Need some super cheap meals for for 4 days

amywah · 07-26-2011, 04:36 AM

We are almost out of food and I have $50 for groceries right now. Has to last a minimum of 4 days but the longer the better. There are 2 people (me and DH). He eats mainly low carb while at home.

I was thinking of going to Sav a Lot and getting some of the cheap frozen ground turkey and some cabbage for crackslaw. Eggs, shredded cheese. Ground beef for burgers, chicken pieces to bake... Any other ideas?
We do have quite a bit of protein powder, almonds, frozen broccoli, canned chicken, and canned tuna.

cjack1 · 07-26-2011, 05:27 AM

Chicken leg quarters are cheaper than whole chicken pieces. It looks like you have enough food on hand to make it for four days without buying much extra. I would have protein shakes for breakfast, chicken salad and tuna salad for lunch, boiled eggs for snacks. For dinner, either I would buy a family pack of ground beef OR a family pack of thighs or leg quarters, a head of cabbage and eggs. Assuming the chicken is cheaper, you can bake the thighs, pull the meat off the bone, chop it up and make crack slaw with the pulled chicken.

When my husband and I were in college, we had many food budget crises. I learned that it was best to raid the freezer and cupboards first and spend the cash only as a last resort, so I wouldn't sink the whole $50 on day one.

bacon bit · 07-26-2011, 05:41 AM

I'd buy a head of lettuce, some frozen chicken, ground turkey, eggs...I used to spend $40/week on me and my two small kids. I remember eating cheese and deli turkey rolled up with alfalfa sprouts inside. Grilled meat (especially that inexpensive frozen chicken). Hard boiled eggs or you could easily do omelettes. I like to make stuffed peppers when I can find them cheap (cooked ground turkey and the lowest carb spaghetti sauce I can find). It sounds like you probably have enough stuff on hand, and maybe just spending your $50 on fresh or frozen veggies would be a good option?

Dottie · 07-26-2011, 06:04 AM

Check your grocery sales online and go to wal-mart where they match prices.
Ground beef, chicken leg quarters (thighs have been on sale a lot here. I got several packs of 8-10 for under $3 each last week), tuna, eggs, check the marked down bins if you can use the meat within a few days(or freeze it). Opt for frozen veggies instead of fresh (Kroger has their brand on sale most weeks for under $1 a pack).
Scramble eggs with cooked ground beef and cabbage and canned tomatoes for a high protein, filling meal.
Stir fry chopped cabbage and add a little half and half, cheese and drained canned tuna for a quick tuna casserole.
Zucchini has been on sale here a lot too, diced or shredded for a quick pasta replacement.

amywah · 07-26-2011, 06:22 AM

Oh good ideas. That scrambled eggs with ground beef and cabbage sounds interesting. As does crackslaw made with chicken.

Question: How do you eat the tuna or chicken salad? Do you put it in lettuce? Or just eat by the spoon? I have only had tuna salad on bread.

Dottie · 07-26-2011, 06:25 AM

I just eat it straight lol. You can put it in lettuce, or on cucumber slices, celery or whatever you like

Charski · 07-26-2011, 08:49 AM

Tuna salad is good stuffed into hollowed out tomatoes, or if you make it with cream cheese instead of mayo, you can hollow out lengths of cucumber (use a melon baller and scoop out all the seeds), stuff with the tuna/cream cheese, chill an hour or two, then slice into 1" or more thick rounds. It's fun to eat the cucumber with the tuna middles!

cindy lolz · 07-26-2011, 10:23 AM

Get a large hunk of meat and put it in the slow cooker. I could eat this for 4+ days easy.

1annewil · 07-26-2011, 10:34 AM

I just ran by Kroger for coconut oil and fresh veggies-went by the meat section and they were discounting a lot of meats by considerable amounts to move out b/c of sale by dates. I really stocked up. I've noticed Tuesday, Wed. and Sat mornings are good days for that early in the day. Prolly other stores do the same. I was there about 9.

Tilly · 07-26-2011, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1annewil

I just ran by Kroger for coconut oil and fresh veggies-went by the meat section and they were discounting a lot of meats by considerable amounts to move out b/c of sale by dates. I really stocked up. I've noticed Tuesday, Wed. and Sat mornings are good days for that early in the day. Prolly other stores do the same. I was there about 9.

Thanks for that tip! I was at Kroger on a random day recently and found medium sized eggs for about (don't remember exactly) 50 - 75 cents per dozen! Needless to say, I bought all they had. Deviled, into OMM's, scrambled, anything really.

Steak_Fanatic · 07-26-2011, 07:19 PM

The slow cooked chicken looks really good. I would buy some eggs if I was on your budget. Cheap eggs around me are about $1.30 a carton. There are so many ways to cook eggs too. Omelet with extras, scrambled, deviled, quiche, frittatas...

Pamela C · 07-26-2011, 07:27 PM

Sounds like your pantry is pretty solid. I'd spend the cash on eggs, cream,sour cream, whatever cheese on sale,veggies. With the broccoli/chicken get some sour cream, chop sm onion and a little cheese-mix up-casserole dish and bake. You could do dinner with that and left overs for lunch. If not enough for everyone for leftovers- make an omlette and stuff the leftover casserole in the omlette. eggs are the one thing I love to save $. I'd also use the eggs/tuna/cheese to make tuna melt omlettes. Yikes-I'm making myself hungry!

lisabinil · 07-26-2011, 08:17 PM

Sardines are super healthy and cheap if you like them.

amywah · 07-27-2011, 12:59 AM

For the broccoli/chicken bake.. You mean use the canned chicken for that? Never thought of that.

I am going to the store this morning.
Thank you all for the tips.

Tyl · 07-27-2011, 02:30 AM

i just made a tuna casserole with frozen veggies and tuna. super cheap meal and lasted two days. the same would work with canned tuna.

also maybe a cheeeseburger pie casserole. cheap, easy yummy.

we're going cheap too this week, i went to kroger early saturday morning (that's when they mark down meat and other items for sale). i got my proteins super cheap.

MsWoods · 07-27-2011, 06:57 AM

I'm on a tight budget this week as well. I bought a crap load of tuna pouches for $.85/ea. Guess what I'm eating all week...

rosethorns · 07-27-2011, 08:13 AM

Charski's
idea with the cucumber also works really nice with zucchini. I like fresh raw zucchini too.
Take a raw zucchini and hollow out a little and set aside.
Then make a small salad with chopped lettuce,onion,green& red peppers, cucumber, and a couple strawberries and dress.
Put this in a zucchini, make a great side dish with steak.

jlp2009 · 07-28-2011, 11:04 AM

I am going to check out Kroger early Saturday morning! I hate paying full price especially for meat. My local one used to mark meat down Sunday evenings. Lately
I haven't been able to find many markdowns.
I never find their produce marked down, however my local Meijers store marks bagged lettuce down frequently and this week they are running quite a few 10 for $10 items and lettuce was one of them! I eat a bag a day by myself since the salad is my entire meal.
Also, watch for farmers markets if any in your area. Great place to get good produce at good price this time of year.
I think the best thing to do is take an inventory of what you already have in the pantry and in the freezer. I am bad about "losing" things in the freezer. Then decide what you can make with what you have. Then you only have to buy a few necessary items at a time.

jo2621 · 07-28-2011, 11:22 AM

Use the canned chicken to make mock crab cakes:

Linda's Low Carb Menus & Recipes

Our power was out for 5+ days after the April 27 (Alabama) tornadoes. I keep canned chicken in the emergency supplies and we had these and loved them.

They are good with tartar sauce or remoulade. And they are really good wrapped in a big lettuce leaf with mayo and a slice of cheese!

Tilly · 07-29-2011, 03:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rosethorns

Charski's
idea with the cucumber also works really nice with zucchini. I like fresh raw zucchini too.
Take a raw zucchini and hollow out a little and set aside.
Then make a small salad with chopped lettuce,onion,green& red peppers, cucumber, and a couple strawberries and dress.
Put this in a zucchini, make a great side dish with steak.

And shred the scooped out part and make zucchini cakes!

SHinOK · 07-29-2011, 02:19 PM

Chili or soup are good to make for "stretching."

Make chili with ground beef and/or turkey, onion, canned tomatoes, chili powder, cumin, garlic. Eat chili in a bowl w/cheese & sour cream one day. Next day, spoon chili over hot dogs w/mustard. Then have chili over zucchini 'noodles' like spaghetti. Sprinkle w/cheese.

Another day, cook a bunch of chicken thighs in the oven. First day, have crispy baked thighs w/zucchini, green salad, or other LC veggies. Next day, chop leftover chicken for chic salad or stir fry. Then chop the rest of the chicken & any leftover veggies, combine with chicken broth (can get them 2/$1 most places--or use water & bouillon cubes), couple of cans of other LC veggies (tomatoes, green beans), season like crazy, and make soup! You can stir in beaten egg while it boils to make a sort of egg-drop soup that's a bit more hearty and thick.

That's SIX meals at a low cost and very little effort. We all have those months--more than ever with this economy! I'm loving all these ideas. Good luck!

rosethorns · 07-29-2011, 03:38 PM

Wow Tilly never thought of that Thanks bunches.

Tilly · 07-29-2011, 04:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rosethorns

Wow Tilly never thought of that Thanks bunches.

I hate to waste food.

07-26-2011, 04:36 AM	#1
amywah Senior LCF Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: GA Posts: 89 Gallery: amywah Stats: 197/184/130	Need some super cheap meals for for 4 days We are almost out of food and I have $50 for groceries right now. Has to last a minimum of 4 days but the longer the better. There are 2 people (me and DH). He eats mainly low carb while at home. I was thinking of going to Sav a Lot and getting some of the cheap frozen ground turkey and some cabbage for crackslaw. Eggs, shredded cheese. Ground beef for burgers, chicken pieces to bake... Any other ideas? We do have quite a bit of protein powder, almonds, frozen broccoli, canned chicken, and canned tuna.

07-26-2011, 05:41 AM	#3
bacon bit Major LCF Poster! Join Date: May 2011 Location: Midwest, USA Posts: 1,060 Gallery: bacon bit Stats: 201/143.2/135 5'2"/33 yrs WOE: Induction and carb up one evening a week Start Date: May 2011	I'd buy a head of lettuce, some frozen chicken, ground turkey, eggs...I used to spend $40/week on me and my two small kids. I remember eating cheese and deli turkey rolled up with alfalfa sprouts inside. Grilled meat (especially that inexpensive frozen chicken). Hard boiled eggs or you could easily do omelettes. I like to make stuffed peppers when I can find them cheap (cooked ground turkey and the lowest carb spaghetti sauce I can find). It sounds like you probably have enough stuff on hand, and maybe just spending your $50 on fresh or frozen veggies would be a good option? __________________ Heidi Read me And also...

07-26-2011, 06:04 AM	#4
Dottie Administrator Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: S.E. Texas Gulf Coast Posts: 68,701 Gallery: Dottie WOE: JUDDD calorie cycling plan	Check your grocery sales online and go to wal-mart where they match prices. Ground beef, chicken leg quarters (thighs have been on sale a lot here. I got several packs of 8-10 for under $3 each last week), tuna, eggs, check the marked down bins if you can use the meat within a few days(or freeze it). Opt for frozen veggies instead of fresh (Kroger has their brand on sale most weeks for under $1 a pack). Scramble eggs with cooked ground beef and cabbage and canned tomatoes for a high protein, filling meal. Stir fry chopped cabbage and add a little half and half, cheese and drained canned tuna for a quick tuna casserole. Zucchini has been on sale here a lot too, diced or shredded for a quick pasta replacement. __________________ https://www.supertracker.usda.gov/default.aspx <--FDA tracking tools http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ <--FDA nutritional counts http://www.thedailyplate.com/ <-- food and exercise tracking http://www.onlineconversion.com/ <-- cooking and other conversions Need to contact LCF? http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/contact.html

07-29-2011, 02:19 PM	#21
SHinOK Major LCF Poster! Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Oklahoma City, OK Posts: 2,516 Gallery: SHinOK Start Date: April 2000	Chili or soup are good to make for "stretching." Make chili with ground beef and/or turkey, onion, canned tomatoes, chili powder, cumin, garlic. Eat chili in a bowl w/cheese & sour cream one day. Next day, spoon chili over hot dogs w/mustard. Then have chili over zucchini 'noodles' like spaghetti. Sprinkle w/cheese. Another day, cook a bunch of chicken thighs in the oven. First day, have crispy baked thighs w/zucchini, green salad, or other LC veggies. Next day, chop leftover chicken for chic salad or stir fry. Then chop the rest of the chicken & any leftover veggies, combine with chicken broth (can get them 2/$1 most places--or use water & bouillon cubes), couple of cans of other LC veggies (tomatoes, green beans), season like crazy, and make soup! You can stir in beaten egg while it boils to make a sort of egg-drop soup that's a bit more hearty and thick. That's SIX meals at a low cost and very little effort. We all have those months--more than ever with this economy! I'm loving all these ideas. Good luck! __________________ Shari (SH) in Oklahoma (OK) Tired of looking like the "before" picture. I'm ready to be an AFTER!! "No creature ever died for lack of STARCH." -- Dr. Rob Thompson

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07-26-2011, 05:27 AM	#2
cjack1 Senior LCF Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 337 Gallery: cjack1	Chicken leg quarters are cheaper than whole chicken pieces. It looks like you have enough food on hand to make it for four days without buying much extra. I would have protein shakes for breakfast, chicken salad and tuna salad for lunch, boiled eggs for snacks. For dinner, either I would buy a family pack of ground beef OR a family pack of thighs or leg quarters, a head of cabbage and eggs. Assuming the chicken is cheaper, you can bake the thighs, pull the meat off the bone, chop it up and make crack slaw with the pulled chicken. When my husband and I were in college, we had many food budget crises. I learned that it was best to raid the freezer and cupboards first and spend the cash only as a last resort, so I wouldn't sink the whole $50 on day one.

07-26-2011, 06:22 AM	#5
amywah Senior LCF Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: GA Posts: 89 Gallery: amywah Stats: 197/184/130	Oh good ideas. That scrambled eggs with ground beef and cabbage sounds interesting. As does crackslaw made with chicken. Question: How do you eat the tuna or chicken salad? Do you put it in lettuce? Or just eat by the spoon? I have only had tuna salad on bread.

07-26-2011, 06:25 AM	#6
Dottie Administrator Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: S.E. Texas Gulf Coast Posts: 68,701 Gallery: Dottie WOE: JUDDD calorie cycling plan	I just eat it straight lol. You can put it in lettuce, or on cucumber slices, celery or whatever you like

07-26-2011, 08:49 AM	#7
Charski Way too much time on my hands! Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Mostly in the kitchen! Posts: 34,196 Gallery: Charski Stats: 174 (WW)/139/150 goal 5'5" 59 years YOUNG! WOE: ATKINS always Start Date: May 2003	Tuna salad is good stuffed into hollowed out tomatoes, or if you make it with cream cheese instead of mayo, you can hollow out lengths of cucumber (use a melon baller and scoop out all the seeds), stuff with the tuna/cream cheese, chill an hour or two, then slice into 1" or more thick rounds. It's fun to eat the cucumber with the tuna middles!

07-26-2011, 10:23 AM	#8
cindy lolz Senior LCF Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Vista, California Posts: 303 Gallery: cindy lolz WOE: I do my darndest to stay under 20g a day :D	Get a large hunk of meat and put it in the slow cooker. I could eat this for 4+ days easy.

07-26-2011, 10:34 AM	#9
1annewil Senior LCF Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: NE Mississippi Posts: 633 Gallery: 1annewil Stats: 162/165/148 WOE: Atkins Start Date: August 2008	I just ran by Kroger for coconut oil and fresh veggies-went by the meat section and they were discounting a lot of meats by considerable amounts to move out b/c of sale by dates. I really stocked up. I've noticed Tuesday, Wed. and Sat mornings are good days for that early in the day. Prolly other stores do the same. I was there about 9.

07-26-2011, 07:19 PM	#11
Steak_Fanatic Senior LCF Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Columbus OH Posts: 170 Gallery: Steak_Fanatic	The slow cooked chicken looks really good. I would buy some eggs if I was on your budget. Cheap eggs around me are about $1.30 a carton. There are so many ways to cook eggs too. Omelet with extras, scrambled, deviled, quiche, frittatas...

07-26-2011, 07:27 PM	#12
Pamela C Senior LCF Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Western PA Posts: 153 Gallery: Pamela C Stats: 5'10", 285/239/170(1st rd)256/239/227170(restart) WOE: 1972 Atkins Start Date: restart june 2011	Sounds like your pantry is pretty solid. I'd spend the cash on eggs, cream,sour cream, whatever cheese on sale,veggies. With the broccoli/chicken get some sour cream, chop sm onion and a little cheese-mix up-casserole dish and bake. You could do dinner with that and left overs for lunch. If not enough for everyone for leftovers- make an omlette and stuff the leftover casserole in the omlette. eggs are the one thing I love to save $. I'd also use the eggs/tuna/cheese to make tuna melt omlettes. Yikes-I'm making myself hungry!

07-26-2011, 08:17 PM	#13
lisabinil Way too much time on my hands! Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: suburbs of Chicago Posts: 18,024 Gallery: lisabinil Stats: 287/Restart 206/177/160 5'6" WOE: Healthy Carb for Optimum Health Start Date: 2/4/10	Sardines are super healthy and cheap if you like them.

07-27-2011, 12:59 AM	#14
amywah Senior LCF Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: GA Posts: 89 Gallery: amywah Stats: 197/184/130	For the broccoli/chicken bake.. You mean use the canned chicken for that? Never thought of that. I am going to the store this morning. Thank you all for the tips.

07-27-2011, 02:30 AM	#15
Tyl Way too much time on my hands! Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: TX Posts: 15,000 Gallery: Tyl Stats: FAT AGAIN--working on it! WOE: LC Start Date: Sept 2008/Again Sept 2011	i just made a tuna casserole with frozen veggies and tuna. super cheap meal and lasted two days. the same would work with canned tuna. also maybe a cheeeseburger pie casserole. cheap, easy yummy. we're going cheap too this week, i went to kroger early saturday morning (that's when they mark down meat and other items for sale). i got my proteins super cheap.

07-27-2011, 06:57 AM	#16
MsWoods Big Yapper!!!! Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Tx Posts: 8,732 Gallery: MsWoods Stats: 399/241.1/204 (for now) WOE: Low Carb Start Date: 06/22/09	I'm on a tight budget this week as well. I bought a crap load of tuna pouches for $.85/ea. Guess what I'm eating all week...

07-27-2011, 08:13 AM	#17
rosethorns Very Gabby LCF Member!!! Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Puyallup. WA Posts: 4,657 Gallery: rosethorns Stats: 252/140/150 WOE: atkins I eat non allergic food Start Date: restarted 1-07	Charski's idea with the cucumber also works really nice with zucchini. I like fresh raw zucchini too. Take a raw zucchini and hollow out a little and set aside. Then make a small salad with chopped lettuce,onion,green& red peppers, cucumber, and a couple strawberries and dress. Put this in a zucchini, make a great side dish with steak.

07-28-2011, 11:04 AM	#18
jlp2009 Senior LCF Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 719 Gallery: jlp2009	I am going to check out Kroger early Saturday morning! I hate paying full price especially for meat. My local one used to mark meat down Sunday evenings. Lately I haven't been able to find many markdowns. I never find their produce marked down, however my local Meijers store marks bagged lettuce down frequently and this week they are running quite a few 10 for $10 items and lettuce was one of them! I eat a bag a day by myself since the salad is my entire meal. Also, watch for farmers markets if any in your area. Great place to get good produce at good price this time of year. I think the best thing to do is take an inventory of what you already have in the pantry and in the freezer. I am bad about "losing" things in the freezer. Then decide what you can make with what you have. Then you only have to buy a few necessary items at a time.

07-28-2011, 11:22 AM	#19
jo2621 Major LCF Poster! Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: HSV, AL Posts: 2,208 Gallery: jo2621 Stats: 225+ now 135 5'5" 48 y.o. WOE: LC maintenance since 2008 Start Date: June 2007	Use the canned chicken to make mock crab cakes: Linda's Low Carb Menus & Recipes Our power was out for 5+ days after the April 27 (Alabama) tornadoes. I keep canned chicken in the emergency supplies and we had these and loved them. They are good with tartar sauce or remoulade. And they are really good wrapped in a big lettuce leaf with mayo and a slice of cheese!

07-29-2011, 03:38 PM	#22
rosethorns Very Gabby LCF Member!!! Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Puyallup. WA Posts: 4,657 Gallery: rosethorns Stats: 252/140/150 WOE: atkins I eat non allergic food Start Date: restarted 1-07	Wow Tilly never thought of that Thanks bunches.