Cheap but Nutritious Meal Ideas HELP

-Rice & beans with a vegetable side
-Spagetti with marinara sauce, cheese and a vegetable side
-apples with peanute butter and sandwiches
-any small meat portion with rice or baked potatoes and a vegetable are healthy and inexpensive.
-packets of gravy are quick and inexpensive

I hope this helps. We aren't big eaters.

There is always shepherds pie (brown hamburger meat. Grease casserole dish. Layer meat in the bottom. Then layer 1 can creamed corn and 1 regular can of corn. Then add mashed potatoes or 1-2 boxes of Betty Crocker instant mashed potatoes(already made on the stove). Sprinkle cheddar cheese on the top. Cook at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes. It is a hearty meal and makes quite a bit.

What about baked spaghetti? We make this wil gralic bread. You make the spaghetti noodles. Grease a casserole dish. Mix spaghetti noodles and spaghetti sauce together and put in casserole dish. Sprinkle cheese on top. Cook at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes or until cheese is golden brown.

Chili in a crockpot is easy and cheap. You will need 1 lg can and 1 sm can Bush's chili beans, 1/2 cup chopped green peppers, 1/2 cup chopped onion, 1/2 cup zucchini squash(optional),1 packet chili seasoning mix, 1 sm can sliced mushrooms, 1 lg can petite diced tomatoes, 1-2 lbs of browned hamburger meat. You throw all these ingredients in a crockpot and cook on low 4-8hrs. To make this meal more filling, serve over white rice and top with shredded cheese.

Mahogany Glazed Chicken is one of my husband's favorites. You would need to make sides with it. We use chicken thights or breasts. You can use 4-8 pieces with this sauce. Grease casserole dish or cover with aluminum foil. Place uncooked skinless boneless chicken in casserole dish. In a small saucepan combine: 1/4 cup maple flavored syrup, 3 tablespoons margarine, 3 tablespoons orange juice, and 2 teaspoons molasses. Bring to a boil. Cook and stir until margarine is melted. Pour entire glaze over chicken. It should all collect at the bottom. Cook at 350 degrees for 45 to 55 minutes.

Angel Chicken- You will need: 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2lbs), 1/4 cup butter, 1 (7oz) pkg Italian salad dressing dry mix, 1 can golden mushroom soup, 1/2 cup dry white cooking wine or sherry or marsala wine, 1/2 of 8 oz tub cream cheese with chives and onion, hot cooked angel hair pasta or white rice.
Place chicken in the crock pot. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Stir in dry italian dressing mix, mushroom soup, white wine, and cream cheese until combined. Pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low heat for 4-5 hours. Serve chicken over rice or pasta.

I like pork chops cooked on the stovetop seasoned with whatever spices you like. Once they are cooked, add creamed corn and worchestershire sauce. Simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Hope these help. If you need anymore recipe ideas or have any questions my email is ____@____.com.

You are not the only one struggling!! Here are some things that have worked for me over the years:

Meal plan, meal plan, meal plan!!! Once your meals are planned, make your grocery list. Then snack plan. Think about what snacks you are buying and when the kids will eat them. Then stick to your plan. Add all that to the grocery list. Then go to the store without your husband and/or children and stick to the list. STICK TO THE LIST!!! If you suddenly need to buy something else, pull your cart over and add it to your list before you put it in the cart. This will curb impulse buying.

Try never cooking one meal. If you are making tacos, make three batches and freeze 2 for another night. Reheat in the crock pot or a pan or the microwave. This is an initial investment upfront, but you'll save money later when you have options for dinner in your freezer and you don't have to call and order a pizza or drive through McDonalds for dinner. Also, you save time!!

Pick things that you can buy anytime and only buy them on sale (then stock up). I only buy cereal on sale, but when the kinds we eat are a good enough deal, I buy 10-12 boxes. Never EVER do I pay more than $2.50 for even the biggest box of cereal...that has saved us hundreds of dollars over the years!

Bake more/Cook more - buy fewer pre-cooked things. It is much cheaper to make your own cookies than to buy them packaged. It is much cheaper to make your own pan of lasagna (or 3 pans, remember!) than it is to buy Stouffer's from the freezer section.

Hope these ideas help and hopefully our ecomony will recover soon and we'll all breathe a grocery sigh of relief!

Goodness, these men and their HUGE meals. And does he know how much groceries have gone up? One thing I did was calculate the price of an ounce of protein and try to figure out the least expensive way to nourish the family. Beans and rice provide good complete protein and eggs are relatively inexpensive too. We always have at least one beans and rice meal weekly. Now I buy large quantities of rice at the Indian store and beans in bulk. I keep them in the freezer. They are really cheap. Sometimes we have omelettes for dinner.
It has taken me years to get me husband to stop all the eating. Its disgusting. LIke trying to get him to share a sandwich instead of eating two for himself. Pigs!

Try www.kraftfoods.com they have some good examples.

Wow! This one really hits home! My husband is a very difficult man to feed, he grew up with a german mother (meat and potatoes every meal)

I have found a few ways around him!

First of all, cheap meat is not always bad. If you buy cheap beef or pork, just marniate it in a blend of strong coffee, garlic, onlion, soy sauce and whatever else trips your trigger. The key is the coffee, it tenderizes but does not leave the flavor behind. Sometimes, i also put about 1/8 cup of italian dressing in with it (the vinegar makes it more tender too)

when you are buying your chicken, you can usually get leg quarters in a 10 lb bag for MUCH less money than a whole chicken or even breasts. I usually divide this bag into 4 or 5 portions, so that I can thaw it out for a meal. Take 3 leg quarters and put them into a gallon sized zipper bag, label and freeze immediately. defrost in the microwave, spray a 13x9x2 pan, season your chicken with some garlic, onion and seasoned salt... then cover in bbq sauce and bake for 45- 60 minutes (or leave the bbq off, and bake it with the seasonings)

have some rice on the side and green beans-- that meal is about $1.50 a serving.

i have recipes out my butt- i was a professional cook for 15 yrs LOL

how about taco casserole?
use a jify cornbread mix to make a crust- just mix it up like it calls for on the box (i add a single packet of artificial sweetner) bake it for 10 mins in an 8x8 pan

then top with 1 lb hamburger (cooked) that you have added 1cup salsa to. cover with cheese and bake until the cheese is fully melted.

serve with sour cream, salsa, green onions, and whatever else you like on tacos

Planning our menus has really helped us cut back on the grocery bills.

Menu Planning Central is a great service that can help too:
http://www.menuplanningcentral.com/order/go.php?r=435&amp...

I just recently set a weekly food allowance as well. I take that amount out of our paycheck every week and keep it in my purse. When it's gone, no more until next week. It certainly helps me be more aware of what I buy, knowing I only have a set amount.

Hope these suggestions help!

M. :)
www.enidmg.com

We get by with lots of beans, cornbread, rice, and hamburger meat, generic brands, and eat whatever produce is the cheapest. Look up Angelfood.org to save on groceries.

One of the side effectsof increased oil prices is increased food prices. The cost of the fuel used to get the food to the store is added to the price of the food.

You don't have to have meat at every meal. In fact, most people eat way more meat than is good for them. We eat meat about three times a week.
Beans have as much protein as meat, and no fat, and are very filling. To prevent them giving you gas, soak them overnight before coking, drain and rinse them thoroughly before cooking, bring them to a boil as quickly as possible, then drain and rinse them again. After that, you can add your seasonings and sausage and cook them as usual. There's also an enzyme you can buy called Beano that helps to break down gas from certain foods. It's not expensive, it has no taste, and one or two drops added to everyone's serving will do the trick.
If he insists on meat, you can cut up one link of smoked sausage and throw into the pot of beans. If you slice it in quarters longways, then slice it across, you get bite-size pieces, and it fools your eyes and your stimach into thinking it's much more meat than it is.
Quinoa is a high-protein, filling grain (you cook it like rice), and is good for meatless meals.
Pasta is cheap and filling. You can take one or two pieces of the meat of your choice, cut them into bite size pieces, sautee them with the vegetables of your choice, and toss with pasta. Or you can just do pasta and vegetables.
Anything that involves no meat or cutting meat into bite-size pieces before cooking instead of putting a big honking chunk of it on each plate will save you a bundle.
We also grow as many of our own vegetables as we can. A packet of tomato seeds from the dollar store will provide us with enough tomatoes to eat all summer, plus extras to preserve for later. Beats $1.99 a pound for hothouse tomatoes with little to no flavor.

I know the feeling. My best advice would be to buy large packages of ground beef, chicken breasts, or pork chops. Then, break out your trusty cookbook. I have found that when I keep some basic ingredeiants always in my pantry, I can cook huge healthy meals for my family. Check the sale papers for your local stores before you go shopping. That way you can save some money each week on your regular purchases

B., there are several sites that are helpful ! Hillbillyhousewife.com and Prairehomemaker.com and Keepersisters.com and Makinbysaving.com I've found oare all safe & great sites for scratch everything...I even make my own laundry soap! Also RecipeZar.com is good...but the ones I mentioned first don't have all the "cookies",etc. you sometimes get. Over the yrs. I've found scratch cooking is the best & cheapest way to go...pm me if you want more info on other sites....good luck.

Use the store sale flyers to plan your menus. Find the best prices, then make a meal around that. Also, learn what a good price is (though that's skyrocketing now). For example, you should never pay over $1.99/lb for boneless/skinless chicken breast. But if you just buy it when you want it, you'll pay up to $4.50/lb. Watch for the sale, buy several packs, and freeze the extra. I do all my shopping this way. If I want something that's too expensive, I just wait. It'll go on sale in a few weeks.

Since I quit working to be a stay at home mom, we have understandably had to cut back and be careful how we spend money. So this is what has helped keep our grocery bills down...Beans and rice! And cornbread! Also Walmart has huge bags of Great Value (store brand) frozen mixed veggies for very cheap. Also lentils - you can make soooooooo many things with lentils from big hearty soups and stews to pot pies. Or spaghetti is always pretty cheap. Also, buy generic whenever possible. We hardly ever buy "real brands" of anything, like canned goods, pasta, legumes, rice, jars of spaghetti sauce, oatmeal, etc. Also, we always try to be healthy and buy fresh fruits and vegetables, but half the time the fresh veggies go bad before we use them, so that wastes money. That's why we switched to bags of generic frozen veggies.

Hey B.!

I was just discussing a similar issue a couple of nights ago with a friend of mine. She told me about a terrific website:
www.savingdinner.com Click around the site & see if it could possibly have what you're looking for. She also told me about how she does the "freezer meals"! She is fixing to have her 3rd baby anyday now, & is preparing a mo.'s worth of "freezer meals", so all they'll have to do is take them from the freezer to the oven/stove & cook. The "prep" time is done right after you purchase the ingredients, and can make up to 22 meals for about $350. That will feed a family of 4 for about $15.91 per meal, & you can't hardly take a family of 4 to a Fast Food joint these days for that price! I hope that it works for you!

Have a blessed day!
S. Vice

Don't buy expensive cuts of meat, unless it is on sell.

Use cupons.

I switched from buying canned vegies, to buying the family size frozen bags of generic vegies.

Instead of cooking with regular milk, I started cooking with evaporated milk. One of my cook books said to dilute it to one part evaporated milk to one part water is the same as whole milk. My kids and husband never noticed the switch.

Get your meats and section them off in bags after you get home. Stretch the meat by adding less in tacos or whatever you are cooking. Ground meats and chicken is easy to do that with. Also go to somewhere likes Sams and buy in bulk so you can get more for less money. Buy store brand and use a lot of rice, potatoes, and veggies because they are cheap!

Hi there B.: Excuse me what is a fortune on groceries? Due to rising costs the food budget in our house grew an extra $100.00. So $100.00 a wk plus per person and we are taking chicken, beans and rice etc. Try the recepies on line.at Receipes.com Also the ladies mags on line like Ladies Home Journal and Women's Day Basicly we eat a Mediterrian diet and meat is broiled unless it make a meat sauce or something similiar. Try making large batches and freezing 1/2. A chicken becomes aoup one day and mixed with vegs and rice another meal. If his Mama is available see if she is willing to show you what his comfort foods are. anyway good luck C.

I would suggest looking for a store in your community that lets you bag your own groceries. The food is not bad and you can save quite a bit. I personally shop at Sav a lot and spend about $50-60 weekly. With what I get I would have paid about $90 at Kroger. Some tips for meat may be check and see if there is a packing house close by. You can get meat cheaper by buying there and if you buy in bulk it is also cheaper. Good luck

I make 'casseroles' for every meal. By 'casseroles', I mean Homestyle Bakes ($2.50 a box), made in the oven and topped with cheese, tuna helper (the Great Value brand)--also in the oven and topped with cheese, and hamburger helper (GV brand as well)--in the oven, topped with cheese. The hamburger helper is usually only cooked in my home when we have extra money. With the prices as they are right now, even hamburger meat is a luxury!

At the beginning of the week, I take this HUGE blue bowl that I cut up lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, and carrots in. It has a lid and I keep it in the fridge. We have one of the above 'casseroles' and salad with every meal. We top our salads with cheese, real bacon bits, and low-fat ranch dressing. Salad is EXTREMELY filling, and it will ensure that your meal is well-balanced.

Here is what I told my husband when he said he wanted steak: "If you want steak, then get a Steak Job. If you want to keep your Tuna Helper Job, then you will eat Tuna Helper." He never complained about dinner again.

Make a list and do not spend over $100 per week on your groceries. It will not hurt your children to eat peanut butter sandwiches with grapes and cheap snack crackers for their lunches. Also, apples, bananas, and oranges are better snack foods than cookies and prepackaged snacks. You can feed a family of this size on $100 per week. Trust me.

And if your husband is hungry later in the evening, he can always make himself a package of Ramen noodles. That's what my husband does.

Good luck!

http://eazymealz.blogspot.com/

This is a blog I read. It has great ideas for yummy meals. The main Mom on here...Tori has 5 kids at home and 2 step daughters that come to visit so with 7 kids that would keep you on a budget.

Check it out, hope it helps.

I use coupons when I go shopping to help defray the high cost of everything. My sister introduced me to a great website called www.thegrocerygame.com. This site is run by a gal who tracks sales and coupons. Each Sunday she posts a list of the sales and which coupons to use at various stores. She has stores available everywhere. Also, you can check to see if your store has rebate books that can add additional savings. There is a small fee for joining the grocery game but the savings can far exceed the price. My sister has saved as much as $1000 since she joined. You can also find coupons online at redplum, penny pincher gazette and various other places. they are printable and can increase your savings. Hope this helps.

There is a web site called "Living on a Dime". Lot of good tips, recipes. There are cookbooks offered too...one called 'Dining on a Dime'. THey have something going on now about cutting your grocery bill. Sounds like it right down your alley.

Good Morning - I expect you have already heard so many good ideas, but here goes. Spaghetti, casseroles using cheaper cuts of meat, soups (what I call stoups), thicker than the average soup. I use instant potato flakes (store brand for that). Utilize a farmers market if you can for fresh veggies and fruit. try to get veggies and fruit that are on their way out as you can save a bundle and they are still good to eat and cook with. Use coupons, and if items are on sale, you can do really well. If you can, make your own bread (not in a machine). If you buy bread, hie thee to the bread store for day old and more, bread, etc. I raised nine children on a budget with a hubby who also expected huge evening meals. I had to educate him in the ways of reality and food prices. Take him shopping with you once or twice, he may agree to tomato soup and sandwiches once a week (everybody likes this and it is cheap - grilled cheese). It's hard I know with skyrocketing prices, but it can be done. Even now, on my own, I scan the newspaper, magazines, and on-line sites.Good luck honey, you can do it.

B., Just a tidbit I learned. I buy a prepared chicken from the barbeque at the local market around dinner time and at some markets when you buy a chicken for $2.oo more you can get 2 side orders and 4 rolls. I take the meal home and we eat what we want then and after the meal I slice it and put it in ref. I then cook the carcass and make stock for noodle soup and we can get many meals out of a $6.99 chicken.

Check out Savingdinner.com It is pre-planned menus with grocery lists, and they have a Frugal Menu that might work. You can print out one free week and try it. My family loves it and I save a lot a the store b/c I don't but what I don't need. It also helps when I know exactly what's for dinner. Good luck!

In the past I have used Angel Food Ministries. It is food for anyone and at a great price. Go to angelfoodministies.com. You can look up to see if it is avalible in your State/City. It is delivered to (usaully) a church in you town and one Saturday a month you go and pick it up. I live in Emdond, OK and it is $30.00. It is a great deal when you are on a budget and it is for anyone. Good Luck
JB

If your husband wants a big meal every night I would suggest meat and potatoes cassaroles and have a vegetable on the side.
Add tea or milk and that usually makes them happy. Just brown some hamburger meat in a skillet then add chopped onion and bell pepper. Slice about three or four potatoes so they are round.Lightly salt the potatoes. Layer the meat mixture and the sliced potatoes in a cassarole dish and pour a can of cream of chicken soup over it and one can of water. Cover it with foil and bake at 350 degrees for about 45 min. to 1 hour. It is delicious. Look in your sunday paper for coupons and go to the dollar store and you will save alot. Also, start putting some amount of money aside in a savings account every week. The key to being rich is saving some amount even if it isn't but $5 or $10 dollars every week. God bless you.

1 zucchini - 99c
1 yellow squash - 99 c
1 carrot - 50c
3-5 roma tomoatoes - $3
pack of spaghetti - $2
whatever spices you like

grate the zuchini, carrot, and squash. dice the tomato.

(you may brown any type of meat beforehand if you like wither ground or cut into cubes)

add a half cup to a cup of water and the tomato to a sauce pan, then after it is brought to a boil stir in the grated zuchini, squash and carrot. add spices as you see fit and reduce to a simmer. let it stay on the pot until you think it's almost thick enough (usually about an hour or two depending on how high you keep the burner, the lower and the longer the better) and then boil the spaghetti. nutritious and delicious. if you don't tell anyone i bet they won't notice the added veg.

stir fry done with celery and some iceberg or romaine (instead of bok choy) is always a hit at my place too.

also as a savers tip: use left over meats and veg for quesadillas and quiches (that way you don't get groans of "not that again!". whatever spices you used for the original meal will add to the flavor of the leftover dish. just cut every thing up and either throw it in a tortilla with some grated cheese or bake it in a pie shell with some beaten eggs and some cheese for the top. :) the key is lto keep the pasta or rice out of the mix if you will be freezing or refrigerating. left over rices and pastas can be used to stuff vegetables (eggplant and peppers are my favoites)

When making a meal add a little more oatmeal to the meatloaf, more noodles or rice to the casserole or add mashed potatoes, breads. Recipes can be adjusted to the budget. Make gravy it is a food enhancer and you just need flour, water and meat drippings with salt and pepper. (We were really on a strict food allowance before I figured that one out.)
There is on thing I noticed that things that were considered not nutritious once will again beconsidered nutritious again.

Have you ever heard about a program called Angel Food? It is a program that provides fresh meats, fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables and stapel items at an extremely low price. A regular order costs $30 and you get roughly 75-80 dollars worth of food. It is not "day old" or outdated food. It's all fresh, top quality name brand products shipped from the manufacturer to Angel Food Ministries. There are no applications and no limits on the quantities purchased. you can order as many boxes as you want and they have special orders you can add also which are nice. You do not have to be a member of the church you just have to order in advance and p/u your order once a month. Each location is different. My family orders each month and it has really cut down on our grocery bills. We still need to get some things at the regular grocery store but not near as much. My family gets our Angel Food in Yukon at the First Baptist Church on 6th street, but you can go to www.angelfoodministries.com and type in your zip code and find the nearest location to your home. The website can also give you the next months menu and order dates and pick up date and more information about the program. Hope this this is helpful to you and your family.

B., my DH is vegetarian and will not eat any prepackaged or processed foods so we eat a LOT of beans. I serve these with rice, cornbread or tortillas. Usually I cook a large batch of some bean concoction once a week in the Crock-Pot and he eats on that all week. A pound of dry beans usually lasts us a week and since beans are cheap, I'd say that's the best deal of all. For variety I throw in different spices, maybe salsa or BBQ sauce, vegetables like tomatoes, green bell peppers or onions.

Today we have less than $25 until payday which means I cannot buy any food, even milk, so we'll be using powdered milk until Friday. Breakfast the next few days will consist of yogurt (bought in bulk), oatmeal, homemade bread and maybe an egg if our hen will get back to laying.

Lunches for the kids and I are whatever leftovers we have or canned soup and a sandwich. I volunteer at a local food bank and recieve a large box of food...mostly the types of foods DH won't eat. That's fine 'cause the children and I don't mind canned soups, Hamburger Helper and the like.

K.

I know about being on a budget. Do you clip coupons? using coupons along with a sale can save a little. Also, I found boneless, skinless chicken breasts to be versatile. You can use them with veggies, cut them up in salads, use with rice, in casseroles, make fajitas and quesadellia with them. Also, potatoes can be used in a lot of ways -- baked, mashed, chunked, herbed, etc. I also found out making too much is a waste (especially if your hubby doesn't like leftovers) so go with smaller casseroles, crock pot recipes, and just do one meat, one veggie and one bread.

First off, buy generic as much as you can. You can also get good deals on dented cans (as long as they are ballooning, they should be fine) and meat that is coming up on the sell by date. Just make sure to freeze the meat right after you get it. I am also a big fan of the Homestyle Bakes, the all in one box. You can get them on sale 2 for $5 and all you need with them is a can of vegetables and some bread and it's a full meal. Of course, if you really want to cut back, you could always go with Ramen noodles.....lol!