A fun one that someone told me about is buying the thick mini-loathes, well hoagies, and making pizza on those. Just add whatever you want on them and throw them in the oven until they are done how you prefer. It would give a child something to do, and they turn out really well! I always just ate a small salad while they were toasting.

Krissytokyo said:
fun one that someone told me about is buying the *thick mini-loathes*, well hoagies,

Yeah that is what people from Jersey call Philly's term for subs. Them rolls be angry like the city of Philadelphia!

This is not advice, I just wanted to brag that yesterday I bought a 10lb bag of taters for 99 cents. I am set for awhile.

What the shit. Where can I get said bag!?

Ralphs!

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED

fukkake said:


Yeah that is what people from Jersey call Philly's term for subs. Them rolls be angry like the city of Philadelphia!

Hahaha, I wish! It should be.

fukkake said:


Yeah that is what people from Jersey call Philly's term for subs. Them rolls be angry like the city of Philadelphia!

I have no idea about your northern foods! The south may rise again!

But damn. I thought I was going somewhere with that. You crushed my dreams Mom!
:(

Okay, so last week I put together a staples+ list and got the things I felt I would use most right away, based on this thread and polls of others who are good in the kitchen. Made a few nice chicken dishes over the past week, but obviously didn't give myself enough variety because after 4 days, I was bored of everything.

Of course, that probably comes with everyone in the house being sick and be feeling lazy and worn out.

Keep on keeping on though! Will be doing a second, more menu based shopping trip this weekend. Will keep posted!

I eat fairly cheaply and the way I force myself to have variety is to buy one weirdo thing at the grocery store once a week

A pile of brussel sprouts or a big huge wedge of stinky cheese. Something a little oddball that expires fairly quickly so I have to discover a bunch of ways to use it right away.

Krissytokyo said:
A fun one that someone told me about is buying the thick mini-loathes, well hoagies, and making pizza on those.

loaves, sweetie

a lot of what I would say has already been covered here. definitely invest in a crock pot or a dutch oven (hur hur) so you can get the most out of cheap cuts of meat.

buy meat when it's on sale and freeze it. freeze your leftovers. use ziploc freezer bags. those vacuum sealers look like a good idea but personally I would hesitate to add a single-use device with proprietary expendables (ie vacuum sealer bags that don't work with any other device) to my workflow, especially when I'm trying to work within a tight budget.

rice costs as much per pound at an Asian market as it does at a supermarket, but you're getting better rice at the Asian market.

avoid single-use kitchen gadgets.

join a CSA if it's available and within your budget - you can end up with a ton of greens and a variety of vegetables that you might not have thought to try.

tomato sauce. peanut butter. bread. laundry detergent. these are things you can make at home.

some things are not worth skimping on generics. for me, it's Cheerios. figure out what those things are for you.

eppythatcher said:
loaves, sweetie

For what it's worth, I sound like a retard when posting anything from my phone too.

Well, i'm not sure what else i can suggest that hasnt already been, when you find a good sale, but alot of it and freeze it (meat wise). Rice and pasta are also good fillers.

You can survive on potatoes and milk alone. They have all the necessary minerals and vitamins you need, so i suggest having those around.

growing up we didnt have alot of money, and my mom had like, 10 meals she would cycle through but it usually went M-Th different meals, F-leftovers, Sat-eat out/take out (usually pizza, little ceasers is $5 for a pizza). Sunday would be leftovers from take-out/previous week.

Also, pack your lunch for work. Some of my fav lunch staples are PB&J, Tunafish on ritz crackers, Salami & Cheese pitapocket, soup (gotta remember a spoon though!). Also if you bring chips to work, buy a big bag and put them into a ziptop bag to take to work, its cheaper than buying the little bags (and if you really wanna save money, you can re-use the ziptop bag for the chips for the next day).

the thread is about eating while poor, not eating poorly.

Ok, I made a ham bone soup from the christmas ham that we had with your simple veg mix of celery, carrots, onion, garlic, parsley and dried pinto beans. That fed the four of us for about 4 days! Yesterday I made a split pea soup with pretty much the same ingredients excluding the ham bone and I'm assuming it will feed us for another four days! All of these ingredients are so cheap, we bought the veggies at a Mexican market (always cheaper there compared to an Albertsons or Ralphs grocery) and the dried beans/peas are always cheaper and go way farther than canned beans! We are trying to eat healthy and save money too!

Vitamins aren't a substitute for eating correctly but few of us eat perfectly.

Multivitamins are a good way to fill in nutritional gaps for five to ten cents a pill. A couple bucks a month gets you a multivitamin every day. Has always seemed like a no-brainer to me.

Pam's post was awesome!

Other tips - Matthew and I go grocery shopping every week and set ourselves a weekly budget. It's about $50 a week, but sometimes goes up to $70.

Before we even go shopping, we lay out when we're working that week. Matthew is always off Monday/Tuesday, so he cooks those nights. Nights where we're both working are usually quick nights or Lean Cuisine. Days when we're both off we'll fix meals a day or two ahead. So once you figure out when you have your free time for fixing food, get to down to making a list!

Only buy veggies for meals you know you're going to fix. Look at recipes, look at serving sizes. Can this be reheated or remade for later in the week? A pork tenderloin can be a main course for dinner one day, and then sliced up for sandwiches later in the week.

Once you actually get to the grocery store, STICK TO YOUR LIST. No seriously, stick to it and don't go off of it at all. And have someone keep track of the money spent while you put things in your cart. Matthew is usually in charge of the calculator and scratching things off the list. Once you're done with your entire list - AND ONLY IF YOU HAVE EXTRA - go get yourself one treat. ONE TREAT. Or perhaps something frozen you can stick in the freezer for a week when you don't have as much money.

Other tips: Buy beans, grains and nuts using the loose-bulk area of your grocery store. Where you just open up a plastic bag and pay per weight. Pad Thai calls for peanuts but fuck if I'm going to buy a whole can of nuts! A quarter of a pound is all I need and it's so much cheaper.

Save everything. Ends of veggies and bones. Throw them in a freezer and make stock with it. Bananas going bad? Throw them in the freezer and use it later to make "ice cream" or banana bread.

That's all. But also, STICK TO YOUR LIST.

I am bumping this because I want to know if anyone has more ideas for this or anymore particularly cheap and delicious recipes they have.

Oh man, a GREAT way to use apples is to slice them up with some onions and sautee them in a little olive oil sprinkled with salt and pepper. You can use apples and onions on cheap cut pork chops or tenderloins when they go on sale! It is delicious and goes a long way.

Also, when they have the bag of apples, buy it. You can cn make hand pies, apples sauce for putting in oatmeal and a ton of other things! (apple butter for toast, cinnamon apple bran muffins, apple slaw, salads...etc)

You should always have celery and carrots. They often have whole chickens on sale. You can use them in a crockpot with the chicken to make stock and gravy for a chicken dinner that will last you all week long! I always make stock when I make a whole chicken. I freeze it or keep it for the left over chicken to make chicken noodle soup or chicken and dumplings!

Celery & carrots make your mirepoix for pretty much any dish!

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirepoix_(cuisine)