Budget Meals for Singles

[Juliegirl1]

Juliegirl1,

Moving back to Houston Oct 1. Going to Angleton, 50 miles south on Hwy 288. Which Costco do you use?

I go to the one off Gessner and 249 in NW Houston. I know there is one on I-10 and one off Richmond closer to the center of town. I don't know if there are any South.

 

[karice2]

This week I have a couple of new ideas for my single eaters.

I made spaghetti with whole grain pasta and just saved it into individual portions. Pretty standard quick save meals.

I also made a salmon dish. I got some fresh salmon from the farmer's market. I had them to cut a piece that was enough for two meals. I then made a sort of marinade/glaze of dijon mustard, dill, half a squeezed lemon, sea salt, pepper. Smeared it all over the salmon and grilled it.

It was ok. Not my favorite but decent enough.

I got three ears of corn for $1. I also got some really good blueberries and made some mini blueberry muffins. I froze half and gave half to my grandma.

This week I will be trying a recipe for a seafood club.

 

[NotUrsula]

The trick with eating budget as a singleton is that unless you want to skip fresh fruits/veggies altogether, you have to pony up a bit of extra cash to buy those in small portions to prevent waste. That price per lb. can be hard to swallow if you're trying to cut costs.

This is why I used to make it a point to average my price per meal over a week. Some days when I went heavy on the fresh items it cost a bit more, but other days when I used my stock of frozen &/or dried items I balanced that out.

One-dish meals and soups are going to be your least expensive overall, so you do need to mix a fair number of those in if you are trying to cut costs.

Freezing your own veggies works quite well for those that can be frozen; you don't have to go with factory-frozen, and veggies are cheapest at your farmer's market. Just get yourself some good containers to freeze them in. I keep a selection of fresh-frozen mirepoix in my freezer for dishes that require it, along with things like frozen sweet pepper strips for sautes. Not as good as fresh, but not bad, either as long as the dish does not need the crunch. Fresh cob corn freezes fine; just clean it and cut the cobs in half so that they will fit well in bags. If freezing small veggies or veggie pieces, freeze them on a cookie sheet covered with foil first, then slide them off the pan and into a baggie. (Using a bit of oil or a piece of parchment makes that easier.) Celery seed adds the flavor without the spoilage issues, but you can certainly freeze chopped celery.

A word about mushrooms: they don't freeze well unless they are cooked and in a broth/sauce of some kind. If you want to keep some around without waste, use mostly dried. They are easy to find at Asian markets. I reconstitute them in a bit of wine before cooking.

 

[bear74]

what type container do you freeze your Chicken stock in?

 

[hffmnheidi]

I live in Central Illinois and there are at least 6 or 7 Aldi's in our area.

 

[lila]

Hi - I am in NYC and I have done things in this thread, but my current approach is a little different:

1. I joined a CSA this year. I have a half share with another person (actually a couple). So I paid $350 in January for Fruits and Veggies from June - November. This has been pretty fabulous.

2. I go grocery shopping on demand (every day) vs. once a week. Since I live in NYC and don't drive, I get off the subway and walk by 3 grocery stores and a million bodegas on my way home. I pop in and buy the 1,2,3 whatever items I want for that day. That reduced my waste and allows me to work with what I know is in my fridge.

3. Honestly, there are many times when it is cheaper for me to eat out. I can get some very good quality meals at a low price point that I can split over a couple dinners. I've thought a lot about how much it would cost me to prepare similar meals given the pricing in an urban environment and my limited storage, and it really is cheaper very often.

4. Except salads. Salads are totally cheaper for me to make, so if I have the time, I will buy a bunch of veggies and prep them and eat salad for several days in a row. I love salad Sandwiches fall into this grouping too.