# Recipe Ideas for frugal people



## christinad (Apr 30, 2013)

I had spaghetti with red lentils and pasta sauce last night. It tasted good - the lentils just bulked up the sauce. Cheap too! If you like whole wheat pasta, Safeway has something called Eating Right (I think that is what it is called) it is a larger size then the Catelli brand and cheaper.

Any other recipe ideas for frugal people?


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## NorthKC (Apr 1, 2013)

Go to Bulk Barn for non-perishable stuff. More easily portioned and easier on your wallet. I often get Cheerios from them, refilling the same box for only half price. Same with whole wheat pasta, etc. Biggest thing I've learned is to stay away from that place when hungry or you'll buy a whole whack of junk food while you're there! That was a sticker shock.... :S


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## Spudd (Oct 11, 2011)

But some stuff at Bulk Barn is more expensive than buying it at the supermarket! You need to know your costs/kg from the supermarket before you go to Bulk Barn. 

I like making big pots of food in my crockpot and then portioning it out into servings and freezing it for later use. I make a lot of bean-based dishes which are quite inexpensive.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

Rice can go a long way.

You can make a large amount of rice, then in a wok, stir-fry (make fried rice) using seasonings, misc veggies and/or meat, and eggs. Add more eggs for more filling. Goes a long way, and very cheap.


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## canabiz (Apr 4, 2009)

james4beach said:


> Rice can go a long way.
> 
> You can make a large amount of rice, then in a wok, stir-fry (make fried rice) using seasonings, misc veggies and/or meat, and eggs. Add more eggs for more filling. Goes a long way, and very cheap.


+1.

We eat rice almost every day (and I realize this may not be for everyone due to cultural and social reasons). We usually mix some barley, beans, lentils in with the rice for more nutrition. Rice goes well with almost everything, we usually make 1 main dish, 1 pot of soup and have some side dishes and Bob's your uncle.

Leftovers to bring for lunch the day after as well. 

Bon Appetit!


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## none (Jan 15, 2013)

Anything dried and in bulk. 

Beans and rice is super cheap and if made correctly pretty tasty.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

I find stocking up on the big sales, and working meal around that. Try repurposing items and not wasting anything.

For example, I will buy a smoke pork shoulder bone in, for $1 a lb. I will roast it for my big meal. Left overs will be cubed for as a protein add in such as rice, pasta salad, ect. I take the bone and simmer with dried split peas and make split pea soup, and add a little more if the diced ham. I will get at least 4 meals for our family plus leftovers at lunch for the $14 pork shoulder. Most of the other ingredients I usually have as staples.

Anytime you have left over scraps of meats, veggies, pasta, throw them in a bag in the freezer. When you have enough add it all into a soup. Make sure the items you are throwing in the bag doesn't have heavy sauces.

Soups and stews are generally very frugal meals.

We make the best stocks out of bones (we carve the meat off before serving) or washed vegetable peelings.

Before using oranges, lemons or limes, we zest then first and then freeze.


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## MrMatt (Dec 21, 2011)

Costco.
Just don't get tempted to spend more than you normally would.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

Costco is not always cheaper. Hey have great consistent quality, by just like very where else you need to know tHe unit costs.


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## smrtalec (Dec 16, 2010)

I like the recipes on Budget Bytes. I'm not a good cook so I like her easy-to-follow steps. She includes the price (USD) of all her ingredients.


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## cainvest (May 1, 2013)

Plugging Along said:


> Costco is not always cheaper. Hey have great consistent quality, by just like very where else you need to know tHe unit costs.


Correct, Costco is not always cheaper.
I shop Costco once a week which generally follows their sale rotation. 90% of the items I buy are the sale items that fit my food staples category so I stock up a little, e.g. 3 boxes of cereal instead of 1. Usually these sale items are priced very low, 20-40% below normal Costco prices and almost always cheaper than other store sales. Do watch out though, some of the items get close to their expiry dates, likely the reason they blow them off.


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## NorthKC (Apr 1, 2013)

Spudd said:


> But some stuff at Bulk Barn is more expensive than buying it at the supermarket! You need to know your costs/kg from the supermarket before you go to Bulk Barn.
> 
> I like making big pots of food in my crockpot and then portioning it out into servings and freezing it for later use. I make a lot of bean-based dishes which are quite inexpensive.


Just like every other purchase, do your research! For a lot of the stuff that I normally buy in grocery stores, it's actually cheaper at bulk barn (especially as I'm only cooking for myself). In addition, if you only need a small amount of baking stuff to purchase one item a year, bulk barn will help prevent that food waste (also another issue for most folks!).


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## MrMatt (Dec 21, 2011)

As far as recipe ideas. My lame fried rice.
Cook the rice with chicken stock.
Use ground pork, fry it, add a few scrambled eggs and some green onion.
Splash with soy sauce.

The other thing I do is splurge on sauces, and use sauce and spice along with the cheap vegetables and "stir fry/saute" them. Throw in lots of tofu or cheap meat and you're set. Some cheap cuts of meat are pretty decent if you cut them thing.

The other one is chicken legs or halves, BBQ or oven roasted it's a cheap meat, and tasty. Add wood chips and a bit of smoke and you won't be missing out.


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## liquidfinance (Jan 28, 2011)

smrtalec said:


> I like the recipes on Budget Bytes. I'm not a good cook so I like her easy-to-follow steps. She includes the price (USD) of all her ingredients.


That looks quite a good site. Thanks.


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## My Own Advisor (Sep 24, 2012)

A bunch of homemade pizzas. The dough or naan bread is not that expensive, you can buy a bunch of that stuff for a couple of bucks, and then your veggie toppings. Probably a few healthy meals for <$10.


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## Hawkdog (Oct 26, 2012)

My Own Advisor said:


> A bunch of homemade pizzas. The dough or naan bread is not that expensive, you can buy a bunch of that stuff for a couple of bucks, and then your veggie toppings. Probably a few healthy meals for <$10.


we do this with naan bread, it works really well.

Walmart is cheaper than costco. We actually buy gluten free pasta there. Its the best gluten free pasta I have tried and its the cheapest.
We have to drive a couple hours to get to Walmart but prices are significantly cheaper than the local Safeway.


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## none (Jan 15, 2013)

My Own Advisor said:


> A bunch of homemade pizzas. The dough or naan bread is not that expensive, you can buy a bunch of that stuff for a couple of bucks, and then your veggie toppings. Probably a few healthy meals for <$10.


I'm actually throwing a pizza party tonight!

Pizza dough is rediculously easy to make. 2 cups water, some honey, salt, 4-ish cups of flour or until it is just barely pulling from the edge of the bowl. Easy peasy (throw in kitchen aid for 5 minutes, use 1/4 tsp of yeast and let rise overnight). BOOM!


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## none (Jan 15, 2013)

Hawkdog said:


> we do this with naan bread, it works really well.
> 
> Walmart is cheaper than costco. We actually buy gluten free pasta there. Its the best gluten free pasta I have tried and its the cheapest.
> We have to drive a couple hours to get to Walmart but prices are significantly cheaper than the local Safeway.


I find Walmart's business model offensive on many levels. I gladly pay marginally more at other places to not support their crappy business model.


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## 6811 (Jan 1, 2013)

I just hate the checkouts at Wal-Mart's. Never enough cashiers, always a long wait. Never bothered to buy food there.


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## HaroldCrump (Jun 10, 2009)

none said:


> I find Walmart's business model offensive on many levels. I gladly pay marginally more at other places to not support their crappy business model.


Unless you are buying products in those "other places" that are sourced, prepared, and paid for very differently, chances are you are simply over-paying for the same crap.


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## none (Jan 15, 2013)

HaroldCrump said:


> Unless you are buying products in those "other places" that are sourced, prepared, and paid for very differently, chances are you are simply over-paying for the same crap.


I was more referring to how they treat their employes - I think that's important and i'm not so poor that I am unable to use my consumer votes to support such a model.

Lowest price isn't my only consideration when I purchase things.

Although I'm certain you won't read it (I'm sure you'll ironically claim it as some pseudoscience or something else nonsensical) here are some insights comparing the Costco model to the Walmart model. 

http://www.businessweek.com/article...the-cheapest-happiest-company-in-the-world#p1

Of particular interest:
_"Despite the sagging economy and challenges to the industry, Costco pays its hourly workers an average of $20.89 an hour, not including overtime (vs. the minimum wage of $7.25 an hour). By comparison, Walmart said its average wage for full-time employees in the U.S. is $12.67 an hour, according to a letter it sent in April to activist Ralph Nader. Eighty-eight percent of Costco employees have company-sponsored health insurance; Walmart says that “more than half” of its do. Costco workers with coverage pay premiums that amount to less than 10 percent of the overall cost of their plans. It treats its employees well in the belief that a happier work environment will result in a more profitable company. “I just think people need to make a living wage with health benefits,” says Jelinek. “It also puts more money back into the economy and creates a healthier country. It’s really that simple.”_


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## cainvest (May 1, 2013)

I read it, still not seeing what the problem with Walmart is in that comparison ???


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## none (Jan 15, 2013)

Basically Walmart pays their employees so poorly that many have to rely on social assistance as well to survive. I think this is a gross misuse of tax payer money (effectively subsidizing Walmart, a 450 billion dollar company).

I'd rather support a company where the CEO is suitably compensated and employees are paid a living wage.

Also I find the US walmart selling guns for children repugnant and disgusting.

I don't want any association whatsoever with things like this: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/30/kentucky-shooting_n_3189828.html


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## cedebe (Feb 1, 2012)

none said:


> Basically Walmart pays their employees so poorly that many have to rely on social assistance as well to survive. I think this is a gross misuse of tax payer money (effectively subsidizing Walmart, a 450 billion dollar company).
> 
> I'd rather support a company where the CEO is suitably compensated and employees are paid a living wage.
> 
> Also I find the US walmart selling guns for children repugnant and disgusting.


*+1!* (Too bad this board doesn't have a 'like' button for posts.)


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## cainvest (May 1, 2013)

none said:


> Basically Walmart pays their employees so poorly that many have to rely on social assistance as well to survive. I think this is a gross misuse of tax payer money (effectively subsidizing Walmart, a 450 billion dollar company).


From what *I see*, Walmart hires many first time workers (i.e. kids) that get their first job experience there. This can't be said for the Costco's I've seen and I go to three different ones here. I also work with a previous Costco employee and while he says the pay and conditions are good, you have a very tough time getting in there full time. Most of the regular grocery store chains are the same as Walmart, many part-time employees to keep the costs down. A good place to get a first job but you don't want to stay employed there for life.


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## none (Jan 15, 2013)

cainvest said:


> From what *I see*, Walmart hires many first time workers (i.e. kids) that get their first job experience there. This can't be said for the Costco's I've seen and I go to three different ones here. I also work with a previous Costco employee and while he says the pay and conditions are good, you have a very tough time getting in there full time. Most of the regular grocery store chains are the same as Walmart, many part-time employees to keep the costs down. A good place to get a first job but you don't want to stay employed there for life.


It's hard to get into costco full time for the simple reason is that it's a great job that pays well. Hence they have great employee loyalty and retention.

Many companies subscribe to the 'race to the bottom' for prices. I don't really want underpaid, untrained disgruntled employees handling my food (particularly in the meat department). I'd rather pay what ultimately results in a minuscule premium for added food safety and which increases the middle class. I think it's the least I can do for my family and society as a whole. you can think of it as a self directed benefit tax.


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## cainvest (May 1, 2013)

none said:


> Also I find the US walmart selling guns for children repugnant and disgusting.
> 
> I don't want any association whatsoever with things like this: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/30/kentucky-shooting_n_3189828.html


Uhhh, this has absolutely nothing to do with Walmart ... not sure why you put this here???


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## none (Jan 15, 2013)

Where do you think they bought the gun?

http://money.cnn.com/2013/05/03/news/companies/guns-children/index.html

I will not support a company that sells guns for children. No way in hell.


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## cainvest (May 1, 2013)

none said:


> Where do you think they bought the gun?
> 
> http://money.cnn.com/2013/05/03/news/companies/guns-children/index.html
> 
> I will not support a company that sells guns for children. No way in hell.


Well, your call ... but I see this as the parents fault not Walmart. Should people stop buying steel and wood from the companies that sold those resources to make the gun as well ... where do you stop with the blame?


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## none (Jan 15, 2013)

cainvest said:


> Well, your call ... but I see this as the parents fault not Walmart. Should people stop buying steel and wood from the companies that sold those resources to make the gun as well ... where do you stop with the blame?


I see it as a fault of both (but especially the parents who I think should be charged with negligence). Also why I don't bank with HSBC. I'm not going to be involved with a company that helps/has helped drug runners and people involved in human trafficking. No thanks.


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## cainvest (May 1, 2013)

Like I said, your call but I bet you could find something for virtually every company along those lines of thinking.

Could all these people be wrong  
http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/blogs/insight/canadian-millionaires-love-shop-wal-mart-194908816.html


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## none (Jan 15, 2013)

cainvest said:


> Like I said, your call but I bet you could find something for virtually every company along those lines of thinking.
> 
> Could all these people be wrong
> http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/blogs/insight/canadian-millionaires-love-shop-wal-mart-194908816.html


Yes.

Anyway, I do the best I can with the information that I have. To just write it all off and not care is not my style. It's like giving to charity. There's not law that I have to but I do so because I think it makes the world a better place.

Not shopping at Walmart is a comparably insignificant sacrifice so it's really no effort to not shop there. It's a horrible company and I have no interest in supporting it.


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

Getting back to the topic, only to perhaps veer off in another direction, what about Soylent?

It's a DIY attempt to provide daily nutrition requirements in a form that requires little preparation and at low cost. It is essentially carbohydrates (maltodextrin or other), protein (whey protein isolate), oil (olive or other healthy oils) plus a bunch of micronutrients. It looks pretty gross, but I thought it was fascinating. The guy behind it has raised about $500,00 in a crowdfunding effort to bring it to the masses. I can only imagine the horror some members here would express at the idea.

But it does speak to the OP's desire for inexpensive recipes. Apparently you can feed yourself for about $5 a day, or $1.66 per meal, on average. Any takers?


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

soylent story = funny
whatizzitt = just another version of liquid medical nutrition
looks like = vomit
packaging = kreated by koolth in kalifornia
prediction = crazy popularity
perfect for = millennials & other OBEs


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

It's been described as tasting like bread, cake batter or malt beverage. It seems to me to be related to the quantified self movement.

I thought certain members might be horrified because many nutritionists seem to be horrified by the idea.


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

there's something about it that says it's going to be a big fad

it's like space food but slurpy therefore faster ...

i like to cook & i treasure real vegetables & fruits as fast out of the fields & orchards as i can find them, so yea i'm horrified ... i haven't read any nutritionists' reports but it's easy to imagine them ... there are substances in organic field-grown produce that science hasn't even found yet ... working now on enzyme & other studies ... there are trace minerals, like maybe 40 or more trace minerals (i don't really know how many) ... so did those kool kalifornia kidz manage or even know to include all of them?

could the 1st person w a Soylent t-shirt please post a pic each:


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

He has a blog where he talks about this. 

I think his point is that he isn't replacing well-prepared healthy meals with this stuff, he's replacing burritos and burger/fry meals. On that level, I can understand where he's coming from. I don't have the time or aptitude to eat like brad does (though I'm a passable cook and quite like fruits, veggies, etc.), though I would like to. So for the meals where I'm just stuffing calories into my stomach to get me by until the next meal, I can see the appeal of an easy, reasonably nutritious alternative.


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## randomthoughts (May 23, 2010)

> Apparently you can feed yourself for about $5 a day, or $1.66 per meal, on average. Any takers? 

Yup, that was my budget for a while and it wasn't even hard.

Meat should be around 99c/lb. 2-3lbs per day! Meat's been a bit expensive, but I got 3 air chilled chickens for $6.66 each at costco Friday (8 bucks off the 3pack!). Picnic hams go on sale for that price, as do pork shoulders. Eggs and beans are cheap so you can spring for steaks sometimes and average it out.

Starches should be almost free. A large bag of rice is pennies per serving. 10lb bags of potatoes are $1.99 or even less and you don't have to eat them all in one sitting.

Veg can be expensive. But broccoli on sale is 99c. Kale is $2.50 regular. A bag of carrots can be had for 99c, as can lettuce and celery. Asian eggplant (the good ones!) are 79c/lb and they're light so 2 eggplants are under a buck. The failsafe is frozen veg.

So to recap:
$3 bucks for 2-3lbs of meat (or a dozen eggs or so...)
$2 bucks for 2 bags of carrots, 2 bunches of broccoli or 3lbs of eggplant, 2 bags of onions etc
10lb bag of potatoes can be had for a couple bucks, but I prefer the convenience of rice.

Looking at my 2006 spreadsheet reads a bit more (I like meat better than veg), but I ended up buying toiletries out of it as well:
Rice	0.25
Veg	1 (it was a struggle to eat one head of broccoli) 
Meat	5 (chicken could regularly be had at under 99c/lb back then... it still can be now, but it's rarer... still, 5lb of meat was enough for anyone)

I spend more now, but I was eating very well back then... no one really needs 5lb of meat.


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

randomthoughts said:


> Yup [$5 per day] was my budget for a while and it wasn't even hard.
> 
> Meat should be around 99c/lb. 2-3lbs per day! ... 10lb bags of potatoes are $1.99 or even less and you don't have to eat them all in one sitting ...
> 
> ...


:biggrin: am i understanding this ok? somehow you'd plow through 2-3 pounds of meat or else a dozen eggs, plus all those pounds of vegetables ... every ... single ... day?

gosh i could cook for 5 or 6 with this allotment. Alternately for one person of standard appetite this allotment would last several days.

not that the drill would save money. All the desirable food items that are missing here - tea, coffee, milk, cream, yoghurt, cheese, fresh fruit, fruit juice, dried fruit, bread, butter, jam, condiments - would cost big $$ to fill in.

may i offer a suggestion each: take those chickens & sacks of veggies & boil em into a soup just like they do in prisons. The more tasteless the better. Those 10 pounds of potatoes should ensure a potage thick enough to stave off starvation plus a quantity that would last a week or more.

it's only a hop skip & jump past that to Soylent, the powdered daily ration with the big advantages. Like no prep time. Just like pablum & other baby foods. As powdered nutrient, it's been around for decades, but this new version has been spritzed up by cute millennials. Even the way they're raising their funding is ingenious.

anybody getting a Soylent t-shirt soon?

EDIT: this is my favourite line



> it was a struggle to eat one head of broccoli


RE-EDIT: no, this my favourite line, it's super-funny for anyone who has cooked for hungry teenage boys



> 10lb bags of potatoes are $1.99 or even less and you don't have to eat them all in one sitting


.


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## brad (May 22, 2009)

Heck, you could skip it all and just live on the potatoes:

http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.ca/2012/12/the-potato-diet.html


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

re living on the potatoes, may we have a nice potato survival soup recipe please

it could include a few garlics & onions plus 2-3 vegs like kale or chard for the green, red/yellow peppers & carrots/beets for the red

but take it easy w the tasty vegs since soup is supposed to be a punishing hairshirt & must not be delicious


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## randomthoughts (May 23, 2010)

humble_pie said:


> :biggrin: am i understanding this ok? somehow you'd plow through 2-3 pounds of meat or else a dozen eggs, plus all those pounds of vegetables ... every ... single ... day?
> 
> gosh i could cook for 5 or 6 with this allotment. Alternately for one person of standard appetite this allotment would last several days.
> 
> ...


Haha, that was the notional budget, which was used to establish a monthly food budget. 

And yes, it's more than enough food for one day, which left plenty of room for more luxury items when on sale, like steak and cheese and fruit. I never felt punished. (Also, bananas are 69c/lb, apples and oranges 99c/lb on sale, cream is $2/litre, big bricks of cheese go on sale for $4.44 - admittedly not parmigianno)

I guess the real takeaway here is that you cannot eat processed foods or restaurant meals for anything close to what you can buy raw groceries for. (That being said, McCain's ultrathin pizzas go on sale for $3 and half price McD's big-size meal wraps were $2.50.)

The struggle to eat the broccoli was more in the nature of 'trying to eat my daily quotient of veg instead of just buying more meat'  It's hard for me to spend big bucks on produce instead of a lobster!

That being said, nowadays my budget is more and I'm pretty relaxed about it. My 2012 spreadsheet shows my actual grocery spending at just under $9/day (including toiletries). And I eat VERY well: thisiswhyimfat.net is my food blog (though I should point out, I'm 175lbs, so not HUGELY fat, just mildy fat  )

Deals these days are Costco cheese (really great quality parm ($30 for a chunk) and gruyere ($11!) for cheap! Lobster goes on sale for under $10/lb... ok I was buying that anyway. And entire beef tenderloins are $9/lb and will feed me for about a week of meals.


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## Hawkdog (Oct 26, 2012)

none said:


> I find Walmart's business model offensive on many levels. I gladly pay marginally more at other places to not support their crappy business model.


Well this is a thread on Frugality, and Walmart is the cheapest place to buy food. I find it offensive that I have to pay a dollar more for a box of granola bars in Safeway, not sure I would call that marginal.


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

That's easy. Don't buy granola bars. They're just candy bars in 'health food' clothing.


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## Nemo2 (Mar 1, 2012)

andrewf said:


> That's easy. Don't buy granola bars. They're just candy bars in 'health food' clothing.


+1


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## none (Jan 15, 2013)

randomthoughts said:


> Haha, that was the notional budget, which was used to establish a monthly food
> 
> Deals these days are Costco cheese (really great quality parm ($30 for a chunk) and gruyere ($11!) for cheap! Lobster goes on sale for under $10/lb... ok I was buying that anyway. And entire beef tenderloins are $9/lb and will feed me for about a week of meals.


The smoked balderson at Costco is great and also the bosein. Unfortunately I'm going to end up with a cheese snob kid- he gets borsein and cucumber sandwiches for lunch!

Now you just have to get into curing your own meats. I'm making 13 pounds of prosciutto for $23! Of course it takes a year to make but good things come to those that wait


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## 6811 (Jan 1, 2013)

andrewf said:


> Getting back to the topic, only to perhaps veer off in another direction, what about Soylent?
> 
> Am I the only one who remembers the movie "Soylent Green"? I can't believe anyone would try to market a product with the name Soylent, even if it was a crappy movie.


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## Hawkdog (Oct 26, 2012)

andrewf said:


> That's easy. Don't buy granola bars. They're just candy bars in 'health food' clothing.


should i stop buying food for my cat to?


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## none (Jan 15, 2013)

Hawkdog said:


> should i stop buying food for my cat to?


Just think how frugal you could be if you ate your cat?


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## Hawkdog (Oct 26, 2012)

none said:


> Just think how frugal you could be if you ate your cat?


then i could move on to the mice the cat was eating!


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## none (Jan 15, 2013)

Hawkdog said:


> then i could move on to the mice the cat was eating!


Yum!


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## FrugalTrader (Oct 13, 2008)

I like to shop based on what is on sale. This week, Loblaws (Dominion here) had side ribs for $1.49/lb. Popped them in the slow cooker for a tasty, low cost meal for the whole family.


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## Hawkdog (Oct 26, 2012)

i would use the BBQ I bought at walmart, i like my mice on the well done side.



none said:


> Yum!


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## Hawkdog (Oct 26, 2012)

none said:


> Now you just have to get into curing your own meats. I'm making 13 pounds of prosciutto for $23! Of course it takes a year to make but good things come to those that wait


so you do you give any consideration to how the pig used in your prosciutto is raised?


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## randomthoughts (May 23, 2010)

none said:


> The smoked balderson at Costco is great and also the bosein. Unfortunately I'm going to end up with a cheese snob kid- he gets borsein and cucumber sandwiches for lunch!
> 
> Now you just have to get into curing your own meats. I'm making 13 pounds of prosciutto for $23! Of course it takes a year to make but good things come to those that wait


I'll have to try those 

Kudos on curing your own meat... I'm too lazy for that. My italian friend looks wistfully at my cold cellar...


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## none (Jan 15, 2013)

Hawkdog said:


> so you do you give any consideration to how the pig used in your prosciutto is raised?


I try to after I have done a 'proof of concept'. For example, the procuitto is admittedly from a 'slave pig' ($1 a pound). this is the first time I've done it though and wanted to make sure that I knew what I was doing prior to spending $100 on a Berkshire leg.

For my birthday, however, I received a live pig that is currently frolicking in a forest getting nice and fat. happy pig, all organic - I will likely cure a good portion of 'BACO'


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## none (Jan 15, 2013)

randomthoughts said:


> I'll have to try those
> 
> Kudos on curing your own meat... I'm too lazy for that. My italian friend looks wistfully at my cold cellar...


Depending on what you're doing it's actually super easy. Pancetta for example is probably only 30 mins of real work to make. Most of it is just the meat curing and drying.

Sausages are a lot more work but I'm not there yet. The procuitto, same thing, about 30 mins of work but a year to hang in your basement. Same with dry-aged steaks -- all the work is done by bacteria and air drying. Super easy and really tasty.


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## spirit (May 9, 2009)

MMMM Made this tonight and so good.
http://www.justapinch.com/recipes/main-course/chicken/beef-and-broccoli-crock-pot-style.html


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## Nemo2 (Mar 1, 2012)

spirit said:


> MMMM Made this tonight and so good.
> http://www.justapinch.com/recipes/main-course/chicken/beef-and-broccoli-crock-pot-style.html


Yum....once in a while we make something similar....with pasta substituting for rice, (which we eat often with other foods)


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## Ponderling (Mar 1, 2013)

to pull this thread back on topic... Wanapitei Canoe Trippers Cookbook, and Cookbook II are quite good at teaching you to cook healthy meals without needing meat. 

I use the ideas when I cook at home, and modify my gold standard of basic Canadian cooking - The Five Roses Flour cook book with thoughts from the camp recipe books.

We cook a lot from scratch and feed a family of two adults and a 10 and 13 yo on about $6k per year. I have discussed the ways in more detail in a thread I started in this sub forum a few months ago.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

I made a frugal yet amazing meal tonight and wanted to share... I got the shrimp at a good price. Those small sized shrimp can be pretty affordable.

*Garlic shrimp*

Dice garlic and sautee in a wok
Butter
Shrimp
Garlic salt
udon noodles
oregono flakes
olive oil
sesame oil - perhaps (I'm addicted to this stuff)

Probably not the most frugal thing on earth, but I still consider this a win!


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## Beaver101 (Nov 14, 2011)

^ It's definitely a win when enjoyed. But I would skip the butter if using olive oil and use garlic salt sparsely since the shrimps would be naturally sea-salty if not farm raised version. This would save a couple of cents too - in which case I would throw in a veggie, onions, green pepper, or peas?


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## none (Jan 15, 2013)

james4beach said:


> I made a frugal yet amazing meal tonight and wanted to share... I got the shrimp at a good price. Those small sized shrimp can be pretty affordable.
> Probably not the most frugal thing on earth, but I still consider this a win!


Following a similar idea james - try this (but substitute some other smoked fish - eel is difficult to get and not in great shape). I've used smoked salmon and it's been pretty great but you could use almost anything:

http://www.gourmettraveller.com.au/...ith-smoked-eel-garlic-chilli-and-pangrattato/


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## heyjude (May 16, 2009)

Here's a guy who lives frugally in a mobile home and is a gourmet cook. His YouTube channel is excellent and his website has PDFs of all the recipes.

http://www.white-trash-cooking.com


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

Beaver101 said:


> ^ It's definitely a win when enjoyed. But I would skip the butter if using olive oil and use garlic salt sparsely since the shrimps would be naturally sea-salty if not farm raised version. This would save a couple of cents too - in which case I would throw in a veggie, onions, green pepper, or peas?


That's a good point. When I originally cooked this I didn't use olive oil and that occurred to me only later, so you might be right ... skip butter, just use olive oil.

I didn't realize that the shrimps are naturally salty. That's a good point on the salt, I could emphasize garlic powder which is a non salted one.


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## none (Jan 15, 2013)

Saltier thing is a myth. If you are cooking like that you definitely want to use fresh garlic. Garlic powder has it's place but this is not one of those times.


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## Ponderling (Mar 1, 2013)

This past weekend on Sunday I made 10l of beef chili - 2kg of lean ground beef, tvp for balance of the recipe called for beef, kidney beans pressure cooked from dry the day before, tomatoes from can bought on sale last fall, onions, green pepper from the shrink wrapped wounded fruit/veg cart at the grocer. Spices from bulk barn.

pressure canned 7-1l jars now in cold cellar, 1.5l in fridge, 1,5l split by four for dinner with stale buns for dipping.

next morning soak navy beans, after finding 2x500g bacon 30% off short dated at the grocery. dice more onions, bacon, add mustard, ketchup, molasses, brown sugar, and simmer. separate pressure canner cook beans, add to sauce mix now cooked. 

pressure can 7-1l jars and shift to the cold cellar, and 3 l in the fridge.

this weekend use up last of the fall's canned tomatoes to make pasta sauce with discounted ground beef thawed from the freezer. should yield about 12l, pressure canned and 

meals in the cold cellar are set aside for when the school year fires up in September. Until then eat what comes in fresh over the summer.


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

Is TVP actually cheap? I think I would bulk with beans over TVP, but that's due to my instinctive suspicion of the stuff.


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## Earl (Apr 5, 2016)

Here's a $10 chicken pasta caserole. Although that's $10 in the US, ingredients are much more expensive here, especially chicken and cheese. I guess you could substitute ground beef for the chicken.


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## Ponderling (Mar 1, 2013)

I buy TVP at bulk barn, and really don't think about the price, as I use it for a meat substitute when backcountry canoe camping.
I am pretty sure it is cheaper than ground beef, though likely more dear than dry beans. 
Nutrient wise few things come in cheaper than dry beans you cook yourself.


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