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  7 0 Actually- DON'T buy a canister of oatmeal. Buy it- as well as ALL other grains- in bulk bins. You will save so much money. I would stock up on brown rice and oatmeal. Make sure you get foods with whole grains- as they keep you fuller much longer. Carrots, potatoes, bananas, oranges, cabbage, and pretty much any fruit and veggies that are in season and on sale are going to be your best friends. Don't buy pre-made foods. Cooking from scratch is much, much cheaper and will last you far longer. Make a big pot of chili or other soup. Make lasagna (buy canned tomato sauce and season it yourself) and freeze it into individual portions. Tofu is a fantastic substitution for ricotta (no I'm not joking or being cute), and you won't miss the other cheeses. Don't buy boxed cereal, frozen foods (other than veggies), meat or dairy if you can help it, or bakery/deli items. RM answered in Cooking Tips & Tricks over 3 years ago | Report 2 comments by Ellen Traytin and Aislinn… 0 0 Heh, good suggestion on the oatmeal, bulk bins are few and far between in my neck of the woods, and where they do exist are usually a playground for small children. But if you do have access to good bulk foods, they can be an excellent deal. Ellen Traytin commented over 3 years ago | Report 0 0 Thank you for mentioning veggies! Frozen vegetables are better than no vegetables. Eating cheap doesn't have to mean all-carbs. Aislinn commented over 3 years ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  6 1 Buy a canister of oatmeal for breakfasts, not the packages, but the big thing. Buy a bear of store-brand honey and you can use it to sweeten it up, and on sandwiches too. Buy bread. If you have a freezer, buy bread on sale and freeze the excess. Store brand peanut butter is high in protein and good on sandwiches, it will fill you up. Pair it with jelly, honey, or bananas when they are on sale. Bananas are the best poverty fruit, they are nearly always cheap. For suppers, pasta and rice are going to be your best bet. If you can get whole grain or long grain, that's better for you, but they tend to be a lot more expensive, so don't hold your breath. Pinto beans are also awesomely cheap, filling, and easy to make. You just have to remember to soak them ahead of time. Boxed macaroni and cheese, store brand, is often on sale, and you can jazz it up with cheap hot dogs. (Just don't think about what's in it, think about how it's tasty in your macaroni and cheese.) Canned soups go on sale quite a bit, and they are a good base for a meal or a meal themselves. Potatoes are a great survival food, because they are filling and go with anything. If you bake a potato you can eat it with spaghetti sauce, salt and pepper, soup, salsa (my favorite) or just plain. Onions are often quite affordable and add a lot of flavor to meals, and you can sometimes get excellent sales on apples and grapes. You're going to have to cut down or cut out snack foods and soft drinks, and make them just an occasional indulgence. Popcorn is a good snack to fill the void, and the generic sorts often go on sale. Anything alcoholic is pretty much right out. One thing you should do right away is look online for the websites of all your nearby grocery stores, to see if they have sale circulars online. Keep a close eye on those, because that's when you're going to be able to stock up on your staples. Clipping coupons is not very useful at survival level, since most coupons are for expensive name-brand products that are out of our league, but there's no harm in looking. When you go shopping, make your list ahead of time and don't deviate! Just remember that this is a time that's going to pass, and eventually you'll be able to have all the good food you have to give up now. It makes it easier. Ellen Traytin answered in Cooking Tips & Tricks over 3 years ago | Report 1 comment by Mackro Mackro… 0 0 GREAT summary! A few extra tips to add... If you can get some cheap cayenne pepper or, better yet, a bottle of Sriracha, this goes a long way in spicing up the savory dishes above. A few squirts of Sririacha in store-brand marinara sauce adds a kick. If you can find a jug of balsamic vinegar cheap, that will really help out on the pasta side. (I think Trader Joe's sells a big jug for three bucks? Lasts forever.) Sriracha in some drops also helps out Kraft Mac & Cheese, *and* popcorn! A big pot of rice and some hoisin sauce or teriyaki sauce or anything cheap from the Aisle Of Sauces at Uwajimaya or 99 Ranch will go a long way, too. Guess what else works well? Yup, Sriracha! Granted, starches get a deservedly bad rep in any other context, but when you have to spend time livin' cheap, starches are your friends. (I was once a starving college student.) Mackro Mackro commented over 3 years ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  3 0 Lentils and brown rice, with garlic and onions, and the cheapest dark leafy greens you can find (usually collards. . . you can also collect dandelion greens from the yards of friends who don't use lawn chemicals, though once the flowers come up, they tend to be bitter, so it's a bit late in the season already). MacPherson's produce on 15th Ave S (Beacon Hill) is really, really cheap. They put out bins of "marked" (damaged/overripe) stuff that is even cheaper than really cheap. When we get into summer, go wander around the back acres of Lake Sammamish State Park. There are some random apple and pear trees, and lots of berries. You can make flatbread on a hot plate. A pile of carmelized onions and lentils on hot flatbread is pretty damn nomworthy. Good luck! Violet DaGrinder answered in Cooking Tips & Tricks over 3 years ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  3 0 Rice'n'beans, baby. Complete protein combination. Also tortillas and beans for variety. Listen to the people below and always buy your rice, beans, masa harina (for tortillas, cheap'n'easy), oatmeal, etc. in bag-yerself bulk. I've lived for months on end on just potatoes, too. Bake, boil, fry, slice, shred, so many ways. Hint: chop an onion and fry it until it's just past golden as a base for just about anything -- potatoes, beans, rice -- adds so much flavor for pennies. Fnarf answered in Cooking Tips & Tricks over 3 years ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  3 0 All good answers so far. I will add that you can also buy spices from the bulk bins, which will be a small fraction of the price of buying it in a jar. Curry powder, chili powder, cumin, cayenne, etc will all go a long way towards giving you some variety in an otherwise repetitive or bland menu. Mahtli69 answered in Cooking Tips & Tricks over 3 years ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  2 0 http://www.rebeccablood.net/thriftyo/2007/04/the_organic_thrifty_food_plan_1.html Eating organic on a food stamp budget Chinzilla answered in Cooking Tips & Tricks over 3 years ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  2 0 There's no shame in going to a food bank. It's a good place to pick up some basics like bread, rice, canned fruits, veg and tuna and possibly some other gems if it's a good day. In conjunction with some store bought sundries to spruce up the scores from the food bank. When I'm skint I call upon my friends rice, potato, carrots, coconut milk, red beans, cabbage, garlic, eggs and curry powder, paste or brick. These are all pretty cheep and these ingredients can be mixed and matched. Rice cooked in coconut milk, potatoes and eggs( stretch out the eggs by whisking them with some of the milk and some water), fried eggs and rice, fried rice(witheggs) with chopped carrots, baked potato with a fried egg, soup and a curry w/the potatoes and carrots on rice with a simple omelet. Basically my advise is use the food bank, thats what they're there for, and be creative. If it makes things easier you can volunteer at most banks and at the end of your shift you can score a bag or two of groceries. It's a good way to keep your spirits up. Oh I forgot about baked beans and toast. Sounds grody but is actually super good. It's a British comfort food thing. knobtheunicorn answered in Cooking Tips & Tricks over 3 years ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  1 0 I'm with the bulk bins & brown rice people... QFC probably has the cheapest bulk sections in town. Don't be fooled by the co-op (their brown rice is one dollar more per pound than at QFC). So I'd save many co-op items for when you have a little extra dough. Lentils are super cheap, usually one dollar for a bag that is enough for one week if eaten daily. They also take only an hour to cook and don't require soaking overnight like most other beans. Now to take back my co-op comment, they do have an interesting selection of spices; their vegetable powder makes a great seasoning base for just about anything. Top Ramen noodles are very versatile; you can make a cool asian salad by cooking them and when cooled, add some finely sliced green cabbage and carrots then toss with some soy sauce and sesame oil. The food bank is great for things like onions and potatoes and canned goods. Be super wary of anything you get there that requires refrigeration. There was a time I got by on peanut butter & cheddar cheese sandwiches (Bread = $2-3, Adams Peanut Butter = $3.00 *if on sale*, Cheddar cheese= $3-$5 depending on size and brand). Sounds gross to some but this little protein packed snack will tide you over for *hours*. Make several in advance and take one with you everyday. The book Diet For A Small Planet changed my life and my whole outlook on food. It had alot of great vegetarian budget-friendly recipes and one interesting thing the author mentioned was the versatility of powdered milk, which was used extensively in her recipes- that is of you're a milk person. In short: Peanut butter, lentils, brown rice are great staples to have on hand always. Apples and oranges are very cheap this time of year. Some places that sell cheap produce *and* accept food stamps are in White Center, the Central District and Little Saigon. Not all outdoor produce markets accept food stamps so check first if you can. And this just in: Yesterday I noticed that Bartel drugs is advertising that they accept food stamp benefits, also they have some amazing sales on canned and dried food items like packaged noodles ($1 for Barilla spaghetti noodles). ErinPants answered in Cooking Tips & Tricks over 2 years ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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