Believe me, I know. I live in one of the many houses in Baltimore that relies on oil heating, so that means I have to purchase oil every winter at about $3.50/gallon (and I have a 175 gallon tank). Needless to say cold weather = constant stress and penny pinching!
I know many of you are doing the same. And so often we think cutting costs means cutting nutrition. But the good news is this: eating on a budget does NOT mean you have to eat Ramen noodles! Most of the recipes on this blog are budget-friendly (mostly cuz I am broke), but here are a few where you get a lot of bang for your food buck.
Breakfast – Southwestern Scramble
- A dozen eggs: $1.25
- Pre-cooked bacon (use about half the pack to feed four): $3.00
- Salsa (use about half the jar): $1.39
- Avocados (use about 2): $3 (this would be the splurge)
- Mexican Blend cheese (instead of Pepperjack): $2.99
Lunch – Magic Meatballs
- 1 lb. ground turkey: $1.25
- TVP (what’s that?): For the amount I use here about $0.50
- String cheese: About $0.75
- 1 egg (for the egg white): About $0.10
Dinner - Taco Casserole
- 1 lb. ground turkey (I get the regular fat kind and drain it myself after cooking): $1.25
- 1 can black beans - $0.69
- 1 can tomatoes & chiles - $0.69
- 1 envelope taco seasoning - $0.25
- 1 can fat-free refried beans - $0.89
- 1 bag Mexican blend cheese - $2.99
Dessert
To save money in this recipe, use a tablespoon of vanilla pudding mix instead of vanilla sugar-free syrup.
- Cream cheese (5 oz.): $0.95
- 1 egg: About $0.10
- Greek yogurt (2 oz.): $0.33
- Crushed cereal (for crust): About $1.00
- Optional – Sugar-free jelly for topping (2 tablespoons): About $0.50
- Optional: Protein Powder: (for the kind I use – 2 scoops): $1.44
These are just a few of the budget friendly options on BF. In general here are some budget saving, protein amping tips:
- If you can get TVP in bulk, buy it! It increases your ground meat sauces and acts as a binder for things like tuna cakes and meatballs. At my Whole Foods, it costs $1.99/lb.
- Don't buy extra lean ground meat unless you are really sensitive to fat. Instead, buy something like 80/20 and drain it yourself (and make sure to rinse out the excess fat in the pan while doing so)! You come out just a wee bit higher in fat than the lean stuff but the cost reduction is dramatic.
- Make simple meals made of ground meats, beans, etc. shine with one splurge ingredient. That might be Greek yogurt or a special cheese - you decide! You'd be amazed at how one small splurge makes a meal feel decadent.
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9 comments:
Good tip about buying the cheaper, fatter meat. In the past I've even put the cooked meat in a colander and rinsed it in hot water.
Great recipes I can't wait to try them! I'm all about saving a buck! Good money saving tips too! I do have a question...I was always taught that buying leaner ground meat actually saves you money because by the time you are done draining the fat in the fattier ground meat you are left with much LESS meat... in other words if you buy a pound of regular ground beef and cook and drain the fat, you are left with 80% of a pound...but if you buy the extra extra lean ground beef and cook and drain the fat, you are left with 93% of a pound. So you get what you pay for, and you actually have most of your pound of meat to cook with. Was I taught wrong? Now I'm wondering about the math of it all...lol.
You know you would think that wouldn't you? But meat companies charge you for removing that extra fat, so the per pound price is actually significantly higher (even when you factor in the reduction of the meat). You could do that work yourself and save a few pennies. Buy you're right, once you go above a certain amount of fat that savings is sort of nil. That's why I suggested a good 80/20 or even 85/15. You still get your money's worth whereas with a 70/30 meat it probably is cheaper to go with the leaner stuff (and healthier too).
Those meatballs look amazing! My children would love them! I can't believe how cheap they are to make. Fantastic recipes here thank you!
Thinking about it though...I think it'd be better to use 2 lbs of meat. I think that recipe makes about 12 meatballs. If your family can commit to three apiece that's fine. I know I can only eat about two so my divas easily take care of the leftovers! They go great over whole wheat pasta for the kids with some nice sauce!
I'm going to pounce that taco meal on a friend or two.
This was a great post! The taco casserole looks amazing and I am going have to try it. Oh course with the Cheese cake for two, how romantic! Thanks for all the great ideas you have inspired me.
I make my own Greek yogurt, so it's not really a splurge ;)
I might actually debate you on that point. From my experience making Greek yogurt, it's more expensive to make (in terms of how much milk yields how much yogurt) than to just buy it on sale at the store. So for me, homemade Greek yogurt is MORE of a splurge! If you have cheap ideas on making it, though, please share!!! It's easy enough to do, it just was never cheap for me.
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