Do you find it hard to prepare tasty and filling meals when you're in between pay days? Cooking hearty meals on a tight budget can be a challenge, but the truth is, it's totally possible! You can enjoy a tasty, healthy, and filling meal for less when you give these frugal meal ideas a try. Bonus: You can whip them up in no time!
1. Loaded Tomato Soup and Cheese Sandwiches
Prepare a pot of tomato soup and toss in some filling extras such as rice, cheese, or pasta. Prepare with a side of grilled cheese sandwiches and some cucumber slices.
2. Baked Italian Chicken Legs and Rice
Chicken legs are one of the cheapest cuts of chicken. Bake chicken that has been marinated with Italian dressing in the oven. Prepare with a side of rice and a small side salad if budget allows.
3. Baked Potato Bar
Prepare baked potatoes along with a buffet of toppings. Enjoy them with sour cream, chives, cheese, bacon, ham, or other tasty toppings that turn them into a meal. Side with soup if the budget allows.
4. Ham and Cheese Croissant Pockets.
Take canned croissants and stuff them with ham and cheese before rolling. Prepare as usual. The end result is a hot and tasty treat that is best when served with inexpensive soup, steamed vegetables or salad.
5. Brinner!
Brinner is when you enjoy breakfast for dinner! Eggs, pancakes, and fruit can all make for an inexpensive but hearty dinner. If budget allows, prepare some sausage links or bacon.
6. Hamburger Casserole.
Cook a pound of hamburger and drain. Add in a packet of brown gravy mix. Add in a cup of frozen corn as well as a cup of frozen peas. Pour the mixture into a baking dish, top with shredded cheese, and finish off with frozen tater tots. Bake until golden and enjoy. It's cheap and easy.
7. Meatless Taco Bar.
Create a meatless taco bar with shells, refried beans, cheese, sour cream, beans, avocado, lettuce and tomatoes. With so many fresh toppings, you won’t even miss the meat.
If you need to prepare a hearty meal on a budget, give these ideas a try! You're sure to create something tasty in no time flat.
What are your go-to frugal meal ideas for when the grocery budget is running dry?
Preparing meals ahead of time can be a big time and money saver. You're doing all of your cooking on one day, and will be saving money because you're only buying the ingredients you know you need.
While cooking all your breakfasts, lunches and dinners for a week, in one day, may seem daunting, but with these tips you'll be able to meal prep for a week and not have to wonder, "What's for dinner?" anymore!
Find your recipes.
Before even starting the process, you should print out the recipes you will be using for the week. This means printing or writing down recipes for all meals for 7 days. If you will be making snacks, like homemade granola bars or protein bars, print those recipes as well. Now you have a master list of all the ingredients you will need.
Divide up your grocery store list.
Go through each recipe and categorize each item. Your grocery list should have sections broken down into protein, carbs, vegetables, fruits, spices, and other. Doing this will make it much easier (and quicker) to find the things you need when you're at the grocery store.
Buy the right containers.
If this is something you will be doing on a regular basis, you want to make sure you have durable containers that are made to last. Don't skimp out on this. I really like these reusable containers.
Cut your vegetables and fruits.
Once you're back from the grocery store, start by chopping up your vegetables and fruits. Organize them by whether you're using them as a snack or will be using them as ingredients in a meal.
Use the oven.
The oven is great for baking meats, potatoes, vegetables and more. Make a list of every item that needs to go in the oven and put it all in. If your oven is going to be on, you might as well cook everything at once!
Use your slow cooker.
Many people who meal prep like to make freezer meals. This can be preparing something, like meatballs, and freezing them to cook at a later date, or preparing an entire meal which will then be thawed and cooked. If you have a slow cooker, doing this is especially easy. Take a look at my posts, 9 Slow Cooker Freezer Meals or The Ultimate Before Baby Freezer Cooking Listfor some ideas. You could search Pinterest for slow cooker freezer meals to find recipes as well. Even if you don't want to freeze your meals, you can still prepare all of the ingredients you'll need and use your slow cooker to cook the meal. It will save you time all week!
Use different seasonings.
One can only eat so much plain chicken. When you go grocery shopping, make sure to pick up different seasonings for each meal. Get creative with how you season or marinate your protein options.
Make one huge dish.
If you don't want to prepare 5 different dinner options, you can make enough of one recipe that will last you a few days. Find one you really like and cook it in bulk. If you have meals or items that will last longer than 3 days, put the leftovers in the freezer and cook it when you're ready. Our family really likes these Chicken Pesto Stuffed Shells. It makes two dishes so I will cook one right away and freeze the other one for another day.
Make grab and go meals.
The last step is to just divide everything up into your containers. Take each meal and put it in a container so it is ready to go for each day of the week.
Meal prep can be a great way to save time throughout the week. Although it may take a full day on the weekend, once you know what meals you're making and what ingredients you'll need, you'll become more efficient at it. No more worrying about what's for lunch or dinner!
Do you do any sort of meal prep at your home? What does your current system look like?
If your household is a fan of Italian dressing, this Italian Seasoning Mix is going to save you a lot of money over time! It's perfect if you're on a budget and you keep finding yourself buying the expensive bottles at the grocery store.
While this recipe is meant to be mixed up as a liquid dressing, I'm sure sprinkling the spice mix over veggies or meat would be just as wonderful. We like to use Italian dressing as salad dressing (of course) and even as a marinade for chicken! Hint: throw some chicken breast into a freezer bag, pour this Italian dressing over top, then seal the bag and toss it into the freezer for a really quick freezer meal! It cooks up well in the slow cooker.
Here are 6 tips you’ll love on how to stock your pantry on a budget.
Having a well-stocked pantry can help make or break your grocery budget each month. The thing is, initially stocking a pantry with all the necessities to create great meals can be quite costly. It also takes time, unless you want to pay a fortune!
Here are some quick tips on how to stock your pantry on a budget:
Watch for Sales
The first way to save big money when it comes to stocking your pantry is to watch for sales on the products you know you will use in a timely matter. Be sure to stock up as much as your budget and storage space will allow!
Buy Ahead
Don’t wait until you run out of an item to buy it. This is a great way to ensure you’ll be paying top dollar! By buying ahead, you can purchase the pantry items you need when they’re on sale or on markdown, allowing you to purchase twice (or triple?) the amount than if it weren’t on sale.
Know what your family likes
Don’t stock up on things your family would rather not eat. Say you come across an amazing deal on kidney beans, but you know most of your family members hate eating them, it’s not worth the cost to stock your pantry with kidney beans that won’t ever be used, even if they were a great price.
Use coupons
There are always plenty of couponsout there that come in handy for stocking up on cereal, canned goods, bread and more. Bulk Barn also has a great coupon or two each month if you prefer to purchase some items that way. Coupons are also great for stocking your “household” pantry. I’m never without a nice supply of toothpaste, shampoo or razors!
Buy in Bulk
The unit price of rice, beans, or spices often goes down as the package size goes up. So purchasing items in bulk can be a great deal! I like to buy rice, flour and sugar in big bags because I know we’ll use it up before it goes bad. This is much cheaper for us then buying small packages each time we run out. On the other hand, buying small quantities of spices we don’t use often at the bulk food store, also saves us money.
Another thought – If you find a great deal on something when you buy it in bulk, but you don’t have the storage space, consider splitting your purchase with friends.
Think outside the “can”
Rather than always buying canned goods, (beans, vegetables), consider purchasing a bag of dried beans or a bag of frozen corn instead. Often, your money can stretch further if you go this route.
Armed with these tips, you should be well on your way to a stocked pantry on a budget! What tips and suggestions do you have for stocking a pantry on a budget?
Ever since my husband and I were married 15 years ago, I’ve been planning our weekly menu. Even if I don’t take the time to write things down, I still have a few meals in mind that would get us through the week. It’s in my nature to be a planner so planning a menu was obvious for my own sanity.
But, even if you’re more of an impromptu cook, today I’d like to touch on the importance of menu planning, or why planning a menu is important, no matter what your situation is. We’re all busy people so the power of a plan can help each of us tremendously!
Here are four reasons on the importance of menu planning:
Our health
Our health should be one of our main concerns and one way to ensure good health is to eat well. Having a menu plan in place helps you avoid take out and those quick pre-made meals that may not be well rounded. With planned meals, you’ll end up with a more balanced and nutritious diet.
Keeps the budget in check
Groceries cost a lot. Save yourself some financial stress by planning your meals and your shopping list based on what’s on sale and what you already have in your pantry. With a menu plan in place, you only have to purchase the ingredients you need create the meals you’ve picked. That’s how I only spent about $33 this week on groceries. (Though, I’m anticipating a quick trip to buy more milk and fruit later in the week.)
Your time is important too
Whether you work outside the home or you’re a stay-at-home parent, we’re all juggling a ton of activities on a daily basis. While planning a menu in the first place takes a little bit of time, it will definitely save you time in the end.
You will always have the ingredients you need to create a meal from your planned menu. No running to the store for a last minute item or opening the fridge and cupboards 500 times to figure out what to make for dinner.
Or realizing it’s 5pm and you just spent an hour trying to find a great recipe when dinner could have already been on the table. With a plan in place, all you have to do is pick a meal from the list and make it!
Reduces waste
Have you ever bought food from the grocery store thinking you’ll use it for something, but end up throwing it out instead? If you stick to the grocery list that you created based on your planned meals, you won’t be purchasing anything that you won’t use. In turn, you’ll be creating less waste, both in the food sense and financial sense!
I believe that the importance of menu planning cannot be stressed enough. Menu planning has made my life so much easier and I’ve heard the same from many others! Sometimes, the menu plan is the only thing in the day that goes as planned!
If you really struggle with menu planning, then try out $5 Meal Plan. It happens to be my favorite meal planning service. It’s just $5 a month (the first two weeks are free!), and you get menu plans sent straight to your email along with the exact shopping list you need in order to create the meals. Each meal costs around $2 per person or less. This service allows you to save time because you won’t have to meal plan anymore, and it will save you money as well! If you are interested in joining for free, click here.
What are some other benefits of menu planning that can you add to the list? Let us know in the comments below.
So, you're running low on funds in your grocery budget for the month, but you still have a few meals that need to be made. You might be thinking that cooking a delicious meal on a budget might not be possible but, affordable family feasts are possible!
Here are 5 delicious budget friendly meals to help!
Roasted Chicken and Root Vegetables - While purchasing a whole chicken may be more costly upfront, the amount of meals you can get from one chicken can really help stretch your budget. The first night, you can enjoy slices of roasted chicken and delicious vegetables. The next night you could turn leftovers into a chicken pot pie. Finally, use the bones to create a tasty soup!
Refried Bean Quesadillas - Recommended by a reader over at the Simply Frugal Facebook page as a budget friendly meal, I found this tasty looking Refried Bean Quesadilla recipe that I'd love to try! Instead of using a whole bunch of cheese, which can get expensive, you can fill your quesadillas with beans! To make this meal even more budget friendly, here's a recipe for Homemade Refried Beans in the slow cooker!
Black Bean & Salsa Burritos - This is one of my personal made up recipes, but I happen to think it's a great budget saver and it's packed with protein!
Pulled Pork - This was another meal recommended by a Simply Frugal Facebook reader. She likes to buy cheap pork cuts when they go on sale for $1/lb. She roasts it then freezes it in bags in meal sized portions. The meals she enjoys creating with the pork are nachos and salad rolls with corn bread and coleslaw.
Pasta with White Bean Sauce - Pasta is cheap, especially if you stockpile it with coupons! I can't wait to try this recipe because not only does it sounds tasty, it also uses beans for protein instead of meat. Love that.
What are your favourite Budget Friendly Meals that come in handy when your grocery budget is running low?
