Submitted by PutridOil8535 t3_yb5mkw in LifeProTips
Hi guys, I’m in an unfortunate slump as a single mom, I have $15 to last 2 weeks. What are some meals that I can make stretch (not spaghetti my 2 year old hates it lol) so I can feed me and my 2 kids? (Serious question) thanks in advance for the ideas!
$15 for two weeks? There's not too much you can do with that...
Rice and beans?
Rice stretches far for what you pay, when we were really broke growing up we'd have rice and cooked carrots
I have about a half bag of rice, I will get some carrots to mix with it thank you 😊
I’ll get a couple cans of beans thank you for your suggestion
Not sure if its too close to spaghetti for the kid, but Maruchan Ramen comes 12 for $3.60. One package is 370 calories and has 8g protein so covers a meal for the basics of macronutrient needs. I like to jazz it up with carrots (get the full size ones, they're ultra cheap. One package will last for 20ish of these meals). Ideally you can add an egg for protein (I just make a poached egg in the boiling water for the ramen). It adds $0.25 per meal but makes it a more filling meal. This adds more but I like to get rotisserie chicken from the store and I can either have that plain or add a bit to my Ramen. I can freeze what I don't use in a few days. Save the bones for making broth for stew, which is another cheap option. Potatoes, carrots, cheap stew meat.
Rice and beans is another classic cheap option.
See if there are any food banks, churches and other organizations that distribute food donations locally, chances are there will be no charge.
r/frugal may also help with suggestions. They are the masters of living well... frugally.
Dry beans are about the same price and you can stretch them further, but they cost more time to prepare.
Thank you very much I will get some ramen
Ok thank you very much
The beef one probably has the most neutral flavor for kids. Chicken one isn't spicy but tastes like curry. Shrimp one they have to like shrimp.
/r/povertyfinance might help you navigate this tough time.
Everyone recommending rice and beans are right. You can also throw in russet potatoes, quick oats in bulk, canned veggies.
YouTube channel Great Depression Cooking might have some cheap varieties for you. Here’s her Poorman’s Meal https://youtu.be/p-GVl7scrYE
Definitely contact local churches and food banks. When my mom was having trouble navigating a divorce, raising 2 kids on a low wage, we were able to score fresh veggies and staples from a local church.
I wish you all the best, no one should have to go through this.
Thank you very much 😭 times have been so tough for me and my baby girls but I’m gonna get through this for them.
Healthy? Rice and eggs. Unhealthy? Ramen noodles.
Do you have a vehicle? Do doordash for a couple hours.
Have you signed up for food stamps? This won’t help your immediate problem; but may help in future; along with WIC (women, infants and children) food program.
Other commenters re: food pantry is a very good suggestion; also some states have utility assistance during winter months.
Rice and beans casserole?
Apply immediately for food stamps and WIC...since you are in a pinch, and there are kids involved, the chances are almost 100% that you will be issued emergency funds, and they will process your application much much faster.
2nd, call 211, and talk to the folks there...they will guide you to all of your local resources that can provide assistance, such as food banks, pantries, and other groups that provide help for single moms.
/Eatcheapandhealthy would have suggestions (hope I got that name right)
YouTube has tons of meal plans for around $10 a week. I figured you could work with that since you said you have beans and they include beans
Here's one to get you started. https://youtu.be/hXntLW_QYuw
Please check out a food pantry or look and see if there's a free mini pantry in your area. https://www.littlefreepantry.org/ https://www.thelittlefreepantries.org/find-a-pantry
Auntbertha.com might have resources in your area too.
Jambalaya can be pretty cheap to make and rather filling. I make mine with less Cajun spice than the recipe states so my kids will be able to enjoy it too. I would also suggest peanut butter and jelly. I use cookie cutters to cut the sandwiches in fun shapes for the kids. Scrambled eggs/omelets can be a high protein cheap meal if you can find eggs for a good price. Good luck mama. I hope you make it through this rough time.
Perogies. For one egg, 4 cups of flour a bit of salt and two large potatoes you can feed 3 people for over two days.
If op can do the rapid method that saves more time! (I also would like to add that slow cooking them works to heat the house, if needed, and it can be made while doing other things)
I just wanted to also add that search YouTube for budgeting for family off of 30 a month or something like that!
Also check what you have, you could be amazed at what you can do with what you have on hand!
Cans? I would buy Dried beans. Cook them and mix with rice.
Brown some Hamburg as well you can get the big roll of it for cheaper it comes in 5lbs I think?! With mixed frozen veggies even & rice and it's yummy ! Also store brand cereal for the toddler! Try dollar tree for snacks for the baby as well I'm also a mum who lives stretching it more than I'd like to admit and yes pantries churches just search your area shit even Facebook market place for ur area just ask and people will usually lend a helping hand all you need is one ya know. Best of luck mumma you got this xoxo
And beans
Rice and beans together makes a perfect protein
Stay strong Mama ❤️
Look up Pro Home Cooks on YouTube and sort by their oldest videos. They have alot of videos on how to make really good meals with just a couple $.
Rice, carrots, onions, potatoes, chicken, cabbage
Try posting to r/assistance - if you put up an Amazon wish list, people will usually help out with groceries for a few weeks.
Mac and cheese with hotdogs cut up in it, ramen noodles
Not sure if this will help on that small of a budget, but one thing to bear in mind is that having some different seasonings (sriracha, curry powder, etc.) can make the same stuff "stretch" -- in the psychological sense -- a lot further.
EDIT: I realize the OP is about actual food, but I guess the angle here is you could buy a larger quantity of a cheaper -- but boring -- food and still keep your sanity. :)
Lentil soup (aka dal) over rice. Don’t skimp on the seasonings and salt. https://www.google.com/search?q=dal+lentil+soup
Like others have pointed out, you could also contact churches and food banks. People donate to these precisely because they don’t want you and your kids to go hungry!
Lentils, dry lentils. Cook them with carrots and onions.
Corn and beans as well, although corn isn’t as cheap as rice
It may help immediately, as they could be approved for expedited food stamps depending on their circumstances. The best way to get this is to go in and apply directly at the office.
Tuna mixed in to Mac and cheese kept my sisters and I fed.add a can of English peas if you’re feeling fancy
A cheap/easy dinner is chicken thighs (usually $3 a pound or less), rice, and a $1 bag of frozen veggies with whatever spices I have around. If I have any left over I throw it all in a pan the next night and add some soy sauce or teriyaki to get a second dinner out of it. Baked beans and potatoes are also great cheap sides that can be "recycled" the next day into a stew. That being said I have 20 bucks in my venmo and would be glad to send it to you if you want.
find a food pantry. There are some food pantries that offer food, no questions asked.
Chicken fried rice.
1 roasted chicken from the store (Sam’s is like $5 for a whole chicken)
1 box of 5 min rice
1 bag of mixed vegetables
1 white onion
3-4 eggs
Garlic
Salt, pepper, cooking oil and soy sauce.
I made this yesterday with 3 cups of rice and it will last me at least a week or more. I normally reheat it over the stove with fresh soy sauce to give it a fresh taste. It’s normally made with old rice so it’s perfect!
Chicken Salad
1 roasted chicken
1 bag of grapes (purple is dope)
1 bag of pecans or almonds
1 bag of celery
1 white/yellow onion
Mayo, salt, pepper
This is great on toasted bread with chips. Can last for a week plus.
I rotate these for lunch and dinner.
Rice is the Carb to go. And depending on where you live, you can get canned sardines in oil very cheap… open can and mix it with hot rice and you got yourself a cheap and rich food…
Also, check out the website budgetbytes. She has great recipes that are pretty inexpensive that may be useful in the future. I use her website a lot!
If you can afford to buy a loin roast (if you're eating meat, that is), buy them on sale, trim the fat and freeze it for adding a little oil or flavor to a meal (potatoes work well), and slice the roast into pork chops.
Pork, rice, and veg is a great meal. If you have a rice cooker, try adding veggies on top of the rice and use a little stock and season in place of some of the water.
Lentils, beans, & rice are cheap & go a long way. Lentil sloppy joes, black bean mexican dishes, beans & rice,....
Sweet potatoes. They’re pretty cheap, nutrient dense, and have a lot of prep options to keep them from becoming dull. Also look for food banks and churches that have food donation programs.
In The Netherlands we have traditional dishes called “stamppot”. It’s basically cooked potatoes and vegetables, then mashed together, topped with gravy and smoked sausage.
Two pounds of potatoes, one pound of vegetables (whole carrots, kale, endive) and two onions, prepared in a two gallon pot should be enough for 6 adult sized portions.
Gravy can be replaced with powdered gravy and the smoked sausage with (canned) hot dogs to make it cheaper.
I also like chili sin carne. Rice, canned red kidney beans, canned diced tomatoes, canned adobo sauce, garlic. Leaving out the meat, because that is usually what makes it more expensive. But great dish to make in large amounts.
This channel has some really good resources on cheap meals to feed the whole family, but here’s a vid I think might help the most atm
Mashed potatoes and cabbage is pretty cheap.
When I was a kid and money was tight my mom would add and sub black beans to any meal that used ground beef. Use the beans for half of the beef required. (Example, if the meal requires a pound of ground beef, do half a pound of beef and then an equivalent volume of beans) The beans take the seasoning of the beef well and make it significantly more filling. Works especially well for meals like tacos.
You can also sub ground turkey for ground beef. It’s much cheaper. It does require substantially more seasoning though because the turkey doesn’t take seasoning as readily as beef.
One of my fav meals growing up was pasta with toast. Make the pasta, add a bit of oil and garlic salt. Butter( or otherwise oil) the toast them cut it into small bits and fry them up with a touch more garlic salt. Top each bowl of pasta with toast bits. I know it's not super healthy but it's comfort food and cheap
May not be an option for you but marketforce.com will pay you $10 and a free meal at Five Guys if mystery shop and answer some questions. Best of luck Mama.
Don't do Ramen, do potatoes. Potatoes are surprisingly very cheap and much more healthier than ramen will ever be.
Oatmeal(bulk not packets) with store brand jelly mixed in, might work for a cheap breakfast and snack. Make with water since milk wouldn’t be budget friendly. I fed my kids macaroni noodles with butter and parmigiana cheese recently and they liked it. Could maybe snag some parm packets from a gas station or pizza place.
no protein
Better them Ramem
name me a way to get 8g protein in 370 calories for 30 cents other than rice and beans which I also identified.
Potatoes with brown rice and beans
You don't need the potatoes for that. It's redundant with the rice.
Rice and beans is indeed good You get better meal diversity if you have two types of meals but if they both need to be on the cheap you can't do rice and beans for both lmao.
Only real problem with Ramen is the sodium but that's a problem with a lot of things.
Best of luck, I'll be thinking of you and your family ❤️
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