Cooking
None of this is expert advice. It's what people worked out for themselves, usually the hard way — what actually helped, and what they'd tell someone standing where you are. Take what fits and leave the rest.
If you only read a few
Learn to make copycat versions of favorite restaurant dishes at home.
They can be cheaper, tastier, and stretch for multiple meals.
7 people, independently
- Cook copycat versions of restaurant foods like fried chicken at home to save money.1
Buy tomato paste in tubes to keep it fresh and avoid waste from unused canned portions.
Tube packaging keeps the paste fresh longer in the fridge compared to cans, which can spoil quickly after opening.
- Tubes are slightly more expensive.
2 people, independently
Use a decent rice cooker for perfect results every time.
It is described as a best investment of life.
one person who lived it
Buy cheaper cuts of meat such as chicken, intestines, hearts, feet, or fish heads.
These parts sell for less because most people do not buy them.
one person who lived it
Avoid buying drumsticks if you want maximum meat yield.
They contain about 40% bone.
one person who lived it
avoid, cooking, meat, meals40
Check the ethnic foods section of grocery stores for spices, as they often sell larger quantities for a fraction of the price of standard jars.
Choose soups like wonton or hot and sour to fill up on cheap calories.
They are mostly water, which makes them inexpensive yet filling.
one person who lived it
Make gravy using sausage fat, heavy cream, and flour.
It is easy to make and tastes better than using regular milk.
one person who lived it
Grow Thai chilis in a small pot indoors during colder months to keep a steady supply.
The plants are small, produce many peppers, and can be kept in a sunny window when moved inside for cold weather.
one person who lived it
Store bread in the refrigerator rather than on the counter.
To slow the growth of mold.
one person who lived it
35 more on this
Serve rice with meals as a cheap filler to increase satiety.
Rice is cheap and makes you feel full.
one person who lived it
Make your own pizza dough and use garlic with whole cloves instead of leeks or canned sauce.
It is cheaper and saves you from opening a can for a small amount of sauce.
one person who lived it
Learn to cook to avoid relying on expensive frozen or fast food options.
Not knowing how to cook limits meal options to costly alternatives like frozen meals or fast food.
one person who lived it
Bring reusable vegetable bags from home to the grocery store.
They are non-germy because only you touch them.
one person who lived it
Puree split peas into soups like potato leek soup to mask their taste and texture.
to avoid tasting the split peas
one person who lived it
Store tomato-based sauces in glass containers instead of plastic to avoid staining.
Glass does not stain.
one person who lived it
- Coat plastic containers with cooking spray before storing tomato-based sauces to prevent staining.3
Top pasta with butter, pepper, and chopped tomato.
You will find bliss.
one person who lived it
Strain homemade broth twice: first with a strainer, then with a strainer and cheesecloth.
This takes the quality to the next level.
one person who lived it
Mash split peas and mix them with red sauce to encourage children to eat vegetables.
one person used this method to get siblings to eat veggies
one person who lived it
Bake a microwave mug cake with frosting and candles for a celebration.
The smell changes the atmosphere and is surprisingly cheerful even in tough years.
one person who lived it
View the book as a way to make cooking attractive for those with limited resources rather than a strict guide to maximizing calories per dollar.
It provides choice and diversity to compete with junk food.
- Some find it focuses more on interesting recipes than cost efficiency.
one person who lived it
Freeze leftover butter cups from takeout or events for future cooking use.
One cup fills a pan perfectly.
one person who lived it
Build a spice pantry to enable diverse, frugal home cooking from scratch.
It allows you to use all purchased ingredients for cuisines like Indian, BBQ, Mexican, and North African.
one person who lived it
Check the ethnic foods section of grocery stores for spices, as they often sell larger quantities for a fraction of the price of standard jars.
9 people, independently
Buy a dedicated ceramic or glass grinder with ceramic internals instead of refilling single-use plastic supermarket grinders.
Refilling single-use grinders causes you to ingest plastic as the teeth grind down; ceramic ones last years and avoid this.
one person who lived it
Push garlic cloves into slits cut into meat before roasting to add to flavor.
This technique was described as a game changer.
one person who lived it
Use Japanese curry roux blocks to make stew bases with meat and vegetables for cheap, easy meals.
It is cheaper than making something similar yourself and hard to recreate the flavor otherwise.
one person who lived it
Use silicone muffin tins for freezing liquids.
They are convenient for removal.
- They are not good for baking.
one person who lived it
Use rice as a primary staple, combining it with meat, veggies, or fruit, to stay full during periods of low income.
- based on one person's experience
one person who lived it
Substitute yogurt for heavy cream, buttermilk, or mayonnaise in recipes to save money and reduce fat intake.
Heavy cream and buttermilk are expensive, and mayonnaise contains too much fat.
one person who lived it
Keep half a stick of butter at room temperature on the countertop for immediate use.
Refrigerated butter is too hard and requires prep time compared to margarine.
one person who lived it
Add salt to homemade stock only after reducing it to your desired volume and taste.
Reducing perfectly seasoned stock will likely make it too salty.
one person who lived it
Be aware that following the 'Good and Cheap' book to reduce a budget can be work-intensive and may not be sustainable for everyone.
- One person lasted only two weeks because it was work-intensive.
one person who lived it
Temper eggs when making egg-based soups like Avgolemono to prevent curdling.
so they don't curdle
one person who lived it
Prepare single-pot dishes to cut down on cooking time and cleaning.
3 people, independently
Intentionally overcook proteins to create leftovers that can be repurposed into new meals, saving effort by cooking fresh food once rather than repeatedly.
It is easier to cook just enough than to manage precise portions, and reusing food saves effort.
one person who lived it
Sauté anchovy paste, tomatoes, or mushrooms and deglaze with broth to create umami-rich sauces.
It provides umami flavor.
one person who lived it
Suggest pinning helpful resources to the top of relevant communities to reduce repeated questions.
It helps many people and cuts down on reasked questions.
one person who lived it
Open windows to use natural breezes for cooling instead of relying on air conditioning.
Sunny windows raise indoor temperatures and cause the AC to run more, increasing electricity bills.
one person who lived it
Consider that wild yeast fermentation is unpredictable if attempting to make hard cider.
it is unpredictable
- wild yeast... is unpredictable
one person who lived it
Simmer homemade broth for several hours to reduce water content and concentrate flavor before freezing.
Storing mostly water is inefficient; reducing creates a concentrated syrup that saves space.
one person who lived it
Reformat digital cookbooks for smartphone readability.
Many low-income people have smartphones but not computers.
one person who lived it
Freeze reduced homemade broth in ice cube trays for easy portioning into soups, sauces, and stir-fries.
4 people, independently
Incorporate leftover fries into an egg frittata, often called a 'fryttata'.
Frittatas are effective at using up leftovers well.
one person who lived it
Transform over-seasoned food into soup to salvage the ingredients.
one person who lived it
Check dry rice for weevils before eating it, even if it appears fine.
Weevils will infest rice.
one person who lived it
Do not freeze eggs if you want to preserve their texture and flavor.
They lose flavor and become cotton-like when eaten.
one person who lived it
Fluff rice with a fork immediately after cooking.
This step helps a lot and is often missed when cooking at home.
one person who lived it
Do not eliminate potatoes from your diet.
They are nutritious and their minerals have high bioavailability due to low anti-nutrients.
- They are not cheaper than grains or legumes.
one person who lived it
3 more on this
Use Walmart's Great Value unbleached flour for general baking to aid browning and digestibility, but switch to King Arthur flour for roll-outs, gingerbread, cut cookies, or puff pastry due to its lower moisture content.
The malted barley flour in Great Value assists with Maillard browning and digestibility.
- King Arthur flour has much lower moisture content, making it better for delicate pastries.
one person who lived it
Fill empty orange or grapefruit skin halves with grape jelly and place them outside to feed birds.
Birds enjoy this offering.
one person who lived it
Prepare potatoes using methods other than boiling to retain potassium.
Boiling removes the nutrient, and few people get enough of it.
one person who lived it