CHEAP & EASY MEALS FOR LARGE FAMILIES | BUDGET DINNERS | FRUGAL FIT MOM COOK WITH ME

My name is Christine, and welcome to Frugal Fit Mom! Today we are doing a spin on the extreme grocery budget challenge as we are recreating the local food pantry box and seeing what we can make. Here are the recipes:

Meals in this video
Yogurt & PB English muffins
Cottage Cheese with apple pies
baked potatoes
hash browns with eggs
Chicken Pot Pie
Turkey Tetrazzini
Burritos
Bagels with Cheese
Apples with peanut butter

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[erinjohnson]

It’s so great that you help out your community this way. Not just taking food to someone who needs it, but sharing how to make these meals so people who can’t afford extravagant foods can opt to cook deliciously at home instead of relying on fast foods or cheap store-bought unhealthy frozen foods. Good on you for making a difference! 🥰

[pennypetika]

It is sad to see such a long line of cars waiting for food. Thank you for helping the community.

[gwenroireau]

We can all help in some way. If we are lucky we will never need a food box. Bless you for reminding us all to be kind

[kitchenmom]

Love this videos. When I was pregnant with the twins hubby lost his job and I was a lot on bedrest. We had to go to the Tafel (Table) over here in Germany. This is were we got food assistance. The problem with cheap food is that it's really bad for diabetic hubby, just to many carbs and so the Tafel was amazing I could buy fruit and veg like mad because most people did not want it because they did not cook. So I got for a few Euros all the fruit and veg and salads we could eat. One time I got 20kg ( around 44lbs) of fresh tomates for 4 Euro. I cooked enough sauce for the year.

[denisechristiansen]

Do not scoff at the cheese slice! lol My grandmother, who lived through the depression, would boil up some elbow macaroni, drain them and mix it in a baking dish with a can or two of stewed tomatoes. She would top the entire dish with American cheese slices and bake until it was warmed through and the cheese was melty. Every so often I get a craving and have to make it.

[janeduenweg]

Just astonishing how many people there are needing this help. Thank goodness these resources are available.

[jodeew.]

Being physically disabled with severe mobility restrictions and living alone I am one of those people who unfortunately do fall between the cracks... I went months without food or help because I didn't know what was out there. *211* is a resource number for just about anything in your area....food, shelter, information on help for just about anything. I was blessed to have a neighbour happen to check in on me and told me about this number. Someone above was looking out for me. Thank you Christine for all you do, happy New year to you and your family.

[caitlyns-v]

We keep cooked taco meat in the freezer to quickly toss on top of rice with a bunch of veg, sour cream, salsa, whatever, and make burrito bowls! You can crunch up some nachos for on top too.

[msmechanic]

Taco Taters!!! We use the potato as a vessle for everything. It is a great way to clean out the fridge of any bits. Chili tatoes with chili and cheese. Taco Tatos - Taco fixings. Buffalo Tatoes - buffalo chicken, ranch, cheese.

[kerim.peardon]

I do wish you would put something like "Meals from a Food Pantry Box" in your title to make these videos easier to find again later. I have shared your original one in YT comments several times and on my blog. All your Budget Dinners videos are great, but these address a very specific situation and sometimes you want to let people know what sort of things are available and how to use them.

I think the chicken parm idea was the best. Most people would never think to do something other than chicken sandwiches with all those patties, and they're probably not that great a patty--not compared to chicken sandwiches you get out somewhere. But on pasta and covered in tomato sauce and cheese, I bet they're really good and not distinguishable from what you would get in a generic Italian restaurant.

[dessommers]

Christine- you’re amazing! I’m not in need of a food box- but these videos help me try and be more frugal with my grocery budget- so thank you!

[jenscats]

For a more savory way to eat cottage cheese, try it with sliced tomatoes on top with lots of black pepper....it's really good!! Also love it with peaches and pineapple

[karmenmiles-mesch]

That is an awesome box. We gave out boxes at our church that was given through our school system from mid-July to November . We have not been able to get the boxes since right before Thanksgiving (the time we needed them most, in my opinion). But once, we had a few boxes left over and I took them and gave out all but one. I made recipes from the box ingredients (because the box was the same each week with a few SLIGHT variations). I printed them out and started giving out the recipes with the boxes. AND! I gave the dishes I made from the box ingredients to some elderly people in my neighborhood. Ours usually had sliced cheese (about 16 slices), 12 boiled eggs, 5 lbs potatoes, 5 lbs apples, 3 lbs. onions, 2 tomatoes, 2 cucumbers or zucchini, 16 oz. bag of baby carrots, 16 oz, cottage cheese, 16 oz. sour cream, 16 oz. plain or vanilla yogurt, 3 lbs grilled chicken or shredded chicken (pre-cooked), 1 gallon milk. We are currently trying to find a new source as to where to get new boxes as that program ran out. We are in Carrollton, Georgia, west of Atlanta. Some of my recipes included potato salad (using the plain yogurt too), baked potatoes, hashbrowns with cheese, fried potatoes, chicken fajitas, chicken casserole, chicken pot pie, egg salad, baked apples, apple cobbler, etc. Some recipes had some extra ingredients that they would need to have but it was easier for them to afford basics when some food was provided. If I knew that a family needed help with those basic items I would get those items donated or I would buy them myself. I drive a school bus and I know which of my kids families are struggling (and all I have to do is ask other drivers about their kids families if I didn't have enough to give out all our boxes. I really wish I could find some where to get boxes... Pray I find that outlet...

[MS-izif]

The chicken and biscuits were a staple in my house growing up. Totally my comfort/nostalgia meal. We would use it to clean up all of the opened bags of frozen veggies lurking in the bottom of the freezer. Prevented wasting food and made it different every time we made it!

[rachelgoehring]

This is such a wonderful idea of giving back to your community first by delivering that box of groceries to someone needing assistance but then sharing ideas of how to actually use the box of food to feed a family. Serious kudos.

[FrenchyTaylor]

I love your concept where you help people in difficult situations to be inspired in how to cook low budget delicious and nourishing food. I live in Denmark and we have very few people in need of food assistance because of our welfare system but as a social worker I know how important it is for the family wellbeing to be able to eat good and healthy food together. If you have a link for us abroad that want to donate to some food bank it would be nice to be able to help. Chicken pot pie is a hit in our house, sometimes I use hash browns as toppings but I like the biscuits idea thought they would have to be homemade because in our country instant food is not readily available 🙈! I like you channel because you’re humble and make it ok to reach out for help❤️.

[loramartin]

I volunteer at our local food bank, including home deliveries during stay-at-home, and have always been impressed by the amount of fresh fruit and veggies we are able to provide here in California. Thanks for delivering a box, thanks for getting the word out. No one should go hungry when there is so much available.

[ricorori]

I really, really appreciate your continuing conversation around food pantries and accepting help if you need it, and doing videos specifically regarding what you actually get in a pantry, because it's often so random lol. Growing up, a large portion of my meals came from groceries received from food banks/pantries. You said something once in another video about going even if you think other people need it more, because the food is there for you too (paraphrasing, sorry), and that felt like you were speaking to me directly lol. Anyway! Thank you for all the frugal meals you do and especially this one ♥ I hope you and your family are having a happy new year!

On a lighter note:
"It doesn't look it on camera but this pan is really big"
me: I mean I think it looks pretty big
"This is 14 inches"
me: O_O

[SaturnGeminiLove]

That was so nice of you to pick up the box of food for that lady. If everyone could do something nice like that, this world would be a better place. Also loved the videos! Thank you ❤️❤️

[topperhatschire]

If you have bagels I love to toast one and put a fried egg on top. It's so filling, and eggs are pretty cheap