Eating out for your workday lunch is a quick way to bust your budget. If your daily lunch costs $10 (and it will, including a drink and taxes), a 5-day workweek will use up $2600 of your hard-earned money annually. But many claim there just isn't time to pack a sack before leaving for work — or that … [Read more...] about 5 easy, cheap, healthy lunches for the work week
Recipes
Scary good (and cheap) Halloween party food
Planning a Halloween party but don't want it to bleed your food budget dry? We've got you covered tighter than a mummy's wrappings! Here are ideas for snacks and beverages for both kids and adults, so no one leaves your celebration looking like a skeleton. (For more Halloween party tips, … [Read more...] about Scary good (and cheap) Halloween party food
Bake an easy jack-o’-lantern cake for Halloween
When my sons were teenagers, they wanted to have a Halloween party at home. I made this cake that looks like a jack-o’-lantern but is pretty delicious to cut up and eat. The best part: You don't have to contend with seeds or pumpkin pulp! Start with the cake. You can do a pumpkin cake from … [Read more...] about Bake an easy jack-o’-lantern cake for Halloween
Make your own cheap and healthy microwave popcorn
This “secret” to healthy microwave popcorn is so easy and obvious you have to wonder if the food industry hasn’t conspired to keep the public ignorant all these years. Once you try it, you’ll never buy popcorn in those little folded bags again. The secret is this: Take a plain, brown-paper … [Read more...] about Make your own cheap and healthy microwave popcorn
How to cook with fresh pumpkin
Fall is here, and it's time for hot cider, hearty stews and, naturally, pumpkins. They’re everywhere – piled in front of grocery stores and farmers markets, decorating the classroom and even gracing the front desk at the gym. And why not? They’re colorful, festive, have a long shelf life and … yes, … [Read more...] about How to cook with fresh pumpkin
26 adaptable recipes and menu ideas for $4-a-day budget meal planning
My experiment with a $4-a-day budget has become a welcome and permanent adjustment to my menu planning and grocery shopping routine. It has saved not only money, but my time as well as some of my sanity. The $4 a day food budget was popularized by Leanne Brown in her free online book, Good and Cheap … [Read more...] about 26 adaptable recipes and menu ideas for $4-a-day budget meal planning
Fall apple and pumpkin recipes + DIY pumpkin puree
Fall is here, and it's time for hot cider, hearty stews and, naturally, pumpkins and apples. They’re everywhere – piled in front of grocery stores and farmers markets, decorating the classroom and even gracing the front desk at the gym. And why not? They’re colorful, festive, have a long shelf life … [Read more...] about Fall apple and pumpkin recipes + DIY pumpkin puree
Make your own pop tarts and other DIY convenience foods
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No one can argue that convenience foods are a huge time-saver. But some prepackaged foods can be expensive (frozen pizzas), available seasonally (Girl Scout cookies) or filled with artificial ingredients (fruit rolls and pop tarts). If you take a little time to make these items in advance, you … [Read more...] about Make your own pop tarts and other DIY convenience foods
Got barbecue leftovers? Use them in these delicious recipes
You invite friends or family over for a cookout, and as usual, you made way too much food. What do you do with the barbecue leftovers? You could eat plain burgers and sausages for days, or you could transform your leftovers into delicious new meals by combining them with new ingredients. If … [Read more...] about Got barbecue leftovers? Use them in these delicious recipes
Cheap recipes for your backyard barbecue
Backyard barbecues are a great way to entertain, but even when you host a potluck, they can be a pricey way to party. Whether you are entertaining a small or large crowd at your backyard barbecue, you can still stay on budget. Here is our guide to cooking on the cheap for a crowd at your next … [Read more...] about Cheap recipes for your backyard barbecue
Healthy school lunches kids won’t toss in the trash
If your child regularly brings their lunch to school, you've faced the "what to pack" dilemma. You want to pack something nutritious, but you also need to be sure your kids will eat it. A thrown-out lunch does nothing for your child's health or your wallet; it's basically cash in the … [Read more...] about Healthy school lunches kids won’t toss in the trash
Make the most of your garden’s harvest
In midsummer it's exciting to see that first bright red, ripe tomato dangling off of its vine or pick and eat the first zucchini. At first, you relish in your harvest and your neighbors love your homegrown gifts. However, by late summer it's a different story — you're up to your ears in tomatoes, … [Read more...] about Make the most of your garden’s harvest
Easy recipes with cheap summer sweet corn
There’s something about fresh, sweet, juicy corn on the cob that just screams summer. You bite into those pearl-like kernels and taste a burst of sweet juice. It doesn’t get better than this. Except it does: Sweet corn, in season, is really cheap. It starts out at two for $1, then four, then … [Read more...] about Easy recipes with cheap summer sweet corn
Got tomatoes? Recipes to make the most of your summer tomato bounty
It’s a fruit we treat like a vegetable, a nontoxic member of the nightshade family, born in South America but internationally famous. It’s the tomato, of course. And though it can be pricey in winter, in summer it’s indecently cheap at farm stands and markets. You can buy a whole basket for just a … [Read more...] about Got tomatoes? Recipes to make the most of your summer tomato bounty
Tasty recipes for cheap and abundant zucchini
The zucchini are here! The zucchini are here! The world’s cheapest ingredient has arrived in gardens, farmers’ markets and grocery stores, and it’s cheap, cheap, cheap. So what do you do with all this bounty? Well, you can pan-fry it as a side vegetable, cube it and put it on kabobs, slice it … [Read more...] about Tasty recipes for cheap and abundant zucchini
