Running short of money but your paycheck is still days away? And now you are looking for ideas on cheap food to buy when broke?
Don’t worry, I wrote this list with you in mind.
We’ve all experienced running short of cash. Maybe you had unexpected expenses and now you are left with a $30 food budget to get by until the next money comes in.
Perhaps, you are not really broke, but you got inspired to save by stories such as this one, and you want to do the same.
You figured reducing your food expenses one week per month could help you save a good $200 a month and help boost your savings.
No worries! If money is tight right now or you just want to reduce your grocery bills, create delicious but dirt-cheap meals around some of these inexpensive ingredients. These are also my go-to foods for when I want to cut back on our spending but still want to make healthy food that my family enjoys.
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12 Healthy Cheap Foods to Buy When Broke
Table of Contents
1. Lentils
Apart from being cheap, lentils can make filling and nutritious meals for your family. You can make soups and chilis out of lentils, and they are also excellent substitutes for meat.
Price: These organic lentils cost $2.99 per pack/ $0.19 per oz
Recipes: Curried Lentils (this recipe only costs $0.87 per serving!)
2. Oats
Whether you prefer steel cut, instant, or rolled, oats are undeniably one of the most inexpensive yet healthy ingredients every household should have (broke or not!) You can have oats for breakfast along with fruits in season or make your own oat bars. The best thing is that oats are rich in vitamins and fiber and help to manage sugar and cholesterol levels.
Price: These organic oats cost $5.29 per box or $0.13 per oz.
Recipes: Classic Overnight Oats Recipes – Basic oatmeal with just milk and a few pieces of fruit should only cost $0.50 or less.
3. Frozen vegetables
If you don’t have the time and/or money to buy fresh vegetables, opt for frozen ones. They can be just as nutritious as their fresh counterparts, but they’ll last longer in your fridge. Frozen vegetables are also just as flexible ; you can use them in soups, stir-fry, pies, and other dishes.
Price: Great Value steamable mixed veggies only costs $0.07 per oz at Walmart.
Recipes: This Garlic Butter Mixed Vegetables with Parmesan Cheese costs $0.50 or less per serving
4. Potatoes
Potatoes have a long shelf life compared to other vegetables and crops, so you can purchase them in bulk to save more money. Potatoes are easy to cook and flexible to use: you can fry, mash, bake, or use them in various recipes.
I usually just cook them in a pan with garlic, onion, and olive oil; add salt and pepper to taste and garnish with herbs from my garden.
5. Canned Tuna
When you need to get your dose of protein but can’t spend on meat, there’s canned tuna to the rescue. You can eat tuna straight from the can or use it in salads, pasta, casseroles, and more!
Price: 5 oz canned tuna costs around $0.99 at Walmart.
Recipes: Breadless Tuna Melt in a Tomato, Easy Canned Tuna Pasta
6. Ground meat
Ground meat is one of the cheapest ways to eat your protein! Whether you want ground beef, pork, or chicken, having a stash of ground meat in your lean days allows you to make filling yet nutritious meals in a jiffy. You can easily turn ground meat into burger patties or meatballs, or stir fry with vegetables you have at hand.
Price: Around $4 per lb
Recipes: I usually just saute a whole pound of ground beef with olive oil, garlic, and soy sauce; and add it to our salads, stir-fried veggies, rice, or pasta!
7. Dried Beans
Dried beans also make excellent meat substitutes, but cost only a fraction of the price. Plus, dried beans have a long life shelf, so you can store them and use them when needed. Filled with a variety of vitamins, phosphorus, and folic acid, dried beans are easily some of the cheapest yet healthiest ingredients you can keep in your pantry.
Price: varies per type. Great Value dried black beans, for example, are only $0.09 per oz at Walmart.
Recipes: Black Bean Recipe
8. Eggs
Eggs aren’t just cheap; they’re also an excellent source of protein.
They’re also very versatile because they can be made in many ways and feed you throughout the day. You can make scrambled eggs for breakfast, hard-boil them for a salad, and even turn them into muffins for mid-day meals.
Price: $0.23 each / $2.67 per dozen at Walmart.
9. Apples
One of the best ways to get your dose of fruit without splurging is to have a handy stock of apples.
Apples have a longer lifespan than other fruits, so you can purchase a bagand they’d still be good for the next several days or a couple of weeks. You can eat apples as they are, use them in smoothies, turn them into apple sauce, and so much more.
10. Pasta
Pasta is definitely healthier than ramen, especially if you prefer the whole wheat kind. Although you don’t want to be eating pasta every day, it’s a very filling cheap food to buy when you’re broke.
It usually costs a little over a dollar per box and it’s easy to throw into a meal. Simply add in some canned sauce or chop up some vegetables, sliced chicken, and light oil and you have a hearty, filling lunch or dinner.
Price: This whole grain pasta only costs $0.10 per oz.
Recipes:
Pasta Salad with Roasted Peppers, Tuna and Oregano
Feta and Eggplant Salad, Brocolli
Broccoli, Chili, and Lemon Spaghetti
11. Brown Rice
Brown rice is another great source of carbohydrates that can fill you up but with added benefits. Brown rice is more satisfying than white rice, aids in digestion, it’s great for the nervous system, and helps in managing cholesterol levels. The best part is brown rice is cheap and easy to find. You can use simple brown rice as your main source of carbs, stir-fry it with veggies, or use it in a burrito.
12. Tofu
Can’t squeeze meat into your budget? Tofu makes an excellent substitute! Tofu is a good source of protein, as well as other vitamins and minerals like calcium and iron. It’s also known to bring down bad cholesterol. There are a variety of ways to cook tofu, such as scrambled tofu, in tacos in place of ground meat, filling frittatas with it, or adding it to quiches and salads.
13. Pumpkin
Pumpkins are easy to grow so there’s always a good supply of cheap pumpkins all year round.
This is a staple in our house because pumpkin is cheap and we love to make a pumpkin soup such as this one which is so filling, delicious, and nutritious, yet only costs about $0.60 per serving!
Ready to buy healthy but cheap food when broke?
When you find yourself in the last few stretches of your cash, you should learn how to save on groceries and still come up with delicious nutritious meals without sacrificing quality.
Meal budgeting is an important life skill we all need to learn, whether you are on a tight budget with little money or not. Stocking up on these healthy, cheap, and filling ingredients should help you get through the tight days.
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