Always looking for cheap things to cook

I just buy my meats in large quantity and freeze the unused portions. I save a lot of money making my own fresh food and its a lot healthier. What you're talking about doesn't sound healthy. Also those nights where you would just be eating toast would leave you hungry and in general you'd be lacking much needed nutrients. I'm not sure if you're into cooking but crock pots are wonderful. I know tons of people with little time and money who make some delicious, easy and healthy meals with them. Another idea would be to perhaps try asking on this site or googling low budget recepies.

If you take one large cut of meat...you can have several meals out of it. I used to get a hugest rump roast I could find, cook it and have it nicely sliced that night, sliced and open faced the next night and the rest ground up for a dozen or so burittos. Same with chicken...bake it and have it that night..like the legs...then next night slice it with gravey and what is left, chop up and make chicken salad or for chicken taco meat or even on top of a salad. I only buy the bonelss, skinless chicken B's...not only are the legs and wings not much more than a bite or two, and no one likes the dark meat...and I dont' have to pay for bone weight etc. I watch for it on sale and buy as much as I can afford and then individually freeze them. So many things you can do with one! I love baking it and then slicing it thin as I can and making a fresh chicken sandwich with the trimmings. And I make a mean chicken salad too! Ground beef is the same..so many things with one pound...chili, spagehetti, bruittos, tacos, hamburgers, sloppy joes. My problem is not particularly "cheap" although that is always a consideration, but I don't enjoy cooking anymore as it is just for me. My husband won't eat anything I cook/bake...and with the kids gone and all...I cook for myself and just more work than I care to do anymore! But things like I mention above... I can cook on evening and have meals for the rest of the week...and still healthy and cheap and minimal cooking/baking.

i make a lot of soups and stews in the winter (eaten with homemade bread is the best!) there are several ideas for cheap meals. we have breakfast for dinner a lot as well. if you are able, grow lots of your own fruits and veggies which helps keep costs down.

good day to you joystick, with regard to your topic, well, cooking and preparing cheap type of foods is fine as long as you are aware of the nutrients that you get out from that food. cheap foods are still good since this will also help you to save from cost. but, as i have said, don't settle for less if you are settling your health is at stake. just take the necessary, without impeding your health.

you are so right, the price of everything has increased so much and it is hard to get those expensive food. i do the same sometimes when I feel i need to cut down the cost.. Thanks for sharing and have a wonderful day ahead.

I do the same thing here. Many mylot members have given me some great and cheap cooking ideas here. Take a look at my past posts here. Some are with meat and others with just veggies. Have a great week there.

Hi joystick, rice is our staple food, we are used to have it daily as our two meals. Normally we have white rice together with three dishes. Due economy recession we have to cut down the amount of meat eating. Further more, it's healthier to eat more vegetables. Meat is really expensive nowadays but prices of veggies go up as well. We grow some veggies in our yard. Besides having physical exercise we have fresh and healthy veggies to eat. We usually stir fry the green veggies a few minutes. Long beans and laddy'fingers are good ingredients for cooking deliChou curry Happy posting

I like the idea of the baked potato! Usually for a lot of us, I buy a turkey or chicken, a big one, the cost might seem a little high when you get it, but you can make so many different meals out of them and still use them for lunch meat on sandwiches when dinner options run out.

That sounds as if it might not be all that healthy. We are having problems here as well with the prices going up and up we have had to depend on the cheaper cuts of meat and going to the river and catching my own fish to fix. I also hunt and get meat that way. The veggies around here are pretty cheap if you will just look. Keep up the good work and remember to stay healty.

If you are willing to cook from scratch, you can eat healthfully and inexpensively. That doesn't mean you have to put a lot of time and effort into prep, though. It can be as simple as chopping up some veggies and making a vegetable soup. Lentils, brown rice, barley and oatmeal are all both healthy and filling. They are also all inexpensive. Potatoes are healthy as long as you are eating the skin. Otherwise, you lose a lot of the nutrients. One of my favorite quick and easy ways of dealing with potatoes is to make garlic smashed potatoes--potato, butter (only the real stuff, of course) and garlic (jarred or fresh).

I to am trying to make cheap meals as I am a student so am on a limited budget that I can spend on food as I have other things I need to spend money on such as books.The other week I made a delicious stew that fed me for three days,two meals a day.I made it with a budget tin of potatoes,a budget tin of sweet corn,a budget tin of tomato soup and some cheap chicken legs.I think it worked out at about 80p a meal at the most.I'm going to make another big panful again this week.With a bit of imagination you can turn some pretty cheap ingredients into a decent meal.

Well i would either bake some chicken or grill some chicken and one night have that with a vegetable and then the next night maybe do spaghetti and when you make leftovers dont add the pasta into the sauce. Not freeze your spaghetti sauce if you can then the next night which is the third night of eating have a chicken and pasta dinner and add in some ingredients. You have made a dinner for free your third night from your chicken leftovers and your pasta from the spaghetti. This is a great way to save and you can also use the spaghetti sauce on top of your chicken pasta for some flavor as well. And also instead of having meat in your spaghetti try it with chicken, who knows might taste actually good. Its the easiest way to save.

hi, any item now a days still going to increase i mean they continuing to increase and people can't control it even though the government can not stop the companies and other business people,that is why its very keen or more practical when we buy some cheap things to cook.

I now call myself a chef because I look at recipes, Food Network, and Cooking Channel. Go online to recipe sites that have awesome recipes like All Recipes.com, Good Housekeeping, Country Living, etc. Another good one is Crock Pot Recipes. Awesome!

well, it pays to economize and save, but we also have to consider the nutritional values of our food intake. there are, however, food that are cheap and healthy at the same time.

Actually, what you describe will not save any pounds. There are ways to cut back and still remain healthy, but starchy foods are not the answer. Beans and rice and rice are cheap and they go a long way as you get several meals from them. Eating too many sandwiches is not all that healthy, but you could do soups, and don't forget your vegetables!

Well, lately I have noticed the cheapest form of protein has been eggs. I have started getting pretty creative with cooking eggs because like you I am trying to save money. 1. Egg salad sandwiches Just hard boil the eggs, and chop them up. Add to the chopped eggs, onions, mayonaise, and celery. You will have some delicious and cheap filling for sandwiches. 2. Eggs with onions. This has become one of my favorites. Slice the onion and saute them with butter. Then, add in your eggs and a little milk. Yummy, I had this with sausage for dinner last night. 3. Egg casserole with cheese. Saute your onions with butter in a frying pan. In a mixing bowl beat 4 eggs. Then, I add about a cup of milk and some wondra until it is thick enough. Once the onions are trancelousent. Pour eggs into the pan. Mix it together and let it thicken just a little bit. Then scoup it out into a casserole dish. Sprinkle cheese over top. Cover with foil, and put it in the oven for about 50 minutes. It comes out really good. There is always left overs which reheat well in the microwave. I think too it helps to experiment with seasoning. I have added red pepper flakes into eggs to make them spicy or sometimes I'll just add the seasoning to the onions. Either way the seasonings can transform the eggs, and make them even more delicious.

I have lowered the food bill a little by eating less red meat. It is more expensive than chicken and not recommended anyway. So I feel I am doing myself some good in two directions. If I use beef in hamburgers I mix in some oats, it makes the mince go further. We must be careful that a balanced diet is not sacrificed to a balanced check book so it is good to be informed about food and to take extra vitamins if in doubt.

True... so so true. hahaha. I'm just stressing how really true that is. On a thousand peso you have with and going to a grocery store. You'll come out with only few items with you but your one thousand is almost gone. Oh goodness! I can do what you just did if I live by myself alone, but having in laws in the house and a hubby who is a picky eater I don't think such thing will do. Sometimes it bogs me when in laws don't the veggies I prepared co's they prepared hot dog and egg rather than veggies and fish. I hope too that the price of the commodities would go down so that we can have more healthy food in our table co's this one reason why we go for that unhealthy food or canned foods because those were cheaper than the fresh one. ANd one more thing... I wish mom in law have taught her kids to eat fish and veggies too when they were young. :(".)

ramen noodles don't cost alot