c/budget-friendly-meals

8

the_miles•1d ago

Hot take: Those "budget meal prep" videos on TikTok are lying to you

I saw one last week where a girl claimed to make 15 dinners for $25. She used stuff like pre-chopped veggies and name brand cheese. Then at the store I tried to copy it and my total was $47 before I even got to meat. Has anyone else tried following those viral budget meal plans and ended up spending way more than they said?

9

angela_hart•1d ago

Realized I was overfilling my rice cooker the whole time after a neighbor in my building showed me the water trick

She measured with her knuckle instead of using the lines inside, and now my rice actually comes out fluffy instead of mushy, so has anyone else been doing it wrong this whole time too?

7

stella_scott96•4d ago

I miss when $20 could get me a week's worth of veggies from the farmers market

Last week I spent $12 just on bell peppers and a head of cauliflower at the regular store. 3 years ago I used to hit up the market near Oak Street in Portland and grab a full bag of everything for under $15. Ngl, I still remember getting 5 pounds of tomatoes for $4 back then. Anybody else feel like produce prices tripled without warning?

27

emma_garcia•5d ago

Why does nobody talk about how much money a rice cooker actually saves you

I spent $25 on a cheap rice cooker six months ago and it's cut my grocery bill by like $40 a month because I stopped buying those overpriced microwave rice packs, anyone else ditch the instant stuff for a cooker?

13

amyh12•5d ago

Why does nobody talk about how long it takes to cook dried beans...

I was in my truck outside Phoenix last week, soaked some pintos for 8 hours, then simmered them for 3 more, and they were still crunchy... what am I doing wrong here? Anyone got a faster way to do this without using canned?

33

zara_sanchez•8d ago

Shoutout to the cashier who pointed out the bulk bin savings

Was at WinCo last week grabbing some oatmeal for breakfast. This cashier saw my regular box and told me the bulk bin version was $1.20 cheaper per pound. Same exact oats, just in a bag I had to scoop myself. Now I check the bulk aisle first for rice, pasta, and spices too. Anyone else find an unexpected savings spot like that?

4

wendy_lee48•9d ago

My rice cooker died mid-dinner prep last night

I was about to dump in 2 cups of rice for a cheap stir fry when the button just clicked and nothing happened. Tried a different outlet and still dead, so I had to boil the rice on the stove instead and it came out mushy. Now I gotta figure out if I can fix the cooker myself or just grab a $20 one from Walmart. Has anyone else had a rice cooker just give up like that with no warning?

15

kai_burns73•10d ago

I finally tried cooking dried beans instead of canned ones for a month straight

I got tired of spending $2.50 a can on black beans at the grocery store here in Portland, so I bought a 5 pound bag of dried ones for $4.50. The trade off is you have to soak them overnight and cook them for like 90 minutes, but I swear they taste way better and you get way more for your money. My question is: is the extra time and effort actually worth it for you, or do you stick with canned for convenience?

4

evan_davis•10d ago

I think the 'cook from scratch to save money' crowd is missing something big

Last week at the Aldi in Nashville I ran the numbers and realized a bag of frozen stir fry veggies costs $1.89 versus buying fresh broccoli, peppers, and snap peas that would run me over $4.00. The frozen version actually saved me time and money without all the prep work. Has anyone else found that frozen or canned options beat fresh for their budget?

16

jenny198•11d ago

Found my old meal planner from six months ago

I dug out my meal planner from January and saw I was spending $120 a week on groceries for just me. Now I plan around two cheap staples like lentils and eggs, and I'm down to $65 a week. What cheap staple did you add that cut your grocery bill the most?

24

zara_sanchez•12d ago

The week my $50 grocery budget turned into a kitchen nightmare

Last Tuesday I tried to stretch my usual $50 weekly budget by buying a giant bag of rice and some chicken thighs on clearance. I thought I was being smart, but I didn't check the chicken close enough - it smelled off by Wednesday morning. Then my can of beans exploded in the microwave because I forgot to vent the lid, making a sticky mess everywhere. That same night I burned a batch of lentils because I got distracted by a phone call. By Friday I had basically nothing left to eat and ended up ordering takeout for $18, which blew my whole plan. It was just one bad week where every cheap trick backfired, and I felt like I wasted both money and time. Has anyone else had a stretch where every budget meal idea seemed to go wrong at once?

10

fionafoster•13d ago

Stop telling people to 'just buy rice in bulk' like it's some genius hack

I live in a small apartment with no car and the nearest bulk store is a 45 minute bus ride each way. How am I supposed to haul 20 pounds of rice home, and where exactly does it go in my tiny kitchen?

14

tessap73•14d ago

Don't sleep on store brand spices - I was so wrong

I used to swear by the name brand spices and thought the store brand would be watery or fake tasting. Then I did a blind taste test with my roommate using cumin and paprika from Aldi - 3 out of 4 people picked the store brand as better. Am I the only one who wasted money on fancy labels for years?

25

stella22•14d ago

Warning: Frozen veggies beat fresh for my budget every time

I know everyone swears by fresh produce for stir fries but I picked up a 2 pound bag of frozen mixed veggies for $2.50 at Aldi last week. My stir fry came out just as crispy and I didn't have to chop anything. I'm not saying fresh is bad but for a quick meal after work frozen saves me time and money. Has anyone else ditched fresh for frozen on purpose?

22

theajohnson•15d ago

Tried making my own bread for 3 weeks to save money and got a surprise

I started baking my own sandwich bread about a month ago cause store loaves hit $5 each near me in Austin. I figured I'd save maybe $2 a week but I didn't count on how much less I'd waste. Turns out homemade bread goes stale way slower than the store stuff. I used to throw away half a loaf every week cause it got moldy. Now I just slice and freeze what I don't use right away. Has anyone else found that making stuff from scratch actually cuts down on food waste more than you thought?

11

brooke_taylor44•15d ago

Took me 45 minutes to cook a single cup of rice last night - what am I doing wrong?

I was trying to make a cheap dinner, rice and beans, and I swear I stood over the stove for almost an hour watching that rice not cook. I put 1 cup of rice and 2 cups of water in a pot, brought it to a boil, then turned it to low and covered it. After 20 minutes it was still crunchy. Another 15 minutes and it was mushy on top but hard in the middle. I ended up just eating the beans by themselves and tossing the rice. My mom says I probably lifted the lid too many times. Anyone else struggle with something super basic like this? How long does rice actually take for you?

3

charles720•16d ago

Bought a whole chicken instead of just thighs last week and had to learn how to break it down.

Ended up with enough meat for three meals and a bag of bones for stock, but I spent 20 minutes watching YouTube just to get the legs off cleanly - has anyone else tried switching cuts to save money and regretted the extra work?

12

baker.christopher•19d ago

My neighbor said my meal prep was sad and I actually learned something

I was hauling my lunch containers out to the car last Tuesday and my neighbor Bob stopped me. He asked if I ever got tired of eating the same chicken and rice every single day. I said it was cheap and he pointed out that I spend $4 a meal on ingredients but could make a big pot of lentil soup for under a dollar a serving. He even showed me his batch he made with carrots and onions from the discount produce bin at Aldi. Now I'm trying his approach and mixing up cheap veggie soups with different spices each week. Has anyone else had a cooking routine get called out by someone older and wiser?

6

lucasw84•20d ago

Vent: My cheap rice cooker died after 3 months and I'm tired of people saying 'just buy a new one'

I got this $15 rice cooker from Walmart back in July because everyone in this sub swears by the cheap ones. It worked fine for white rice but the pot coating started peeling after 8 uses. Now the lid hinge cracked and rice is flying everywhere. I'm going back to cooking rice in a regular pot with a timer, at least I can control the heat. Has anyone else had a cheap appliance fail way faster than you expected?

6

hannah_wells•21d ago

Burned my chili so bad the smoke alarm went off for 20 minutes

I was trying to make a big batch of chili to stretch for the week, threw everything in my biggest pot, and walked away to watch a show. Totally forgot about it until the smoke detector started screaming and my whole apartment smelled like burnt beans for 3 days. Had to scrape out the bottom and salvage what I could, but it still tasted like campfire. Has anyone else had a cheap meal go totally sideways like that?

6

charles_baker28•23d ago

That bulk rice from the Asian market was a total bust

I bought a 25 pound bag of jasmine rice from H Mart last month because everyone says bulk is cheaper. Problem is it had little bugs in it after two weeks that I didn't notice until I was rinsing it for dinner. Lost like $18 and now I'm back to buying the smaller bags from Aldi.

9

jana769•24d ago

Rant: My $20 rice cooker turned into a science experiment after 3 months

I got one of those basic green ones from the discount store. Worked fine for rice. Then I left some rice in there overnight. The next morning it was like a concrete block. I soaked it, scrubbed it, even used a butter knife. The thing is now a permanent fixture on my counter. I just cook around it. Anyone else got a kitchen tool they can't get rid of because it's fused to itself?

23

kai_burns73•24d ago

Just realized buying in bulk at the warehouse store cost me more in the long run

So I got a membership at Costco about 6 months back. Thought I was saving big by grabbing the jumbo packs of chicken and rice. But then I noticed my fridge was stuffed with stuff I couldn't eat before it went bad. Like that giant bag of spinach that turned to mush. And the 5 pound block of cheese that got moldy. Now I'm wondering if it's better to just shop weekly at the regular grocery store for smaller amounts. Anyone else deal with this? Do you guys stick to bulk or go with smaller trips?

-2

fisher.thomas•25d ago

Tried making beans from dry vs canned for a month and the dry ones won on flavor but lost on time

I did a side-by-side test with black beans last month in Austin and the dry ones tasted way better but it took me nearly 3 hours to cook them right, has anyone found a shortcut that actually works for dried beans?

13

thomasgonzalez•26d ago

The day I stopped rinsing rice and my whole world shifted

Spent 10 years rinsing white rice until the starch clogged my drain and my Thai neighbor laughed, told me to stop and just cook it directly in the pot. Anyone else had a food habit that was actually making things worse the whole time?