What are the cheapest foods you can think of?!

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>Well, I and my wife, when we were going to college, lived off of big HUGE pots of spaghetti and lots and lots tomato sauce. I grew tomatoes in the summer and canned them and had dozens of quarts in my kitchen cupboard. I also grew other vegetables and pickled, canned and bottled as well. I also went out and bought bulk foods at bulk food outlets which even tho expensive initially, proved cost effective when portioned out correctly. Lots of carbohydrates is what we consumed...and at that time, shrimp was not expensive. I also like pesant foods like corn polanta, pickled pigs feet (which I make the southern european version of that is not pickled from fresh pork feet)...I made my own breads...I have a big huge book on baking and making breads. Lots of soups which are rich and hearty and last a long time, can be frozen so you can pull them out of the freezer and heat real quick for dinners and lunches. Little or NO junk food which is expensive and does nothing for you nutritionally. I also did a lot of fishing when I could and cut and gutted my own fish that I cought (I live in Oregon, so fishing on the coast was a great passtime, cheap and at that time I could catch all the fish I wanted without any limit). Anyway, I fished and froze the fillets so we ate lots of healthy fish! I also went claming on the beaches when in season and also I collected muscles from the rocks which are delicious when cooked into a seafood jambolia stew and also they make excellent bait to catch fish with. I love going fishing, so my wife and I would throw a fishing pole and stuff into our rig and we would drive 50 miles to the coast at 3 AM in the morning, go out onto the mud flats and use a shrimp sucker which you stick in the mud as the tide goes out and it pulls the shrimp up out of the mud and you use the shrimp for fish bait. So there you have it. You have to be willing to eat poor mans foods and LIKE IT - and you gotta like fishing...and you have to love spaghetti dinners! LOL...

You can make a massive vegie soup or dahl or pasta and freeze it for the week and you have all your meals for less than $5.

*lentils (buy dry), brown onions, garlic, ginger & spices (spices last forever) = dahl
*dried split peas, carrots, leeks, potatoes & powdered vegie stock = soup
*pasta, tinned tomatoes, brown onions, garlic, dried chilli & kidney beans (buy dry & soak)

oatmeal & apples & sultanas
brown rice & banana & sultanas

These meals are healthy, have protein, vitamins and minerals and are low GI so you won't waste money on snacks. Drink water, not juice or soda. Dried spices last for ages and ages and add flavour to dishes made with cheap ingredients -- you can't afford fancy sauces and stuff!

Buy bulk markets, not supermarkets. Processed food comes in tiny portions and is waaay more expensive. The only thing I get from the supermarket is tinned home brand vegies for protein and pasta.

Don't forget that soup takes a small amount of food and stretches it. I also used tinned cream corn (cheap!) to fill out a soup and make it creamier with potatoes & carrots (nature's two cheapest vegies). If cauliflower is in season I'll add a quarter of that. Freeze and eat all week!

Or take one head of broccoli for a dollar, add a cup of boiling water and a teaspoon of powdered stock, whiz with bamix, add chili and voila -- healthy soup! Eat with small tin of baked beans on toast for protein.

i know you said you are in canada, and this is UK
(sorry but i cant see how it wont "translate" and be as helpful to you as it is to me)
food is generally more expensive here, than in canada, so this may help you out a bit at least
this feeds a family of 4, and follows every nutritional RDA, in vitamins/fat/5 a day etc
it has been medically approved and i dont think you will find a cheaper menu planner

it may give you a few good ideas, and lots you can adapt
and it has a vegi option ans well as a plan for meat eaters
http://www.cheap-family-recipes.org.uk/i…

have a look around, hopefully it will help you and give you some new and cheap ideas
it was devised by a woman who wanted her family to have a healthy balanced diet as cheaply as possible, without having to eat repetitive rubbish

Hi Chris, Oatmeal is definitely one of the staples for me when it comes to saving money. And if you cook it sloppy enough, you can enjoy it without milk. Milk is expensive! Yes good for you so don't go too long without, we need the calcium. The key with eating cheap is spices! A couple of pinches of cinnamon with your oatmeal and you don't need that much sugar.
Sometimes I will just buy a can of black beans for .80 cents(black beans are sweeter), heat that with some white rice and you get a lot of carbs, and protein from the beans! With that, a little salsa keeps it flavorful, and again cheap. Instead of things like gatorade or cool aid. Just cut up some lemon and put it in your water. It's much healthier and fairly cheap!
http://cheaphealthygood.blogspot.com/

bulk lettuce leaves. Find a bargain market that sells cheaper fruits and veggies. A bag of frozen mixed veggies- goes also well for fried rice. veggie stir fries- you can stirfry anything with soysauce. You can buy alot of frozen veggies and freeze them.
Bulk rice and pasta could last you for a good month. Buying those cheap canned pasta sauces- then you could add spinach, zuccini and other vegetables to them.

Stores own brand cereals
Packet or tinned soups.
Baked beans (ASDA sells them for like 18p a can!)
You got the right idea about pasta, what about noodles?
Potatoes last a long time - serve with salad, baked beans, cheap butter or cheese. Jacket potato, baked potato, roast potato, peel and microwave...
Frozen veggies are good.

Most stores have their own money saving brand. E.g. asda has 'smartprice' Look in the frozen section for their range of frozen fish and chicken (very good value)

Hiya Chris!
I would say root veggies! There is so much you can do with them; soup, casseroles, gratins, baked in oven, grind and fry them in a scillet. Or you may want to look on this recipe: <br><br><br><a href=http://answers.yahoo.com/question/"http://www.cheap-healthy-cooking4u… tight budget cassarole</a>
Hope you find many yummie recipes on the webb!

Cheerio,

Clarissa Horton

http://www.cheap-healthy-cooking4u.com

Ramen noodles, iced tea bags, kool-aid, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, McDonald's dollar menu lol

How bout eggs? Not sure what you have at your place but half boiled eggs can be done with a kettle of hot water. If you can cook then there are so many possibilities with eggs.

I was gonna say Taco Bell cuz the food is so F & F incredibly cheap. But you're Canadian

ramen noodles

Green Lentils

Dried Beans/lentils