I've tried really hard through the years to keep my food budget reasonably low. I need to recommit to that since our food spending has been creeping up. In college, I tried to spend about $20 each week on groceries so my monthly grocery bill was around $80. That meant I ate cold or hot cereal for breakfast, a peanut 4*butter sandwich and an apple for lunch, and for dinner, something simple like pasta, sometimes sauteed chicken and a vegetable, or a quesadilla. Add in ice cream, making something a little nicer, or pitching in food for a roommate meal, and that rounded out my food budget.
After I got married, I was proud of the fact that our food spending was equal to how much Brian spent just for himself before we got married.
Now days, I still try and spend as little as possible on food while still eating plenty and reasonably healthy. I try to buy more fruits and vegetables. Even when we have better meals, I keep it less expensive by using less meat, substituting or omitting expensive ingredients, and buying things when they are on sale/in season. But sometimes we just need an inexpensive meal to stay under budget. So, I present some of my best cheap meals. Seriously, these are low-budget, sometimes low-quality meals meant to fill tummies and keep dollars in your pocket. I'm not talking about $5 meals. I'm talking about $2 and under meals.
Lentil Rice Casserole
Baked potatoes
Spaghetti with marinara sauce
Black beans and rice
Pasta with butter and Parmesan cheese
Peruvian-style fried rice (Arroz Chaufa)- fried rice with a few peas, a scrambled egg, and a cut-up hot dog (yes, it's kind of gross, but you get used to it)
Pancakes
Grilled cheese sandwich
Bean and cheese burrito
Potato soup
Hot dogs
And now a note from Camille
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And a picture of Owey
What are your favorite budget meals?
