When money is tight, and it nearly always is with families after Christmas, the one really fluid part of the budget is the food budget. You can always scrape a few dollars out of the food budget if you think it through, and nobody seems to notice for about a week.
Here are some really cheap menu plans that taste good and fill up the family and won’t break the bank. You’ll have to do a little cooking, but you can save a bunch even if you have to buy everything listed.
Granola for breakfast.
Use half a large carton of whole oats $4.00, half large package of coconut @ $ 1.50, 3/4 cup canola oil @ $ 2.50, 1 cup brown sugar @ $ 2.00, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Bake 350 degrees in a baking pan for about 35 minutes. Let cool and serve every other morning.
$10.00
French toast for breakfast.
Use one quarter loaf of Italian bread @ $ 2.50 and two of a dozen eggs @ $ 1.50 and 1/4 stick of butter @ $2.50 lb. Use cinnamon sugar as a topping. Serve three days.
$6.50
Lunch:
Peanut butter @ $2.00 and brown bread or cinnamon bread @ $ 3.00 sandwiches serve M/W/F.
$5.00
With another loaf of Italian bread @ $ 2.50 make cheese @ $ 3.50 sandwiches T/W.
$6.00
Boil 2 eggs for egg salad for two days and use remaining Italian bread.
Apples every day for a week. @ $ 4.00 a bag.
$4.00
Dinner:
Chicken soup: 1 package of whole grain noodles @ $1.00; 1/2 jar of chicken bouillon @ 2.50; and 2 chicken breasts @ $3.00. Boil noodles, add bouillon, add cooked chicken, thicken with flour and water mix.
$6.50
Pancakes: Always a favorite: 2 cups whole grain flour @ $3.00; 1/4 cup canola oil; 1 egg; salt; 1 heaping teaspoon baking powder, milk @ $ 3.00 to desired thickness. 1 cup sugar @ $ 3.00 added to 1/2 cup water boiled three minutes will make syrup. Add 1/2 stick of butter.
$9.00
Mac and Cheese: One box of whole grain noodles @ $1.00. 1/2 stick of butter to 1/2 cup of flour cooked in a pan. Add two cups of milk, add rest of cheese from sandwiches, 1 tablespoon of chicken bouillon and bring to a boil. Serve over cooked noodles. Serve with piggy link sausage @ $ 3.00 additional = $4.00 total. Use some of the apples to make applesauce.
$4.00
Fake Crab sandwiches. Use one package fake crab from the sushi department @ $4.00. Chop celery and onion with crab @ $ 2.00. Use one piece of Italian bread and one egg. Make one package refrigerator biscuits at $2.50 for 4 tubes. Serve with left over mac and cheese, celery sticks and carrot sticks @ 1.50 a bag on special.
$10.00
Pizza: With some of your flour and a package of yeast @ $2.00, and some warm water and a tablespoon of oil, make a pizza dough. Use 1/2 can of tomato sauce @ $1.00 and one package of grated mozzarella or Monterrey Jack Cheese at @ $3.00. Use left over sausage…
$6.00
Meatloaf: buy two pounds of ground meat @ $ 8.00 and use some of your oats with the meat, 1/2 the can of tomato sauce. Bake for an hour at 350 degrees. Microwave potatoes @ $ 3.00 and serve with some of your carrots and celery steamed.
$11.00
Meatloaf sandwiches on the final night! Serve with any leftovers especially oven baked sliced potatoes dredged in oil.
If you had to buy everything here, it would cost under $80.00 and still be good for you. If you had oil, flour, and butter, it would, of course, be cheaper. Eating at school or grabbing a piece of toast in the morning is even cheaper. Substituting the meatloaf for tacos, might come out more cheaply as well.
Hope I’ve gotten you to thing about “cheap weeks!”