MEATS ARE CRAZY EXPENSIVE,MILK,EGGS ,CHEESE TO.I DO 90% OF THE COOKING ..SO ITS MOSTLY ON ME.I DO HAVE BJ,S CARD ..IDK WHAT TO DO TO SAVE $ ..BW I GET FS AND U HAVE TO PAY TAXES WEN U USE COUPONS ON FS.
I would do things like oatmeal (not packets), homemade waffles or pancakes, a frittata or quiche with lots of veggies can stretch eggs out further, or homemade muffins for breakfasts.
Leftovers for lunch, soups, sandwiches (made with leftover chicken breast or ham, not lunch meat)
Dinners- casseroles will help you stretch a smaller amount if meat, buy a ham or turkey and you'll easily get 3-4 meals from it. Frozen veggies are cheaper and sometimes healthier than fresh. Homemade rolls or biscuits can be a cheap filler if you need just a little extra something.
Snacks- homemade treats, homemade crackers, pretzels, homemade yogurt, celery, apples, and carrots are fairly cheap.
It can be done! Good luck.
You can make soups, stews, chili, spaghetti sauce--things like that. They don't use much meat and they go a long way for feeding a large family. I always cut the meat in a recipe in half. For example if the spaghetti sauce recipe calls for 1 lb ground beef, I only use 1/2 lb. It makes the meat go much farther. You can also use any leftover veggies from a meal in a veggie stir fry the next night (you don't even need meat in that).
Plan out your meals for each week for the month or each week (depending how often you go shopping. Also coupons are a great way to save money. Do you have a Kroger or Walmart that you shop at? We have both around here and Kroger is having this awesome sale and you can put coupons on your Kroger card :) saved me 30$ the other day :)
Quoting IansMommy2012:
Do you like the crock pot? You an make sooo much in a crock that spread over for several days :)
Plan out your meals for each week for the month or each week (depending how often you go shopping. Also coupons are a great way to save money. Do you have a Kroger or Walmart that you shop at? We have both around here and Kroger is having this awesome sale and you can put coupons on your Kroger card :) saved me 30$ the other day :)
if u use coupons wth fs u have to pay taxes..that addes up.
Quoting Cindy18:
Taxes on coupons? What state do you live in?
wen u use food stamps ..yep ..va
Well, I fed 5 adult appetites (2 adults, 2 teen boys, 1 teen girl), 2 large dogs, 1 medium size dog, 3 cats, and wild birds for just under $320 last month for groceries (included human food, pet food, pet supplies, paper products, cleaning supplies, personal care items) and I don't use coupons besides the $5 off $25 that Dollar General has almost every weekend. If I had to guess, I'd say a good 1/2 of that $320 was spent on fresh/frozen produce. Granted, I didn't have to buy many meats, but it's very doable to feed the number of mouths you have for $600.
Make the meat stretch...don't use it as the main entree--use it as PART of the main entree. The average American consumes more meat than they need to. anyway. You can use 2 pounds of burger to make burgers, or one pound of burger to make sloppy joes. Mix taco seasoned ground beef with a can of refried beans to make double the burrito or taco filling. A pot of chili can be stretched out if you split it into approximate thirds, then use 1/3 to make chili mac (add chili to cooked macaroni), 1/3 to top baked potatoes, and 1/3 in a chili dog bake (wrap hot dogs with tortillas and lay in a baking dish, top with chili and cheese and bake.) A whole chicken can easily make 3 meals if you boil it and use the meat in casseroles/stews/fajitas/etc.
Milk/dairy is another item Americans tend to consume in excess with no attention to proper portion sizes. We go through a gallon of milk a week in baking and cooking, added to cottage cheese and various hard cheeses to add to the dairy intake.
Water/tea/coffee/veggie juice are all that we drink in our house. I save a LOT of money by not buying fruit juice (100% sugar) or milk for drinking.
Healthy snacks are fruit/some nuts/hard boiled eggs/popcorn (not microwave). You can also make your own muffins/quick breads and granola bars
5/22 What's for dinner?
- KRIZZ25
on Feb. 4, 2013 at 7:51 PM