Showing posts with label budget foods for families. Show all posts
Showing posts with label budget foods for families. Show all posts

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Stuck Under A Dollar

Want to go on an adventure? I would like to dare you to try, just for one day or hour of grocery shopping to only buy items that you can find for one dollar or less. And yes that would include bulk or fruit or veggies that you can buy for under one dollar per pound.

It can be quite challenging and liberating all at the same time. If you have watched Jeff Yeager...a.k.a the Ultimate Cheapskate hunt down the best bargains, he uses this little general rule, which is to always try to seek out items that are either priced at one dollar each or less or priced loose/bulk at 1 dollar per pound or less.

Are you ready to try? Even if you don't NEED to try this kind of experiment for financial reasons, I would like to challenge you to give it a try just for fun, just for the purpose of learning something new and interesting.

I guarantee that you will never look at grocery shopping in the same light again, once you realize all the great things that you purchase for a buck or less.

Ready to try?
Here's a few that I find are sometimes/often selling for dollar or less:

Tins of chunk tuna
bananas
fresh garlic still in the bulb
carrots
red grapefruits
crackers
red lentils
apples (at box stores/wholesale clubs)
fresh white potatoes
packages of pasta
large cans of diced/whole tomatoes
regular sized cans of black beans
regular sized cans of red/white kidney beans
garbanzo beans/chick peas
dry packages of quicky soups
cans of quicky soups
bulk all purpose flour
TVP (texturized Vegetable protein)
6 pk of bagels


I'd love to hear what sorts of items you can find at your country's equivalent of one Canadian or U.S. dollar.
Your comments are most welcome in the comment section!
 A Smart shopper is a happy shopper!



Monday, February 4, 2013

Gluten Free Five Dollar Chili

This is my great big "Throw in the crock Pot O Chili".

The bonus is that I estimate it's cost to be only 5 dollars or less and its GLUTEN FREE!
It serves at least 6 people.


  • 2 large cans of diced tomatoes
  • 2 large cloves of fresh garlic peeled and diced
  • 1 small can of black beans
  • 1 small can of red Kidney beans
  • 3 tablespoons of chili powder ( if you like it spicy!)
  • 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
  • one half teaspoon up to 1 teaspoon of sea salt
  • one small onion peeled and diced.
  • Water -- add 2 cups up to 5 cups according to your desired chili thickness and if you have unexpected company :)



Rinse and drain the cans of beans and add to crock pot. Set the crock pot onto high for up to 3 hours.
Keep adding in all the other ingredients in no special order. The negotiable amounts are the water and the salt and the quantity of chili powder that your palate can handle") You'll know the chili is done when the onions lose their crispness and start looking more translucent. Keep stirring it every 15 minutes.

EXTRAS: if you want to add some extras such as ground beef, just make sure you brown the ground beef thoroughly first and drain off the fat, before you add it to the crock pot. You can also serve it with one dollop of sour cream or plain greek yoghurt....one dollop per bowl of chili, plopped right on top of the hot chili. Serve with toasted gluten free bread or gluten free crusty rolls.

LOWER COST-- if you want to further reduce the cost of this chili, you can avoid buying canned beans by using dried* beans and soaking them overnight in your refrigerator.* dried black beans and dried kidney beans you can buy in prepacked bags at most grocery stores, or in bulk at your fave bulk food store/dept.  You can also use fresh diced tomatoes, garlic and onions if they are cheaper in season in your region or from local farmers. ( right now where I live in Canada we have zero local produce available other than eggs")

Bon Appetit mes amis! Please share this with your budget conscious friends or with those struggling to find gluten free food options.
Peace.