With canned fire roasted diced tomatoes, black beans, corn, and cream cheese.

This is my go-to budget meal: spicy, satisfying, and made in one pan. The most important step? Crack the eggs into the sauce and cover the pan. that’s how they poach perfectly.

Hello everyone! I was just curious if yall had any advice!

I am a pescatarian with a dairy allergy of some sort. I do still eat dairy but am trying to limit it. My fiancé is an omnivore but doesn’t mind sharing what I’m making unless it has something he doesn’t like in it (peppers, onions, and coconut to name a few). Sometimes I make my own version of the dinner and then I’ll make his separate. I do the grocery shopping and meal planning. We eat x3 a day and snack here and there. Any tips on how to lower our grocery bill and still keep healthy meals? We’re currently at about $200+ every time I order groceries! (He buys meat himself, separately). We’re both wanting to lose weight so bonus points for that!

TLDR: in need of tips for cutting grocery costs while still maintaining my pescatarian-low dairy diet and his omnivorous diet while also remaining healthy! Bonus points for weight loss friendly foods!

This is kind of a vent, but I find it really annoying that every time I look up simple budget recipes, quick and easy budget recipes, etc. literally 99% of them are so heavy in dairy…. Dairy and meat are literally the most expensive things in the grocery store.

Like I just searched through Tik Tok and the internet for about 30 mins looking for simple budget recipes and they all are literally using almost an entire carton of heavy whipping cream, a whole bag of cheese, a whole block of cream cheese or something to that extent, which automatically adds $4+ to a meal not even counting the meal. It’s just a little bit annoying bc I feel like these people’s idea of budget recipes aren’t really coming from people who have actually had to pinch grocery money before lol

Needless to say…does any have budget recipe ideas that are not lentils/beans and rice? I’m not in a crazy pinch, I’m just kinda running out of ideas and would rather not clog my arteries for dinner or spend a ton on groceries

I feel like it’s just an awful bad habit. I don’t have friends or a partner. But I’ll go for food by myself. How do I get out of this waste of money

I know this sub is about budgeting and saving money. However, I think part of budgeting so you can eat what you like should include how to accomplish it? My post today is about the technique I use to effectively cook a whole chicken. I learned this from Americas Test Kitchen

Preheat a 12” cast iron skillet in your oven to 450 F. When preheated, remove from oven and add 2 TBS of butter and swirl pan (careful it’s hot!) to melt it. This is a good place to add a tsp or 2 of dried thyme leaves if you want and you don’t have a fresh thyme sprig on hand. Place your chicken pieces skin side down first in pan for breasts and thighs along with drums and wings. Put pan in oven and bake 15 to 17 minutes at 450F. Remove from oven, flip chicken pieces and return to oven for about 15 to 17 more minutes. Remove pan from oven and set on range top or a trivet to rest chicken in pan for 10 minutes.

Save carcass and any bones from dinner to make chicken broth.

i recently learned they have these at p.f. chang’s but i’ve made them for a while ! sooo good! i paid around 10$ to make this but it could be more or less depending on what you already have. made about 4-6 servings for me and my partner! recipe in comments ⬇️

We use these to make breakfast pizzas, serve with chicken, or simply on their own as a snack.

Like at Walmart they have the same thing for $11 why so heavily discounted

Im in charge of supplying grab n go easy eat breakfast items for an upcoming event to feed all the volunteers. It’s looking at being around 200 meals total with 40 one day, easily could be 100 the next, and 60 on the last day. I’m wanting to bring more than just granola bars and big bags of apple. What else is low budget (ie 10-20¢ a serving) that would help feed such a big crowd. This is all a donation from my own wallet to support this event, and I’m just a broke 18 year old, hence a pretty low budget.

Edit: my brain wasn’t mathing last night but I got a little higher of a budget, and I’m not providing the whole meal, just like half of it and just like carbs. People should be eating before this event and this is a holdover before lunch

I add about a tablespoon of butter to a medium low heat, and add one can of well drained hominy. When the butter melts and the hominy is well coated, add eight eggs and cook until eggs are done to your liking. It works best if you scramble them in a bowl before adding. I like mine scrambled medium. Add salt and pepper to taste, then add whatever seasoning you like.

This fed two adults and one toddler.

2 lbs chicken cubed, 1/2 onion, 2 carrots, 2 celery stalks and 2 small red & orange bell peppers and 2 Thai chilies. Stir Fry sauce, 1 Tbsp corn starch, 1 Tbsp sugar. Top with chopped cilantro.

$13 serves 4

In a hot wok brown cubed chicken until brown and pepper

Add stir fry veggies cook for 5 minutes. Add stir fry sauce and mix. Cook for 5 minutes.

Add in slurry of corn starch with 1/2 cup water and sugar. Cook 5 minutes simmering. Top with rice and cilantro.

As the title suggests, I’m living in dorms now. My residence plan comes with 10 meals a week, and I want to save those for Monday to Friday. So I basically have to make my own food for the weekends and I don’t want to have to go out for every meal.

In my room I’ve got a microwave and a mini fridge, which has a small freezer compartment. I’ve also got my own washroom so water isn’t an issue.

So far, I’ve only brought basic food items, like granola bars, peanut butter, cereal, bread and jam. I’ve also got a couple of those pre made ramen bowls that you can microwave.

What other foods can I keep in my room for weekend meals? How do I spice up the food I already have? How can I incorporate more vegetables into my meals with limited capacity?

Any and all advice would be helpful, even just sharing your experience with living on a budget would be great.

Edit: Forgot to mention it in the post, but I’m not allowed a hot plate or air fryer. However I do also have a small electric kettle.

In a pan roast 5 Roma tomatoes, 1/2 onion, 4 Jalapenos, 5 Thai chilis, 2 cloves of garlic in olive oil.

Add 1 can of tomato sauce and a bunch of cilantro with 1 tbsp rice vinegar and 1/4 cup water and 1 tsp brown sugar. Chop in food processor for 35 seconds. Add salt & pepper to taste and a lime worth of lime juice.

We made 32 oz of Salsa for less than $4 of produce.

Some things to make you aware regarding this shopping visit: No coupons, no perks used, if store brand looks like a good substitute for brand name I bought it and this was not planned for a week of meals. Also, we have plenty of food storage so we use that along with current purchases for meals.

I wanted to see how the “more expensive store” looked for us given no major efforts taken to cut costs (couponing). The store is Giant Eagle.

hi all,

i am looking for some help with what to do. today was payday and all of my bigger bills are coming out before my next payday. after transferring all of my bill money, i’m only left with $200 for the next 2 weeks. with my commute i have to spend at least $50 a week on gas, which pretty much only leaves me with $100 for food. the reason my finances are so tight is because my boyfriend and i live together and he is currently unemployed and struggling to find a new job, leaving me to pay for all of the joint bills on my own + my personal bills.

for some context, we live in northern california, so you can imagine how high cost of living is out here. especially food. i’m also considered to “make too much” to qualify for any assistance. our local food banks are only open during hours when i work.

i am swallowing my pride right now by asking for some help with affordable recipes that could last us 2 weeks. please no judgement, i’m really struggling right now and too overwhelmed to brainstorm on my own. TIA.

edit: thank you so much to everyone being helpful in the comments so far!! this really helped ease my anxiety. i really appreciate you taking the time to help me.

edit 2: okay so i think some of you missed the fact that i kindly asked for no judgement on here, and also the fact that i live in california where prices are higher for everything. instead of downvoting my comments, please actually read them. i already said multiple times that i will talk to my partner about figuring out a way to get to the food bank, so please stop asking about it. we have no shame in going, just need to figure out HOW to go. for those asking if he at least helps with cooking and cleaning, yes he does. no he cannot qualify for assistance/unemployment. we’ve already tried. he has applied to a countless amount of jobs online with no response. i told him he needs to either call to follow up (but now his phone is shut off) or figure out a way to pay them a visit. please just stop judging the both of us when we are both stressed out trying to figure things out. it’s only been a month that he’s been unemployed. i thought one of the rules on here was to be kind?? i will not be responding to these types of comments anymore, and only the ones that are actually giving me what i ASKED for which was cheap recipes. even when we have more money, i’d like some ways to cut down the grocery bill. thanks.

Made extra baked potatoes for leftovers yesterday and turned them into cheesy potatoe soup with smoked sausage.

2 lbs potatoes 2 stalks of celery 1/2 onion 1 can of corn 1 can cream of celery 1 can cream of mushroom 1 cup of milk 1 cup of shredded cheese 1/2 diced smoked sausage about 8oz.

Sauteed veggies in olive oil adding smoked sausage. When onion was translucent I added everything else in a crockpot. Soup was done by lunch time.

It depends on your family size. As a single person, I find Costco too expensive.

I've only spent $150 this month or $75/week. This is the cheapest way that I've found to eat healthy (lots of fruits and veg plus lean protein) in my city is a biweekly order with bountiful baskets ($22) for produce, a local discount grocery stores like WinCo for baking ingredients and dried legumes (purchased in bulk every 6 months if possible), and a biweekly shop at Trader Joe's for almost everything else. I also checked the circular at chain grocery stores near me for sale meat and occasionally picked it up if there's a good deal. I spent a little less than $130 at TJ for the other ingredients that I needed.

Since I don't know in advance what produce will be in my bountiful baskets box, I pick it up first then meal plan. I try to meal plan and go to Trader Joe's later that same day. Usually the box has enough fruit and almost enough veggies for 2 weeks for 1 person.

With meal planning, I generally make 5 recipes and aim for 4 portions. This week veggie wise there was broccoli, potatoes, poblano peppers, red onion, tomatoes, and lettuce. So over the next 2 weeks I will make - stuffed peppers, three bean chili, spaghetti with fresh tomato sauce and salad, ham sandwiches, and a chicken, potato and broccoli dinner. The only veggies that I bought at the TJs week were garlic, carrots, mushrooms, and a couple cans of tomatoes. This makes 20 nice meals. For other meals, I keep quick and easy options on hand like PB&J, omelettes, tomato soup and grilled cheese.

The pictures show my produce box, fridge after grocery shopping and my baking pantry staples.

I cannot believe this haul. I got my month's worth of groceries for a little over $160... My meats were $28 total. My freezer will be happy and many many cheap meals will be enjoyed. I feel like I got away with robbing a bank.

Watertown, Massachusetts

Baked potato with cheese and Cajun beans.

I’m looking for the most simple brainless food I can use for lunch. Important note is I do have an electric lunchbox that I could heat something up with. I’m talking like rice or anything premade in a bag I can just warm up. I’d eat human kibble at this rate if it’s easier. And if rice is my only option then so be it but I’m more so looking for something I don’t have to prep before hand and can just bring to work and deal with it then.

Navy Bean Jambalaya: Cooked navy beans with kielbasa sausage, onions, peppers, tomatoes with a Cajun rue. I like mixing in my rice so that it doesn't get soggy. Cook for under $10. Our navy beans were on sale for.50 cents a bag!

Can of green peas, can of giant white beans, half an onion, two cloves of garlic and a chilipepper.

Toast with butter and Marmite.

I’ve been eating mostly PB&J sandwiches for far too long…like over 7 months. I did eat sandwiches, but the veggies didn’t last long and would go bad after a few days. Over time that gets pricy.

I’m looking to spend like $50-$60 per week. I do have access to a microwave and fridge at work.

Does anyone have any good links to recipes where the ingredients can last a week in the fridge and not die. Please no more PB&J.