When I was 26, my husband and I relocated, and after paying deposit/rent, utility deposits, etc. we had only $15 to buy food for the two of us to last six days until he got his first paycheck. This was 25 years ago, so prices were cheaper than, but still -- that was an extreme grocery budget challenge for sure! Bought it 'all' at Aldi (butter was .99/lb back then, those were the days!). We literally used the very last of the food to make breakfast and pack a lunch on pay day. We had steak that night to celebrate making it. Funny how what seems so tough at the time can be inspiring/good memories down the road. Blessings to you and your frugal fam!!
Been there done that! Just had to move with my wife for her work, in the paycheck gap we ate nothing but cereal, and I made lasagna on paycheck night. Best lasagna I've ever had in my life.
I remember when we bought our first house, I remember we had to fill out all those forms, and there was a question and it said list your debt, something like that, and we both panicked because we had charged $25 on our Discover card, oh to be young again! I do remember I would give my husband $20 a week, and that was to include gas! Lol we were so, so, young. We got married I was 21 barely old enough to get a drink, drink!! and he was 23! Then when I turned 23 and he was 25 we bought that little house, that I loved so much and would love to go back and live there! It’s funny how things changed!!
Malcolm Walker I bet it was!! I think that kids today, and I include my own don’t really know what it’s like to work for something, everything just comes to them! I definitely take some responsibility for that!!
Sherilyn Alexnder I think it would be so fun to do a challenge with her! As far as things go buy how much to spend, etc. we could all meet on Zoom to check in all at the same time to show what we bought, and what we were going to make!! That would be so fun!!!
I love that you tell viewers not to be embarrassed if they need help. Let’s face it, most people need help at some point. No one should be embarrassed about it. Reach out if you need help.
Howard, I'm not too quick to ask for help cause people will have it and won't give it. Have a son and to get anything out of him is a no no, but I do go to organizations that will help. Stay Blessed 💖.
@@patriciaking7892 you too. Sorry you cannot count on family for help but it is great to know you can get assistance when you need it. I pray for a time when you no longer need help. God bless you.
i just discovered your channel, and it comforts me a lot in a way! i'm pretty young(barely in my early teens), and my mother has never once bothered to cook for me and my father is out of the picture. so i grew up on crummy fast food & whatever my grandma was able to make us. i've been trying to learn how to save money and cook for myself, school has been a major stresser so i haven't had the time to even try to figure out ways to save & earn money. unfortunately my family is poor (my brother doesn't want to work so that doesn't help either.) so with other cooking tutorials people would use expensive items that i can't get my hands on, but yours are a big life saver! thank you so much i just know your videos will help me in the long run. and i love how you talk to the camera as if were your friends and your teaching us, really warms me up considering my mother never cared enough to do so, i look forward to binging all your vlogs (: edit: thank you all so much for the recipes! i'll be sure to try them and i'm very grateful (: Another edit: I’m now 14 and will hopefully be able to get a job if my school permits me to do so! So I can buy ingredients myself and not rely on EBT cards. I live in California though, everything is expensive here ):
A cheap filling meal is cottage cheese and noodles. Boil noodles , drain add a little butter or margarine if you have it if not add cottage cheese and mix well. If you have veggies mix some in season with salt and pepper to taste. Use as much cottage cheese as you want.
a really cheap, really easy breakfast or snack is 2-ingredient oat meal cookies. just mash two bananas and mix in 1 cup oats. make into little cookie shapes on a baking sheet and bake for 15 min@ 350 f. if u want, you can add a little cinnamon, but thats optional. last time i checked, it costs 60 ¢ for a whole batch. (btw im an early teen as well) Hope u found this helpful!
I make a really lazy and cheap meal where I throw in tinned black beans, any leftover veges I have (from spinach or bell peppers to mushrooms or onions) in a pot and simmer with curry powder (and/or any similar spices) and enough tinned tomatoes to then poach an egg or two on top. It works out to less than a dollar a serving for two people usually, and has saved us from getting takeaways more than once 😊
My family and I would make a rice, lemon, chicken soup for when we felt a little under the weather but have recently found it easy and cheaper to make too. Bring 8 cups water to a boil, season how you like (chicken bouillon, ramen pack seasoning, seasoned salt, etc), pour in about 1 to 1 1/2 cups of rice, and boil for at least 15 minutes. Add a few cans of chicken, or 1 to 2 breasts of frozen chicken. Just warm them through, then squeeze 1 to 2 lemons in, and season to taste! **If using raw chicken, boil for about 25 minutes, before adding rice, and shred.** This is a nostalgic and warming recipe for us :-)
"Variety costs money" Exactly! Please help me explain this to my boyfriend! He always complains about the grocery budget but won't eat the same meal twice
For a frugal soup broth: save all your vegetable scraps, including onion and garlic skins, carrot ends, etc in a bag in your freezer. When its full, put it all in a pot on the stove and put in just enough water to cover everything. Cover the pot and and simmer at least 30 minutes, longer is probably better. Alternatively put everything in a slow cooker and cook on low 6-8 hours. When done cooking, let cool, then strain out all the solids, and what you have left is a flavorful vegetable broth you didn't have to buy anything extra for.
If you can splurge on a rotisserie chicken, bake the carcass and add the bones and grease and BAM even more flavor. But that's with an extra $5 in the budget, the veggies is PLENTY of flavor, trust me!
I’m making your bean and potato tacos tonight for dinner! My husband lost his job a little over a week ago, I’m a stay at home mom! And these videos are the only thing that’s keeping the fear at bay, it’s my way of contributing, and handling what I can! ❤️ so many thanks!!!!
Myrna Shoults aww thank you ❤️ it’s scary, and sad! But you know, we’re healthy and we have each other! I know we’re doing a lot better than some! We’ll get through this!
My sister insists on shopping at costco. she spends SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much money. Is shop at Aldi. I'm buying thanksgiving dinner this year. I prob wont' spend more than $200 for 14 people and that includes the fresh turkey.
You think she's the only one that buys generic brands!? Over 70% of Americans buy generic brands!!!!! You think all these meals have anything to do with daily nutrition!? Probably not!
@@Kristinapedia to be fair costco can be cost efficient for some people. when i was in college i used my mom’s costco membership and got lots of frozen veggies and fruits and some frozen meals. it worked out really well for me because i had zERO time and basically lived off frozen rice bowls and smoothies and they lasted me an entire semester usually.
Always buy tomato paste and Italian seasoning instead of sauce, sometimes it is available for 4 can for $1.00. At 3 to 1 ratio (water to paste) you can have waaay more sauce and more flexibility.
@Nancy Nazario @laurble Both of your tips are firsts for me, and I LOVE IT. THANK YOU!!! I have struggled to figure out what tomato paste is FOR!! I want to can my own sauce but I can't yet -- this is gonna satisfy that need for us!
I'm glad that you could not find your pasta machine. It is not a common item in most homes and people in need , need to see how to make the pasta. Great job.
Last year I was hardcore saving my $$ to pay off student loans. Your videos helped me and my boyfriend explore different stores than we were used to, and we were able to only spend $25/week on groceries almost the whole year! I was spending over $400/month on groceries for 2 people before. Thank you for your videos, they make food budgeting fun & creative rather than depressing lol.
Wow, that progression. I envy you, but I'm lazy more than frugal on home food :P If I want to gain 1-2 days of almost free food money, I cook 500-1000g of pasta
I don’t know if this is a common practice but all across our town are these handmade, freestanding wooden pantries. Someone made a bunch of them and I guess they probably got permission from either the city or property owners and they placed about 20-30 all over. People all over the city keep them stocked and it’s really cool bc you can just drive up, fill up a pantry, then drive away and it’s the same for people who need it. They can drive up, take what they need with no questions asked. I know that some people really struggle with asking for help so it’s nice that they can just take what they need without having to fill out any paperwork or answer a bunch of personal questions. When the pandemic started, we all sort of banded together on our community fb pages and we all made sure those pantries were stocked at all times. It made my heart so happy to see the whole town coming together to help people in our community. Like I said, I don’t know if this is a common practice but it should be. :)
In the upcoming months America is going to be needing more savvy providers like you producing such practical and informative videos. Your family is fortunate to have you as such a gifted provider.
I am impressed with your ability to stretch your food budget. However, the menu over a week seems to be carbo loaded with very little protein for six servings over a week. Perhaps some dishes with beans and brown rice would make a good protein? Not sure how many people have a green bean garden, so except for the strawberries (an indulgence) and apples (1/3 for 2 Sandwiches!) there are no fresh fruits or vegetables... Processed cheese is awful for you and canned cream soups are loaded with salt. I do understand that these are so much better than what many people are eating and are at least tasty and filling. I agree that you can’t get the lowest price on items in any one store and it costs gas and time to go from one to another. I have windowsill lettuces, green onions and herbs, all in water and could have more veggies indoors in grow pellets. Good luck to you; keep on helping people feed their families!
Amen 🙏 not Americans, but due to unexpected obstacles and a baby on the way my husband and I are going into self imposed austerity measures for the first time in years. It is very humbling, but a good reminder that life changes and all you can do is hang on and love each other. The whole world is going through this together.
@@MilwaukeeWoman I just got lectured by my doctor to increase my salt intake. After taking my blood pressure he jokingly said, how are your still breathing and talking to me. I've worked outside all my life and have over the years succumbed to the notion that salt is bad. Well it's not bad! I increased my salt consumption to levels of almost unpalatable meals and after two weeks my blood pressure was normal again. Cheers!
@@TheGardenerNorth Thank you! I was telling my mother-in-law that! She was keeping her husband on such a salt restricted diet (she seldom uses canned goods or processed foods) that he was having dizzy spells.
I grew up in an enormous Irish-Italian-Cajun-Polish family, and I learned to cook cheap immigrant food at my grannies' knees...potatoes, at almost every meal. Cabbage is nutritionally about as good as broccoli but much cheaper. Pierogi, gnocchi. Red beans and rice, split pea soup, lentil soup with whatever veggies are cheap at the moment. Black beans and rice, potato pancakes, beans and cornbread, colcannon, bubble and squeak. We always had a garden, and most of our veggies came out of the backyard.
Keri Decker don't have a recipe as such because none of the grannies and aunties I learned from ever measured anything. You put water in a pot, add about and pound and a half of split peas. Cook on a low simmer with salt and a bay leaf. Chop and lightly saute a large or two small onions, and add to the soup. Two or three carrots, sliced; if you have celery, two or three stalks of that, sliced, I usually add a large potato or else a handful of barley to give it a little more stick to your ribs quality, some mushrooms if I have them just because I love mushrooms and everything is better with mushrooms. But add or leave out as you like. I throw in some of the celery tops or else a bit of shredded spinach or else skip the potato and use a turnip instead, and chop in the turnip greens. Cook till all the vegetables are soft and the peas have broken down. I season it with salt and pepper, a bit of mint to lift the flavor of the peas, a bit of fresh tarragon if I have it or else a sprinkle of nutmeg. Go easy on the nutmeg but it makes the flavors of peas and especially of spinach really pop. So you can see, I use what I happen to have, stretch it a bit as I can, serve with lots of good bread.
@@christinebutler7630 ty! I live in Minnesota and its been freezing. Been planning on making a soup, and i think i will try a version like yours this weekend.
When i was a child my dad would give my mom $25 a week for groceries and she had to make 3meals a day from that.And she did lol..Eggs,corn meal, Flour,white potatoes,dry beans,lard and rice.We got milk and ham from his friend.Lots of canning and garden picking in those time's.Thanks for taking my mind back to wonderful day's lol...
Yes but how old were you at the time, and if your family is already that frugal you're naturally special not in a bad way. Because my grandmother taught me the same way which is why I live in 2020 being able to hold down a great budget God bless you
One thing i really long about these challenges is the fact you do lunch and breakfast along with dinner. Rather then other people who just do dinners. I love these challenges and it really helps in my household ☺️❤️
“Variety in your diet is expensive”.....many people don’t get that concept! When you have to scrimp on the grocery budget, pasta, rice and beans are life savers! I say ABSOLUTELY to anything that you have in your pantry, garden, fridge or freezer being fair game when meal extending!
I get that but I dont completely agree with you sure there are limits to what you can get and for me beef and expensive meat are a no but the raw ingredients you can get can make a lot of different tasting meals and more often then not it includes cutting big pieces of meat into small pieces and adding water and vegetables to it.
I love that you do these. So many people are struggling... Also, peeps need to stop with the serving size shaming of you! Your family is not overweight and half this country is. So...
Lol people just don’t know what a regular portion size is supposed to be. Restaurants give you enough food for 2 people and we’ve gotten so used to eating more than we should
My 5 kids eat adult size portions by age 6. None of them were/are fat. Strong, active, slim. These recipes like that soup, maybe 2 meals, maybe. That’s with just 2 kids here now. The tunafish and noodles they’d be like mom where’s the tuna? 1 can for a double pan batch?? It’s supposed to be 2 cans for 1 pan lol
@@YeshuaKingMessiah Hi Gotta confess I'm a tad triggered: 1) Americans get about 3x the amount of protein they need... so I'm not fretting over Christine's tuna. 2) Good for you and your kids! 3) BUT over half of this country is obese largely bc of obscene serving sizes. In Europe, serving sizes are about 1/3 of what they are here (and far less diabetes and heart disease there). 4) I'm sure Christine supplements with bread, fruit, or whatever when nec.
When I first married decades ago, $20 would buy a week's worth of groceries. This would include ground beef, chicken, a chuck roast, fruit and veggies, bread, eggs, milk, etc. (I would make my own cookies.) I can't go to the grocery store now without sticker shock on how expensive food has gotten over the decades. Now, especially as a senior on a limited budget, I'll make a big pot of veggie and chicken soup once a week simply because I love a big bowl of warm, nutritious comfort food, and it's very economical per serving. Soup is a snap to reheat for lunches, and can be frozen for eating later in the month. And soup is so much fun to make! Go through the refrigerator and freezer and see what veggies you have and use them. Start by sautéing fresh some celery, carrots and onions. Add about 6 cups of water and chicken bouillon and your raw chicken. Bring to a boil then reduce to low, stirring occasionally. Add a little pasta or barley (or both). Add diced zucchini, diced yellow squash, some green pepper, some diced mushrooms and a couple of diced red potatoes (in place of pasta), if you wish. The more veggies, the better the finished product. After simmering for 30 mins., remove the chicken, shred it, and return the meat to the pot. Add more water, if necessary. Serve! You can (optional) add a couple of cans of diced Italian stewed tomatoes and 1/2 of a chopped cabbage when adding the other veggies for more soup bulk, nutrition and flavor. Season soup to taste as you go, if necessary. Voila! Heaven in a bowl!!! Not at all hard to make and even kids will love it. Of all the decades I've been cooking, I've never made a bad batch of soup. Just too easy and it doesn't cost much per serving! Great for lunches, and can be frozen for eating later in the month. And soup is so much fun to make!
Best thing I've figured out this year...place all your grilled cheese sandwiches on a baking sheet and bake at 400 for 12-14 minutes flipping halfway through. Perfect every time, saves a ton of time, and so much crispier!
Yes, that’s how I was brought up. The first time I saw somebody putting 1 or 2 at a time in a pan was weird. Although, we broiled ours, just have to really watch them.
I put a bit of butter and minced garlic in the oven (at 400) for around 5 minutes and then I put the bread and cheese in. Bake for about 5-10 minutes and you have delicious garlic grilled cheese sandwiches! Yum!
Funny you mentioned tuna.... I was in my 50’s by the time I found out that my dad didn’t like tuna, but he ate it because my mom made it often!! My poor daddy! I miss him so much!
In our family, "barbecue beef" is code for "something that seems awesome at first but then you have it all the time until you honestly cannot stand it anymore." Because we got a giant batch of it from someone my dad worked for, and at first it was such an unfamiliar treat, but our budget was so low at the time that that became the *only* thing we had, for weeks if not months. I had a similar experience with the song "John Deere Green," which I loved when it first came out, but then the radio seemed to play it every hour, on the hour, until I was absolutely sick of it and couldn't stand it. As far as tuna, though? I've heard that people who hate *canned* tuna should at least give "real" tuna a try. Like, tuna steaks or something? Apparently they taste substantially different from the canned stuff. (I happen to love toasted tuna fish sandwiches, and enjoy tuna noodle casserole, so I have no problem with the canned stuff and have never tried the steaks.)
If you live in an area where you can have a garden....grow a spring and /or fall garden. I've lived off the land all my life and it's pretty inexpensive. I do a seed exchange with neighbors and friends we also trade foods, veggies, berries, eggs, raised meat. I teach free canning classes as long as everyone brings something to contribute. I also teach how to can meat that's hunted or raised. Find a network or start one. Start small and help each other. Help each other in gardening and searching out food. Ask the people down the street if you can pick fruit from their tree.... for canning or drying...etc.
First time viewer, I just want to say thanks for opening with a mention of food resources. Esp your comment, "Dont be ashamed to ask for help." There are so many in need and society needs to overcome the stigma of food insecurity. We are all in this together. ❤
I love the fact you encourage people to get help! My daughters school sends home bags and boxes of food to all students homes. Even if it’s crackers, milk and cereal, they send stuff for all kiddos.
ALI CIA always triangles! Nothing better! My husband makes his lunch for work, and on occasion I do it for him. He always says my sandwiches always taste better, I say, you don’t put mayo, or mustard, or lettuce, or tomatoes, and you don’t cut it! I put all those things and put them on and cut it on the triangle! It’s the triangle, I keep telling him! He just eats his dry sandwich whole no cutting at all, at this point, I’m willing to forgo the triangle, but come on dude, cut the dang sandwich!!
You can make noodle cutting way easier and uniform by folding them over several times and cutting them with a sharp knife. Other than some beans and chicken, excellent survival meals.
Love your challenges! BTW, here's a way to make your garlic stretch. Get a whole bunch of garlic (several bulbs), peel and separate them, stick them in a food processor, and process them into a puree with vegetable oil. Stick the mixture in ziploc bags and freeze the bags. When you need garlic, break off a piece!
Although I am fortunate enough to no longer have to struggle, I just wanted to say I wished this was available to me when I was. It would have significantly helped me out of my financial struggle much, much faster and I wouldn’t have had to go hungry so often. These meals are plenty filling and actually look great!
Many of us struggle with portion sizes. That's a big key to keeping on budget. I have been working on my pantry, and I get anxious at the store lately even though the shelves are well stocked.
Your creativity in these videos is amazing- we simply wanted to cut our budget and you helped us do that. And yes thank you for reiterating that going to a food bank is OK. If you need help then please get it!
My gf and I don’t have enough money to eat 3 meals a day we only eat one in the evening along with little snacks. We ate pasta for 4 days in a row this week. It sucks cause everything cost a lot, but we are glad we are not in the streets. Thank you for your video, I know it will help a lot!!!
Christine!! I have to tell you, that I did what you said and I looked in my area and I FOUND A BREAD OUTLET!! I wish I could send you a picture of everything I bough! I got, Thomas Bagels for $1.19, Ballpark hot dog double pack, and double pack of same hamburger rolls , nice sandwich rolls , large bag of the thick French toast bread, a bag of like sub rolls, all of those were 89 cents ea, oh and 100% whole wheat bread that my husband loves but it is like almost $4.00 so I got all that for $6.53!! I couldn’t believe it! So thanks for telling us to check if we had an outlet near us, because my daughter was driving me to my drs. Appointment cause my foot is still broken, and we stopped at the pharmacy and then! We were pulling out of the parking lot, and I helped STOP!! ( not a good thing to yell at a driver cause she thought she was going to hit something, (lesson learned). I saw it! I said is this new? She said “Well mom, it’s been there since I started driving, and I’m 29, so, no mom, it’s been there for a bit!” So, I was just so excited to share with you! I also just went to my delivery order from Walmart, and I was able to take about $12 off my list!!’ I hope you read this, I’m just so excited to share, and pretty much no one I’ve talked to is as excited as me!! Thanks, again, Karen 😊
Hi Karen. That’s great you found a bread outlet near you! I found one near me but it was very small and didn’t have much to offer! I think it’s fun when I find something on clearance in my stores that I have seen Christine buy before! She is such a great inspiration to all of us! I have been cooking for a long long time but I still learn so many new things watching her videos!
I keep talking with my husband about how high groceries have gotten in the last 6 months. Your videos have encouraged me to start getting our grocery bill down. Thanks for the inspo.
My frugal daughter has a family of 6. She raises chickens, never has used a paper napkin or towel. She taught me that buying only whole milk as a cost saver. She keeps a little of it whole for coffee or a richer recipe, and the rest she waters down by 50%, making almost 2 gallons of 2% milk. Here’s a yummy dish she makes. She adds equal portions of rice and lentils, then adds sour cream and salsa. Hot and chewy and yummy.
The milk idea seems smart but i see a small issue. By watering it down, you're also diluting the vitamins and nutrients. Perfectly fine as long as you're not relying on milk for nutrition.
@@debbabbit5823 hey Deb, just a note that milk producers do not add water to make lower fat percent milks. They remove the fat and add it back to the water phase in the desired percentage. Yellow powah is correct in their comment about watering dowm the nutrients.
Tell her to try cooking the rice and lentils with some cumin and salt/pepper garlic powder and then topping the cooked rice and lentils with caramelized onions and parsley And sour cream on the side to kinda spread a little on top This dish is called mujaddara and it is a famous middle eastern dish One of my favorites I always like it with a fresh middle eastern salsa of tomatoes cucumbers green onion and parsley and mint with lemon juice and olive oil that is my favorite and some people prefer it with yogurt but it is always served with caramelized onions on top
For the last couple days I keep thinking I have nothing to eat at home... and then I watch this and I have all the ingredients for everything already! In smaller quantities but still will have food for about 2 weeks 😊 there's only me and my 3 year old Thank you!
Love these extreme grocery budget challenges!! My town has a little food pantry. A neighbor made a small cabinet thing with a glass door that latches. People add non perishable items to it when they can. Other people (not just from our town; all are welcome) can come when they have a need & take what they see. Across from the mini pantry is also a book cabinet made the same way but for books. Got extra books? Put them there. Find a good book in there? You can borrow it, bring it back if it's not for you or keep it. All books are welcome.
Sounds like a Blessing box. We had one in the town where I attended for my first two years of college. The blessing box and weekly trips to a good bank to help when mokeu wasn't able to stretch far enough.
Yes. Lots of people love them. If they are running low on food & or books, someone lets the town know via the FB town page. That usually prompts some to check their cabinets for items they may not need or want & next thing you know someone's posting that they filled up the cabinet again.
A good emergency meal, if you stock up on onions and keep flour in your pantry, is onion rings. If you've misbudgeted and it's the last few days of the month, fry up some onion rings. A simple water-baking soda-vinegar or pickle juice- flour batter and just a smidge of your oil or lard and an onion: bam you have dinner for one.
@@3740blackie I use an easy tempura batter I found somewhere on the internet, but I do have a few tips. First, make sure you start with a hot pan by dropping a piece of batter into the oil to check if it's hot. If you're shallow frying, make sure you have enough oil to cover about half the ring and leave it until that side is cooked to whatever doneness you want. I also reccomend seasoning the batter with all your spices except salt, and adding the salt right after you set them out to drain. Make sure to drain them on a rack or a plate with a paper towel on it so they don't get greasy and soggy, also I have better luck with thinner circles and a thin batter like tempura style than I do with traditional thick chicken batter. Smoked paprika is a great spice to add if you can find it. Hope some of that helps, it took me a bit of trial and error to figure out how to do it well. I realized I forgot to mention how to tell if your oil is hot enough, if the piece of batter bubbles when it hits the oil you're at the right temp. Also don't crowd the pan or fill it up too quickly
@@arit8009 thank you so much! These tips are amazing! I am going to try to make these gluten free! I looked up a tempura batter that might do the trick! Should I add a little sugar to the batter to make a little more crunchy? I also have a deep fryer. Do you think it would be better to shallow fry? I have tons of paprika, so that's going right in! I am hoping that this works! I will update you as soon as I do it, hopefully this weekend! Thank you so much!
@@3740blackie oh deep friers are much better, I shallow fry more often because it uses less oil and takes less time to heat up, but deep frying cooks faster and more evenly, so definitely go with that. Tempura batter is pretty crunchy as is, I'd be afraid that the sugar would burn and get a bit bitter, but I'm not sure about that. Hope your onion rings went well!
@@arit8009 I should have waited to hear from you! I used sugar and burned them to a cinder! I will try it again next weekend! Thank you so much for all your awesome information! You are so amazing! 🙇♀️🙇♀️🙇♀️🙇♀️🙇♀️🙇♀️🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘✊👩🎤
I live the tip for the grilled cheese sandwiches about using “any fat.” My daughter showed me to use mayo. It spreads well and tastes great! So, if butter is scarce or oil is being used for other cooking that week, think about mayo! You have more options than you might think on tight grocery weeks.
Lola Bear it does not taste the same though. My husband grew up thinking he didn’t like grilled cheese because his mother made them with mayo 🤮. I made them with butter (not margarine) and he loves them. Oil would get soaked into the bread. It’s not the same lol.
Not only do onions and garlic add a lot of flavor, they are also antibiotic (garlic) and onions have phytochemicals to help ward off disease as well as being rich in a powerful antioxidant!
Can you do another one of the “food bank” challenge one you did before where you bought the things people would have gotten from the food bank that time and make as many meals as possible
It literally doesn’t though? Tortellini originated from torta which means cake. Bellybutton is ombelico. An old legends says the shape is inspired by Venus‘ navel but that’s all.
@@lattemeowcchiato3767 OMG I don't speak Italian! I was trusting something I read years ago, and all this time I have been LIED TO??? I feel so betrayed! LOL TY for the correction!
it's good. (for a while, I thought it disGUSting because I used the "light" Best Foods..it was awful. Regular Best Foods mayonnaise is, well, BEST.) But still not better than butter!!
I grew up being told it was a major sin if you knew someone in your area was hungry. I live in a small, very rural area and it happens more than you might think.Also, strawberries are always worth it! Whenever I'm in the grocery I have to have a carton Sooo good.
I love that you mentioned available resources and how to find them. You’re a good, genuine person. I appreciate the time you take to make these videos for us.
I was in Walmart today and noticed that they have a food aisle that says Clearance. Shocking!!! However in the aisle was regular sized cans of diced tomatoes with garlic, olive oil for 32 cents. Expiration date 9/ 2021. We are a small family of 2 old retired grandparents. I couldn’t resist the price so I bought quite a few..During these days it is good to stock up a bit.Just in case..There were other surprising items in the aisle as well.: Tuna packets for 88 cents, can corn 50 cents, pasta boxes 77 cents..some miscellaneous dented cans fruits and vegetables for 10 cents..My thoughts were if only a large family in need were shopping while it was available. Great deals. It was an interesting row to see.Hopefully it is a new trend for Walmart. It could help out a lot of struggling families.
All of the Walmarts around me have a clearance spot for food items. I look for it in any Walmart I go to. I have never found an aisle but it's usually about a 3 ft wide and 3 or 4 shelf High section. I never know what I will find but I have gotten some awesome deals. Like a 20 pound bag of rice for $9 and it was jasmine rice. I don't mind dents in my cans and occasionally I have tried some new things if the price was good. Also need to learn to read the tags on the aisles. Look for mark down items on the shelves - especially freezer and refrigerator shelves. They are generally solid yellow tags with black letters and numbers. At least they are where I live. Also look for closeout tags that might be a different style depending on the store from their markdown tags.
Always eat Brk grits or oatmeal, eggs (we put them IN our porridges or 1-2x a week have eggs & toast) milk or yogurt/kefir Lun pbj or beans & rice/tortillas, milk or yogurt/kefir Then at dinner you can variate and afford meat Eat fruit at brk and for afternoon snack Make your own yogurt/kefir and bread
Skim milk is not diluted milk. Milk as it come from the cow has cream in it, which rises to the top when you let it stand. If all the cream is skimmed off, it becomes skim milk, also called non-fat milk. Butter is made out of cream and is expensive. So the reason that whole milk is more expensive is that it contains the main ingredient for butter. The proof that skim milk is not diluted milk is the protein content. A cup of whole milk has 8 grams of protein; a cup of skim milk has 8 grams of protein. If skim milk were diluted with water, the protein content would be lower. It isn't. It's only missing the fat.
Also, cows produce different amounts of cream based on nutrition, genetics, and what stage she is in her lactation cycle so by taking it out and adding a specific amount in, they can make a more uniform product. Also, that who process costs money too
I second the onions and garlic! When we were young newlyweds surviving on hubs very tiny Navy pay we used to make what we called 'day before payday pasta' basically just a couple sliced onions and some garlic caramelized in a little oil or butter and tossed with pasta,parmesan if we had it. It's still something we love and tweak with some extra ingredients now days. It was always delicious and helped out! Were finally getting a Winco and I'm so excited! We live in a very similar type town as you do and shopping options are slim. :) 18 eggs here are about 2.49 right now.
Holly Caffeinated Nerd Girl What’s Winco? Is it a discount grocer? Or just a grocery with great prices? We didn’t have those where I grew up (Ky.), went to college (Ohio), or live now (Pa.).
When my husband was an Airman Basic our 'day before payday pasta' was from when all we had in the fridge was a little leftover sour cream, margarine and Kraft parmesan cheese. Spaghetti noodles, those ingredients, salt and pepper and it worked. We still make it to this day.
Tomato and cucumber salad is absolutely not cheating. :) I am 100% Italian and every summer my mom would make "tomato salad" which was cucumber and tomato sliced up with some oil and salt and pepper. Delicious!!!!
Your family is blessed. I'm 45 and just now learning to cook because my wife is fighting cancer. I've learned more from this video than hours in other channels. Thanks so much. I can't wait to try some of your recipes.
I fought cancer last year. October 2022 I was too weak to stand long enough to get a glass of water. Prayers for your wife. It socks but it’s beatable!
Vlogtober, vlogvember, vlogcember, and we can discuss vlogunary, vlogbruary, vlogarch, vlogpril, vlogay, vlogune, vlogly, right back to vlogust! Sounds perfect to me, great suggestion Mona!👍
Broke doctoral student in NYC...I've never seen prices like these! A gallon of generic slim milk in Queens is almost $5. God bless you and your family. Thanks for the vids.
It’s because you have Government involved with every aspect of your life. There is so much wasteful spending in Government. It kills me that frugal people vote to increase the size of government! They are terrible over spenders!
That pasta would've been easier to cut evenly if you had floured it generously, then rolled the thin dough up before cutting with a knife (kind of like you would cut cinnamon rolls but thinner). You can dry it in nests as well, so just shake it a little after cutting to loosen and lay it out on the counter or on a sheet pan.
Sierra Davis make sure it is completely cooled before u put it in the freezer bag - the condensation is what makes it soggy, if u can avoid that u will have non-soggy toastie goodness!
I do the same thing. Our toaster sucks so we leave it on level 1 and toast it twice. I toast 2 slices, when its done I put pb on one half and nutella on the other half and make it into a sandwich. So good and it lasts me until lunch
I love how she addressed college students in her video as her audience. when I was first moving out, I looked online for the cheapest food money could buy, as well as food banks and soup kitchens. I was so SO concerned about affording food. I still keep my budget tight and love a good cheap stir fry recipe, so thank you!
Also I'm totally with you on the onions and garlic. I love using onions to bulk up a meal. If you chop them finely enough or grate them you can mix the onions (and mushrooms if you like mushrooms) with ground beef to stretch the meat, plus mushrooms have a lot of fiber so they help fill you up. For more nutritious mashed potatoes replace up to half the potatoes with turnips. Peel and chop them the way you do the potatoes, boil together (with garlic powder to combat that "old potato" flavor the leftover potatoes can get) and mash as usual. The turnips are wetter so you can't add as much milk, but they taste almost exactly like regular mashed potatoes. And if you buy carrots, beets, radishes, or turnips with the tops on those greens are all edible, so you get extra veggies.
I don't know where you live but close to me there is an Eastern European grocery store. It's rinky dinky, but always full of people. They had yeast during lockdown, not once they were sold out. Worth checking out if you have access!
This makes me so nostalgic. My mom used to cook meals like these all the time since our family is big and we were on a tight budget. Cereal or eggs, sometimes pancakes or french toast for breakfast. Sandwiches for lunch. So many simple dishes for dinner, I swear every single one in this video I grew up with. It’s incredible looking at this video now as an adult and realizing just how inexpensive and easy this was for my parents, and how it could be for me.
Dear Christine, My wife and I and all of us thank you so very much. I am 76 and my wife is 74, we have been married for 55 years, I am the luckiest guy alive. We just wanted to let you know how much appreciate you. God Bless you and your family and friends. Ron in Bakersfield, CA
Watching all your videos has inspired me to clean out my freezers and take a look at what we have. We have been eating a lot of odds and ends that I was "saving" for whatever reason.
My great grandmother and grandmother had a day once a week where they made a fill it - watch it meal like red beans n rice. Then they would make pasta. Everything was curing in bowl or rolled, cut and hanging over the backs of kitchen chairs drying out for use in the next week, two weeks, or month in New Orleans. It was profitable and delicious! It used to be normal living prior to the 50s.
You may not be able to over-mix the noodle dough, but if you beat olive oil too much, it gets bitter. I think I learned that from the American Test Kitchen on PBS. It totally changed the way I make hummus. I add the olive oil close to the end.
I’m not sure who this will reach, I’m in phx az and chicken is CRAZY cheap at Frys right now. 6 drumsticks at Frys for .87! 5 lbs of chicken tenders for $1! If you need a meat please take advantage of this. Stay safe and healthy 💗
Yep, its all the chickens they just did the satanic rituals with not too long ago. Same as when chic filet does their free sandwiches/bogo chicken sandwiches once or 2x a year. Its sick but its the truth. Whether you believe me or not is up to you, but I know for a FACT its the truth cause I helped ppl get out of the cults they do it in n then they have a contract with these businesses to take these chickens theyve done spells n other things on to distribute to the public n then you eat the energy they're filled with. Sorry. Had to tell someone publicly.
For making thinner pasta...next time you can take that sheet of pasta and fold it in half from top to bottom, or in 3rds like a letter...THEN do the pizza roller (or a knife). The "folded" noodle will easily unfold when you pick it up and go to lay it over something. I just lay it on a baking tray with parchment.
I love the fact that you have the camera right there while doing the mixing, cooking, baking etc. to actually show us what the recipe looks like during the preparation of it! I think I liked this one the best so far! Great job! Great meal ideas! I know it takes a lot of time to do these videos! So so appreciate you doing them!
I have run out of eggs when I had planned for french toast, and I learned (thank you google) that you can make egg-less french toast using cornstarch. It taste the same and my kids loved it. its a great have in your back pocket kind of recipe!
I LOVE your shows. You not only help us learn how get the food and stay in the budget.. But then you also tell us how make a menu and how to prepare and cook items for the best reults.. THANK YOU.
I’m amazed at the prices in the store where you live! In NJ strawberries are often 3.99 to 5.99 and I like to get them when they come down to 3.00 or below. Eggs are usually atleast 2-3.
You can make your soup instead of the Knorr: 5 carrots, 3 onions, a pice of cellary, half a cup salt, 1 cup of oil, blend and put in a glas in the refrigerator (holds 6 months, for a few pennys) Karin from Germany
if you use the quick rise yeast it is really easy. Just never put your yeast against the salt. Put them on opposite sides, mix one with a little flour mix, mix the other then you can mix them together. If you let them pile on each other, it will kill the yeast. bread is so easy. Yummy. You let your dough rest until it doubles, then punch it shape it let it rest until double again and bake.
I’m late for this party but hopefully you will see a new comment on an older video. I have a huge favor to ask. I am pretty sure you no longer do Keto but I bet you remember how. I gained “some” weight during quarantine. Everything I had lost doing Keto plus some extra. A budget Keto video would be SOOO helpful. I would bet there are others out there like me. Will you think about it? Please and thanks in advance. Happy Holidays to you and the fam. 🎄 🎅
I love these! I WISH I could this for my family, so I have a challenge for you :) My son has celiac disease, which means his diet has to be 100% gluten free. I would love to see what you can do for a week with your family using only gluten free items. Maybe that’s a bigger challenge than what you’re willing to take on, but I’d LOVE to see it!
It’s easier to just cut the wheat products out completely and not sub with the gluten free version of breads etc. I never liked bread that much. I’m sure it’s really hard when someone has an allergy. I just don’t buy much that has gluten. Rice, quinoa, rice noodles etc are super cheap in the Asian grocery.
Gluten free family here too. We sub bread for lettus and pasta for rice pasta. I'm not about to make a PB&j with lettus, but we dip apple slices in PB&j mixed in a bowl. Stay healthy!
Video Ideas: Boys Take over the kitchen- The boys give you a day off and they make Breakfast Lunch and Dinner, with the help of Dave or Kids Cook- Your kids work together to make a meal for you and dave 5 days of 5 ingredient meals - you can only make your meals with 5 ingredients or less ( oil, salt, pepper, water, simple spices are free)
Christine, for the absolute best tasting grilled cheese sammichs, skip the oil and butter and simply coat the outsides with mayo! OMGosh next level taste!
I know this will sounds weird BUT if you put a thin layer of mayo on the outside of the grilled cheese instead of butter it actually cooks up pretty and golden AND it doesn't taste like mayo once you cook it.
Aldi's has ravioli that's on the shelves not refrigerator. It's good for easy 2 meals. Wontons and a little meat goes a long way for wonton soup or ragoon. What teenager doesn't like crab rangoon just get cream cheese and substitute it. You get so many wontons in a package and you only need around a half a teaspoon in each wonton. You can use chicken pork beef with garlic and onions and that can go a long way save your broth from making a chicken during the week or chicken legs are always cheap sometimes you can even find 10 pound bags of chicken for $7 because if they give you the leg quarters period that goes a long long way. It's really easy to stretch you just have to know where to shop look online for the ads and like you said if you have to go to two stores three stores as long as they are centrally located to where you are you're doing good otherwise you're just wasting money and gas. but if you can find one of those 10 pound bags of leg quarters you can cut them up and get a lot more than 42 meals if you have that rice beans some carrots like you did or some frozen broccoli spinach whatever because at all these you can get actual side dishes with quinoa and everything else in it and all sorts of vegetables like they have one that has quinoa and zucchini and tomatoes and green peppers and onions and garlic and it's a dollar 39 and it goes so far it does a couple meals for my husband and I . We are empty nesters now. I am so glad our kids love to cook our daughters of vegetarian for health reasons and our son is definitely a meat eater and they are extremely frugal I did send them your video for eating for $42 a month so I'm sure they're going to like to hear it from someone other than their mother LOL. My husband and I both cook we're both teachers but at one time we were supplementing by catering so we know how to do it on the cheap. I will try to send you some of my easy recipes that are so flavorful. I'm so glad you're making these videos it is going to be so helpful to so many people like don't really take the time to make meal plans
I love your videos so much. It was about 3 years for me when my husband and I would play "The Price is Right" at the grocery stores looking for the cheapest price. I would calculate every item and stop at our planned limit even knowing we had a few bucks aside just in case we went over. It was a bit stressful then but it was a lesson well taught. Even though we are doing better than we were then even times considering...we never went back to old shopping habits. We go frugal and do splurge dinners on the occasion but the biggest enjoyment of the experience was getting back to the fun of cooking instead of buying everything pre-packaged or pre-made
I’m in PA, suburb of Philly. We do have Aldi’s but they are still not as inexpensive unfortunately! So I could do this at about $80-100 but I am still so grateful for the ideas!! Thank you so much!
Always love seeing your budget cooking videos! I never knew that homemade pasta was that easy to do. So many good frugal food ideas! Thank you for everything you do. Much love to you and your family ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Your extreme budget grocery hauls and meal preps are so great and so needed. Home cooked meals outdo fast food any day, so even if the meals are cheap, they have more nutritional value. ❤️
When I was 26, my husband and I relocated, and after paying deposit/rent, utility deposits, etc. we had only $15 to buy food for the two of us to last six days until he got his first paycheck. This was 25 years ago, so prices were cheaper than, but still -- that was an extreme grocery budget challenge for sure! Bought it 'all' at Aldi (butter was .99/lb back then, those were the days!). We literally used the very last of the food to make breakfast and pack a lunch on pay day. We had steak that night to celebrate making it. Funny how what seems so tough at the time can be inspiring/good memories down the road. Blessings to you and your frugal fam!!
Been there done that! Just had to move with my wife for her work, in the paycheck gap we ate nothing but cereal, and I made lasagna on paycheck night. Best lasagna I've ever had in my life.
I remember when we bought our first house, I remember we had to fill out all those forms, and there was a question and it said list your debt, something like that, and we both panicked because we had charged $25 on our Discover card, oh to be young again! I do remember I would give my husband $20 a week, and that was to include gas! Lol we were so, so, young. We got married I was 21 barely old enough to get a drink, drink!! and he was 23! Then when I turned 23 and he was 25 we bought that little house, that I loved so much and would love to go back and live there! It’s funny how things changed!!
Malcolm Walker I bet it was!! I think that kids today, and I include my own don’t really know what it’s like to work for something, everything just comes to them! I definitely take some responsibility for that!!
Sherilyn Alexnder I think it would be so fun to do a challenge with her! As far as things go buy how much to spend, etc. we could all meet on Zoom to check in all at the same time to show what we bought, and what we were going to make!! That would be so fun!!!
Sherilyn Alexnder practice struggle before you’re forced to live it 🙏🏽 ☯️ 🙏🏽
I love that you tell viewers not to be embarrassed if they need help. Let’s face it, most people need help at some point. No one should be embarrassed about it. Reach out if you need help.
Howard, I'm not too quick to ask for help cause people will have it and won't give it. Have a son and to get anything out of him is a no no, but I do go to organizations that will help. Stay Blessed 💖.
@@patriciaking7892 you too. Sorry you cannot count on family for help but it is great to know you can get assistance when you need it. I pray for a time when you no longer need help. God bless you.
Absolutely, no shame. Especially if you have kids. 2-1-1 United Way is a life-saver!
Love helping people if I can but for some reason I get really enbarst when people thank me
None of us makes it totally alone...sometimes needing help is God's wayvof reminding us of that!!
i just discovered your channel, and it comforts me a lot in a way! i'm pretty young(barely in my early teens), and my mother has never once bothered to cook for me and my father is out of the picture. so i grew up on crummy fast food & whatever my grandma was able to make us. i've been trying to learn how to save money and cook for myself, school has been a major stresser so i haven't had the time to even try to figure out ways to save & earn money. unfortunately my family is poor (my brother doesn't want to work so that doesn't help either.) so with other cooking tutorials people would use expensive items that i can't get my hands on, but yours are a big life saver! thank you so much i just know your videos will help me in the long run. and i love how you talk to the camera as if were your friends and your teaching us, really warms me up considering my mother never cared enough to do so, i look forward to binging all your vlogs (:
edit: thank you all so much for the recipes! i'll be sure to try them and i'm very grateful (:
Another edit: I’m now 14 and will hopefully be able to get a job if my school permits me to do so! So I can buy ingredients myself and not rely on EBT cards. I live in California though, everything is expensive here ):
A cheap filling meal is cottage cheese and noodles. Boil noodles , drain add a little butter or margarine if you have it if not add cottage cheese and mix well. If you have veggies mix some in season with salt and pepper to taste. Use as much cottage cheese as you want.
a really cheap, really easy breakfast or snack is 2-ingredient oat meal cookies. just mash two bananas and mix in 1 cup oats. make into little cookie shapes on a baking sheet and bake for 15 min@ 350 f. if u want, you can add a little cinnamon, but thats optional. last time i checked, it costs 60 ¢ for a whole batch. (btw im an early teen as well)
Hope u found this helpful!
Tuna noodles at our home is simple and pretty cheap.
1 pack of rotini noodles
1 or 2 cans tuna
1 can cream of mushroom soup
Season to taste
I make a really lazy and cheap meal where I throw in tinned black beans, any leftover veges I have (from spinach or bell peppers to mushrooms or onions) in a pot and simmer with curry powder (and/or any similar spices) and enough tinned tomatoes to then poach an egg or two on top. It works out to less than a dollar a serving for two people usually, and has saved us from getting takeaways more than once 😊
My family and I would make a rice, lemon, chicken soup for when we felt a little under the weather but have recently found it easy and cheaper to make too. Bring 8 cups water to a boil, season how you like (chicken bouillon, ramen pack seasoning, seasoned salt, etc), pour in about 1 to 1 1/2 cups of rice, and boil for at least 15 minutes. Add a few cans of chicken, or 1 to 2 breasts of frozen chicken. Just warm them through, then squeeze 1 to 2 lemons in, and season to taste! **If using raw chicken, boil for about 25 minutes, before adding rice, and shred.** This is a nostalgic and warming recipe for us :-)
"Variety costs money"
Exactly! Please help me explain this to my boyfriend! He always complains about the grocery budget but won't eat the same meal twice
Prehaps he should try doing the cooking!
Lol these replies.
What Natalie Butler said, have HIM cook! 😄
Throw him out...👎🏻
Girl same! My husband complains how much I spend on groceries but won’t eat leftovers or cook so we end up eating a lot of pizza hence why were fat!
Pls don’t stop doing these challenges. I look forward to them. They are very encouraging. You rock!!
Agreed!
Me too
She certainly does love her
I’m in!
Agree!!! She taught me so much!!!
For a frugal soup broth: save all your vegetable scraps, including onion and garlic skins, carrot ends, etc in a bag in your freezer. When its full, put it all in a pot on the stove and put in just enough water to cover everything. Cover the pot and and simmer at least 30 minutes, longer is probably better. Alternatively put everything in a slow cooker and cook on low 6-8 hours. When done cooking, let cool, then strain out all the solids, and what you have left is a flavorful vegetable broth you didn't have to buy anything extra for.
I think this woud be great to warm a mug of this up when you are sick with a cold!!
If you can splurge on a rotisserie chicken, bake the carcass and add the bones and grease and BAM even more flavor. But that's with an extra $5 in the budget, the veggies is PLENTY of flavor, trust me!
and that is how they make commercial veggie broth only you know exactly what is in yours as you control everything from quality to salt.
If I have any meat in your budget save the bones to put in the broth and you can even trim off fat from meat too and add it to the veggies!
@@catherinedean3796 it’s not an extra $5 if you were already gonna buy the chicken🤷♂️
I’m making your bean and potato tacos tonight for dinner! My husband lost his job a little over a week ago, I’m a stay at home mom! And these videos are the only thing that’s keeping the fear at bay, it’s my way of contributing, and handling what I can! ❤️ so many thanks!!!!
I recommend the website budget bytes. She has lots of great recipes priced out per serving
You got this!
I’m sorry about the job loss 🙁
Myrna Shoults aww thank you ❤️ it’s scary, and sad! But you know, we’re healthy and we have each other! I know we’re doing a lot better than some! We’ll get through this!
Checkout reddit poverty finances, it honestly helped us so much last year !
finally someone who isnt afraid of picking the cheaper brand items. I like this a ton about your channel, its honest and real world living/cooking.
My sister insists on shopping at costco. she spends SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much money. Is shop at Aldi. I'm buying thanksgiving dinner this year. I prob wont' spend more than $200 for 14 people and that includes the fresh turkey.
Usually buy store brands
You think she's the only one that buys generic brands!? Over 70% of Americans buy generic brands!!!!! You think all these meals have anything to do with daily nutrition!?
Probably not!
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@@Kristinapedia to be fair costco can be cost efficient for some people. when i was in college i used my mom’s costco membership and got lots of frozen veggies and fruits and some frozen meals. it worked out really well for me because i had zERO time and basically lived off frozen rice bowls and smoothies and they lasted me an entire semester usually.
I love that you promote using food banks and encourage those who struggle to reach out for help 💓🙏
Always buy tomato paste and Italian seasoning instead of sauce, sometimes it is available for 4 can for $1.00. At 3 to 1 ratio (water to paste) you can have waaay more sauce and more flexibility.
I add veggies (whatever extra is on hand), crushed tomatoes, and blend it after we cooking because we prefer smoother sauce.
i scoop out the tomato paste into 1 tbsp portions on wax paper and freeze it!
Great idea, ty!
@Nancy Nazario @laurble Both of your tips are firsts for me, and I LOVE IT. THANK YOU!!! I have struggled to figure out what tomato paste is FOR!! I want to can my own sauce but I can't yet -- this is gonna satisfy that need for us!
How do you make sauce from it?
I'm glad that you could not find your pasta machine. It is not a common item in most homes and people in need , need to see how to make the pasta. Great job.
Last year I was hardcore saving my $$ to pay off student loans. Your videos helped me and my boyfriend explore different stores than we were used to, and we were able to only spend $25/week on groceries almost the whole year! I was spending over $400/month on groceries for 2 people before. Thank you for your videos, they make food budgeting fun & creative rather than depressing lol.
Wow, that progression. I envy you, but I'm lazy more than frugal on home food :P If I want to gain 1-2 days of almost free food money, I cook 500-1000g of pasta
I don’t know if this is a common practice but all across our town are these handmade, freestanding wooden pantries. Someone made a bunch of them and I guess they probably got permission from either the city or property owners and they placed about 20-30 all over. People all over the city keep them stocked and it’s really cool bc you can just drive up, fill up a pantry, then drive away and it’s the same for people who need it. They can drive up, take what they need with no questions asked. I know that some people really struggle with asking for help so it’s nice that they can just take what they need without having to fill out any paperwork or answer a bunch of personal questions. When the pandemic started, we all sort of banded together on our community fb pages and we all made sure those pantries were stocked at all times. It made my heart so happy to see the whole town coming together to help people in our community. Like I said, I don’t know if this is a common practice but it should be. :)
We have these here too, and they're called "blessing boxes."
That is awesome! Where are you? I’d love to help get something like that started here.
We call them karma boxes
These happen in my region. Theres also the same idea but for books
That's incredible!
In the upcoming months America is going to be needing more savvy providers like you producing such practical and informative videos. Your family is fortunate to have you as such a gifted provider.
I am impressed with your ability to stretch your food budget. However, the menu over a week seems to be carbo loaded with very little protein for six servings over a week. Perhaps some dishes with beans and brown rice would make a good protein? Not sure how many people have a green bean garden, so except for the strawberries (an indulgence) and apples (1/3 for 2 Sandwiches!) there are no fresh fruits or vegetables... Processed cheese is awful for you and canned cream soups are loaded with salt. I do understand that these are so much better than what many people are eating and are at least tasty and filling. I agree that you can’t get the lowest price on items in any one store and it costs gas and time to go from one to another. I have windowsill lettuces, green onions and herbs, all in water and could have more veggies indoors in grow pellets. Good luck to you; keep on helping people feed their families!
Amen 🙏 not Americans, but due to unexpected obstacles and a baby on the way my husband and I are going into self imposed austerity measures for the first time in years. It is very humbling, but a good reminder that life changes and all you can do is hang on and love each other. The whole world is going through this together.
@@MilwaukeeWoman I just got lectured by my doctor to increase my salt intake. After taking my blood pressure he jokingly said, how are your still breathing and talking to me. I've worked outside all my life and have over the years succumbed to the notion that salt is bad. Well it's not bad! I increased my salt consumption to levels of almost unpalatable meals and after two weeks my blood pressure was normal again. Cheers!
@@theirmanager5204 Stay strong in faith, heart and mind and good things come your way.
@@TheGardenerNorth Thank you! I was telling my mother-in-law that! She was keeping her husband on such a salt restricted diet (she seldom uses canned goods or processed foods) that he was having dizzy spells.
I grew up in an enormous Irish-Italian-Cajun-Polish family, and I learned to cook cheap immigrant food at my grannies' knees...potatoes, at almost every meal. Cabbage is nutritionally about as good as broccoli but much cheaper. Pierogi, gnocchi. Red beans and rice, split pea soup, lentil soup with whatever veggies are cheap at the moment. Black beans and rice, potato pancakes, beans and cornbread, colcannon, bubble and squeak. We always had a garden, and most of our veggies came out of the backyard.
Care to share your split pea soup recipe?
Keri Decker don't have a recipe as such because none of the grannies and aunties I learned from ever measured anything. You put water in a pot, add about and pound and a half of split peas. Cook on a low simmer with salt and a bay leaf. Chop and lightly saute a large or two small onions, and add to the soup. Two or three carrots, sliced; if you have celery, two or three stalks of that, sliced, I usually add a large potato or else a handful of barley to give it a little more stick to your ribs quality, some mushrooms if I have them just because I love mushrooms and everything is better with mushrooms. But add or leave out as you like. I throw in some of the celery tops or else a bit of shredded spinach or else skip the potato and use a turnip instead, and chop in the turnip greens. Cook till all the vegetables are soft and the peas have broken down. I season it with salt and pepper, a bit of mint to lift the flavor of the peas, a bit of fresh tarragon if I have it or else a sprinkle of nutmeg. Go easy on the nutmeg but it makes the flavors of peas and especially of spinach really pop. So you can see, I use what I happen to have, stretch it a bit as I can, serve with lots of good bread.
@@christinebutler7630 ty! I live in Minnesota and its been freezing. Been planning on making a soup, and i think i will try a version like yours this weekend.
@@christinebutler7630 That sounds delicious!
When i was a child my dad would give my mom $25 a week for groceries and she had to make 3meals a day from that.And she did lol..Eggs,corn meal, Flour,white potatoes,dry beans,lard and rice.We got milk and ham from his friend.Lots of canning and garden picking in those time's.Thanks for taking my mind back to wonderful day's lol...
Thanks for sharing!
@@christiansantos7164 Agree
Yes but how old were you at the time, and if your family is already that frugal you're naturally special not in a bad way. Because my grandmother taught me the same way which is why I live in 2020 being able to hold down a great budget God bless you
This was my ex husband! (Only it was 80 for 3 ppl)Then he would not eat leftovers!
Barbara, that is so sexist. Your father gave your mom money? WTF 😒
One thing i really long about these challenges is the fact you do lunch and breakfast along with dinner. Rather then other people who just do dinners. I love these challenges and it really helps in my household ☺️❤️
when i need to cover dough i use plastic shower caps from dollar store to cover bowl, wash then & i re-use them often over bowls
Huh! That’s actually a neat idea
Great tip!
Or get wrapping plastic lol, or get a better job, or go back to school so u dont have to live like some lowlife, thankyou. xxx
@@sir.2015 you can leave. Don’t shame others because they don’t have it as well as you do. Stay humbled and gtfo🥰
@@kendra6007 i aint shaming no one i am just clear minded then how'd i'd call
“Variety in your diet is expensive”.....many people don’t get that concept! When you have to scrimp on the grocery budget, pasta, rice and beans are life savers!
I say ABSOLUTELY to anything that you have in your pantry, garden, fridge or freezer being fair game when meal extending!
And embrace leftovers! Saves time and moola....
I get that but I dont completely agree with you sure there are limits to what you can get and for me beef and expensive meat are a no but the raw ingredients you can get can make a lot of different tasting meals and more often then not it includes cutting big pieces of meat into small pieces and adding water and vegetables to it.
I love that you do these. So many people are struggling...
Also, peeps need to stop with the serving size shaming of you! Your family is not overweight and half this country is. So...
Lol people just don’t know what a regular portion size is supposed to be. Restaurants give you enough food for 2 people and we’ve gotten so used to eating more than we should
PREACH!!
My 5 kids eat adult size portions by age 6. None of them were/are fat. Strong, active, slim.
These recipes like that soup, maybe 2 meals, maybe. That’s with just 2 kids here now.
The tunafish and noodles they’d be like mom where’s the tuna? 1 can for a double pan batch?? It’s supposed to be 2 cans for 1 pan lol
@@YeshuaKingMessiah Hi Gotta confess I'm a tad triggered: 1) Americans get about 3x the amount of protein they need... so I'm not fretting over Christine's tuna. 2) Good for you and your kids! 3) BUT over half of this country is obese largely bc of obscene serving sizes. In Europe, serving sizes are about 1/3 of what they are here (and far less diabetes and heart disease there). 4) I'm sure Christine supplements with bread, fruit, or whatever when nec.
When I first married decades ago, $20 would buy a week's worth of groceries. This would include ground beef, chicken, a chuck roast, fruit and veggies, bread, eggs, milk, etc. (I would make my own cookies.) I can't go to the grocery store now without sticker shock on how expensive food has gotten over the decades. Now, especially as a senior on a limited budget, I'll make a big pot of veggie and chicken soup once a week simply because I love a big bowl of warm, nutritious comfort food, and it's very economical per serving. Soup is a snap to reheat for lunches, and can be frozen for eating later in the month. And soup is so much fun to make! Go through the refrigerator and freezer and see what veggies you have and use them. Start by sautéing fresh some celery, carrots and onions. Add about 6 cups of water and chicken bouillon and your raw chicken. Bring to a boil then reduce to low, stirring occasionally. Add a little pasta or barley (or both). Add diced zucchini, diced yellow squash, some green pepper, some diced mushrooms and a couple of diced red potatoes (in place of pasta), if you wish. The more veggies, the better the finished product. After simmering for 30 mins., remove the chicken, shred it, and return the meat to the pot. Add more water, if necessary. Serve! You can (optional) add a couple of cans of diced Italian stewed tomatoes and 1/2 of a chopped cabbage when adding the other veggies for more soup bulk, nutrition and flavor. Season soup to taste as you go, if necessary. Voila! Heaven in a bowl!!! Not at all hard to make and even kids will love it. Of all the decades I've been cooking, I've never made a bad batch of soup. Just too easy and it doesn't cost much per serving! Great for lunches, and can be frozen for eating later in the month. And soup is so much fun to make!
Best thing I've figured out this year...place all your grilled cheese sandwiches on a baking sheet and bake at 400 for 12-14 minutes flipping halfway through. Perfect every time, saves a ton of time, and so much crispier!
12-14 minutes at 400F would scorch my sandwiches 😳
@@AnjaliDandriyal adjust time/temp to your oven. That's perfect for my old oven 👍
@@ambercarson277 I do like the idea of having multiple grilled cheese sandwiches ready all at once! 😋😋😋
Yes, that’s how I was brought up. The first time I saw somebody putting 1 or 2 at a time in a pan was weird. Although, we broiled ours, just have to really watch them.
I put a bit of butter and minced garlic in the oven (at 400) for around 5 minutes and then I put the bread and cheese in. Bake for about 5-10 minutes and you have delicious garlic grilled cheese sandwiches! Yum!
Funny you mentioned tuna.... I was in my 50’s by the time I found out that my dad didn’t like tuna, but he ate it because my mom made it often!! My poor daddy! I miss him so much!
In our family, "barbecue beef" is code for "something that seems awesome at first but then you have it all the time until you honestly cannot stand it anymore." Because we got a giant batch of it from someone my dad worked for, and at first it was such an unfamiliar treat, but our budget was so low at the time that that became the *only* thing we had, for weeks if not months.
I had a similar experience with the song "John Deere Green," which I loved when it first came out, but then the radio seemed to play it every hour, on the hour, until I was absolutely sick of it and couldn't stand it.
As far as tuna, though? I've heard that people who hate *canned* tuna should at least give "real" tuna a try. Like, tuna steaks or something? Apparently they taste substantially different from the canned stuff. (I happen to love toasted tuna fish sandwiches, and enjoy tuna noodle casserole, so I have no problem with the canned stuff and have never tried the steaks.)
I don't know why, but that made me tear up. Sounds like a sweet man. :)
If you live in an area where you can have a garden....grow a spring and /or fall garden.
I've lived off the land all my life and it's pretty inexpensive.
I do a seed exchange with neighbors and friends we also trade foods, veggies, berries, eggs, raised meat.
I teach free canning classes as long as everyone brings something to contribute.
I also teach how to can meat that's hunted or raised.
Find a network or start one. Start small and help each other.
Help each other in gardening and searching out food.
Ask the people down the street if you can pick fruit from their tree.... for canning or drying...etc.
First time viewer, I just want to say thanks for opening with a mention of food resources. Esp your comment, "Dont be ashamed to ask for help." There are so many in need and society needs to overcome the stigma of food insecurity. We are all in this together. ❤
I love the fact you encourage people to get help! My daughters school sends home bags and boxes of food to all students homes. Even if it’s crackers, milk and cereal, they send stuff for all kiddos.
Christine, sandwiches cut into triangles taste even better than just cut in half 😄
Right? I always gotta cut my sandwich into triangles.
ALI CIA always triangles! Nothing better! My husband makes his lunch for work, and on occasion I do it for him. He always says my sandwiches always taste better, I say, you don’t put mayo, or mustard, or lettuce, or tomatoes, and you don’t cut it! I put all those things and put them on and cut it on the triangle! It’s the triangle, I keep telling him! He just eats his dry sandwich whole no cutting at all, at this point, I’m willing to forgo the triangle, but come on dude, cut the dang sandwich!!
Triangle sandwiches hit different
Yes, it makes it feel like you're eating more food 😄
Yes. Lol .
My nephew called tortellini soup "turtle weenie" soup when he was little 😂
LOLOLOL!
😂😂😂😂😂
hahahaha
Omgosh. That is so cute.
Cat Elizabeth That’s a good one! 😂
You can make noodle cutting way easier and uniform by folding them over several times and cutting them with a sharp knife. Other than some beans and chicken, excellent survival meals.
Love your challenges! BTW, here's a way to make your garlic stretch. Get a whole bunch of garlic (several bulbs), peel and separate them, stick them in a food processor, and process them into a puree with vegetable oil. Stick the mixture in ziploc bags and freeze the bags. When you need garlic, break off a piece!
I peel all the garlic and freeze it. It lasts and saves me money.
Although I am fortunate enough to no longer have to struggle, I just wanted to say I wished this was available to me when I was. It would have significantly helped me out of my financial struggle much, much faster and I wouldn’t have had to go hungry so often. These meals are plenty filling and actually look great!
Many of us struggle with portion sizes. That's a big key to keeping on budget. I have been working on my pantry, and I get anxious at the store lately even though the shelves are well stocked.
I have a client that is allergic to tomatoes and garlic so she makes any pasta sauce with pumpkin, beets and bell peppers. Very tasty.
how excatly she makes it?
That sounds like it would be good.
That’s a cruel food allergy!
That is super creative!! I have got to try that, my daughter is alergic to tomatoes!
There is a jar of pumpkin spaghetti sauce you can get at the supermarket. I can't remember the name, but it's amazing.
Your creativity in these videos is amazing- we simply wanted to cut our budget and you helped us do that.
And yes thank you for reiterating that going to a food bank is OK. If you need help then please get it!
My gf and I don’t have enough money to eat 3 meals a day we only eat one in the evening along with little snacks. We ate pasta for 4 days in a row this week. It sucks cause everything cost a lot, but we are glad we are not in the streets. Thank you for your video, I know it will help a lot!!!
Christine!! I have to tell you, that I did what you said and I looked in my area and I FOUND A BREAD OUTLET!! I wish I could send you a picture of everything I bough! I got, Thomas Bagels for $1.19, Ballpark hot dog double pack, and double pack of same hamburger rolls , nice sandwich rolls , large bag of the thick French toast bread, a bag of like sub rolls, all of those were 89 cents ea, oh and 100% whole wheat bread that my husband loves but it is like almost $4.00 so I got all that for $6.53!! I couldn’t believe it! So thanks for telling us to check if we had an outlet near us, because my daughter was driving me to my drs. Appointment cause my foot is still broken, and we stopped at the pharmacy and then! We were pulling out of the parking lot, and I helped STOP!! ( not a good thing to yell at a driver cause she thought she was going to hit something, (lesson learned). I saw it! I said is this new? She said “Well mom, it’s been there since I started driving, and I’m 29, so, no mom, it’s been there for a bit!” So, I was just so excited to share with you! I also just went to my delivery order from Walmart, and I was able to take about $12 off my list!!’ I hope you read this, I’m just so excited to share, and pretty much no one I’ve talked to is as excited as me!! Thanks, again, Karen 😊
Hi, Karen. That's awesome! I'm excited for you!😉
Hi Karen. That’s great you found a bread outlet near you! I found one near me but it was very small and didn’t have much to offer! I think it’s fun when I find something on clearance in my stores that I have seen Christine buy before! She is such a great inspiration to all of us! I have been cooking for a long long time but I still learn so many new things watching her videos!
I'm excited for you, Karen! Finding a deal that you can really use is such a great feeling!😁
Janet Webb I just love watching her! She is just like speedy Gonzales!! She has great kids, just an all around great family!
Janet Webb she really is!
I keep talking with my husband about how high groceries have gotten in the last 6 months. Your videos have encouraged me to start getting our grocery bill down. Thanks for the inspo.
My frugal daughter has a family of 6. She raises chickens, never has used a paper napkin or towel. She taught me that buying only whole milk as a cost saver. She keeps a little of it whole for coffee or a richer recipe, and the rest she waters down by 50%, making almost 2 gallons of 2% milk. Here’s a yummy dish she makes. She adds equal portions of rice and lentils, then adds sour cream and salsa. Hot and chewy and yummy.
The milk idea seems smart but i see a small issue. By watering it down, you're also diluting the vitamins and nutrients. Perfectly fine as long as you're not relying on milk for nutrition.
@@yellowpowah That is the same way that they make the 2% and 1% fat milk sold in America.
@@debbabbit5823 hey Deb, just a note that milk producers do not add water to make lower fat percent milks. They remove the fat and add it back to the water phase in the desired percentage. Yellow powah is correct in their comment about watering dowm the nutrients.
Tell her to try cooking the rice and lentils with some cumin and salt/pepper garlic powder and then topping the cooked rice and lentils with caramelized onions and parsley
And sour cream on the side to kinda spread a little on top
This dish is called mujaddara and it is a famous middle eastern dish
One of my favorites
I always like it with a fresh middle eastern salsa of tomatoes cucumbers green onion and parsley and mint with lemon juice and olive oil that is my favorite and some people prefer it with yogurt but it is always served with caramelized onions on top
I did the milk thing when I lived in Maine because milk was $5 a gallon. It does cut down on nutrients, but for us it was worth it
For the last couple days I keep thinking I have nothing to eat at home... and then I watch this and I have all the ingredients for everything already! In smaller quantities but still will have food for about 2 weeks 😊 there's only me and my 3 year old
Thank you!
Love these extreme grocery budget challenges!!
My town has a little food pantry. A neighbor made a small cabinet thing with a glass door that latches. People add non perishable items to it when they can. Other people (not just from our town; all are welcome) can come when they have a need & take what they see.
Across from the mini pantry is also a book cabinet made the same way but for books. Got extra books? Put them there. Find a good book in there? You can borrow it, bring it back if it's not for you or keep it. All books are welcome.
Stacy Russell Do people in need utilize the cabinets? It’s a lovely idea.
Sounds like a Blessing box. We had one in the town where I attended for my first two years of college. The blessing box and weekly trips to a good bank to help when mokeu wasn't able to stretch far enough.
Yes. Lots of people love them. If they are running low on food & or books, someone lets the town know via the FB town page. That usually prompts some to check their cabinets for items they may not need or want & next thing you know someone's posting that they filled up the cabinet again.
We have these here in Idaho too!! They are super cool!!
Nice community effort; the way it should be.
I always have the pancake mix. I consider it insurance. Even if you're out of eggs or milk, you always have a meal!
A good emergency meal, if you stock up on onions and keep flour in your pantry, is onion rings. If you've misbudgeted and it's the last few days of the month, fry up some onion rings. A simple water-baking soda-vinegar or pickle juice- flour batter and just a smidge of your oil or lard and an onion: bam you have dinner for one.
Everytime I have tried to make them, they just suck!
Do you have a recipe?
@@3740blackie I use an easy tempura batter I found somewhere on the internet, but I do have a few tips. First, make sure you start with a hot pan by dropping a piece of batter into the oil to check if it's hot. If you're shallow frying, make sure you have enough oil to cover about half the ring and leave it until that side is cooked to whatever doneness you want. I also reccomend seasoning the batter with all your spices except salt, and adding the salt right after you set them out to drain. Make sure to drain them on a rack or a plate with a paper towel on it so they don't get greasy and soggy, also I have better luck with thinner circles and a thin batter like tempura style than I do with traditional thick chicken batter. Smoked paprika is a great spice to add if you can find it. Hope some of that helps, it took me a bit of trial and error to figure out how to do it well.
I realized I forgot to mention how to tell if your oil is hot enough, if the piece of batter bubbles when it hits the oil you're at the right temp. Also don't crowd the pan or fill it up too quickly
@@arit8009 thank you so much!
These tips are amazing!
I am going to try to make these gluten free!
I looked up a tempura batter that might do the trick!
Should I add a little sugar to the batter to make a little more crunchy?
I also have a deep fryer.
Do you think it would be better to shallow fry?
I have tons of paprika, so that's going right in!
I am hoping that this works!
I will update you as soon as I do it, hopefully this weekend!
Thank you so much!
@@3740blackie oh deep friers are much better, I shallow fry more often because it uses less oil and takes less time to heat up, but deep frying cooks faster and more evenly, so definitely go with that. Tempura batter is pretty crunchy as is, I'd be afraid that the sugar would burn and get a bit bitter, but I'm not sure about that. Hope your onion rings went well!
@@arit8009 I should have waited to hear from you!
I used sugar and burned them to a cinder!
I will try it again next weekend!
Thank you so much for all your awesome information!
You are so amazing! 🙇♀️🙇♀️🙇♀️🙇♀️🙇♀️🙇♀️🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘✊👩🎤
I live the tip for the grilled cheese sandwiches about using “any fat.” My daughter showed me to use mayo. It spreads well and tastes great! So, if butter is scarce or oil is being used for other cooking that week, think about mayo! You have more options than you might think on tight grocery weeks.
Lola Bear it does not taste the same though. My husband grew up thinking he didn’t like grilled cheese because his mother made them with mayo 🤮. I made them with butter (not margarine) and he loves them. Oil would get soaked into the bread. It’s not the same lol.
If you do it with olive oil call it a panini, voila fancy food! LOL
Came here to say this. Way better than butter in my opinion and I’m not big on mayo😅
Not only do onions and garlic add a lot of flavor, they are also antibiotic (garlic) and onions have phytochemicals to help ward off disease as well as being rich in a powerful antioxidant!
For the fried rice you could hold onto the hot sausage grease for flavor.
NEVER drain off or throw out meat grease
Ridiculous!!
Can you do another one of the “food bank” challenge one you did before where you bought the things people would have gotten from the food bank that time and make as many meals as possible
What is the challenge called ?
@@BrendaDomingo-xe3is ruclips.net/video/fZCoexVqycs/видео.html
That’s a phenomenal idea.
Definitely would also love to see that again 👍
It's odd that this sort of compassion would be found from people who voted for and will vote again for Trump.
LOL! Tortellini literally means "little bellybuttons" in Italian!
LoL that's cute. 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Haha! Fun fact!
It literally doesn’t though? Tortellini originated from torta which means cake. Bellybutton is ombelico. An old legends says the shape is inspired by Venus‘ navel but that’s all.
@@lattemeowcchiato3767 OMG I don't speak Italian! I was trusting something I read years ago, and all this time I have been LIED TO??? I feel so betrayed!
LOL TY for the correction!
Oh wow!! I've never seen anyone put another loaf pan on top to form a crust like that. That's super neat
when making grilled cheese...try mayo on the outside of the bread and fry...it is so flavorful and amazing
I keep hearing this, but my preference is still butter....My son loves the mayo, though.
Yes!!! Game changer!
Yvonne Palmquist mayo on the bread, butter to cook-
it's good. (for a while, I thought it disGUSting because I used the "light" Best Foods..it was awful. Regular Best Foods mayonnaise is, well, BEST.)
But still not better than butter!!
My dad used to do this and I grew up thinking I hated grilled cheese. Only when I moved out and made my own did I realize I just hated it with mayo.
I grew up being told it was a major sin if you knew someone in your area was hungry. I live in a small, very rural area and it happens more than you might think.Also, strawberries are always worth it! Whenever I'm in the grocery I have to have a carton Sooo good.
I love that you mentioned available resources and how to find them. You’re a good, genuine person. I appreciate the time you take to make these videos for us.
I was in Walmart today and noticed that they have a food aisle that says Clearance. Shocking!!! However in the aisle was regular sized cans of diced tomatoes with garlic, olive oil for 32 cents. Expiration date 9/ 2021. We are a small family of 2 old retired grandparents. I couldn’t resist the price so I bought quite a few..During these days it is good to stock up a bit.Just in case..There were other surprising items in the aisle as well.: Tuna packets for 88 cents, can corn 50 cents, pasta boxes 77 cents..some miscellaneous dented cans fruits and vegetables for 10 cents..My thoughts were if only a large family in need were shopping while it was available. Great deals. It was an interesting row to see.Hopefully it is a new trend for Walmart. It could help out a lot of struggling families.
All of the Walmarts around me have a clearance spot for food items. I look for it in any Walmart I go to. I have never found an aisle but it's usually about a 3 ft wide and 3 or 4 shelf High section. I never know what I will find but I have gotten some awesome deals. Like a 20 pound bag of rice for $9 and it was jasmine rice. I don't mind dents in my cans and occasionally I have tried some new things if the price was good. Also need to learn to read the tags on the aisles. Look for mark down items on the shelves - especially freezer and refrigerator shelves. They are generally solid yellow tags with black letters and numbers. At least they are where I live. Also look for closeout tags that might be a different style depending on the store from their markdown tags.
Wow. That's blessed! Our Walmart has a clearance section, but rarely do they mark it down much, perhaps .20 cents, if memory serves.
Always eat
Brk grits or oatmeal, eggs (we put them IN our porridges or 1-2x a week have eggs & toast) milk or yogurt/kefir
Lun pbj or beans & rice/tortillas, milk or yogurt/kefir
Then at dinner you can variate and afford meat
Eat fruit at brk and for afternoon snack
Make your own yogurt/kefir and bread
Skim milk is not diluted milk. Milk as it come from the cow has cream in it, which rises to the top when you let it stand. If all the cream is skimmed off, it becomes skim milk, also called non-fat milk. Butter is made out of cream and is expensive. So the reason that whole milk is more expensive is that it contains the main ingredient for butter.
The proof that skim milk is not diluted milk is the protein content. A cup of whole milk has 8 grams of protein; a cup of skim milk has 8 grams of protein. If skim milk were diluted with water, the protein content would be lower. It isn't. It's only missing the fat.
I came here to say this :)
That’s good to know. My mom always told me it was watered down. Maybe I’ll just get skim from now on
Also, cows produce different amounts of cream based on nutrition, genetics, and what stage she is in her lactation cycle so by taking it out and adding a specific amount in, they can make a more uniform product. Also, that who process costs money too
How does this work for 2% or 1% milk?
@@TheKmacialin they add back enough cream to make it 1 or 2% fat
I second the onions and garlic! When we were young newlyweds surviving on hubs very tiny Navy pay we used to make what we called 'day before payday pasta' basically just a couple sliced onions and some garlic caramelized in a little oil or butter and tossed with pasta,parmesan if we had it. It's still something we love and tweak with some extra ingredients now days. It was always delicious and helped out! Were finally getting a Winco and I'm so excited! We live in a very similar type town as you do and shopping options are slim. :) 18 eggs here are about 2.49 right now.
Holly Caffeinated Nerd Girl What’s Winco? Is it a discount grocer? Or just a grocery with great prices? We didn’t have those where I grew up (Ky.), went to college (Ohio), or live now (Pa.).
When my husband was an Airman Basic our 'day before payday pasta' was from when all we had in the fridge was a little leftover sour cream, margarine and Kraft parmesan cheese. Spaghetti noodles, those ingredients, salt and pepper and it worked. We still make it to this day.
Tomato and cucumber salad is absolutely not cheating. :) I am 100% Italian and every summer my mom would make "tomato salad" which was cucumber and tomato sliced up with some oil and salt and pepper. Delicious!!!!
I was today years old when I learned that red pepper flakes come from jalapeños!! 🤯
SAME
They don’t typically. The ones you buy are usually made from Cayenne peppers but when you make your own you can use whatever peppers you like.
😲wait really
Same
Same! I will start making my own now.
Your family is blessed. I'm 45 and just now learning to cook because my wife is fighting cancer. I've learned more from this video than hours in other channels. Thanks so much. I can't wait to try some of your recipes.
I fought cancer last year. October 2022 I was too weak to stand long enough to get a glass of water. Prayers for your wife. It socks but it’s beatable!
@@marybratton5514 Thanks for the comment.. She did beat it for God's glory.
❤i LOVED peanut butter and apple sandwiches when I was kid
Yay I thought I would have Christine withdrawals with the end of Vlogust but here you are...Good Morning ☀️😁
Vlogtember?
Vlogtober, vlogvember, vlogcember, and we can discuss vlogunary, vlogbruary, vlogarch, vlogpril, vlogay, vlogune, vlogly, right back to vlogust! Sounds perfect to me, great suggestion Mona!👍
Broke doctoral student in NYC...I've never seen prices like these! A gallon of generic slim milk in Queens is almost $5. God bless you and your family. Thanks for the vids.
Because they pay more in NY
try going to aldis or trader joe is about 3.29 for the milk
In dairy country, milk is always cheap.
Food is very expensive. Crazy world.
It’s because you have Government involved with every aspect of your life. There is so much wasteful spending in Government. It kills me that frugal people vote to increase the size of government! They are terrible over spenders!
That pasta would've been easier to cut evenly if you had floured it generously, then rolled the thin dough up before cutting with a knife (kind of like you would cut cinnamon rolls but thinner). You can dry it in nests as well, so just shake it a little after cutting to loosen and lay it out on the counter or on a sheet pan.
I make a big batch of pancakes and French toast and freeze them. Super quick in the morning, just pop them in the toaster!
The bread isn't soggy or anything after going in the toaster? I think I'm going to try it!
Sierra Davis let me know if it’s good 👀
Sierra Davis make sure it is completely cooled before u put it in the freezer bag - the condensation is what makes it soggy, if u can avoid that u will have non-soggy toastie goodness!
I do the same thing. Our toaster sucks so we leave it on level 1 and toast it twice.
I toast 2 slices, when its done I put pb on one half and nutella on the other half and make it into a sandwich. So good and it lasts me until lunch
If you are reheating for more than 1 person, putting the slices on a baking sheet in oven is great also, only takes 5 mins. to reheat 8-10 slices.
I love how she addressed college students in her video as her audience. when I was first moving out, I looked online for the cheapest food money could buy, as well as food banks and soup kitchens. I was so SO concerned about affording food. I still keep my budget tight and love a good cheap stir fry recipe, so thank you!
Also I'm totally with you on the onions and garlic. I love using onions to bulk up a meal. If you chop them finely enough or grate them you can mix the onions (and mushrooms if you like mushrooms) with ground beef to stretch the meat, plus mushrooms have a lot of fiber so they help fill you up. For more nutritious mashed potatoes replace up to half the potatoes with turnips. Peel and chop them the way you do the potatoes, boil together (with garlic powder to combat that "old potato" flavor the leftover potatoes can get) and mash as usual. The turnips are wetter so you can't add as much milk, but they taste almost exactly like regular mashed potatoes. And if you buy carrots, beets, radishes, or turnips with the tops on those greens are all edible, so you get extra veggies.
Wow your store has yeast! Haven't seen that since April. Loved this video. It's interesting seeing stores in other regions.
My Costco now has yeast back in stock. Brand name, 2lb bags, $4.99. Or Generic, 2lb for $2.99. Hope this helps!
You can maybe find some on Amazon. I almost bought some during the last few months, but my store got more in stock.
I think I finally found yeast at Safeway and it was spendy
I don't know where you live but close to me there is an Eastern European grocery store. It's rinky dinky, but always full of people. They had yeast during lockdown, not once they were sold out. Worth checking out if you have access!
I said the same thing ."hey yeast!". Lol
This makes me so nostalgic. My mom used to cook meals like these all the time since our family is big and we were on a tight budget. Cereal or eggs, sometimes pancakes or french toast for breakfast. Sandwiches for lunch. So many simple dishes for dinner, I swear every single one in this video I grew up with. It’s incredible looking at this video now as an adult and realizing just how inexpensive and easy this was for my parents, and how it could be for me.
Dear Christine, My wife and I and all of us thank you so very much. I am 76 and my wife is 74, we have been married for 55 years, I am the luckiest guy alive. We just wanted to let you know how much appreciate you. God Bless you and your family and friends. Ron in Bakersfield, CA
Watching all your videos has inspired me to clean out my freezers and take a look at what we have. We have been eating a lot of odds and ends that I was "saving" for whatever reason.
Love, love, love, “I can’t find my pasta rolling machine.”
My great grandmother and grandmother had a day once a week where they made a fill it - watch it meal like red beans n rice. Then they would make pasta. Everything was curing in bowl or rolled, cut and hanging over the backs of kitchen chairs drying out for use in the next week, two weeks, or month in New Orleans. It was profitable and delicious! It used to be normal living prior to the 50s.
You may not be able to over-mix the noodle dough, but if you beat olive oil too much, it gets bitter. I think I learned that from the American Test Kitchen on PBS. It totally changed the way I make hummus. I add the olive oil close to the end.
I’m not sure who this will reach, I’m in phx az and chicken is CRAZY cheap at Frys right now. 6 drumsticks at Frys for .87! 5 lbs of chicken tenders for $1! If you need a meat please take advantage of this. Stay safe and healthy 💗
Yep, its all the chickens they just did the satanic rituals with not too long ago. Same as when chic filet does their free sandwiches/bogo chicken sandwiches once or 2x a year. Its sick but its the truth. Whether you believe me or not is up to you, but I know for a FACT its the truth cause I helped ppl get out of the cults they do it in n then they have a contract with these businesses to take these chickens theyve done spells n other things on to distribute to the public n then you eat the energy they're filled with. Sorry. Had to tell someone publicly.
Yep, more onion and garlic the better I say!
For making thinner pasta...next time you can take that sheet of pasta and fold it in half from top to bottom, or in 3rds like a letter...THEN do the pizza roller (or a knife). The "folded" noodle will easily unfold when you pick it up and go to lay it over something. I just lay it on a baking tray with parchment.
I love the fact that you have the camera right there while doing the mixing, cooking, baking etc. to actually show us what the recipe looks like during the preparation of it! I think I liked this one the best so far! Great job! Great meal ideas! I know it takes a lot of time to do these videos! So so appreciate you doing them!
I have run out of eggs when I had planned for french toast, and I learned (thank you google) that you can make egg-less french toast using cornstarch. It taste the same and my kids loved it. its a great have in your back pocket kind of recipe!
I LOVE your shows. You not only help us learn how get the food and stay in the budget.. But then you also tell us how make a menu and how to prepare and cook items for the best reults.. THANK YOU.
I was expecting you to take a break after Vlogust. Lol. Happy to see a video. Thanks!
The metal whisk on the non stick pan just hurts.
Painful for sure 😭
RIGHT?! Maybe it isn't non-stick 🤔🤷♀️
@@MilwaukeeWoman it looks non-stick to me toooo so bad lol we have mostly cast iron but I have one nice non-stick pan that I'm very strick about!
Whisks don't have sharp points like a fork or edges like spoons, so a decently made pan should be able to resist the metal whisk.
@@chrisowens4550 I know they are more or less ok but it is still not recomended to use. I don’t even use dishwasher for my nonstick pans.
If you shop at Costco buy the roterie chicken and use that instead of tuna for your hubby
I’m amazed at the prices in the store where you live! In NJ strawberries are often 3.99 to 5.99 and I like to get them when they come down to 3.00 or below. Eggs are usually atleast 2-3.
I love these budget challenges! You are an amazing mommy and I love how you are positive and driven!!! Keep up the awesome work!!
You can make your soup instead of the Knorr: 5 carrots, 3 onions, a pice of cellary, half a cup salt, 1 cup of oil, blend and put in a glas in the refrigerator (holds 6 months, for a few pennys)
Karin from Germany
You rock, happy to see you’re taking part in Vlogtember 😆😆😆
I never imagined that was so easy to make bread
Right?!
if you use the quick rise yeast it is really easy. Just never put your yeast against the salt. Put them on opposite sides, mix one with a little flour mix, mix the other then you can mix them together. If you let them pile on each other, it will kill the yeast. bread is so easy. Yummy. You let your dough rest until it doubles, then punch it shape it let it rest until double again and bake.
I’m late for this party but hopefully you will see a new comment on an older video. I have a huge favor to ask. I am pretty sure you no longer do Keto but I bet you remember how. I gained “some” weight during quarantine. Everything I had lost doing Keto plus some extra. A budget Keto video would be SOOO helpful. I would bet there are others out there like me. Will you think about it? Please and thanks in advance. Happy Holidays to you and the fam. 🎄 🎅
I love these! I WISH I could this for my family, so I have a challenge for you :)
My son has celiac disease, which means his diet has to be 100% gluten free. I would love to see what you can do for a week with your family using only gluten free items.
Maybe that’s a bigger challenge than what you’re willing to take on, but I’d LOVE to see it!
I'm gluten free too and I'm always so jealous of all the wheat! Lol!!
We are a family of 6 and have to have a gluten free life to. Definitely hard to shop the cheaper options
It’s easier to just cut the wheat products out completely and not sub with the gluten free version of breads etc. I never liked bread that much. I’m sure it’s really hard when someone has an allergy. I just don’t buy much that has gluten. Rice, quinoa, rice noodles etc are super cheap in the Asian grocery.
Gluten free family here too. We sub bread for lettus and pasta for rice pasta. I'm not about to make a PB&j with lettus, but we dip apple slices in PB&j mixed in a bowl. Stay healthy!
It's possible, but it definitely will not be budget-friendly
Video Ideas:
Boys Take over the kitchen- The boys give you a day off and they make Breakfast Lunch and Dinner, with the help of Dave
or
Kids Cook- Your kids work together to make a meal for you and dave
5 days of 5 ingredient meals - you can only make your meals with 5 ingredients or less ( oil, salt, pepper, water, simple spices are free)
Skim milk is cheaper because the cream from the cow is skimmed off and used in more expensive products. Similarly with the fat from whole milk.
Christine, for the absolute best tasting grilled cheese sammichs, skip the oil and butter and simply coat the outsides with mayo! OMGosh next level taste!
Yes!!!! You are the only other person I have ever heard of doing this except me!
@@tea_mommy I don't understand how everyone doesn't know about this!
I'm going to try it thanks for the tip 😁👍
@@shirleymeade5202 You will love it! Use mayo, not Miracle Whip.
Learned that from Paula Dean! Rarely ever do butter anymore
I know this will sounds weird BUT if you put a thin layer of mayo on the outside of the grilled cheese instead of butter it actually cooks up pretty and golden AND it doesn't taste like mayo once you cook it.
Yes -- this really is delicious.
Aldi's has ravioli that's on the shelves not refrigerator. It's good for easy 2 meals. Wontons and a little meat goes a long way for wonton soup or ragoon. What teenager doesn't like crab rangoon just get cream cheese and substitute it. You get so many wontons in a package and you only need around a half a teaspoon in each wonton. You can use chicken pork beef with garlic and onions and that can go a long way save your broth from making a chicken during the week or chicken legs are always cheap sometimes you can even find 10 pound bags of chicken for $7 because if they give you the leg quarters period that goes a long long way. It's really easy to stretch you just have to know where to shop look online for the ads and like you said if you have to go to two stores three stores as long as they are centrally located to where you are you're doing good otherwise you're just wasting money and gas. but if you can find one of those 10 pound bags of leg quarters you can cut them up and get a lot more than 42 meals if you have that rice beans some carrots like you did or some frozen broccoli spinach whatever because at all these you can get actual side dishes with quinoa and everything else in it and all sorts of vegetables like they have one that has quinoa and zucchini and tomatoes and green peppers and onions and garlic and it's a dollar 39 and it goes so far it does a couple meals for my husband and I . We are empty nesters now. I am so glad our kids love to cook our daughters of vegetarian for health reasons and our son is definitely a meat eater and they are extremely frugal I did send them your video for eating for $42 a month so I'm sure they're going to like to hear it from someone other than their mother LOL. My husband and I both cook we're both teachers but at one time we were supplementing by catering so we know how to do it on the cheap. I will try to send you some of my easy recipes that are so flavorful. I'm so glad you're making these videos it is going to be so helpful to so many people like don't really take the time to make meal plans
My grandparents always made homemade pasta when I was growing up. Miss them, and yes it is so much better than store bought.
I love your videos so much.
It was about 3 years for me when my husband and I would play "The Price is Right" at the grocery stores looking for the cheapest price.
I would calculate every item and stop at our planned limit even knowing we had a few bucks aside just in case we went over. It was a bit stressful then but it was a lesson well taught.
Even though we are doing better than we were then even times considering...we never went back to old shopping habits. We go frugal and do splurge dinners on the occasion but the biggest enjoyment of the experience was getting back to the fun of cooking instead of buying everything pre-packaged or pre-made
As a struggling college student in Idaho, I thank you
I’m in California and these prices are easily HALF or less than what our normal is 😅😅😅
Same! I was just searching trying to figure out where she was.
Same here I live in Australia... everything is much more expensive!!
There are WinCo stores in California. Fortunate to have lived in a city that had one for a couple years. It's an awesome store.
Yes, but California pays people more so of course it will be higher in price.
I’m in PA, suburb of Philly. We do have Aldi’s but they are still not as inexpensive unfortunately! So I could do this at about $80-100 but I am still so grateful for the ideas!! Thank you so much!
Always love seeing your budget cooking videos! I never knew that homemade pasta was that easy to do. So many good frugal food ideas! Thank you for everything you do. Much love to you and your family ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Who else replays Christine's cooking Playlist when you are cooking or meal prepping 😅✔️
Your extreme budget grocery hauls and meal preps are so great and so needed. Home cooked meals outdo fast food any day, so even if the meals are cheap, they have more nutritional value. ❤️
I’m so excited to go grocery shopping on Friday now 🥺❤️. It’s just the hubs and I. I know this food will go so far for us. Thank you!