STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

Hermione · Kate Spade

low cost foods?

flknight24 · Dooney & Bourke

Eggs and peanut butter are good options.

Hermione · Kate Spade

ah yes, i know about those ... thansk :)

any other ideas guys?

bumblebee · Coach

you probably know this, too, but if you buy chicken as a whole chicken (or parts when they are on sale) it's a lot less expensive than buying the boneless/skinless kind. if you shop at the grocery store and cook yourself, that's in general much cheaper than eating out (or ready-made stuff). oh, frozen meals like lean cuisine can be very cheap--they go on sale all the time.

mikacat · Coach

canned tuna

buy just what you need for a meal at a specialty store like whatever is on sale--a few shrimp, one chicken breast, one salmon fillet, 1/3 pound hamburger meat etc.
and then buy rice, one brocolli crown, etc to make a meal.

Just buy the sales or ads for meat and vegetables.

pad thai is pretty cheap to make
spaghetti-- always a cheap choice
fajitas are pretty cheap to make if chicken is on sale
chicken pot pie
stir fry with whatever meat is on sale and whatever vegetables are on sale--mushrooms, squash, brocolli, carrot, zucchini, etc.
rice and beans can be really good--add tobasco sauce
stew
soup

eat leftovers!!

freeze stuff

-- Edited by mikacat at 21:55, 2006-02-05

cc · Marc Jacobs

Definitely soup. You can make basic lentil soup for very little money and add carrots or potatoes if you happen to have them. And as mikacat said making soup or stir fry with whatever is on sale is a good option.

I'm normally not into frozen vegetables at all but lately I've been buying store brand frozen spinach because it's hard for me to go through lots of fresh vegetables since I live alone. Last week I made a frittata with just one small onion, chopped frozen spinach, and about 7 eggs and it was so good that I took it for lunch almost every day.

I really like this Indian dish called Saag Aloo which is basically just potatoes in pureed spinach. The only expensive thing would be buying the spices initially but they'll last for a long time and you can always substitute and figure out other seasonings that work.

recipe
recipe 2 with different spices

laken1 · Hermes

beans! You can make a pot of red or white beans for less than $5. And you can cook them all day in the crockpot....

ILoveChoo · Hermes

chili is really cheap to make, frozen veggies, you can buy those rotisserie chicken for like $5 and then cut them up and use them for other things, soup and grilled cheese is a cheap meal

llegs · BCBG

I've been living on salads lately. Like soup, I just sort of throw everything in there. Veggies, a can of tuna or some leftover meat (chicken, etc.), nuts, etc.. They're pretty low cost and healthy. I agree with the soups/chili, too, plus they're fun to make! Yogurt and cream cheese are a good, inexpensive source of protein.

Kel · Coach

Lets see, for breakfast I eat oatmeal everyday. I think it is alot healthier than some other options plus it is like $1.50 for 2 weeks worth. For lunch, I have been eating grilled cheese, sometimes I add a slice of ham or turkey. I also vary the cheese so it always has a different flavor. I also eat a lot of PB&J. I think i do this mainly because i would never eat it as a kid, so now it is like a new food to me. Also for snacks I eat a lot of fruit that is on sale. Lately it has been strawberries. I also eat hummus and pita bread, which is yummy. For dinners, I buy the big bag of chicken. It is like $10.00 at costco and it feed my boyfriend and I for around 2-3 weeks. You can also buy a similar size bag at local grocey stores. I like it because you can't just make as many as you like each time. For dinners I buy veggies that are on sale. I also season the chicken breast will different flavors. I think the main thing i do to make my grocey bill stay low is to build my meals around what is on sale. That helps a lot.

Starstuff · Kenneth Cole

This may be a regional thing, but I've found that the grocery store closest to me has a "frequent shopper" program where you sign up with your name, address and SSN (I didn't like that part) and they assign you a bar code that they swipe everytime you buy something. That way, you get the store discounts automatically.

If you don't mind giving up some privacy, it can save a lot of $. I usually get at least 10% my grocery bill that way...

Hermione · Kate Spade

thanks for the recs girls -

this week i'm doing turkey dogs on wheat buns (turkey dogs were on super sale at the store!)

next week i think i'll try this navy bean and ham soup recipe -

it calls for a leftover ham bone but i think i'll just buy some of those ham hocks from the butcher ....

fajitas are sounding really yummy - i'll get that when chicken is on sale! the only real cost would be the peppers and i can always leave those out if too expensive :)

laken1 · Hermes

hey, one more thing I thought of & i hope this isn't gross - but most groceries mark down the meat that is dated today so they can sell it - so sometimes I buy "cheap" meat if i know i'm cooking it that night or maybe the next night.

Hermione · Kate Spade

actually that's a good tip - i could either freeze it or use it that night ...