Everyone’s budget is being stretched to capacity these days, and of course grocery prices are a big part of that. Unlike so many other luxuries you just can’t go without eating no matter how much it costs! So preparing cheap meals that are still tasty and nutritious is a challenge for many families but one that can be met if you put some time and effort into it.

For one thing, consider how you cook or prepare food now. Many cheap meals are made simply by eliminating some high cost ingredients or substituting them with something more affordable. For example if you have a recipe that calls for wine, do you use something very expensive or the most affordable table wine you can find? A lot of cheap meals can be made by using inexpensive ingredients this way, if you think about it. The store brand flour or sugar or mayonnaise or cheese is just as tasty when used in recipes and can often be a third less the cost of national brands.

Preparing cheap meals often means fixing things yourself rather than buying them already prepared. Usually a cake mix and the other ingredients needed to finish it is only two or three dollars total, whereas one from the bakery, even the bakery department of the supermarket, is going to be three times that. A rotisserie chicken that’s already cooked can be half over again the raw chicken that you put on your own rotisserie at home. Virtually any dinner or lunch item that you purchase that is already cooked, chopped, or otherwise prepared is going to cost more. So it might take some extra work to prepare these cheap meals but you’re saving a good one-third and sometimes even one-half from your grocery bill.

Making cheap meals might also mean using ingredients to fill them out or bulk them up so that you can cut back on expensive meat. For instance one great standard item in many cheap meals is soup or stew which you can easily make in a crock pot with a jar of prepared gravy and some leftover vegetables, or make on your stovetop with some broth and a few added seasonings. This might not be much of a dinner itself but if you have a bowl of soup made from leftover vegetables before you actual meal, you’ll be bound to eat less of those more expensive items. So cheap meals might mean just filling up on cheaper elements before moving on to the more expensive ones.

There are many places online and in print that will give you ideas for cheap meals but they do of course usually take a little bit more time and effort than the more expensive and readily available meals and items at the supermarket. But considering the amount of money you can save in a month and a year by preparing cheap meals you probably realize that they’re definitely worth that time and effort after all!