My husband and daughter love quesadillas with beans. Cheap, quick, and easy! Maybe I don't cook the most authentic mexican food, but as long as my family enjoys it who cares 😅
Coffee was getting so expensive i started buying Lipton tea to get my caffeine fix. I buy the Extra strong 80 bags per box. I use 2 bags in one 12 to 16 ounce cup, total cost 25 cents. I use to buy coffee at 5 dollars a cup. Can't afford that anymore! LOL
I recently bought enough coffee I think to last the rest of the year. It was at its Best Before date - but on sealed stuff I never worry about that. It wasn’t as good a deal as yours but it was £2.69 for a 200g bag that is normally £6.99. And it was at the highest end store in UK Waitrose. I was so pleased with the coffee it’s lovely 😊
At the beginning of the month, I did a refrigerator inventory. I had leftovers from Easter and just general ‘stuff’ like raw vegetables and some homemade coconut yogurt. I made up a menu (have you ever made veggie burgers from leftover baked beans 😂) and decided to do a no spend challenge for the week. Didn’t even go to the store at all. Just lived out of fridge and pantry. Did I miss having fresh salad greens? Yes, but I survived just fine and saved $125 in groceries. The money saved allowed for me to make trip to Sam’s Club the next week to do some bulk pantry building. I’m retiring in two weeks and this strategy is going to be helpful when my grocery budget drops by $200 a month.
i am a single middle aged male, one of the best things i have found in terms of convenience and cost are bulk meals. Mince based meals, stews etc. bonus is that the meat is normally of a lower grade. put it in a slow cooker and forget about it until you come home. 10 - 20 minutes prep time the night before, put it on before you head out to work. meals cooked for the next 3-4 days. if you get a bit board with it. put the left overs in freezer in a microwave safe dish. instant dinner if you get home late one night or do not want to cook
I’ve cooked like this for nearly all of my adult life. My family runs on bulk meals for each week and I don’t have to cook every night. I have better things to do.
A favorite low-cost meal for us that is on repeat is grilled cheese and tomato soup. And bonus if the grilled cheese is made with Mom‘s homemade bread. That doesn’t always happen but when it does, it’s a huge hit. However, everyone is usually happy with a grilled cheese sandwich on sourdough bread as well so when I see that on sale at the store, I stock up on the sourdough bread
I am really enjoying using more beans and legumes in our cooking. I’ve even learned to make wraps from lentils and mung beans! (Hope, thanks for the inspiration with your tortilla video!) I will even use beans with meat to stretch it and my husband and I don’t notice any difference except in our food cost. Many thanks, Hope and Larry!❤
I have a teeny tiny budget for grocery shopping, so I use an excel sheet in my phone to create my shopping list and it also incorporates columns for weighing food and quantity so that it all adds up in one total and the remaining money is reflected in a frozen row at the top on the screen so I can see how much I can still send as I go down my list - and also helps me some buy sweets by weight with the change for my son. I created my list in excel after a few embarrassing moments when I had to put things down at the check-out. Things you just can't do with a paper list.
I will say if you live in California like I do budgeting is a MUST. It was a very high cost of living state even before HIGH inflation. In 1994 things were much cheaper. I bought my home in 1994 for $199,000 and raised two boys. That home now is valued at $1.1 million! My oldest son who is 32 now just bought his first new home and paid $1.25 Million with total monthly payment of $8,032. I feel sorry for my youngest son as he will never make as much money as his older brother. He's going to have to wait until I die and inherit my home. In the mean time his condo rent is $2,100 monthly.
You can get used to the slow rise in costs and accept them as they come, without realising there are places elsewhere not like that. As a native Californian, I see people who have stayed and feel upset. It's like watching a frog as the water gets hotter. Jump out!!
This is an old tip but one worth remembering. Have a full stomach when you go grocery shopping. The"extras" will look a lot less interesting if you're not hungry while you're grocery shopping.
First…I am a traveling nurse from Houston. I tend to do contracts in cold, remote areas. Food lasts a whole lot longer up north. When I am in Houston, I have to buy less at a time because it goes bad quickly in the hot summers. I basically start meals around flour and build from there. what goes with bread? What goes with tortillas? What goes with pasta? There is pancakes, pizza dough, muffins and pierogi, etc etc.i make the flour item from scratch. Then, I pick the vegetable or legume I will use. THEN…I look at what meat/fish is on sale. I use bananas rather than oil when baking. Apples last a really long time and so do sweet potatoes.
I love the idea of serving your family the toppers so they don't take too much. I like using tiny bowls for individual condiments, especially with pancake syrup. By dipping into the syrup you get more flavor. When you pour the syrup on top of the pancakes, it gets absorbed and they want more. Also with children, I like to pour their cereal and milk for them. They can always have seconds, but when they pour themselves they usually over do it. Especially when they use a big bowl (because all the little cereal bowels are dirty)
OT (occupational therapy) practicing with older adults here, please be oh so careful not using this chair when your recovered, we refer to them in rehab as "core killers" and I can spot a patient who uses these within minutes and not in a good way. They promote extensor tone and reduce the use of your vital core strength.
I agree, I teach chair based exercises to seniors, we practice sitting self supported and getting up without aids (even those in a wheelchair practice everything other than the actual sit to stand un-aided) These chairs are wonderful during a short injury period, and there are people who unfortunately do need these sit to stand chairs when at home alone. But it always goes back to that old saying - use it or loose it!
@@sinkintostillness I often tease people that they don’t call them Lay Z Boys for no reason. There are occasionally people who need them but more often then not a skilled set of eyes can provide different equipment within the persons functional abilities and or strengthen where it’s needed to avoid them. Majority of the time when I see these patients in an I patient rehab we can get them to the point where they are strong enough to sit to stand and stand pivot without the help of a lift chair and get them back to sleeping in a bed except for some neuro and cognitive outlier situations. Thank you for all that you doing helping keep my most favorite age group strong and able! Love it.
We had leftover chili from last night. We put cooked penne, frozen red and orange peppers, frozen onions, and topped it with mozerella cheese. Baked it about 20 minutes and it was so good. Also, this week at the local grocery store, pork chops are $1.99 a pound. Guess most of our budget is buying those. We are out of them. Yay!
I made to much spaghetti.I decided to make spaghetti burritos! My husband wasn’t to sure about them… until he tasted them. I quit drinking pop for 6 yrs then decided to drink it . Well now the price has tripled! No more pop. I learn something everyday that I can make cheaper. I always look for almost outdated food at the store. We plant a garden which we can’t wait for it to grow! Thanks for your videos.
I’ve used some cans from my stockpile that are months past the date. So far, everything has been fine. I always check the appearance and smell, of course. This includes soups and veggies. Best regards.
@@marilynpeppers1356 I think many of those dates on cans and jars are "best buy" dates not expiration dates. I use cans past the best buy date without any problems. I would be more concerned about pancake mix or any mix with yeast that is beyond the date.
tacos! Chicken fajitas with leftovers turned into chicken quesadillas the next day, beef/bean tacos = taco salad for lunches next day, or nachos for dinner. breakfast burritos during the pandemic when meat was difficult to find was a lifesaver for meal planning. always have salsa in the pantry and cheese/sour cream in the fridge. just about anything can be put in a taco if you have a couple toppings.
Never buy shredded cheese. It's more expensive and the manufacturers have to add anti-clumping agents (potato starch and wood pulp--yes, you read that right) to keep it from sticking together and defeating the purpose. How long does it take to grate some cheese?!
The cheese is usually cheese getting old and hard from the deli. Usually, the deli people use cornstarch. It is a way of food management. Bags of shredded cheese can be a convenience, but had less taste.
where i live shredded is much cheaper per ounce by a lot same brand then the block so i rarely shred anynore for the reason...they noticed people did that and its too expensive
@@dianaschoen4485: Try one of those hand-cranked graters they use at restaurants; it doesn’t allow your fingers near the grating cylinder. (I’ve worked in professional kitchens for 40 years.)
I cannot thankyou both enough ...I'm learning so much ....I get organic veg and fruit and dry foods in bulk ...vegan ...but still struggling bring costs down ...but I'm learning from u guys ....how can I multi use with what I have already .... so im now thinking mung bean sprout multiple recipes for example ....thankyou thankyou
Being plant based I buy tofu and freeze any unused portions, defrost and use in many different ways. When cucumber is going just a little soft slice and fry lightly in olive oil with olives and tomatoes .
The "prepped foods" (like pre-cut up watermelon) are a god-send for people with arthritis. One of my favorite low cost "standards" is a vegetarian White Bean Cassoulet, made in a slow cooker.
Shop Asian, Hispanic, and other ethnic stores. Also stock up during various holidays. Dry beans, rice, and noodles, for example, keep for years. Tina, Al's wife
Our rotating cheap meal favourites are: Spaghetti Tuna sauce and Lasagna, potatoes with sour cream (quark + herbs), mixed leftover veggie soup, spinach sauce pasta (1 pck. frozen spinach + 1/2 Greek Feta cheese) or boiled eggs with potatoes and mustard Bechamel sauce. To stretch creamy sauces I also use starch + water/milk or cottage cheese as real cream is often too expensive now. I do agree about making smaller portions of meat or cheese to lower costs but with equal effect and taste. 😀👍
My daughter and I have found a recipe for quiche... which of course can have anything... which I'm using for leftovers (left over quiche 😂). I'm using the egg custard with what is left over in the fridge or freezer. I find this very useful when we just need eggs, half-and-half, cheese (always have) and spices. Put it together and I have lunch for the rest of the week (remote worker). Thanks for all the great tips. ❤
My older, local neighborhood gricery store will take the leftover poratoes, either mashed, tater tots, hash browns. Fry it up, mix in scrambled eggs. The meat added each day can be chrizo, sausage, ham or bacon. They make an early morning batch. Saran Wrap. Then under heat lamps. When they sell out for the day, then no more gets made. Big, fat, heavy, hot and they sell for $5 each. A scenic park is near, so with a container I purchase of oatmilk or lemonade, this makes an inexpensive meal. Costs under $10. Once I return home, I add water to stretch the oat milk, and also to the lemonade container.
Love these tips! My top way is cooking from scratch WITHOUT recipes. When I first when whole food plant-based I was literally relearning how to cook and recipes overwhelmed me. I just started prepping ingredients each week and made sure I had a stocked pantry and I assembled my families favorite meal types from those ingredients. Super simple and easy. I started calling them my Meal Maps and I created a fun binder with each type of meal and a "map" of ingredients to use then added our favorite combos as sort of recipe guides. My favorite way to cook now, ingredient based, not recipe based meals.
Winn Dixie is across the street, and they have buy one, get one free. Aldi's is a little farther, but is less expensive on some things. Publix is between Aldi's and Winn Dixie, and has good sales. I prefer chicken, fish, shrimp, turkey burgers and hotdogs. Once in a while Ill pick up a summer sausage (good for non-refrigerated lunch.
For my girls, anything in a tortilla is a "taco". This same concept goes for "sliders" and sub pizzas. I can get them to eat just about anything if its on a tortilla, a slider roll or a French bread. I do not buy those snack packs or pre-prepped foods. I make my own meals in a bag out of things we have in our food preps. In a way, my not having a vehicle really saves us money because we eat what we have in our fridge. I make meals and put them in containers and make a menu for my girls so they know what is in the fridge for them to eat and its already put together so it makes it even easier for everyone.
My daughter too will eat pretty much anything if it's put inside a wrap! It can be a game changer, it always seems to be the most popular dish we serve when we have students (it must be a teen thing!)
Llary and Hope I love your videos but the ones that I enjoy the most is when Hope makes recipes, salads , burritos, tortillas, lentils Burger OMG, everibody loves this Show, God bless you all my favorite Show
🌻Staple meal example: legumesallad made of the cheapest vegetables of the week. Toss in some wild herbs like wild leek or oregano. Dressing made of mixed sunflower seeds, garlic, lemon and Vater.
i’m so stressed out that i can’t afford survival anymore, i take the bus to the seaside to forage for food… if the weather is terrible then i eat bread w either butter or cheese to fill me up i’m working full time at the hospital and have worked other part time gigs but i just can’t cope with multiple jobs
If you work full time and still cant afford to buy groceries, please consider visiting a food pantry. Most food pantries do not ask about income. You need to eat to keep up with your health until you can come up with a more long term solution. Good luck!!
Your hospital that you work for should have employee program to help with food and more, at least look into it. Prayers for you. Also, local food pantries, check Lion's Club and local libraries too. You'd be surprised to find out more pantries in addition to churches.
If I find bananas on discount cart , I make banana bread , pancakes, cookies and cake for us and my mom , then freeze some for later .😊 I make lentil eatloaves on repeat and ofcourse spaghetti.
Using one strip of bacon and two eggs and frozen mixed vegetables I can make bacon and egg fried rice and everybody will eat this happily two days a week. The trick is to make it taste like restaurant fried rice. You must add a half teaspoon or less of toasted sesame oil, but one bottle will last a long time. I also recommend you put soy sauce in a spray bottle so that you can easily control the exact amount and not just glug a big portion into the dish. Also, another trick of mine is to make an omelette out of leftovers, I invented the pizza omelette years ago. Because when you had pizza and there were six children and the next day, there was only one or two slices left there was no way to share it equally So I would hack the slice of pizza into little cubes and put it in the blended eggs and scramble it up😂
I like clearance at Gerbes and watching for discounts there! I’ll match coupons with sales and if it makes since bulk up then! This determines my meal prep! I love Instacart especially when I get $50 or $40 off $100! I use online shopping to stick to list and get cash back! This week I prepared tacos chili and spaghetti! I bought bread and naan on sale for pizzas and sandwiches or egg sandwiches!
I make trail mixes and agree on making own meat cheese trays. I cut up my own veggies! I do prep foods only when on sale plus coupon bc I’m on go a lot much cheaper than eating out! We love pasta beans oats as staples! I found canned corn and pineapple.49 a can I stocked up! I love Amish stores too!
I'm in a different stage is life. All my married life I bought mostly only what was on sale. I wish I had been a better planner, but I still think I saved money by eating much of what was on sale or in my pantry. Now, I am alone and don't have much motivation to cook for just myself. Recently I bought a package of cut up squares of Cheese. Although it was more expensive I ate it, while I wouldn't have eaten anything without that. I'm going to buy less of a perishable product but won't be throwing out food that has gone bad. Besides that, I'm with my children more now.
Thanks for the reminders. I do most of these things myself. I am so intrigued by your carrot dogs. I just downloaded a couple recipes for carrot dogs and one for mini carrot corn dogs to try. Always learning something new. Thank you.
My husband and I are using those tips since our first appartment. Guests are always surprise we din't have a cabbage can. We don't need it since we almost throw nothing out and the very little remining brown things (it as go in a soup base) is throw directly in the outdoor compost bin.
Lentils and mushrooms are great meat substitutes snd stretchers. Eat less. Skip a meal or three and fast. Learn to love leftovers. Posting inventory lists (fridge, freezer, pantry) really does make a difference! Thanks, Hope, for all the 🥦 ideas. I ❤️ it and, it's my main veg.
I switched to canned vegetables, rice, beans. We cut excess snacks. My fiance is a snack on the go food type person. I started more home cooked meals. I thought of making frozen breakfast my kids can heat up for school. Can you freeze home made waffles or pancakest/french toast?
I used dumpster dive and find bagels and I still got cottage cheese in freezer I had found. I’d grab veggies and all shorts food thrown out. My local thrift store gives away bread every Tuesday! I love no waste food prep! I need do more food prep and clean out fridge weekly.
Love this advices. We always look at the reduced produce to see what we might be able to use to save money. Each month our grocery bills have shrunk as we’ve started to buy more from discount stores and discounted products. We make everything as tacos too! 😂🌮
I'm trying the focus on fresh fruits and vegetables after I looked up on Google and found out. How many of our foods actually have sawdust in them like parmesan cheese , macaroni, bread, cereal.. Cellulose is sawdust..Google.. even reports sawdust in flour
When we had no dietary restrctions i made it a point to try at least one completely new recipie per week; and to follow the recipie. If it was a dubious flavor mix, i generally used ut as a side or hearty side. If all failed, when everone is in agreement it IS a fail, i always had spaghetti sauce in the freezer or the emergency -use jarred spaghetti sauce on the shelf. New recipies often used iems languishing in the freezer, condiments in the fridge as a part of clean out effort, items on the current week's sale, or in season items. Typically the ingredients came before the recipie search.
Chili, vegetable lasagna, hamburgers and french fries, scalloped potatoes with bacon and peas, apple pie apple crisp, rice pudding these are all my daughter's favorites and I make these from scratch
I would take sine cans out the cabinet that I want to use that week. Make some chicken and use the canned peas, beets, whole potatoes, or scalloped potatoes.
Easiest way to lower grocery budget Is a detailed inventory of what you have on hand,shop loss leaders,sales,salvage foods. Cook very basic meals,and repurpose leftovers into entirely new meals. And note what goes fast and what ends up being thrown out
As experienced parents, would you guys be willing to do an excerpt about saving money with young children at home? We have 2 kids under 2 and sometimes I feel like I’m not sure what’s worth the time and effort to save the most money.
I'm in Germany but here kids under 2 usually love meals like rice or semolina pudding with canned peaches or apple sauce and cinnamon, you can offer them potatoes with sour cream (quark) or make some banana omelett or potatoe pancake. These are VERY cheap options but tasty and yummy too! I'm 57 and still love all of them. 😅
Great ideas here guys! Would love a video on thriftiness for those really pressed for time. I work 55+ hours per week and would love to incorporate your tips but need to be realistic about how long it takes. Thanks!
You might be able to enlist the help from a friend! I've done this, she had money and I had time to cook so we had a system of saving we both benefitted from.
My tips A, Have a prepping pantry ! B Pick up Clearance and Sale items first ! C. I cook for only one person BUT I no longer plan a menu . Meals are based on cmehat I find on sale or clearance. D. Take FREE items you can always share them with someone else. E. DO NOT BE PICKY ! !
