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How frugally can you live? Need meal ideas, etc.
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I’m sure this has been discussed before, but I’m trying to figure out exactly how frugally we can live and still have some hint of healthy nutrition. The biggest negotiable expense for us is food. Most of the other expenses are fixed or at least less in our control. So… not counting my college kids who will fend for themselves on financial matters, that leaves 2 adults and 3 children ages 5-9. Due to a food allergy, ingredients like most canned soups and cream of ____ soup are not edible here. I’m not a creative cook, and certainly somewhat lacking in the culinary arts, but will do what I have to in order to the get the job done. 😉
I would love, and so appreciate, to hear some ideas for super cheap, kid-friendly meals. I do have a small surplus of wheat, rice (although my kids don’t like it), a few other grains, and some dry pinto beans and black beans…maybe garbanzo beans, but I can’t recall. I don’t like beans, but will have to get over it. I do like refried beans, like spread on a tortilla with some shredded cheese. 😉 I’ve just got a latent resentment of the smell and texture of cooked beans…stemming, I believe, from a beans “kick” I was on when I was pregnant…19 years ago. lol Oh, and I have a pressure cooker that I was thinking of selling, but maybe I could use it to do something more with beans and it wouldn’t make the whole house smell of beans??
Other ideas for frugal living are certainly welcome, too! Thanks so much!
I am not much of a cook, but I have come a long ways the past year or so. I’ll share some things that have helped me as I strive for cooking low cost, healthful whole food meals. I read an inexpensive kindle book called Real Food, Real Frugal that freed me up to be more creative in the kitchen. I watched cooking shows on PBS many nights and learned tips there. We like recipes made with cream of soups, but I wanted to get away from the canned stuff, so I found a way to make my own substitute for it. There are many ideas out there. I make mine with butter, flour, milk, chicken broth and then sometimes add in flavor like sauted onion and/or garlic, salt, pepper. Cooking whole chickens is frugal and use the bones to make your own healthful broth. I make homemade chicken noodle soup and broth from http://www.100daysofrealfood.com and I saw on another site that you can cook the broth down to concentrated to freeze like boullion, so that is what I use to make my cream of soups and add extra flavor where I need it without using boxed flavor packets. So while frugal cooking is important to me, my priority is to get away from convenience boxed meals and have healthy whole foods in the freezer. There is a thread on here that helped me start cooking dry beans. I liked the recipe from Tara here: http://simplycharlottemason.com/scmforum/topic/beans Also make egg dishes and soups.
Beans! We like bean tostadas, bean burritos, bean crispers (where you cook the tortilla w/beans & cheese until it’s crispy outside). Beans and rice with a fried egg on top. Beans with cornbread, maybe a little bit of chicken or beef in it. Navajo tacos. Black beans and quinoa.
Fried rice – w/whatever veggies you have, bits of leftover meat, some egg.
Soups. Especially now that it’s cold. Wait, maybe it’s not cold where you are! Start with a good bone broth, pick the meat off the bones and throw it back in with some veggies, beans, rice, whatever. Potato soup is a good tummy filler for cheap. Chili is too. Curried Lentil Soup (w/or w/out meat). Here is my Pinterest soup board. There are so many tasty, cheap, healthy soups out there!
Soup beans is the only meal I can put on the table and no one complains. Down side, we can only eat it one meal or everyone is doubled over with gas pains:) I second potato soup. I made it the other day for the first time, and again no one complained. I used the pioneer woman’s recipe. It was yummy. We also do chili. I buy the whole chickens on sale for .89 or .99 cent a lb and stock up. One chicken lasts us 2-3 meals, depending on what I cook (there are 5 of us). We do lots of potatoes also. My favorite is cutting up a bunch, pour some olive oil and season all over it shake it up and stick it in the oven for about an hour. The kids eat them with ketchup, sort of a healthy french fry.
HTH
My suggestions start with a word study of the word content. Go through the definitions, higlighting all the words that stick out as important. Use a concordance and study the Scriptures that pertain to the word content and those the pertain to the other highlighted words. This will give you the strength and courage to face this challenge head on.
Share what you learn from this study with your DH and children, or study it together as a family. Then, recognize areas where you can be content that have been difficult in the past.
For you, this will likely be eating beans. They are super cheap compared to other groceries. Couple them with rice, or cornbread, or greens for a super healthy meal. Contentment and health are goals right now. You’ll also be demonstrating to your children that eating something they don’t like can still be good for them and it’s an opportunity to give thanks for provision.
Make your own laundry soap. Use a clothesline to dry clothes. Wear layers of clothes when it’s cold to keep the thermostat lower.
Cut off electronics all day long, excelpt for the crockpot or the pot of beans on the stove.
Make as few trips to town as possible. Organize grocery shopping and as many errands/appointments on the same day as possible. It will likely seem exhausting, but will save fuel and will keep you away from stores.
Do a pantry/freezer challenge. Don’t go to the store until you absolutely have to. Meals may not be glamorous, but everyone will still be fed. Drink water almost always. Cut out sodas and juice. Eat a piece of fruit instead of drinking juice. Eggs are a cheap prituen and can be fixed all sorts of ways for those without allergies. Make broth!!! Every week, or several times each week. It can be used in all sorts of meals (including beans,) and it curbs appetites while waiting for a meal. It provides so much flavor and vitamins/minerals that it should be a priority in the food department.
DON’T buy books! Use what you have, or visit the library (&inter-library loan) on errand day. Your studies do NOT have to follow a specific time period/topic to be fruitful. Our Provider knows when He needs to stretch us. He can use lack to show provision even in education. He will multiply learning even with little!
If you study the Civil War, here’s a link for recipes from that time period.
http://articles.urbanhomemaker.com/index.php?article=346
I hope to find another encouraging article for you. I can’t locate it at the moment. Hoping all of our posted suggestions are an encouragement.
Soaking beans overnight will help with the tummy situation. Add a quartered potato for added protection. ;0)
Eggs! Those are a standby here. Sauté chopped veggies and then mix in beaten eggs to make a fritatta, make potato or zucchini pancakes, eggs and potatoes, omelets, quiche, egg salad, deviled eggs, hardboiled eggs…
We eat a lot of cream of veggie soup, too–no cans included. I sauté onions sliced in rings til soft, then add a quart of chicken broth, seasoning, and enough veggies to fill a big pot… Let it all simmer til cooked… Add some form of dairy (milk, cream, sour cream, cream cheese, plain yogurt, even coconut milk)… Purée the whole thing with an immersion blender. You can garnish with cheese, or a little crumbled bacon or diced smoked sausage if your family are meat lovers like mine.
If you’re trying to watch grains or carbs, turnips are a cheap potato substitute 🙂
Beans give me killer headaches if I have them too often, so I use them sparingly… But you can bulk up chili fairly cheaply with diced tomatoes, zucchini, mushrooms, etc. and serve over rice (white for me–again with the headaches). Maybe look into phytic acid before you decide to eat beans and brown rice for every meal… and be careful not to obsess so much over the budget that you fall into malnutrition (I did that several years ago and my body is still recovering!) God is able to provide beyond our means (of course we are still responsible to do the best we can with what He provides!)
I’ve found the Money Saving Mom website run by Crystal Paine to be great at helping me find ideas on how to save money. They did a “31 Days to a Better Gerocery Budget” series that may be helpful and I just saw this “ask the readers: help me stretch a $200/month food budget”, scroll down to read the comments. There are always store deals listed on Money Saving Mom, so you can either search the site using their search bar at the top of the website or use the tabs to get to the articles. I also have a copy of The Complete Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn, which you might find at a library. It’s all three of her books put into one. I used to repeatedly check the books out of the library when I was a newlywed and was so excited when they were put into one and I got my own copy. While sometimes the book can be dated (was written in the early 90’s so, pre-internet) I still haven’t found another source that’s EVER been as great at inspiring and motivating me to live a frugal life. These are the two sources that have helped me the most and I’m sure you’ll get more great ideas from the wonderful ladies here!
Penniless parenting.com has frugal tips and healthy recipes.
Planting herbs and veges, etc. as you are able helps.
We get red lentils and a few other things at a large, local international store. Prices are good, and you may find some new favorite foods. Ours has many foods labeled in English, packaged in US. It is a fun field trip for the kids to see different produce, etc.
We often eat breakfast for dinner – pancakes, waffles, muffins, bread, etc. Baked oatmeal is a favorite for any meal here!
If you eat rotisserie chicken, some stores will discount them after a certain hour. For example, the local Baker’s sells a whole roasted chicken for $5.99, but after 7 it goes to $3.99. Sometimes I grab a one (or a few) and heat it for lunch/dinner the next day then pick the meat off the bones to use in other meal and simmer the bones for broth to make soup.
Lentils are awesome because, like beans, they are cheap, healthy and filling, but they don’t cause the gas problems. And yes, soaking beans helps a lot.
Love the books and websites mentioned above! So excited for new resources to help us retrench a bit more.
vikingkirken – I sauté onions sliced in rings til soft, then add a quart of chicken broth, seasoning, and enough veggies to fill a big pot. Add some form of dairy (milk..
What kind of veggies do you use? And how much milk?
It sounds delicious!
I bought a 8lb turkey when they were $.39 a pound last year. I cooked it
And used frozen mixed vegoe and made 10 pot Pies with it. I definately could have made a couple more. I use the pioneer woman recipe. It is healthy and they came out to about $2 each. And then you can freeze them and on the “what am I going to make for dinner tonight” days instead of going out you jut throw a pie in
We eat pretty frugally around here, and fairly healthfully, too. Here are some things I have learned:
The most expensive (and least healthful, overall) component of your menu is meat…followed by dairy. Reduce both, and you will save money and be healthier. We do this by eating beans at least once a week, and eating a soup or salad entree along with bread once a week. Casseroles are also a great way to stretch the budget, but since they are also fairly starchy and fatty, I try not to make them too often. Baked potatoes or angel hair pasta with a little garlic and butter are an easy to prepare and inexpensive main dish. Just add a salad.
Believe it or not, I can buy about 60% of my groceries at the Dollar Tree, if need be. Sometimes you just don’t think about the dollar stores, but if yours carries groceries (or just paper products, cleaning products, toiletries) that can add up to big savings. Ours carries Nature’s Own Bread, and I stock up and freeze it. The same loaves that I pay $1 for are $2.98 at Walmart.
Try to make one dish last for two nights. Make more than you need and either fridge or freeze the rest for another time. You can creatively re-use things like pasta sauce and meat to use in another recipe later in the week. I know many people use their leftovers to make soups or fried rice in the latter part of the week.
Crockpot. It is one of the easiest ways to cook, and really helps flavors blend so that you don’t need many ingredients.
We eat lots of oatmeal for breakfast…lots of apples and carrots. We don’t buy a lot of snack foods (prepared yogurt, sweets, and crackers are considered treats) and we almost never eat meat at lunch. Generally, we eat some version of bread, a nut butter or cheese, and raw veggies or fruit. I eat soup or salad, and the kids like to eat beans or a healthy pb&J with carrots or broccoli on the side. Sometimes, we might use leftover chicken to make chicken salad sandwiches.
USE EVERYTHING! That is the big key to savings – eliminate the unecessary and use everything you have.
Soaking or sprouting the beans can help you get more nutrition out of them (hopefully agree with your tummies more too). You can cook them in the garage in a crock pot (may require a little more energy if cold I would guess) if you don’t like the smell.
My only other suggestions are to buy in bulk (like through a co-op or from a farmer) and then split with a friend, barter and glean, and make your own dairy products like yogurt.I read this years ago and realized that I was looking at frugal meals all wrong. Simple and healthful is more important than variety at a “debtrimental” cost.
http://www.urbanhomemaker.com/blog/index.php/eating-well-on-a-limited-budget/
Hope it’s encouraging to others.
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