c/budget-friendly-meals

Vent: I was dead wrong about canned beans versus dried

Tbh I thought everyone saying dried beans were way cheaper was just being extra. I mean a can of black beans is like 1.50 at my local Aldi, how much cheaper can it get? Then I did the math after my buddy dared me last month. A 2 pound bag of dried beans costs 3.50 and makes about 7 cans worth. So that's 50 cents per can instead of 1.50. I was being stubborn for no reason. Anyone else fight this switch for way too long?

Finally got behind the dried bean hype after years of canned

Honestly I was team canned beans forever because they're just so easy. But last month I tried cooking a whole bag of dried black beans for the first time after my neighbor in Marietta kept going on about it. Soaked them overnight, tossed in a bay leaf and some garlic, simmered for like 90 minutes. Turned out way creamier than canned and I got 4 meals out of a $1.50 bag instead of $3 for two cans. Has anyone else made the switch and stuck with it?

Best budget week vs worst budget week debate

Last week I made 5 dinners for under $30 using a 10-pound bag of potatoes and some clearance chicken, but the week before I spent $45 on a single stir fry because I bought all fresh herbs that went bad in 2 days. Which week sounds more like your usual experience, the thrifty win or the expensive fail?

Stopped at a gas station outside Tulsa and noticed something about their hot bar

I was driving through Oklahoma last weekend and had to stop for gas at this little place off Route 66. Their hot bar had these little cardboard trays of fried okra for $1.50 each, and I grabbed one out of curiosity. Turns out it was seasoned with just salt and pepper, nothing fancy, and it tasted way better than the stuff I spend $6 on at the grocery store. Has anyone else found random gas station food that beats homemade for less money?

Why I stopped buying pre-made pizza dough at the store

I used to grab those $4 pizza dough balls from the refrigerated section at Kroger. Last week I decided to try making my own with just flour, yeast, water, and salt. Cost me about 50 cents for the same amount. The homemade dough had a better texture and browned up way nicer in my oven. Has anyone else found other store-bought staples that are way cheaper to just make yourself?

Am I the only one who noticed how cheap frozen veggies are getting at Aldi?

I stopped by the Aldi on Elm Street last weekend and grabbed a bag of frozen broccoli for like 89 cents. It felt weird because fresh broccoli was over two bucks a pound at the same store. Makes me wonder if it's worth switching to more frozen stuff for meal prepping. Has anyone else seen this at their local store?

Old lady at the library gave me a bean soup recipe that saved my grocery budget

I was at the downtown library last Tuesday looking for cookbooks when this woman in her 70s saw me picking up a pricey one. She just laughed and handed me a handwritten card with a 15 bean soup recipe on it. She said 'honey, you don't need a $30 book, you need a $3 bag of dried beans and some ham bone.' Tried it that weekend and it made 8 servings for under $5 total. Has anyone else gotten a random recipe from a stranger that actually worked out better than anything online?

Went to a farmers market in Portland and noticed something about the meat prices

I was at the Portland farmers market last Saturday, just walking around and looking at the prices. I noticed that the grass fed beef was going for almost $12 a pound, which is way more than what I pay at the regular grocery store. But then I saw these big bags of chicken thighs for $3.50 a pound from a smaller vendor. It got me thinking about how we often assume farmers markets are always expensive, but if you look around, there are deals to be found. The chicken thighs were from a farm just outside town and they looked really good. I ended up buying a bag and made a big batch of chicken and rice that lasted me four days. Has anyone else found good meat deals at their local market that beat the store prices?

Just realized my cheap grocery list took 5 hours to figure out

I tried to plan a week of meals under $50 and spent 5 hours going through store apps and flyers. Started with beans and rice but kept adding stuff like onions and bell peppers that pushed the total up. Then I had to swap out chicken thighs for canned tuna to stay on budget. Ended up with a list of 12 ingredients that actually worked but man, that took way longer than I expected. Has anyone else spent a whole afternoon on a single shopping list?

My sister told me my chili was just tomato soup with beans lol

She said I wasn't browning the meat or using any actual chili powder, just dumping cans into a pot. I started toasting whole dried chiles and searing the meat in batches, and now it actually tastes like chili instead of soup. Has anyone else had a family member call them out on a basic cooking mistake like that?

Finally realized I was storing my onions wrong for years

I kept buying onions and they'd go soft or sprout within a week. Turns out I was keeping them next to potatoes in the pantry and the gases make each other spoil faster. My neighbor mentioned it after I threw out 3 bags in one month. Now I keep onions in a cool dark drawer away from everything else and they last almost a month. Anyone else have a simple storage trick they learned way late?

That church potluck where I learned to stretch one chicken into three meals

After watching Mrs. Patterson turn a single rotisserie chicken into chicken salad, chicken soup, and chicken enchiladas at the First Baptist potluck last Sunday, I finally get why people say to buy whole birds instead of breasts, has anyone else figured out how to get more than two meals out of one chicken?

Hit my goal of keeping groceries under $45 a week for three months straight

Used to just grab whatever looked good at the store and ended up spending $70-80 every trip. Started planning meals around what's on sale at my local Aldi and finally got consistent around February. Anyone else found a specific store or trick that helps them stick to a strict food budget?

Question about fixing a bean soup that turned into paste

Was making a big pot of lentil soup a couple weeks back in my tiny kitchen in Phoenix. Left it on low while I went to water the plants. Came back 45 minutes later and the whole thing had turned into a thick paste. Not soup. Not even stew. Just a solid brick of lentils. I tried adding hot water a cup at a time but it just got grainy. Ended up eating it as a weird dip with tortilla chips. Was actually not bad but not what I planned. Anybody else ever ruin a soup like that and find a way to save it without it tasting like wet cardboard?

Found out I can stretch one rotisserie chicken into 7 meals if I plan right

Made $28 worth of chili feed me for 5 nights this week

I threw together a big pot of chili on Sunday with a $4 pack of ground beef, some canned beans I got for 88 cents each, and a giant can of crushed tomatoes that was on sale. It cost me about $28 total for everything including the spices and an onion. I ate it for dinner Monday through Wednesday, then froze two portions for next week. Has anyone else gotten way more mileage out of a single batch of soup or stew than they expected?

Used to buy pre-cut veggies for $5 a bag, now I chop my own for $1.50

Last year I was spending $5 on those pre-cut stir fry bags from the grocery store. One day I realized the whole bag had like two carrots and a handful of broccoli. So I started buying whole carrots at 50 cents a pound and a head of broccoli for $1. That same stir fry now costs me about $1.50 total. Takes an extra 10 minutes to chop but saves me $3.50 each time. Has anyone else found other pre-cut stuff that's way overpriced?

I used to think canned beans were just as good as dried, then I did the math last month

For years I was all about canned beans because they were easy and I thought the price difference was minimal. But last month I actually sat down and compared costs at the WinCo in Phoenix. A one pound bag of dried pintos costs $1.50 and makes about 7 cups of cooked beans. A 15 ounce can of the same beans costs $1.20 and gives you maybe 1.5 cups. So for the same amount of beans, dried costs like 21 cents per cup and canned costs 80 cents. I was basically paying 4 times more for the convenience. Now I soak a big batch every Sunday and freeze portions in old yogurt containers. Has anyone else switched and noticed it saves a lot more than you'd think?

Unpopular opinion: frozen vegetables are better than fresh for budget meals

Last Tuesday in Chicago I was prepping dinner and realized my 'fresh' broccoli had gone slimy after 3 days in the fridge. I was so annoyed because I spent $4 on that head just to toss it. I grabbed a $1 bag of frozen mixed veggies from my freezer instead and threw them in my stir fry. They crisped up perfectly in the pan and I didn't have to worry about them going bad. Honestly, frozen stuff lasts way longer and saves me from wasting money on spoiled produce. Has anyone else switched to frozen for their weekly meal prep?

My daughter told me I was overcomplicating my cheap dinners

She pointed out that I was spending 20 minutes trying to stretch one pound of ground beef into three meals when I could just buy a bag of lentils for $1.50 and mix them half and half. Now I cook rice and lentils together as a base for everything from tacos to casseroles. Has anyone else found a simple swap that just clicked after someone said it out loud?

Hit $500 in grocery savings last month and I was shocked

I started tracking what I actually spend on food a few months ago. Last month I added up my receipts and realized I only spent $350 total for me and my partner. That's down from like $850 back in January. The big change was just cooking from what's in the pantry before buying anything new. Has anyone else noticed a bigger drop than they expected when they actually start tracking?

My slow cooker lid shattered while I was making lentil soup last Tuesday

I had to fish glass shards out of a pot of $3 worth of lentils and carrots for 45 minutes, has anyone else had a lid just explode for no reason?

Swapped out store-bought pasta for homemade this fall and saved $8 each week

I used to grab those $2 boxes of pasta at the grocery store every single week. Then I tried making my own with just flour and eggs from the bulk bin last September. Took me about 20 minutes to roll it out after a few tries. Now I spend $0.50 on ingredients and get way more servings out of it. Anyone else tried swapping out a common staple for a homemade version to cut costs?

I wasted $45 on those fancy meal prep containers last month

I saw all those Instagram posts about glass meal prep containers with the snap lids. Bought a set of 5 from a kitchen store near my place in Denver. Total waste. The lids started cracking after the second wash. One leaked all over my lunch bag and ruined my sandwich. I was trying to save money by prepping meals but ended up spending more on replacing the containers. Anyone else had bad luck with those pricier storage options?

Hit $50 a week on groceries for my family of 4 last month

I mean it took some planning but I got our weekly food bill down to $50 for me, my husband, and two kids. I was just curious one day and added up all my receipts for January and it averaged out. We eat a lot of beans and rice, buy marked down meat at the store, and I make my own bread now. It surprised me because I thought we were spending way more. Has anyone else actually tracked their weekly total and been shocked by the number?