We are in a bind right now. And, I'm looking to cut costs in any way that I can.

We usually eat a lot of casseroles, but I'm just clueless how to get enough food for my bottomless pit son, my snacking daughter, my MAJOR meat eating husband, and myself on only $30 a week.

What do you do? What do you eat? Menus? Recipes?

Do you have an Aldi's around your area? We were tight a few weeks ago and went grocery shopping there. We spent $45 there and it lasted us a week.

Our family snacks alot so the major expense was some of the snacks for the kids and dh to take to work. Crackers, granola bars, yougurt, pudding, canned fruit cheese strings stuff like that.

We ate alot of pasta, mac n cheese, sandwiches for lunch or breakfast at dinner time. and some tuna casserole.

I second Aldi's!!

It is basically generic brands but still very good and VERY affordable! Their produce is CHEAP and fresh!! I have never bought their frozen product though because it is 55 miles away and I am always worried things will be thawed out before I get home.

If you have a bread machine you could make all your breads with it, do you have a local farmers market? How about a butcher shop?? I find that the meat is a lot cheaper and better tasting!!

We eat alot of chicken and hamburger based meals which saves a bit on our meat bill, and most snacks, breads etc are made from scratch instead of store bought.

I know there are a few mamas here that do EXTREMLEY well with the grocery budgets, maybe they will post too!

Do you have a bakery thrift store nearby? I buy whole chickens when they're on sale (the cheapest here I can get is .59 to .69 a pound) as many as they'll let me lol. I roast one upright on a can in the oven or on the grill we eat on that for a day or 2 then make soup in the crock pot w/the carcass and serve over noodles w/biscuits. there's 3 nights right there, have scramlette one night, tuna casserole another make a pot of chili and the next night put the leftovers in a pot w/ a can of tomato sauce and 2 cans of water to make chili soup.

I cook dried beans in the crockpot often and freeze what i'm not going to use that day

frozen fries are one of my familys favorite things but i make them from scratch now in the oven, as long as we can afford ketchup noones complaining lol.

when peanut butter goes on sale I buy 24 jars, same for tuna and other easy to store in the garage staples. I find interesting things at Big Lots like cheap pasta and canned stuff in brands I've never heard of.

It's a bit of an obsession for me right now so I'm writing a novel, sorry! hope this helps someone

It is hard to do and eat healthfully fo that amount. Many of the cheap foods are high in refined carbs. Make sure if you are cutting your food bill that you leave room for plenty of fruits, veggies, and whole foods. Good luck!

this is what we do:

Chicken quarters go on sale here a lot during the summer, so we stock up good. I have a deep freeze. They usually go for .19 a pound. So, that's 1.90 for a 10 lb bag. My monthly budget is $100 (5 people, me, dh, and 2 toddlers, 1 bf baby) Sooo... I would use about 20 to buy chicken quarters. Then I seperate then into legs and thighs at home. Throw some in a crockpot (4 quarters) makes 2 servings of chicken and noodles, some for chicken soup, some for casseroles, chicken salad, barbeque, etc.

Breads, the local store here I can get bread for .59 or on sale for .25 sometimes. They aren't the healthiest bread, it's just cheap white. But sometimes that's all I can afford at the time.

So far milk and cheese etc I get on wic

Hamburger I stock up on when it hits .89 a lb. I usually buy about 10 lbs which last me a while. For a good snack, check into making cheeseburger rolls. They're like hotpockets. You can freeze individually and it takes 2 minutes in the microwave to thaw. 1 lb of burger makes about 12 rolls. www.notjustbeans.com under sample recipes.

Pork chops, steaks, roasts, ,etc, I stock up when on sale. I always spend around $15 on produce and fruits. My family doesn't like fresh veggies, so I stock up on the frozen when it goes on sale.

I guess that's all I have to say, except rice and noodles. Use those and breads as fillers. They will fill you up more than everything else.

Most of all, good luck to you!

Scratch cooking! That will save you lots!! Do you have a produce store near you? We have quite a few- and let me tell you it is great! We still eat tons of fresh veggies & fruits, and it is less than half the price of the supermarket. For example, yesterday I spent about $14 for the week, for the three of us, well four if you count me eating alot cause I am pregnant, lol.

Anyway, I got- several heads of broccoli, 10 bananas, lots of baby carrots, 3 lbs, potatoes, 2 lbs onions, 2 bunchs of asparagus, 8 tomatoes, 4 plums, strawberries, lettuce, cucumbers, and more stuff I can't think of right now. Anyway, this was about twice what I spend in the summer- for the same amount of food.

Add to that some pasta, breads, and some meats, and you are good to go!

Do you get wic? That would help a ton as far as milk eggs, cereal & such go.

Don't forget about spaghetti. It is really cheap. I buy the cans of sauce,Hunts I think, it is .97 a can, spaghetti noodles are 2/1.00. I onlu usually need one box of noodles. so it is only $1.50 for a meal for 9 people! Of course I always buy premade frozen garlic bread and it costs more than all the other stuff. But you could make your own too. I don't always put hamburger or meatballs in my sauce, I prefer it plain.
Mindi

There is an ALdi's here in town, but it's about 30 minutes on the other side. Probably not worth it in gas money.

I always forget to buy canned fruit. That would be better than no fruit, right? The kids eat apples and bananas right now. We've got canned green beans and peas, frozen broccoli, fresh carrots and celery and peppers.

It's gonna be lean here for awhile (which is OK...I need to lose weight anyway! If we dont' have ice cream, I can't eat it, right??)

No, we're not on WIC. We are above the income restrictions for it. We are just screwed right now. Medical bills that we weren't anticipating (darn HMO insurance! I'm still trying to fight them on this!) and no work for me during the month of December really drained us. I turned down the temperature in the house and everyone got sick, so I put it back up to 70 now.

Thanks for all the advice. I have that "Not just beans" cookbook, but it's usually so full of processed stuff that I don't use it. My family won't fall apart if we eat like that for a couple months, right?

Missy, don't you HATE being above the income for many things, yet below to make it easily? Sigh...........

Well, to relate this to the Income tax thread- maybe you could take the maximum exemptions for DH's check? That could get you some extra spendable money. And if you like getting a big refund back, you could always change it back once you are comfortable again.

Pasta, potatoes, eggs, bread and beans are fairly inexpensive things that you can do a lot with. I also buy shredded cheese in bulk and freeze it so I always have it on hand...we use lot's of cheese.
The key is to make your own food and not buy convenience foods. I always make home-made cookies or pudding for my little snackers.
Also, Dollar General has great prices on their food. They don't have a huge selection, but what they have is CHEAP. We go there for canned items since the nearest Aldi's is 30 minutes away.
Good luck!

for breakfasts. Usually, pumpkin/raisin. I make a dozen and we snack on them during the day. 1 can of pumpkin will last for 4 batches.

Polenta...basically cornmeal mush. I like to flavor it with herbs and boullion and a little cheese. Sometimes, we eat it hot and creamy..think grits. Sometimes, I put it in a baking pan and in the fridge...when it is solid, I cut it into triangles, put on a cookie sheet and bake. The kids love it that way. Very cheap and goes great with soup, beans, etc... A whole food.

Beans and rice...buy dry beans, throw in the crockpot with some spices and water. Cook all day. Really cheap and really good for you.

Y'know...frozen veggies are more nutritious for you usually. Most fresh got picked before it was ripe and the nutrients didn't get to form properly. Frozen was picked when it was ripe and tended to right away. Cheaper and no waste. Course...I like to eat fresh myself. Go through the ads and buy what's on sale.

Make your meat go a long way...just use a little in spaghetti, soups, etc... We eat frittata sometimes for dinner. Kind of like a baked omelet. No meat and dh usually doesn't complain. Serve it with those cheap muffins..lol.

homemade pizza. Again...really cheap! Homemade bread. You can use whole grain flours and get something fairly nutritious for not that much money.

Yeah...you can eat for $30 a week. For a long time, when I had the energy and time to plan for it...I tried to only spend $20. We live in Wash. DC/Balt. area and food is kind of expensive..

Missy, if you will go through and list exactly what is in your cabinet and freezer, I can help you make a menu plan. The ideas you are getting are great, but they aren't very balanced as far as veggies go. If you would rather email it, thats fine, but listing it here might help get some menu ideas going :) That's usually how i start the month, with cabinet inventory. Muffins with veggies added (carrots or zucchini are easy ones) make great snacks and help deviate from the raw carrots with dip as a snack. You can also do pumpkin muffins. Liam wants attention, so I will type more later :)
heather

first off ((missy)) this has got to be hard.....:(

Now, I'm going to give you a lot of advice here, so if any of it doesn't apply or offends, please realize that I'm just throwing a lot of ...noodles at the wall to see what sticks yk? ;) So I'm not trying to be mean at all.

First off, I second the cheaper stores/cupons thing, but you probably knew that one.

Then, I'd look around in my cupboards and see what we had, like us, we have tons of rice. So we don't need to buy any for one, and for another, it's cheaper to get stuff to go with the rice than to make a whole other meal.

Then I looked around to see what I could cut out, and what I had to have for sanity. I know coffee's spendy, but I have to have it. Meat (which we do eat here) can go, or we get the most meat for the least amount of money. Plus I realized that I had a lot of stuff in there that I didn't realize would go together to 'make' anything yk? I've made bread and pretzles etc because I had a lot of yeast and flour.

Then I recalled as much as I could from my nutriton class and knowledge my mom had from raising me very poor.....like, you can live w/o meat, but you do need a protein, so beans+ rice = protein kinda stuff helps. You're not going to be able to eat fresh produce probably, so get frozen. It's second best, usually has all it's nurtients and there's not usually all that salt (like canned).

We get the cheapest stuff, like giant peanut butter, which can last more than a week and is cheaper per pound even though it's more spendy at first.

Stuff that's filling and cheap, potatoes etc. You can also cook some things a lot of ways to break up the boredom (like rice and potatoes etc) Do you have any really old cookbooks? They'll have tons of recipies for potatoes and rice and such.

I'm sure you're thinking about wic, foodstamps and the like, Humiliating I know but you gotta eat. I have to apply for a special thing for our foodstamps because I can't get there, some states have the app online (washington does!)

I really hope everything works out mama!
jessica

Wellll, I vote you post those ideas and recipes HERE Heather....cause I need help too!!!!!! (o:

Vegetarians cover your eyes:


Does your dh hunt?
mine does though he hasn't in years. We did get a whole bunch of venison from his co workers who he helped them build a deer stand.

I don't know if you like to cook, but, that's part of it. Buy nothing processed. I shop organic foods almost exclusively from a food coop, or at sales at regular markets. I have also found that many discount stores sell tons of organic food, esp pasta & tomato sauce & paste.

Cheap organic foods that are quality:

Dry beans & legumes of all kinds
Dry brown rice (you add spices)
Whole Wheat flour & other flours
Oats
Pasta
Pop Corn to air pop
Peanut butter

With some of this, you can make anything- cassaroles, pizza, soups, stir frys- anything. Brown rice or noodles with make a very hearty meal add you only need to add a small amount of meat.

You can also make cookies, muffins, granola bars etc from these ingredients. Kids don't need processd snacks. They aren't really good for them, yk?

Produce
from a coop or buy the in season veggies & fruits. Carrots & potatoes are usually cheap. If you live in a warm climate, you can prob get high quailty protein from avocados faily cheaply. Some parts of the country also sell eggs fairly cheaply and they are a bang-up source of things kids need to grow (if you are not a veggie).

What I can't buy if I am cutting back on food spending:

String Cheese
Any sort of processed food-- like Annie's shells or Amy's canned soups
Granola bars
Packaged cookies
Frozen organic meals like

If you have any strage, you can buy things like flour very cheaply in 25 lb bags. Just freeze it for 24 hours (if you live in a cold climate, the back porch will do) and then place in a cool safe place away from critters.

If you are open to buying non organic itmes, I have found that BJ's sells bulk cheese very cheaply. I have had great luck freezing shredded cheese.

Find a place to buy whole chickens and ask the butcher to cut it up for you. WHole chickens are cheaper than pieces. I buy organic chicken from Whole Foods and they cut it up, if I want. But cooking a whole chicken for soup or to freeze is simple. If you are a vegetarian, or only buy organic foods, it's a lot harder, of course.

But if you buy whole foods, even if not organic, you can feed a family healthfully, if not organically, on what you have suggested.

I agree with looking for a day old bakery source. If your family eats a lot of bread, day old bakeries are good bargains (sometimes cheaper than baking it yourself). In the past I have been able to buy whole wheat bread, although not organic.

Some books that I found really helpful are : The Complete Tightwad Gazette & Cooking_More_With Less Mennonite Cookbook by Doris Longacre.

Scratch Cooking, and bargain hunting, and cutting out most processed foods are part of the answer. Good luck! You can do it!


Laurie

growing up my parents seporated when I was 12 (they got back togeter when I was 13)

we lived on Mac and cheese we got hot dogs (YUCK) on Sundays.

Mom got WICK at the time so it got the milk, eggs, cheese and stuff.

We had Peanut butter and jelly for lunch EVERYDAY!!!

IT was the same thing day in and day out.

But, I was talking with a friend who is in the same place you are right now. she gets the roman noodles (they are 5/$1.00)


Good Luck!!!
I can't wait to start my garden in the spring (we moved here in the fall we had no garden here and we left the garden at our old house :(

Couple of ideas from my poor student days. . .

buy a few different varieties of frozen veggies ( there's usually a generic available), and use them in things. A lot of the things that are cheap are not veggie rich, yk? We did:

Mac & cheese with brocolli and peas

Ramen noodle soup with peas, corn and spinach

Beans and mexican spices with a spoonful of tomato paste, spinach and corn

Pizza (crust from scratch, but lost my recipe) with brocoli (we found that you can make a tasty sauce with 2 tbsp tomato paste with enough water to make it the right consistancy. I would buy a BIG can and freeze it on a cookie sheet in tbsp chunks. when froaen hard, put in a ziploc.) MUCH cheaper than a can of sauce. and some of the sauces are barely more than this. . .you pay for the water.

You could add meat to any of these if you feel you need it. . . try adding a little, because these dishes go a long way.

then, at the end of the week, throw 1/4 lb of chix or ground beef in a big pot with the leftover veggies and a can of broth, and whatever rice or pasta you have, and you have soup.

Now, I try to use 1/2 beans in a lot of meat dishes to stretch them and make them a little healthier. I do a huge pot of beans in a crockpot overnight, and freeze them in 1 cup portions. I mash them and add to:

Meatloaf - surprisingly good

any ground beef mexican type dishes - if you like beans, you can get away with using the meat as a garnish here

Kidney beans are good in tomato sauce over pasta - with or without meat.

For snacks? We do apples, bananas and pears in the am, cut carrots, celery, and cucumber in the pm. this can be a good place to make up for the shortage of fresh veggies at dinner. I know that frozen are just as healthy or healthier, but they're limp, yk?

Dessert - smoothies! I buy whatever frozen fruit is on sale, and plain yogurt in the big container - puree it all! if the fruit is still frozen, it will be frosty, like a shake. This is where I try to get berries into out diet in the winter, 'cause they are sooo healthy. You can add sugar at the begining, b/c you probably won't be used to the flavor, but try adding a tiny bit less each time. The kids munch graham crackers with these, but they are pretty filling on their own. . .

My dh works for Wonder/Hostess and he says the thrift shops there sell the bread way cheaper than at the grocery store, but its mostly fresh bread.

They dont reshelve the bread that is close to expiration. Its easier for the company to use that as a write off so the bread that is in the thrift shops are from the stores that order too much and dont need it all, it ends up in the thrift store fresh!

You might want to look around and see if you have a Wonder Bread thrift shop in your town and you can always tell the freshness of the bread by the date on the package!

DH has been unemployed about every other week so heres what we have eaten. If you need a recipe LMK.
breakfast lunch dinner
Day 1: cold cereal tunafish sand chili
Day 2: oatmeal roast chkn stir fry
Day 3: eggs and toast meatloaf ramen noodles
Day 4: cold cereal shepards pie Chicken noodles
Day 5: pancakes quesadillas spaghetti
Day6: grits hash pbj
Day 7: french toast veg. soup potato enchiladas
Also If you spring for a roast you can have it all week long.
Get the biggest roast you can
Day 1 have pot roast Day 2 Barbequed beef Day 3 beef and noodles Day 34beef, rice and gravy Day 5 manhattans I usually make the roast then make all the other entrees up and freeze them that way we can mix them in with the other dishes. I know how the economy is lately so I HTH.

Hamburger and potatoes can go a long way. Also, you can get a 25 lb bag of rice at Asian food stores for $9-18 . (yes that's 25 lbs) If you fill up on rice it helps. Beans are cheap and go well with rice. They're a good source of protein, too. My dh won't touch them, but the kids and I eat them.

Check out Gary Paulsen's Beat the System from the library if you can.

I shopped there when we first moved to Missouri because I thought it was cheaper as well. However, you will find the meat, veggies and fruit (fresh) are not really great and they have a TON of processed foods that will tempt you to buy them because YES, they are cheap. Bottom line is you can get alot of food for the $, but, not alot of healthy food, and if you are on a low budget, you need nutriton from those $$$$$.

I think you may have a Gordons Food Service, check them out, they have AWESOME prices and better choices for food. I also would cuess there are fodd co-ops in your area since you are near a college town...any co-op Mama's who can help Missy find this out? She is near Kalamazoo Michigan.

I am going to second alot of ideas...rice (brown), potatoes, peanut butter, dry legumes (hey split pea soup with potatoes and a bit of ham is great as is potato soup!

Lots of soups, stews, rice dishes may be in your diet for a bit. I know you can cook awesome, so maybe try to focus on enjoying the cooking instead of worrying about the $ will help you. Oh Missy, I wish I was there so I could give you a hug, I totally know what you are going through. If things get really bad (though I have a feeling they won't) please check out and see if they have a local food pantry. I had to do that years ago, and yes, it was very embarassing, but, it was that or starve the kids....alot of people fall on hard times..never be afraid to ask for help when you need it. BTW, do you still have a paypal account?

Originally posted by AttachedToThree
Pasta, potatoes, eggs, bread and beans are fairly inexpensive things that you can do a lot with. I also buy shredded cheese in bulk and freeze it so I always have it on hand...we use lot's of cheese.
The key is to make your own food and not buy convenience foods. I always make home-made cookies or pudding for my little snackers.
Also, Dollar General has great prices on their food. They don't have a huge selection, but what they have is CHEAP. We go there for canned items since the nearest Aldi's is 30 minutes away.
Good luck!

Mama, you are always full of good advice!

xoxo

The easiest thing to do is adapt what you normally eat, taking into account whats in your cabinet of course. If you can, make a trip to Sams and stock up on the basics-- beans, rice, flour and yeast are all super cheap there. You can usually get great deals on cheese as well. No idea if you still have a kitty, but food and litter are much cheaper there as well. DO not fall into the trap of their frozen food section-- their convenience foods are very $$$. They have large bags of frozen veggies and fruits that are a good deal. The large cans of tomatoes and such are a good deal, but need repackaging-- you can use tamatoes as the base for a ton of different dishes!I usually open them and freeze them in cooking portions-- I use large ziplocs to conserve space, but you cna use anything you have-- tupperware and whatever else-- just don't use aluminmum foil with tomatoes-- the acid reacts with the foil. Root veggies like potatoes, carrots and onions are cheaper than others. Sams has large packages of romaine hearts (6 of them, for a little over 3 dollars-- i think-- we have been buying lettuce through a veggie co-op lately). I suggest getting root vegs and then getting frozen-- maybe a few bell pepper if they aren't really bad up your way-- Sam's usually has a pretty good deal on a bag of 6 of these. This time of year in MI, the fresh veggies aren't really gonna be all that fresh or good anyway-- when May comes I notice that there is a Farmer's market there-- I know this is beating an old drum, but go to it-- food really is much cheaper, as farmers compete in price for vegs that are in season. Yogurt is cheaper to buy in the large container-- you can add frozen fruit to make it a tasty treat :)

I can give you recipes, but if they aren't foods that your family normally eats, then they wont do you much good, y/k? There are ways to adapt everyday foods to make them healthier-- I can help you do that if you like :) We are in a neverending search for simplicity with our meals-- I am bad about eating out due to time constraints.

Our menu for last month had lots of Indian dishes, a Thai dish, quesidiallas, spaghetti sauce (that inculdes lots of veggies), chili (also with vegs), vegetable soup, some nights we just do giant salads with bread.

Post some of the foods that you usually eat, and lets see how we can adapt it to be both cheaper, and more whole food :)

heather

Miserly Moms has GREAT tips, too! :) Your library may have it.

meal at my house costs $6.00 or less for dinner. Lunch is usually leftovers for the whole family or something simple and inexpensive for the kids. I made tortilla soap tonight (2 cans of beans = .99) 1/2 chicken $1.75, tomatoes - .75 (mine where from my garden though) green chilies - .55, 1 onion - .25, cilantro - .50. That feed a 14yo boy, dh, myself, michael and Elizabeth. There is enough left for dh and all of us for lunch tomorrow - it was all from scratch and only cost $4.80. You could add in a package or 2 of cornbread mix at .33/ea or make it from scratch for about .15. So if you made scratch cornbread that would put the whole meal at $4.95! Not bad. If you need help with cooking ides and stuff, pm me. I have a homemade chicken pot pie that is to die for and feeds an army for about the same $$ as this meal.

OH, don't buy cans of veggies or fruits - either buy fresh or frozen you get more for your $$ that way. You can buy inexpensive fruit in the freezer section add it to generic yogourt and viola - tasty and healthy snack. Bake graham crackers, they won't be perfectly shaped like the ones in the store, but kids don't care. Also, if you can swing 1 trip to SAMS - you can get HUGE bags of raisens and other healthy snacks for the same prices that the regular sized containers are at the store. It is really amazing how much more you get at Sams for your $$. Especially on cereals like oatmeal and cheerios!\

Edited to add: That you can freeze tomatoes, applesauce and such! I buy the HUGE sizes from sams and then portion them out into baggies and freeze them. Also check out the price of frozen ground turkey. It tastes better than beef and is better for you. I have changed over almost completely to this and my family doesn't know the difference. It is .99/lb here.

well i would love the pot pie recipe!! puleeaaze??

We are also having a very tough time right now and so I have gotten pretty good at eating cheap...

I have been making all our own bread, which is not only lots cheaper, but also a ton more yummy!! I have made this spread for sandwiches which is really good, just take a cup of cooked beans(or canned if you buy canned) and mash them in a pan with a little water, garlic powder and oregano and serve on the homemade bread...my little ones LOVE this and so do I. I add a little shredded carrot for veggie or a shredded apple for sweet and a change. Again, scratch cooking helps a lot. I went shopping yesterday and bought enough for the month...except the occasional need for apples and bananas and 1 jar of soy nut butter for $4!!!:eek: due to peanut allergies....and it was all $103 and that leaves room in my budget for the soy nut butter(1 jar per month) and the apples, bananas and carrots each week.

Veggie fried rice is a great meal to have...dinner one night and lunch the next day...
2 cups raw rice cooked as directed, 1 egg for each person in the family, 1 cup cooked beans, 1/2 bag thawed frozen peas/carrots and soy sauce to taste. I even make tortillas to wrap the fried rice in the next day to make it a little different for fun.

there are a ton of beans and rice recipes that are super yummy but don't cost a ton to make. fruit breads are a good dessert to have on hand if you can swing them. good luck and I have tons of recipes if you are interested:) LMK

Wow i'm really impressed by these! :) My first thought was "can't be done" but i guess i was wrong!
Sue

Wow, I have gotten some great tips! I am going to hit Big Lots and Dollar General tonight while dh is at work.

We make our own bread, very cheap, about 60 cents a loaf and it's sooooo good.

We make our own yogurt. Even plain yogurt in a quart container will cost around $2. If you make it yourself it is 70 cents. You buy a big container of Dannon plain yogurt for starter...freeze what you don't use in 5 days in an ice cube tray then put the cubes in a Ziploc for starter later, because apparently the organism freeze ok but lose potency in the fridge after 5 days. I have a yogurt maker, you can probably find one at a thrift store or garage sale cheaply, but it's not needed. You just have to keep the container of milk and yogurt starter warm for 4 hrs. You can use a crockpot with a heating pad under it. Just use a thermometer to make sure it is at 108-112 F the whole time.

Here are the basic directions. First you take either 1 or 2 qt of milk and scald it -- bring it up to 180 F. Then allow it to cool to 108-112 F. Pour about 6 tbsp of it through a strainer (so any hard parts or skin is kept out) into the container you're incubating it in. Add 2-3 tbsp Dannon plain yogurt for 1 qt, 4-6 for 2 qt and stir really really well until all is dissolved and mixed. Then pour the rest of the milk through the strainer into the incubating container.

Keep covered at 108-112 F for 4 hrs. Then put in the fridge to set for 8 hrs. That's it! :) You can sweeten with maple syrup, honey, sugar (if you are on a budget a little white sugar will be the cheapest option). And put in the blender with frozen fruit and a splash of juice for delicious smoothies!

Here's some more info:

http://www.americaninsurancedepot.com/help/21.htm

If you google for "make yogurt" or "homemade yogurt" you'll find tons more sites with ideas for incubating, instructions, etc.

We make ours with whole milk (kids need to pack on the weight in this house, LOL). I have it for dessert with maple syrup and a little vanilla extract. It is better than ice cream!

My other tips echo others' replies: beans, rice, homemade pizza, buy in bulk, WIC is excellent, we just got on it, I'm so sorry you make too much. :(

Ramen noodles are good, you can also go to an Asian market and get rice noodles very cheaply, just for variety from eating rice or wheat pasta. Look at your library for Cooking More With Less, it is an excellent resource.

Good luck...I'm sorry you are in such a tight spot, Missy.

OK......

Boil 1 whole chicken in the largest pot you have (mine is 6qt) fill a little past 1/2 with water. While chicken is boiling add boulion cubes 2-6 depending upon brand and strength. Add 1 whole onion chopped up. Add celery and carrotts. I usually add a couple of each depending upon what I have on hand. Add salt, pepper, poultry seasoning, tyme, rosemary (probably 1/4-1/2 tsp each) and garlic (i use a LOT OF GARLIC) all to taste, DON'T TASTE TILL THE CHICKEN IS FULLY COOKED!!!!! After chicken has boiled remove and cool. Add anywhere from a handful - 2c of the following.... corn, peas, green beans, and about 3 HUGE potatoes cut up. Basically you are adding whatever you have and there is no science to this. If you have lots of carrots but no or little beans then that is what you add. Break chicken up into pieces and return to pot. You could actually save the legs for a lunch for the kids. While everything is simmering put 1 pie crust in a pie pan and cook for about 6 mins. at 350. This will keep the bottom crust from getting soggy. Now get out your corn starch. Mix cs/h20 until you have about 1/2 a coffee cup full of a thick mixture. Slowly start adding this to your mix. When the mix is super thick stop adding. Remove pie crust from oven. Laddle the mixture into the pie crust and put 2nd crust on top, pinch and seal sides of crust, add air slits to the top and bake till crust is golden brown. Serve and be happy! Now using my half arss recipe this should provide 2-3 very well filled pies. I would then half out the remaining mixture into containers and freeze. Then all you have to do is thaw mixture (which will need a good amount of stiring to recongeal) and repeat the pie crust part. I believe even buying the pie crusts (generic for $1.50 this whole meal for 3 pies is less than $8.00) and it is a VERY filling and healthly meal. I hope I didn't make this seem to overwhelming.

Everyone has given you great advice - I couldn't myself feed our family of 5 of that - but we have a daughter with multiple food allergies (peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, fish, beef, soy, seasme seeds, citrus) and we have two children who are intolerant to dairy - one who can't have any dairy at all. So we have to spend a lot more to accomodate those and for special vitamin supplements to make sure she's getting what she needs nutritionally. I'm sure you could do it as long as you don't have to deal with allergies. (we can't have mac N cheese, PB & jelly, use margarine or butter - only olive oil, read all labels for hidden soy lethicin, whey or foods processed in facilities that have nuts and rice milk is quadruple the price of milk and double the price of soy milk and she drinks a litre a day!).

Which little one of yours drinks a whole litre a day? Do you make it yourself, or do you buy it from the hfs? I ask because rice milk contains a ton of sugar, and a liter for a teeny one seems a lot...

Laurie, just wondering

OK today I bought 25 lbs of Jasmin rice for $9.95. :)

About allergies in kids, although my kids don't suffer the extent of your child's allergies, we can't do peanuts or dairy here. We make homemade pizza and top with sauce and veggies...no cheese and it tastes great, you can also order it this way takeout, but with cross contamination this can be deadly. We don't have the tree nut or soy problems, but do use the grain milks as often as we use soy milks, we do typically buy what I find on sale that week, since I don't drink any of them....yuck!! I find reading labels, as I am sure other allergic kids' moms find, to be a life or death need(there is just sooooo much peanut and milk stuff out there hiding). I have just gotten as used to it as I have to comparing prices. That being said, I like being able to NOT read lables when I make things from scratch...I KNOW they are safe if the ingreds are safe. I use olive oil(for nutritional reasons, or sunflower oil...not sure if that is a seed or nut) even in cakes and cookies made from scratch...buy the non-virgin and it doesn't have that olivey taste:thumbsup: Just wanted to let you know that I understand it is hard to be on the look out for the dreaded allergens, but it is possible to buy inexpensively and eat inexpensively even with SOME dangerous allergies. Maybe not at $30 a week:D but maybe cut your bill a bit so it isn't so frustratingly high. Some good vegan recipes abound out there and have been a godsend for us....especially for me since I won't touch soy products....blech. And if you can add things to them, if you do meats of some kinds, then that is cool, but they are a great base for the allergic:p

I forgot one of my other cheapy recipes. I made this a lot when dh was out of work. It is a mock stir fry.

1 package of smoked sausage-usually 1 lb
1-2 packs of frozen mixed veges
cooked rice

cut up the sausage into bite size pieces and cook until nearly done. Add the veges on top and cover with lid. Cook until the veges are done. Serve over rice.

It is really good. and really cheap!
Mindi

When we're tight on money (which is usually) we cut out:

~juice (we're not big juice drinkers anyway, but water is fine by us)
~premade sweet snacks (we make our own banana or carrot muffins, or oatmeal cookies)
~premade other snacks, like crackers or tortilla chips (we make lots of air-popped popcorn with nutritional yeast)
~boxed cereals (we'll eat oatmeal and pancakes for breakfast instead)

Cheapy meal ideas:

~Sweet potato burritoes (recipe can be found at www.allrecipes.com)
~Fried brown rice with veggies (fresh broccoli, carrots, zucchini or whatever is on hand)
~Banana pancakes (we buy buckwheat pancake mix in the BIG bag)
~Potatoes, carrots, tofu, zucchini and other veggies, cooked in a skillet with spices, sprinkled with parmesan cheese.
~Pasta tossed with olive oil and garlic, sauteed veggies on the side

We spend a bit more than this a week for three of us, but I put most of it away for our food storage since my maternity is running out and I'm going to be a permanant SAHM after that :D .

No one mentioned cabbage. It's usually pretty cheap and very versatile. For some it's an aquired taste, but for the price, worth it. Onions, carrots and sometimes other root veggies (as already mentioned) are usually pretty cheap too.

Soup is a major budget stretcher. You can make a little go a long long way when in a pot with water and veggies. I read somewhere to save all your little bits of leftovers in a container in the freezer and at the end of the week, use those bits of veggies, meat, rice, ect... to make a soup. When preparing/peeling your veggies, dont' throw away the scaps, use them for soup stock (bones too. Well, some veggies may not work, but most are pretty good).

Stock up on sales. I buy a fair amount of canned stuff only because of it's long shelf life and so it's there if we need it.

I agree with making from scratch. Bulk baking supplies are so much cheaper (even though it's easier to buy already made things). Here's a tortillia recipe that I like to use because it's so versalite and cheap to make:

2c. flour, 1tsp baking powder, 1 tsp (i use less) salt, 1/4 c. oil, 2/3c. water. Mix dry ingredients then cut in oil until crumbly. Add water and stir until it forms a ball. Add flour or water if too wet or dry. Knead on a floured surface 6 to 8 times. Cover with an inverted bowl for 20 minutes. Roll out a portion as thin as you can and cut in 7 to 8 inch rounds. Place on a med-hot ungreased frying pan until dark spots appear, about 15-20 seconds. Turn and cook until same on other side. Keep warm in a tea towel. Use with any filling.

There's lot of good help here. We don't have any warehouse shopping places here, so we don't get things as cheap, but we make do with what we have :)

Carla V.

i've gotten our food bill for a family of four (me pregnant and picky, dh , 13 yr old who counts as an adult and a toddler) down to usually $60/week and thought i was doing great. lol. When we're REALLy tight, i can get it down to $40/week.

you've gotten great ideas. heres a few more ideas for snacks and beverages.

lemons are cheap. We get ours free off friends trees cuz we're in Arizona, but generally they're pretty cheap. Chelsey takes out the citrus juicer and we make gallons of homemade lemonade and keep it in our cleaned out milk jugs. that is a nice change from water. sometimes when oranges are on sale, or again...off someones tree, we'll do orange juice . or even just a slice of orange squeezed into our water for a nice 'twist". lol

i also invested in a 99cent store set of popsicle maker/tupperware thingy and we make lemonade popsicles - a nice treat for snack time

apples with peanut butter is a great cheap snack. so is popcorn if you pop it yourself. we also buy cheap graham crackers and dip in applesauce...tastes kinda like apple pie. LOL. and another is apple pie filling in homemade tortillas. i bake them with a bit of cinnamon. nice desert. one can of apple pie filling (or make your own from apples to keep it even cheaper) lasts thru two dessert nights unless chelsey pigs out.

you can make your own pancake batter, and syrup. tho i find syrup at the 99cent store better then the junk i've tried to make, my pancakes are good. and they are filling ! sometimes we do those as a snack even . tho eggs and pancakes is a meal almost every sunday night.

you can also make your own tortillas... put rice and beans in there, with a bit of whatever you have, cheese, onion etc and you've got cheap cheap burritos. make your own pizza dough, use leftover spaghetti sauce and some cheese (wic helps us there) for homemade pizza. I try to make two and then we eat the rest as snack/lunches.

you can make your own jam, especially orange marmalade. i bake my own bread now, and with some homemade jam its a lovely snack. (specially when still warm). i've been lazy tho and getting 99cent store strawberry preserves lately. LOL

I buy pickles at the 99cent store. when tehy're gone i buy a cucumber, slice it and put it in the leftover brine so we have pickles again for 59cents. (every, every few pennies counts).chels loves pickles for snack time. and well, these days i'm liking pickles too. lol - and i like half-sours so this works for us.

will try to think of more snacky food stuff that we eat thats cheap. it can be done. i'm sure of it!

wic really does help with juice, milk, cheese, cereal and peanut butter. sometimes i'll get beans instead of pb, and make a lentil soup or beans and freeze for other meals. Beans+rice=protein.

ok. i'm sure other mamas have more/better ideas so i'll shut up and get back to reading.