c/budget-friendly-meals

Serious question, did anyone else think a bag of dried beans was just a few bucks?

I was looking at my grocery receipt from 2019 and saw I paid $1.29 for a pound of black beans. The same bag is $2.79 now at my store in Omaha. I found the old receipt stuck in a cookbook. What's the best protein swap you've found that hasn't doubled in price?

My crew's lunch budget dropped by 30% when I stopped buying pre-chopped vegetables.

I realized a single head of cabbage, which costs about $2.50, yields more coleslaw than three bags of the pre-shredded stuff for $4 each, and it only takes five minutes to slice thin with a chef's knife.

Question about using a potato to stretch a soup

I was making a simple bean soup last week and realized I only had half a can of tomatoes left. Instead of opening a new one, I grated a whole russet potato into the pot. It broke down in about 20 minutes and made the broth thick and creamy without needing extra dairy or flour. It added another two full bowls to the pot for maybe 30 cents. Has anyone else tried this with other soups?

My ancient crockpot finally died mid-pork shoulder last night

Had to finish it in the oven, which totally blew my cheap meal plan for the week. Anyone got a lead on a decent, cheap slow cooker that won't konk out after two years?

My grocery bill in Phoenix went from $120 to $80 after one bad week.

I was at the store last month, grabbing my usual stuff like chicken and pre-cut veggies. My total hit $120 and I felt sick. The next week, I bought a whole chicken for $7, a big bag of rice, and some frozen vegetables. I roasted the chicken, used the bones for soup, and stretched it for five meals. How do you make one cheap ingredient last all week?

PSA: I thought frozen vegetables were a total scam, but my electric bill proved me wrong.

I was sure fresh was always better and cheaper, so I tracked my grocery spending for a month. Buying fresh greens and peppers meant half went bad before I could use them, costing me about $40 in waste. Switched to frozen for those items and my bill dropped by $30, and I never have to rush to use stuff. Anyone else have a food switch that saved way more cash than they expected?

Just saw a huge bag of frozen mixed veggies for $1.50 at the Grocery Outlet

It was the 2-pound store brand bag, which is way cheaper than the name brand at my usual store. I'm going to use it for fried rice and soups all week. What other cheap frozen finds do you guys always grab?

My neighbor saw my 'fancy' dinner and asked for the recipe

I was eating a bowl of rice and beans with a fried egg on top on my porch, and she said it looked like something from a restaurant. I told her the total cost was about $1.75 per plate. Anyone have other cheap meals that look impressive?

Pro tip: Switched from buying pre-shredded cheese to a block 6 months ago, my weekly grocery bill dropped by almost $12.

My grocery bill dropped after a chat with the butcher at the Food Fair in Springfield.

I was buying chicken breasts for $8 a pound when he pointed me to the whole chickens for $1.50 a pound and showed me how to break them down. Now I get three meals from one bird for under $6 total. What's the best cheap cut of meat you've learned to cook with?

My big bag of rice split open in the parking lot and I had to figure out what to do

Honestly, I was at the discount grocery store in Springfield, the one by the old mall, and I'd just bought a 20 pound bag of rice for like eight bucks. As I was loading my car, the bottom of the bag gave way and rice went everywhere, all over the asphalt. I just stood there for a second, totally annoyed. I couldn't just leave it, and I sure wasn't going to waste all that food. So I grabbed a big plastic bin from my truck, swept up what I could, and took it home. I spent the next hour picking out little bits of gravel and dirt. It was a pain, but I got most of it cleaned up and now I have a giant tub of rice. Has anyone else had a grocery disaster like that and managed to salvage the food?

Warning: My friend's 'cheap' meal plan cost him way more than he thought

I was at my buddy's apartment in Cincinnati a few weeks ago and he was bragging about his new budget meal plan. He showed me his cart full of those pre-chopped veggie kits and single-serve microwave rice packs, saying it was 'so easy.' I did the math with him right there on his phone. For the $28 he spent on just four of those kits, we could have bought two whole bags of rice, three pounds of frozen veggies, and a pack of chicken thighs. He was quiet for a minute and then just said, 'I feel dumb.' It really hit me that convenience items are a total trap if you're trying to save. Has anyone else had to talk a friend down from the pre-cut vegetable ledge?

My big pot of chili almost turned into a disaster last night

I was making a double batch of my cheap chili recipe for the week when I realized I only had half a can of kidney beans left. I was already at my stove in my kitchen, so I just grabbed a can of black beans and a can of corn from the pantry and threw them in. It actually turned out better, and the whole pot cost less than $8. Has anyone else had a missing ingredient turn into a happy accident?

Showerthought: I saw a chart showing how much cheaper dry beans are than canned

I was looking at some old USDA price data from 2023 and the numbers were wild. A pound of dry pinto beans costs about $1.50 and makes the same amount as 6 or 7 cans. Those cans would run you over $6 easy. I always grabbed the cans for speed, but the math is hard to ignore. It takes some planning to soak them overnight, but the savings are huge. Has anyone else made the switch and found a good way to cook a big batch for the week?

Pro tip: my $3 lentil soup in a Boston winter

Used a ham bone from the holiday, simmered it for hours. Anyone else have a go-to bone broth trick?

Heard a guy at the grocery store say he only buys meat on the 'sell by' date

I was in line at Food Lion last Thursday and the man in front of me was telling the cashier his trick. He said he goes in the morning and buys chicken or ground beef that's marked down because it's the last day. He said he cooks it that night or freezes it right away. It got me thinking about how much I could save just by shifting my shopping day. Has anyone else had good luck with this method? I'm a little nervous about the food safety part.

My slow cooker died halfway through a big batch of beans last night

I was making a huge pot of black beans to freeze for the week, and the heating element just quit after about two hours. I had to finish them on the stove, which used way more gas than I planned. What's a good, cheap replacement brand that will last more than a year?

PSA: I just wasted $15 on a 'budget' meal kit that was a total scam

It was one of those ads for a 'chef crafted' dinner for four people under $20. The box showed up with maybe two chicken breasts, a handful of veggies, and a tiny packet of sauce. I had to add so much from my own pantry to even make it a meal, it cost way more. Honestly, just buy the ingredients yourself from the store, it's way cheaper and you get more food. Has anyone else fallen for one of these 'cheap' meal kit traps?

My big batch of lentil soup turned into a salty disaster last night

I was making my usual go-to cheap meal, a huge pot of lentil soup, and I guess I wasn't paying attention. I added a whole can of vegetable broth I had in the pantry, which I've done before, but this time I also threw in a ham bone from the freezer for extra flavor. I didn't realize how salty that bone was going to make everything. After it simmered for an hour, I tasted it and it was basically inedible, like licking a salt block. I was so annoyed because that was supposed to be my lunches for the whole week. I ended up dumping in two whole peeled potatoes and letting it cook for another 30 minutes, which helped a little, but it's still way too strong. I hate wasting food, especially when money is tight. Has anyone else saved a super salty soup? I'm thinking of maybe adding a bunch of plain rice to it to stretch it out and soak up some salt.

Why does nobody talk about the great bean can explosion of Tuesday night

I was in my kitchen in Omaha trying to make a cheap chili with a dented can of black beans I got for 50 cents. I went to open it with my old can opener and the whole top just blew off, sending beans and juice all over my ceiling. I spent the next 45 minutes cleaning bean splatter off of everything, including the inside of my microwave. Has anyone else had a can just totally fail on them like that?

My $5 lentil soup turned into a disaster when I forgot to soak them overnight.

Had to simmer it for almost three hours in my tiny apartment kitchen, but it actually made the broth way richer and now I'm never soaking lentils again, anyone else skip the soak?

Just tallied my grocery receipts and spent under $200 for the whole month of March. How did I even do that?

I always thought dried beans were a waste of time until I saw the price difference at the co-op in Portland.

My brother swore by a $2 bag of frozen peas for protein, I thought he was nuts

He told me to add a cup of frozen peas to my cheap pasta for a full meal, said they have 8 grams of protein per serving. I tried it for a week and honestly, it filled me up way more than just carbs. But my friend says it's still not a real protein source and I should just buy beans. Who's right here?

Serious question, why does everyone say you need fresh herbs for good flavor? My dried basil from a $2 jar in 2021 works fine.