when your food stamps dont last all month

Mitzvahmom

Wed, Aug 19 2009, 8:24 pm

alpidarkomama wrote:

TOFU. Asian markets can have big sales on boxes of tofu. I got a great deal last month on large boxes of tofu (12+ per box) that didn't need to be refrigerated. I think the price ended up being about $0.69 per cake of tofu (14 ounces??). Plenty of protein for one meal for 3 adults. You can whiz tofu up with lemon juice or vinegar and a little salt and VOILA pareve sour cream. With no weird ingredients in it. You can also whiz it up with melted chocolate chips and sugar for an INCREDIBLY DELICIOUS chocolate frosting or mousse.

How do you do this, just whip together the melted chocolate and sugar (how much?) for how long and refrigerated?

gold21

Wed, Aug 19 2009, 9:12 pm

im always trying to dream up ways to cut my food budget. I totally dont stick to the cheaper menus I dream up. but I will list here some of the ideas I have come up with: once a week shabbos leftovers. once a week veggie omelets and rice. (eggs are really cheap) twice a week chicken and potatoes and israeli salad. (cucumbers are one of the cheapest veggies) once a week dairy or inexpensive fish with salad. this menu means no funky expensive suppers like falafels, which cost money for falafel balls and tehina etc.; no meat during the week; no expensive cuts of fish; limit dairy suppers as they often turn out quite expensive; no over the top hungarian/ syrian style meals with four side dishes, two main dishes, and a soup; no dessert during the week. regarding shabbos: skip the numerous dips people are so into having. its an extravagance imho. have chicken, cholent, soup, challah, grape juice, dessert, one or two kugels, a salad, and zeh hakol. skip the unnecessary extras. good luck.

Seraph

Thu, Aug 20 2009, 2:03 am

gold21 wrote:

regarding shabbos: skip the numerous dips people are so into having. its an extravagance imho. have chicken, cholent, soup, challah, grape juice, dessert, one or two kugels, a salad, and zeh hakol. skip the unnecessary extras. good luck.

I'll say the opposite. If you can make these salads and dips cheaply and at home, its good to have lots of them at a meal to fill up on; people eat less of the expensive proteins that way.

sped

Thu, Aug 20 2009, 2:59 am

Seraph wrote:

gold21 wrote:

I'll say the opposite. If you can make these salads and dips cheaply and at home, its good to have lots of them at a meal to fill up on; people eat less of the expensive proteins that way.

I had the same reaction. Challah and dips are cheaper than the rest of the food! We eat challah, dips, fish and soup as the main part of the meal. Past that it's a bit to taste, so we "ate the main course" (I mean share adrumstick", unless we have guests.
BTW - Seraph - a really cute picture!

Seraph

Thu, Aug 20 2009, 3:35 am

sped wrote:

Seraph wrote:

gold21 wrote:

I'll say the opposite. If you can make these salads and dips cheaply and at home, its good to have lots of them at a meal to fill up on; people eat less of the expensive proteins that way.

Thanks.
And totally! My husband rarely has room for the soup, and for the meal, he eats it just to be yotzi... Partly how I get away with such little spent on meat for shabbos... We each eat a drumstick, if even...

ETA: And deserts are a waste of money with us- there is no room in stomachs after the meal. I make desert sometimes, and generally the desert is eaten shabbos morning because we're not gonna stuff ourselves past capacity to be yotzi "eating desert" when we didnt even have room for the "main" chicken etc course.

alpidarkomama

Thu, Aug 20 2009, 4:04 am

I do lots of little salad appetizers too. It's really great if you have a lot of shabbos guests. About half the amount of meat gets eaten if you have generous appetizers. Makes it much less expensive to host.

Also, felafel are very cheap to make yourself, and really, really easy. Just soak the chickpeas overnight, then toss them in the food processor with onion, garlic, an egg, a little flour, salt, cumin, tahini (homemade is a lot cheaper), and lemon juice. Make little patties which you can saute, fry, or bake. Pretty fast to throw together. Put it on taco shells or homemade pita. Oh, dear. I'd better go to bed. I'm getting hungry!

alpidarkomama

Thu, Aug 20 2009, 4:05 am

Mitzvahmom wrote:

alpidarkomama wrote:

How do you do this, just whip together the melted chocolate and sugar (how much?) for how long and refrigerated?

I just toss it all in the food processor. One package of chocolate chips (16 oz, I think?), one cake of tofu (12-14 oz) and 1/2 to 1 cup sugar (to taste). You really won't believe it when you taste it. Smile

youngbubby

Thu, Aug 20 2009, 7:32 am

Food stamps are very inportant ...they just have to used wisely. It is really hard not to but groceries when u see everyone else loading up their shopping cart. THere are ways to feed your family without making them feel deprives.
. Buy chicken hotdogs.they are half the price as regular hotdogs. A package or 2 of them with some macaoroni and some cut up cucumbers is a cheap dinner and filling. Not a hotdog lover then take maybe a half of pounds of chopped meat make a meat sauce with lots of sweet and sour sauce add frsh mushrooms looks like meat..cook down over spagetti tastes really good also cheap...
I go and buy fruit and veg, down in the inner city where I teach. I get reduced fruit and veg, for 2 dollars a big box.. I take them home clean it up and freeze them and also share them. I usually have froozen during the school year..onions zuchinni carrots ect. what a money saver..I also get fruit reduced and I share that and it works out really well for me and my friends. THey also somehow overbuy at that store or I heard buy other store overbuys or something like that so they will bring out hundreds of cases of lets say tomatoes..these are new but ripe a great deal expecially during pesach..u just need to find out where your fruit store and when your stores reduce their vegies and fruit.
Also day old bread if your not into baking is usually almopst half the price..baked goods are just cheaper making from home.

Happy Mom

Sun, Aug 23 2009, 10:20 pm

OP - I love having a limited food budget because it helps me see H-shem's bracha and abundance every time I go shopping! We have a large family and not a very large budget (11 people, $600 monthly), but we always have plenty of great food - and I mean PLENTY! Smile

You didn't share your allotment amount, general location, or family size, but generally the amount given for food stamps is sufficient if people change the way they shop. But for almost everyone there is a learning curve in learning new frugal shopping skills. It means thinking consciously about what you buy, where you buy it, and when you buy it. If you learn to buy the less expensive options when they're on sale, you'll find that your dollars will go further than you ever imagined possible!

Also, you'll need to make more from scratch and buy less ready made. The less processed something is, the cheaper it will be. You can make your own french fries or onion rings, for example, for a fraction of what it costs at the store. Even of the cheap foods like beans, it will be much cheaper to cook your own than to buy a can of them. If you're buying individually wrapped servings like yogurts, fruit cups, or small bags of chips, look at buying in a larger volume and repackaging. Or even better, cut out these expensive options and bake your own treats to send with the kids.

I agree with the suggestion to add more beans and grains to your meals - not only are they cheap, they're filling and healthy. Veggies from the reduced racks are one of my favorite ways to get lots of great stuff at cheap prices. When buying for Shabbos, look for the less expensive cuts of chicken, and save meat for very special occasions like RH.

Many tips have been shared in this thread and others on this forum that will be helpful to you, but the most important thing imo is to believe it's possible! Stop thinking that food stamps are never enough, and that you're destined to suffer for a third of every month. You can do this - get empowered and start having fun meeting the challenge of serving your family wonderful food on a limited budget!!!

PinkFridge

Mon, Aug 24 2009, 9:39 am

Hi Happy Mom Avivah - that made me smile and encouraged me. I really try my best to go with many of your suggestions - discount produce, the clearance table at the supermarket (dents, near the date, no reason I can figure out) but sometimes they just don't offer much.

Another suggestion that's probably a no brainer to many - if you can lay out this much at a time, buy the 5lb. bricks of pizza cheese (I'm CY, don't know what non-CY options there are) and shred yourself. I use a hand grater - the 7 dollars paid itself off in no time as my cheese is about $5.50 a lb.
I make homemade pizza and if I have some good veggies will make veggie pizza and use a bit less cheese.