Budget Meals

[Henbane]

I need a bit of help. Those of you that shop for your own food I ask do you have any advice for shopping on a budget? Trying to spend as less as possible can sometimes get hard when trying to stick with healthy, fresh, and organic. Please share any ideas. It will be most appreciated. Recipes that are low cost will help as well.  

[Astrox]

Well, I'm moving out of my parents place in July and my mom's given me these tips.

BUY BULK.
especially...

-Dried Beans/Peas
-Cous Cous
-Rice
-Pasta
-Nuts
-UnSulphured Dried Fruits
-Baking Supplies (flour, salt, sugar, etc..)

And other money saving food tips..
-Frozen Vegetables (not often organic and definately not fresh, cheap though)
-Plan meals out, if your speading more than $30 US per person, you should check over what you're buying and ask yourself if it is all necessary.
-Stay away from packaged foods, your paying for the package too  

[Henbane]

Thanks much! biggrin I definitely need to do better meal planning. And perhaps finding meals that can go a long way or the left overs be used with the next meal. Oh, how being on a budget really does suck!  

[Astrox]

I don't know where you live or anything, but if its warm enough all year round you could have a vegetable garden, or a potted garden.  

[Henbane]

I don't own the land I am on. So far I have gotten away with cucumbers, catnip for the cats, and herbs. I am already pushing my luck with 4 cats, 1 dog, and some rodents when I should only have 2 pets. They are a bit strict on how much you can plant in the neighborhood. Believe me the second I get a place there is going to be much gardening! I so miss being able to do what I want lol biggrin  

[ANGORAPHOBIA]

Look around for a farmer's market! They pop up everywhere, and pretty much everthing is fresh, organic and locally grown!  

[Tahpenes]

Make large batches at once and just eat from those. You can make a curry, for instance, and just throw two or three cans of veggies in (peas, lentils, crushed tomato, sweet potatoes), and that will last several days.  

[Famicommie]

ANGORAPHOBIA

Look around for a farmer's market! They pop up everywhere, and pretty much everthing is fresh, organic and locally grown!

Aye, the farmers markets are the best places to go. Find one by where you live and start scouting it out. If you can get there around the time that all the merchants start packing up, you can get huge discounts.  

[anarchyneko]

you also gotta look around the store too, you'll be surprised at what you will find! I found these organic waffles that ended up being the cheapest waffles!!  

[spacekitten]

- Try to buy the store brand instead of a name brand if you buy cans or frozen packages of food
- Sign up for one of those discount cards. They're usually free, and you get more discounts and freebies than you would without them
- Make your own veggie burgers. Mash up a can of beans, add some finely diced veggies, and add something to hold it together (1 egg or an egg replacer). You can wrap them and freeze them to thaw and cook later.  

[Famicommie]

spacekitten

- Try to buy the store brand instead of a name brand if you buy cans or frozen packages of food
- Sign up for one of those discount cards. They're usually free, and you get more discounts and freebies than you would without them
- Make your own veggie burgers. Mash up a can of beans, add some finely diced veggies, and add something to hold it together (1 egg or an egg replacer). You can wrap them and freeze them to thaw and cook later.

No dice on the discount cards, imnsho. Most big companies use those for marketing purposes, and I personally refuse to play someone's guinea pig. At the very least, use all fake information when signing up for the cards.  

[Henbane]

Famicommie

spacekitten

- Try to buy the store brand instead of a name brand if you buy cans or frozen packages of food
- Sign up for one of those discount cards. They're usually free, and you get more discounts and freebies than you would without them
- Make your own veggie burgers. Mash up a can of beans, add some finely diced veggies, and add something to hold it together (1 egg or an egg replacer). You can wrap them and freeze them to thaw and cook later.

No dice on the discount cards, imnsho. Most big companies use those for marketing purposes, and I personally refuse to play someone's guinea pig. At the very least, use all fake information when signing up for the cards.

I read a little on those cards. I do have a few regardless if I really save money on them or not. I really don't care if they know my information and what I like to eat lol. Also, the cards don't really have the correct info on them anyway because I moved twice.

The store I go to is Ukrops, they have all of their fresh old food on sale 50% off today so I am definitely going. You don't need a card for that either smile  

[saphireglow]

Great tips everyone blaugh 4laugh  

[spacekitten]

ANGORAPHOBIA

Look around for a farmer's market! They pop up everywhere, and pretty much everthing is fresh, organic and locally grown!

Farmer's markets are pretty great, but be prepared to have to buy a sh*tload of veggies at once. Ex: peppers might be 1.99 per lb at regular grocery stores, but 1.00 for 2 lb bags at a Farmer's Market, the catch is you have to buy the whole 2 lb bag. Try going with a friend, splitting the total bill, and then give half of all your bags of veggies to them.  

[DreamerSpirit]

Another tip is to shop around, and see whats available in your area. I'm still discovering new food stores in my city, and I've lived here all my life!

For lower prices go to fruit stands instead of the supermarket, and also check out local cultrual food shops. A Korean market near my house sells tofu for around $0.75 per block! Another thing is to look for co-ops. As far as I know, a lot of them carry good, cheap, organic foods in bulk, and you can often buy things such as dried beans, lentils, and grains, by weight.