So, the end of the month sucks for us. My family lives on a fixed income, so right now all we have in the fridge and cupboard are crackers, tortilla shells, hotdogs, butter and other condiments and instant potatoes. Half of these things are from food pantries anyway. We don't have any extra cash, so if anyone knows a creative meal to make with these things that could also be considered healthy, I'd appreciate it. I have a few apples left as well. I hate hotdogs, but I have a feeling that's what dinner will be tonight. -sigh-

I've been very productive with exercise though, so that makes me happy! I'm getting stronger and don't have to take as many breaks. I'm even running and I love it. It's hard though, not having much protein in my diet at the end of the month. I get very lightheaded after I exercise at times because of it. I'm also kind of upset, because my scale is lazy and only wants to work half of the time. I was at 314 the other day, and when I weight myself the next day after that, it said 320! WHAT THE ****? It's a digital scale and it was $20, one of the more expensive ones there, they did have cheaper ones. It depresses me when the numbers don't go down, even though I can feel the other benefits of exercising. Am I just doomed because of my diet?

Do you have any canned or dried beans or lentils? Beans + chili powder + tortillas = bean tacos/burritos around here. Yes, they're better with onions, lettuce, salsa, cheese, etc., but you make do with what you've got. Add an apple and you've got at least 3 food groups.

If you don't have any, buy some at the start of next month and throw them in the back of the pantry, so you have something left for the end of the month.

I don't know if the site will help you, but she has some good low-cost ideas, hillbillyhousewife. com.

Oh, I also forgot to address this. Your weight is going to fluctuate hugely over the course of the day. You drink a big glass of water or a couple cups of coffee, you're up 1lb. You eat a meal and start digesting, you're up a couple more. You head to the toilet, you're down a lb or two. Eat a high salt meal and you'll be up a couple of lbs for a day or more, not because of fat gain but because of water retention. Intense exercise also makes you retain water as your muscles repair themselves. TOM = holding onto water weight.

I only weigh myself in the mornings currently just to avoid panicking over this totally normal variance. I'd like to say I don't weigh every day, but I'm not there yet.

I can't offer much help for this month but if you can allot even $10 next month you can stockpile quite a bit of dried beans and rice. I also buy large bags of frozen veggies, especially when they are on sale (this only works if you have a freezer, though. Canned isn't as cheap and aren't really as healthy either but are still better than nothing).

I also buy canned soups when they are on sale - they tend to be high in sodium but can add a lot of variety to a beans and rice diet. There's a store near where I work that sells dented cans and packages that have been made unsaleable in regular stores - maybe they got dropped too many times or something sticky got spilled on the outside. I've gotten some GREAT deals there - canned tomatoes for 10 cents each, fancy soups for a quarter. Sometimes they have nothing and sometimes you hit the jackpot but it's always worth checking out.

Put a hot dog on a tortilla shell, add some condiments, and voila! hot dog taco time. Just eat one or two, depending on how many calories you burn daily. Or make the instant potatoes with water and add cooked hot dog chunks (hot dog casserole). Add condiments as needed.

The reality is there is nothing "healthy" you can make out of those ingredients. Just be creative with the condiments and only eat as much as you need to stay within your plan. I'm on the dole as well, the end of the month SUCKS.

I'm sorry to hear about your situation. Here's just one suggestion for a meal that might help. Could you buy a head of cabbage in the next week? They are usually very cheap.

I absolutely love stir-frying shredded cabbage and tossing it with cut up hot dogs -- you throw in spices and maybe some mustard. Even if you are generous with oil or fat in the cooking to make it rich, it's low in calories (and sooo tasty). I've seen sauteed apple slices suggested as a side dish for it, too.

Google hot dogs and cabbage - there are lots of recipes.

Such a good idea! Cabbage is in season right now and the grocery store I shop at had it for $.39/pound. That's pocket change!

I second or third, or whatever, on stockpiling dried beans and canned goods.

And cabbage/hotdogs could also be seasoned to taste like a lot of things. Add some pasta, you could have cabbage and noodles! Yum!

I grew up insanely poor, and my mother was the queen of coupons/budgets/planning. I never knew we were so poor till I was.. 14? LOL. We ate very cheaply, but well. I'm not budgeted now as an adult, but I still shop like I am, lol. We always have things in the pantry just incase... Beans, rice, canned veggies. I have a chest freezer and I stock up on frozen veggies when they are 10 for $10. I have boxes and boxes of mac & cheese, pasta, and beans. I have jars of pasta sauce, all bought on sale. I stock up on chicken boobs, and those rolls of ground turkey by the lb. I shop 2 or 3 stores to get the sales. I'm nuts.

Maybe sit down with your budget and plan. Do you have an Aldi near you? Or something similar? I love that I can go in there with a $20 and get all my veggies for the week, and canned goods/cheese/pam. They even have spices!

And I third the cabbage too. Buy 2 heads, heck, 3. I put cabbage in a lot of things to bulk them up without adding cals. I boil some along with my pasta noodles and go halvsies on pasta & the cabbage, and you couldn't tell a difference.

Plan, plan, plan. And clip coupns.. And get internet coupons, since youre on here, you have access. Love coupons!

Good luck for April!

Next month, try stocking up on items that are not too expensive, but healthy. Like whole grain pasta, tomato sauce, rice, beans, frozen veggies, peanut butter, chicken drumsticks, potatoes, etc. You can make those items stretch!

Don't get discouraged! With the exercise and plenty of water, you WILL lose weight!

Thank you for all of your suggestions. I really appreciate it. I get very discouraged at the end of the month, because we live on hot dogs and other crap that's cheap, so we buy it for times like these. It really sucks. I'm going to try and stock up next month though on the whole gain pasta like suggested. I'm not a fan of cabbage, but I'll definitely check it out. I'd rather eat cabbage than hot dogs, that's for sure! I've put in two job applications so i'm hoping to hear something soon! I'm dying to start working so I don't have to worry about this crap as often as I do now. I'll just show up somewhere and start working, they'll have to hire me! lol.