Budget food

What meals do you make when you're on a really tight budget?

When I was younger we'd get like a corned beef stew made when we were really broke. It was cheap as trout to make and had lots of veggies and was tasty. Now that I live with Pheesh when we're really broke we'll make an aglio e olio pasta which is just spaghetti tossed in garlic, chilli, and oil. It's p. yummy and filling.

Growing up eating a lot of corned beef stew has meant that even though I'm a bit of a food snob and I do enjoy more premium produce, I'll never turn my nose up at corned beef. That stuff is awesome when you're in a financial pickle and you have mouths to feed.

Spam. I still love spam. I've eaten my share of spam sandwiches.

Sandwiches, pasta, soup, chicken & veg, fruit, eggs.

Pasta is always super cheap. You can even make a big pan of meatless sauce (which is cheaper) & keep it in the freezer for future meals.

Soup and Ramen!

I will usually buy a big whole chicken and make a couple of meals with it - tacos or enchiladas, rice, and beans, chicken n dumplins or something.

In general, Mexican is my go to cheap on a budget though. I can make my own salsas and sauces for things and corn tortillas are hella cheap, low carb, and come in large stacks.

Potato tacos are another easy cheap meal. Boil some potatoes - Yukon gold or something, mash with chopped Roma tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Heat up some corn tortillas- enough until they're soft and easy to roll- and spoon in some of the potato filling and roll up like a taquito. Then add some veggie oil to the skillet and fry the taquitos up until golden and crunchy on all sides.

Although bonus points if you can make them yourself as masa is only like $2 or $3 for a 5 lb bag.

Cheap pot roast is another good one as I can fix it up
When I cook I usually wind up with a good amount of leftovers and that will tide us over for a couple of days without me having to cook again.

Yeah frozzen vedgies are a big thing with me, too. Especially if I'm feeling lazy about making sides and just wanna get things done. I tend to take my sweet sweet time in the kitchen 'cuz I just love cooking and stretch out my time there.

As far as beans- it's even cheaper to buy dried. I always have black beans. Oh and we always keep a huge bag of rice around. A 10lb bag is like $5 or something.

My thought on pot roast that I didn't finish: I can make taquitos with the leftover meat as well. Nomnomnom.

Another cheapo meal? Tuna tostadas. Get a can of tuna, some mayo, and a can of Veg-All mixed veggies and maybe a lime. Mix the tuna with the veg-all and some mayo and lime juice and salt & pepper if you want. Spread on a couple of tostadas and boom! Even cheaper- make your own tostadas by frying corn tortillas in some veggie oil until they're crispy.

PB&J sandwiches & cereal are still relatively cheap.

Instant noodles. I don't know if they're still 9p, probably more like 19p now, but still - alright with a side of similarly priced beans when you're poor.

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Originally Posted by Colonel Angus

Pasta is always super cheap. You can even make a big pan of meatless sauce (which is cheaper) & keep it in the freezer for future meals.

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This is what I do. Lots of veggies and trout. I do use a tiny bit of meat though, but it isn't a lot compared to everything else.

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Originally Posted by Cloudane

Instant noodles. I don't know if they're still 9p, probably more like 19p now, but still - alright with a side of similarly priced beans when you're poor.

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Might as well just eat white flour. Don't forget that an important part of eating is to avoid malnourishment.

Shredded chicken sammiches~

I also love to hack ramen, and am known to make it into a sandwich, and people hate watching me eat it since it's just a big ball of carbs. But it's sooo good to eat cheesey spicy ramen on garlic toast. And people eat garlic bread with spaghetti without scoffing so *shrug*

breakfast: porridge
lunch: peanut butter sandwich, carrots OR an apple OR a banana
dinner: rice, beans/lentils, frozen vegetables

Rice and ketchup with maybe some BBQ sauce if I had some. Oh and whatever protein lying around.

Or just eat at work/take some staff meal. PERKS OF KITCHEN JOBS. :D

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Originally Posted by Mirage

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Originally Posted by Cloudane

Instant noodles. I don't know if they're still 9p, probably more like 19p now, but still - alright with a side of similarly priced beans when you're poor.

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Might as well just eat white flour. Don't forget that an important part of eating is to avoid malnourishment.

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OP asks about budget food, not good food. In some situations "anything is better than nothing"
that said, you probably wouldn't eat exclusively that for every meal!

Butter beans or black-eyed peas. throw in a little cornmeal and if there was any around, some veggies and life was golden.

We've always been on a tight budget, either through lack of money or my dad's unwillingness to pay much for anything. Food we always eat include sandwiches, fish sticks, pasta, peas, corn, green beans, and my dad has his salads and bread sticks.

My dad must love all the money he's saving on pop now that I only drink water.

Pintos, corn bread, milk and fried potatoes. You use dry beans it's like 50 cents a plate I bet.

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Originally Posted by Colonel Angus

Pasta is always super cheap. You can even make a big pan of meatless sauce (which is cheaper) & keep it in the freezer for future meals.

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Originally Posted by fire_of_avalon

Pintos, corn bread, milk and fried potatoes. You use dry beans it's like 50 cents a plate I bet.

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Most Southern thing ever. And now I smurfing want some.



Fried rice is really easy and cheap to make- I buy a bag of store brand frozen mixed veggies (peas/carrot/corn/etc), make some rice and then stir fry it up with ginger and garlic and onion, add in some soy sauce, a bit of hoisin, and red pepper flakes and maybe some fresh squeezed OJ.... Sooo yummy. Chicken is optional!

we eat lots of white rice with scrambled eggs, meat and veggies when we're low on funds. We try to stay far far away from frozen and really processed foods. Although I sneak in a frozen burrito now and again :p

Scrambled eggs + rice are like the budget baller's way of life.

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Originally Posted by Lawr

Scrambled eggs + rice are like the budget baller's way of life.

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haha My girlfriend being from Saipan is budget rice food baller.

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Originally Posted by escobert

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Originally Posted by Lawr

Scrambled eggs + rice are like the budget baller's way of life.

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haha My girlfriend being from Saipan is budget rice food baller.

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Like I'm pretty sure rice is the spirit animal for the entire western hemisphere.

Instant noodles in bulk is terrible for your stomach lining.

Cans of tuna. Sandwiches, tuna salad, tuna casserole etc. so many things you can make with tuna. Making things with bread: PB&J, grilled cheese sandwiches...