DH was laid off on Friday. I need to go to the grocery store and I am trying to think of meals that will be healthy but also low budget. I am used to him being gone during the week so it will be the first time except for weekends that I will cook for both of us.

Hi KC. I am sorry to hear about the news. After reading jillybean's post I thought I could help you if you want.

Would you like to email me and I can help you come up with meal ideas and make a grocery list? If so, feel free to email me.

If anyone else is interested let me know I would love to help!

I'm so glad you found this. I was going to look more later, but I had to leave earlier and didn't have time.

Dawn

Here is a link to the Saving Dinner Frugal Menu Mailer, the mailer is pretty inexpensive for the year-they provide a grocery list/menu/recipes for a week at a time. This one is to help cut back your grocery spending. I havent used this one but do use the regular Saving Dinner menu and the meals are great. I do on occasion make substitutions to lower fat/cal(most stuff is pretty good on fat/cal anyway). You can get a sample menu with recipes and grocery list on the site before you decide to purchase the menu mailer(I think it costs like $40/yr, I could be wrong).

http://savingdinner.com/menu_mailer/frugal_mm_order.html
Jill

Here is one Budget Dinner thread I found.
still looking for more

I also saw a lot of Budget Dinner ideas in the "Single in the City" thread. Even if your not single you might could use those suggestions.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: BrenauMom,

Bump up for jacqui

I noticed this weekend that veggies are a heck of a lot cheaper at Costco than at the supermarket. I got a huge tub of Organic Salad Greens for $3.50--and it's enough greens for 6-8 meal-sized salads. I got six big peppers for $5, and a tub of grapes for $5 (my kids will go through that in a week easily). I bought my soy milk there too--$6.50 for three half gallon containers, which beats my supermarkets price of $6 for two.

So you might want to try a warehouse store like Costco, Sam's Club or BJ's. Some of them offer trial one day passes so you can check it out for free.

alli

Bulk foods stores! I went to mine today and had forgotten how much better the prices are. They'll sometimes be listed as spice markets, bulk foods markets, you might have to check the phone book. The one I shop at has all kinds of pasta, beans, grains, flours, sugars, nuts, etc for so much less than anything I can find packaged. The advantage is that if I have a good amount of extra money, I can buy a large bag of red beans or whatever, but if things are a little tight, I can buy just enough for dinner.

D

To reiterate, beans are really cheap, and you can use them w/rice, in a burrito, in soups, as spreads on sandwiches, in salads...

Pasta is also economical, even if the WW variety is a little more, a little still goes a long way and is filling.

Dawn

I am a military wife and I think frugal is my middle name. DH and I lived on beans and rice. Sausage and rice, and eggs for a very long time. Then I learned the whole chicken trick. Normally a whole chicken is way cheaper than prechopped bits. I buy in bulk with meats and then break them into smaller portions for just the 2 of us. My freezer is always packed with meats that have dates written on them in sharpie marker. It is important to use the date thing or else you loose to freezer burn. Then I just plan around what I have on hand. I know you and DH will be fine he will be working again in no time at all. Keep your chin up.

The whole chicken Idea can also work with pork tenderloin. I've streched it for a week before for the two of us. My local groceries frequently have them buy 1 get one free.

I also make a lot with black beans. Bay scallops, depending on season can be very affordable and go a long way.

I keep frozen veggies on hand, because there is less waste.

Laurie

Gret ideas so far. At our local farmer's market, they have blown out deals near the end of the morning. At my local market, slightly overripe fruits and veggies are often 80-90% off. Much of the time I can freeze, roast or just use the food the same day.

Sorry to hear about your dh's layoff : (

I echo using beans and eggs as main ingredients in your meals. Try buying your grains in bulk and whole chickens as well.

Welcome to the site! I'm sorry to hear about your Dh's lay off. I wish you both the best of luck and that he will find an even better job soon.
I find that ground turkey is usually less expensive than ground beef and I like it as well as beef in casseroles, tacos and the like. Omelets are also a very tasty cost wise meal. You can use left-overs or what ever you have on hand. Toss up a side salad and you have a quick and healthy meal.

Hi and Welcome,

My dh was laid off for 6 months while I was in college. Once a week, for a special treat, we would go to McDonald's and split a sundae - ahhhh the good old, days. We were poor, but thin!

I echo D's suggestions. You do not need to go on the store brand boxed macaroni 'n cheese diet!

Dry beans/lentils are cheap. Lucky for you it is summer and vegs are in season and less expensive!

I used to roast a whole chicken, pull the meat off the bones and use the meat for flavor and stretch it all week -

1. bean burritos w/ a little chicken
2. pasta topped w/ marinara and a little chicken
3. Baked potatoes topped with cottage cheese and peas and a little chicken
4. stir fry w/ chicken
5. lentil/veg curry w/ a little chicken
6. vegetable and chicken carcass soup

Wishing you dh good luck on his job search!

Denise

I had a friend ask me for some budget-friendly ideas not too long ago, so I went back to the email I sent her, and here are the links that I found for her for ideas, tips, and things that are just good to know:

http://www.betterbudgeting.com/frugalrecipelist.htm

http://www.justpeace.org/casino.htm

http://www.health.qld.gov.au/ActiveAte/documents/19041.pdf

http://www.seedsofknowledge.com/steak.html

http://www.cheapcooking.com/recipes.htm

Some things we did when on a tight budget (there's only 2 of us, so the ideas might not work for a family):

Buy a whole chicken. . .it's way cheaper than breasts or just pieces. Roast it one night, then you'll have. . .dinner of chicken legs & fresh vegetables & beans the first night; the next night, shred the thigh meat and put it into a soup with the leftover beans(which should make enough for 2 dinners, plus 2 lunches the next day); the next night, reheat the breasts with a fresh vegetable mix, and make extra vegetables to add to your soup the next week.

Some other things I learned. . .

Produce stands sell fruit & vegetables a LOT cheaper than grocery stores. Meat markets (butcher shops) sell meat & poultry cheaper than grocery stores (and better quality, usually). If you live near water, fish shops near the docks will often have fresh fish & shrimp for much, MUCH less than grocery stores.

Ethnic markets often have things like breads, pitas, and bulk items cheaper than the grocery stores. I can go to an Italian market down the road and get a HUGE loaf of fresh-baked bread for $1.50, and canned tomatoes for less than the grocery store sells them. They have olive oil that you drain into a bottle yourself for some obnoxiously low price, and always seem to have SOMETHING on sale in the fish department.

If something's on sale in a fairly large quantity (the packages of 12 chicken thighs come to mind), buy it. Use it. Freeze what you won't use within a day or two. Eventually we had enough stockpiled that I could go to the produce market 2 or 3 times a week and the grocery store for staple items and be done with it. The stockpile of meat really, really saved us considerable amounts of money. And we still do it, I guess out of habit

Each week, I'd list what I had on hand and first design the menu around that. If I had bacon, eggs, frozen peas, canned tomatoes, and potatoes. . .well, heck, looks like we're having bacon & eggs one night, potato & pea frittata the next, and vegetable soup with crumbled bacon the next.

It takes more planning, but the lessons I learned when we were really, really struggling have paid off huge dividends in the shopping area. I'm a picky shopper, I make sure I get my money's worth, and I still frequent the produce stand and meat market that made our lives so much easier.

I hope that he's able to find work again and that this is just a temporary bump in the road for you all.

D

Beans and rice are good, inexpensive and cooked right, very healthy. You can add additional vegetables or small amount of lowfat sausage.

maddie