c/budget-friendly-meals

Started bulk cooking lentils after a trip to WinCo last Tuesday...

I used to buy canned beans every week, but a 2lb bag of dried lentils cost me $2.50 there, and I cooked enough for 8 meals in about 45 minutes. Anyone else ditch canned stuff for dried and notice the difference in their grocery bill?

My $6 bag of dried beans saved my grocery budget for two weeks straight

I used to buy canned beans for convenience, paying around $2 a can. Last month I grabbed a 2-pound bag of dried pintos for $6 at the local Kroger. That one bag made 4 separate meals: chili, burritos, soup, and refried beans. It took some soaking and simmering, but I saved roughly $20 compared to canned. Has anyone else switched to dried beans and noticed a big difference?

That discount bulk spice haul I did turned out to be a total flop

I bought a big jar of paprika from the discount store thinking I saved like $4. Got it home and it had basically no flavor at all, just reddish dust. I tried using double the amount in my chili last week and it still tasted flat. Anyone else get burned by those cheap spice deals? I'd rather just pay full price at the regular grocery store now.

Bought a bulk bag of lentils for cheap then found out I hate cooking them

I grabbed a 5-pound bag of dried green lentils at Costco for like $4 thinking I'd save big on meals. Spent 3 weeks forcing myself to eat mushy lentil soup and realized I should have just stuck with canned chickpeas. Anyone else get burned buying bulk stuff they never actually liked?

Stopped rinsing my canned beans and saved way more than I expected

I always rinsed canned beans before tossing them into chili or tacos because everyone says you gotta wash off the salt and slime. Last week I was making black bean soup on a Tuesday night and just dumped a whole can in straight, liquid and all, because I was too lazy to bother. The soup was actually thicker and way more flavorful without me adding extra salt or broth. I checked the sodium on the can and it was only 140mg per serving, which is nothing compared to what I usually add. Now I'm wondering if I've been wasting time and water for years over something that barely matters. Has anyone else gotten away with skipping the rinse and just using the bean liquid as free flavor?

The week I made $45 worth of groceries feed us for 9 days straight

My $3 bag of lentils turned into 8 meals and I still have leftovers

I bought a 2lb bag of dried lentils for like $3.50 at Aldi last Tuesday because I was broke. Cooked up a batch with some onion and garlic powder, and somehow it stretched into lunches for the whole week. The crazy part is the bag barely looks empty after 8 bowls of lentil soup. Has anyone else had a single ingredient just keep giving like this?

The week I swore off beans then changed my mind after day 3

I used to think dried beans were a waste of time because I messed up a batch and they came out crunchy. But last month I had a terrible week where my grocery budget was down to $25 for 5 days. I bought a 2 pound bag of black beans for $1.80 and a bag of rice for $2.50. After soaking them overnight and simmering for 90 minutes, they were perfect and I made 8 meals for less than $5 total. Now I keep a bag of dried beans in my pantry at all times. Anybody else had a bad first try that made you write something off too long?

Unpopular opinion: meal prepping on Sunday ruins your whole week if something goes wrong

I spent $45 last Monday prepping 5 days of lentil soup and roasted veggies, then a work emergency had me eating fast food every night anyway, so which side wins out for you - disciplined planning or just buying cheap staples and cooking day-of?

Overheard a mom at Aldi say she feeds her family of 4 on $50 a week...

She was loading up on bulk rice, lentils, and frozen veggies and I kind of laughed at first. But now I'm actually looking into it because my grocery bill hit $180 last week for just myself - how do you guys stretch staples that far without getting bored?

Just realized I was over-salting my black beans this whole time

Last week I was making my usual cheap black beans and rice, and I dumped in some leftover bacon grease by accident instead of salt. Turns out a little fat does more for flavor than tossing in spoonfuls of salt, and I saved like $2 on seasoning. Has anyone else accidentally found a better way to season cheap staples?

Found a bag of frozen veggies works better than fresh for soup

I kept buying fresh carrots and celery for my soup, but they'd go bad after three days and I'd waste half the bag. Last week I tried a $1.29 bag of mixed frozen veggies instead, and the soup actually tasted the same after simmering for an hour. Has anyone else made the switch to frozen for budget soups?

Just gave up on expensive spice blends for good

I used to buy those little jars of pre mixed seasoning for $5 each at the grocery store. Then my neighbor told me she makes her own taco seasoning for pennies using stuff she already has like cumin, chili powder, and garlic powder. I tried it last week and honestly it tastes better than the store bought stuff. Now I see how much money I was throwing away on fancy labels. Does anyone have a good recipe for an all purpose seasoning blend that works with chicken and vegetables?

Overheard my coworker talking about meal prepping with canned beans and it got me thinking

So I was grabbing coffee in the break room yesterday and this guy from accounting was saying he feeds his family of four on like $60 a week using canned beans as the base for almost everything. He said he does black bean tacos, chickpea curry, white bean soup, all that. Honestly I've always thought canned beans were just filler or whatever, but he was saying they are super cheap and filling and you can get them for like 79 cents a can at Aldi. I usually just buy frozen veggies and chicken thighs for my budget meals. Has anyone else tried going heavy on beans like that? Do you get sick of them after a few days or is it easy to mix it up?

Bought a whole chicken for $6 at Aldi last week and made 4 meals out of it

Roasted it on Sunday, used leftovers for tacos Monday, made soup Tuesday, and threw the last bits into a stir fry Wednesday. Has anyone else stretched a single chicken like this or am I just cheap?

TIL my '15 minute' bean prep actually takes an hour and a half

I got this idea from a YouTube video that said you can save money by buying dry beans instead of canned. They made it sound so easy, like just soak them and boil for 15 minutes. I figured I could whip up a batch for dinner after work real quick. Well, I forgot that you gotta soak them for like 8 hours first, so that plan died immediately. Then after soaking, the actual cooking time was more like 45 minutes to an hour, not 15. So from start to finish, including rinsing and waiting for the water to boil, it took me a solid 90 minutes. I was so hangry by the time they were done I almost ordered pizza anyway. Anyone else get tricked by those quick cooking claims on food blogs?

Wasted 2 weeks trying to meal prep without a food scale

I kept making these giant batches of chili and rice bowls only to realize my portions were way off. I was just eyeballing everything with measuring cups and guessing on stuff like chicken and beans. Turns out I was eating double the protein I thought I was, which killed my budget because meat is expensive. After 2 weeks of this frustration I finally bought a $10 digital scale off Amazon. Now I actually weigh my portions and my grocery bill dropped by about $25 a week. The scale paid for itself in 3 days easy. Has anyone else had a similar issue with guessing portions and overspending on ingredients?

Overheard a cashier at Aldi talking about 'secret' clearance meat

I was in line last Tuesday and heard the cashier tell the guy in front of me that they mark down meat that's one day from the sell-by date by like 50% after 6 PM. He said they put it on a special cart near the back coolers. I asked about it later and another worker confirmed it's not advertised but totally consistent. I went back at 6:15 and grabbed a pack of chicken thighs for $3.50 that was originally $7. Has anyone else found hidden markdown spots at their grocery store?

My buddy the butcher dropped a truth bomb on me about ground turkey

I was bragging about saving $4 a pound using ground turkey instead of beef when my buddy Jake, who works at a local meat shop, told me that cheap turkey is often pumped full of broth and fillers. He said by the time it cooks down, you're actually paying more per ounce of real meat than decent ground beef. Has anyone else checked the fine print on their bargain protein?

Honestly shocked I spent less than $20 on groceries this week

Tbh, I finally committed to using up every single thing in my pantry and freezer before buying more. Made a huge pot of chili with some freezer-burned ground turkey and a can of beans I forgot about. Has anyone else hit a crazy low number like that?

My roommate and I had a huge fight over whether to buy the $8 jar of minced garlic

Last week at the grocery store in Toledo, I grabbed the pre-minced stuff to save time, but my roommate Mark said it's a total waste of money compared to whole heads. He argued the flavor is worse and you get way less for the price. I just hate peeling and chopping it myself after a long day. Who's right here, the time-saver or the flavor purist on a tight budget?

Warning: I wasted $12 on a 'budget' meal kit that was anything but

I tried one of those 'budget-friendly' meal kit services, specifically EveryPlate, last month. The box for two meals was $12, but the portions were so small my partner and I were both still hungry after. We ended up ordering pizza, which totally blew the budget. Has anyone found a meal kit that's actually filling without costing extra?

The one thing that saved my grocery bill was buying a single chicken and using every bit of it.

I was sick of spending so much on meat, so last month I grabbed a whole chicken for $8 at my local market. I roasted it for dinner, which gave us two meals right there. Then I picked every bit of meat off the bones for chicken salad and a pasta dish. The real game changer was the carcass. I threw it in a pot with an old onion, a carrot, and some water, let it simmer for a few hours, and got a full pot of broth. That broth made two big pots of soup later in the week. I went from one chicken to like six meals. Does anyone else have a cheap cut of meat they stretch like this?

I think a lot of people overlook the value of a whole chicken.

I see folks buying just chicken breasts, but that's often the most expensive cut. Last month, I bought a whole bird for $8 at my local market, roasted it for dinner, and then used the carcass to make 2 quarts of stock. That stock became the base for a big pot of soup that fed us for 3 more meals. What's your favorite way to use up a whole chicken?

Shoutout to my $25 immersion blender

Everyone says you don't need one, but it lets me turn cheap canned beans and tomatoes into a thick soup in minutes, saving me from buying pricier pre-made stuff. Anyone have other cheap tools that paid off?