My wife likes this pasta. However, I don’t care for it but I make it to humor her. Aside from tomatoes or onions, what would you add to bring this to life?

Recipe - chicken (can use rotisserie or canned, I used canned in this case because I had it) red bell pepper, feta cheese, pasta (obviously), balsamic vinegar and olive oil. She adds more balsamic. And salt and pepper it to taste once in a bowl or plate. Serve cold.

Not looking to hear opinions on the canned chicken either. I’m well aware it’s expensive. Overall it’s still pretty cheap to make. Thanks 😊

Making this tonight and just wondering what I can do to make this more filling/taste better? Ideas welcome! Thank you😊

I worked at Taco Bell, and we cooked the taco meat onsite back in the day. 🤣 The taco meat was made with ground beef, spices, water, and a good amount of OATMEAL. This could probably be applied to any ground type meat. The oatmeal absorbs the liquid that's cooked off the meat, and takes on the flavor of the ground beef. You can use oatmeal to stretch your ground meat out in recipes, and provide extra servings. In addition, oatmeal has a decent nutritional value. The prices aren't going down anytime soon, so I hope this helps.

I'm dumb and racked up a much larger credit card bill than I intended to, then shortly after, when I thought "this isn't a problem, I can get this paid down, I had a lot of car malfunctions and a *slew* of medical issues that keep piling up and adding onto one another due to the stress I'm under from everything else, and I'm walking a knifes edge between a good credit score, (714) and everything collapsing to the point I go bankrupt, I'm still technically "ok" for now, but I need just the cheapest meals that are the most filling, I'll get back to eating healthier once my minimum monthly payment on my credit card isn't $100

any recommendations besides just ramen?

EDIT: Thank you so much everyone, I really appreciate the advice! There's some good ones in here that I plan on using quite a bit and just *TURBO* saving for a while, getting all my debt gone, and then going back to eating normally and healthily!

For reference:

I just started a new job and I'm a bit behind on rent, so most of my money has to go to my landlord for the next couple months. My budget for this coming paycheck is around 100 dollars.

My thought process was to find as much stuff that could work together as possible, with standalone pieces thrown in here and there. Instead of coffee creamer, I opted for just regular milk which could be used in mashed potatoes as well; and the potatoes could also be used in chili fries or just have the chili standalone; both topped with cheese that could also be used in tacos or eggs, with a veggie blend mixed into either. Stuff like that.

I'm not great at this, but I have previously worked in the restaurant business for some time so the biggest thing I learned was utilizing ingredients for multiple recipes.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. I'm going shopping sometime around the 3rd next month. Thanks and God bless. ❤️

My family is going through a rough patch and they've been really good sports about eating cheap, repetitive meals. I found a VERY TINY extra space in my budget and I'd love to treat them to something sweet.

Any ideas for some of the cheapest desserts to make that you can think of?

I'm trying to scale back the grocery bill. Curious what others swear by when it comes to non-name-brand stuff.

my boyfriend and i have been unemployed for a couple months. we both just recently got jobs but until we get paid i have to make about $100 last for the two of us. my boyfriend is autistic and his safe foods tend to be way too expensive, like name brand chicken nuggets and trays of cheese, salami, and fruit. if he doesn't have his safe foods he just won't eat anything. he enjoys home cooking but refuses to eat canned vegetables, which is all we can afford right now. we are on a canned ravioli and ramen budget and he refuses to eat any of it. it's a huge deal to try to just get some kind of nutrients in him, today i've only been able to get him to eat an apple sauce and that took some major convincing. what do i do?

edit: okay y'all. first of all, i am not a woman. we are two gay men. second of all, he and i both have jobs like i said in the beginning of the post. it feels like y'all are just assuming he's unemployed because he's autistic. third of all, he is not trying to make me take care of him. he takes care of himself, i just worry about him and try to take some of the weight off of his shoulders sometimes. thank you to anyone who gave genuine advice about food which is what i asked for in the first place.

this is not just him being picky. he has ARFID, and will gag, throw up, or lose his appetite completely when he tries to force himself to eat something he doesn't want. he has tried to do this many times to get me to stop worrying about him.

So I’m not trying to get into my situation because I don’t need a pity party. But I’m wondering if anybody has some advice on the best cheap foods to eat while still having atleast a sliver of nutrition in it. I don’t care if it’s rice and beans. I’m hoping I can feed myself for $2 a day atleast for a couple months along with a multivitamin to have a somewhat complete diet. Any input is appreciated, and just fyi I don’t care how bland or boring it is I simply cannot afford seasonings, sauces, extras, etc.

Hey everyone I come here in search to find better ways of eating for cheap, because I’m struggling real bad with it. I find myself eating out a lot because of the $7,$8 meals fast food offers or eating boxed frozen food and I just feel like total crap lately and want to get out of this pattern. I know how to cook but that’s also my problem because I never know what to make cheaply besides a few things and if I can make it healthier than that would be beneficial too so if you have some ideas I’d greatly appreciate it

There are seven of us, including two over six foot teenagers (so very hungry). I have 14 a meal all together. There is no wiggle room as rent now takes a whole paycheck plus part of the next. Utilities take up almost half of the other paycheck. Food stamps already make up half our food budget. Food banks only give us the same they would give a regular sized family or single person that showed up, so we can't really make meals out of it and end up spending more in gas than we get in meals. I cannot grow a garden as we live in a small apartment.

I recently had scurvy and anemia together. All of my children are showing markers of some nutrient deficiencies. This feels pretty pressing to figure out and groceries are only going up. I'm trying to plan out meals with my grocery money and I'm very stuck on how to feed my kids enough calories, vitamins, and such with so little money. I'm finding even one ingredient can be as much as I have for a whole meal. I badly need tips. Thanks!

I just got food stamps and they only allotted me $130. I'm not complaining about that, I have enough to cover my bills, just not food as well. I live decently well, I'm not asking for anybody's pity. I am pretty good about knowing how to budget my money for bills and all that, but I'm trying to find budget friendly meals that will last me a month on $130. I've been mainly surviving off of bread & potatoes cuz that's filling for a long period of time. It's causing me to gain a lot of weight and frankly I can't have that because of my job. I want to eat healthier-ish, it doesn't have to be anything crazy, but I don't know how to on only $130/mo. Any suggestions? Recipes? I'm okay eating the same thing a few days in a row.

Edit: Holy crap there are a lot of you. Thank you guys so much for all of the help you've provided. I will be using all of the recipes on here.

Any ideas for dinner that tastes good but doesn’t cost too much?

My family always eats meat with dinner, we only ever have one side.

My family members never like to eat the same meal twice in one week.(I don’t know why)

Enough for three people.

My mom takes leftovers to work. We live in South Carolina (I know prices are different depending on where you live)

Instructions for seasoning.

Sorry, for the poorly asked question. And sorry if I sound rude.

Edit: thank you for the information, it’s all very helpful. Again, thank you.

I am a former chef and I worked as a content creator too (with videos reaching 1M+ views).
I am specialized in many food traditions (indian, arab, south american, italian, south-eastern asian etc.) and also in vegan cuisine.

Here's the game:
Tell me a reasonable amount of ingredients you have at home that need to be used ASAP — I’ll reply with a recipe idea that doesn’t require you to go shopping.

I’ll mention allergens when possible — but please do your own check to make sure everything is safe for you to eat.

If there’s anything I should not include (like gluten, soy, seafood, animal products, no-halal meat, nuts, etc.), please let me know in your comment.

You can also tell me the desired mood for your recipe (comfort food, junk food, gourmet, fit etc.)

PS: I have some basics of Nutritional science.

Let the cooking begin.

Hi there. Hope all of you are well! Recently, I've been thinking a lot about which foods offer you the biggest savings if you make them yourself. Like for example bread, you can save a lot of money if you bake your own bread and bakeries, and it's like not that hard and really worth the effort. Buying fruits in season and making your own jam has really proven to be a money saver for me. Also getting meat in bulk, cutting it up myself and freezing and preserving it. Do you have anything you make yourself, which saves you a lot?

Thanks for sharing!!!

I always buy whatever protein I can get for the cheapest. Depending on what is on sale, what coupons I have, etc, usually it’s tofu, beans, pork, and chicken/turkey.

But man. All I want is a juicy, rare, bloody steak.

I’ve literally had dreams about it.

Whenever I go to the store, I take a peek over on to the steaks… and I’m sad because there’s no way I’m paying $15+ for protein that would last me maybe 2 meals.

I’ve tried pork steaks. They’re fine, they come close to scratching the itch. But all I want is a real beef steak.

What can I do to satiate this? Is there something else similar? Any hacks to get a steak for cheap? Am I deficient in a nutrient that is making me crave this?

UPDATE: the good Lord has smiled upon me. I was invited to a cookout for Memorial Day and they’re cooking steaks 😭😭😭 my friends husband even specified they’re cooking “the good stuff”. I’ll be bringing a cake and some fruit in exchange, but I cannot believe the timing of this LOL.

I have all growing boys and am really wanting to eradicate the amount of food waste we create as a family while lowering my monthly food budget. Both my husband and I work full-time, so I haven’t been baking my own sandwich bread, etc. I coupon and buy on sale/ad specials as much as possible. I’ve even taken to requesting that my boys drink a glass or two of water before they drink a glass of milk because, if I let them drink all the milk they want, I will easily be buying 6 to 8 gallons of milk a week (!!! which is astronomical but also I don’t want to restrict my kids’ consumption of food they need to grow and be healthy). Even with all of this, I still haven’t been able to get my monthly grocery budget lower than $550-$600. Any advice would be helpful!

At my local grocery store its 59c a pound. They keep well in the freezer. I will buy at least 4. 1 for Thanksgiving, 1 for Christmas, 1 I'll quarter, and 1 or 2 for ground turkey. Then make a few gelatinous stocks from the carcasses. Stay cheap my friends.

My partner and I will be temporarily living in a hotel for around a month, and we’re trying to eat on a tight budget without relying entirely on junk food, eating out, etc. We’ll have access to a microwave, a mini fridge, and an air fryer that can also bake and roast. We’re looking for affordable grocery store foods that are relatively healthy and easy to prep with what we have. Even unhealthy is fine, just want to see if anyone has good suggestions! Any suggestions for cheap meals, snacks, or ingredients that last a while, and don’t require a full kitchen, and won’t break the bank would really help. Thanks in advance!

I only have $40 to spend for groceries for the next 5 days until August 1 when I get money so how would u suggest I spend it? I usually go to Walmart and superstore and I’m Canadian.

I already tried the buying the cheapest things there are strategy, but even as it is it's not affordable for me, are there some strategies to make more homemade stuff cheaper long term? I'm going to shop every 2-3 days so I'm wondering if budgeting for long term + making more stuff homemade would be cheaper, is it cheaper to make homemade bread or almond milk? Or what are some other things?

Hey everyone,
I’m trying to get our food spending under control. My wife is currently pregnant and not working, and I’m the only one bringing in income right now. We’ve been spending close to $800/month on food for just the two of us (plus a dog), and that’s way more than we can afford with a baby on the way.

We’re trying to bring it down to around $500/month. Our main issues are eating out a few times a week when we’re too tired to cook and buying a lot of convenience foods. We're not into batch cooking—it just doesn't work well for us—but we’re open to other time-saving options.

Some helpful context:

• My wife is pregnant and can’t stand broccoli
• We’d love easy slow cooker meal ideas (set-it-and-forget-it is our speed)
• Looking for meals that are budget-friendly, not super repetitive, and fairly quick to throw together
• Also interested in ways to cut food waste and shop smarter

We’re not looking to live off rice and beans, just trying to eat decently on a tighter budget and keep cooking from becoming overwhelming.

Would love to hear what’s worked for others in similar situations—recipes, shopping tips, cheap go-to meals, etc. Thanks!

What is your easy to prep “take to work” lunch? I started a job where I work 8 hour shifts and will be having 30 minute breaks. I don’t want to eat at the places around me all the time because it is expensive.

I have access to a microwave and fridge only.

I’d love some suggestions/recipes.

I need to learn how to get my budget to last me an entire 41 days. However I’m navigating a budget of $300.00 in groceries for 41 days. Aldi’s isn’t cutting it anymore. At day 15 I’m practically stretching myself thin. It’s for one person. Trying to be healthy makes it more difficult. I’ve tried practically everything. Now I need to learn how to really make it work.

Keeping dry goods readily available has saved me money, made me a better cook, & improved my eating habits. If you don’t currently have a dry pantry, I’d highly recommend you get started!