By the author of
What to Eat When You’re Broke and How to Prep When You’re Broke
Times are really tight, and the price of food is only going up. If you’re like us, sometimes your week outlasts your groceries. Inflation, shrinkflation, and all the other “flations” are hitting Americans hard, especially those who were already on tight budgets.
One of the best ways I’ve found to stretch the grocery budget is by adding in “Cheap Eats.” We had a whole roster of such meals when my daughters were younger. The criteria for “Cheap Eats” was that it had to be reasonably filling, quick to make, (cooking utilities add up too), and less than a dollar a serving.
Note: Inflation may have made some of these things a bit more than a dollar, but they’re still the least expensive choices at the store.
Let me preface this with the fact that Cheap Eats aren’t necessarily the healthiest of meals, but when your budget is tightened to this level, you can’t afford fancy organic crackers made from gluten-free grains ground with volcanic stones under the full moon. So, while you want to be as balanced as you can in order to stay healthy, your healthy diet is likely to suffer when times are tough.
My usual Cheap Eats strategy is to have a thrifty breakfast and lunch, and then a nicer meal at supper time. But if times are really bad, you could be looking at Cheap Eats three meals a day for a little while. For the sake of tolerable nutrition, mix it up. Don’t eat ramen three meals a day, every day.
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25 Cheap Eats
I consider breakfast to be interchangeable with other meals, so I’ve compiled a single list of our family’s Cheap Eats. Go with the generic or store brand for the best prices.
- Peanut butter and saltines (or graham crackers)
- Oatmeal
- Peanut butter and jelly sandwich
- Bean burrito
- Macaroni and cheese (from a box – here are some tasty ways to improve that meal)
- Pasta and canned marinara
- Canned soup and toast or crackers
- Canned pasta (Only if found on sale)
- Egg-fried rice
- Noodle bowls (ramen, etc.)
- Apple with peanut butter
- Eggs and toast
- Tuna sandwich
- Baked potato with butter
- Potato soup
- Rice, frozen veggies, soy sauce
- Beans and rice (made with canned beans)
- Split pea soup
- Tortilla crust pizzas
- Pancakes
- Pasta salad with tuna and mayo
- Baked beans and weenies
- Chicken and dumplings
- Biscuits and gravy
- Breakfast burritos with eggs and whatever you have on hand
Some thrifty meat choices to add to these ideas above:
- Chicken drumsticks and thighs
- Frozen chicken and rib meat
- Frozen ground turkey tubes
- Last day of sale meat purchases
- Hot dogs
- Canned tuna
I’ve found Aldi’s freezer aisle to be a Godsend for cheap meat, so if you have one of those around, you should check it out!
If you can afford a little more, Walmart’s frozen veggies are $1 for the small bag, give or take. Some broccoli or green peas can add much needed nutrients to the meals above.
How to get your family on board with Cheap Eats
When you change your eating style dramatically, you generally need to have a conversation with your family members. I find you get fewer complaints when you discuss things as opposed to laying down the law. Here are some tips for talking to your kids about the family’s financial problems.
If you have picky eaters in the house this will be a bit more difficult. Try to find at least a handful of things your picky person will eat without complaint that fit into the Cheap Eats category. Here are some more tips on dealing with picky eaters.
Cheap Eats can be a real budget saver when it comes to food or when you’re trying to get through a tight spot. What are your favorite meals that cost less than a dollar a serving? Let’s talk about it in the comments section!
8 Responses
Great list, Daisy. As a vegetarian, I eat a lot of what is on the list. This morning, I am putting dried black beans, chopped onion, and garlic in the slow cooker with salted water. By dinnertime, I will have a nice hot dinner that took almost no effort. Dried beans, split peas, and the like are good staples to have. I stock up on broth around Thanksgiving when the sales are. Shelf life is long on all these, so they work as preps, too.
My Sister and I have moved in together, aged 67 and 70. We have found recently that an Air Fryer will reduce your electricity use exponentially! Use of an oven daily is way too much use of electricity. We were given an Air Fryer by another Sister because she didn’t like or understand the How to of it! We do canning also. Find meats on sale and freeze in meal sizes and Can it also. We grew up in a family of 16 children so experienced frugality at that time and canned back then also. Gardening back then was not my favorite thing but we also did Jams and Jellies. I feel sorry for the younger generation having to experience the high cost of living.
30 years ago a friend gave me her bread machine. I started making bread for fun and discovered it is much more healthy bread and CHEAP. Needless to say I’m not using that machine anymore. I got away from making bread, but when the supply chain issues hit, found a compact one on Amazon. I wore it out and replaced it with another (and splurged when it went on sale so I have one under the bed!). They last years.
Flour does go on sale. I’m not all into the survivalist grind your own flour thing. I just live frugally, buying the best quality/value I can. I use olive oil instead of butter and the jarred yeast.
Choose the flour of your choice and go for it. I haven’t figured out the exact price, but I know it is well under $2 for a loaf of great bread. The machines are good for a lot more than bread. Instructions come with them. No heating up the oven. Set it and forget it. Use the timer.
I trade my bread for a dozen of the neighbor’s eggs.
I built up my pantry over time so our meals are inexpensive. I never have to buy most groceries unless they are buy one-get one or on sale.
Do you have a grocery list of these items that people should try to keep on their shelves at all times?
Mine includes:
Dried foods: oats, cornmeal, rice, pinto beans, dried chickpeas, red lentils, barley, pasta, boxes of macaroni/cheese, ramen, bouillion,
Canned/jars: tuna, chicken, chili, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, marinara, green beans, peas, corn, potatoes, pinto beans, baked beans, evaporated milk, peanut butter, jelly, catsup, mayonnaise, mustard,
Baking: all-purpose flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, yeast, molasses, oil, shortening, powdered milk,
Refrigerated: milk, butter, eggs, cheese,hot dogs, apples, oranges, carrots, celery,
Non-refrigerated: potatoes, garlic, onions, bananas, raisins,
Herbs/spices: pepper, cinnamon, chili powder, Italian herbs, garlic powder, paprika
On a really tight budget, I can make my own mayo, ketchup, soup, syrup, jelly, etc.
I remember making the cheap meals for my family for years because I was the only one with a real income. We did a lot of tuna casserole because you can eat on one for a week if needed! Pasta with a can of chicken, or even a hotdog cut up, and some cheese with frozen veggies was a common occurrence. I thought all the time how to stretch the meat with carbs and veggies. And, if the kids didn’t want to eat the veggies, they couldn’t have seconds. Serve small portions and tell them they can eat all the veg they want!
I love having a Sam’s club membership, because you can buy BIG quantities of dry beans, rice, sugar, flour, and other staples for less than the grocery store. It is funny because the food pantries often have beans and lentils and no one wants them! Little do those privileged twits understand what they are missing! When I am struggling for bills, I often say “I will take as much of those as you will give me!” then I store them in 5 gal buckets that I get free from a local restaurant. I have a waitress/manager there who HATES to see the pickle buckets go to the landfill, so she saves them for me. Just don’t use anything scratchy when you clean them, I usually let my buckets sit in the sun/rain for a couple of weeks to get rid of the smell. Mung beans are interesting too, because you can sprout them, fry the sprouts, eat them raw, or add to soups, or use them like other beans. You can also grow them out to have mung beans to harvest and dry for next year.
Fried potatoes with cut up hot dogs was a regular meal when my kids were young and money was tight. It is comfort food still today!
Something that “works for me” is a stir fry of whatever is on sale.
That being, seasonal vegetables, cheap meats, ect, stir fried with maybe some rice (Asian influenced) or pasta (Mediterranean influenced).
Typically I’ll prep (cut up) the vegetables and either put them in individual bags. Onion, carrots, zucchini, what have you, then saute in olive oil (for Mediterranean) or peanut oil (for Asian) a little of this… A little of that. Whatever is leftover might be a topping for a ramen, or part of a soup.
If you (partially) freeze sausages you can slice them thin. Again, maybe “Italian” with zucchini & onion, or bratwurst with onions & potatoes.
Hope this helps