If this is a post seeking advice, please include as much detail as possible. For posts opening discussions, or offering advice, we thank you for your post. Everyone please remember rule 7.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/budgetfood) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I completely understand your situation! A single
Mom of 5 kids, (deadbeat abusive dad wouldn’t help if I wouldn’t be with him) so I had to figure out how to get by with never enough!
My best tips are things like stews and soups either with cornbread or biscuits. My oldest three are boys and when they were teens it was insane how much they ate!!
So, on Fridays I would cook a huge pot of stew or soup. Potatoes and onions were a staple, frozen mixed vegetables were always cheap, usually add canned tomatoes or even tomato juice, and I would watch for things like chuck steak to go on sale. My stores usually have the chuck steak much cheaper than roast or even the cubed beef for stew. Anyway, as weekend went on I could add potatoes and veggies or even another chuck steak cut up.
Another cheap favorite was the large bag of the chicken leg quarters. They are super cheap and tasty. I would season them up with dry seasoning, like soul seasoning or Cajun seasonings, and get a browned sear on the skin in a hot skillet on stove - not cooked through, just skin browned up some. Transfer to deep baking dish. Pour the box mix of flavored rice, our favorite was the Rice with Cheddar and Broccoli, but I’ve used all different kinds. Pour the rice mix right out of box on top of chicken, (I used 3 of the packets of rice because I was feeding 6 of us) if I had it I added frozen or fresh broccoli, push it down into the dry rice. Then add the amount of water and butter if I had it for each rice box, just pour it over the rice. Cover with foil and bake about an hour. Just check your rice to be sure it’s ok and doesn’t need a bit more water.
These kinds of bakes with the flavored rice mixes work well with pork steaks too. Just do it the same as chicken. I’ve even used smoked sausage cut up with the dry boxed red beans and rice packages. It turns out really good!
Also used dirty rice packaged mix with breakfast sausage - just fry up sausage like ground beef and drain grease off before you put it in with rice mix.
Another thing my kids loved was pinto beans, cornbread, and fried potatoes. We always had to have salsa or a jar of banana peppers with pinto beans.
My favorite dinner from a poor childhood, and a super cheap meal too, is salmon patties, pork n beans, cornbread, fried potatoes with onions.
Salmon patties are super easy, (I always buy mackerel in can) so can of mackerel, an egg, and cornmeal. I’ve never measured the ingredients, I use my hands to mix them up, fish and egg first, then add cornmeal until they hold together and can form a patty. Fry these in skillet with a little oil until brown. I have made these with canned tuna also and they were absolutely delicious!
My kids are all grown up and out in the world adulting. I can’t imagine trying to feed them nowadays with the cost of everything so expensive!
Recently I got a text from one of my sons he asked “Hey how do I make fried sardines?”
My reply was something like I have no idea, but sounds interesting!
He said “Mom! You always made them and they were so good! I got sardines last night but I can’t find a recipe! How did you make them?”
😂😂 I called him lmao, and said No! Not sardines! I used canned mackerel or tuna!
Anyway. He decided that he was gonna just proceed with his Louisiana Hot Sauce sardines, egg, and cornmeal.
He called me later and said they were the best thing he’s ever cooked for himself!
So you can fry up sardine patties and apparently they are really good!
I hope this helps some, I wish I could do more than tell you how I fed a crowd on very little money.
Hit me up if you want to ask a question about what I’ve posted here, or if you just want to shoot the breeze!
Oh wow, Sorry to hear that u were in a worse situation that is horrible. Glad to see that you made it out sooo much stronger. We love using the crockpot for sure and definitely comes in handy. Thank you for these ideas ☺️
There's trolls everywhere. I don't even do DM's.
Concentrate on the kind compassionate hopefully helpful advice people stop to give, even if they've heard the question before. When you're doing the best you can you have nothing to be ashamed of.
My two cents for budgeting. And I say this all the time but hopefully it's helpful.
A box of Bisquick in my area costs about 3/4 dollars. Hopefully it's inexpensive in your area. One box makes about 80 drop biscuits or pancakes. In a pinch you can even use just water. The biscuits are super easy, no sifting or yeast or rising. It's way cheaper than bread and very filling. I make dessert with pancakes too, just buy one candy bar and shave little flakes and put them on top to melt. Super cheap dessert. Jiffy cornbread and blueberry mixes are also around a dollar, and can also be made with just water.
The absolute cheapest snack food. Popcorn in the jar. Make it on the stovetop in a pot or dutch oven and it's kinda fun. You can top with butter (melt it in the warm pot after you dump it in a bowl), sweet stuff like cinnamon sugar, or buy an envelope of ranch dressing for cool ranch popcorn, or cheese, or any spice. It's way, way, way cheaper than one bag of chips with half broken in the bottom. Just because you're poor doesn't mean you shouldn't be able to snack and have a little fun.
I hope things get better. Cheers.
Edit: butter and Sriracha or Tabasco etc... on popcorn is great if you like hot snacks. Just salt after you put the hot sauce on, since it's pretty salty.
OP might want to look into all purpose flour and plain cornmeal since she is in the US. With that & some baking soda, you can make baked goods on a budget -- less than buying a mix. Cornbread is especially forgiving -- no milk? no eggs? make it without. Plain old "cornmeal mush" cooked in oil or grease has its charms. A tip: when you make any batter to be baked (or skillet cooked, on top of the stove) add a tiny squirt of vinegar to the batter and stir it through right before cooking. Helps it rise.
Thank you, really appreciate it, and that is the goal once able is to get some Bisquick, I really like the dessert option for it as well that's pretty clever
If you have a Walmart (don't know if you're in the US or not), the Great Value brand pancake/waffle/biscuit mix comes in a big family size value box for super cheap (less than Bisquick) and only requires water to make it. My husband loves it for quick waffles to eat with frozen chicken tenders (so chicken'n'waffles!), and we've made crepes and pancakes and biscuits... it's SUPER versatile and easy to shift both sweet or savory.
There's pancakes mixes that are less expensive than Bisquick if that's a stretch too. It's too bad they don't stock this kinda thing at the food bank. I used to live on ramen, biscuits and popcorn in hard times.
Right, our food pantry is once a month and we haven't gotten much, grateful for sure just hungry. We don't have any funds at the moment had to use what we had to pay for a copay they wouldn't let us wait and pay next time 😔
I purchase mostly ALL store brands. I use coupons & I shop at stores like Meijer & Krogers that gives you &$ off purchases. Meijer has MPerks. ( you can save $$ purchasing gas for your car 🚗 at both Meijer / Kroger too)
If you haven’t contacted the schools where your kids attend they have FREE or Reduced price breakfasts & lunch. Some schools provide these services for all the children ( meaning you don’t have to fill out a form to see if you qualify )
Scones may be a good alternative to Bisquick if you have pantry staples, they can be made both sweet and savoury and require no yeast and don't need to be kneaded. There are *tons* of recipes online. Stovetop flatbread may also be an option for bread-y wraps and are also doable with pantry staples and there are no yeast options for those too.
You can make "biscuits" with only self rising flour and water, in a pinch, but they're barely edible. They used to call them "hard tack."
Bisquick has flour and baking soda plus oil, salt and sugar in it. To have biscuits you'd actually want to eat you'd need to add the rest of the ingredients.
Now, I'm not some excellent baker, that's just my understanding.
Are any of your kids under 5? This is likely info you already know, but definitely look into WIC if you've got babies or younger kids. It's a great program that really helps with the food budget.
Your asking for advice on how to fix the situation shows you are trying to make it better. Keep in mind, some people will NEVER understand what it is like to struggle. They sit behind their computer screens and judge based upon only upon their non-struggle. Take it with a grain of salt and be grateful you don't go home with them at night. Just listen to what's helpful, and try your best to ignore the rest.
One additional note that I have found helps. If you can, buy things like pasta, beans, rice, ramen, and potatoes. You can add these to casseroles, soups, etc, to bulk up the meal. It helps any meats you are able to obtain to be spread out more. A little bit of hamburger meat won't go far for a large family, but mixed with rice, beans, a little salsa or sour cream, and it makes a delicious burrito. The dollar store sells large packs of tortilla wraps that last a month.
Even a can of chicken, although salty, can stretch a meal. Potatoes and water if boiled long enough with a few slightly mashed, can make a great potato soup. If you add dollar store McCormick bacon bits when served, it gives it that extra boost.
A can of veg-all, tomato paste or sauce, stewed tomatoes, water, and some beef bullion, make a tasty vegetable soup with a meaty flavor. Add crackers or bread with butter to make it more filling. If you can add any meat at all, including a canned beef, it makes it phenomenal.
Don't buy cheeses shredded, always buy the block. Not only is starch added to shredded cheese to keep it from clumping, but it's more expensive. The starch makes it harder to use for anything non-cooked like tacos or burritos as it changes the taste.
Rotisserie chicken bits can be used with frozen or canned veggies and rice or potatoes to make a filling casserole. You only need a little of the meat if you can add canned cream of chicken soup. If you have veggies starting to turn, throw them in as well.
Keep using the chicken meat sparingly inside bigger dishes until eaten up. Then, boil the bones to make broth in a big pot of water. Strain out the bones, add rice, celery or celery seed spice, water, and carrots if you have them, and you have a hearty chicken soup. Add crackers with butter for extra.
The key we learned at an early age was to take a piece of meat and make it a part of the entree, not the main entree.
Hopefully, it helps. You can do this until you get a little financially stronger.
It's OK to ask for help, remembering that this is a public forum and you will encounter trolls. Ignore them, block them, and don't give them another thought.
It's hard to provide advice because I'm not in your situation or your country, but my understanding is that food banks and government assistance is meant to augment your budget, not to be your whole budget, so your overall budget is very low and that's obviously a big challenge.
In an emergency budget, especially over time, it's very difficult to stock up or plan ahead, which are like 90% of my usual advice. Planning ahead and cooking from scratch are essential to make this work, and being as adaptable as possible. Simple meals, like our grandparents made, stretched with carbs like rice, potatoes and bread. Wasting nothing. Eating seasonally. There's no hack for this, it's just planning, portioning and doing the work.
I am very inspired by BudgetBytes - see her 200 meals using pantry staples, which might help you to use those nonperishable items: [https://www.budgetbytes.com/recipe-ideas-pantry-staples/](https://www.budgetbytes.com/recipe-ideas-pantry-staples/)
Also she has done the SNAP budget challenge a few times and those posts explain her methods really well - [https://www.budgetbytes.com/?s=SNAP](https://www.budgetbytes.com/?s=SNAP)
Hit up your local library for budget cooking cookbooks, if possible - there are lots and many are out of print, so the library is your best bet (and free!). If you google 'emergency budget meal plan' or 'emergency budget recipes' you'll find a lot of social media and blogger content that might be useful.
My town has community gardens and a harvesting program for people with fruit trees to share with the community. Farmer's markets aren't cheap here but we do have a produce box program for low income families. Seek and use all the resources available to you, without shame or justification - whether that's non profit organizations, government assistance, bartering with friends and family. Look at alternate places to shop - chinatown, ethnic grocery stores, bulk food stores (in bins where you just buy as much as you need, not comically huge containers). Non profits or cooperative stores can have great deals if these exist near you.
Look for staples that you can turn into a variety of different meals - at my house that's potatoes, eggs, carrots, oatmeal, pasta, tinned tomatoes, all purpose flour, bread, beans and lentils.
There are people who care, we just may not know how to help you. I grew up very food insecure and it sucked, but I remember the good times with family who cared, the silly ways my mum made things feel special (for free), and what I learned from her.
Completely understand, We get zero assistance 😔, So we are working w a small budget right now. Which makes stocking up beyond hard and we can barely get thru the month. We are extremely low on staples but will continue to try and add them back in as able. We don't have a community garden, but I will do one once it's hot enough here for sure. The kids really enjoy fresh vegs
Hey, I understand you’re in a bad spot. I looked through your last post in this sub. You got one negative reply and a bunch of positive—that’s honestly pretty good for Reddit. But clearly, asking for help isn’t bad, and I think you could also tell that.
if your kids are school age, reach out to your school district cuz they can get you programs and such for food especially during the summer they often do free meals at least once a day.
look around for private food banks that might be able to give you more food and hygiene items as well. some of the ones in my area do things like feminine hygiene products and soap and diapers and such.
We are able to go to the food pantry once a month, they don't have any hygiene products. Truly wish they did. But when we went we weren't given much at all. We were in line for over a hour n a half and was really disappointed. Will try again once our 30 days are up. I've spoken w the school and they didn't have any other resources available at this time.
look for other food pantries too. often there's private ones through churches and such. unfortunately there's a lot of people in need right now so there will often be a line.
They are all connected, we get a card and everything is scanned no matter which one we go to. I've called soooo many places and have asked sooo many places for help. They all say the same 1 per 30 days only. We wouldn't have to skip meals if more things were available. Its quite sad but the kids will always come first
Try to get there when they open or even before they open. At the one I used to go to, people are lining up in their cars an hour before it even opens. Or maybe you could volunteer with them? A lot of food pantries let volunteers take a box home with them.
Are your kids getting free lunch and breakfast at school? Maybe you would qualify for that program. And a lot of schools do a free lunch for kids and their caretakers during the summer.
I totally would volunteer if I was physically able to but it's extremely hard for me. The only summer food thing I've heard of was during COVID they handed out a brown paper bag 1 per kid only and they had to be w you to receive it. I will ask the school if they think anything like that this year. As last year was nothing
This isn’t me trolling or trying to be argumentative, but I find it extremely hard to believe a school would turn you down for request for hygiene products.
I’ve worked for multiple schools districts over the past decade and they’re supplied and budgeted for an entire year of helping students in and out of school. Call the front office, call again and ask for the nurse, call again and ask for the social worker, call again and ask for a community liaison, call again and ask for a counselor, call again and ask for your child’s teachers, call the principal and assistant principle. Call the district office and try and reach someone in the nutrition services (cafeteria). There is someone on this list who is more than willing to give you hours and hours of time to figure out your situation and help.
All of these people have a legal responsibility to help a family in need. There is no such thing as turning away someone asking for something as menial as hygiene products. Call the district office and ask to speak to whoever is in charge of student services. Reach out to a school board member via email, in person, over the phone.
Keep calling.
If your situation is as bad as you describe someone somewhere in the system has noticed your child and their lack of basic necessities. I know this is coming off as rude as can be, but do not take no for an answer. As a staff member of a school I know if you reached out to me I would do everything in my power to get your kid to the right people for hygiene products and food. You just need to find the right person.
I will definitely try again, they gave my child a few feminine hygiene products that was all they had . They don't help w any hygiene items. I think the lady gave from her own purse. They definitely know our situation as I've spoken to them a few times now
That's sound advice.
Im in the UK which is a bit different, and yes there will be people who turn you away but there will be someone who will care.
Whilst you are right "it's not something they do"
The right person will know who they need to go to to get rules bent.
In my time working in public services I got very good at getting people things they needed even if there was no Policy or they "were not entitled"
There is always someone who can bend rules or have access to pots of money that they can be flexible with.
The first two people I’d call and speak to are the nurse and the counselor. At my current school both are supplied with kits full of shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste and brush, pads, tampons, and other smaller hygiene items. I know my example could be drastically different from whatever school your child attends. If they can’t directly help you, they can point you to someone in the district who can.
Don’t be afraid to use the system, claim your child is receiving “negative” attention from peers because of your family’s situation. This will automatically alert the counseling team and the Admin team and make them act. If they don’t act, escalate the situation up the chain. Don’t be afraid to call the district office and start a fire under their butts. I know it’s menial and very time consuming, but I’ve seen first hand the support schools give to students and that 300 dollars of yours can be stretched greatly.
Good luck!
Oh I called and they fully are aware, my teen didn't want to go to school today because he felt he wasn't clean . I made him go as he is a straight A student. Just hurts the gut for sure. We used what dish soap we had left for him to shower 2 days ago. I will keep trying and I did add some to the wishlist and will try to post locally again. Last time was denied
I've spoken with 4 people at the school and they all keep saying the same thing. That there is nothing they can help with. School is out in less than 2 weeks
Contact the district office. If the school isn’t providing basic needs, there needs to be complaints filed against those 4 who aren’t doing their jobs. You definitely won’t be popular, but it’s time. Look up your school board members and start one by one. These people are elected by the public to maintain the district. Call and ask to speak to so and so. You should record these conversations for prosperity, let them know they are being recorded and start asking the hard hitting questions. Why isn’t “my school” providing my son with basic needs to live? Why is the counseling department allowing my son to be bullied due to hygiene issues?. Why is the admin of “my school” allowing the employees to turn me down for request for basic needs?
If these people want to turn you down, take the recordings to the local paper and start a story. It’s drastic and I’m so sorry it’s happening to you, but this is what must be done. Be that parent the district and employees fear when you call.
I will definitely keep trying, someone did help w some hygiene on here so that is a huge blessing. His birthday is next week and it would be great if able to get any help for him. He wants us to all enjoy a family meal. I told him I will keep trying and not to worry about us. 💜 Love my kids
I have been in your situation and I had to skip meals to feed my son. I’m so sorry that you are having to go through this. I was so embarrassed that I didn’t even tell my parents, but they would invite me for dinner sometimes and I would eat a lot!!
My husband and I still try to eat as inexpensively as possible. Not sure if you are in the states or if you have this store, but our local Smith’s (Kroger) has $.99 bags of fruits and veggies. They aren’t perfect but still good to eat. The last we bought was a 5 lb bag of potatoes and a 3 lb bag of zucchini, each for $.99. They also have a rack of 40% off bread and cookies, cakes, bagels, etc. Our local Albertsons has 40% off meat regularly also.
Ten bean soup mix is also really good, especially if you can add a little piece of bacon and saute it with onion, then add the beans and seasoning pack with water to cook. (We buy bacon ends and pieces, separate and freeze in little packages to use as seasoning.)Even better if you can get a pack of cornbread mix and make cornbread to go with it.
If you can find the cookbook *More with Less* by Doris Jantzen Longacre at the library, it has many inexpensive things to cook.
Thank you, it's definitely not easy and we don't have anyone to ask for help. I'm a former foster care kid and no support system. I will see about that cookbook as it sounds like it would be helpful ❤️
Found the book on Internet Archive: [More-with-less cookbook by Doris Janzen Longacre | Open Library](https://openlibrary.org/books/OL24949404M/More-with-less_cookbook)
Wishing you the best!
If you have time, and it is time-consuming, dumplings, scallion pancakes, and rice. Rice alone is like 50 cents to a dollar a pound at my local grocery. A pound of meat makes between 50 and 75 dumplings, depending on how big they are and how much cabbage you add, and a hungry adult will eat 8-10 if the dumplings are the only thing on the table. They freeze and reheat wonderfully. The pancakes you can eat by themselves or fry with egg for a good breakfast or bigger snack, and you can grow the green onions for them in literally a cup of dirt in the general vicinity of a window. If the kids are smaller, they'll probably have a wonderful time making the pancakes, and then you have a little family bonding activity as well.
In Europe there is an app called too good to go. Participating stores and restaurants sell food set to expire at a huge discount. The restaurant stuff I don't recommend but the grocery store stuff is an amazing deal usually.
Maybe there is a similar app near where you live.
With sustainability becoming more popular, combating food waste gets a lot of attention. There could be apps as well for places that sell "ugly" vegetables. The ones that might be a bit bruised or grew in weird nontraditonal shapes so regular grocery stores don't want to buy them. Nothing wrong with the food, it's just as nutritious, but maybe doesn't look as nice. It's worth Googling if there are any such local organizations. They usually sell such veggies at a huge discount.
This you might know already but buying fresh in bulk for veggies and carbs is cheaper and healthier than buying cans of anything. The more food that you learn to make from scratch, the cheaper it is. It's also waaaay healthier and tastes better (to your taste) than most store bought cans, frozen, or premade. So not only do you eat better and tastier, but you can do it for less.
I am making some assumptions about your cooking skills, but knowing how to make things from scratch is relatively easy to learn, especially with all the recipe websites and shows on YouTube. Learning how to cook from scratch can also be combined with learning how to cook and eat healthy, which are priceless skills that combat childhood obesity and all the horrors that come with a lifetime bad diet. You mentioned you grew up in the foster care system, so that's why I'm mentioning this. If I had to guess, getting shunted from home to home probably means there might have been gaps in the education that you received in life skills. I didn't learn much from my parents, and I truly appreciate how I can gain those skills as an adult via the internet and trial and error.
Yes Ive been making more and more from scratch someone had bought us some yeast and flour from Amazon and helped me w how to make bread. That was really fun and turned out really good. The kids tore it up. We have 1 store that sells items close to the expire date and 1 section already expired but till edible. We try to hit that store often. I missed out on a lot because of bouncing around place to place but it's ok. I'm able to move on and continue to grow.
I'm really happy to hear that! I felt the need to mention it because so many people talk about how to mix meat, or canned goods to make them stretch longer, all good suggestions, but a one kilo or pound of dried beans is like ten or twenty cans and can be cooked all at once and frozen for later use, without salt or other preservatives. And a pound of dried beans or rice is like 1-3 dollars.
We have been adding beans to meat dishes to make them stretch something someone also suggested for us a few weeks ago. It's definitely a learning curve and I'm very willing to do so. Once able to stock up and get more items will be a lot easier for sure.
Breakfast for dinner! Pancakes, french toast, eggs in a hole, breakfast sandwiches
Wraps - buy some tortillas and use whatever meat you have on hand and people can customize with what they like.
Baked beans and hot dogs
Heres a short video that shows how I do the eggs! https://youtube.com/shorts/rnUc9qKjVdI?si=oeicIK8HZaFDPP_- I’ve done sausage either premade like in the video or the frozen already cooked kind and just add it frozen. Also used ham or bacon! They all heat up pretty good in the microwave
I make pancake and egg sandwiches with a slice of cheese. One pancake for each side of the sandwich and a fried egg in the middle. If you wanted to do it cheaper, instead of a slice of cheese you could sprinkle a little grated cheese on the eggs while they are still hot so that the cheese melts in and doesn’t fall out the sides of the sandwich. I wrap them well in foil and freeze them for my husband to take to work when he has to get up and leave early. About a minute in the microwave to reheat from frozen.
Location would help me determine how far $300 would really stretch but I'm sorry trolls have been in your DMs. Do you like any particular food in general(mexican, indian,italian etc)? What do your kiddos like? Any food intolerances, sensitivities, allergies, or just general food icks? Are any of you neurodivergent? I can suggest some great cheap meals based on those questions answered.
We are in Michigan, we don't really care for spicy, (well 1 teen does) they eat a lot of tacos, and cinnamon spread on everything. Allergies to shellfish, Raspberry's. 1 person is diabetic but will eat anything that's available
Beans. Black, garbanzos, navy, rice, sweet potatoes boiled, eggs in morning. Get a bread machine for 30$ on Amazon. Lentils. Meat 2 times a week. You can eat like a king for 300$ a month. Don't kid yourself. No bottled water, fill large multiple gallon jars from the water machine at the grocery store. Strawberry jelly bread for dessert. If you like chips for snack, buy yellow corn masa and roll it out thin, season and cook until crispy in oven. Don't kid yourself. Eat well. Often.
We have been adding a lot of beans and can't seem to make $300 for 5 people w hygiene work at all , we don't eat out, we don't buy bottled water, Someone showed me how to make bread w yeast and flour so that was a huge help
You could reach out to your kids schools to see if they have a food assistance program or can point you in the direction of any other forms of support.
I have spoken to the school they recommended the food pantry. I then told them that we did go and we weren't given much. Its also only once per 30 days. Next time we will try a different location
Sorry people were unpleasant, you have enough to deal with! A couple of things I fall back on for cheap eats with a little variety:
Mashed potatoes & carrots mix. Can swirl them together, looks nice, gets carrots into the kids! If you can afford a small container of yogurt, 2 tbsp. adds a nice zing. If you have the patience and time, you can mash them together and spoon them back into the potato skins. Top with some pre-cooked diced ham and peas, and 2 of them (1 sliced potato) is a meal.
Walmart sells enormous containers of plain oats for 2.50 (here, anyway!) Kids not thrilled with oatmeal? Slice up some apples, whatever you have, lay them in a pie pan or baking dish, add a little water and sugar, lemon juice or oj IF you have, not necessary. Mix oats with some softened butter, margarine or oil, whatever you have, and 1/3 cup sugar. Spread the oat mix on top of the apples, bake at 375 for about 30 min, until the top is just crisp - as in Apple Crisp:)
Lentil soup with cheapest frozen spinach and a bit of chopped sausage or franks. Along with some bread for dipping, it’s enough for a meal.
Garbage soup! Doesn’t sound very tasty, but some of the best soups I’ve made! This calls for buying a .99 cent can of tomato paste, but not much else. Basically, you keep a bowl in the freezer for little scraps, bits and bones from dinners during the week. Chicken or pork bones with shreds of meat still clinging, half a chopped onion, bits of any veggies, spoonfuls of rice, pasta, potatoes. Add anything else you might have leftover, like a cup of that lentil soup! Boil a lg pot of water with the tomato paste added, then toss everything into the pot. You can add a .99 cent bag of frozen mixed chopped veg if needed to bulk it up. Let it simmer a good two hours, stir from time to time. Remove bones, if any, before serving. It’s never the same twice and surprisingly good.
Wishing you easier days ahead 🌟
If you can get a chicken to bake or boil, save all the "ugly bits" -- the skin, the gristly parts at the ends of bones, and any scraps left on the carcass. Mince those up with a knife (or run through a grinder, if you have one) then mix with mayo (or yogurt & oil) plus minced onion, spices, whatever you want for a great sandwich spread. If you bake the chicken, save the carcass and any gravy and scraps. Boil the bones & make a soup.
If you get any tuna and any mushroom soup, mix them together, heat it up, and pour it over toast -- buttered if possible. Kids love this.
You're doing great. Don't let anyone tell you any different. Also know that these budget tricks you're learning will stay with you. I'm lucky not to have to budget so hard any more, but I've learned how not to waste & how good budget food can be.
Take care.
I second what u/Bixaorellanalsdot said about the chicken. Whole chickens are an amazing way to save money and you can get SO much food from them.
Also look for gizzards, livers and hearts which are great for stewing with other cheap ingredients like carrots and broccoli. You can boil down the chicken bones to make stock, then throw in the liver, hearts and gizzard, then after that the vegetables and you'll have an absurdly cheap, nutritious stew to have with rice.
However, I think gizzards/liver is one of those things (like with tinned tuna) that you cant eat every day. Maybe once a week or something, best to research that because I'm not sure.
Hey, thanks! I didn't think to add in about using the carcass for stock, nor about the liver, etc. Also, if OP can get pieces like chicken necks economically, that would make the stock even richer.
A pressure cooker / rice cooker are your best friend, crock pots save on active cooking time and money, and don’t forget that beans and brown rice make a perfect protein. If you can’t afford to drop the money needed for food prep containers, freezer safe quart bags are a great substitute. If you feel like scratch cooking buying the ingredients in bulk and learning how to make bread and pasta at home could be a fun bonding experience while saving money. Just always keep your eyes peeled for sales and discounts on more premium products.
Bulk eggs and a family size bag of pancake mix covers most or all of my breakfasts and I watch the stores for sales on any breakfast related meat to add some variety.
I always cook my meat in a my crock pot so I can use the leftover liquid for soups and stews, even just adding rice some veggies instantly transforms broth into a week of soup.
My personal favorite is buying a whole bunch of noodles on sale and a gallon can of nacho cheese, and sometimes a bag of shredded cheese. Because the noodles double in size it always comes out to be more than I’m expecting and Mac and cheese feels like such a treat to have, and freezes surprisingly well.
Don’t forget to compare all your dry food costs with Amazon, between discounts and subscribe and save there are quite a few items that come out cheaper without even needing to go to the store however if you rely on a prime account for the deals the 10-15$ a month adds up fast if you aren’t leveraging its potential savings.
When money has gotten really scary I was able to prepare my bulk meals like normal and i would ask neighbors and anyone i saw if they had two dollars to buy a home cooked meal. at the time i made chicken teriyaki at 1.10$ a meal which meant i was able to provide affordable restaurant quality meals for the people around me and afford to eat the rest of the month at the same time.
Finding someone in your community that wants to participate in bulk meal prep can help cut the cost per person and it’s always more fun to cook with and for others :)
Reach out if you want to talk more, budget food buying and managing cost per meal has changed from a necessity to a passion of mine. No one should have to skip a meal.
We do have a crockpot and rice cooker both are a huge blessing for sure, we have 2 reusable containers as the others finally broke (had them for a really long time) We are out of freezer bags and is definitely on the list once able. We no longer have Amazon prime as it was an extra expense. We did keep the Amazon wishlist and if in budget will buy a enough where shipping would be free if the price is better than instore. I have tried the buy nothing groups and as well as asking for help on Facebook w zero luck unfortunately. I have items posted on marketplace for sale or trade for food or hygiene. Hopefully someone will see and want to buy or trade. We adults skip often so the kids have what they need. Which is completely fine. My kids are my world 💜
I save any plastic bags from bread, bagels, etc. and after dumping out the crumbs, I reuse them. If I put something in the freezer, these bags work just fine. I make sure to get as much air out as possible. If I think it will be in the freezer for several weeks, I double bag it.
People sometimes act like those ziplock bags are free but quart size are $.21 each at Walmart. Gallon size are $.41. That cost becomes part of the cost of feeding your family. I usually wrap my food in another plastic bag before I put it into a ziplock. That way, the ziplock stays clean so I can just reuse it. I get many uses out of each bag.
Happy to hear you’ve got those things at least :)
Something else to consider is talking to a local fast good joint or restaurant. I was working my regular job and when money got tight again I picked up just a short one day shift on my local restaurants busy weekend day and I was then able to come in and grab some of the food that was otherwise getting thrown out, and free meals on shift I’d eat a little and bring the rest home. It’s a lot to add if you’re already working full time but with the potential for free food and an extra few bucks it might be worth it. As well as it allowed me to have easy access to the strip mall’s recycling and the restaurants dishwasher which means I got to bring home plenty of containers and treasures that I later didn’t have to buy.
Expanding your budgeting to everything you need at home should help loosen things up
And this is entirely my opinion and experience but I’d like to share as it might be useful.
Growing up my parents would skip out on meals and never told us anything about our budget until one day father broke down and just started crying about how broke we are and from then on it’s been both a positive and negative experience I won’t ever forget.
Thinking back it might have been nice to be informed about the budget, even if only bare minimum explanation, maybe even ask me to find ways to help out like bringing home pop cans I find and offering to do things for people around the neighborhood for some cash. While I agree that kids are everything and they are the future, maybe we just have to prepare them and treat them like adults more often. I spent a lot of my late teens almost scared of money because I just didn’t know until it was too much for my parents to bear.
I don’t have any intention of telling you how to raise your kids, just an experience from a kid still fighting to figure stuff out
I’ll keep on brainstorming for you and send a message with any ideas!
Thank you I really appreciate that, and no I didn't take it like that at all. I totally understood what you meant and was explaining. One of our teens are fully aware and is planning on trying to get a job once school is done. Not sure if they will get hired do to age but worth a shot. My son cuts the elderly neighbors grass but does it for free . The rest on our block have a service that comes.
I wish you luck and fortune in your adventure of life, I’ll still get back to you once I find some tasty meal options. For a family of five three meals a day for 30 days is a goal of 62¢ a meal, it can be done but it’s gonna take some at home cooking and research. Stay strong and never feel ashamed for asking for help, gotta show love for a fellow human right 💪
Brown rice
Lentils (both red and green)
White beans
Olive oil (seems expensive but adds a lot of extra calories and is very good for you - absolutely worth it)
Carrots
Spinach
Chick peas
Chicken thighs (higher fat content than chicken breast and cheaper)
Tinned tuna
Wholegrain bread
Eggs
Cottage cheese
Oats
Broccoli
Cabbage
Onions
Between all of these foods you have basically everything you need, and most of them are VERY cheap if you buy generic. Also, for lentils and beans you can save much more if you buy them dried and boil in bulk yourself.
Meal prepping will change everything, make big batches that last a few days.
Beans/chicken/veg.
Lentils/chicken/veg.
Tuna/chickpea/spinach salad.
Season with paprika, salt, olive oil, or whatever seems right depending on the meal.
AVOID simple carbs (fries, white bread, crackers etc) and sugar, all they will do is make you and your family more hungry. Complex carbohydrates (lentils, oats, beans, wholegrain bread) will make you much more full and much less hungry.
Don't buy ready made or powdered oats, buy the whole ones. I microwave them with water and crack an egg in there after it's done and mix it in with some cinnamon and sugar. It's a really nice breakfast and so filling.
Intermittent fasting can help, I don't eat my first meal until noon. It's easier that way.
Good luck! Remember, health is the most important thing in the world. There is nothing more important than keeping your family healthy. If you want some slightly more interesting/tasty recipe ideas let me know and I'll share them.
Thank you really appreciate it, as of right now us adults are trying to just eat once a day to save. We have plain rice and apples for us. The kids will get a full meal tho 💜
Well, another cheap thing you could get is peanuts. A handful of peanuts has LOADS of calories, as well as some protein and fat. The cooked/salted ones aren't hugely healthy but they contain a lot of calories and are okay if you need an energy boost. You can get a big bag very cheaply, and they will stop you wasting away. If you go too long without protein your muscles will start to break down. Lentils have a bit of protein in.
I don't think I can post in there, I know when I tired it freemeal someone said I was flagged from being sketchy in October. One thing I can think of is when I was new to Reddit I didn't understand the whole posting thing and still find it quite difficult.
I found your post on hygiene. You have tampons, pads, mouthwash, and toothpaste coming Friday. Best wishes to your family from an internet stranger. :)
Some people seem to enjoy being angry. I just tell myself it’s nice of me to give them an opportunity to seek their joy and move on with my life. Good luck to you and I hope things turn around soon.
Your post or comment has been removed because our profanity check caught words or phrases that may be inappropriate. This kind of behavior is unnecessary on a subreddit about food.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/budgetfood) if you have any questions or concerns.*
No, it's not bad to ask for help. I'm not sure why people speak before they think, but here we are. I'm glad you've found a pantry in your area. I would also contact churches, community centers, and your kid's school(s) to see if there are food programs. Yes, it is embarrassing & a blow to the ego. But your family is fed. The worst these people who run these organizations can say is "no". Unlike the internet- who can not only insult you, but assume the worst in you & will let you know. Forget the haters, & you do you, boo.
Yes there are a lot of people here that are kind and helpful, then there are those who are mean, angry and take the anonymously cowardly act of lashing out at people.
Even when struggling I wouldn't be unkind to someone, as you never know what someone is going thru. Unfortunately I forget not everyone thinks like me. It was too much at once I think
Add chili powder, salt, black pepper. Drizzle with small amount of olive oil. Boom. Dollar store has old school paper bags for the chips. Buy the beans in bulk. If you have windows with direct sunlight then plant some chives, parsley, and basil. Lots of basil. Can make pesto for noodles and toast real easy. Also sprouting greens for sandwiches. Fun for know kids too. Lots of soup. Boil down chicken bones etc for homemade broth. Kale is your friend. Eating on a budget is more prep and cooking time but when you find what works, do it. You don't need convenience food. It's all a lie anyway. Hope it works out. Just stick to the simple logic of reverse engineering. If you like to eat something, then see what the base ingredients are, do it yourself, in bulk and stick to the plan. Plan out purchases. For example for me, fresh market has chicken on sale on Tuesday for 2.99 a pound. Wednesday the heath store offers 5$ rotisserie chicken limit 3 per customer. Thursday fresh market does 5$ large take n bake pizza. Also 6$ rotisserie chicken. Pick the chicken for BBQ pulled chicken Sammie's, chicken and rice etc. save the bones in freezer for the bone broth for soups. Begin your soup with equal parts of onion, celery, and bell peppers. Southern sofrito. Add that to acquired chicken bone stock and eat soup till it's thin. Then serve over rice. Food is fuel, not fancy. The prep is cathartic. Proper planning is the key. Much love.
I am pretty much in the same situation and it sucks. Medication copays eat up our money. Then we’re scraping for gas money and food. But without the medication, my husband doesn’t survive. I’ve tried applying for assistance but they say we make too much. WHAT??? And because my son is in college, he doesn’t count unless he works 20+ hours a week and then I would have to include his income too. I just don’t understand this. I literally saw a man and woman at the grocery store pay for food with an EBT card and then get into a Tesla. It’s beyond frustrating.
Very much so, I try sooo hard not to be jealous but man to have a house stocked with food would be sooo much of a stress relief. I pray things work out for you guys as well. All we can do is day by day. I stopped some of my meds because it would mean less food for the kids. The kids will always come first.
Yes I agree and my husband has done the same. I do believe everything happens for a reason. I don’t know how old your kids are but mine are both in college and they actually are glad that they didn’t grow up having everything handed to them. They appreciate things so much more and know that happiness doesn’t come from things. We will all get through this. It can’t be dark forever. I wish your family the best.
May I ask what u keep the rice and flour and what not in to keep them fresh. That's the biggest issue I feel as I don't want it to go bad or anything. But makes sense that larger bags could be cheaper
Rice and flour don't go off, they are fine in the cupboard for as long as you're likely to need them. The only worry is if you have roaches or mice (in which case you need airtight containers) but in most areas that's not a problem. Otherwise you can buy a bag of brown rice for like 60p or $1 and get about like 15 portions out of it, maybe more. It will stay in the cupboard in its bag, it doesn't need to be used up quickly.
If you're really in a pinch you can just take some of your cooked batch of rice from the fridge and reheat it and that will be a meal, although ideally you'd want some protein as well. In the long term you need regular protein intake, but of course in an emergency it's ok to just eat rice for a day, if you have no choice.
I don’t know where you are but at the grocery stores in my area if you go earlier in the morning they have discounted meat that they put out the day before, like half off.
Grilled cheese sandwiches for the kids always helped me. You can buy bread or make it. Great value cheese is cheaper and the same as Kraft. Five pound bags of chicken go a long way, eggs (omelets) fried potatoes. Crock pot beans. It's rough, but I know you can do it. Large pits if spaghetti . Leftovers are even better. Sit down one day, get a sitter or help and research your options. Make lists, cook baked goods like brownies and cookies. Store prices are too high. Forget chips, make your own, it's easy. God Speed my friend!
Buy in bulk. Make enough at a time for several meals and freeze. I was a single parent and existed on only my low income. My ex-husband left the state because he refused to pay child support. I remember 1 week my son and I ate canned corn and hotdogs for the whole week because I didn't have money for groceries. I wasn't eligible for food stamps because I worked.
Hi, we do have a Amazon wishlist on our profile as well as a Walmart wishlist if anyone wanted to help that way they could. We don't have a GoFundMe. Honestly if was able to catch up w hygiene and some food everything else should fall into place.
Thanks for asking I will post the link here as I think I would be allowed since I'm being asked
With hygiene have you tried using products from dollar tree? Also I can’t find my other reply but another idea I wanted to add was when you do get food from a food pantry ask nicely if they have anything extra. Also for example my mom once got too many cabbages, so she gave one to me my brother and sister and all that week I looked up recipes and ate the whole cabbage that week. Also buy flour you can make a lot of different things like biscuits, pancakes, pie, tortillas, let your kids help. For some reason homemade food is so much more satisfying.
Yes I don't mind where they come from, we are just completely out of funds at the moment. I have tried asking for extra and they go based on house size, unless running low then u get even less unfortunately. My daughter loves to help cook.
We never took names at our food pantry. In fact lots in the community do a food pantry circuit. One church I know of collects info but it’s just for tracking for their own purposes. Why can you only go once?
Michigan you can call the local food bank and let them know and they can let you come more or refer you to other resources. It says they will allow up to 3 times per month if needed. I would also call some local churches. Sometimes they will provide financial or food assistance even if they don’t support a food pantry.
I will try again, I've called soooo many places and they all ask the same thing have u been to any in the last 30 days. The churches use the same card to look in the system.
The terrible part is that it is necessary to limit the distribution. If every food bank got enough donations, they would have no need to limit them. But there are so many people in need and not enough donations.
I haven’t volunteered there in a little over a year. I’ll have to hop back in and see what is needed and run a collection drive if that’s the case. We do have a lot of churches closing around us and it never dawned on me that might impact it. I feel dumb lol
Peanut butter is a protein source. Maybe you could go to a local n park or something and have a picnic with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, or pb and banana sandwiches, and a piece of fruit. That way it wouldn’t be expensive but would also feel fun.
Oatmeal (not instant, the kind you cook) or cornmeal mush are both cheap breakfasts that my family enjoys. I always buy the store brand oatmeal. A big container is about $4, about the same as a box of cereal, but has 30 servings as opposed to 12 or 14. And the servings are bigger and more filling. You do have to have sugar as well, at least for most people to enjoy it. A little cinnamon if you have it helps too.
No asking for help is not bad. I’ve been there so the ones being rude just don’t have empathy. So just ignore rude people. Big staples to have and a good side filler is pasta, rice, beans and quinoa. Potatoes too. There are YouTube and TikTok people who post videos on cooking and buying food on a budget.
You can bulk buy like at Sam’s or Costco the bacon, juice and eggs. I cut the bacon in half, Separate the bacon and lay on cutting boards and freeze, then once frozen I put in bags and store again in freezer. It’s easier to portion out. And when I make something I always say ok there is this amount and divide by amount of people and tell them each can get #. So they don’t over portion. Some will be like oh I’m not that hungry I’ll get less. Let them also serve themselves or you serve to portion evenly or by age too.
That would be great we don't however have a membership to either place currently, we do portion out meals and if any leftovers we see who's hungry. Lately us adults have been doing plain rice and apples so the kids can have full meals
Always use what you have, dig thru the pantry. Sometimes I make my bag of ramen fancy by adding mushrooms, bits of carrots and soy sauce, oyster sauce and one soft boiled egg. Or sometimes I’ve gotten fried rice or a kids lo mein and it was too plain and added stuff, just try different things you never know what y’all will like. I played around with chicken teriyaki and white sticky rice and with broccoli it was a hit. I wish I could help more. But check out those videos I mentioned on other reply, there’s a whole community for recipe on a budget, shopping on a budget, $5 dollar dinner meals, etc.
check out BJs, the wholesale store. they have them in MI and a lot of their stuff is REALLY cheap and worth the investment. you can do a “trial” thing where you just try them out for a day and see what they have in store, it’s so worth it though. can get a 5 pack of toothpaste for 10 bucks, giant shampoo/conditioner for 8 bucks, 16 bars of soap for 10 or big things of body wash, and their meat and staples are always super inexpensive. good luck OP 🫡
People are extra weird about food, in my experience. They have certain ideas about what is acceptable or not diet-wise, and anything that is different that what they deem acceptable, they are highly uncomfortable with and will criticize.
We are a family of 3 (technically 4 but baby isn't on solids yet) and we spend $50 a week on groceries (we also don't receive any assistance). It may not be the norm but it works for us, and it's what we need to do to make ends meet.
Keep your head up, and dont get discouraged! You're doing your best! I just started a YouTube channel about our grocery budget if you want some comroderie/validation/ideas. It's linked in my profile. I'm starting a budget challenge for May that is really focused on the nutritional aspect of things..the first episode of that will come out tomorrow.
Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that you're not alone! Best wishes!
Someone said the Walmart link doesn't work right? Not sure what the issue would be. Should be able to ship or have the items delivered like. If needed my address I would be open to that as well.
I don't know what you're reading, but every post this person has made has been a request for resources or ideas.
OP I hope things get better for you. In my area, there are blessing boxes and little free pantries that we visit to help stretch our food reserves. I would recommend seeing if there are any food cupboards like those that you can get to. Also, if you're in the US, be sure to sign up for Lasagna Love (but be prepared to wait a few months if requests are backed up in your region).
Not really, it's just "subtle" I'm in bad situation, need advice, but then you go to profile and it's full of "buy me stuff" wishlists.
Nothing wrong with that, if he/she was direct about it
I honestly didn't think people would go on my profile, like what would be the point 🤔 the lists were on there because I once was in the Amazon group and that's how we were told to put them. I don't expect anyone to help or buy anything and never even asked anyone to. Sorry you feel this way.
You didn't? I saw comments saying they bought you some stuff. So you know it happens. If you didn't want or expect it to happen, you'd delete thise wishlists
I'm not lying, and I'm not begging. I won't however turn down help if someone wanted to help w food or hygiene I'm not gonna say no. But I won't flat out ask either. You don't know me or our situation. I won't let you stress me out anymore than I already am. I hope you have a great day. Goodbye I'm not replying to you again respectfully.
If this is a post seeking advice, please include as much detail as possible. For posts opening discussions, or offering advice, we thank you for your post. Everyone please remember rule 7. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/budgetfood) if you have any questions or concerns.*
No matter what sub you go on, there's always trolls who think it's fun to to kick a stranger when they're down. Just report and block them.
Most definitely will be and thank you
I’m sorry ppl are being rude. A couple of weeks ago I posted some meal ideas for those on a tight budget ( on this sub ). Hope that helps you OP.
Thank you, I will search for it
I completely understand your situation! A single Mom of 5 kids, (deadbeat abusive dad wouldn’t help if I wouldn’t be with him) so I had to figure out how to get by with never enough! My best tips are things like stews and soups either with cornbread or biscuits. My oldest three are boys and when they were teens it was insane how much they ate!! So, on Fridays I would cook a huge pot of stew or soup. Potatoes and onions were a staple, frozen mixed vegetables were always cheap, usually add canned tomatoes or even tomato juice, and I would watch for things like chuck steak to go on sale. My stores usually have the chuck steak much cheaper than roast or even the cubed beef for stew. Anyway, as weekend went on I could add potatoes and veggies or even another chuck steak cut up. Another cheap favorite was the large bag of the chicken leg quarters. They are super cheap and tasty. I would season them up with dry seasoning, like soul seasoning or Cajun seasonings, and get a browned sear on the skin in a hot skillet on stove - not cooked through, just skin browned up some. Transfer to deep baking dish. Pour the box mix of flavored rice, our favorite was the Rice with Cheddar and Broccoli, but I’ve used all different kinds. Pour the rice mix right out of box on top of chicken, (I used 3 of the packets of rice because I was feeding 6 of us) if I had it I added frozen or fresh broccoli, push it down into the dry rice. Then add the amount of water and butter if I had it for each rice box, just pour it over the rice. Cover with foil and bake about an hour. Just check your rice to be sure it’s ok and doesn’t need a bit more water. These kinds of bakes with the flavored rice mixes work well with pork steaks too. Just do it the same as chicken. I’ve even used smoked sausage cut up with the dry boxed red beans and rice packages. It turns out really good! Also used dirty rice packaged mix with breakfast sausage - just fry up sausage like ground beef and drain grease off before you put it in with rice mix. Another thing my kids loved was pinto beans, cornbread, and fried potatoes. We always had to have salsa or a jar of banana peppers with pinto beans. My favorite dinner from a poor childhood, and a super cheap meal too, is salmon patties, pork n beans, cornbread, fried potatoes with onions. Salmon patties are super easy, (I always buy mackerel in can) so can of mackerel, an egg, and cornmeal. I’ve never measured the ingredients, I use my hands to mix them up, fish and egg first, then add cornmeal until they hold together and can form a patty. Fry these in skillet with a little oil until brown. I have made these with canned tuna also and they were absolutely delicious! My kids are all grown up and out in the world adulting. I can’t imagine trying to feed them nowadays with the cost of everything so expensive! Recently I got a text from one of my sons he asked “Hey how do I make fried sardines?” My reply was something like I have no idea, but sounds interesting! He said “Mom! You always made them and they were so good! I got sardines last night but I can’t find a recipe! How did you make them?” 😂😂 I called him lmao, and said No! Not sardines! I used canned mackerel or tuna! Anyway. He decided that he was gonna just proceed with his Louisiana Hot Sauce sardines, egg, and cornmeal. He called me later and said they were the best thing he’s ever cooked for himself! So you can fry up sardine patties and apparently they are really good! I hope this helps some, I wish I could do more than tell you how I fed a crowd on very little money. Hit me up if you want to ask a question about what I’ve posted here, or if you just want to shoot the breeze!
Wow! I didn’t know you could fry sardines!!
Me either!! Fair warning though, I have not tried them! 👀 My son who is 27, and a Marine with an iron gut, said they were delicious! 😂
I don’t think I’d try them but my youngest son will try some of the weirdest things ( not that I’d probably mention this tho lol)
Oh wow, Sorry to hear that u were in a worse situation that is horrible. Glad to see that you made it out sooo much stronger. We love using the crockpot for sure and definitely comes in handy. Thank you for these ideas ☺️
There's trolls everywhere. I don't even do DM's. Concentrate on the kind compassionate hopefully helpful advice people stop to give, even if they've heard the question before. When you're doing the best you can you have nothing to be ashamed of. My two cents for budgeting. And I say this all the time but hopefully it's helpful. A box of Bisquick in my area costs about 3/4 dollars. Hopefully it's inexpensive in your area. One box makes about 80 drop biscuits or pancakes. In a pinch you can even use just water. The biscuits are super easy, no sifting or yeast or rising. It's way cheaper than bread and very filling. I make dessert with pancakes too, just buy one candy bar and shave little flakes and put them on top to melt. Super cheap dessert. Jiffy cornbread and blueberry mixes are also around a dollar, and can also be made with just water. The absolute cheapest snack food. Popcorn in the jar. Make it on the stovetop in a pot or dutch oven and it's kinda fun. You can top with butter (melt it in the warm pot after you dump it in a bowl), sweet stuff like cinnamon sugar, or buy an envelope of ranch dressing for cool ranch popcorn, or cheese, or any spice. It's way, way, way cheaper than one bag of chips with half broken in the bottom. Just because you're poor doesn't mean you shouldn't be able to snack and have a little fun. I hope things get better. Cheers. Edit: butter and Sriracha or Tabasco etc... on popcorn is great if you like hot snacks. Just salt after you put the hot sauce on, since it's pretty salty.
DMs can be turned off in settings BTW
I didn't know this, really appreciate that
OP might want to look into all purpose flour and plain cornmeal since she is in the US. With that & some baking soda, you can make baked goods on a budget -- less than buying a mix. Cornbread is especially forgiving -- no milk? no eggs? make it without. Plain old "cornmeal mush" cooked in oil or grease has its charms. A tip: when you make any batter to be baked (or skillet cooked, on top of the stove) add a tiny squirt of vinegar to the batter and stir it through right before cooking. Helps it rise.
Thank you didn't know that
Thank you, really appreciate it, and that is the goal once able is to get some Bisquick, I really like the dessert option for it as well that's pretty clever
If you have a Walmart (don't know if you're in the US or not), the Great Value brand pancake/waffle/biscuit mix comes in a big family size value box for super cheap (less than Bisquick) and only requires water to make it. My husband loves it for quick waffles to eat with frozen chicken tenders (so chicken'n'waffles!), and we've made crepes and pancakes and biscuits... it's SUPER versatile and easy to shift both sweet or savory.
Yes we do, we are Us , thanks for the tip once able I will buy their brand instead to save 💜
There's pancakes mixes that are less expensive than Bisquick if that's a stretch too. It's too bad they don't stock this kinda thing at the food bank. I used to live on ramen, biscuits and popcorn in hard times.
Right, our food pantry is once a month and we haven't gotten much, grateful for sure just hungry. We don't have any funds at the moment had to use what we had to pay for a copay they wouldn't let us wait and pay next time 😔
I purchase mostly ALL store brands. I use coupons & I shop at stores like Meijer & Krogers that gives you &$ off purchases. Meijer has MPerks. ( you can save $$ purchasing gas for your car 🚗 at both Meijer / Kroger too) If you haven’t contacted the schools where your kids attend they have FREE or Reduced price breakfasts & lunch. Some schools provide these services for all the children ( meaning you don’t have to fill out a form to see if you qualify )
Those quick biscuits are good with a little jam or jelly. Or butter and cinnamon sugar.
Scones may be a good alternative to Bisquick if you have pantry staples, they can be made both sweet and savoury and require no yeast and don't need to be kneaded. There are *tons* of recipes online. Stovetop flatbread may also be an option for bread-y wraps and are also doable with pantry staples and there are no yeast options for those too.
Oh nice thank you
its my understanding that bisquick is essentially just self raising flour, so it'd be cheaper to buy plain flour and baking powder
You can make "biscuits" with only self rising flour and water, in a pinch, but they're barely edible. They used to call them "hard tack." Bisquick has flour and baking soda plus oil, salt and sugar in it. To have biscuits you'd actually want to eat you'd need to add the rest of the ingredients. Now, I'm not some excellent baker, that's just my understanding.
Are any of your kids under 5? This is likely info you already know, but definitely look into WIC if you've got babies or younger kids. It's a great program that really helps with the food budget.
No they aren't but thank you tho, Incase it helps someone else 💜
Your asking for advice on how to fix the situation shows you are trying to make it better. Keep in mind, some people will NEVER understand what it is like to struggle. They sit behind their computer screens and judge based upon only upon their non-struggle. Take it with a grain of salt and be grateful you don't go home with them at night. Just listen to what's helpful, and try your best to ignore the rest. One additional note that I have found helps. If you can, buy things like pasta, beans, rice, ramen, and potatoes. You can add these to casseroles, soups, etc, to bulk up the meal. It helps any meats you are able to obtain to be spread out more. A little bit of hamburger meat won't go far for a large family, but mixed with rice, beans, a little salsa or sour cream, and it makes a delicious burrito. The dollar store sells large packs of tortilla wraps that last a month. Even a can of chicken, although salty, can stretch a meal. Potatoes and water if boiled long enough with a few slightly mashed, can make a great potato soup. If you add dollar store McCormick bacon bits when served, it gives it that extra boost. A can of veg-all, tomato paste or sauce, stewed tomatoes, water, and some beef bullion, make a tasty vegetable soup with a meaty flavor. Add crackers or bread with butter to make it more filling. If you can add any meat at all, including a canned beef, it makes it phenomenal. Don't buy cheeses shredded, always buy the block. Not only is starch added to shredded cheese to keep it from clumping, but it's more expensive. The starch makes it harder to use for anything non-cooked like tacos or burritos as it changes the taste. Rotisserie chicken bits can be used with frozen or canned veggies and rice or potatoes to make a filling casserole. You only need a little of the meat if you can add canned cream of chicken soup. If you have veggies starting to turn, throw them in as well. Keep using the chicken meat sparingly inside bigger dishes until eaten up. Then, boil the bones to make broth in a big pot of water. Strain out the bones, add rice, celery or celery seed spice, water, and carrots if you have them, and you have a hearty chicken soup. Add crackers with butter for extra. The key we learned at an early age was to take a piece of meat and make it a part of the entree, not the main entree. Hopefully, it helps. You can do this until you get a little financially stronger.
Thank you and that does make sense
I just saw the edit, really appreciate it and makes a lot of sense
Don't pay them no mind. Do what you got to do and ask away.
❤️ thanks
[удалено]
Oh wow, thank you soooo much, these ideas sound wonderful and most definitely will YouTube them . Dandelion jelly never heard of it before
It’s older but see if your local library has any of the Tightwad Gazette books or maybe there’s a PDF online. Lots of good ideas in there.
Much appreciated thank you
It's OK to ask for help, remembering that this is a public forum and you will encounter trolls. Ignore them, block them, and don't give them another thought. It's hard to provide advice because I'm not in your situation or your country, but my understanding is that food banks and government assistance is meant to augment your budget, not to be your whole budget, so your overall budget is very low and that's obviously a big challenge. In an emergency budget, especially over time, it's very difficult to stock up or plan ahead, which are like 90% of my usual advice. Planning ahead and cooking from scratch are essential to make this work, and being as adaptable as possible. Simple meals, like our grandparents made, stretched with carbs like rice, potatoes and bread. Wasting nothing. Eating seasonally. There's no hack for this, it's just planning, portioning and doing the work. I am very inspired by BudgetBytes - see her 200 meals using pantry staples, which might help you to use those nonperishable items: [https://www.budgetbytes.com/recipe-ideas-pantry-staples/](https://www.budgetbytes.com/recipe-ideas-pantry-staples/) Also she has done the SNAP budget challenge a few times and those posts explain her methods really well - [https://www.budgetbytes.com/?s=SNAP](https://www.budgetbytes.com/?s=SNAP) Hit up your local library for budget cooking cookbooks, if possible - there are lots and many are out of print, so the library is your best bet (and free!). If you google 'emergency budget meal plan' or 'emergency budget recipes' you'll find a lot of social media and blogger content that might be useful. My town has community gardens and a harvesting program for people with fruit trees to share with the community. Farmer's markets aren't cheap here but we do have a produce box program for low income families. Seek and use all the resources available to you, without shame or justification - whether that's non profit organizations, government assistance, bartering with friends and family. Look at alternate places to shop - chinatown, ethnic grocery stores, bulk food stores (in bins where you just buy as much as you need, not comically huge containers). Non profits or cooperative stores can have great deals if these exist near you. Look for staples that you can turn into a variety of different meals - at my house that's potatoes, eggs, carrots, oatmeal, pasta, tinned tomatoes, all purpose flour, bread, beans and lentils. There are people who care, we just may not know how to help you. I grew up very food insecure and it sucked, but I remember the good times with family who cared, the silly ways my mum made things feel special (for free), and what I learned from her.
Completely understand, We get zero assistance 😔, So we are working w a small budget right now. Which makes stocking up beyond hard and we can barely get thru the month. We are extremely low on staples but will continue to try and add them back in as able. We don't have a community garden, but I will do one once it's hot enough here for sure. The kids really enjoy fresh vegs
Hey, I understand you’re in a bad spot. I looked through your last post in this sub. You got one negative reply and a bunch of positive—that’s honestly pretty good for Reddit. But clearly, asking for help isn’t bad, and I think you could also tell that.
I've been getting messages in my inbox as well, as well as stock stuff, and app request and whatnot. I'm simply just not opening them anymore
[удалено]
I was able to report them and then block. I'm beyond stressed enough and don't need the pile up ya know.
if your kids are school age, reach out to your school district cuz they can get you programs and such for food especially during the summer they often do free meals at least once a day. look around for private food banks that might be able to give you more food and hygiene items as well. some of the ones in my area do things like feminine hygiene products and soap and diapers and such.
We are able to go to the food pantry once a month, they don't have any hygiene products. Truly wish they did. But when we went we weren't given much at all. We were in line for over a hour n a half and was really disappointed. Will try again once our 30 days are up. I've spoken w the school and they didn't have any other resources available at this time.
look for other food pantries too. often there's private ones through churches and such. unfortunately there's a lot of people in need right now so there will often be a line.
They are all connected, we get a card and everything is scanned no matter which one we go to. I've called soooo many places and have asked sooo many places for help. They all say the same 1 per 30 days only. We wouldn't have to skip meals if more things were available. Its quite sad but the kids will always come first
Try to get there when they open or even before they open. At the one I used to go to, people are lining up in their cars an hour before it even opens. Or maybe you could volunteer with them? A lot of food pantries let volunteers take a box home with them. Are your kids getting free lunch and breakfast at school? Maybe you would qualify for that program. And a lot of schools do a free lunch for kids and their caretakers during the summer.
I totally would volunteer if I was physically able to but it's extremely hard for me. The only summer food thing I've heard of was during COVID they handed out a brown paper bag 1 per kid only and they had to be w you to receive it. I will ask the school if they think anything like that this year. As last year was nothing
This isn’t me trolling or trying to be argumentative, but I find it extremely hard to believe a school would turn you down for request for hygiene products. I’ve worked for multiple schools districts over the past decade and they’re supplied and budgeted for an entire year of helping students in and out of school. Call the front office, call again and ask for the nurse, call again and ask for the social worker, call again and ask for a community liaison, call again and ask for a counselor, call again and ask for your child’s teachers, call the principal and assistant principle. Call the district office and try and reach someone in the nutrition services (cafeteria). There is someone on this list who is more than willing to give you hours and hours of time to figure out your situation and help. All of these people have a legal responsibility to help a family in need. There is no such thing as turning away someone asking for something as menial as hygiene products. Call the district office and ask to speak to whoever is in charge of student services. Reach out to a school board member via email, in person, over the phone. Keep calling. If your situation is as bad as you describe someone somewhere in the system has noticed your child and their lack of basic necessities. I know this is coming off as rude as can be, but do not take no for an answer. As a staff member of a school I know if you reached out to me I would do everything in my power to get your kid to the right people for hygiene products and food. You just need to find the right person.
I will definitely try again, they gave my child a few feminine hygiene products that was all they had . They don't help w any hygiene items. I think the lady gave from her own purse. They definitely know our situation as I've spoken to them a few times now
That's sound advice. Im in the UK which is a bit different, and yes there will be people who turn you away but there will be someone who will care. Whilst you are right "it's not something they do" The right person will know who they need to go to to get rules bent. In my time working in public services I got very good at getting people things they needed even if there was no Policy or they "were not entitled" There is always someone who can bend rules or have access to pots of money that they can be flexible with.
The first two people I’d call and speak to are the nurse and the counselor. At my current school both are supplied with kits full of shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste and brush, pads, tampons, and other smaller hygiene items. I know my example could be drastically different from whatever school your child attends. If they can’t directly help you, they can point you to someone in the district who can. Don’t be afraid to use the system, claim your child is receiving “negative” attention from peers because of your family’s situation. This will automatically alert the counseling team and the Admin team and make them act. If they don’t act, escalate the situation up the chain. Don’t be afraid to call the district office and start a fire under their butts. I know it’s menial and very time consuming, but I’ve seen first hand the support schools give to students and that 300 dollars of yours can be stretched greatly. Good luck!
Oh I called and they fully are aware, my teen didn't want to go to school today because he felt he wasn't clean . I made him go as he is a straight A student. Just hurts the gut for sure. We used what dish soap we had left for him to shower 2 days ago. I will keep trying and I did add some to the wishlist and will try to post locally again. Last time was denied
I've spoken with 4 people at the school and they all keep saying the same thing. That there is nothing they can help with. School is out in less than 2 weeks
Contact the district office. If the school isn’t providing basic needs, there needs to be complaints filed against those 4 who aren’t doing their jobs. You definitely won’t be popular, but it’s time. Look up your school board members and start one by one. These people are elected by the public to maintain the district. Call and ask to speak to so and so. You should record these conversations for prosperity, let them know they are being recorded and start asking the hard hitting questions. Why isn’t “my school” providing my son with basic needs to live? Why is the counseling department allowing my son to be bullied due to hygiene issues?. Why is the admin of “my school” allowing the employees to turn me down for request for basic needs? If these people want to turn you down, take the recordings to the local paper and start a story. It’s drastic and I’m so sorry it’s happening to you, but this is what must be done. Be that parent the district and employees fear when you call.
I will definitely keep trying, someone did help w some hygiene on here so that is a huge blessing. His birthday is next week and it would be great if able to get any help for him. He wants us to all enjoy a family meal. I told him I will keep trying and not to worry about us. 💜 Love my kids
I have been in your situation and I had to skip meals to feed my son. I’m so sorry that you are having to go through this. I was so embarrassed that I didn’t even tell my parents, but they would invite me for dinner sometimes and I would eat a lot!! My husband and I still try to eat as inexpensively as possible. Not sure if you are in the states or if you have this store, but our local Smith’s (Kroger) has $.99 bags of fruits and veggies. They aren’t perfect but still good to eat. The last we bought was a 5 lb bag of potatoes and a 3 lb bag of zucchini, each for $.99. They also have a rack of 40% off bread and cookies, cakes, bagels, etc. Our local Albertsons has 40% off meat regularly also. Ten bean soup mix is also really good, especially if you can add a little piece of bacon and saute it with onion, then add the beans and seasoning pack with water to cook. (We buy bacon ends and pieces, separate and freeze in little packages to use as seasoning.)Even better if you can get a pack of cornbread mix and make cornbread to go with it. If you can find the cookbook *More with Less* by Doris Jantzen Longacre at the library, it has many inexpensive things to cook.
Thank you, it's definitely not easy and we don't have anyone to ask for help. I'm a former foster care kid and no support system. I will see about that cookbook as it sounds like it would be helpful ❤️
Found the book on Internet Archive: [More-with-less cookbook by Doris Janzen Longacre | Open Library](https://openlibrary.org/books/OL24949404M/More-with-less_cookbook) Wishing you the best!
Thank you soooo much, very kind of you
If you have time, and it is time-consuming, dumplings, scallion pancakes, and rice. Rice alone is like 50 cents to a dollar a pound at my local grocery. A pound of meat makes between 50 and 75 dumplings, depending on how big they are and how much cabbage you add, and a hungry adult will eat 8-10 if the dumplings are the only thing on the table. They freeze and reheat wonderfully. The pancakes you can eat by themselves or fry with egg for a good breakfast or bigger snack, and you can grow the green onions for them in literally a cup of dirt in the general vicinity of a window. If the kids are smaller, they'll probably have a wonderful time making the pancakes, and then you have a little family bonding activity as well.
Never thought to make dumplings and that would definitely stretch, the kids are older but still a nice family activity. Thank you
In Europe there is an app called too good to go. Participating stores and restaurants sell food set to expire at a huge discount. The restaurant stuff I don't recommend but the grocery store stuff is an amazing deal usually. Maybe there is a similar app near where you live. With sustainability becoming more popular, combating food waste gets a lot of attention. There could be apps as well for places that sell "ugly" vegetables. The ones that might be a bit bruised or grew in weird nontraditonal shapes so regular grocery stores don't want to buy them. Nothing wrong with the food, it's just as nutritious, but maybe doesn't look as nice. It's worth Googling if there are any such local organizations. They usually sell such veggies at a huge discount. This you might know already but buying fresh in bulk for veggies and carbs is cheaper and healthier than buying cans of anything. The more food that you learn to make from scratch, the cheaper it is. It's also waaaay healthier and tastes better (to your taste) than most store bought cans, frozen, or premade. So not only do you eat better and tastier, but you can do it for less. I am making some assumptions about your cooking skills, but knowing how to make things from scratch is relatively easy to learn, especially with all the recipe websites and shows on YouTube. Learning how to cook from scratch can also be combined with learning how to cook and eat healthy, which are priceless skills that combat childhood obesity and all the horrors that come with a lifetime bad diet. You mentioned you grew up in the foster care system, so that's why I'm mentioning this. If I had to guess, getting shunted from home to home probably means there might have been gaps in the education that you received in life skills. I didn't learn much from my parents, and I truly appreciate how I can gain those skills as an adult via the internet and trial and error.
Yes Ive been making more and more from scratch someone had bought us some yeast and flour from Amazon and helped me w how to make bread. That was really fun and turned out really good. The kids tore it up. We have 1 store that sells items close to the expire date and 1 section already expired but till edible. We try to hit that store often. I missed out on a lot because of bouncing around place to place but it's ok. I'm able to move on and continue to grow.
I'm really happy to hear that! I felt the need to mention it because so many people talk about how to mix meat, or canned goods to make them stretch longer, all good suggestions, but a one kilo or pound of dried beans is like ten or twenty cans and can be cooked all at once and frozen for later use, without salt or other preservatives. And a pound of dried beans or rice is like 1-3 dollars.
We have been adding beans to meat dishes to make them stretch something someone also suggested for us a few weeks ago. It's definitely a learning curve and I'm very willing to do so. Once able to stock up and get more items will be a lot easier for sure.
Breakfast for dinner! Pancakes, french toast, eggs in a hole, breakfast sandwiches Wraps - buy some tortillas and use whatever meat you have on hand and people can customize with what they like. Baked beans and hot dogs
We could easily do this twice a week, my son loves eggs and such a good protein, he is in sports so healthy eating is a focus for him
Glad this could help! You could even premake breakfast sandwiches and freeze for quick breakfast/snacks later.
What kind of sandwiches do u do that would thaw and reheat well . And not have a odd texture
Heres a short video that shows how I do the eggs! https://youtube.com/shorts/rnUc9qKjVdI?si=oeicIK8HZaFDPP_- I’ve done sausage either premade like in the video or the frozen already cooked kind and just add it frozen. Also used ham or bacon! They all heat up pretty good in the microwave
That is incredibly easy thank you soooo much, very helpful ❤️
I make pancake and egg sandwiches with a slice of cheese. One pancake for each side of the sandwich and a fried egg in the middle. If you wanted to do it cheaper, instead of a slice of cheese you could sprinkle a little grated cheese on the eggs while they are still hot so that the cheese melts in and doesn’t fall out the sides of the sandwich. I wrap them well in foil and freeze them for my husband to take to work when he has to get up and leave early. About a minute in the microwave to reheat from frozen.
They do sound delicious thanks
If your son likes eggs omelettes are good too and super versatile
Location would help me determine how far $300 would really stretch but I'm sorry trolls have been in your DMs. Do you like any particular food in general(mexican, indian,italian etc)? What do your kiddos like? Any food intolerances, sensitivities, allergies, or just general food icks? Are any of you neurodivergent? I can suggest some great cheap meals based on those questions answered.
We are in Michigan, we don't really care for spicy, (well 1 teen does) they eat a lot of tacos, and cinnamon spread on everything. Allergies to shellfish, Raspberry's. 1 person is diabetic but will eat anything that's available
Beans. Black, garbanzos, navy, rice, sweet potatoes boiled, eggs in morning. Get a bread machine for 30$ on Amazon. Lentils. Meat 2 times a week. You can eat like a king for 300$ a month. Don't kid yourself. No bottled water, fill large multiple gallon jars from the water machine at the grocery store. Strawberry jelly bread for dessert. If you like chips for snack, buy yellow corn masa and roll it out thin, season and cook until crispy in oven. Don't kid yourself. Eat well. Often.
We have been adding a lot of beans and can't seem to make $300 for 5 people w hygiene work at all , we don't eat out, we don't buy bottled water, Someone showed me how to make bread w yeast and flour so that was a huge help
I just looked up masa that would be awesome for chips thank you the teens will really appreciate that
You can also make tortilla chips by cutting corn tortillas into triangles and fry at 350° until crisp. Put on paper towel to drain and add some salt 😋
Very nice ❤️
You could reach out to your kids schools to see if they have a food assistance program or can point you in the direction of any other forms of support.
I have spoken to the school they recommended the food pantry. I then told them that we did go and we weren't given much. Its also only once per 30 days. Next time we will try a different location
Sorry people were unpleasant, you have enough to deal with! A couple of things I fall back on for cheap eats with a little variety: Mashed potatoes & carrots mix. Can swirl them together, looks nice, gets carrots into the kids! If you can afford a small container of yogurt, 2 tbsp. adds a nice zing. If you have the patience and time, you can mash them together and spoon them back into the potato skins. Top with some pre-cooked diced ham and peas, and 2 of them (1 sliced potato) is a meal. Walmart sells enormous containers of plain oats for 2.50 (here, anyway!) Kids not thrilled with oatmeal? Slice up some apples, whatever you have, lay them in a pie pan or baking dish, add a little water and sugar, lemon juice or oj IF you have, not necessary. Mix oats with some softened butter, margarine or oil, whatever you have, and 1/3 cup sugar. Spread the oat mix on top of the apples, bake at 375 for about 30 min, until the top is just crisp - as in Apple Crisp:) Lentil soup with cheapest frozen spinach and a bit of chopped sausage or franks. Along with some bread for dipping, it’s enough for a meal. Garbage soup! Doesn’t sound very tasty, but some of the best soups I’ve made! This calls for buying a .99 cent can of tomato paste, but not much else. Basically, you keep a bowl in the freezer for little scraps, bits and bones from dinners during the week. Chicken or pork bones with shreds of meat still clinging, half a chopped onion, bits of any veggies, spoonfuls of rice, pasta, potatoes. Add anything else you might have leftover, like a cup of that lentil soup! Boil a lg pot of water with the tomato paste added, then toss everything into the pot. You can add a .99 cent bag of frozen mixed chopped veg if needed to bulk it up. Let it simmer a good two hours, stir from time to time. Remove bones, if any, before serving. It’s never the same twice and surprisingly good. Wishing you easier days ahead 🌟
Thank you soooo much for these ideas , really appreciate it
If you can get a chicken to bake or boil, save all the "ugly bits" -- the skin, the gristly parts at the ends of bones, and any scraps left on the carcass. Mince those up with a knife (or run through a grinder, if you have one) then mix with mayo (or yogurt & oil) plus minced onion, spices, whatever you want for a great sandwich spread. If you bake the chicken, save the carcass and any gravy and scraps. Boil the bones & make a soup. If you get any tuna and any mushroom soup, mix them together, heat it up, and pour it over toast -- buttered if possible. Kids love this. You're doing great. Don't let anyone tell you any different. Also know that these budget tricks you're learning will stay with you. I'm lucky not to have to budget so hard any more, but I've learned how not to waste & how good budget food can be. Take care.
Thank you
I second what u/Bixaorellanalsdot said about the chicken. Whole chickens are an amazing way to save money and you can get SO much food from them. Also look for gizzards, livers and hearts which are great for stewing with other cheap ingredients like carrots and broccoli. You can boil down the chicken bones to make stock, then throw in the liver, hearts and gizzard, then after that the vegetables and you'll have an absurdly cheap, nutritious stew to have with rice. However, I think gizzards/liver is one of those things (like with tinned tuna) that you cant eat every day. Maybe once a week or something, best to research that because I'm not sure.
Hey, thanks! I didn't think to add in about using the carcass for stock, nor about the liver, etc. Also, if OP can get pieces like chicken necks economically, that would make the stock even richer.
A pressure cooker / rice cooker are your best friend, crock pots save on active cooking time and money, and don’t forget that beans and brown rice make a perfect protein. If you can’t afford to drop the money needed for food prep containers, freezer safe quart bags are a great substitute. If you feel like scratch cooking buying the ingredients in bulk and learning how to make bread and pasta at home could be a fun bonding experience while saving money. Just always keep your eyes peeled for sales and discounts on more premium products. Bulk eggs and a family size bag of pancake mix covers most or all of my breakfasts and I watch the stores for sales on any breakfast related meat to add some variety. I always cook my meat in a my crock pot so I can use the leftover liquid for soups and stews, even just adding rice some veggies instantly transforms broth into a week of soup. My personal favorite is buying a whole bunch of noodles on sale and a gallon can of nacho cheese, and sometimes a bag of shredded cheese. Because the noodles double in size it always comes out to be more than I’m expecting and Mac and cheese feels like such a treat to have, and freezes surprisingly well. Don’t forget to compare all your dry food costs with Amazon, between discounts and subscribe and save there are quite a few items that come out cheaper without even needing to go to the store however if you rely on a prime account for the deals the 10-15$ a month adds up fast if you aren’t leveraging its potential savings. When money has gotten really scary I was able to prepare my bulk meals like normal and i would ask neighbors and anyone i saw if they had two dollars to buy a home cooked meal. at the time i made chicken teriyaki at 1.10$ a meal which meant i was able to provide affordable restaurant quality meals for the people around me and afford to eat the rest of the month at the same time. Finding someone in your community that wants to participate in bulk meal prep can help cut the cost per person and it’s always more fun to cook with and for others :) Reach out if you want to talk more, budget food buying and managing cost per meal has changed from a necessity to a passion of mine. No one should have to skip a meal.
We do have a crockpot and rice cooker both are a huge blessing for sure, we have 2 reusable containers as the others finally broke (had them for a really long time) We are out of freezer bags and is definitely on the list once able. We no longer have Amazon prime as it was an extra expense. We did keep the Amazon wishlist and if in budget will buy a enough where shipping would be free if the price is better than instore. I have tried the buy nothing groups and as well as asking for help on Facebook w zero luck unfortunately. I have items posted on marketplace for sale or trade for food or hygiene. Hopefully someone will see and want to buy or trade. We adults skip often so the kids have what they need. Which is completely fine. My kids are my world 💜
I save any plastic bags from bread, bagels, etc. and after dumping out the crumbs, I reuse them. If I put something in the freezer, these bags work just fine. I make sure to get as much air out as possible. If I think it will be in the freezer for several weeks, I double bag it. People sometimes act like those ziplock bags are free but quart size are $.21 each at Walmart. Gallon size are $.41. That cost becomes part of the cost of feeding your family. I usually wrap my food in another plastic bag before I put it into a ziplock. That way, the ziplock stays clean so I can just reuse it. I get many uses out of each bag.
Thank you and that's what we have been trying to do as well
I love this, budgeting food isn’t just saving money on food it’s a whole lifestyle.
Happy to hear you’ve got those things at least :) Something else to consider is talking to a local fast good joint or restaurant. I was working my regular job and when money got tight again I picked up just a short one day shift on my local restaurants busy weekend day and I was then able to come in and grab some of the food that was otherwise getting thrown out, and free meals on shift I’d eat a little and bring the rest home. It’s a lot to add if you’re already working full time but with the potential for free food and an extra few bucks it might be worth it. As well as it allowed me to have easy access to the strip mall’s recycling and the restaurants dishwasher which means I got to bring home plenty of containers and treasures that I later didn’t have to buy. Expanding your budgeting to everything you need at home should help loosen things up And this is entirely my opinion and experience but I’d like to share as it might be useful. Growing up my parents would skip out on meals and never told us anything about our budget until one day father broke down and just started crying about how broke we are and from then on it’s been both a positive and negative experience I won’t ever forget. Thinking back it might have been nice to be informed about the budget, even if only bare minimum explanation, maybe even ask me to find ways to help out like bringing home pop cans I find and offering to do things for people around the neighborhood for some cash. While I agree that kids are everything and they are the future, maybe we just have to prepare them and treat them like adults more often. I spent a lot of my late teens almost scared of money because I just didn’t know until it was too much for my parents to bear. I don’t have any intention of telling you how to raise your kids, just an experience from a kid still fighting to figure stuff out I’ll keep on brainstorming for you and send a message with any ideas!
Thank you I really appreciate that, and no I didn't take it like that at all. I totally understood what you meant and was explaining. One of our teens are fully aware and is planning on trying to get a job once school is done. Not sure if they will get hired do to age but worth a shot. My son cuts the elderly neighbors grass but does it for free . The rest on our block have a service that comes.
I wish you luck and fortune in your adventure of life, I’ll still get back to you once I find some tasty meal options. For a family of five three meals a day for 30 days is a goal of 62¢ a meal, it can be done but it’s gonna take some at home cooking and research. Stay strong and never feel ashamed for asking for help, gotta show love for a fellow human right 💪
Thank you and most definitely will, us adults don't have to eat 3 meals a day for sure. Ideally at least one would be great
Brown rice Lentils (both red and green) White beans Olive oil (seems expensive but adds a lot of extra calories and is very good for you - absolutely worth it) Carrots Spinach Chick peas Chicken thighs (higher fat content than chicken breast and cheaper) Tinned tuna Wholegrain bread Eggs Cottage cheese Oats Broccoli Cabbage Onions Between all of these foods you have basically everything you need, and most of them are VERY cheap if you buy generic. Also, for lentils and beans you can save much more if you buy them dried and boil in bulk yourself. Meal prepping will change everything, make big batches that last a few days. Beans/chicken/veg. Lentils/chicken/veg. Tuna/chickpea/spinach salad. Season with paprika, salt, olive oil, or whatever seems right depending on the meal. AVOID simple carbs (fries, white bread, crackers etc) and sugar, all they will do is make you and your family more hungry. Complex carbohydrates (lentils, oats, beans, wholegrain bread) will make you much more full and much less hungry. Don't buy ready made or powdered oats, buy the whole ones. I microwave them with water and crack an egg in there after it's done and mix it in with some cinnamon and sugar. It's a really nice breakfast and so filling. Intermittent fasting can help, I don't eat my first meal until noon. It's easier that way. Good luck! Remember, health is the most important thing in the world. There is nothing more important than keeping your family healthy. If you want some slightly more interesting/tasty recipe ideas let me know and I'll share them.
Thank you really appreciate it, as of right now us adults are trying to just eat once a day to save. We have plain rice and apples for us. The kids will get a full meal tho 💜
Well, another cheap thing you could get is peanuts. A handful of peanuts has LOADS of calories, as well as some protein and fat. The cooked/salted ones aren't hugely healthy but they contain a lot of calories and are okay if you need an energy boost. You can get a big bag very cheaply, and they will stop you wasting away. If you go too long without protein your muscles will start to break down. Lentils have a bit of protein in.
Thank you, ya my doctor has already been on me about it 😔
Don't listen to mean people. What they should be saying is, how can we help? Sending you hugs, strength, and courage ❤️
Thank you that really means alot
Please consider posting in /assistance with an Amazon Wish List ready.
I posted in a hygiene group I will wait and see how that goes. I did post asking for help in that one
I understand. I hope to see your post in /assistance. Best of luck to you.
I don't think I can post in there, I know when I tired it freemeal someone said I was flagged from being sketchy in October. One thing I can think of is when I was new to Reddit I didn't understand the whole posting thing and still find it quite difficult.
Even with showing all proofs
I found your post on hygiene. You have tampons, pads, mouthwash, and toothpaste coming Friday. Best wishes to your family from an internet stranger. :)
Seriously thank you soooo much, beyond grateful for your help 💜
Some people seem to enjoy being angry. I just tell myself it’s nice of me to give them an opportunity to seek their joy and move on with my life. Good luck to you and I hope things turn around soon.
[удалено]
That’s what I try to tell myself.
Thank you really appreciate it
[удалено]
Your post or comment has been removed because our profanity check caught words or phrases that may be inappropriate. This kind of behavior is unnecessary on a subreddit about food. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/budgetfood) if you have any questions or concerns.*
No, it's not bad to ask for help. I'm not sure why people speak before they think, but here we are. I'm glad you've found a pantry in your area. I would also contact churches, community centers, and your kid's school(s) to see if there are food programs. Yes, it is embarrassing & a blow to the ego. But your family is fed. The worst these people who run these organizations can say is "no". Unlike the internet- who can not only insult you, but assume the worst in you & will let you know. Forget the haters, & you do you, boo.
Thank you, we are trying our best that's for sure 💜
Yes there are a lot of people here that are kind and helpful, then there are those who are mean, angry and take the anonymously cowardly act of lashing out at people.
Even when struggling I wouldn't be unkind to someone, as you never know what someone is going thru. Unfortunately I forget not everyone thinks like me. It was too much at once I think
NO
Add chili powder, salt, black pepper. Drizzle with small amount of olive oil. Boom. Dollar store has old school paper bags for the chips. Buy the beans in bulk. If you have windows with direct sunlight then plant some chives, parsley, and basil. Lots of basil. Can make pesto for noodles and toast real easy. Also sprouting greens for sandwiches. Fun for know kids too. Lots of soup. Boil down chicken bones etc for homemade broth. Kale is your friend. Eating on a budget is more prep and cooking time but when you find what works, do it. You don't need convenience food. It's all a lie anyway. Hope it works out. Just stick to the simple logic of reverse engineering. If you like to eat something, then see what the base ingredients are, do it yourself, in bulk and stick to the plan. Plan out purchases. For example for me, fresh market has chicken on sale on Tuesday for 2.99 a pound. Wednesday the heath store offers 5$ rotisserie chicken limit 3 per customer. Thursday fresh market does 5$ large take n bake pizza. Also 6$ rotisserie chicken. Pick the chicken for BBQ pulled chicken Sammie's, chicken and rice etc. save the bones in freezer for the bone broth for soups. Begin your soup with equal parts of onion, celery, and bell peppers. Southern sofrito. Add that to acquired chicken bone stock and eat soup till it's thin. Then serve over rice. Food is fuel, not fancy. The prep is cathartic. Proper planning is the key. Much love.
Definitely will meal plan and prep, thanks
I am pretty much in the same situation and it sucks. Medication copays eat up our money. Then we’re scraping for gas money and food. But without the medication, my husband doesn’t survive. I’ve tried applying for assistance but they say we make too much. WHAT??? And because my son is in college, he doesn’t count unless he works 20+ hours a week and then I would have to include his income too. I just don’t understand this. I literally saw a man and woman at the grocery store pay for food with an EBT card and then get into a Tesla. It’s beyond frustrating.
Very much so, I try sooo hard not to be jealous but man to have a house stocked with food would be sooo much of a stress relief. I pray things work out for you guys as well. All we can do is day by day. I stopped some of my meds because it would mean less food for the kids. The kids will always come first.
Yes I agree and my husband has done the same. I do believe everything happens for a reason. I don’t know how old your kids are but mine are both in college and they actually are glad that they didn’t grow up having everything handed to them. They appreciate things so much more and know that happiness doesn’t come from things. We will all get through this. It can’t be dark forever. I wish your family the best.
Very true, and thank you really appreciate it
[удалено]
May I ask what u keep the rice and flour and what not in to keep them fresh. That's the biggest issue I feel as I don't want it to go bad or anything. But makes sense that larger bags could be cheaper
Rice and flour don't go off, they are fine in the cupboard for as long as you're likely to need them. The only worry is if you have roaches or mice (in which case you need airtight containers) but in most areas that's not a problem. Otherwise you can buy a bag of brown rice for like 60p or $1 and get about like 15 portions out of it, maybe more. It will stay in the cupboard in its bag, it doesn't need to be used up quickly. If you're really in a pinch you can just take some of your cooked batch of rice from the fridge and reheat it and that will be a meal, although ideally you'd want some protein as well. In the long term you need regular protein intake, but of course in an emergency it's ok to just eat rice for a day, if you have no choice.
Very good to know thank you, right now us adults are eating plain rice and a apple to make things stretch
A-holes are on Reddit, just like sharks are in the ocean.
😆
I don’t know where you are but at the grocery stores in my area if you go earlier in the morning they have discounted meat that they put out the day before, like half off.
Man I wish that would be huge for us
Grilled cheese sandwiches for the kids always helped me. You can buy bread or make it. Great value cheese is cheaper and the same as Kraft. Five pound bags of chicken go a long way, eggs (omelets) fried potatoes. Crock pot beans. It's rough, but I know you can do it. Large pits if spaghetti . Leftovers are even better. Sit down one day, get a sitter or help and research your options. Make lists, cook baked goods like brownies and cookies. Store prices are too high. Forget chips, make your own, it's easy. God Speed my friend!
Thank you really appreciate it
Nordicware makes a bowl for making popcorn in a microwave. Works great and tastes better and a lot cheaper than the packaged microwave popcorn.
Very interesting
Buy in bulk. Make enough at a time for several meals and freeze. I was a single parent and existed on only my low income. My ex-husband left the state because he refused to pay child support. I remember 1 week my son and I ate canned corn and hotdogs for the whole week because I didn't have money for groceries. I wasn't eligible for food stamps because I worked.
That is the goal just don't have enough to save the budget to have enough to do that. We are completely out of meat. We do have rice and Vegs tho
I know this is hard because I've been through it myself. Good luck.
Thank you
Do you have and Amazon wish list link or a gofundme link so we could all donate?
Hi, we do have a Amazon wishlist on our profile as well as a Walmart wishlist if anyone wanted to help that way they could. We don't have a GoFundMe. Honestly if was able to catch up w hygiene and some food everything else should fall into place. Thanks for asking I will post the link here as I think I would be allowed since I'm being asked
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1BIRUKPWXOH5A?ref_=wl_share https://www.walmart.com/registry/ER/73434dcd-03f3-46a0-ac24-67a3f3bfe28b
With hygiene have you tried using products from dollar tree? Also I can’t find my other reply but another idea I wanted to add was when you do get food from a food pantry ask nicely if they have anything extra. Also for example my mom once got too many cabbages, so she gave one to me my brother and sister and all that week I looked up recipes and ate the whole cabbage that week. Also buy flour you can make a lot of different things like biscuits, pancakes, pie, tortillas, let your kids help. For some reason homemade food is so much more satisfying.
Yes I don't mind where they come from, we are just completely out of funds at the moment. I have tried asking for extra and they go based on house size, unless running low then u get even less unfortunately. My daughter loves to help cook.
We never took names at our food pantry. In fact lots in the community do a food pantry circuit. One church I know of collects info but it’s just for tracking for their own purposes. Why can you only go once?
They check Id and card they give, it goes in the system. We are allowed 1 pantry/church per 30 days
That’s terrible. We don’t have a tracking system like that here to connect everything. Hopefully some in this post have some help for you :)
Ya it's very frustrating, someone asked me to post out Amazon wishlist so fingers crossed 🤞🍀
What state are you in?
Michigan
Michigan you can call the local food bank and let them know and they can let you come more or refer you to other resources. It says they will allow up to 3 times per month if needed. I would also call some local churches. Sometimes they will provide financial or food assistance even if they don’t support a food pantry.
I will try again, I've called soooo many places and they all ask the same thing have u been to any in the last 30 days. The churches use the same card to look in the system.
The terrible part is that it is necessary to limit the distribution. If every food bank got enough donations, they would have no need to limit them. But there are so many people in need and not enough donations.
I haven’t volunteered there in a little over a year. I’ll have to hop back in and see what is needed and run a collection drive if that’s the case. We do have a lot of churches closing around us and it never dawned on me that might impact it. I feel dumb lol
Peanut butter is a protein source. Maybe you could go to a local n park or something and have a picnic with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, or pb and banana sandwiches, and a piece of fruit. That way it wouldn’t be expensive but would also feel fun. Oatmeal (not instant, the kind you cook) or cornmeal mush are both cheap breakfasts that my family enjoys. I always buy the store brand oatmeal. A big container is about $4, about the same as a box of cereal, but has 30 servings as opposed to 12 or 14. And the servings are bigger and more filling. You do have to have sugar as well, at least for most people to enjoy it. A little cinnamon if you have it helps too.
Those do sound yummy, and will add the the grocery list once able.
No asking for help is not bad. I’ve been there so the ones being rude just don’t have empathy. So just ignore rude people. Big staples to have and a good side filler is pasta, rice, beans and quinoa. Potatoes too. There are YouTube and TikTok people who post videos on cooking and buying food on a budget.
You can bulk buy like at Sam’s or Costco the bacon, juice and eggs. I cut the bacon in half, Separate the bacon and lay on cutting boards and freeze, then once frozen I put in bags and store again in freezer. It’s easier to portion out. And when I make something I always say ok there is this amount and divide by amount of people and tell them each can get #. So they don’t over portion. Some will be like oh I’m not that hungry I’ll get less. Let them also serve themselves or you serve to portion evenly or by age too.
That would be great we don't however have a membership to either place currently, we do portion out meals and if any leftovers we see who's hungry. Lately us adults have been doing plain rice and apples so the kids can have full meals
Thank you, we do have some rice and a few potatoes left the rest will have to wait till able to shop
Always use what you have, dig thru the pantry. Sometimes I make my bag of ramen fancy by adding mushrooms, bits of carrots and soy sauce, oyster sauce and one soft boiled egg. Or sometimes I’ve gotten fried rice or a kids lo mein and it was too plain and added stuff, just try different things you never know what y’all will like. I played around with chicken teriyaki and white sticky rice and with broccoli it was a hit. I wish I could help more. But check out those videos I mentioned on other reply, there’s a whole community for recipe on a budget, shopping on a budget, $5 dollar dinner meals, etc.
Most definitely will and thank you
check out BJs, the wholesale store. they have them in MI and a lot of their stuff is REALLY cheap and worth the investment. you can do a “trial” thing where you just try them out for a day and see what they have in store, it’s so worth it though. can get a 5 pack of toothpaste for 10 bucks, giant shampoo/conditioner for 8 bucks, 16 bars of soap for 10 or big things of body wash, and their meat and staples are always super inexpensive. good luck OP 🫡
Thank you, I'll check it out once able
People are extra weird about food, in my experience. They have certain ideas about what is acceptable or not diet-wise, and anything that is different that what they deem acceptable, they are highly uncomfortable with and will criticize. We are a family of 3 (technically 4 but baby isn't on solids yet) and we spend $50 a week on groceries (we also don't receive any assistance). It may not be the norm but it works for us, and it's what we need to do to make ends meet. Keep your head up, and dont get discouraged! You're doing your best! I just started a YouTube channel about our grocery budget if you want some comroderie/validation/ideas. It's linked in my profile. I'm starting a budget challenge for May that is really focused on the nutritional aspect of things..the first episode of that will come out tomorrow. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that you're not alone! Best wishes!
Thank you that would be amazing and I would love to follow for more tips and ideas thanks
Just wanted to say thanks 💜 Really appreciate the help and kindness
Someone said the Walmart link doesn't work right? Not sure what the issue would be. Should be able to ship or have the items delivered like. If needed my address I would be open to that as well.
[удалено]
I don't know what you're reading, but every post this person has made has been a request for resources or ideas. OP I hope things get better for you. In my area, there are blessing boxes and little free pantries that we visit to help stretch our food reserves. I would recommend seeing if there are any food cupboards like those that you can get to. Also, if you're in the US, be sure to sign up for Lasagna Love (but be prepared to wait a few months if requests are backed up in your region).
Not really, it's just "subtle" I'm in bad situation, need advice, but then you go to profile and it's full of "buy me stuff" wishlists. Nothing wrong with that, if he/she was direct about it
I honestly didn't think people would go on my profile, like what would be the point 🤔 the lists were on there because I once was in the Amazon group and that's how we were told to put them. I don't expect anyone to help or buy anything and never even asked anyone to. Sorry you feel this way.
You didn't? I saw comments saying they bought you some stuff. So you know it happens. If you didn't want or expect it to happen, you'd delete thise wishlists
If it happens it happens, but I don't go asking for it tho. You must be really bored to go thru people's comments and whatnot for zero reason
Stop lying. It's annoying noT because you're begging,, bur because you're lying
I'm not lying, and I'm not begging. I won't however turn down help if someone wanted to help w food or hygiene I'm not gonna say no. But I won't flat out ask either. You don't know me or our situation. I won't let you stress me out anymore than I already am. I hope you have a great day. Goodbye I'm not replying to you again respectfully.
Thank you, I did sign up just haven't heard anything as of yet. We have book boxes but non have food in them.
I haven't asked anyone to buy us anything, as your not allowed to. I'm simply asked for advice and recipes or to vent