EAT FOR $10 A WEEK STILL POSSIBLE? // EXTREME BUDGET MEALS

I'm revisiting my most viewed video, which was posted almost a year ago, and giving a few other ideas for budget meals amid rising food costs.

Aunt Barb's Mastaccioli (can halve the recipe):
1lb ground beef (or turkey)
2 cans condensed tomato soup
2 8oz cans tomato sauce
2 15oz can petite diced tomatoes
1 can prepared chili
2lbs rigatoni or other short cut pasta
2tsp Italian Seasoning
Salt & Pepper to taste
Parmesan or other cheese (optional)

Super Easy Creamy Sausage Pasta:
1/2lb ground sausage
1/2 onion, chopped
minced garlic
15oz can tomatoes
1 1/2 cups water
8 oz pasta
1C heavy cream
1/2C fresh parmesan cheese, shredded
Salt & Pepper to taste

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[SeeMindyMom]

🙋‍♀️ Have any easy budget friendly meal ideas? I left a few of mine in the description box. Leave me a comment with yours! 😊

[Knitnana]

I’ll be very honest Mindy, I’m 65. Looking at retiring on Social Security when I can but likely when I’m 70. These extreme budget videos are going on a list where I can cook on that limited income and not be too stressed. Your channel is a big part of my list and I’m grateful to you. 💜

[bigredohio]

You spoke of variety as a luxury in budget eating. I was raised in West Virginia, deep in The Appalachian Mountains; one of the most poverty stricken areas in the US. The circuit preacher came once a month and took all the widows in his bus to the grocery store 40 miles away. My Mom did the best she could. She was a good cook and kept us alive on very little income. We have oatmeal or rice every breakfast. Biscuits, gravy and a fried egg every lunch and pinto beans, fried potatoes and cornbread, every supper for 10+ yrs.

God provided a full belly and we were thankful. Our only variety was picking wild greens in warm weather. No garden. You can't grow veggies on a strip mine.

[robins]

Thank you for keeping the issue of food insecurity at the forefront. I am a social worker and have noticed that many donations to food pantries are things like boxed mac and cheese or other convenience foods that require additional ingredients. I encourage friends and family to donate things such as the “deluxe” mac and cheese (with the sauce), canned meats, canned tomatoes, dried beans and powdered milk. Jams/jellies are a nice treat and can be used not only for pb&j, but to top pancakes or oatmeal. Canned potatoes are an often-overlooked staple also.

[lizhumble]

We had an increase of 36 % in bills and food cost at the beginning of this year, and no real increase in pay. We have food allergies and a low sodium diet so we have limitations on what we can eat as far as budget foods. I have started getting all the bread from our bakery outlet. The expensive organic or keto breads are available at half the price or less. I am doing more vegetarian meals. I am also adding beans or vegetables to ground meat to make it stretch further. I plan from the pantry before I go to the store.

[melodymills]

Mindy, in a world that seems like it is spinning out of control, I do appreciate you calm demeanor. Another informative video.

[thirdlife]

Thank you so much for this and all your videos. My husband, who is now disabled after a stroke, doesn’t have an income any longer. Until his disability pay is approved, it’s just my income. We get some items from our church’s food pantry, but I’m at my wit’s end with planning and affording sufficient meals for us. Your videos have really given me hope and inspiration. Thank you so very much. 🥰

[shelbylynnwilliams]

We are seniors living on SS & I am cooking so different from a year ago. I no longer buy roast, stew meat, etc. We eat oatmeal for breakfast 5 days a week, eggs& toast 6th day, & pancakes 7th day. Our beverages are water & tea only. I cook a lot of meatless meals now such as pintos & cornbread, spaghetti sauce over noodles & without meat, homemade potato soup. Instead of using a pound of ground beef for 1 meal I half a pound for each meal.

[laurenzieger]

I know not everyone has the storage available, but my favorite way to save money is to shop sales/clearance so I'm paying minimal prices at the store. I store and freeze items, then shop my stash to put meals together. Shopping at Aldi has been a favorite tip of mine (for me in my area)

[everythingautomotiveeta]

Would love to see this re done at 15, 20 and even 30 dollar increments! Love to see how you manage protien

[shawnacombs]

My favorite tip that ends up becoming a free to make dish (about once a month in my house) is saving all my bits of veggies left over after each meal and tossing them together to make an amazing pot of soup. I keep a basket in my deep freezer to keep the bags all together. When the basket is full I pull it out to thaw, then toss them in a pot with bouillon, water, & seasonings.

[amyfreeman]

A year ago, I did your $10 video in California (where prices are always higher), and to stay around $10, I didn’t buy 2 bags of veggies, I only bought 1 bag of broccoli cuts and had a potato broccoli cheese soup as opposed to a chowder. And I left a couple of handfuls to have on the side of other meals. I also bought the eggs and milk at the dollar tree, and was still able to make bread and noodles with a smaller bag of flour.

If this helped me push down the price when dealing with high California prices a year ago… maybe it can help someone somewhere else now🤞🤞

[jmljasmine]

Another thing I've been working on is learning some basic foraging and simple gardening. I got some tomatoes from my mom's garden last year and managed to keep some of the seeds. They are sprouting now.
I've also started working with the dandelions that are growing in our yard.

[warriorqueen]

Cranberry beans are what we in the south call 'October beans'. We had tons of those in our garden when I was growing up and brings back memories of summer vacations picking beans til my back was scorched. But they are delish and so flavorful in comparison to pinto beans! Thanks for these videos, Mindy! I am certain they are so helpful for a lot of ppl right now and I thank you for putting in the work for us! ~~Laura from East TN :-)

[rdeg]

I love your idea of eating on a tighter budget for a period of time and donating the difference to a cause that supports food security. Thank you for highlighting such an important issue without judgement or pity, but simple information.

[phoeniciacloud]

I recently found that making my leftover beans, rice and veggies into veggies burgers 🍔 is delicious 🤤 and cost effective since beans and rice are pretty cheap.

[yvonnepalmquist]

You can puree pintos/white beans to use in soups to thicken/cream them (in place of, or to help reduce, the added dairy) and add protein at the same time. For tomato soup you can also puree carrots for additional nutrients, as well, but that's a bit off topic.

[laurenm]

Another great and under-utilized ingredient is oatmeal. It is filling and also includes a decent amount of protein. You can make oatmeal cookies, oatmeal bars, add it to meatloaf, etc. Or simple recipes like overnight oats and regular oats are good too!

[markbajek]

This should be sent to everyone's local federal office holders, so they can realize that food inflation isn't at 8 percent.

[wendeestafford]

We’ve been cutting back on meat and stretching it with beans and rice. I’m learning how to make bread and l also make quick breads, pancakes, fry bread etc from scratch. We also pay close attention to stores like Albertsons and Smiths; they have great sales every week. We don’t drink soda anymore. Hubby is a retired electrician and he takes side jobs whenever possible!