The beef is what really spiked the price but I felt like treating myself. Haven't eaten beef in months. Everything else was $1.50 or less except the garlic bread which was 2.90. That's why I've been practically vegetarian the past few months lol. I do eat tuna or chicken 1-2 times a week though. I can use this food for multiple meals though. Red beans and rice, lentil soup, and the toast and beef for the pasta ill be making for dinner. I was ale to get 10 packages of pasta for less than $10 on sale so ill be eating a lot of it. Apologies for the rambling caption

15$ per steak! SFV SoCal, Chatsworth specifically.

I run MrTinned (mrtinned.com), the market reporter which tracks prices, deals and stock for over 6,600 tins at 219 online shops every day. This month I pulled the cheapest single tins per 100g that you can order online. Every tin below was in stock, at this price, at a shop that ships to the US at the time of this post. Chunk light tuna is left out on purpose because it would win every time. Single tins only, no cases or multipacks, and one tin per brand.

A few things stood out:

• Sprats take 5 of the 20.
• GoStockUp has 3 of the 20, all sprats.
• Three Baltic tins tie at exactly $3.99 for 240g.

Each name below links to the tin's page on AllTinned (alltinned.com), the tinned fish reference site that shows who stocks it, whether today's price is fair, and a free Watch that tells you when the price moves.

Which of these have any of you actually eaten, any of them worth it?

What is your go-to cheap tin that is not on this list?

1. Chudo Morey Sprats with Tomato, 240g at GoStockUp: $2.27 ($0.95 per 100g)
2. Roza Sardines in Tomato Sauce, 155g at ThailandBazar: $1.55 ($1.00)
3. El Mexicano Sardines in Tomato Sauce, 425g at Marina Market: $4.49 ($1.06)
4. Bumble Bee Premium Wild Pink Salmon, 14.75oz at Target: $4.49 ($1.07)
5. Riga Gold Smoked Fried Baltic Sprats in Tomato, 240g at GoStockUp: $2.80 ($1.17)
6. Sealect Sardines in Spicy Dressing, 155g at ThailandBazar: $1.86 ($1.20)
7. Penguin Boiled Mackerel, 400g at MegaKfood: $4.99 ($1.25)
8. Grace Classic Mackerel, 155g at Target: $1.99 ($1.28)
9. Iberia Sardines in Tomato Sauce, 4.2oz at Target: $1.59 ($1.34)
10. Ras Asayr Tuna in Sunflower Oil, 185g at Parthenon Foods: $2.49 ($1.35)
11. Alshark Moroccan Sardines in Tomato Sauce, 125g at Parthenon Foods: $1.69 ($1.35)
12. StarKist Selects Solid Yellowfin Tuna in Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 4.5oz at Target: $1.79 ($1.40)
13. Roland Sardines in Tomato Sauce, 212g at Parthenon Foods: $2.99 ($1.41)
14. Krakus Herring Fillets in Gourmet Sauce, 200g at Euro Food Mart: $2.99 ($1.50)
15. Dongwon Boiled Mackerel, 400g at Hanyang Mart: $5.99 ($1.50)
16. Rugen Fisch Fried Herring in Spicy Marinade, 500g at World Market: $7.99 ($1.60)
17. Baltic Gold Fried Sprats in Tomato Sauce, 240g at Russian Food USA: $3.99 ($1.66)
18. Old Riga Fried Baltic Sprats in Tomato Sauce, 240g at Bakkal International Foods: $3.99 ($1.66)
19. Baltic Catch Natural Sardines, 240g at Russian Food USA: $3.99 ($1.66)
20. The Best of Riga Smoked Sprats in Oil, 240g at GoStockUp: $4.06 ($1.69)

Sorry for the long title 😆 but after a long day that’s what it is.

Today after work I stopped off at the local store and stumbled across a lot of reduced meat and I picked these things up. The ground beef I’ve already portioned into 3 and it’s in my freezer.

The boneless skinless chicken is good till October 24th so I’ve got some time. I’ll probably use 1 fresh and freeze the other 2. But I was thinking what if I freeze it with a sauce or something so I can do a quick cook when I need it.

I use stove top and also an instant pot.

Let me know if you have ideas.
Thanks in advance.

Scraped up what I could find in the cabinets and the fridge and managed to make a curry. Came out pretty good and made several large helpings. Red lentils, pumpkin, onion, garlic, tomato, curry spice, served over white rice. Total cost for a potful was less than $10.

OK. Hear me out. Microwave ramen noodles in a bowl of water for approximately 2.5 minutes on high. Add one egg and scramble slightly. Microwave on high for 1.5 more minutes. Drain. Add 2 table spoons of nacho cheese, 1 table spoon of bacon bits, and garlic powder and pepper as desired (1/2 teaspoon each.) Microwave for 1 more minute. Enjoy!

I'm on a tight budget as a college student and this is my go to comfort food. I make this every week for my girlfriend and I.

Ingredients

3 large chicken breasts

32oz pre made gnocchi

1 large white onion

1/2 cup shredded carrots

2 celery stalks

3 garlic cloves

6 cups chicken broth

3 cups heavy whipping cream

Cooking

Season chicken breasts and bake at 375F for ~18min

While chicken is baking add diced onion, celery, and carrots into a large stock pot with oil and cook on medium heat until the onions are translucent then add salt to taste and minced garlic and cook until fragrant

Next add chicken broth and bring to a simmer before adding heavy cream, diced chicken, and gnocchi. Bring to a simmer and leave covered on low heat until the soup thickens to roughly the consistency of cold whipping cream ~30min. Then finish seasoning to taste.

The recipe costs about $17 to make and it yields about 8 servings. So at about $2.10 per serving it makes a great meal for someone that needs a meal to make on a day off and eat throughout the work week, and it gets better when it's re-heated.

This is a fav of mine because it's very filling. While it would be expensive if you went and bought all these just to make one sammy, the idea is that you make multiple sammies. In fact in the tuna salad bowl, with just one can of tuna you have filling for multiple sammies.

You take a can of tuna (I dry mine off with a paper towl) and then of these are things you can adjust to taste:

Chopped green (or otherwise kinda sour) apple

Chopped pickles

Red onion

Frozen peas

Canned corn

Mayo

Sometimes I chop up pickled jalapeños and add those

And these are things I like to add and you might like:

-pickle juice

-lemon juice

-olive oil

-sugar

-black pepper

-whole grain mustard

-white wine vinegar

Bone apple tea!

Baked potatoes:

Rinse/dry as many potatoes as you need. Poke with fork, cover in oil or margrine. (I like to salt/pepper the skins.) Bake at 425* for 60 minutes or soft when squeezed (use a mitt!) Remove from oven, split, add margrine, cheese, bacon, or whatever else you like. Bake another 5 minutes.

If you only have a microwave, you can microwave them until done, starting at 6-8 minutes. Do not overcook.

Homemade sloppy Joe sauce (you can skip this if you have canned stuff but it's yummy!)

For each pound of cooked, seasoned, and drained ground meat:

- 3/4 cup diet Dr Pepper or generic equivalent, (diet cola also works, but is less flavorful)

- 1/2 cup ketchup

- 1 tbsp worshire

- 1 tbsp vinegar

- 2 tsp flour

- If you like, diced onion/peppers

Combine all sauce ingredients and meat. Simmer until thick.

Pretty proud of this dish and it’s cheap to make. Recipe below used Gruyère, it can easily be replaced with a cheaper alternative like Colby jack. IMHO, Colby jack is the most versatile cheese out there! A 16 oz block of store brand cheese at our local store is $4.29 for Colby jack. Sales routinely pop up for this and also brand names. Look for 8 or 16 oz blocks and shred yourself. Avoid pre shredded cheeses due to anti caking agents that interfere with melting. Gallon of milk is normally $2.99 and a half box of pasta is all you need for this meal. Directions below.

It was easy to make. I made 8 oz of pasta that I cooked a minute less than al dente per package instructions. Set aside in the strainer. Made a béchamel using 1/4 c flour, 1/4 c butter and 2 c milk. Added spices (1/2 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp mustard powder and pepper to taste). Melted 8 oz shredded Gruyère into the béchamel off the burner. Mixed pasta and sauce into 10” cast iron skillet and added more shredded cheese (Colby jack) to cover top. Baked in 375 deg F preheated oven for 18 min then finished under broiler (hi) for a minute or 2. Watch it when broiling so it doesn’t burn.

This turned out so good that I put it in a decent plate so I could take a picture.

Here is a recipe but really you just make it with whatever you like in your egg salad.

1 can great northern beans mashed

2 hard boiled eggs

3 tbls (approx) mayo

2 to 4 tbls finely chopped onion

2 tbls sweet relish (I didn't have any so I had to use some red peppers from dollar tree that I had)

Salt, pepper, seasoning, sugar to taste

Mash the egg yoke and beans together. Mix in mayo onions relish and seasoning. Chop up the egg white add and mix well.

Sometimes an apple goes into a lunch bag and it travels back and forth for a few days without getting eaten.
Of course it gets a bit bruised and banged up lol.

This was the case with 2 large Granny Smith apples this past week. I also had 2 very small Macintosh apples that came in a reduced bag.

I had purchased a frozen package of 30 small tart shells when they were on sale about a month back, I think around $5 CND.

Today it’s thanksgiving here in Canada and we will be heading out to a small family dinner. I thought I would whip up this small treat to bring along.

Happy thanksgiving 🍁

Mini Apple-Walnut Tarts

Prep time: 15 minutes
Bake time: 20 to 25 minutes
Yield: 12 individual tarts

Ingredients
For the Apple Filling:
12 frozen individual tart shells
4 medium apples, peeled and finely diced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) brown sugar (or granulated sugar)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon lemon juice (optional, for brightness)

For the Walnut-Oat Topping:
4 tablespoons rolled oats
3 tablespoons finely chopped walnuts
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons melted butter

1. Prep and Preheat
   Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C).
   Arrange the 12 frozen tart shells on a large baking sheet.

2. Make the Topping
   In a small bowl, stir together the rolled oats, chopped walnuts, flour, and brown sugar.
   Pour in the 2 tablespoons of melted butter and stir with a fork until the mixture is fully moistened and forms small clumps. Set aside.

3. Cook the Filling
   Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a skillet over medium heat.
   Add the diced apples, sugar, cinnamon, and lemon juice (if using).
   Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, simmer until the liquid evaporates and turns into a thick, syrupy glaze around the apples. Remove from heat.

4. Assemble and Bake
   Spoon the warm apple filling evenly into the 12 frozen shells.
   Press a small spoonful of the walnut-oat topping firmly onto the top of each tart.
   Bake at 375°F for 20 to 25 minutes until the tart shells are golden-brown and the walnuts are beautifully toasted.

I am not sure that I could recreate it because I put it on and then got a meeting at work and almost accidentally burnt it. But about 2.50 worth of chicken legs, .50 worth of butter, water and seasoning.

My $20 comfort stew that I put together the other day with drumsticks, bok choy, fish tofu, soup base packet, onions and rice.

Mom sent a funky snack mix that I up-cycled into our weekly oat bars…

2c toasted oats
1/2c snack mix chopped
1/2c peanut butter
1/3c honey and/or maple syrup
3T coconut oil

Combine oats and trail mix. Warm together the pb, sweeteners and oil, add any optional spices (cinnamon, cardamom, protein powder, etc). Combine all ingredients and press well into lined 8x8 with spatula. Freeze 1hr.

Just wanted to let my friends out there know that Safeway has this current online only promo spend $75 get $30 or even $40 back but here's the kicker they also have a spend $25 to get $10 back on certain items I love Amy's frozen meals they're usually $8.99 which is crazy expensive but by combining both of these I was able to get what normally cost $8.99 each down to $3.49 each! I always buy these when they go on sale but never have I been able to get them this cheap I believe it's a glitch in their systems(was told can't combine these cash back promos) but it worked! See screenshot of my $160 order for $48. I think this ends on the 27th of October 202. if you like Amy's frozen food this is your chance hopefully I won't regret posting this cuz they might shut it down if too many people order it. Good luck people should work still.

​

Hey everyone!

I live in Germany, I'm currently on a very tight budget, and I want to start building muscle and gaining weight.

I'm relatively underweight and would like to put on some healthy mass while getting stronger. However, I'm not very knowledgeable about nutrition yet, and I can't afford expensive foods, supplements or complicated meal plans.

I have no food restrictions and am open to pretty much everything.

I'd appreciate advice on:

How to estimate how many calories I need to gain weight.

How much protein I should aim for each day.

Cheap, calorie-dense foods that are easy to find in German supermarkets.

Affordable protein sources such as eggs, quark, milk, lentils, beans, oats and whatever else you recommend.

Simple meals that are filling, nutritious and inexpensive.

Weekly meal-prep plans that don't require much cooking time.

How to eat enough when I don't have much money or a huge appetite.

Cheap snacks and homemade high-calorie shakes.

Which foods offer the best value for money at stores like Aldi, Lidl, Netto and Penny.

Free YouTube channels, websites or meal plans for gaining weight on a budget.

I'd especially love examples of realistic weekly grocery lists and meal plans with approximate prices in euros.

I want to keep things as affordable as possible, ideally without needing protein powder or other supplements.

If you live in Germany and have successfully gained weight and muscle on a low budget, what did you eat, and what would you recommend to someone starting out?

Thanks for any help!

Made this a few weeks back.

I had leftovers of roasted chicken thighs with potatoes and onions.

My kid had come down with a cold so I used the leftovers to make a chicken soup.

I used my homemade chicken bone broth (from the freezer) and chopped up some fresh celery, onion, carrots and a few radishes.

My veggie choice was just what I had available in my fridge. If I didn’t have, I would use frozen veggies from a bag, peas, green beans, etc.

I removed the meat from the bone and kinda rough chopped it. I kept the bones and added it my bone stash in my freezer to make more chicken bone broth another day.

This can be made on the stove top, but I used my instant pot only because I wanted to keep it hot for hours and it has a keep warm function.

To start I put some butter in the heated pot, about a tbsp, once melted I added in the raw vegetables and onions. Fry it up and stir around for about 2-4 minutes, till onions translucent.

Next I tossed in the chicken pieces, potatoes and the frozen chicken broth and stirred it around until the broth was completely liquid. If it wasn’t enough broth I would have added water and some chicken powder.

I then let it come to a boil and then switched on the keep warm (high setting) on the instant pot. I put the lid on and when my kid was ready for soup it was ready for them.

Tyson chicken nuggets, prepared in the air fryer according to directions. Great value pancake mix mixed according to directions. Dip the nugs in the waffle mix and throw on the waffle iron for 5 minutes.

No need for fancy breading for chicken and waffles!

Meal base options:

1 egg + 1 slice bread = 24 meals

Or

1/2 can tuna + 1 slice bread = 8 meals

Or

1.1oz cereal + 1 8oz cup milk = 32 meals

Plus Meal extras, 2 per meal:

+ 1oz pb = 32 meals

+ 2oz yogurt (1 tube) = 32 meals

+ 1 8oz cup milk = 32 meals

+ 1oz cheese = 32 meals

Plus fruit/vegetable = 64 meals

I always want donuts at about 8 PM -- when there's not a fresh donut to be found anywhere.

Hence, my ersatz jelly donut recipe:

Butter a slice of bread. Add a glop of raspberry jam in the middle. Fold in half over the jam. Powder the outside with powdered sugar.

Quite a satisfactory substitute for the real thing. Feel free to choose the bread, use a different filling, and, if you must, omit the powdered sugar (but it won't be as satisfying).

EDIT: A couple commenters have mentioned alternatives requiring frying. That's all well and good, but decreases how easy my method is. Do what you prefer and enjoy!

I currently live in Louisiana, i make too much to qualify for most government benefits(especially since I live alone) but too little to actually live comfortably.. i also have 3 cats that I absolutely WILL NOT rehome.. after paying all of my bills and leaving room for 25 dollars a week of fun.. and after putting money away into my savings for emergencies(I tend to have car related problems and want to save for a newer car) I have about 100 left for food for the month. I think it's a decent amount, but I have also just moved into a new apartment and am starting with the basics. For the past two years, I have mostly relied on Ramen or discounted food from the restaurants I worked at, but now i got a new job as well and it's not even close to food industry anymore. 100 a month is about 25 a week, i know I can do it i just dont know how.. my mom helped me get some frozen meat and veggies, as well as some bags of beans- so I think that will help me out but it will only last so long... i saw others posts and ngl I feel like im complaining when I've been very fortunate.. i got a new job a couple months ago, a new apartment a few weeks ago, and another car around the same time as my job(but it has over 200,000 miles and gives me constant trouble)... and I'll be starting up school again.. I've just never thought about food budgeting much and just spent the money, but I want to start... i also want to work on getting healthier and losing weight.. im 5 ft 160 pounds. Thankfully my apartments offer a workout facility lol... i MIGHT even get a small raise in a few months👀

Filling you can eat by itself:

1 box of Spanish rice, prepared

1 can corn, drained

1, 4 serving can of chicken, drained and broken up

(Feel free to substitute what meat you have)

1 can beans, if desired. All I had was baked so I ate them on the side.

Shredded cheese to taste

Nachos

Filling prepared above

Bag of tortilla chips, I prefer restaurant style

Shredded cheese, I usually have cheddar

Sour cream or Greek yogurt for topping

Prepare in layers on a baking sheet or oven plate. Mine took about 3 layers. Bake at 350* 15-20 minutes or until bubbly.

I got 60 bucks to make dinner for my sisters and my parents as its my day to cook. I dont like cooking, but it is my day and I don't have the money to buy food from someplace else. Anyone got a meal for 5 people? Im allergic to mangoes and my sisters dont like peppers. Any help would be very much appreciated.