s/o Rice and Beans Alternatives

[JoLuRu]

If you were in dire financial straits and had to feed your family on the least money possible, what would you be serving? Rice and beans are a go to idea for cheap meals, but there are many other, just as cheap options. I'm thinking of meals under $1 per serving, or even under $.50 per serving.

 

I tend to go for lots of soups - lentil, split pea, minestrone (pasta and beans), black bean, chili, chicken noodle, chicken and rice, chicken tortilla, corn chowder, potato chowder, canned tuna or salmon chowder, Asian style noodle soups, etc. Soups can be cheap and easily feed a family for a few days.

 

Lentils are also high on my list. We make lentil tacos, lentils with rice and caramelized onion, honey baked lentils, lentils mixed in with pasta and tomato sauce, etc.

 

Egg based meals can stretch an inexpensive protein. Frittatas, quiche, French toast, fried egg sandwiches, egg salad, huevos rancheros (eggs on tortillas with tomato sauce), egg drop soup, etc.

 

We often have canned tuna, salmon, and sardines as well. Sardines are yummy and cheap mixed with pasta and three bean salad. Tuna noodle casserole, tuna sandwiches, salmon patties served like burgers, etc. are all easy ways to make it stretch.

 

What are your favorite very inexpensive meals?

 

ETA: The More With Less cookbook and Extending the Table are really good for low-cost, healthy meals.

Edited July 13, 2012 by JoLuRu

[stripe]

I have found certain cuts of meat to be inexpensive, in addition to the vegetarian options you listed. Stews and the like spread the meat out, instead of one big piece for each person.

[Bang!Zoom!]

I'd add the breads category here, basic breads can take the above stuff into new things like you mentioned tacos..

 

Calzone mystery is a hit around here. It's just whatever leftovers mushed together for fridge clean out, maybe throw a cup of fresh vegetable whatever, some cheese and bake.

 

Quiche are super easy to do the same thing with as well.

[happypamama]

Curried chickpeas and vegetables -- chickpeas, curry, cauliflower or broccoli, diced sweet potatoes, all cooked together, with a bit of yogurt or coconut milk. Very filling and makes a lot.

 

White beans, spinach, diced tomatoes, a bit of crushed red pepper, some sort of pasta optional.

 

Black bean burrito bowls -- black beans, cheese, salsa, sour cream, tortillas if you like them.

[happi duck]

The Cheap, Fast, Good cookbook has some super low cost meals.

http://www.amazon.com/Cheap-Fast-Good-Beverly-Mills/dp/0761131760

[Onceuponatime]

Potatoes. Potato soup, fried potatoes, potato fritters, baked potato, potato and onion quiche, potato salad, roasted potatoes.

 

Cabbage. cole slaw, cabbage salad, sauteed cabbage, braised cabbage, sweet and sour cabbage, cabbage/vegetable soup.

 

Carrots. carrot salad, pureed carrots, shredded carrots and cabbage in fried rice, raw carrots, stir fried carrots.

 

Potatoes, cabbage, onions,and carrots are all very cheap here. In the fall sweet potatoes are very cheap also.

[d.g.]

Quiche are super easy to do the same thing with as well.

 

:iagree:

 

Quiche is HUGE at my house. We do it with crust and crustless (which I guess would make it more of a frittatta?) and with a huge variety of fillers.

 

Every so many weeks, eggs go on sale for $1/dozen, and we stock up for the next 4-6 weeks at one time. Quiche for us is extremely cheap and very filling compared to something like pasta w/sauce.

[sourpatchbaby]

We eat rice in 96% of our meals here (exceptions would be when I make soup or a casserole of some sort) and it's not just white rice and beans. Unless I'm reheating something, we usually don't have rice served the same way twice in one week so it doesn't get "old" if you know what I mean. Like today we had white rice, red beans, and lemon ginger chicken thighs for lunch. We had two thighs left over and I shredded them and made yellow rice with chicken and threw some frozen veggies I had in the freezer in there and fried up one plantain to accompany it. Quick, easy, and cheap one pot meal. However, I scored about 20 9oz packets of pasta wheels at the supermarket for .17 each so they'll be eating lots of pasta as well.

[Farrar]

If we had to eat cheaper, we would probably have chicken thighs or drumsticks from Costco at nearly every meal.

[Denisemomof4]

Curried chickpeas and vegetables -- chickpeas, curry, cauliflower or broccoli, diced sweet potatoes, all cooked together, with a bit of yogurt or coconut milk. Very filling and makes a lot.

 

White beans, spinach, diced tomatoes, a bit of crushed red pepper, some sort of pasta optional.

 

Black bean burrito bowls -- black beans, cheese, salsa, sour cream, tortillas if you like them.

 

LOVE curried veggies w/garbanzo beans!

[Denisemomof4]

chinese stir fried rice

Spaghetti topped with sauteed onions, garlic, green olive

Baked potato w/salad

Pasta salad w/basic green salad

Stirfry veggies on rice (broccoli and carrots are cheap!)

[KRG]

pasta and homemade sauce w/bell pepper and mushrooms

eggs and toast maybe bacon or sausage depending on $

oatmeal and fruit

chicken thighs or legs(always on sale--someone had them .69/lb last week)

burritos, tacos or enchiladas

veggie stirfry--I have found frozen veggies to be pretty inexpensive

chicken and dumplings

soup--tomato, broccoli cheese, vegetable, etc.

stew--you can usually found a cheaper cut of meat and put in the crockpot to make it tender

[Cricket]

Tonight I made spaghetti carbonara. I'm not sure what the cost per serving is but is seems pretty cheap and the family loves it.

 

This is the recipe I use. I never use the white wine. When I'm out of garlic and onion, I just sprinkle some garlic powder and onion powder in the eggs before adding them to the pan. For the bacon I use about 3/4 c chopped ends and pieces. It's cheaper for ends and pieces than pretty slices.

[Mommie_Jen]

I have 1 kid with egg, dairy, and rice allergies and another who gags, dry heaves and cries if he spots any sort of beans. A lot of the super cheap meals aren't an option for us, but I keep looking!

[justamouse]

My kids love sardines! What a bunch of weirdos. But it's trull, there's joy in mudville when they decide to crack open cans of sardines and bring out the triscuts. I like em, too. :D

 

I made a big stir fry with veggies that I have, rice, seasonings, leftover meats and a few scrambled eggs. Whatever I have goes in there.

 

If you buy mozerella when it's on sale and freeze it and make your own crust, you can make pizza super cheap. I can make 4 lg pizzas for about 7 bucks. You can break that down, but my family eats 4 pizzas. :D

[elegantlion]

We do a lot of breakfast. Probably not cheaper for larger families, but affordable for smaller ones.

 

Potatoes, I use a lot of those

 

Rice

 

Carrots

 

Pears from our pear tree

 

Fish - fish has been a biggie this summer. For the price of a fishing license we've had several meals. Dh found a few stocked ponds that allow free fishing. We eat catfish or bass at least once a week. Where we used to live the only good catfish place charged by the pound.

 

My family doesn't tolerate beans well.

 

We dress up a lot of the basics with seasonings (we found a cheap place to buy in whatever quantity you need)

 

Natural applesauce is also good

[momto4kings]

Check out this website for lots of great cheap meals:

 

http://theprudenthomemaker.com/

[Chris in VA]

Potatoes. Potato soup, fried potatoes, potato fritters, baked potato, potato and onion quiche, potato salad, roasted potatoes.

 

Cabbage. cole slaw, cabbage salad, sauteed cabbage, braised cabbage, sweet and sour cabbage, cabbage/vegetable soup.

 

Carrots. carrot salad, pureed carrots, shredded carrots and cabbage in fried rice, raw carrots, stir fried carrots.

 

Potatoes, cabbage, onions,and carrots are all very cheap here. In the fall sweet potatoes are very cheap also.

 

Don't forget cabbage and homemade noodles. Just cabbage, flour, egg, water, butter, seasonings. It's actually yummy.

[swellmomma]

A new favorite around here has been to make spaghetti, sprinkle with just a bit of clubhouse italiano seasoning mix. Serve with what ever veggies I found for cheap, so it might be a bagged salad, or carrot sticks, or cucumbers etc. Lately we have not been able to afford canned sauce (my sensoriy kids will not eat homemade sauce because of the chunks of tomatoes), and 1 container of the seasonings lasts a couple months for us. It is so very very yummy and cheap. There is no protein in it, so sometimes on the nights we have that I make sure bedtime snack has peanut butter in it, so PB on crackers, or toast or appleslices dipped in PB etc to add a protein in before bedtime

[happypamama]

A roast chicken can be stretched pretty far too. Add some potatoes/sweet potatoes/bread, and a green veggie, and it's a complete meal. (Or do sauteed spinach as one side, and cauliflower or carrots as the other, if you don't do grains. We lean toward the paleo/primal side of things, so we don't do a lot of bread/grains, but we do stock up on frozen veggies when they're on sale and will add as many of those as needed to round out a meal. We usually have a fair amount of breast meat left, so that could be used in soup or stir-fry the next day, or for chicken salad for lunch.

[ssavings]

Lo mein? We've made it using spaghetti noodles, left-over meats, cabbage, and onion. Cheap.

 

Fried rice, made with leftover meat, or vegetarian?

 

Homemade pizza

[Mystie]

Instead of quiche I do frittata -- no crust to mess with and it seems easier to add more veggies to it. (Plus I don't do Crisco or margarine and butter is expensive, so a pie crust wouldn't keep it a cheap meal).

 

I just posted a new one we tried that was a big hit: Cheesy Steak Fries.

 

Potato Hash is another favorite.

 

Converting to homemade bread rather than store-bought is another great way to cut costs. Bread seems cheap, but it's still way cheaper to make your own.

 

Homemade pizza is a good one, too, particularly if you make the crust and don't overload the cheese.

[phathui5]

Homemade pizza. We make crust from scratch, add tomato sauce, cheese and whatever vegetables we have handy.

[Katy]

potatoes, cabbage, milk, and whatever veggies are on sale (fresh or frozen) are generally cheap and very nutritious. I once read that potatoes and whole milk make a nearly complete diet.

 

Soups based on bone broth give a little meat flavoring and a lot of things that are very good for you (calcium, gelatin and minerals in the soup that would not otherwise be there).

 

A strip or two of bacon makes inexpensive otherwise vegetarian food taste delicious.

 

If I serve chicken breasts to my family DH alone will eat two if they are whole. Somehow if I dice the chicken up into 1" cubes or smaller and stretch with other things we eat way less meat. For example, this week we had taco salad. There was romaine lettuce, bell peppers and onions, black beans from a can, salsa, 2 chicken breasts, shredded cheddar, and tortilla chips. I wished I'd remembered cilantro and lime, but everyone else liked it. I could have stretched this even further with a little bit of rice.

 

If I dish up meals myself people are satisfied with less meat and cheese and more veggies. If I have them make their own plates they eat a quarter cup of shredded cheese each instead of 2 T.

 

So basically - stretch expensive ingredients with less expensive but more nutritious ones.

 

If you live in an area with large ethnic populations, try ethnic markets. I miss one from when we lived in the Denver area - a huge mexican market with cheap fruits, veggies, herbs, fresh cheese, pork, and tons of specialty ingredients that were the exact same brand as at whole foods but for 1/4 to 1/10th the price.

[justamouse]

I second (third?) bone broth soups. SUPER healthy for you. We have soup at least twice a week in the winter, and the it always is a first course when it's not the meal.

[stripe]

Lately we have not been able to afford canned sauce (my sensoriy kids will not eat homemade sauce because of the chunks of tomatoes),

 

I make my own sauce and puree it in with an immersible blender (I got it for about $15 years ago), and that hides the onions and carrots and other things that my kids might pick out.

 

My mom made these vegetarian meatballs once that have whole wheat bread, cooked onions, small mozzarella chunks, parsley, and chopped walnuts, bound with an egg, I suppose you could also add lentils. It is really tasty! So I make them. I think it's a good way to liven up spaghetti. I also like eggplant as a side dish, or some sort of zucchini thing, like this. I often add mozzarella cheese to my kids' pasta.

Edited July 14, 2012 by stripe

[JoLuRu]

I make my own sauce and puree it in with an immersible blender (I got it for about $15 years ago), and that hides the onions and carrots and other things that my kids might pick out.

 

I do this, too. Sauce (and soup) once blended can hide a multitude of healthy goodies that would otherwise be avoided.

[Stellalarella]

Instead of quiche I do frittata

 

Converting to homemade bread rather than store-bought is another great way to cut costs. Bread seems cheap, but it's still way cheaper to make your own.

 

 

:iagree::iagree: Have you checked out the book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day? The authors also have a book for breads with more whole grains or gluten free. http://www.amazon.com/Healthy-Bread-Five-Minutes-Day/dp/0312545525/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1342295289&sr=1-2&keywords=artisan+bread+in+five+minutes+a+day

 

I've showed how we bake our very, very cheap bread on my blog.

 

I recently really enjoyed a book called Wildly Affordable Organic on $5 A Day

. The author put her self on a budget = to food stamps and chose healthy, whole foods. When she was able to make that work (Which was $3 a day per person), she stretched the budget to $5 a day and bought organic food.

 

I like this book. It is very practical.

 

We no longer purchase bread or tortillas. I am also not buying cereal any more.

[Stellalarella]

I just thought of one more thing--

 

sweet potatoes, sweet potatoes, sweet potatoes!! I find that they fill us up better than white potatoes and everyone loves the sweetness. Here is how to roast them.

 

Also, I love to add sweet potatoes to our frittatas--the flavor is fabulous.

 

First, I dice up a sweet potato into tiny, tiny pieces. I cook the s.p. in olive oil in our big iron skillet until the pieces are tender. We like tumeric, so I liberally dose them with tumeric. Next I pour over our eggs and herbs and then proceed to cook as I would any other frittata.

 

Baked sweet potato fries are WONDERFUL, but much more doable for a family of 4 than a family of 8.

 

We also really like to roast sweet potatoes and then mash them up with cinnamon and nutmeg (no sugar needed). The kids feel like I am serving up pie.

 

:001_smile:

[Stellalarella]

I have 1 kid with egg, dairy, and rice allergies and another who gags, dry heaves and cries if he spots any sort of beans. A lot of the super cheap meals aren't an option for us, but I keep looking!

 

Our favorite soup is a pureed lentil soup. WE use a red lentil, which cooks to a light yellow, so it doesn't look brown and beany. :001_smile: Just a thought--have you ever tired to puree? Even my die-hard bean-hating friends will eat hummus or sample the lentil soup.

 

I have never heard of a rice allergy. I am so sorry. :grouphug:

[JoLuRu]

Also, I love to add sweet potatoes to our frittatas--the flavor is fabulous.

:001_smile:

 

We love sweet potatoes and I never thought to add them to frittatas! I'll try that. :)

[Stellalarella]

We love sweet potatoes and I never thought to add them to frittatas! I'll try that. :)

 

We have friends who live in North Africa. In their country, they eat something like a frittata, but they call it tajine. They cook tiny diced white potatoes and tumeric in oil, then add eggs, parsley and tuna and bake it. They eat it hot or cold. Our family has come to really enjoy this dish. I don't bake ours in a 9 x 13, though. I just make it in a cast iron skillet, cooking it part way through on the stove top and finishing under the broiler.

Edited July 14, 2012 by Andrea Lowry
add s

[TheTwinsMom1]

(my sensoriy kids will not eat homemade sauce because of the chunks of tomatoes)

 

We make a homemade that has no chunks. You just put tomato paste, plus the same amount of water added to the empty cans, and spaghetti sauce seasonings(they come in pouches near the beef stew mix, etc)

 

It tastes like regular old canned cause with no chunks and is cheap to make.

[Ottakee]

If you live near a farmer's market, go near the end of the day and ask for their "canning" or "not so perfect" produce. You might have to eat/process it quickly but it is often much cheaper than their regular prices.

[alpidarkomama]

Homemade veggie burgers on homemade buns cost me $0.30/per burger! Including all the fixings.

 

We do breakfast night every Thursday - eggs, pancakes, French toast, home fries, roasted fruit, crepes...

 

We love Ethiopian recipes! Great tasting beans, lentils, injera...

 

Homemade soy milk and tofu are REALLY cheap.

 

Homemade yogurt costs $3/gallon.

 

Homemade seitan is really easy and cheap. Really great marinated in bbq sauce and broiled or bbqed.

 

Chicken soup from bones, w/eggs and/or pasta is really good and almost free. :)

 

Pinto beans in the crockpot overnight are GREAT. Just cover beans, onion, garlic w/water and cook overnight on low, then throw in the food processor with cumin and salt. Oh, yum. Great tacos/burritos/bean dip.

 

That's what's at the top of my head! :)