Entire Food Budget: $300. How can I set up a month-long dinner plan?!
The hardest part, though, is organization. I need help PLANNING the meals. I actually watched The Food Nanny, who suggested having a Theme Night for each night of the week, which is helpful, so I like that. But I just can't get creative enough to think of what to do.
Suppers I've thought of:
Italian Night. 1) spaghetti 2) Minestrone (both meals would be with salad)
Crock Pot: 1) Chili (sides?) 2) Pork Chops (4) seasoned w/ onion soup mix & chicken broth (add veggie sides)
Foreman Grill Night: 1) Chicken with vegies 2) Burgers w/ homemade fries 3) Chili Dogs w/ Baked
Beans (using chili from crock pot)
What else can I plan? What can I do about a simple breakfast & lunch, so my husband and I don't starve all day? (I can't eat eggs, but he can.)
Answers:
Large amounts of rice seem good.
Crock pots of beans are excellent, too. Start them plain so you can adapt them into different meals later on. For example, if you do kidney or garbanzo beans, you can add them plain to salads, mix some into a chili, or flavor and add to vegetable mixes. Basically, you're padding your diet with beans so other foods can stretch farther.
I would also opt for casseroles, which can be stored and eaten later, rather than "fast" foods like burgers and hot dogs...but I understand kids are a challenge.
ALso, Angel Food Ministries is known for providing cheap, reasonably good food at a serious discount every month:
http://www.angelfoodministries.com/about…
here are a few other idea's that have been used around this household that could been added to your theme nights.
Beef stew: stew meat is cheap(especially if you just buy chuck blade steaks and cut them up). Serve with bread.
For the pork chops, a can of mushroom soup works for a mushroom sauce. Add spices to change flavour.
kabobs: (again using chuck blade steak and veggies)
If you see a big roast on sale(like 2 for 1), buy it. It can be cut into steaks, or slow cooked for many different meal ideas.
One family meal that is really cheap and very filling. Take ground beef, brown and break up into small pieces. Drain and simmer with a sauce.(bbq, or whatever you have that would taste good) Make a couple boxes of KD, add the meat, and make some steamed veggies as a side. Totally balanced meal....CHEAP.
Also depending on your cooking skill level, cut gap in chicken breast, dice up broccoli, mini cube
some cheese, stuff into chicken with herbs, egg wash, and dredge in flour or bread crumbs. Bake 25-30min at 350oF.
For breakfast, try fresh fruits(when available) with oatmeal or corn meal. It is filling and will give you energy for the day.
For more ideas, google the meat you are using for recipe ideas.
Buy in bulk. And buy whats in sale! For meats u can have the the butcher chop a large pork roast into chops and some in chunks for for stew. Same with beef. Large packages of chicken like the wing and thighs or whole and have the butcher chop it in peiecs. portion And freeze And plan several meals Around that protein. Buy rice and grains in bulk and its less costly in the long run. Buy a couple of pounds of potatos and onion. Then buy veggies bread and milk at the market once or twice a week. And you can cut a lot of cost. Freeze leftovers and take them for lunch later in the week. Also i make up a bunch of breakfat burritos and freeze them u can grab one nuke it and go.
Heres a few ideas for meals that so good but less expensive
chile Verde with tortillas rice and beans
tacos Or burritos with rice and beans
beef stew and salad
roast beef
baked chicken and mash potatos
chicken ala king with rice
Jerk chicken thighs and dirty rice
shepards pie (use hamburger)
for lunch
Leftover bbq roast beef sandwiches.
Chile verde burrito
epicurious.com has great recipes for these dishes.
Well, it might depend on where you live and how many children are in your family (and their ages), but with a food budget of only 300, I would think you would need more rice/beans and less meats (chicken/pork chops).
Whole chicken is the cheapest, and you can usually get whole turkeys on sale (especially after holidays). Stock up and freeze chickens and turkeys when cheap.
Add beans to the ground beef in the chili to stretch it.
Avoid processed/canned foods like onion soup mix. You can make your own, and make your own chicken broth/stock from the bones of a whole chicken.
Oatmeal makes a cheap breakfast. So do homemade muffins.
This is really a excellent idea, especially if you need to plan closely. My mother did this because my dad got paid once a month. Get your calender and start. When you know you'll have left overs, then you can plan to put something with them a few days later. Check out all the meal planner websites, and welcome the challenge. Try going out of the box for breakfast. Nothing says you have to have traditional breakfast food. Cereal goes a long ways, and oatmeal (the kind you have to cook) is really cheap. Try breakfast muffins. Learn to cook because when you cook it yourself, you save a lot of money. You might even look at websites for menus made in the 1930's during the depression. It can be done.
