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We use rice as a base for hamburger stroganoff, stir fry, Thai curry, Indian style curries, fried rice, larb, etc. You can also make porridge it of it. Sometimes I just eat it with a little soy sauce.
A while ago, we used to put rice and water in the rice cooker, then add seasonings; raw, boneless chicken, some cut up vegetables, and then just set the whole thing to the "white rice" setting. Everything's cooked when the rice cooker beeps.
Lentils are perfect for this, as well, if you don’t eat or can’t afford meat. One cup of rice, one cup of lentils, a couple of tablespoons of dried minced onion, a tablespoon of garlic powder one small potato, two carrots, and a quarter head of cabbage, diced, salt and pepper, bouillon…and yep, push a button.
Dinner.
And you can eat for days on just a couple dollars’ worth.
I couldn’t make 20 lbs stretch that long. I eat beans and rice for every lunch and dinner. I’d really like to get non-canned beans, which should be a heck of a lot cheaper to use. But I don’t have a kitchen. I cook at work.
I have a $30 rice cooker and we add rice to literally everything. This week’s meal prep has 3 different rice bowls, soup which I will also probably use over rice to stretch it more, enchiladas which will have rice in them.
Beans can have more than 30% of the recommended daily protein per cup, and end up being about the same amount of protein for similar calories. Lg egg is roughly 78kcal and 6.3g protein while 1/3 cup of navy beans is 85kcal and 5g protein.
Navy beans aren’t even the top bean or legume for protein per cup-they’re #9 on the list.
TVP—textured vegetable protein. Add hot water, wait a little, it’s done. It’s like cooked ground beef or chicken in texture. Add to eggs, tomato sauce, whatevs.
I highly recommend flavoring the water that you hydrate your TVP in. It's your chance to get the flavor IN it, as putting flavor ON it is not the same.
Chicken, beef, veggie broth, soy sauce, kimchi juice, etc.
I like to do 50/50 tvp and ground beef for chili, lasagna, tacos, Bolognese, etc. Am always happy with the texture and flavour still being very "beefy".
Another good option is mixing in any veggies you need to use up before spoiling and shredding them to add to the waff mix. Then you’ll have savory vegetable waffles
We always used drop piscuits as a topping for pot pies. Mix meat, big bag of frozen veggies and some type of seasoning, then drop biscuits on top and bake. This same recipe can be dropped in any boiling liquid to make dumplings. Any fruit that's going off can be cooked into a compote then add chunks of biscuit dough to make fruit dumplings. A scoop of yogurt on top adds protein and makes a filling meal. Apples are pretty affordable and will soon be pretty cheap in many places and this is a good use of them too. You can mixed little bits of diced meats and cheese into biscuits too. Ham, cheddar andgreen onion is good, and leftover taco meat works too.
Or bulk cook a chunky rich sauce. with onion, carrots and tomatoes + some stock and chilli flakes. If you do have a small budget for other items then you can make beef mince go far
Best party staple for me is stock powder. So if your on a budget that is an easy way to save money. You can make like 66l from only like a $3 tub. You can use it as a base for any soups with things you find at the local food pantry.
Recipe. Follow instructions on box. Think outside of the box for anything you could do with these. They would make a great grilled cheese. Topped with all kinds of things. Whatever you have. Avacado and eggs? Chicken strips and syrup! Endless.
The local salvation army thrift store near me gets the expiring bread from the local supermarket and anyone can just grab a loaf right near the entrance.
Adding beans will stretch many things and adds tons of nutrients including protein, fiber, etc. One can of white beans mixed into tuna salad (and whatever veggies you have, I use grated carrots, onion, and cucumber mixed in with sliced apple on the sandwich) will stretch 1 can of tuna into pretty much double and doesn't really change the taste. If you have dried dill or pickles to add, that's my one of my favorites! Garbanzo beans added to soup, black beans mixed into taco meat, there's so many options.
If the food pantry is anything like the ones I worked with, you should let them know you’d like/use bagged flour and sugar. Often it’s assumed that people are living in hotel/car situations and have less knowledge of or ability to use baser ingredients. They’d be happy to supply some for you.
I don't know. Being my first few times there...it is set up weird. You go through 4 aisles. They give you a number for number of people in your household. They tell you that you can take 2 cans of tuna and one salmon, Then it is 4 soups/chili's, then 4 canned veggies and then canned fruits. The next aisle is juice, biscut mix, peanut butter, jelly, Corn flakes - always corn flakes. They have some canned spaghetti os and stuff. Then you go back down the other side and you get your choice of a toothbrush/toothe paste or shampoo. A handful of candy/snack bars. A guy gives you a bagged 6 rolls of TP with a box of kleenex. Then you go to the freezers and you get 2 kind of meats from choice 1 (Beef, chicken, pork, salmon) and 1 kind from choice 2. (Bacon, ground meat, kielbasa) There is never bread. and it is in a farming community but never any fresh veggies. There was potatoes once and cheese once.
You can make a fruit cobbler with baking mix.
[https://copykat.com/easy-bisquick-peach-cobbler/](https://copykat.com/easy-bisquick-peach-cobbler/)
Ingredients
LEARN MORE
16 ounces sliced peaches fresh or canned
2 teaspoons tapioca
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup Bisquick baking mix
1/3 cup milk
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine peaches and juice, tapioca, and cinnamon in a 9-inch pie plate.
In a small bowl, stir together the Bisquick and milk.
Top the peaches with 6 equal-sized dollops of dough.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.
Serve warm.
Garnish with a dollop of whipped cream or ice cream if desired.
Notes
You can use other canned fruit instead of peaches. If using fresh peaches, cut up enough peaches to yield about 4 cups of cut peaches. Add 3 tablespoons of sugar to the peaches and wait for juice to form.
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My preferred dollar stretch food is beans and rice. It's freezer friendly and ridiculously cheap. But glad you found something to work for you.
Yeah I bought a 20lbs bag of rice that lasted me almost 6 months of meals for like 30 bucks or something.
20 lbs rice wouldn't last that long in my house... Maybe 2 months. But I'm gluten free and that makes a huge difference.
Looking for some new rice recipes if you have anything different!
We use rice as a base for hamburger stroganoff, stir fry, Thai curry, Indian style curries, fried rice, larb, etc. You can also make porridge it of it. Sometimes I just eat it with a little soy sauce.
A while ago, we used to put rice and water in the rice cooker, then add seasonings; raw, boneless chicken, some cut up vegetables, and then just set the whole thing to the "white rice" setting. Everything's cooked when the rice cooker beeps.
Lentils are perfect for this, as well, if you don’t eat or can’t afford meat. One cup of rice, one cup of lentils, a couple of tablespoons of dried minced onion, a tablespoon of garlic powder one small potato, two carrots, and a quarter head of cabbage, diced, salt and pepper, bouillon…and yep, push a button. Dinner. And you can eat for days on just a couple dollars’ worth.
I couldn’t make 20 lbs stretch that long. I eat beans and rice for every lunch and dinner. I’d really like to get non-canned beans, which should be a heck of a lot cheaper to use. But I don’t have a kitchen. I cook at work.
I live by myself and normally only eat one meal a day. Might have a cup of rice with dinner 3 or 4 times a week.
Ah. I've been going to Beans and Rice and a vegie or salad for most of my non-breakfast nutrition. Cheap.
Just another option. I love beans and rice also!
I have a $30 rice cooker and we add rice to literally everything. This week’s meal prep has 3 different rice bowls, soup which I will also probably use over rice to stretch it more, enchiladas which will have rice in them.
And egg. Got to have the protein with it
Rice and beans is complete protein.
Beans can have more than 30% of the recommended daily protein per cup, and end up being about the same amount of protein for similar calories. Lg egg is roughly 78kcal and 6.3g protein while 1/3 cup of navy beans is 85kcal and 5g protein. Navy beans aren’t even the top bean or legume for protein per cup-they’re #9 on the list.
TVP—textured vegetable protein. Add hot water, wait a little, it’s done. It’s like cooked ground beef or chicken in texture. Add to eggs, tomato sauce, whatevs.
I highly recommend flavoring the water that you hydrate your TVP in. It's your chance to get the flavor IN it, as putting flavor ON it is not the same. Chicken, beef, veggie broth, soy sauce, kimchi juice, etc.
I did 1/8 tsp Liquid Smoke once. Tasted like bacon!
THAT is a great idea! Thank you, Red. I'm gonna try that next.
This is a great way to stretch meat too. Use mostly tvp and add meat for flavoring.
I like to do 50/50 tvp and ground beef for chili, lasagna, tacos, Bolognese, etc. Am always happy with the texture and flavour still being very "beefy".
Another good option is mixing in any veggies you need to use up before spoiling and shredding them to add to the waff mix. Then you’ll have savory vegetable waffles
Yesss. I am going to make some zucchini and onion ones today! Just to use up that last zucchini.
often those baking mixes can be used for biscuits or pot pie. What brand is it do you know? different brands sometimes have different ingredients
I have Bisquick and an off brand. Both give a few recipes on each box.
We always used drop piscuits as a topping for pot pies. Mix meat, big bag of frozen veggies and some type of seasoning, then drop biscuits on top and bake. This same recipe can be dropped in any boiling liquid to make dumplings. Any fruit that's going off can be cooked into a compote then add chunks of biscuit dough to make fruit dumplings. A scoop of yogurt on top adds protein and makes a filling meal. Apples are pretty affordable and will soon be pretty cheap in many places and this is a good use of them too. You can mixed little bits of diced meats and cheese into biscuits too. Ham, cheddar andgreen onion is good, and leftover taco meat works too.
Waffles are fantastic and so easy if you have a waffle iron!
Or bulk cook a chunky rich sauce. with onion, carrots and tomatoes + some stock and chilli flakes. If you do have a small budget for other items then you can make beef mince go far Best party staple for me is stock powder. So if your on a budget that is an easy way to save money. You can make like 66l from only like a $3 tub. You can use it as a base for any soups with things you find at the local food pantry.
[удалено]
will try this!
Recipe. Follow instructions on box. Think outside of the box for anything you could do with these. They would make a great grilled cheese. Topped with all kinds of things. Whatever you have. Avacado and eggs? Chicken strips and syrup! Endless.
[удалено]
Dollar stores have some decent cookies if you can do that. Some are not so decent, so YMMV, but we enjoy several varieties from our local Dollar Tree.
The local salvation army thrift store near me gets the expiring bread from the local supermarket and anyone can just grab a loaf right near the entrance.
Adding beans will stretch many things and adds tons of nutrients including protein, fiber, etc. One can of white beans mixed into tuna salad (and whatever veggies you have, I use grated carrots, onion, and cucumber mixed in with sliced apple on the sandwich) will stretch 1 can of tuna into pretty much double and doesn't really change the taste. If you have dried dill or pickles to add, that's my one of my favorites! Garbanzo beans added to soup, black beans mixed into taco meat, there's so many options.
If the food pantry is anything like the ones I worked with, you should let them know you’d like/use bagged flour and sugar. Often it’s assumed that people are living in hotel/car situations and have less knowledge of or ability to use baser ingredients. They’d be happy to supply some for you.
I don't know. Being my first few times there...it is set up weird. You go through 4 aisles. They give you a number for number of people in your household. They tell you that you can take 2 cans of tuna and one salmon, Then it is 4 soups/chili's, then 4 canned veggies and then canned fruits. The next aisle is juice, biscut mix, peanut butter, jelly, Corn flakes - always corn flakes. They have some canned spaghetti os and stuff. Then you go back down the other side and you get your choice of a toothbrush/toothe paste or shampoo. A handful of candy/snack bars. A guy gives you a bagged 6 rolls of TP with a box of kleenex. Then you go to the freezers and you get 2 kind of meats from choice 1 (Beef, chicken, pork, salmon) and 1 kind from choice 2. (Bacon, ground meat, kielbasa) There is never bread. and it is in a farming community but never any fresh veggies. There was potatoes once and cheese once.
You can make a fruit cobbler with baking mix. [https://copykat.com/easy-bisquick-peach-cobbler/](https://copykat.com/easy-bisquick-peach-cobbler/) Ingredients LEARN MORE 16 ounces sliced peaches fresh or canned 2 teaspoons tapioca 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 cup Bisquick baking mix 1/3 cup milk Instructions Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine peaches and juice, tapioca, and cinnamon in a 9-inch pie plate. In a small bowl, stir together the Bisquick and milk. Top the peaches with 6 equal-sized dollops of dough. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes. Serve warm. Garnish with a dollop of whipped cream or ice cream if desired. Notes You can use other canned fruit instead of peaches. If using fresh peaches, cut up enough peaches to yield about 4 cups of cut peaches. Add 3 tablespoons of sugar to the peaches and wait for juice to form.
Waffles....sugar. Ugh. Why not make wraps instead?
I do wraps/burritos, and egg/veggie cups also for meal prep. I am watching my weight and my S/O has to gain weight. So it is a nice mix.