With the current food prices skyrocketing, including the cost of eggs and meat, you might be wondering how your grocery bill will be affected. Restructuring your household food needs can be critical in keeping your expenses on track. Having a list of budget-friendly meals will keep your shopping list organized and affordable.
Before we get into the meals, let’s explore other ways to lower your grocery bill during any time of distress. Saving money could be a mental health boost when you’re in need. There are often small ways to save money that slip under the radar!
Download Grocery Apps for Coupons
The times of coupon mailers in your mailbox are long gone. If you are lucky enough to still receive physical coupons from your local markets, save them for shopping day! Otherwise, check if your supermarket has an app for deals. Always look for sales! Almost all major supermarket chains have them and many deals are exclusive to the app. This means you won’t receive the discount without using the app.
Sure, having yet another app on your already crowded phone is a slight inconvenience. Then again, so is paying increasingly high grocery prices. If you’re not confident with using the app, talk to someone in the customer service department at the store to help you. Some apps require coupon clipping prior to shopping to get your deal. Be sure to check the rules of the app available near you.
For Budget-Friendly Meals, Try Too Good to Go
Avoid grocery shopping all together by downloading the Too Good to Go app (not sponsored, just a fan). Too Good to Go is available in many metropolitan areas and serves to sell excess food from restaurants, bakeries, and grocery stores that will not sell at the end of the day. This excess food is sold at a heavily discounted price and aims to lessen food waste that may end up in a landfill.
Download the app and enter your address to see who is selling near you. This is a great way to try restaurants at a discount or gather a larger amount of food for a small fee. There is a time window for your pickup, so be sure to only grab your Too Good to Go order during your designated time frame.
Do you receive stale items at times? Yes. Are there ways to salvage that? Absolutely! Make a stale loaf of bread into delicious breadcrumbs. Use day-old rice for homemade 5-minute fried rice. Make bread pudding with a hard baguette. Additionally, boil up some stock with leftover bones from a butcher. Whatever you can find near you, take a chance and try it!
Buy Dry and In Bulk
Costs typically go down when buying in bulk. They can also decrease when buying from the dry good section. If you have a pantry near you that sells dry foods in bulk, check out their prices to compare with the supermarket.
Foods to buy dry and in bulk are:
- Rice
- All types of beans
- Nuts
- Whole spices
- Dried fruit
- Flours
- Oats
- Seeds
- Snack mixes
- Candy
While it is more affordable to buy dry foods, it is more time-consuming to prepare them. For example, dry beans need to be soaked and cooked. That’s a little harder than simply popping open a can. However, the beans will certainly taste better and reflect on your bank statement. 1 pound of dry beans cooks up to become about 4-5 cans of prepared beans. A 1-pound bag of beans costs just over a dollar while one can of beans costs about the same. The exact savings will be based on your location and chosen bean brand.
Avoid Eggs in Your Budget-Friendly Meals
As essential as eggs are to so many people, they are now too expensive for many households. However, did you know that there are many egg substitute options for your cooking and baking needs? Purchasing these swaps can help you stay on track with your budget-saving meals.
In baking, eggs can easily be eliminated in most recipes. One swap you can make is using 1/4 cup apple sauce for each egg required in a recipe. This works well for muffins and cakes. Another swap is buying a vegan powdered egg substitute and following the package instructions to create a vegan “egg”. Lastly, you can make a “flax egg” using ground flaxseeds. Combine 1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds and 3 tablespoons water to create a single “egg”.
Lastly, you can also replace scrambled eggs with scrambled tofu. Tofu is significantly cheaper eggs and can be seasoned to taste very similar to eggs. The texture is very similar as well! Even if you’re not a tofu person, give it a try!
Egg-less Budget-Friendly Meals
These meals can save you some serious cash in times of need. Having some main staples in the pantry can make throwing these meals together in a snap. Plus, many of the recipes contain less than 5 ingredients.
Bean and Rice Burritos
First, a simple dish that abuelas have been feeding their families for centuries. Save even more money by making your own flour tortillas with just flour, water, and butter!
Ingredients:
- 1 lb. dry pinto, small white, black, or kidney beans, soaked at least 4 hours
- 2 dried chilis or 2 teaspoons of chili flakes
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 2 tbsp chicken bouillon powder, divided
- 8 cups water, divided
- 2 cups rice, rinsed
- 1 small can tomato sauce or 1 tbsp of tomato paste, optional
- 1 tsp onion powder
- Flour tortillas, for serving
Instructions:
- In a large pot, combine soaked beans, chili, cumin, 1 tablespoon of bouillon, and 4 cups of water. Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer. Cook 2-4 hours until tender.
- In a lidded pot, add the remaining 4 cups of water, 1 tablespoon of bouillon, rice, tomato sauce, and onion powder. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to low. Place the lid on top and cook 20 minutes or until tender and fluffy.
- When done, add some beans and some rice to a tortilla. Wrap and add optional taco toppings such as lettuce, tomato, onion, or whatever you like.
Ramen Pad Thai
With a pack of ramen, hot sauce, crunchy peanut butter, and soy sauce, you immediately create a meal under $2 that tastes eerily similar to Pad Thai.
Ingredients:
- 1 pack ramen
- 1 tbsp crunchy peanut butter
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp Sriracha or other hot sauce
- Chopped cilantro, optional
Instructions:
- Cook your ramen as per the package instructions, pouring off most of the water before adding your seasoning packet.
- Add the peanut butter, soy sauce, and hot sauce to the noodles. Stir well.
- Top with optional cilantro and enjoy!
Banana Oat Bread
This breakfast or dessert is sweetened with affordable bananas and applesauce. Oats add a lovely, chewy texture to both the middle and crusty top!
Ingredients:
- 2 cups oats, blended into flour
- 2 bananas, mashed
- 1/4 cup applesauce
- 1/4 cup milk or water
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix until a pancake-like batter is formed.
- Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake 35 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
- Allow to cool before slicing.
Crispy Tuna Fritters
Canned tuna, mayo, and breadcrumbs make for tender patties, fried to perfection. Dip in ketchup or your favorite sauce!
Ingredients:
- 1 can tuna, drained well
- 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon chopped pickles or relish
- 1 teaspoon all-purpose seasoning or salt
- 3 tablespoons breadcrumbs
- 1 tablespoon oil, for frying
Instructions:
- Mix tuna, mayo, pickles, seasoning, and breadcrumbs until mixed well and sticky.
- Form into 2 equally sized patties and shape into burger shapes.
- Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat.
- Fry each patty for 3-4 minutes on each side, or until golden brown.
- Serve with a sauce of your choice.
Baked Rotini with Meat Sauce
Finally, one of the most perfect budget-friendly meals. Quick, homemade meat sauce bakes perfectly with al-dente rotini pasta. Served with lots of gooey cheese on top.
Ingredients:
- 1 lb. rotini pasta, cooked until al dente
- 1 lb. ground beef or turkey (whatever is on sale!)
- 1 large can crushed tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (can substitute with sugar)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 cup shredded cheese
Instructions:
- Cook your pasta as per the package instructions. Drain and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Brown your ground meat in a skillet set over medium-high. Be sure to allow browned, charred bits to form in the pan.
- Once the meat is fully cooked, add the tomatoes, Italian seasoning, and balsamic vinegar. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.
- In a greased baking dish, mix the cooked pasta with the meat sauce. Flatten with a spatula.
- Top evenly with the cheese.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
Save Money, Get Ahead
In the end, saving money on groceries is going to be important this year. Utilize all of the money-saving resources available to you as much as possible. First, check out any supermarket apps in your area for deals. Next, try leftover apps for discounted to-go food. Also, buy dry foods at a much cheaper price to get more bang for your buck. Lastly, eliminate buying eggs as much as possible until their prices go down.
Finally, be sure to try the recipes above. Customize them to your family’s liking and enjoy the savings. While food prices are up, we can do what we can to keep our bellies full of good food. Let me know your favorite budget-friendly meals below!