I've noticed in most of your extreme budget meals, you mention that this is not meant to be a sustainable way of eating but, to be honest, I see nothing wrong with your meals for every day life. They're always balanced with veggies and protein and any veggie in a meal is better than none, canned or frozen is just fine.
She says that now because people would fuss at her about how the meals were not healthy. Which I think is ridiculous, she always tries to incorporate a fruit and vegetable with each meal. I am with you, I don't see anything wrong with her meals for every day life. 😊
Thank you. I get a lot of "push-back" on these kinds of videos from people who have probably never had to eat on a budget, and they are often unsatisfied with the quality of the items, or the amount of calories or nutrients. You would not believe some of the things that have been said to me on this topic, so I try to head it off at the pass. LOL Thanks for your kind words and understanding.
The main reason I make meals like this is to save money for other things. Having some kind of rice & beans once a week makes it possible to have a nice roast on another day. I love these ideas
I was in a group that would put Thanksgiving baskets together and there was 1 woman who was so disconnected that she would argue with me about adding flour,sugar, rice and beans to the baskets instead of slivered almonds for the green beans! I told her we never put almonds in our green beans growing up as I was on the receiving end of Thanksgiving baskets even though my Momma worked 2 jobs. The additions I would buy in addition for what I was assigned because I know how much we appreciated the staples after the holiday meal was over.
🤦🏻♀️ I can only imagine that conversation. Like, “tell me you’ve been privileged without telling me that you’ve been privileged”. Thanks for being willing to pay your blessings forward in a practical way. Sometimes it needs someone who’s been there to properly advocate for others.
I love these videos! Just because a family “CAN” spend $300/wk on groceries doesn’t mean we HAVE to. It’s fine to stretch things some especially when the nutrition is just as good! Keep it up! ❤ from Iowa
My Family's Food mission for this Christmas: Fill a 5 gallon bucket from Lowe's with shelf stable foods (including canned meat) to give to a needy family. We are hoping to do 10 buckets this year. We were so excited that a church reached out to us and we were able to already donate 2 buckets. God is good all the time. Have a blessed Thanksgiving with your family.
A sad reality in our country is that - because of food desserts and fast food - there are fewer and fewer people who actually know how to follow a recipe and cook. Your videos are incredibly helpful because they show how to purchase INGREDIENTS instead of ready-to-eat foods that are expensive, and full of sodium and chemicals.
@@SeeMindyMom Miss Mindy- We are all very fortunate to have the opportunity to learn from the "teacher", just because (I/we) are grown doesn't mean we don't have more to learn.
I honestly don't know how I could have fed my family some delicious meals on a budget had I not found your channel. My twins favorite meal is your chili mac recipe, we have that a couple times a month if not more per their request. Thank you so much for sharing your content and amazing ideas!
Wow, I can't imagine how anyone could question why you would make these 'extreme budget' meal prep videos?? What a blessing it is to see these types of posts, IMO, whether I'm on a tight budget now (def was in the past!!) or not. Life can be very uncertain, and no matter how well anyone seems to be doing financially, there are no guarantees. A sudden job loss, a sudden loss of a spouse, grave medical conditions, the list goes on for how quickly our circumstances can change. Never take good circumstances or good YT channels for granted!!! Blessings to you and your family for a blessed, safe and very happy Thanksgiving, Mindy!!! xoxo's
If I can do this for until Monday evening for me and two kids. I also need a small bag, its like 7.99, kitty food. Just one sweet kitty. But I’m figuring out how to make it with my babes full and satisfied as well. Hm. Thank you Mindy❤
I remember when my babies were young my moms advice to me when they started on solids was not just to do veggies first but “cheaper” veggies-green beans, peas, carrots-thing stout could buy in a can relatively cheap at any time and then when we did fruits to start with bananas so they hopefully love them. I always thought it was kinda silly but now that I have pre-teen boys who eat non-stop I’m happy that they do love bananas so much since it’s a cheaper fruit to throw at them
You rock. I use to call them kill-a-hunger meals when my children were growing up and we found ourselves in a crunch. I like the way you seek out high protein ingredients. I love your channel and my baby will be 49 yo come next year.
These meals are also a great idea if you’re trying to pay off debt or cut the food budget to save up. I appreciate all of these meal ideas! Thank you!!
I love these videos. Anyone can use these ideas and if you don't need a $3 meal you can still practice being frugal with a meal here and there. I love that my kids are happy with a very simple meal and I don't always have to spend a ton to feed them. You never know what kind a financial situation any of us could be in in the future. Plus it's nice to adjust the grocery budget to add to other categories like Christmas gifts or charitable giving.
I love your meal plans & recipes...whether they are budget, semi-home made, quick and easy or whatever. Your videos are always enjoyable, light-hearted and such a motivation.
Those donut holes will have my husband thinking he’s gone to heaven! We are blessed but try to incorporate a lot of your ideas to keep our grocery budget stable in these times. It helps us donate more to charity during the holiday season. These videos also give us perspective on what best helps the foods banks we donate to as part of my husbands work.
Really loving these videos even though it's just me and my boyfriend this is really helping us build up a nice little nest egg by giving us creative recipes. While I did grow up going to food banks and pantries my mom didn't really venture out on her recipes it was always the same thing all the time these creative meals are really helping me joy in cooking again
I like your budget friendly recipes. Grilled cheese toast would be good with this soup. Thanks for helping to keep families feed tasty meals on a budget. 😊
Thank you for providing budget meal content. With the rising grocery prices it is more challenging to feed a family on a budget. Doing a day of these extreme budget meals occasionally will help you get through a tough patch or put away a few extra dollars for a needed or wanted purchase. I am curious with these budget meals, Mindy, how do your kids receive them? They don't seem to be picky eaters but I do notice that you've also mentioned that in this example you didn't choose peas because someone in your family doesn't care for them and I believe you said your son didn't eat potatoes either. Those meals look like they made quite a few servings so would probably even generate leftovers for lunch the next day for some of your kids. Thanks so much, Mindy! Donating toy local food bank has been something I've done regularly for about the past 15 years or so. It started after had gone to the grocery store one Saturday and came home and was putting my groceries away. I live in a relatively small home and don't have a proper pantry in my kitchen as my house was built in the early 1920's. As I was unpacking things, in exasperation I literally said out loud "I have too much food." I immediately thought to myself, how many people wish they had that problem? Starting then, I began regularly donating to our local food bank. My employer at the time would match any donations of at least $25 so I would always donate at least that amount so that it would be doubled. Now that I am disabled and on social security disability I'm no longer able to donate to the extent that I used to, but I still find a way to send the food bank a few dollars several times a year. I can't imagine being a parent and not being able to feed my children. Although my $10 may not help much, as you've shown it could feed a family for a day. Thanks again so much for your kindness and generosity to your community, Mindy.
You often say that you’re asked why you eat this way when you don’t “have to”. That gets under my skin a bit. We don’t “have to” eat this way either, we choose to so we can be good stewards of the resources God gave us. The people around us, many of which live paycheck to paycheck, are eating out DAILY and grabbing that Starbucks pink drink for dessert, I wish they would watch a couple of your extreme budget challenges and be inspired to change up their financial habits a bit so their futures could be different!
So important to do the food pantry and assistance plug. Luckily our community here in Michigan have subsidized housing and health clinics as well as food resources for folks who need it. So worth the investment in the community.
Thank you, Mindy!! These videos help me feed my family so much! I love hearing your thought process as you pick your ingredients from the store too. Makes me get creative with our grocery shopping too. Keep up the good work!! You’re def helping this family here!!!❤️
We don't buy meat, dairy, eggs, or anything manufactured. As a result we still eat well for no more than $1 a day per person. That includes the cost of our vegetable garden and free range egg layers. We do eat meat occasionally, but it's an ingredient instead of the main dish. I just made tofu from scratch, pressed it, and made crispy tofu in the air fryer. That went into a homemade Asian-style sauce with garden vegetables, served over rice. The leftover rice will be used in a fried rice dish with scrambled egg. I can turn a can of $3 salmon into 12 single meals with leftover rice, vegetables, two eggs, and a bit of masa to make salmon patties. The broth goes into salmon soup for more meal options. It may sound extreme but it relies on zero-waste principals and creativity. I like to grab bits and bobs from the refrigerator before they can go to waste and challenge myself to make something tasty. I've googled "recipes with potato, onion, egg, and bread" to get ideas for those bits and bobs. That yielded recipes for soup, mashed potato souffle, and scalloped potatoes with a creamy egg filling, and a bread crump topping. Off course I added extra veg because nothing is allowed to languish in the crisper.
One of my favorite budget hacks is to by a whole chicken. Cook it in the crock pot. Pull all the meat off of it. I can normally get 2-3 meals from one chicken when added to soups or casserole etc. then cook the bones down into a yummy broth. Then I chill the broth and pull the fat off of it and save the fat for sautéing things (schmaltz).
I had no idea you were in Oklahoma! And in the same area I am..it is amazing how much groceries have gone up AND we are taxed on top of it.. anyway, I love your videos, so fun to watch!! Thanks for making these videos!!
I made that soup and it was so yummy. We had it with homemade cornbread. I only cooked the soup in a crock pot because we were going to be gone all day. I didn't want to come home and fix dinner after a busy, tiring day. So this was a winner. Thanks!!!
Thanks so much. I just came across your videos on UA-cam and they're so helpful. My and my husband's budget is tight right now and this is a God sent. Thanks so much. I'm in Tampa, Florida. I shop Aldi's because Aldi's save me heaps of money on almost everything. Thanks again and God bless you.
Thanks Mindy! I will definitely be trying that soup and those donut holes! Last night we made your dollar tree peppers, kielbasa, rice and salsa dish and it was a lot like a Spanish rice. My family loved it. Thanks ☺️
I love these videos, how kind and helpful and informative you are, and how you both give resources for food insecurity and encourage those more fortunate to assist with food insecurity in their communities. Thank you for making this content!!
I love videos like this - I try to keep most meals to $5-7 per meal by shopping sales and having a rotating stock pile. I can't wait to give these ideas a try 😊 thank you for always having such informative and creative videos ❤️
I really need to do some more budget cooking videos. It’s such a good way to save money and also give some ideas to help others. I love that you do this so often Mindy! ❤ Hope you have a great Thanksgiving!
If you enjoy Asian takeout I think that's a great place to start. Sure, you invest in a few special ingredients to start, but oh wow the flavor return. I make alot of lo mein dishes using spaghetti(cheap) and stir fry with rice(also cheap). Once you get a good sauce...no limits.
@@greyhatdone Great idea! We do have lots of ingredients to make some good sauces, but I definitely need to run to my Asian market again soon to restock some of those ingredients 😊
I’m doing a low spend November so I can make space in my freezer and donate my grocery budget to homeless charities and Foodbanks. There is also a new non profit grocery store for those on benefits that offers help to people during inflation but also helps give space to then to share cooking classes like these with one another. They’re new on my tithe list this year, too. Our prices are so high in Canada, I really don’t think $10 could do it here. I hope that Thanksgiving helps people to feel abundant enough to bless others. By the way, a version of that soup is a regular staple in my home. I had it for dinner last night and I never put in sausage, so it can be even more budget friendly. It’s delicious even as a vegetarian version! ❤
with the Snap or EBT you get about that. on my Disability EBT I get $231.00 a month = $57.00 a week, $8.25 a day, $2.75 a meal . so just under $3 a meal. So for a lot of people we have to find meals under $3 a person . I only get meat if I can find it on sale other wise no meat for the week with only $57 a week meat prices is 1/4 to 1/2 of the week money allotment. I love when I can find the bag of Leg quarters on sale for $6.99 - $8.99 because 10 bl for that is not bad and I can freeze them too so I have them to us when I can't find deals on meat. So thank you. You help me come up with meal I would never think of.
The brothy sausage soup at the end seems pretty delicious. I would wash the beans and use frozen veg for better quality. The bean brine can cause digestive upset. You could even use dry beans first and make those prior to the soup. I do think the bouillon is worth a few extra cents. Great ideas though!
I went from watching how to cook King Crabs' legs, Wagu ribeyes, seafood Paella, and frozen oysters ,clams,and mussels to watching on a budget foodies. Let me tell you, you're doing gods work! Your on a budget videos saved the day. Life has a way of throwing us curve balls when things are going smoothly! Anyhow, i made some bugdet dishes and cut back big time. Saved a ton. Thanks!
Mindy, l have a notebook that l use for kitchen ideas/recipes and whatnot. A good chunk of it is dedicated to budget menus and cheaper items in the grocery store such as beans and certain meats and canned or frozen veggies. Most of the information in that section of my notebook is from your channel. Thank you, friend! 😁
I remember a time when I had $10 for week and could do it. One thing I made and loved was can of chicken, vegetable medley like you got in this video and can of biscuits. Made a chicken casserole for 2 and ate 2 nights. Just thickened the vegetables and chicken.😊
I cook up a big batch of pinto beans in the crock pot. Then I use them different things. I'll season some and put in bean & cheese burritos. We'll have beans & cornbread. I'll add them to a big pot of chili. Or I'll add them to ground beef when making tacos. Hope this gives you some ideas! :) Ps - pinto beans freeze really well!
... and my first thought was a loaf of white bread instead of biscuits, which is also fun with cinnamon sugar. As kids, we would often butter white bread and add cinnamon sugar to create a "cheat" doughnut. But cinnamon sugar on toast makes a nice breakfast treat, too.
The only issue I have with budget meals is that you do want to make sure your eating high quality food as much as possible because at the end of the day your health is the most important thing
I cannot express enough, how much I like this type of videos. When I saw it pop up earlier in my feed I was like oh my god yes I cannot wait to see it.
Im spanish and i cook so different bc we eat rice,beans,meat every day,but its so satisfacción when i Watch your vid,i like learn for everyone ❤thank you.
Mindy, I just watched this video and it is so good. It's great meals that I have made not even thinking how budget friendly they were. We love soups, stew and chili on cold days. I think it's great that you take the time to point out how we cave and have great affordable meals. I always have to watch your videos, I learn so much. Praying for you and family to have a very blessed holiday season🙏🙏🙏
I appreciate the time and effort you put into making your video meals! Everything always looks yummy. Video idea- it wouldn't be a budget meal but maybe make a dupe meal from restaurants like the copycat Olive Garden pasta fajoli soup with Longhorn's copycat bread recipe and a copycat dessert from somewhere... I think that would be fun to see how close the recipes actually come to what you get in the restaurant. 😅
Love this video. It gives me some great ideas. I especially liked that soup. I'm going to make it in my crock pot and add more meat. My sweetie will say "Where's the meat!" So I have to add more for him. Otherwise I'd make it the same as you. I love how you use the canned goods in your recipes too. Sometimes that's all I have. Have a Happy Thanksgiving, and God bless y'all.
Mindy, I love these videos, having come from food insecure circumstances. I love your idea of using these meals as savings to tithe to others, so I do. Thank you for your good work and inspiration to help others.
Thank you so much! I really hope it finds the people who might need it, and inspires people to be generous. I appreciate the kind words and encouragement.
Happy Thanksgiving thank you for your videos. Sensible, realistic meal plans. I recently found at Walmart a package of Boneless Pork Chops 15 portions reduced to just $5.83. Crazy price and even if folks had two portions at a meal that makes the protein way less than $1.00/ serving. So, savings can be had if one looks for them. And no, no one wants to eat pork, rice, beans for every meal however, leftovers can be just as good as the original meal with a little creativity
This sausage is on my weekly shop ALWAYS! My family doesn't really like meat free meals but meat is so expensive. I'd love some more meat free meal ideas that even canivores would love.
When we are strapped, I just cut my meat down to half a pound instead of a whole pound of ground meat. If it's chicken, I do the same but I shred it and mix it in
The soup looks delicious ! I will try to make it soon. It reminds me of minestrone soup expect for the meat part. I had forgotten about the buscuit dough donuts until you mentioned it. My mom used to make us those when I was a kid. I loved them & eating them when they were still hot was the best part. So good!Thanks again for the tasty, budget friendly meals & unlocking a fond childhood memory, Mindy.
I tried to make those biscuit dough donuts with scratch biscuit dough, and they were NOT the same. The cheap store bought biscuits taste the best for these. :)
I've noticed in most of your extreme budget meals, you mention that this is not meant to be a sustainable way of eating but, to be honest, I see nothing wrong with your meals for every day life. They're always balanced with veggies and protein and any veggie in a meal is better than none, canned or frozen is just fine.
I agree I like the meals
She says that now because people would fuss at her about how the meals were not healthy. Which I think is ridiculous, she always tries to incorporate a fruit and vegetable with each meal. I am with you, I don't see anything wrong with her meals for every day life. 😊
I agree! If a person was hungry and had to eat at a food kitchen, they would be given the same thing; A protein, a veggie and a starch. Balanced meal.
Thank you. I get a lot of "push-back" on these kinds of videos from people who have probably never had to eat on a budget, and they are often unsatisfied with the quality of the items, or the amount of calories or nutrients. You would not believe some of the things that have been said to me on this topic, so I try to head it off at the pass. LOL Thanks for your kind words and understanding.
@@SeeMindyMom those of us that have been there completely understand! Hope you and your family had a wonderful Thanksgiving.
The main reason I make meals like this is to save money for other things. Having some kind of rice & beans once a week makes it possible to have a nice roast on another day. I love these ideas
I was in a group that would put Thanksgiving baskets together and there was 1 woman who was so disconnected that she would argue with me about adding flour,sugar, rice and beans to the baskets instead of slivered almonds for the green beans! I told her we never put almonds in our green beans growing up as I was on the receiving end of Thanksgiving baskets even though my Momma worked 2 jobs.
The additions I would buy in addition for what I was assigned because I know how much we appreciated the staples after the holiday meal was over.
🤦🏻♀️ I can only imagine that conversation. Like, “tell me you’ve been privileged without telling me that you’ve been privileged”. Thanks for being willing to pay your blessings forward in a practical way. Sometimes it needs someone who’s been there to properly advocate for others.
In Australia, for $10 you’d be lucky to get the sausage mince and the bananas.
I love these videos! Just because a family “CAN” spend $300/wk on groceries doesn’t mean we HAVE to. It’s fine to stretch things some especially when the nutrition is just as good! Keep it up! ❤ from Iowa
100% agree!
Just because we can afford X amount dollars for groceries a week doesn't mean we need to spend that much fornutritioyse meals
Well try soup
Exactly!!! Live below your means if you can.
Yep! It's OK to splurge occasionally but it's always smart to be frugal and save.
My Family's Food mission for this Christmas: Fill a 5 gallon bucket from Lowe's with shelf stable foods (including canned meat) to give to a needy family. We are hoping to do 10 buckets this year. We were so excited that a church reached out to us and we were able to already donate 2 buckets. God is good all the time. Have a blessed Thanksgiving with your family.
For many, this is not temporary. It is reality and PERMANENT
A sad reality in our country is that - because of food desserts and fast food - there are fewer and fewer people who actually know how to follow a recipe and cook. Your videos are incredibly helpful because they show how to purchase INGREDIENTS instead of ready-to-eat foods that are expensive, and full of sodium and chemicals.
I appreciate how you always remind us that protein comes from many ingredients
Thanks! It's the teacher in me. LOL
@@SeeMindyMom Miss Mindy- We are all very fortunate to have the opportunity to learn from the "teacher", just because (I/we) are grown doesn't mean we don't have more to learn.
The cinnamon sugar donut biscuits with bananas! Oh that just looks so good, definitely high class on a budget in my opinion 😅😍
I honestly don't know how I could have fed my family some delicious meals on a budget had I not found your channel. My twins favorite meal is your chili mac recipe, we have that a couple times a month if not more per their request. Thank you so much for sharing your content and amazing ideas!
OMGosh! My Mom used to make the biscuit “doughnuts” for us as an after school snack back in the 70’s!
So did my mother..I miss my mommy..
Wow, I can't imagine how anyone could question why you would make these 'extreme budget' meal prep videos?? What a blessing it is to see these types of posts, IMO, whether I'm on a tight budget now (def was in the past!!) or not. Life can be very uncertain, and no matter how well anyone seems to be doing financially, there are no guarantees. A sudden job loss, a sudden loss of a spouse, grave medical conditions, the list goes on for how quickly our circumstances can change. Never take good circumstances or good YT channels for granted!!! Blessings to you and your family for a blessed, safe and very happy Thanksgiving, Mindy!!! xoxo's
If I can do this for until Monday evening for me and two kids. I also need a small bag, its like 7.99, kitty food. Just one sweet kitty. But I’m figuring out how to make it with my babes full and satisfied as well. Hm. Thank you Mindy❤
I remember when my babies were young my moms advice to me when they started on solids was not just to do veggies first but “cheaper” veggies-green beans, peas, carrots-thing stout could buy in a can relatively cheap at any time and then when we did fruits to start with bananas so they hopefully love them. I always thought it was kinda silly but now that I have pre-teen boys who eat non-stop I’m happy that they do love bananas so much since it’s a cheaper fruit to throw at them
You rock. I use to call them kill-a-hunger meals when my children were growing up and we found ourselves in a crunch. I like the way you seek out high protein ingredients. I love your channel and my baby will be 49 yo come next year.
These meals are also a great idea if you’re trying to pay off debt or cut the food budget to save up. I appreciate all of these meal ideas! Thank you!!
I love these videos. Anyone can use these ideas and if you don't need a $3 meal you can still practice being frugal with a meal here and there. I love that my kids are happy with a very simple meal and I don't always have to spend a ton to feed them. You never know what kind a financial situation any of us could be in in the future. Plus it's nice to adjust the grocery budget to add to other categories like Christmas gifts or charitable giving.
I love your meal plans & recipes...whether they are budget, semi-home made, quick and easy or whatever. Your videos are always enjoyable, light-hearted and such a motivation.
Those donut holes will have my husband thinking he’s gone to heaven! We are blessed but try to incorporate a lot of your ideas to keep our grocery budget stable in these times. It helps us donate more to charity during the holiday season. These videos also give us perspective on what best helps the foods banks we donate to as part of my husbands work.
Really loving these videos even though it's just me and my boyfriend this is really helping us build up a nice little nest egg by giving us creative recipes. While I did grow up going to food banks and pantries my mom didn't really venture out on her recipes it was always the same thing all the time these creative meals are really helping me joy in cooking again
I really like these videos Mindy...makes me think about how can I be more creative and think outside the box. Loving your hair!
Thanks, Judy!
I like your budget friendly recipes. Grilled cheese toast would be good with this soup. Thanks for helping to keep families feed tasty meals on a budget. 😊
Thanks, Michelle! Glad I can help. :)
Thank you for providing budget meal content. With the rising grocery prices it is more challenging to feed a family on a budget. Doing a day of these extreme budget meals occasionally will help you get through a tough patch or put away a few extra dollars for a needed or wanted purchase. I am curious with these budget meals, Mindy, how do your kids receive them? They don't seem to be picky eaters but I do notice that you've also mentioned that in this example you didn't choose peas because someone in your family doesn't care for them and I believe you said your son didn't eat potatoes either. Those meals look like they made quite a few servings so would probably even generate leftovers for lunch the next day for some of your kids. Thanks so much, Mindy! Donating toy local food bank has been something I've done regularly for about the past 15 years or so. It started after had gone to the grocery store one Saturday and came home and was putting my groceries away. I live in a relatively small home and don't have a proper pantry in my kitchen as my house was built in the early 1920's. As I was unpacking things, in exasperation I literally said out loud "I have too much food." I immediately thought to myself, how many people wish they had that problem? Starting then, I began regularly donating to our local food bank. My employer at the time would match any donations of at least $25 so I would always donate at least that amount so that it would be doubled. Now that I am disabled and on social security disability I'm no longer able to donate to the extent that I used to, but I still find a way to send the food bank a few dollars several times a year. I can't imagine being a parent and not being able to feed my children. Although my $10 may not help much, as you've shown it could feed a family for a day. Thanks again so much for your kindness and generosity to your community, Mindy.
You often say that you’re asked why you eat this way when you don’t “have to”. That gets under my skin a bit. We don’t “have to” eat this way either, we choose to so we can be good stewards of the resources God gave us. The people around us, many of which live paycheck to paycheck, are eating out DAILY and grabbing that Starbucks pink drink for dessert, I wish they would watch a couple of your extreme budget challenges and be inspired to change up their financial habits a bit so their futures could be different!
So important to do the food pantry and assistance plug. Luckily our community here in Michigan have subsidized housing and health clinics as well as food resources for folks who need it. So worth the investment in the community.
We all need these videos to save throughout the month when money gets tight.
Thank you, Mindy!! These videos help me feed my family so much! I love hearing your thought process as you pick your ingredients from the store too. Makes me get creative with our grocery shopping too. Keep up the good work!! You’re def helping this family here!!!❤️
You are so welcome! Glad I could help!
We don't buy meat, dairy, eggs, or anything manufactured. As a result we still eat well for no more than $1 a day per person. That includes the cost of our vegetable garden and free range egg layers. We do eat meat occasionally, but it's an ingredient instead of the main dish.
I just made tofu from scratch, pressed it, and made crispy tofu in the air fryer. That went into a homemade Asian-style sauce with garden vegetables, served over rice. The leftover rice will be used in a fried rice dish with scrambled egg. I can turn a can of $3 salmon into 12 single meals with leftover rice, vegetables, two eggs, and a bit of masa to make salmon patties. The broth goes into salmon soup for more meal options. It may sound extreme but it relies on zero-waste principals and creativity.
I like to grab bits and bobs from the refrigerator before they can go to waste and challenge myself to make something tasty. I've googled "recipes with potato, onion, egg, and bread" to get ideas for those bits and bobs. That yielded recipes for soup, mashed potato souffle, and scalloped potatoes with a creamy egg filling, and a bread crump topping. Off course I added extra veg because nothing is allowed to languish in the crisper.
One of my favorite budget hacks is to by a whole chicken. Cook it in the crock pot. Pull all the meat off of it. I can normally get 2-3 meals from one chicken when added to soups or casserole etc. then cook the bones down into a yummy broth. Then I chill the broth and pull the fat off of it and save the fat for sautéing things (schmaltz).
I had no idea you were in Oklahoma! And in the same area I am..it is amazing how much groceries have gone up AND we are taxed on top of it.. anyway, I love your videos, so fun to watch!! Thanks for making these videos!!
I'm loving this videos because we NEED it now. You and Meals with Maria really help.
I made that soup and it was so yummy. We had it with homemade cornbread. I only cooked the soup in a crock pot because we were going to be gone all day. I didn't want to come home and fix dinner after a busy, tiring day. So this was a winner. Thanks!!!
Thanks so much. I just came across your videos on UA-cam and they're so helpful. My and my husband's budget is tight right now and this is a God sent. Thanks so much. I'm in Tampa, Florida. I shop Aldi's because Aldi's save me heaps of money on almost everything. Thanks again and God bless you.
Thanks Mindy! I will definitely be trying that soup and those donut holes! Last night we made your dollar tree peppers, kielbasa, rice and salsa dish and it was a lot like a Spanish rice. My family loved it. Thanks ☺️
I love these videos, how kind and helpful and informative you are, and how you both give resources for food insecurity and encourage those more fortunate to assist with food insecurity in their communities. Thank you for making this content!!
Thank you, Kat, for the kind words. I really appreciate the encouragement.
The little donuts holes look so good ! Will try it ! I like the idea of stretching meals to save money . Thank you for all the ideas
If you "fry" or saute your dry pasta in a small amount of oil before adding to the soup it won't get soggy. Love the video 💕.
I live on a tight budget on food. On on one of your meals I change 2 ingredients ravioli and add tomato sauce to it meal.
I love videos like this - I try to keep most meals to $5-7 per meal by shopping sales and having a rotating stock pile. I can't wait to give these ideas a try 😊 thank you for always having such informative and creative videos ❤️
I really need to do some more budget cooking videos. It’s such a good way to save money and also give some ideas to help others. I love that you do this so often Mindy! ❤ Hope you have a great Thanksgiving!
If you enjoy Asian takeout I think that's a great place to start. Sure, you invest in a few special ingredients to start, but oh wow the flavor return. I make alot of lo mein dishes using spaghetti(cheap) and stir fry with rice(also cheap). Once you get a good sauce...no limits.
@@greyhatdone Great idea! We do have lots of ingredients to make some good sauces, but I definitely need to run to my Asian market again soon to restock some of those ingredients 😊
I have never thought about getting protein from anything besides meat and dairy. I love the information you give, you don't just cook
Love these kind of videos!
I'm really thankful to Jen Chapin and Christine for sharing your channel. It's very helpful. Thank you for sharing these.
Pretty sure that’s how I found Mindy too. I love these ladies!❤
I’m doing a low spend November so I can make space in my freezer and donate my grocery budget to homeless charities and Foodbanks. There is also a new non profit grocery store for those on benefits that offers help to people during inflation but also helps give space to then to share cooking classes like these with one another. They’re new on my tithe list this year, too. Our prices are so high in Canada, I really don’t think $10 could do it here. I hope that Thanksgiving helps people to feel abundant enough to bless others.
By the way, a version of that soup is a regular staple in my home. I had it for dinner last night and I never put in sausage, so it can be even more budget friendly. It’s delicious even as a vegetarian version! ❤
So thankful for this video! We had an unexpected ER bill come our way and this is helping to stretch our budget so we aren’t so tight! 🥳
Awesome recipes ideas, thanks for sharing 👍👍👍
with the Snap or EBT you get about that. on my Disability EBT I get $231.00 a month = $57.00 a week, $8.25 a day, $2.75 a meal . so just under $3 a meal. So for a lot of people we have to find meals under $3 a person . I only get meat if I can find it on sale other wise no meat for the week with only $57 a week meat prices is 1/4 to 1/2 of the week money allotment. I love when I can find the bag of Leg quarters on sale for $6.99 - $8.99 because 10 bl for that is not bad and I can freeze them too so I have them to us when I can't find deals on meat. So thank you. You help me come up with meal I would never think of.
The brothy sausage soup at the end seems pretty delicious. I would wash the beans and use frozen veg for better quality. The bean brine can cause digestive upset. You could even use dry beans first and make those prior to the soup. I do think the bouillon is worth a few extra cents. Great ideas though!
I went from watching how to cook King Crabs' legs, Wagu ribeyes, seafood Paella, and frozen oysters ,clams,and mussels to watching on a budget foodies.
Let me tell you, you're doing gods work!
Your on a budget videos saved the day.
Life has a way of throwing us curve balls when things are going smoothly!
Anyhow, i made some bugdet dishes and cut back big time. Saved a ton.
Thanks!
Mindy, l have a notebook that l use for kitchen ideas/recipes and whatnot. A good chunk of it is dedicated to budget menus and cheaper items in the grocery store such as beans and certain meats and canned or frozen veggies. Most of the information in that section of my notebook is from your channel. Thank you, friend! 😁
Some of us have to shop like this every day. I'm on a fixed income thanks for ideas love u keep up the great job 💖😁
I remember a time when I had $10 for week and could do it. One thing I made and loved was can of chicken, vegetable medley like you got in this video and can of biscuits. Made a chicken casserole for 2 and ate 2 nights. Just thickened the vegetables and chicken.😊
Mindy.....can you give us some tips on cooking with dry beans?
I cook up a big batch of pinto beans in the crock pot. Then I use them different things. I'll season some and put in bean & cheese burritos. We'll have beans & cornbread. I'll add them to a big pot of chili. Or I'll add them to ground beef when making tacos. Hope this gives you some ideas! :)
Ps - pinto beans freeze really well!
... and my first thought was a loaf of white bread instead of biscuits, which is also fun with cinnamon sugar. As kids, we would often butter white bread and add cinnamon sugar to create a "cheat" doughnut. But cinnamon sugar on toast makes a nice breakfast treat, too.
The only issue I have with budget meals is that you do want to make sure your eating high quality food as much as possible because at the end of the day your health is the most important thing
I cannot express enough, how much I like this type of videos. When I saw it pop up earlier in my feed I was like oh my god yes I cannot wait to see it.
I really enjoy pasta and broccoli together, even without any other addition. Though cheese on top is a plus! Thank you for the video!
Me, too! I used to eat plain spaghetti with a sprinkling of parmesan as a kid, and I still do occasionally for a simple comfort food meal.
Thank you! You are so very kind. I love the extreme budget meals!
Going to try and do budget meals for the month of January. Get on a less speedy routine. Times are so hard.
Dipping the donut holes in powdered sugar instead, they are really good.
Im spanish and i cook so different bc we eat rice,beans,meat every day,but its so satisfacción when i Watch your vid,i like learn for everyone ❤thank you.
I love budget meals, they cook up fast, and taste great. Nice job. Thanks for including all the measurements too.
I appreciate the work you put into your videos Mindy. Always good tips.
Mindy, I appreciate these types of videos. Right now my pocket book appreciates all the help and ideas it can get. Thank you for making them.
Saw the title of this and got completely excited!!!! Thank you!! God bless you for all you do, Mindy! Sharing this one for sure!!
This is another great video, Mindy. Thank you for all of your hard work putting this kind of content out.
Thanks, Viki! :)
Mindy, I just watched this video and it is so good. It's great meals that I have made not even thinking how budget friendly they were. We love soups, stew and chili on cold days. I think it's great that you take the time to point out how we cave and have great affordable meals. I always have to watch your videos, I learn so much. Praying for you and family to have a very blessed holiday season🙏🙏🙏
I appreciate the time and effort you put into making your video meals! Everything always looks yummy. Video idea- it wouldn't be a budget meal but maybe make a dupe meal from restaurants like the copycat Olive Garden pasta fajoli soup with Longhorn's copycat bread recipe and a copycat dessert from somewhere... I think that would be fun to see how close the recipes actually come to what you get in the restaurant.
😅
Mindy i love these videos, I put away $200 every two weeks for food for my hubby and I, I want to start cutting that bill down, I love these videos.
Love this video. It gives me some great ideas. I especially liked that soup. I'm going to make it in my crock pot and add more meat. My sweetie will say "Where's the meat!" So I have to add more for him. Otherwise I'd make it the same as you. I love how you use the canned goods in your recipes too. Sometimes that's all I have. Have a Happy Thanksgiving, and God bless y'all.
Happy Thanksgiving, Kathy!
Excited to try these!!
I can have some kinds of dairy but not all - so very happy with these suggestions ❤❤.
Mindy, I love these videos, having come from food insecure circumstances. I love your idea of using these meals as savings to tithe to others, so I do. Thank you for your good work and inspiration to help others.
This is wonderful for our family thank you
These are great ideas! Thank you for taking the time to share with this community. Your content is so helpful to people in need!
Thank you so much! I really hope it finds the people who might need it, and inspires people to be generous. I appreciate the kind words and encouragement.
Certain groceries are pretty cheap at dollar general just price check with your grocery store
Mindy, Happy Thanksgiving 🍁
Happy Thanksgiving thank you for your videos. Sensible, realistic meal plans.
I recently found at Walmart a package of Boneless Pork Chops 15 portions reduced to just $5.83. Crazy price and even if folks had two portions at a meal that makes the protein way less than $1.00/ serving. So, savings can be had if one looks for them. And no, no one wants to eat pork, rice, beans for every meal however, leftovers can be just as good as the original meal with a little creativity
Great meal ideas as always!
Obsessed with your channel!!!!!!!
Wow! I love that trick with the biscuit dough! Thanks for the great video😊
This sausage is on my weekly shop ALWAYS! My family doesn't really like meat free meals but meat is so expensive. I'd love some more meat free meal ideas that even canivores would love.
When we are strapped, I just cut my meat down to half a pound instead of a whole pound of ground meat. If it's chicken, I do the same but I shred it and mix it in
Always so creative!
Thank you! 😊
I love these videos.
Thank you for the inspiration!
These videos are great! Thanks for all of the ideas
Good morning Mindy Mom. Happy Thanksgiving to y'all. - full of family, fun and food.
This is a god send currently on 10$ a meal for my family things are tough financially for this month I love these videos finding alot on inspiration
Glad I could give some ideas. Best to you and yours. :)
Amazing, great ideas.
Thanks, Sonja!
Mindy and family have a great day have fun happy holidays thanks from Oklahoma
Love your videos!
Great video!!!
Outstanding job from a wonderful person🌸 Happy Thanksgiving
Thank you! You too!
You can also use a bottle cap if you want a different shape donut
Thanks love your videos thanks ❤️ 😊
The soup looks delicious ! I will try to make it soon. It reminds me of minestrone soup expect for the meat part. I had forgotten about the buscuit dough donuts until you mentioned it. My mom used to make us those when I was a kid. I loved them & eating them when they were still hot was the best part. So good!Thanks again for the tasty, budget friendly meals & unlocking a fond childhood memory, Mindy.
I tried to make those biscuit dough donuts with scratch biscuit dough, and they were NOT the same. The cheap store bought biscuits taste the best for these. :)
@@SeeMindyMom Absolutely! Gotta get the canned biscuit dough for them. So easy & tasty 😋
My sister in-law that teach my mom how to make green bean casserole. I still make green bean casserole.
Like I have said before thank you so very much for these amazing ideas.
Thanks for watching, Marianne! :)
Outstanding
Thanks for sharing ilove these videos and I need these recipes I am on a very tight budget