- Any meat you buy needs to be served in small portions so you can save more for later meals. If you find a good deal on thin pork chops, make pork with apples. But eat one pork chop and freeze the only portions.
- She's a cereal eater, I'm not. I need more protein in my breakfast. Some of my favorite breakfasts are: peanut butter and graham crackers, one scrambled egg or a fried egg with a homemade biscuit (now this friend does not have access to an oven, but she could come over to my house, make a big batch of biscuits and freeze them. Perfect for sandwiches or even with jam for tea), cottage cheese and apple butter, yogurt (from the large container, not the individual portions), with granola and nuts-- again homemade granola, but if she can borrow an oven it's cheap to make.
- comparison shop. Shop certain stores for certain items.
- Stick to basic fruit: apples, bananas. No fancy tropical fruit unless it comes from a can.
- Save salads for the days after you go grocery shopping. Keep them simple. Carrots, broccoli, the cheapest lettuce.
- Tuna
- Wegmans store brand mac and cheese with peas and/or broccoli
- Fresh broccoli and fresh carrots can get a lot of mileage
- Frozen spinach equally as versatile
- pasta and plain red sauce, spaghetti cheese
- soup and meatless chili
- buy juice in the frozen aisle and mix it yourself
- frozen vegetables with the carrots, cauliflower and broccoli can be one-stop vegetable shopping
- homemade hummus
- burritos ($1 for beans, $1 for tortilla shells, $1.29 for cheese if you go to aldi, add your favorite salsa as a splurge
- grilled cheese
- a splurge is only worth it if it has more than one use
- Tortillas are cheaper than bread
- If a food has no nutritional value (chips, ice cream, cookies) it should be saved for a blue moon
- processed foods are equally detrimental
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Thoughts on cheap meals
A friend of mine is heading back to college next week with a reduced meal plan. She has 10 meals a week in the dining hall and the rest she's on her own. I have other friends that are tightening the belt. So it got me thinking... My college friend has a budget of $30/week for groceries. Off the top of my head...
Merci bien, Angel ! Tu me donnes certainement des bonnes idées. Comme je t'ai déjà dit, j'aime bien ton attention à l'alimentation avec les petits prix. Cela m'aide beaucoup !
ReplyDeleteyou're a good friend.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was growing up we had lots of macaroni. I figured out later because it could stretch really far. And potatoes.
If she does have freezer space & work space, buying a whole chicken is cheap. THen cut it up before freezing.
Generally the one portion size of anything is way more expensive than a large container. I'd invest some of her money in some "tupperware" It could be from the dollar store, and zipper bags.