STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

janey831 · Kate Spade

Budget Friendly Meals

nightshade · Nine West

You can make a bowl of salad or buy a premade individual bowl of mixed salad with ranch dressing. Poach a chicken breast and when it's cool, slice it and put it in the salad. I make that for lunch for myself sometimes.

sydney · Kate Spade

I like buying the premixed salads as well

Elle · Hermes

Technically, anything that's been prepped before you buy it is going to be more expensive. So those bagged pre-mixed salads are probably 3 or 4 times as expensive as buying a head of lettuce and a carrot and chopping/shredding yourself and portioning it all out between reusable containers.

I like to buy more expensive items and/or items that can be frozen in bulk (at Costco or Sams club). Even for a single person, buying this way can save alot on items you really like and use alot of - I buy a 4 lb box of organic spinach at Costco for $3 something, and it's enough to make 6-8 big salads. Meats and cheeses are less expensive this way too, and both can be frozen.

Costco is actually my big grocery-budget superstar - I cut nearly $100 of our monthly grocery bill by buying produce there (among other things) and basing our meals around what I could get there. Things like tomatoes, lettuce, onions, potatoes, tomatoes, bell peppers can be worked in hundreds of different healthy ways.

Buying from the bulk bins and buying store brand items are the two other big ones I can think of, but in general the fewer things you can buy that have labels on them the better!

Aurora · Marc Jacobs

I freeze meals - are you opposed to freezing if you get tired of eating the same thing after a couple of days? I ask because for some reason my fiance hates frozen meals that were homemade but doesn't have issues with frozen pizza/lean cuisines/etc.

If you don't mind, I have a few things in our rotation that aren't too bad to make and won't kill the budget.

Coucous mixed with shredded chicken, cheese, and broccoli or asparagus (frozen veggies will do) and add a little lemon juice
2 packets Lipton (or store brand) Rice mixed with diced up turkey sausage (very similar to jambalaya). I tend to mix it with either the chicken flavor or the broccoli cheese flavored rice.
Red beans and brown rice. 3 cans of Green Giant Red beans (not sure on drained or undrained I can check if interested) mixed with diced turkey sausage. Serve over the brown rice.
Bagged soup mixes - Bearcreek is the mix I use - you just add water or chicken broth to the mix and cook for 30 minutes. I usually get cheap frozen veggies to throw in or left over meat.

Do you crock pot at all? I have found a few cheap crockpot meals too like the beef-lite I'm eating this week for it you just need 2 cans of soup, dry onion soup mix, and then some beef.

I also have a cookbook I haven't used - 5 ingredients or less - I would think you could make those budget friendly.

Starstuff · Kenneth Cole

I've had a lot of good luck with frozen veggies. A block of spinach is about $1.25. Add a potato and a scoop of sour cream and you've got a filling, meat-free meal for about $5 (including the initial cost of the sour cream). Eggs are cheap and healthy too -- omlets and quiche. There's a recipe for swiss chard, beans and pasta on Real Simple that sounds good. Let me know if you'd like me to post the recipes for anything I've mentioned.

Aurora · Marc Jacobs

Elle wrote:

Technically, anything that's been prepped before you buy it is going to be more expensive. So those bagged pre-mixed salads are probably 3 or 4 times as expensive as buying a head of lettuce and a carrot and chopping/shredding yourself and portioning it all out between reusable containers.

Buying from the bulk bins and buying store brand items are the two other big ones I can think of, but in general the fewer things you can buy that have labels on them the better!

I totally agree with Elle on the prepped stuff - I noticed the serving sizes were less and the prices were higher. I have been buying lettuce to chop and then frozen veggies instead of buying the pre-diced celery, peppers, and onions from the store. Kroger brand frozen veggies are $1 per pound so not too bad.

I've been trying to cut back and have switched to store brands when I can. It helps a little and does taste the same.

XtinaStyles · Marc Jacobs

I'm doing the same - its an easy way to save $$$

Pasta is def a money-saver. I often throw in leftover chicken breast and veggies to make it more appealing. Also, I tend to make stir-frys or similar sorts of veggie/meat combos, I always have leftovers for lunch and that saves me even more $$.

I've been buying chicken breast whole instead of in thin cutlets then butterflying them myself at home.

Another thing I've been doing is strategizing my shopping.. I check out the weekly circulars for sale items and decide which store I'll go to based on the prices.

nightshade · Nine West

No question, it's cheaper to buy all the ingredients and make up the salad yourself. But if you are only cooking for one, quite often a lot of it goes to waste, negating the initial savings. There are just the two of us, and we usually plan a week at a time so we have an idea of how to use up what we buy -- it's even harder to plan for one! DH isn't home for lunch so I just make for myself -- often eating up any leftovers that happen to be kicking around. But I would rather pay a little more and get a premade salad with lots of ingredients, than to have to eat the same thing all week.

Kelly · Hermes

Rice is cheap and filling, too. If you make chicken one day to put on your salad, mix the leftovers up the next day with some rice and veggies for meal #2. I eat rice all the time when I don't know what else to eat. I love Jasmine rice - it taste so buttery all on its own.

pollyjean23 · Marc Jacobs

I didn't read the article, but Yahoo.com featured a piece on inexpensive foods and how to incorporate them into your meals and snacks.

Try searching Yahoo's video section for "Five nutritious foods that cost less than $3"

Suasoria · Chanel

When I cooked for myself regularly in college I would make a lot of something on Sunday and eat it either until it was gone, or I got sick of it and froze the rest. I used a lot of beans/lentils (dried, in a bag, about 69 cents in those days and maybe 99 cents now), rice (real, not instant in a box, also cheap), and pasta. The variations were whatever produce was seasonal and/or abundant - lots of tomatoes, eggplant, squashes, carrots, frozen peas, frozen spinach, plus garlic and onion. All that, and torillas. I was still eating meat and dairy in those days but I could rarely afford it - a splurge was a chunk of parmesan, but that's about the only cheese I'd waste money on. I also had a huge library of spices and seasonings, and this is still my culinary weakness.

Things I made with this basic plan -

- Fried rice or rice pilafs (rice with "stuff" in it)
- Chilis and various stews with beans
- Soups of all types
- Big pots of chunky tomato sauce, so I'd boil pasta each night to go with it

Vanessa · Kate Spade

Costco + Trader Joe's are my friends. Costco sends this nifty little coupon book where you save even more on their already low prices. I was there this weekend and bought a three-pack of thin crust margherita pizzas for $6.99. You can make two-three meals out of each pizza.
I also got a 24-pouch pack of edamame for $5.99 to pack with my lunch. It's one of my favorite snacks.
For salad, I buy the huge spring mix box (I think it's three pounds) from costco and shredded and baby carrots from trader joe's. I throw the shredded carrots in with the spring mix and some nuts and have a wonderful salad.

Pasta, the obvious choice, is very inexpensive. Grains, rice & beans are too. A pot of chili can last you a few days (if you don't mind eating it constantly or freezing some and eating the rest).

Not sure if you're a meat eater, but cutting down on that will save you a ton of money.
If you do eat meat, crock pot meals are easy and relatively inexpensive. You can throw in a cheap roast and let it cook all day with some veggies. You'll make six or more meals out of it and the beef will cook so long that it will be super tender so it won't matter if it was a cheaper cut. You can also buy roasted chickens from the grocery store and cut them up into several servings to throw in salads, have with rice/veggies, or throw into a tortilla or chicken noodle soup other nights.

AllieGurl · Marc Jacobs

I dont eat out anymore either in an effort to save $ and I find that costco is the way to go to stock up on bulk items that usually cost alot more when purchased in smaller amounts.

Costco has a great 24 pack of boneless skinless chicken breast, 2 breast per pack individualy wrapped. Usually around $20.

Take out 2 pieces , thaw them, eat one for dinner , save the other one to cut up for a salad for lunch the next day.

Also I love the ralphs brand of frozen veggies that steam right in the bag. Those are usually around $2.99 and serve 2 people, so again with leftovers for the next day you can really get your moneys worth.

greendiamond · Marc Jacobs

I have a recipe for when your tomatoes are almost bad (you can make it with fresh, new tomatoes, but using older ones is a good option here).

Cut the tops off vine tomatoes, or toss grape/cherry tomatoes in a small oiled cookie sheet with edges. Put on a alot of black pepper, some rosemary. Then, put in some garlic cloves or shallots or onion chunks. Bake in the toaster or regular oven until it's all warm and yummy. 20 minutes or so at 3:50 or more. Meanwhile, cook up some brown rice and serve the tomatoes over top.