Can you afford to eat???

I go to Big Lots and get some canned goods and wheat tortillas and snack food there. I go to Food for Less for most of my other shopping and am purchasing less than I used to. I purchase my bread at an orowheat outlet. I also have purchased items at Smart and Final like tomato sause, pasta, etc. in bulk and these have been good. I eat a lot of pasta. I make soups. I have mixed a large can of garbanzo beans,a box of tomato sause and rice together once just to see how they were with curry powder, and other spices and I found it was tasty. I do not eat meat but sometimes will purchase tuna, canned salmon and rarely some fresh or frozenfish. If I get fish, I may serve it on top of pasta. I also have made tuna salad sandwiches and have made a pasta salad with tuna using canned tuna, rotini or a penne pasta, peas, celery. I cook the pasta, drain and rinse the pasta with cool water. And then put it back in the pot,add the other things (tuna, peas, etc.) cook them until they are warm and then let it cool a bit and add the miracle whip salad dressing. I then put it in the refrigerator... It makes a good salad. I typically purchase semi sweet chocolate chips on sale and eat them instead of bars. I have peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and also make sandwiches out of fake meat products like Yves and Morningstar Farms. I have made my own chilli starting with a can of chilli beans and adding some tomato sause, corn, fake meat etc. I purchase frozen veggies in the largest size that I can get them and never purchase any that have seasonings on them. I often use these instead of the more expensive fresh foods. I purchase a bag of romaine hearts rather than purchasing just one head of lettuce. I don't eat out as much unless I have a Pennysaver or Clipper Coupon... These are often buy one and get one free and so if you take a friend yuu are paying only half what you would pay otherwise. I also have learned to cook more foods... I experiement in the kitchen. I use corn tortillas and make tacos out of them with eggs, salsa, cheese... or make tacos using fake meat, tomato sause and tomatoes rather than going out to eat. I have made pizza at home by purchasing a loaf of sourdough bread (unsliced) cutting it in half and then pouring hunts tomato sause with oregeno and herbs on it and then shredding some mazzerella cheese and putting some topping on it and baking it in the oven. (I like canned pineapple). It tastes very good.If I do not have the bread but still am craving the taste of pizza, I have used wheat tortillas, one side of a pita bread, and also English muffins for pizza... these can be microwaved. I have some whole wheat flour and have sometimes mixed it with water, cinnemon, and cooked it on a grill and have served it with maple syrup for breakfast.... It was inexpensive and tasty. If I go to Del Taco, I always do the survey to get a free burito and am always alert enough to look at the backs of receipts to se if there are other surveys that i can participate in as often you can save money on your next purchase by doing this of get free food. I hope that some of these help you and the myLots community.

Wow.... you seem like you are a money saver all the way....I clip coupons and I go to the cheapest store...that is about it. But I need to grow my own vegetables.

Yes, we could feel it since we are considered on the middle-class. Since then, we considered ourselves as one of those poor people who are struggling to make ends meet. Prices go up every day/month here, but we are lucky that we can still foods that most won't. Like dried fish, fried some egg and eat it along with rice. We have our own garden, where we can harvest our home-grown vegetables and add them to our meals. These are some of the cheaper foods the needy could afford to, but sometimes it can also be tiring to eat the same food again and again..

Felt the crunch in our pockets, very much so. Did a lot of belt-tightening these days. My two kids are already grown up and are now earning and still living with us, but we still feel the pinch in our budget. Times are difficult now with fuel prices going up almost every week. We have no other choice...I have to drive myself to school, so that leaves my daughter-nurse to take the public transpo in reporting for hospital duty. At times though she is brought by my son to the hospital. My income goes to gas, medicines and bills...no more, no less. It's a good thing the 3 of us are already earning, so I have already graduated from budgetting our food because it's my son who shoulders most of the expenses for food. I count myself truly blessed, but still we still do some belt tightening and saving a lot...we are not so certain of what's in store for us in the future. With a food crises looming all over, I guess we really have to pay attention to serious budgetting and cutting down on some expenses....

I am laughing so hard at what you wrote about eating all your leftovers - poor dogs! Lol! Yes, I've been making meals that will leave leftovers too. I've posted this in other discussions before, about how I buy a whole cut up chicken and cook it and then shred it, and divide it up to make about 3 different meals. I add some to a can of cream of chicken soup along with some curry powder and spoon it over hot rice (or toast). I also add some to cooked penne pasta along with pesto sauce for another meal that makes a big bowl that lasts a long time. (sprinkle it with grated parmesean cheese). Whatever shredded chicken is left, I cover it and leave it in the fridge for quick sandwiches, or to add to the leftover rice along with some chicken broth for a quick soup. Add some of your home grown veggies to it! But you mentioned getting a good deal on beef. When I buy a large amount of ground beef, I divide that up and make chili with a pound of it, taco meat with another pound, hamburgers with another, and add some to spaghetti sauce for when we have spaghetti or ravioli or whatever. You can get all those things ready and freeze them until you need to use them, since it's usually cheaper to buy a larger package of meat.

The food costs have not hit us so hard yet, I do a lot of stockpiling and buying stuff when it is on super-sale and combining that with coupons, so I have only notice a dollar or so difference in my grocery costs between last year and now. I know that is not generally the case, and many people are paying double, if not more than they were last year. I would love to get meats for $1 a pound. I would go crazy. Hamburger here is around $4 a pound, but I get the 5 pound thing and divide it up into pound portions in Ziplock bags and freeze them. Since there are only 2 of us, that usually works well for us for dinner and one set of leftovers for my boyfriend to take to work(or for me to have for lunch when he forgets to take it). The only cost that I really cant do anything about is eggs and milk. I do not drink milk, and dont use much of it in cooking, so we barely use a liter of it in a week. As for eggs, a dozen lasts us about a week as well, so it's not too terribly bad but the cost of both of those items has gone up tremendously. The only thing I can recommend is to buy in bulk. We have both a Costco and a Sam's Club nearby, and I frequent those for items that we use and buy in bulk and freeze.

We have not felt the food crunch yet but food prices is starting to go up now. Most of our price cutting is done on transportation. Instead of driving the car, I am now riding the company bus and I sometimes just walk home. I think growing your own vegetables is a good idea. I don't have a big yard so maybe growing them on the pot is plausible.

I think meat and rice are rising price. Vegetable is afford a little too. I'm on period of diet. So I only eat vegetable. I think I afford a little. But my parent afford too much. Because they don't have to diet as me.

Well, we have gone to buying large packaged organic broth mixes(chicken, beef and vegetable)and making our own soups with added frozen or fresh vegetables. We have basically cut out meat and only use it once or twice a week and that is the non hormone beef and free range chicken, so we're not getting meat that is full of hormones and really bad for our health. Though organic products are more expensive, they are worth it in the long run because you preserve your health and honestly fill fuller and more satisfied. Another trick we use for pizza treats is buying the thinner crust pizzas, lower calorie cheese only pizzas, and we add cut up turkey sausage (Jimmy Dean's), olives, onions and other toppings, and we cut the pizza in smaller squares so we can at least get more than one meal out of it.

Well I think everyone out there's looking for ways to save. I mean it's hard out there. Gas is killing everyone and now we can't afford to eat either. I always buy the generic brand because sometimes you cannot taste the difference. Sometimes the generic brand is higher than the name brand but most of time it's not. Coupons are also great ways to save. Also consider going to stores that have sales that you could really use. Don't buy the sale item if you are planning to use it anytime soon, though. I am always looking for bargins but now I've realized that some of the stuff that's on sale sometimes I don't use it right away. Don't over cook so you can avoid left overs.....best wishes