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BarbieSmith
06-15-2008, 08:38 AM
Beans and peanut butter and eggs... any more?

The gas prices are wiping us out, and I need to conserve a little. I won't want to give up good nutrition and so want to know if anyone knows of other foods to check out, or (better yet!) a website that combines frugal foods with good nutrition and recipes.

Thanks so much!
Barbie

brittone2
06-15-2008, 12:14 PM
MDC has a Frugality and Finances forum where they often have threads with "Under $2" or "Under $5" meal ideas (it used to be under $2, but now with the increase in food prices that's becoming too difficult even for the most frugal).

There is also http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/index.htm

Her "healthier" site is:
www.healthy.hillbillyhousewife.com
(I disagree w/ a lot of her nutritional advice personally, but I still think there are some worthwhile ideas)

Most of her stuff is highly processed, but there are still some really good ideas on there and you can modify as your budget is able. I don't really use that site much but I know some people on MDC rave about it.

You can also look at sites like www.vegweb.com for vegan recipes. Even if for the non-vegan, there will be a lot of recipes using beans, grains, etc. and you can always add small amounts of meat.

On a budget, I'd look at:
-beans (can even sprout them for extra nutrition/vitamin intake/digestability)
-lentils
-whole grains
-Depending on the size of your family and whether they'll eat it, Costco carries big tubs of salad greens (organic) and spinach (organic) that may be a decent deal if you are willing to eat salad as a veggie a few times a week. Or find someone to split a tub w/ you.
-canned wild Salmon (Trader Joe's and Costco have good prices if I remember right). Can be made into salmon salad, salmon croquettes/patties, etc.
-oatmeal for breakfast (can buy organic for roughly a buck a pound give or take, which is far cheaper than breakfast cereal)
-Eggs (breakfasts, quiche, strata (save heels from bread loaves in freezer and when you have a few whip up a strata w/ leftover veggies)). The quiche and strata can be breakfast, lunch, or dinner IMO. You can always do "breakfast for dinner" with any breakfast food and that usually stretches the budget a bit.
-nut butters (Trader Joe's usually has good prices overall)
-make muffins/baked goods rather than buy when possible.
-stretch things like a pot of chili by serving over baked potatoes (and make a huge pot and freeze leftovers. Use more beans than meat, or even look for vegetarian chili recipes if you are really pressed).
-Things like homemade fried rice are great for using up leftovers (add a few eggs to it for extra protein. Sub brown rice for white).
-There is a great MDC recipe for "honey baked lentils" if you google it should come up. Cheap, easy, and good.
-Buy in season. Tomatoes in July are ridiculously cheap. Eat a lot of them in July, kwim? Consider canning or freezing if you can find jars inexpensively or have some on hand.
-try growing a few things in containers if possible

I'm not sure if that helps at all. Definitely check MDC's frugality forum. There tend to be some pretty good ideas on there for maximizing nutrition on limited funds. As a family we don't eat a lot of grains, etc. because I'm insulin resistant, but if I could, it would definitely stretch the budget.

kijip
06-15-2008, 12:39 PM
Oatmeal. Homemade cereal, homemade bread, don't buy drinks (drink water), eat less meat and more legumes, make homemade soups and serve over brown rice. That is all I will add to Beth's post (which I agree with). The Hillbilly housewife IMO is more for crisis mode than cutting back (some of the meals are not at all healthy) but there are SOME good tips on there.

BarbieSmith
06-15-2008, 03:48 PM
Oh wow, thank you so much ladies! That is exactly the information I was looking for!!! I am printing this off now... and it is a wonderful basis to start some recipe searches using these ingredients.

Thanks so much!!!
Barbie

icunurse
06-15-2008, 03:53 PM
I use Trader Joe's and Costco for a lot of purchases. As PP stated, they tend to have a lot of organic options and I will stockpile so that I only go every 3-4 weeks. I love their sun-dried Julienne tomatoes - last a long time in the fridge and can easily be tossed onto a salad or in a rice blend, etc. Even DS will eat them (plus they are more antioxidants than raw tomatoes).

I just joined for a 4 week trial of grocerygame (for $1). The local paper had a big article on how this woman saved so much, blah, blah, blah. I'm not thrilled with the store options by me, but you may have better luck. I also like Vegetarian Times magazine. It gives lots of fast and easy recipes that tend to use a lot of things you either have around the house or can buy cheap/bulk. I can always add a little meat or fish to a meal to make DH happy (he likes his red meat).

We also bumped up our garden this year. We grow organic and we planted the big things we use and love - peppers, tomatoes, carrots, beans, strawberries, raspberries, etc. We figure by growing what we eat the most of, we save the money for "treats" we can't grow, like fruits and less-used veggies (eggplant). Our farmers markets are charging crazy prices for stuff, not sure about other markets nearby, so this should help us a bit.

Good luck - I think a lot of us are feeling your pain :)

elephantmeg
06-15-2008, 05:27 PM
buying meat at costco has saved me-I can't stomach the prices at walmart anymore-and buying milk at costco is saving me $1/gallon. Which is good since we go through 1-2 gallons a WEEK. Yikes. This works since DH works right next to costco and can pick up milk when we need it. Meat I buy and freeze.

DrSally
06-15-2008, 06:11 PM
One thing I find is that if you buy chicken with the skin and bones on it is a lot cheaper. I bought a huge package of chicken thighs and put them in the crockpot with a homemade sauce, and then did lettuce wraps with them. It took some time to sort out the meat from the skin (it had fallen off the bone), but it was a lot of meat. I've also heard Quinoa is a grain with protein. I have a box, just haven't made it yet. I'm growning my own herbs this year on the inspiration of a previous thread, so that should add a lot of flavor.

trumansmom
06-15-2008, 08:01 PM
Check out www.mommysavers.com . There is a TON of good advice about living on the cheap.

brittone2
06-15-2008, 08:07 PM
For inspiration about small space gardening, etc. check out :

www.pathtofreedom.com and www.urbanhomestead.org