/r/Cheap_Meals
A community made to discuss a cheaper way to make (or buy) your meals at home.
Rules:
No Spam.
Nothing NSFW.
Posts must include a recipe, not just a link to personal blog.
Simple food preference discussions ARE allowed, just keep in mind there is a specific theme to the Subreddit.
Don’t be racist, sexist, ableist, transphobic, uncivil, etc.
Some general suggestions:
These are only suggestions, and we welcome new ideas!
Guideline 1: While the subreddit errs on the side of allowing contributions, if you believe a submitted link or link on a comment may be spam, please report it immediately. If you would like to post your own content, the mod would appreciate a heads up first. Edit: Pretending not to know you're a spammer is not a defense to spamming.
From the reddiquette:
Feel free to post links to your own content (within reason). But if that's all you ever post, or it always seems to get voted down, take a good hard look in the mirror — you just might be a spammer. A widely used rule of thumb is the 9:1 ratio, i.e. only 1 out of every 10 of your submissions should be your own content.
Guideline 2: Submissions should be about cheap meals or ingredients or recipes, whether providing or asking for.
Guideline 3: Try to be nice.
Guideline 4: This community assumes good faith in those asking for help, and it's wonderful to provide that help in the form of cooking methods, recipes, shopping tips, storage tips, or places for people to get the food they need. That said, this is not an appropriate place to ask for direct aid of any kind, either on this subreddit or messaging the subscribers privately. Such behavior is indistinguishable from an attempt to scam, so I ask that if you are in such dire need you provide this community with the opportunity to point you in the direction of organizations and resources for those in dire need. Do not ask for money, do not ask for food.
/r/Cheap_Meals
By cheaper, I mean considering the time as well as money and not just money.
I am a single guy, but I frikkin hate cooking every single day. The only reason I cook is because I want it to fit my macros. I can cook very healthy balanced meals, but it is very time consuming and most of the times, the extra ingredients end up getting wasted. ( Maybe I need a girl in my life? )
Like, for example where would you use chives and parsley other than the one time that you made mashed potatoes and Salmon?
If you're successfully using both the bunches of broccoli on different days while having a full time job, then you've hacked life.
I tried meal prepping, but its risky because if you accidentally go overboard with the salt, or turn the stove off 10 mins late, then you end up with a bad batch and have to eat sad food for the entire week.
I live near a grocery store ( Morton Williams) that has a lot of options in a hot food counter, variety of chicken, fish, beef, pork, a few veggies, salads, rice or sometimes pasta. Just visually it seems healthy because it has minimal oil.
Also, tacos are a great option that are cheap and high protein.
Is it cheaper and healthier to eat outside, considering the food wastage and the time required ?
Like cutting the veggies is a big task, and plus if they are not entirely used in that meal, they anyway end up in the dustbin.
I'm starting to meal prep my lunches for both college & work. I know how to make spaghetti, Mac & cheese, & mash potatoes. I want to know there's anything else I can cook. Anything I can reheat in a microwave. Also, nothing that requires potatoes, cause I'm trying to cut back
I am a college student and I only have 250 a month for groceries. What is the best way to grocery shop? Or best things to buy. I don’t have a meal plan and so everything has to be bought on my own.
I have a lot of yellow squash from my garden that i need to use up quickly. I usually prepare squash as a side dish but I’m looking for entrees. Just seeing if anyone has some ideas. Thanks in advance
I inherited a great big can of that cheese sauce you put on nachos. It’s at least half a gallon. I wonder if anyone has ideas for this, especially casserole ideas. I don’t want to let it go to waste. I also have a similarly sized can of spaghetti sauce and a lifetime supply of red quinoa.
I just went back to class yesterday and I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for some healthy foods and or quick and simple recipes for a college student.
Just noticed that ground turkey is on sale at my local grocer for sub $2 a pound so - I need ideas for cheap, low-carb recipes for my family.
Husband is low-carb, so would prefer low carb options, but things like potatoes, rice, sweet potatoes are fine. No restrictions, just the cheaper the better!
Yall, my dad taught me this quick and easy recipe to make rly good spam when we were in the midst of hurricane maria. You cook slices of spam and season them with brown sugar, that’s it. But I added my own twist and incorporated brown sugar and honey into the mix. It’s so damn good!
I like to simmer the butter the box calls for with buffalo sauce and/or add pan fried veggies or ground meat. What do you do to flavor it up?
Heyy all. I'm a college student living in the dorms with access to a microwave and refrigerator (both communal).
I was thinking of purchasing microwaveable rice (basmati) and was wondering if anyone here has ideas of what simple things I can add to it to make it a meal? I would prefer few, cheap ingredients as I do not fancy buying many things. Also, I love spicy stuff.
And I think I should mention again - I only have access to microwave and fridge.
I'm a first year student and kind of new at this so help would be appreciated 😊
Dietary restrictions - allergic to pork and shellfish
I have brown sugar and a kitchen. Nothing else. I’m starving. Can I make sweets or something using nothing but brown sugar? I know it’s probably a stupid question but I’m out of options and so hungry I’m gonna just eat it out the bag with a spoon in a minute for some calories Thanks friends :)
EDIT:it’s golden granulated sugar?
My family is coming to stay with us for a few days and all together there will be 10 people. Usually the easy go to would be spaghetti or lasagna, tacos, hotdogs or burgers. But 2 people follow the keto diet pretty strictly so those are kind of out. We could probably do burgers one night and they can just not eat a bun but I need 2 more nights of meals to try to acclimate them. Any suggestions??
I’m on a tight budget and schedule. What are some high protein low carb meals I can make routinely?
rn i have 120$ but ill have to buy the champions 2024 bundle in valorant.
I’m home alone this month so what can i buy to get through the month?
I am by no means without recipes for chicken, but I would like some suggestions to broaden my horizons. I buy whole chickens and break them down myself (or leave them whole) so the sky is the limit.
Anybody know any good sites with cheap recipes. Just trying to get a baseline for meals I can start making around or under $10 bucks. I’m looking for both normal and slow cooker recipes, any recommendations helps.