can i get some cheap meals? (grilled, freezer, healthy, tuna)

[supermanpansy]

With the economy slipping further all the time. I am sure there are alot of people like myself on tight budgets. So what Im looking for are meals for super cheap....Moderator cut: deleted ...That are tolerable......can anyone think of anything that they make for cheep?

One I can think of is grilled cheese...and cool aid...The "good times" way....

[happynoodleboycey]

Don't worry, you don't have to eat like a crackhead. Contrary to common belief, purchasing fruits, vegetables and meats separately instead of in the form of tv dinners is actually a much cheaper way of doing things. You should have a muse around the fresh produce section at your local store. You might surprise yourself. Enjoy!

[nomoresnow]

Beans, lentils, barley, etc. are also inexpensive and delish, plus lots of good health benefits. Get a good cookbook or go online for recipes. Or, just ask around the Food Forum! Best of luck.

[DontH8Me]

beans and rice, ham hocks with greens. A little goes a long way.

[*Danielle*]

Beans, Cabbage/potatoes/ham, Tacos, Chicken and dumplings, Tuna casserole, Sauerkraut, Any kind of Pasta, Soups...Now that it is summer, hit some farmer's markets and make a huge great salad for a few bucks...

[thebreadlady]

i see people buying beans and grain and rice in 50# bags to get a little food ahead in case of hard times. potatoes can be bought cheaply in 50# bags if you have a cool dark place to store them. bread can be made very cheaply from scratch, and a 50# bag of flour is only about $25. you can pick up a countertop bread maker if you don't know how to make bread. buy stuff at the farmers market at the end of the day. ask if they have seconds available, they taste the same and are cheaper. learn to at least freeze stuff to preserve it. canning and dehydrating are better for storage reasons.
find a local buying club or go in with someone and join one of those huge warehouse stores. you can buy pasta bulk in 10 or 20 pound boxes and it is cheap that way and stores forever. or canned goods by the case. grow some food, even if all you have space for is a few herbs.
find someone who is a real pioneer and grows and makes and does all kinds of stuff for themselves and become their new best friend. i could teach a monkey to bake a loaf of bread in two hours.
i have several families that i barter stuff with, and people who swap chore time for fresh food. i even barter food for chiropractic and legal services.
perhaps Y2K was only a training run for what we are up against now???

[AlexTx]

Ramin noodles come to mind. And store brand cereal eaten with water.

Oh, and government cheese. Where the heck does one get government cheese? You hear about it in rap songs, lol.

[nomoresnow]

Leftovers...don't throw ANYTHING away! Oh, and soup. You can make some terrific soup out of a little chunk of meat and any leftover veggies and some pasta or rice. When you have leftover veggies, just throw them into a container in the fridge or freezer until you're ready to make the soup. It can be a real satisfying, filling meal.

[540_804]

Well...when I lived in a less-than-desirable part of town I ate the same things I eat now...the same things everyone else eats.

I've unfortunately (or fortunately) never even had the opportunity of experiencing this mythical and elusive "government cheese" that is often the subject of much discourse.

I guess if you want to save money, switching to off-brand/store-brand foods could save probably ~25% on your food bill. Though I personally can't stand off-brand cereals or drinks, off brand canned veggies taste exactly the same.

[Herbrocks]

Check out the Frugal Living board for multiple posts on this topic

One note, avoid eating ramen very often, it's not a healthy food, no matter what you put in it.