Thrifty Thursday: Eating Great on a Low Budget

Check out this great article on how to eat on less than $4 a meal or a food stamp budget.  The great thing is that there is an article but there is also a link to her recipe book for free!  Click on the link and download the great book with recipes on how to make healthy and cheap food.  See if any of the ideas are something your family would like to try out.  There are always a few good ideas that can be incorporated into your meal plans.  I hope that you use some of her ideas and recipes!!  I already use a lot of them so I will share with you a few links to my recipes so that you can see them too.

One of her ideas and recipes was making a roast chicken.  I love making a roast chicken and there is a recipe in the book for their roast chicken but I like mine better.  After long search, I have found my favorite recipes for Herb Butter Roasted Chicken so I think that I will stick with mine but the recipe in the book is a pretty simple place to start.

Then, taking those chicken bones into a great chicken stock or broth along with leftover veggies that are in the freezer which are usually the ends of asparagus, inside or ends of celery, dried out carrots or ends of carrots, and onion ends or skins.  This is a great way to spend no extra money and get lots of flavorful broth.  It helps stretch the food you already had on the previous night to make soup or other things you need broth for like stuffing.

I like to freeze my broth so that I can use it whenever I need it in the future.  I used to freeze in plastic bags but I had too many leaks so I have upgraded to plastic containers so that I can defrost without leaking.  It takes up a little more room in the freezer but I still haven't upgraded to canning yet but I really need to make that next step.

The other great tip is using the extra bread for croutons and bread crumbs.  I always save my dried out ends and bits and pieces for the freezer.  When I need them, I pull them out for bread crumbs when I need them.  Free and easy to save lots of money!!  Plus they make better bread crumbs.

I love homemade stuffing with my bread cubes.  I can't believe how easy it is and I wonder why on earth I ever bought the box mix but I have to say it is because that is how my mom always did it.  I know that isn't a great reason but even on Thanksgiving my mom made stove top so I always did the same but I don't anymore.  I make a sausage stuffing because that is my husband's favorite family recipe and it turns out great with only a little bit of cost for a huge pan of stuffing.

The other tip that I love is the snack with popcorn.  I love stove top popcorn with a little buttery salt cooked on.  I used to make up a few pots at a time so that we had some to eat and some to put in a container to have for a snack the next day.  We went through a time that there was always a pot to make popcorn on the stove (recipe here).  It is tasty and healthy and really filling!!

Want to make it a little more fun, try my favorite treat of kettle corn.  I would have thought it was harder to make at home but it is easy and super tasty for a nighttime treat. Check out the recipe here and try some yourself.

I also loved making the Red Hot Cinnamon Popcorn with the leftover red hot cinnamon imperials.  It was a great treat that we enjoyed for a very short amount of time because it went so quickly!!  I can't wait to make it again soon.  If you are looking for a less sugary but tasty alternative, try the cinnamon and sugar popcorn.

I have lots of great recipes on making your own pizza dough, bread, rolls, tortillas and other bread products which also help to stretch the money and use what you have.  There are lots of options on what to make but check out the article and download the great free recipe book with great pictures and ideas and see what you like best!!

There is another article from a mom who has lived on a small budget and shares her ways to do it (here).  Her best point is that no matter what you give someone, you have to make sure that they know how to cook it so that they can get the most of what is provided.

I hope that this inspires you to see what you can make with what you already have in your house instead of running to the store to get something different.  It makes me want to start making some kettle corn!!! YUM!