Menus for Frugality

[Cecilia's-life]

Happy to see this thread revived. I get nervous about this economy and how I'm about to be feeding a family of 5. We will be switching to completely cloth diapers soon enough. Too much risk of running out. And I'm not buying any more cans of formula "just in case" I don't want to take from those who need it.

 

[flowerbug]

similar problem, I do fine in summer until DH turns the AC on. Uggh. Can you block off the AC vent in one room and keep the temperature more moderate in that room?

i can and i do at times but it ends up not being very practical. we're talking back and forth throughout the day and i have my computer playing music so she can hear that. i'm going to see if i can get a little bump up in the temperature this summer. even a few degrees would help me a lot. we'll see how it goes.

 

[Trying2keepitReal]

we will be eating a lot of pasta/rice soon--cold pasta and hotdishes. Use up some of the canned tomatoes and frozen meats to clear out for the upcoming seasons. add some spices and maybe some cheese and good to go

 

[Cecilia's-life]

if in doubt throw it out or compost it.

I would be in doubt all the time! 🤣🤣 my mom made botulism seem much more prevalent than it probably is.

 

[Britesea]

Botulism is very dangerous... especially since you can't tell by sight or smell that it's present. But it's actually fairly easy to protect yourself from it (if it wasn't, we wouldn't be alive today). There are almost certainly botulism spores present on most foods you eat raw or lightly cooked; but as soon as they hit your stomach the hydrochloric acid present destroys the spores. Thorough cooking neutralizes the toxin in imperfectly canned foods. You are more at risk getting infected by eating in a restaurant with poor storage practices. I know of a woman who got it from a baked potato that had been wrapped in foil (excluding the oxygen that would have slowed it down) and then held at too low a temperature for too long. Luckily, she survived because the doctor recognized the symptoms and called in for the antitoxin (which, by the way, the country's entire stock of antitoxin is kept in DC and flown out by special jet when needed. Gives you an idea of how rare infection is)

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I don't necessarily plan like I should - but I do like to 'cook big'. Even though it's just the two of us I'll make a huge pot of chili or soup, or maybe a big ol' boston butt roast and make different dishes out of it. Neither one of us minds recycled meals, lol.

 

[Britesea]

I plan my menus every payday (2 weeks)- first checking what we have on hand that probably needs fixing soon, then checking the grocery ads of my 2 favorite stores. I plan a menu around that, then add items that we might be running low on, like Worcestershire, or TP. We also are able to keep the household budget down to $100 a week since I started cooking nearly everything from scratch; no sense paying someone else to make frozen lasagna when I can make it fresh myself for less!

 

[lcertuche]

I hope to keep this thread going for awhile. Now for a great frugal meal...TaDa! Fried Rice.

This is probably the cheapest food I have ever made. I make a huge amount for the Wildbunch.

Start out with cooked rice. When I make rice I will make it in the crockpot. I freeze what I'm not using. Now with a tiny bit of oil saute onions, and whatever vegetables you like. I like whatever is in the refrigerator and needs cooking or leftover veggies. I have used squash, peppers, mushrooms, peas, carrots, eggplant, kale...well, you get the picture. Or a combination of veggies. Meat is optional but if you choose to use it, dice it up small. A friend of mine uses ham and pineapple and calls it Hawaiian Fried Rice. I have used a can of tuna for the meat, leftover barbecue chicken, hamburger meat...

After the vegetables and meat is cooked (I like the veggies to be tender but not soft) throw in leftover boiled eggs mashed, scrambled eggs or scramble some fresh eggs.

Pour some soy sauce over to taste and serve hot. I will sometimes have homemade baked egg rolls with them.

Rice is cheap and you can use whatever you have on hand. I make this from 3 or 4 cups of rice (or 6 or 8 cups cooked). Yes thats a lot of fried rice but I have 2 teenage sons and a 12 year old and 7 year old. 3 out of 4 play football, basketball, track and sometimes soccer.

 

[flowerbug]

Since the hurricane I have been trying to cook bean soup with pasta at least once a week. I can’t believe how much canned beans and pasta I now have stock piled. I should probably think of something to do with the peanut butter. I have a feeling I will be eating it past the expiration date. I stopped going to the donation lines because of not having much room for more but it doesn’t matter because it gets delivered anyway 🤷‍♀️. Oh and the oatmeal. I have a feeling I won’t eat it fast enough too. Been making oatmeal cake sometimes.

granola is great cereal if you have free ingredients and can tolerate the carbs.

peanut butter i eat about 2-4lbs a month, it is one of the cheapest meals i can have (with some carrot sticks and a glass of milk).

of course peanut butter and oats are a great combination too. though i usually like the oats well cooked once in a while i like something really chewy and raw oats can provide that.

i'm not sure how much of either of those that a diabetic should limit themselves to, also seeing how much sugars can be added to the peanut butter. don't want to get someone in trouble.

i don't eat sugar free in general but i have cut a lot of sugar out of my diet already but even at halfway i still have a lot of room for avoiding more. we're such carboholics here though that it's a constant temptation.

 

[flowerbug]

If you have diabetes and can't get anything other than hi carb foods, you can mitigate it to some point by eating a lot of cinnamon. Cinnamon helps insulin work better. Also, I've found that if you can keep your calories down (which, admittedly, most of us Type 2's haven't done and that's the problem!) your body WILL burn those carbs.

yes, i'm familiar with those aspects of things. so far i am not diabetic or near diabetic but i am a bit too plump and i don't like how i feel (especially when the summer gets hot and i want to be outside getting something done and can't because i can't take the heat). this is also part of the bigger issue of that i can't acclimate to the heat because Mom must have the AC on and there's really no place where i can go outside and lounge at all that's comfortable enough. i need a good hammock and some netting out there.