casserole, use the broth for soup or chicken noodles, fry some & bake some with BBQ sauce etc.. Like today I got to the Piggly Wiggly at 7 am I got 3 good lookin Rib-eyes for $4!. 5 1lb. packs of ground round for $1.30 a piece looked nice & red. 3 sirloin steaks for $1.50 each. Dried beans, peas & rice is cheap $1. a bag at the dollar store & they are good together! You just gotta get there at the right time. If it wasn't for that we'd starve!

Answer 2

Big supermarkets usually have a range of foods which are really cheap, for example Tesco Value. The value vegetables are EXTREMELY cheap and the reason they are usually as cheap as they are is because they do not *look* the most appealing, but they should still taste the same.
If you buy the vegetables cheap and raw and then buy cheap flour, milk, salt ect.... then you should have enough money to buy cheap(ish) meat. Another good thing to do is go into the supermarket and buy the products that are cheap because they're nearing their sell by date, if you buy it for that night then you would have saved some money!
Have you got a garden? If you have then maybe you could buy a few chickens and create a coop really cheaply and then you could get your eggs (and every so often meat too!) that way. I wouldn't buy cheap eggs because you can catch deiseases because cheap eggs usually come from battery hens where illness spreads fast, plus it's morally wrong anyway!
For example- here is how I would do a cheap xmas meal for 2 from Tesco.

Tesco small turkey- £8.00
Loose new potatoes- 7p each. 3 potatoes each for two = 6x£0.07 = 42p
Carrots- 6p each. 1 each = 2x£0.06= 12p
Parsnips- 28p each. 1 each = 2x £0.28= 56p
Gravy- 47 p

See. Cheap!

Answer 3

Think Mexican. Homemade refried beans are super cheap and delicious. Lots of things are cheaper at the Mexican and Latin markets. Tortilla, meats, vegetables. Also, the best way to save money on food is to have a weekly menu. In the short run, a weekly menu can save a family hundreds of dollars because you aren't always trying to figure out what to make "today" and you always use up everything you buy instead of wasting money by throwing un-used old stuff away. If you can't handle "chicken every sunday" make a 2 week menu. But keep in mind, most people don't even remember what they ate an hour ago, let alone last night!!

Answer 4

Soups are very economical, especially when you use left-over meats and veggies in them.

Casseroles don't require much meat. You can add more veggies and cheese to make a complete meal in one pan.

Chicken legs & thighs are pretty inexpensive and sometimes you can get good deals on frozen fish. ( not fish sticks or fried portions)

Basically, just shop the sales at the supermarket. Start using coupons if you don't already. Look for store brand items instead of the more expensive national brands. Eggs are cheaper than meat. You can always make breakfast for dinner....kids like that.

Bigger cuts of meat like hams & roasts look expensive but if you can get more meals from them. I buy a ham and we have enough meat for at least 3 meals. You can freeze the left-over meat so you're not eating the same meat 3 nights in a row. It's easy to thaw and it's great to have on nights when you don't feel like cooking so much.

Here's some links in the source box. I've used quite a few of them. I have a lot of kids to feed on one steady & one not so steady income! I hope this helps!

Answer 5

healthy and cheap, imho, is not easy. Look for sale items. Oatmeal for breakfast. Pack your own lunch. Shop at discounters. There are some items where the costs are so much cheaper and quality wise just as good. Some items do not measure up and I don't buy them there. Lima beans, black beans are good for protien. Chicken thighs are cheaper than breasts, but fat wise, you may as well eat hamburger. The more convience there is, the higher the cost. Learn to cook. The first time you make a big pot of soup, it costs more as there are spices you need to buy. However your costs will drop the next few times as you have less items to buy to make the same pot of soup.

Answer 6

I shop at Aldi when on a tight budget, they have all the same foods and pretty much the same quality. for two grocery bags filled at the regular store i can pay the same amount at Aldi for four full bags! me and my husband pretty much east the same stuff over and over again: spaghetti, chili, chicken/rice/veggie casserole, tacos, stuffed peppers, lots of salads with most meals, meatloaf, tuna casserole, enchiladas, club sandwiches and soup, pizza, frozen stuffed chicken breasts, chicken patties, I usually pick up whatever meat is on sale and make a roast or country style pork ribs. just look for the sales and stock up, buy meat in bulk and freeze it, frozen veggies. #1 thing to do though is make a meal plan for the week and only shop for those items (take into consideration if you'll be eating leftovers for your lunches or another dinner) you don't want to throw away lots of wasted food! stick to a basic lunch and breakfast plan for each week.

Answer 7

well when it comes to breakfast meals you guts should eat something hearty like grits, or oats/omeal its warm healthy and it'll fill you up!!

as far as lunch light and simple like a salad with cut up some lettuce tomatoe onion carrots a few pieces of ham or turkey and cheese with a light dressing and a fruit smoothie on the side!!

and as far as dinner you could buy a maybe 2 family size packages of chicken and make a chicken soup it would last your family days and you know you wouldnt have to eat it everyday after its made if you pack some away you could save some for a night you dont want to cook!!. and if that fails go to www.foodnetwork.com they have a healthy foods section and a quick and easy section 2!! enjoy.

Answer 8

You can always buy deli meats and make lettuce wraps or regular wraps - healthy

make soups $1 for big box of broth and just add potatoes, carrot salt pepper etc...

Rice with corn and peas (or add some bacon to it)

Eggs (gotta get your protein)

these food are realativly inexpensive considering that they will last a few days for 2 people to consume

Answer 9

You can try chinese food, because chinese food is easier to cook like fried rice, fried noodle. But this time, i'll give you 1 of easiest recipies, not chinese food but cheap and delicious for me. Instant noodle which you can find in the market, 1 egg. Boil the water, cook the noodle, stir it. Mix the egg, add instant noodle powder into the mix egg, put the noodle in. You can add minced meat or sausage if you like. Cook it with frying pan, use little of oil or margarine. Hopefully you like the food

Answer 10

The cheapest foods are often the local meats and veg. If you got a whole beef joint you could make pies, roasts, stews, sandwichs, casseroles, all sorts! Same goes for pork, chicken & turkey. It's all about making the most of what you have.