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What are some quick, affordable food to keep around the house?

I never have much spare money and when I go grocery shopping I notice that most convenient foods tend to be pricy. When I go home on my lunch break though I don't have much time to prepare anything. Other than, say , Ramen and mac n' cheese, what are some quick foods that are easy on the wallet? Thanks!

Public Comments

1. sandwiches and soup are quick. You can get turkey breast, make tuna salad. Get some cans of soup. I always look for the stuff that is on sale.
2. peanut butter and celery carrot sticks and ranch dressing apple slices rice cakes
3. try banannas,fruits,beans,cereals...............ramen mac cheese are sodium loaded and has carbs
4. stuff that doesn't go bad! cans of tuna, instant things, crackers, frozen meals(burritos, cheese sticks). you know stuff like that, mostly bad for you stuff.
5. Hot Pockets and Lean Pockets are good (frozen) ... and Michelina has frozen entrees that are about $1 and not too horrible:) .....Lloyd's makes good BBQ beef & chicken, in refrigerated tubs (usually a storebrand available too). You can heat what you want, and put the rest back in the refrigerator. Serve in buns for pulled beef/pork sandwiches .... Keep hardboiled eggs in the refrigerator to do a quick Cobb salad; bags of salad greens & shredded lettuce and leftover cooked chicken ... get a rotisserie chicken at the grocery store and use it for several days .... Keep containers of fruit salad, coleslaw, potato salad, bean salad, Greek salad in the refrigerator so you can help yourself when you get home. Also convenient to have sides already made for dinner:)
6. This ones not a prepackaged idea but it is a premade one... Maybe you can save a bunch of money on groceries by using the same ingredients for different meals (I shop this way and find that I only spend $60 - $65 on myself per week for a menu that consists of breakfast, lunch, dinner and two snacks simply by using the same ingredients for each meal). You could also put aside a day to make meals in advance and freeze them - like you can make your own t.v. dinners by cooking the meal and buying those aluminum containers and store in the freezer and warm up when you want to eat them.
7. I'm on a budget right now, I prepare foods on days I have off or in the evenings... I like to brown some ground turkey or lean hamburger meat (ahead of time), get some of your favorite taco fixings cheese is usually 3 packs for $5, beans are about 89cents a can, tomatoes are a little more expensive, but it depends on how fresh and what ingredients you want.. and make a nice healthy salad or place on nacho chips and melt cheese on top!!! grill some chicken or fish ahead of time, you can make a nice healthy salad with fixings - heads of lettuce are cheap, chicken and fish can be found on sale... you could make an egg in a nest - cut out a hole in the middle of a piece of bread, spread butter on both sides of the bread - place in pan, fry an egg in the hole of the bread, flip and season with salt and pepper - add a slice of cheese on top and cover for about a min to melt the cheese and you have a nice tasty treat... make ahead pancake mix keep covered in the refrigerator and make some pancakes, top with your favorite frozen fruit - I say frozen fruit, cause it tends to be cheaper and keep longer.... sandwiches and soup are always good... grilled peanut butter and jelly key is to make ahead food and make it versitile... if you make grilled chicken for dinner one night, cut it up, mix it with (i use light) mayo, a little celery (grapes or apples or nuts if you're daring) salt & pepper to taste and you have chicken salad for a couple lunches! be creative! you know what you like...