Meals to eat when you are BROKE || The ULTIMATE Struggle Meals 

I remember once about 10 years ago I was in a bad financial situation and I pretty much lived on instant ramen with frozen mixed vegetables added. I got really tired of ramen but it was very inexpensive and kept me alive. We do what we have to do!

My grandma used to tell us stories of their meals during the depression: lard sandwiches (2 slices of bread spread with lard and sprinkled with salt and pepper), Cabbage soup served over cooked macaroni (she did the "stretch the soup with macaroni" thing till the day she died), rice and beans, spaghetti and peas, beans and potatoes.

I can feed my big family for $1 with pinto beans. We do that on the regular around here. :)

For someone who is currently going through a difficult financial struggle, these meals are perfect for ideas. Some days I pop open a small tin of tuna and make a small serve of mashed potatoes and chopped boiled carrots and peas as my meal. Its cheap and delicious. I want to try some of these dishes in your video.

When I was a kid...oh so many years ago...we had pancake suppers...loved them.. breakfast for supper is a win win.

Black beans or pintos and rice. Or lentils and brown rice. Makes a complete protein. I LOVE black beans over white rice with some diced raw onion and lime squeezed on top!

I think some people are afraid of dry beans. You just get so much more for the money with dry beans. Some of my best memories is of coming home from school and Grandma had beans on the stove and home made white rolls in the oven. I didn't know it was a struggle meal then, and I don't feel it is now. It's just delicious! Good video!

We used to eat tomato soup and elbows growing up. I forgot about it. I am making some for lunch tomorrow. Love your videos.

Beans and ham with cornbread is a favorite of mine. My mom is from Thailand so we grew up having rice dishes for breakfast. As grocery prices continue to rise I feel humbled that I can make a $5 meal last a few days. God Bless everyone. Ps. love your crock pot!

I often use white cabbage. Chop the cabbage, cook it together with the pasta. When done put it in a bowl and mix it with grated cheese. Children can add a little ketchup. In the luxury version, the pasta is cooked separately while the cabbage is fried in a very big pan until brown. Than add the cooked noodles to tha pan, add the grated cheese and fry it a little more. Basically a poor mans version of the Polish haluski recipe.

The unfortunate side to this is I have IBS and a lot of cheap foods cause flare ups and inflammation. I’d like to live cheaply which I still try but it gets difficult.

Hi Tamara. I love it when you make these kind of videos. I’m fortunate to be able to feed my family but I also know how it feels to have a tough time here and there. I really appreciate what you do and how much you encourage others. Thanks for sharing.🤗💕

We always do the macaroni with tomato 🍅 juice but I put sugar in mine , the peas and spaghetti we sear cut up hotdogs no bacon . My friend would say one night was pinto beans and cornbread and the next night was pinto beans and fried potatoes and start all over again . They saved people during the depression ! ! 😊🌈😊

My parents raise 4 children on pinto bean, fried potatoes and biscuits at almost every meal. These were the staple for our table at least 3 to 4 nights a week. I remember my mom would buy the pinto beans in a 25 to 50 lb. Bags. Some were cloth bags, but most of them were burlap bags. All of us kids still prepare this meal at our own home. Yours looked delicious Tamara, thanks for the memories. God bless

Hi Tamara. The spaghetti with peas and bacon hit a warm spot with me because my Daddy would make this from time to time--a memory I almost forgot! I think you provide a good/compassionate service by showing how struggling families can feed their families with yummy tasting meals--and making them feel proud and confident in the process. Well done.

If you're making a ham soup, Goya makes a good ham bouillon. It comes in a box with powder packets (instead of a cube). It's usually a little more than a dollar for a box and helps make the ham flavor.

Other ideas: -craft dinner and peas, or craft dinner and canned beans. -Just add water pancake mix (no syrup) and eggs -noodles and spagetti sauce (no cheese unless affordable) -can of soup and bread for dinner -hot dogs or other sausage meat on sale on bread/toast -bread and either jam or peanut butter (not both) -eggs and sausage (if sausage is on sale) -ramen and leftover spagetti sauce (skip seasoning packet) -buying fruit on sale, like bananas or apples -lemon spagetti (lemon and butter) and peas -oatmeal (heard its cheap in the USA)

Green peas have a decent amount of protein too, I agree with beans being the ultimate struggle meal but good no matter what. I think lentils are under estimated. My favorite is lentil/vegetarian sloppy joes or sloppy joe cornbread casserole.

I add frozen veg to soup often, just to make it taste fresher and become more nutritious. your ideas are all workable and very adjustable to stay on a tight budget. sometimes you just need ideas! very helpful! these can definitely get you through a tough week, even if it isn't nutritionally perfect. when you can afford more, add more. I liked the pasta, bacon, broth and peas. tasty!

I grew up eating the tomato/macaroni recipe that my Nanny made us grandkids. She used tomato juice, home canned diced tomatoes, macaroni and LOTS of black pepper. Served with skillet cornbread. I know make that for my kids.

Macaroni and tomatoes is something my best friends mom made for us all the time. Good memories and good food

forgot to add this I cook the macaroni in the juice. I also use Ramen like you just did with the pasta & peas I add canned chicken

Another quick go-to dinner for my family is a couple boxes of the Texas toast garlic bread, pizza sauce (or tomato sauce with seasonings added) & mozzarella cheese. Easy pizzas. My kids & my hubby request them often.

I’ve never tried the poor man’s stew, but we have had tons of pinto beans with weenies over my lifetime. And most of these recipes are something I’d eat daily. Macaroni and tomato soup is literally one of my favorite foods of all time. And the spaghetti looked like I should meal prep that as a lunch next week with some poor man’s garlic bread!

Thank you. I struggle at times. Your channel has helped so much! I watch you, B Wood Cooks, and great depression cooking with Clara to get by.

Definitely some great, quick, simple & filling meals for your family in a pinch. That poor mans stew is amazing: had it before with a small can of mixed veggies & a dash or two of W sauce. May not have been chef's kiss worthy, but it was tasty & everyone ate.

Great helpful meal ideas! When we had hard times rice and beans corn bread on the side would hit the spot and cheap!

I've learned how to make 4 ingredient meals when I'm in a pinch. Easy beef stroganoff (mac noodles, ground beef, cream of mushroom soup and french onion dip). Tuna casserole (mac noodles or egg noodles, cream of mushroom soup, tuna and a little milk). Italian wedding soup (tiny pasta, chicken broth or water and chicken bullion, ground pork can also add a little breakfast sausage to the ground pork and make tiny meatballs and spinach). Pizza logs (egg roll wrappers, sliced pepperoni, mozzarella block cut into sticks and marinara sauce or pizza sauce) make the pizza log with the egg roll wrappers, pepperoni and cheese and deep fry it, dip it into some warm pizza sauce, it's so good. Those are just a few that I make frequently.

You have a very welcoming aura Awesome video btw lol my car just died and I've gotta live off of little for a while

Hey I had a 4-cup serving of mashed potatoes for dinner and that's all I had #noshame

One of my favorite "lazy day" meals is spaghetti with butter and Parmesan cheese. Bacon bits if I have them. I like the addition of the peas.

The struggle is real rn. You are appreciated.

Yes ma'am thanks for the video resource...that's just daily food for me retired living barely on soc sec...oatmeal,eggs,rice beans,pasta, yep..the food banks want you to use them....gives them reasons to exist. Best Regards Smitty

I love this! We all come across times when we just need to make sure our families are fed and these are great meals for that. Plus they all look yummy. :)

Thank you so much for making videos like this. With inflation going up up up they are so necessary. We are on a disability pension and money is tight so I will be trying some of these (we love those GV bacon bits too 🙌👍 we put them on loaded baked potatoes all the time, so good & so much cheaper than strip uncooked bacon ❤) Appreciate your kindness & creativity dear 🥰

Great meals! I eat pinto beans often, they’re a good source of protein & fiber not to mention filling! I definitely want to try the pasta, pea bacon meal too! ❤

What a great video! Dried peas are the cheapest dried option in our area right now, and I’ve been trying to figure out what to do with them. I’m gonna try that pasta with some cook dried peas. Thank you!

Tamara, love the videos you are making. The encouragements you give are priceless, and so sincere. Keep it up.

Wow, I realize I spend way more on food than I need to. Thanks for the insight!!

Lentils are so good too and blacks beans ssooo good

I’ll be trying the tomato noodle soup for lunch tomorrow. Looks amazing and I have some tomato soup I need to rotate through.

Loved this one!!!! So needed with food prices right now

Wow this was actually a down to earth real ideas for a poor budget meals because other videos will claim they are but in reality their not so thank you so much

Never needed this more in my life 😅 just waiting to get my cooking stuff

Love these! So simple and kid friendly. We call the stew with bbq flavor "cowboy stew" and use whatever meat and veg we have on hand or leftovers.

These are great ideas when your hours are cut down to 20 a week at work 😢 ty so much for 😋 yummy ideas

LoL We eat macaroni with can chop or dice macaroni. Seasoned. You can add different stuff to make different dishes. But I was Soo tired. Thought still had some Rotel probably do. Bulb went out,lol said tired. Love watching you and your GREAT dishes. You inspire me. Thanks 👍👍. Nice looking boys. Have a great one.

One of my Family’s favorite meals is Beans, fried taters and cornbread!!! Anytime we have a ham, I freeze my hambone, it makes beans taste WONDERFUL!! I also love Ham Hocks, or Salt pork or chunked up bacon to season the beans. I always season the heck out of them regardless of which of the above I have to use, so, salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, a little cumin, a few shakes of chili powder and any kind of hot sauce I have, Tabasco or Louisiana hot sauce, something like that. I prefer to add a carton of chicken broth and then add water to that, but if you don’t have the chicken broth, use some chicken bullion cubes or powder, and honestly, I have cooked beans in my crock pot and my pressure cooker, they work great!! Especially that pressure cooker, your dried beans can be soft in an hour!! But my favorite way is to cook them is on the stove because I love the broth to get thick, so if I do the main cooking in the crockpot or pressure cooker, I will transfer them over to the stove for a bit, to thicken them up!! They are so delicious that way!! If you use salt pork, do not use salt, let them cook for a while, then check your seasonings, if you think you need salt then add it sparingly. The name says it all, but salt pork is extremely salty!! But with some seasonings from the pantry, even chopped onion, a few shakes of hot sauce and a bullion cube, you can make a bag of dried beans taste like heaven!! And my fried taters are just that, thin slices, cooking oil, a chopped onion, salt and pepper, in my cast iron skillet,cook flip, cook flip several times, they get a bit of a crust on them, they are so good with the beans. We eat this at least once a month in my house. Very economical and damn delicious!!! Sometimes I make homemade cornbread and really dress it up, sometimes I just make plain cornbread, and if I am pressed for time, I have used a package mix. We don’t like sweet cornbread, so I am really picky about a pkg. mix. But don’t use jiffy muffin mix and call it cornbread, because it’s not!! Honestly , that is a Twinkie without the filling. The only thing I use Jiffy muffin mix for. Is corn casserole. Then it is great! But it’s not cornbread. I’m not trying to be rude, it’s just a pet peeve of mine. We love Cornbread dressing made with lots of sage, opinions and celery, chicken broth, oh it’s so good, but one year my Mom was trying to save time, and so she got Jiffy to make the cornbread with, she mixed everything else in and baked it… it was HORRIBLE!!! It was so sweet it ruined it!! I guess that is why I feel the way I do. We still laugh about it to this day, but we will never make that mistake again. Lol

thank you! Dont have a family tho. Just hungry and cant go to the grocery store lol. So thanks alot!

These look kid friendly too😊

Propagate herbs like rosemary from clippings at the store for herbs

I love all of your videos! I watch them as soon as I notice you have a new one out. Keep up the good work! You are doing awesome. You have become my favorite you tuber. You have helped me so much save money on groceries with all your good recipes.

A big hug to everyone is struggling in life right now. You're strong! You can do it!

Excellent love the no shame no guilt message ❤👍🏾👍🏾

Pasta definitely makes for a good budget friendly meal and adding frozen veggies to bulk it up works really well. Love these meal ideas!

Tomato Soup with Noodles Bacon Bit and Pea Spegehetti Poor Man Stew - Hot Dogs, Potato, Onion Tomato sauce ........... Check out Hoover Stew ! Pinto Beans w/ Ham Hocks

I grew up eat a dish called “poor man”. Pasta with a sauce made of butter, flour, tomato sauce, and a bunch of pepper. It’s a family favorite and doesn’t feel like a budget meal

Thank you for the videos ma'am. You have helped my family alot.

Happy Friday,Tamara And Family . Thanks for sharing all of your recipes . I'm like you as long as family is fed . That's all that matters . I used to take tomato soup . Cook some kind of pasta . And add a little hamburger meat . It's delicious this way . Are cut up wennies also good . Have A Blessed Weekend Every One .❤️

Love and admire your willingness to provide a variety of video topics for all...keep it up girlfriend 🤗💙

Elbow mac, tuna, peas, and cheese sauce however you prefer to make it is also a very good meal

Thanks for sharing! God bless!

I made French onion soup today! Had everything in the pantry. So Good & Cheap!

Great recipes Thank you for sharing Tamara have a blessed evening stay safe and healthy. 🙏❤🙏❤🙏

Hi Tamara👋👋👋 This was a great vid filled with yummy looking meals😋 My mom used to make a style of your “Poor Man’s Stew”, she used to put everything you used but with the tomato sauce she would use canned baked beans in tomato sauce and it was a delicious meal that my brothers and I used to love as kids and I would still eat today too👍 TYFS, I appreciate all you do and share with us♥️💫✨👼🏻✨💫♥️

Great meals, yummy. Ty for sharing. Easy, delicious 😋

I am glad I saw this video it really does help people out and you were so kind to let people know to ask for help

Happy FriYAY, friend. Love your new glasses. I'm so excited for this video.

I always have macaroni and tomato juice. You can also use canned tomatoes. I like butter and some salt in mine. Love Pinto beans with biscuits. Love beans and rice.

Hmmm.........this dish reminds me of Jamaican red peas (beans) soup. Just need to add some coconut milk to the slow cooker and you're in business. This would not be regarded as a "poor" meal but as a great "soup".........Will try your pinto beans for a change. Thanks.

Great ideas... thanks so much❤

I make bean tacos with homemade salsa and queso fresco about once a week lol

Tamara All great meal options on you video today. Thank You.

Thanks for sharing,All of the meals looked Tasty!😋

Thank you ❤

cool

⚜️ Yes, with quality and healthy.

Love your crock pot.

Can also make a bean soup with carrots and potatoes

Thank you for these wonderful recipes. I don't know many struggle meals so these recipes definitely helped a lot. I absolutely love bean soup. I just never made it before. Thanks again for the recipes. 😊❤️

Did you know you can make a potato and hotdog soup! Created by Emeril’s mother for him as a child. Plus, you can make a hash out of some chopped up hotdogs, potatoes, diced onion ( like hash brown potatoes). You can also make an Italian soup called pasta e fagioli( pasta and beans). It is very filling and serves a lot of people. Also, tomato soup can be used to make a tomato sauce for pasta bake. Save your scraps of cheese and make your own cheese blend. There is a dish called pasta primavera that is made with just vegetables for a meatless dish, and pasta carbonara would give two sources of protein . I save any scraps of meat that is not used( ground cooked sausage, ground beef cooked, ham, ham bone, meat bones etc) to make soups, beans, chili, sausage gravy, beef stroganoff, pasta dishes etc. Sometimes a little protein can go a long way in a dish. 1/4 cup of sausage can be added to white gravy to go over biscuits. 1/2 cup of sausage or ground beef mixed with tomato soup, onion, garlic and cooked rice will create stuffed bell peppers and top with a small piece of bacon on top and bake makes a meal for four to five people…especially if you add little bit of corn and green peas to the rice mixture. I think by using one main ingredient then thinking about how you can create many meals out of it will give you more bang for your buck. Make a list, price them ( if you can before going shopping), and always have a second and third option. Yes, it takes a little time, but will save you money and time in long run. There is also a long grain and wild rice - chicken soup that is very good and taste great with canned chicken…if you can not afford the raw chicken. Many ways to plan and stick to a budget to stretch your money and still serve your family tasty food. ❤

I used to go to hotels for meals when I was an addict.

More great recipes thanks enjoy your weekend..

Not even if you are broke these are great meals if you wanna save money and eat well 😅

I made your pinto beans a while ago, just like this and we devoured them. They were delicious!

Use lentils. They are very cheap at Walmart. They are very nutritious and one billion plus Indians eat it every day.

I cooked two hamburger Pattie’s in the oven the other night seasoned them with Worcestershire sauce, garlic salt, black pepper and added in two fresh sliced mushrooms with some sliced onion. After that, I added water to the dish they were cooked in and made French Onion Soup out of it for our next meal, had Italian bread that I found on sale for 60 cents and sprinkled mozzarella cheese over bread that was placed on bowl with hot soup and melted under broiler for few seconds. That with a side salad and Instant Ice tea I found at Sam’s ( reduced to $1.99) was a wonderful meatless meal. Just trying to show where people throw things out can be used to create another delicious meal. Also, seasoned mushrooms that have been sliced and cooked down can make a very large amount of food mixed with pasta an sprinkled with a seasoning packet of cheese from a pizza place if you do not have anything else. I hope I have given you all some different ideas…we are all in these hard times together!❤ $

Some delicious looking meals

Ty for all the info u share with us 💓💜💕

We have a very cheap filling meal that we call Cheesy Spaghetti. My grandmother was blessed with 6 daughters and 22 grandchildren. Often, on Saturday , some of her grandchildren would be there at lunchtime for one reason or another. On those days she needed a cheap meal that we would all eat. Thus, Cheesy Spaghetti was born. You need to cook as much spaghetti as you need to feed your family. BUT YOU NEED TO UNDERCOOK IT BY ABOUT 3 MINUTES. THAT IS IMPORTANT. While the pasta cooks, for every 8 oz of Spaghetti, you need to cook a small onion in 1 Tbsp of oil til translucent in a LARGE SKILLET. Once your spaghetti has been cooked 6 or 7 minutes, drain it and pour it into your skillet on top the onion. Add 1 1/4 cups of tomato juice for every 8 oz of spaghetti and season with salt and pepper. Continue cooking your spaghetti in the tomato juice for another 3 or 4 minutes. The tomato juice will cook down and thicken a little. At that point, turn off the stove and add 6 to 8 slices of American Cheese, for every 8 oz of spaghetti. Cover and allow to sit 5 minutes. At that point, the cheese has melted, the sauce has thickened and it is ready to serve. Just stir to combine the cheese into the sauce. It is a delicious meal that we all still love and cook for our families. We eat this as a main dish, but we often cook this as a side dish . It is really good with pork chops and cube steaks. It is important to us that we only use AMERICAN CHEESE. I have tried making it with Cheddar, and to us, it just tastes off because grandmother always used American Cheese. For some reason we have found that this is not a dish that is good leftover. The spaghetti tends to get gummy . I think it is because it has been double cooked. This is delicious and filling and something we love. In fact, it was one of my daughter's pregnancy cravings when she was pregnant with our 19 month old grandson. I suggest you try this some evening when you need a different side dish before cooking it as your main dish. That way, if your family does not like it as much as our family does, you still have other food to eat.

Yes u add the hot dog dogs to our beans with onions and garlic so good and tomatoes sauce if I dont have tomato sauce I cook beans with onions garlic and chicken broth

Good evening angel girl 😇 God bless you and your family. Have a blessed evening 🌆 Love you guys 😇🥰😇

🙂

Enjoyed your video very much ! It was very helpful. Thank you. 👍❤️

I like V-8 juice better than Tomato.

I can live on rice and beans everyday.

These are great meal ideas!

Another great video!

Smoked sausage is good in pinto beans too 😋. My kids love them

I love a good pot of pinto beans! & I'd gladly eat everything you showed us. Good job!