$80 for groceries and 2 week to plan for - Page 2

[elizawill]

justme, i just private messaged you with my email addy. thank you so much for sharing! i can't wait to get it. big hugs to you!!

[mz_libbie22]

Originally Posted by elizawill

mz libbie - i would absolutely love you forever if you would tell me what i should buy to feed my family and stay within my budget for groceries. i would love to eat more healthy, but i need something like the hillbillyhousewife website..."this is what you buy, this is what you make for the week, here are the recipes". i live by meal planning and it seems most things i can make that my family really enjoys and find filling are cheaper meals, etc. so, i'm open to suggestions. haha, i agree that powdered milk is gross...but last night i made the "magic milkshakes" (full of powdered milk and sugar i know) but they were SO darn good!

Well, so much depends on what's available in your area, but I will say that wipersnaz's menu is the way to go, those foods can all be found in large grocery stores. The hillbillyhousewife menus could be greatly improved by emphasizing cheap AND healthy foods like lentils, dried peas, beans, rice, etc. Add some bags of onions, celery, and carrots to the list and there are endless recipe possibilities. Fresh produce like potatoes, cabbage, apples, squash, and bananas are already low price and will give you a greater # of servings and nutrition than processed/canned versions of them. To save the most money you need to pretty much eliminate anything from your shopping list that is snacky or has low nutritional value. Then, make simple meals built around whole grains and veggies while adding small amounts of good quality animals products. If you do this you should be able to eat a organic or partly organic, whole foods diet on a budget. But, again an exact list of what to buy depends on what's available and the prices in your area. If you were in SE Minnesota I could just take you shopping with me

[~*~tinkerbell~*~]

My favorite is hamburger. I buy family packs, and say out of one family pack I will make meatballs, hamburger patties, and a meatloaf! When they are on sale, I will grab 3! It is so versatile. I love these tips. Keep them coming. I love the Rubber chicken one

[Just Me]

When making meat loaf, you can actually reduce the amount of hamburger by about 1/3 without losing taste quality or protein. Simply replace with the same amount of red lentils cooked in beef broth, and mix into the loaf mixture. You can do this for burgers and meat balls too. The texture ends up the same too. So if you did that with 3 packages, you end up with the equivalent of 4 packages for just the extra cost of a few lentils

[Aguazul]

Originally Posted by wipersnaz

Here is a good article:
Eating Healthy and Organic on $7 a Day
http://health.msn.com/dietfitness/ar...ntid=100153740

On page 4 it has a list of meals:
Detailing the Dollars: Eating Healthy and Organic on $7 a Day

They've reorganized the site, here is the update link
http://health.msn.com/fitness/articl...ntid=100153740

[Alyantavid]

I just spent $87 yesterday for 2 weeks of groceries. I plan for Wednesday-Wednesday

On my plan is:
W-baked tilapia, pasta, roasted potatoes and onions
T- dinner at my dad's
F- paninis, veggie
S- hearty skillet supper
S-fajitas, rice, beans
M-dinner at my mom's
T- pork stir fry
W-fish, rice, veggie
T-dinner at my dad's
F-pepperbelly's, veggie
S-Clam chowder, bread
S-Steak, baked potatoes, pasta
M-quesadillas
T- chili dogs, veggie
W-soup and sandwiches

Now I eat with my parents 2 nights a week, I rarely buy meat because we butcher our own beef and I stock up on chicken, fish and pork when its on sale so I didn't have to buy any of those things at the store. Veggies, I either use frozen that I've bought on sale or I buy whatever is fresh on sale for the week.

[my2girlz]

What do you currently have in the house?

Some of our cheap meals are

pancakes
vegetable soup
goulash (elbow noodles, hamburger, and tomato soup)
rice and veggies
grilled cheese and tomato soup
waffles
any kind of pasta

I try to make some kind of cheap treats (cookies or muffins) so it doesn't feel so lean.

[nicolelynn]

Originally Posted by Aguazul

They've reorganized the site, here is the update link
http://health.msn.com/fitness/articl...ntid=100153740

That website is pretty good, but I'd like to point out that I eat plenty of meat on $7 day ($400/mo for dh and I). I also may pay $10 for 1/3 lb of sashimi grade fish once per week, but it balances out because most of our breakfasts are under $1, not $2 as the website allows. Also, I don't buy many bread products and those are expensive. I just get plain old sprouted grain bread is $2.50 at TJ, rather than getting tortillas, bagels and hamburger buns as well and spending $9 more on bread that week- I put that money toward quality organic meat and eggs.
I find that nutrient dense foods like meat and eggs are more satiating than grains. I've always heard oatmeal is one of the most satiating foods, but days where I have just one egg for breakfast I feel more satiated until lunch than if I had a bowlful of oatmeal (I still do eat oatmeal, but I eat lots of eggs).
We do eat mostly ground beef as is it is cheapest, but free-range ground beef is so much tastier than factory farmed meat, let alone more nutritious and humane.

[JennaW]

Originally Posted by mz_libbie22

That's a great link. This is pretty much exactly how I eat. Very simple meals but high quality stuff.

Frankly, I don't get the love of the hillbillyhousewife site. There's absolutely no need to eat margarine, powdered milk, powdered potatoes, canned fruit, bologna, cheap hotdogs, etc. I don't see how they can claim their diet to be "healthy" with all that stuff as the basis of it. I don't spend over $70 a week and I don't have to resort to any of that processed stuff. That would be a waste of money, there's no nutrition in it.

I would love to have your $70 a week meal plan I looked at the Hillbilly Housewife site and while I think its great that she has this for family's that just need to feed their family, the idea of eating some of that stuff just grosses me out. Especially the powdered milk.

Are there any other websites that have information like this $50, $100 week menu spreads that tell you exactly what to make and how much to buy with recipies that don't use as many processed foods? (I can deal with some, like maybe hot dogs one night but I can't do margarine, powdered milk, powdered potatoes). Also, I am looking to feed two adults currently (me and my DH) but I'm pregnant in the second tri so I need plentiful meals and snacks.

[Aguazul]

Originally Posted by JennaW

I would love to have your $70 a week meal plan I looked at the Hillbilly Housewife site and while I think its great that she has this for family's that just need to feed their family, the idea of eating some of that stuff just grosses me out. Especially the powdered milk.

Are there any other websites that have information like this $50, $100 week menu spreads that tell you exactly what to make and how much to buy with recipies that don't use as many processed foods? (I can deal with some, like maybe hot dogs one night but I can't do margarine, powdered milk, powdered potatoes). Also, I am looking to feed two adults currently (me and my DH) but I'm pregnant in the second tri so I need plentiful meals and snacks.

:

[SundayCrepes]

I'm trying to get my grocery budget under control, too, so I don't have a grand idea to offer now, but here's a recipe that is yummy and cheap:

Cut corn tortillas into triangles, heat in just a bit of (canola) oil, add mixed eggs and scramble together. Top with salsa.

[Rigama]

Originally Posted by Just Me

When making meat loaf, you can actually reduce the amount of hamburger by about 1/3 without losing taste quality or protein. Simply replace with the same amount of red lentils cooked in beef broth, and mix into the loaf mixture. You can do this for burgers and meat balls too. The texture ends up the same too. So if you did that with 3 packages, you end up with the equivalent of 4 packages for just the extra cost of a few lentils

I love this suggestion! I'll have to try it this week!

[BetsyS]

We like the Hillbilly Housewife recipes. : To us, that's how we grew up eating, so it seems comforting.

Now, I always use butter, I use real potatoes for mashing, and I often use regular milk (cause it's cheaper than powdered around here). But, if I'm out of milk, I have emergency powdered milk in the pantry. In cooking, we can't really tell the difference (we don't drink milk straight).

[harmonymama]

I can't get the healthy and organic on $7/day thing to work. Also how many people are most of you feeding? Our food spending seems exorbitant compared to most of you! And I make almost everything from scratch (with the exception of rice cakes, rice crackers, rice cereal, and rice milk). I can't imagine feeding my family (4 big eaters) on $70/week; we buy almost all organic, preferably grass-fed, fresh, raw meat and dairy. And we're trying to rely less on grains and beans (the cheapest stuff) because of food sensitivities. Help. When I looked at the post that copied healthy and organic on $7/day, I can't imagine finding organic food as cheap as they describe. Where on earth would I find an organic fryer chicken for a dollar? What am I missing?

[herbmama3-7]

QUOTE=harmonymama;10650478]I can't get the healthy and organic on $7/day thing to work. Also how many people are most of you feeding? Our food spending seems exorbitant compared to most of you! And I make almost everything from scratch (with the exception of rice cakes, rice crackers, rice cereal, and rice milk). I can't imagine feeding my family (4 big eaters) on $70/week; we buy almost all organic, preferably grass-fed, fresh, raw meat and dairy. And we're trying to rely less on grains and beans (the cheapest stuff) because of food sensitivities. Help. When I looked at the post that copied healthy and organic on $7/day, I can't imagine finding organic food as cheap as they describe. Where on earth would I find an organic fryer chicken for a dollar? What am I missing?[/QUOTE]

::

[VikingKvinna]

Originally Posted by mybabysmama

I'm trying to get my grocery budget under control, too, so I don't have a grand idea to offer now, but here's a recipe that is yummy and cheap:

Cut corn tortillas into triangles, heat in just a bit of (canola) oil, add mixed eggs and scramble together. Top with salsa.

Oohh, that sounds yummy! Thank you, I think I will make that tomorrow for brunch, maybe with some homefries too.

[harmonymama]

I finally got that link to work for eating healthy & organic on $7/day. I really like it. That is pretty much how we eat too (except for the rice milk, rice crackers, and rice cereal I need to cut out). I did get a few good ideas for breakfasts and snacks and how to stretch meat further. Anyone have some good budget crockpot ideas?

[MSUmama]

Falafel is a great inexpensive meal. Make it healthier by baking it instead of frying. Sean's falafel and cucumber sauce recipe from allrecipes.com is the recipe I used. My DH is a big meat eater and not usually into trying new things and he loved it.

We also try to buy things that can be stretched. One head of cabbage can help make stuffed cabbage rolls (with brown rice); chicken egg rolls over brown fried rice; and a side of cole slaw for shredded bbq chicken on homemade rolls, of course the chicken gets split up as well....variety can be found within a few staples that are healthy, inexpesive and yummy!

[herbmama3-7]

I finally just read that article on eating for $7 a day. It was especially helpful for me because I live in Boulder and shop at the exact stores they are referring to. I was surprised to see a few things in bulk cheaper at WFM than at Safeway.....interesting stuff. However I wish they talked a little more about feeding a family as that is challenging.

[freespirited]

Hi, one meal I just discovered that dh & I really liked is to take a can of S&W Chili Beans (.58 cents at our local Winco), slice up a couple of nitrate-free rocky dog chicken hot dogs ($2.49 for a pack of 6), saute them a bit with some chopped onions in olive oil, add the beans, heat through and serve over rice. It's a satisfying meal for a little over $1 a serving and it's really tasty. We have this one night a week which really cuts down on our weekly grocery budget.