You got a lot for $80... THe only things I think that you can substitute are the lunch meat (Lunch meat is so overpriced) Perhaps instead of lunch meat you could buy bone in chicken and cook it yourself. The difference is 6.99+ a lb for lunch meat vs 2.99 a lb for bone in chicken
Also for the prepared hummus - I usually see it priced for 2.49 - if you have a blender/choppper or food processer you can make hummus w/ a can of garbanzo beans .99 and some garlic, lemon, salt/pep and olive oil.
Keep up the good work! You can do it!
Lunch meat really is very overpriced, I agree. I definitely could get my own chicken.. . thanks! I would love to make my own hummus, too. That would be mad cool.
You had some really good ideas, thank you! I was wondering if you could share some of your soup recipes, I love soup. And I would love that recipe for the quinoa stuffed peppers... never had quinoa but I would love to try it. I would love to have some meatless meals, but my BF has to have a meat at every meal. Maybe if I start replacing with beans, he will learn to like it (or else, mwhahaha.) I have a budget of $180 a month for a family of two (baby isn't eating solids yet.) What sort of stuff should I get with my remaining $52 to last throughout the month? Help me, Budget Master, lol. I love the buy one, get one chicken breasts sale, they always have 'em at Food Lion although it's $12 for a pack, which I think is kinda ridiculous but, it lasted somewhat last month. (But that's because I had to go buy a bunch of cheap noodles and $25 cent macaroni boxes, and I can't do that this time around if I'm to stick to the SBD. ) There's gotta be a way that I can spend the remaining budget money wisely but I'm scared to even attempt it without more counsel.
When I met my husband, he was definitely opposed on principle to no and low-meat meals (and let's not even talk about what the native Wisconsin boy thought of "imitation" meats and cheeses).
Although he wasn't nearly as "slab o' fatty red meat," as he or I thought. He loves fish, and in that respect he has been a good influence on me. Especially since we've moved to Wisconsin where good fish is plentiful. But he also loves Hamburger/Tuna Helper like pasta dishes and tacos, burritos and taco salads.
When I first started the hamburger tvp mixtures, he would have no part of it. When I "snuck" it in he didn't notice, and was ok with that, but reluctantly. That is until it passed the "buddy test" when I had to use it to extend the taco meat for an unexpected crowd of his friends. Now he's a true convert, and reminds me to get tvp when we're running low. Though I have to admit, I think part of the reason he is so "helpful" in this regard is he thinks of it as a way to eat larger portions of "meat-like substance") and still lose weight. He'll even eat an occasional boca burger. I recently made a ham salad (he calls it sham salad) in which I replaced 3/4 of the ham with tvp and wheat berries simmered with ground ham in a bit of ham bouillon flavored broth, and then cooled to make a traditional ham salad with sweet relish and mayo (a lot less mayo was needed because of the moisture of the mixture). I unintentionally made too much (I thought), especially since I thought I'd be eating it myself, but hubby loved it.
I think the secret to converting him to healthier ground meat extenders (I use tvp, wheat berries, cracked wheat, quinoa, beans and lentils, ground chicken) was to do it gradually. If I added white beans to spaghetti, at first he thought they were too "weird" and would pick around them but not complain because the ground beef was still in there. When he started eating the beans, I started decreasing the meat. Same with tacos, he likes beans in tacos, so I just stated gradually adding more tvp and more beans.
I developed the scoopable freezer bag technique to be able to save money and time, and to be able to "sneak in" healthier ingredients easily. Cooking a large batch of beans or ground meat takes nearly as much time as making a small batch, but by freezing it and making sure it freezes crumbly so I can just take out what I need prevents waste and using lack of time as a reason to make a less healthy or less frugal choice. When I was working, I would even freeze pasta this way. With several bags of frozen "speedy ingredients", I had dozens of meals I could pull together in 10 minutes or less.
Even when I choose frozen veggies in the store, I make sure the veggies in the bag are not "block o' veggie," so it's easy to pour out just what I want to use.
I buy a LOT of ziploc bags, and now that we have a dishwasher will even consider washing them. (A tip I found in the book The Tightwad Gazette that I NEVER thought I would use).
I do seriously recommend borrowing it from the library. I found my copy of the three volume set at a garage sale, and I refer to it a lot. Some of the tips you will find are a bit crazy (the tip to swish milk in a jam jar to freezen into a popsicle for kids made me a little nauseous - not sure why as I've definitely eaten stranger things). The frugal websites are also fun to read and helpful. You won't want to use every tip you read, but it helps you realize how many ways there are to save money.
I wash our Ziplocs as long as they haven't had raw meat in them. We go through about 25% of what we used to. I also use washable dish rags instead of paper towels for cleaning the counters. I bought a pack of 7 for about $2 and wash them once a week with our bath towels. I also make my own cleaning spray. 1 bottle of spray here is about $4 and I can make ours for about $0.50 a bottle. For tough stuff and raw meat, I just dilute bleach in warm water and pour that into a spray bottle. I can get bleach for $0.50 a gallon when there is a sale.
Cutting corners in other areas can mean big money into your food budget.
I think it's rather shocking when you start looking for budget-stretching ideas just how many you can find and where you find them. Things you never thought of as luxury items suddenly seem a huge waste of money. Everyone is different as to what they're willing to substitute or sacrifice and what they're not, as well as how much time and energy they want to put into the "hunt" but again I have to say how addictive it becomes.
I also think how ironic it is that much of what I've found myself doing, seems rather "radical" by modern standards and yet was common practice and doing otherwise would have been odd only a few decades ago. I remember as a kid when helping Mom clean on Saturdays always wanting to get to the rag bag before my brother so I didn't have to dust and clean with underwear. We both wanted to use the old t-shirts, not the underwear. The cabinet was full of butter dishes and Cool-Whip containers, not tupperware. Even people who hadn't had babies in the house in 40 years still had baby food jars for storage in the kitchen and the garage (and the bathroom and for sewing and crafts).
And egg cartons, why on earth did people save egg cartons? I mean when I was a kid, everyone saved them. It's not as if they were really had that many uses, at least not to warrant the six foot tall stacks of egg cartons in eveyone's garage.
My husband used to be completely 100% opposed to having no meat meals....and then I started implementing no meat meals, and his only other option was to cook for himself. Guess which way he went.
$52 for the rest of the month is tight, but if you use small amounts of meats and different forms of proteins. Frozen veg instead of fresh, etc....you should be fine. You might have to make a couple small sacrifices, though.
$180 a month having meat every night and eating good, healthy foods is going to be tough. If it is absolutely impossible to up your budget, consider changing the way you eat.
I'm looking at the Food Lion circular online right now. Sales ads come out on wednesdays and most produce and meat is freshest on Wednesday as well. I would definitely recommend you getting an MVP card and signing up for a free online coupon service.
Pick up a few dozen eggs. They make for a cheap and healthful breakfast and snack (hardboiled). You can even make them into egg salad with a little celery and onion and have them for lunch.
How does bf feel about fish? Salmon burgers or tuna burgers are great when seasoned correctly, and cheap when you make them with canned salmon or tuna.
lentils make great...everything. We love lentil tacos (lentils cooked down with cumin and chile powder - used in place of meat - resembles refried beans) and taco bake made with lentil taco mix, 1/2 lb. ground beef or turkey, and black beans. If a recipe calls for an entire pepper, use a half pepper - or a 1/4 bag of frozen peppers.
If bf absolutely will not eat something sans meat, make the meat go farther by adding filler. frozen vegetables, beans, etc. You will spend less by making your meat go a little farther.
Use google to your advantage! Search low budget meals - many of them are healthful and inexpensive.
My best advice is to plan ahead. Whenever I go to the grocery store without planning ahead, I always spend twice as much as I wanted to. Go with a list and stick to that list. Resist the urge to buy packaged snacks - they cost entirely too much if you look at the per ounce price. Look at the allowed list
for South beach and only choose snacks and other foods that are inexpensive. Buy store brands whenever possible. Blocks of cheese are expensive, only buy one. Don't buy lunch meat - really - it has too many nitrates to be healthy, and the natural lunch meat is expensive. Roast your own meat and slice it up. You can control the ingredients 100% and it's cheaper.
Freeze meals. If you make a lasagna (there is a great veggie lasagna recipe here) freeze half for another night. There is less chance of the leftovers going bad.
I am a college student on a budget and I allow myself $30-35 per week to spend on food and I have no problem sticking to it. I actually spend less money on food because I am not eating subway 1-2 times per week and grabbing a cup of coffee 3-4 times per week.
The first week I went on phase 1, I used the book as a refrence and put together a make shift menu for the week. I ended up spending $100 and FREAKED out. It turned out that I vastly over estimated how much I would be able to eat and the food lasted for 3 weeks. With a minor trip to the grocery store thrown in.
Now I buy food for the week, I'll eat eggs, egg substitutes, or quiche cups with decaf coffee and v8 juice for breakfast which tends to be cheap...I also snack on string cheese and Almonds which are inexpensive. Then have cottage cheese as a snack. You won't eat as much as you think you will, the food is very filling. I also like previously mentioned tend to cook something and eat it for the next 4 days.
I think one of the best things you can do on this diet is to make sure you EAT all the food you buy, don't let leftovers go to waste and don't let produce or dairy go bad. This oddly keeps me on plan at times. I'll want to cheat but feel like I can't becasue I have a salad in the fridge that is going bad.
When I met my husband, he was definitely opposed on principle to no and low-meat meals (and let's not even talk about what the native Wisconsin boy thought of "imitation" meats and cheeses).
Although he wasn't nearly as "slab o' fatty red meat," as he or I thought. He loves fish, and in that respect he has been a good influence on me. Especially since we've moved to Wisconsin where good fish is plentiful. But he also loves Hamburger/Tuna Helper like pasta dishes and tacos, burritos and taco salads.
When I first started the hamburger tvp mixtures, he would have no part of it. When I "snuck" it in he didn't notice, and was ok with that, but reluctantly. That is until it passed the "buddy test" when I had to use it to extend the taco meat for an unexpected crowd of his friends. Now he's a true convert, and reminds me to get tvp when we're running low. Though I have to admit, I think part of the reason he is so "helpful" in this regard is he thinks of it as a way to eat larger portions of "meat-like substance") and still lose weight. He'll even eat an occasional boca burger. I recently made a ham salad (he calls it sham salad) in which I replaced 3/4 of the ham with tvp and wheat berries simmered with ground ham in a bit of ham bouillon flavored broth, and then cooled to make a traditional ham salad with sweet relish and mayo (a lot less mayo was needed because of the moisture of the mixture). I unintentionally made too much (I thought), especially since I thought I'd be eating it myself, but hubby loved it.
I think the secret to converting him to healthier ground meat extenders (I use tvp, wheat berries, cracked wheat, quinoa, beans and lentils, ground chicken) was to do it gradually. If I added white beans to spaghetti, at first he thought they were too "weird" and would pick around them but not complain because the ground beef was still in there. When he started eating the beans, I started decreasing the meat. Same with tacos, he likes beans in tacos, so I just stated gradually adding more tvp and more beans.
I developed the scoopable freezer bag technique to be able to save money and time, and to be able to "sneak in" healthier ingredients easily. Cooking a large batch of beans or ground meat takes nearly as much time as making a small batch, but by freezing it and making sure it freezes crumbly so I can just take out what I need prevents waste and using lack of time as a reason to make a less healthy or less frugal choice. When I was working, I would even freeze pasta this way. With several bags of frozen "speedy ingredients", I had dozens of meals I could pull together in 10 minutes or less.
Even when I choose frozen veggies in the store, I make sure the veggies in the bag are not "block o' veggie," so it's easy to pour out just what I want to use.
I buy a LOT of ziploc bags, and now that we have a dishwasher will even consider washing them. (A tip I found in the book The Tightwad Gazette that I NEVER thought I would use).
I do seriously recommend borrowing it from the library. I found my copy of the three volume set at a garage sale, and I refer to it a lot. Some of the tips you will find are a bit crazy (the tip to swish milk in a jam jar to freezen into a popsicle for kids made me a little nauseous - not sure why as I've definitely eaten stranger things). The frugal websites are also fun to read and helpful. You won't want to use every tip you read, but it helps you realize how many ways there are to save money.
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I've found some really good TVP and soy products in the store, like morningstar farms, which I've loved for years. But I don't know where to go to buy straight up TVP... is it sold at places like Walmart and Food Lion and stuff??
I've seriously got to try the scoopable freezer bag techique. Definitely. Awesome advice! I've also got to try washing my ziplock bags.
I'm heading over to Google right now to google this websites. I love to google things.
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I. I also make my own cleaning spray. 1 bottle of spray here is about $4 and I can make ours for about $0.50 a bottle. For tough stuff and raw meat, I just dilute bleach in warm water and pour that into a spray bottle. I can get bleach for $0.50 a gallon when there is a sale.
I do that same exact thing, bleach water mixture is way better than Mr Clean, and stuff like that, cause although Mr Clean apple cleaner smells fabulous, it doesn't disinfect. Bleach does the job.
Quote:
I think it's rather shocking when you start looking for budget-stretching ideas just how many you can find and where you find them. Things you never thought of as luxury items suddenly seem a huge waste of money. Everyone is different as to what they're willing to substitute or sacrifice and what they're not, as well as how much time and energy they want to put into the "hunt" but again I have to say how addictive it becomes.
I also think how ironic it is that much of what I've found myself doing, seems rather "radical" by modern standards and yet was common practice and doing otherwise would have been odd only a few decades ago. I remember as a kid when helping Mom clean on Saturdays always wanting to get to the rag bag before my brother so I didn't have to dust and clean with underwear. We both wanted to use the old t-shirts, not the underwear. The cabinet was full of butter dishes and Cool-Whip containers, not tupperware. Even people who hadn't had babies in the house in 40 years still had baby food jars for storage in the kitchen and the garage (and the bathroom and for sewing and crafts).
And egg cartons, why on earth did people save egg cartons? I mean when I was a kid, everyone saved them. It's not as if they were really had that many uses, at least not to warrant the six foot tall stacks of egg cartons in eveyone's garage.
I need to start saving my margarine containers. My mom used to do that. I haven't even thought of it recently until you brought it up. Thanks! No idea what the egg cartons are for, though. That's kinda weird, lol!
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Melanie -
My husband used to be completely 100% opposed to having no meat meals....and then I started implementing no meat meals, and his only other option was to cook for himself. Guess which way he went.
$52 for the rest of the month is tight, but if you use small amounts of meats and different forms of proteins. Frozen veg instead of fresh, etc....you should be fine. You might have to make a couple small sacrifices, though.
$180 a month having meat every night and eating good, healthy foods is going to be tough. If it is absolutely impossible to up your budget, consider changing the way you eat.
I'm looking at the Food Lion circular online right now. Sales ads come out on wednesdays and most produce and meat is freshest on Wednesday as well. I would definitely recommend you getting an MVP card and signing up for a free online coupon service.
Pick up a few dozen eggs. They make for a cheap and healthful breakfast and snack (hardboiled). You can even make them into egg salad with a little celery and onion and have them for lunch.
How does bf feel about fish? Salmon burgers or tuna burgers are great when seasoned correctly, and cheap when you make them with canned salmon or tuna.
lentils make great...everything. We love lentil tacos (lentils cooked down with cumin and chile powder - used in place of meat - resembles refried beans) and taco bake made with lentil taco mix, 1/2 lb. ground beef or turkey, and black beans. If a recipe calls for an entire pepper, use a half pepper - or a 1/4 bag of frozen peppers.
If bf absolutely will not eat something sans meat, make the meat go farther by adding filler. frozen vegetables, beans, etc. You will spend less by making your meat go a little farther.
Use google to your advantage! Search low budget meals - many of them are healthful and inexpensive.
My best advice is to plan ahead. Whenever I go to the grocery store without planning ahead, I always spend twice as much as I wanted to. Go with a list and stick to that list. Resist the urge to buy packaged snacks - they cost entirely too much if you look at the per ounce price. Look at the allowed list
for South beach and only choose snacks and other foods that are inexpensive. Buy store brands whenever possible. Blocks of cheese are expensive, only buy one. Don't buy lunch meat - really - it has too many nitrates to be healthy, and the natural lunch meat is expensive. Roast your own meat and slice it up. You can control the ingredients 100% and it's cheaper.
Freeze meals. If you make a lasagna (there is a great veggie lasagna recipe here) freeze half for another night. There is less chance of the leftovers going bad.
"My husband used to be completely 100% opposed to having no meat meals....and then I started implementing no meat meals, and his only other option was to cook for himself. Guess which way he went." Lol!
Yay, tomorrow is Wednesday, so definitely gonna check out the new Food Lion sales. Hope they have some of that chicken breast on sale. I didn't know you could look it up online, actually I'm gonna head on over to food lion's website as well. Then I can get an idea of what sort of stuff to buy. I wonder if Piggy Wiggly has something similar, their meats are usually even cheaper, gotta check that out too.
I love egg salad, excellent idea. Yesterday though I ate so many hardboiled eggs that I felt nauseous but I've been feeling sick anyway, since starting this diet. Hope this "flu" goes away soon.
I actually don't think I've ever tried lentils... I know what they are though, definitely going to try them. Thank you so much for your advice. BTW- is that you in your avatar picture! You are gorgeous!
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am a college student on a budget and I allow myself $30-35 per week to spend on food and I have no problem sticking to it. I actually spend less money on food because I am not eating subway 1-2 times per week and grabbing a cup of coffee 3-4 times per week.
The first week I went on phase 1, I used the book as a refrence and put together a make shift menu for the week. I ended up spending $100 and FREAKED out. It turned out that I vastly over estimated how much I would be able to eat and the food lasted for 3 weeks. With a minor trip to the grocery store thrown in.
Now I buy food for the week, I'll eat eggs, egg substitutes, or quiche cups with decaf coffee and v8 juice for breakfast which tends to be cheap...I also snack on string cheese and Almonds which are inexpensive. Then have cottage cheese as a snack. You won't eat as much as you think you will, the food is very filling. I also like previously mentioned tend to cook something and eat it for the next 4 days.
I think one of the best things you can do on this diet is to make sure you EAT all the food you buy, don't let leftovers go to waste and don't let produce or dairy go bad. This oddly keeps me on plan at times. I'll want to cheat but feel like I can't becasue I have a salad in the fridge that is going bad.
How do you make those quiche cups? Sounds delicious. Good advice!
Quote:
I've just got to say that you ladies are amazing!!! Your suggestions and ideas are awesome and such a support. Great job ladies!!
I completely agree. Amen to that!
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The cheapest place to find the tvp granules are health food stores. Even those that charge crazy prices, usually sell the bulk tvp fairly reasonably.
And the egg cartons - the only place we ever used them was for mixing paints and craft projects in school (and sometimes at home to copy the craft projects we'd done in school). Craft projects that only used them because the teachers knew everybody had access to them. Tuna cans were also quite popular for school craft projects. And dead leaves.
I'm with Kaplods. I use the egg cartons for a few things actually....one, for sorting our craft supplies (they are great for mixing paint as well) and two, for starting seedlings in the spring before I can plant them in the ground. I have a stack a couple feet tall.
I get TVP at the local health food store. I think I pay about a dollar a pound for them...maybe a little more, but not much.
I told DH that I included them in ground meat mixtures the other night. He didn't believe me. HA!
Ooh, never thought to use them as paint containers.. that could come in handy when my son's older.
The only health food store in this area is owned by my dad's horrible, horrible ex girlfriend... She can't stand me (feeling's oh so mutual), but I'm going to go anyway, because she has to be nice to the customer. Customer's always right! Plus her store has other cool stuff as I recall, that I could use on the SBD, like toasted soy nuts, and organic stuff.
Last edited by Fat Melanie; 06-18-2008 at 02:35 PM.
Melanie -
I checked at my local Albertsons yesterday and they did carry TVP, although it was prepackaged and not bulk. The easiest to find will probably Bob's Red Mill brand. I'm not sure if you have Albertsons, but it might be worth it to check any upscale grocery stores you have...it might be an alternative to going to see that woman. Also, since the 'green' movement became popular, I've been seeing more and more organic stuff in the regular supermarket. It definitely makes it easier on me when I don't have to make two (or sometimes three) to get everything my family needs. Also, if you want your local grocer to carry something - just ask! My grocer has been more than accommodating when it came to special orders. Mind you, I buy what I've ordered all the time, so he stocks it on the regular....but asking can't hurt!
Also, I left a comment on your latest blog entry....if you so care to check it
I am going to date myself but the reason why our moms saved egg cartons is that quite often the local farmers would "come to town" and sell fresh farm eggs so if you wanted fresh farm eggs (and who wouldn't?) needed something to put them in, right? That is the reason why.
However, like everything in life, once you start collecting something, you don't know when to stop.
I made a file folder called "Cheap Eats" just based on all the good advice here.
PS I am the old Pamatga. My computer got hit by lightning and 3FC website didn't recognize me when I went to log on from this computer. Hope that squares things away of who I am.
We don't have any Albertson's, (not anywhere near me, not sure if they have them in NC), but I will check Harris Teeter, they're the highest quality grocery store I can think of. Food Lion just added one whole section devoted to organic stuff... it's awesome. Thanks for your comment on my blog, I've heard of fitday but never used it. About to make an account, it sounds like it will be very helpful to me.
I would love to make my own hummus, too. That would be mad cool.
I love the buy one, get one chicken breasts sale, they always have 'em at Food Lion although it's $12 for a pack, which I think is kinda ridiculous but, it lasted somewhat last month. (But that's because I had to go buy a bunch of cheap noodles and $25 cent macaroni boxes, and I can't do that this time around if I'm to stick to the SBD. ) There's gotta be a way that I can spend the remaining budget money wisely but I'm scared to even attempt it without more counsel.
Also, since the 'green' movement became popular, I've been seeing more and more organic stuff in the regular supermarket. It definitely makes it easier on me when I don't have to make two (or sometimes three) to get everything my family needs. Also, if you want your local grocer to carry something - just ask! My grocer has been more than accommodating when it came to special orders. Mind you, I buy what I've ordered all the time, so he stocks it on the regular....but asking can't hurt!
This has been a great thread ladies
