Eggs with broccoli and sausage: a dinner two ways

Last week, I found three packages of sausage on manager's markdown for $1.75 each, and two had peelie tags for $1 each. The three packages came to a total of $3.25. Each package was then $1.08 and serves 6. That's definitely in my budget!

This week, we have an extra kid with us, and I broke out one of the packages for dinner of eggs, broccoli, and sausage. It's not in our regular menu rotation, but our guest has some food aversions and I'm adjusting not just to fit him into the budget but to serve things he can enjoy as well.

Tonight, my family had an egg, sausage, and broccoli casserole. I fried up the sausage, then sauteed an onion in the sausage grease. I love the extra flavor the onion gets when I use the meat drippings to cook it!  Our friend had eggs, broccoli, and sausage, not touching. We all had a glass of orange juice on the side. The cost broke down to $4.25 for dinner for 6 people, or $.70 per person. Not too shabby! 

Sausage: $1.08
12 eggs: $1.49
1/2 bag of chopped broccoli: $.49
1 onion: $.20
1 frozen orange juice: $.99
Dinner that everyone said was delicious and make again: PRICELESS! 

Keeping Up with the Cash Spending

My budget is $2 per person, per day, and to keep track of where that's going, I've added a page to track my spending. Check it out here if you're curious about what I've spent so far this year!

New Year's Chili

Happy New Year!

There are traditional New Year's foods around the globe, but one speaks to my frugal heart: beans. Said to symbolize coins or wealth, they're an excellent (and inexpensive) choice for entertaining.  I made a huge batch of chili, enough for our dinner table with friends and family, leftovers for our family's lunch the next day, and extras for a friend.

The recipe below stretches the most expensive ingredient - meat - with three kinds of beans, and the optional toppings on the side let diners choose how they want their bowl. I used my Instant Pot pressure cooker, but I've added variations for the stovetop or slow cooker as well. The recipe below serves about 20 for about $.55 per bowl (not including toppings), and is easily halved. 

I've included my prices, including beans and spices bought in bulk, but as always, your prices may vary. 

Chili for a Crowd

4 T vegetable oil ($.40)

2 lb. ground meat (I used a mix of ground pork and ground beef) ($4.98)

2 c. dry pinto beans ($.50)

2 c. dry kidney beans ($.75)

1 c. dry black beans ($.37)

2 medium onions, diced ($.50)

1 green pepper, diced ($.50)

1 stalk celery, diced ($.10)

3-14 oz. cans diced tomatoes ($1.50)

1-14 oz. can diced tomatoes with green chiles ($.50)

1-5 oz. can tomato paste ($.41)

Seasonings - to taste, adjust for your liking and availability ($.35)

2 T chili powder 

1 1/2 T cumin

1 T smoked paprika

1 T garlic powder

1/2 T dried oregano

1/2 t cinnamon

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Rinse, drain, and prepare dry beans. I cook beans, unsoaked, in the pressure cooker, covered by 2 inches of water, on the Bean setting. You may instead soak overnight and cook on the stovetop. Drain cooked beans.

2. Heat oil over medium-low heat in a large skillet. Add diced onion, green pepper, and celery. Cook until onion is translucent, about 6-8 minutes. Add seasonings and tomato paste to the vegetables and fry, stirring frequently. Once fragrant, add meat and cook until no longer pink, breaking into small pieces.

3. Combine beans, meat mixture, and tomatoes into the Instant Pot, large stovetop pot, or slow cooker. Stir together. The mixture will release more liquid as it cooks, so don't worry if it looks a little dry, but feel free to add a splash of water if the chili doesn't look moist.

Pressure Cooker: Use Beans/Chili button.

Stovetop: Bring to a light boil, then turn down to simmer for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally. 

Slow Cooker: Set for low for 6-8 hours, or high for 3-4 hours. 

4. Serve with toppings! Our favorites include:

• Sour cream
• Grated cheese
• Cilantro
• Green onion
• Diced white onion
• Corn chips
• Sliced olives 
• Lime wedges
• Hot sauce

What are your New Year's food traditions? And what are your favorite chili toppings? 

Middle Eastern lentils and rice with caramelized onions

This dish of lentils, rice, and caramelized onions, known as Mujadara, gets a lot of table time on Meatless Mondays in our house because it's just so tasty, simple, and hearty. 

This recipe makes 5 servings at $.37 per serving, not including optional toppings such as lemon, plain yogurt, or finely chopped parsley or cilantro. If your family receives WIC, this recipe works well with the ingredients you receive in your food package.

I use my Instant Pot pressure cooker, but give alternative stovetop instructions below if you don't have one. It doubles well and the leftovers are just as tasty served at room temperature, making this a great packed lunch.

Mujadara

Ingredients
olive oil
4 onions, thinly sliced ($1.00)
1 t cumin ($.05)
1 cinnamon stick ($.10)
1 c long grain white rice ($.15)
1 c dry brown lentils ($.54)

Method
1. In a large pan over low heat, heat the oil until it is shimmering. Add the thinly sliced onions. Stir frequently for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Salt and pepper to taste.

2. While the onions are cooking, prepare lentils.
Pressure Cooker Method: Cover lentils with 4 1/2 cups of water (or vegetable broth) and cook for 20 minutes at high pressure. Release pressure and add half of the onions as well as the uncooked rice, cumin, salt, pepper, and a cinnamon stick. Stir to combine and cook on the "rice" setting. If the lentils and rice are not cooked through, bring to pressure for another 2-3 minutes until tender.

Stove Top Method: Cover lentils with 4 1/2 cups of water (or vegetable broth) and simmer for 20 minutes. Add half of the onions as well as the uncooked rice, cumin, salt, pepper, and a cinnamon stick. Simmer, covered, over very low heat for 15-20 minutes, or until lentils and rice are tender.

3. As the lentils and rice cook, continue to stir the onions over low heat until they're dark brown and slightly crispy.

4. Remove cinnamon stick from the lentils and rice. Fluff with a fork. Serve with the brown onions on top.

Optionally, add a squeeze of lemon and a dollop of plain yogurt to the completed dish. You can also add finely chopped parsley or cilantro, to taste. As a side dish, I like a sliced cucumber and tomato salad dressed with a little red wine vinaigrette.

Making the most of manager's markdowns

Find your manager's markdown section and start your shopping there.

Recently, I found 1 lb. boxes of "stuffing mix" - diced onion, celery, parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme - marked down to a quarter apiece. I bought 12 for $3.00.

Since I couldn't use them all before they would go bad, I sauteed 9 packages of them (making my kitchen smell like Thanksgiving!) and froze in meal-sized portions of 1 cup each. Cooking them helped them take less space in the freezer and saves me time when I'm getting ready to cook them into winter soups and casseroles. I got 10 baggies out of 9 of the containers. The other 3 mixes were used while still fresh.

Awhile back, I was buying bananas while the produce manager was restocking and pulling the slightly-too-brown bananas. I asked what they do with the (perfect to my taste) spotted bananas and he offered to sell me the entire box for $2. I snapped that up and froze the bananas for months of smoothies and banana bread.

Ask your store's butcher when markdowns are put out and if possible, shop around that time. I routinely find meat at or close to its sell-by date but still perfectly fine, marked down by at least 50%. I buy it even if we can't eat it that night, because it can be frozen for months after the sell-by date.

Frequently found on a shelf at the back of the store, I often find scratch-and-dent products that are perfectly edible but have less-than-perfect packaging. You can even use coupons on these products if you have them!

What has been your best mark-down find? 

$2 a Day: About our budget and how I stick to it

Our budget is $2 per person, per day, which works out to $49.13 per week for our family of five. It's not a lot of money, but it's enough to meet our needs.

How did I get that number?

$2 per adult, per day = $730 a year, per person

$1 per kid (because they spend half of their time with their dad) = $365 a year

2 adults = $1,460 per year

3 kids = $1,095 per year

Total for the year (2 adults + 3 kids) = $2,555

Divided by 52 weeks = $49.13
How am I keeping spending low?

That's what this blog is all about! I'll share lots of ideas as the blog continues, but here are a few of the basics:
Menu Plan

Having a weekly menu plan helps me keep costs down since I don't have to stop and pick anything up for dinner on the way home, which often leads to impulse shopping and buying convenience foods while I'm hungry. It also lets me use less expensive items that take more time to prepare, such as...

Beans and Rice, Rice and Beans
I use less expensive items like beans and rice to bulk up meals. The "rice and beans budget" doesn't have to be literal rice and beans, but the budget goes further when meals include inexpensive, hearty and filling foods. A serving of beans and rice is under $.10 - it just doesn't get much cheaper!
Meat is not the entree

Meat is often the most expensive part of a meal, so to keep costs down, meat is used more as a flavor enhancer than an entree on our plates. For example, a pound of sausage could be grilled and served one or two per person for 3-4 servings, or it could be diced and put in my favorite beans with sausage and greens soup, making 10-12 servings. I almost always pick the latter. Additionally, Mondays are meatless in our house.

Watch unit prices
Rather than focus on the cost per package, I look at the cost per ounce when comparing products. Sometimes a larger size saves money, but not always. Sometimes the brand name is more expensive than generic, but not always. Comparing the unit prices helps to get the most bang for my buck.

Per Pound Limit
I have a per-pound price limit for cheese, produce and meat. I won’t spend more than $3.00 per pound on cheese, $1.50 per pound on fruits and veggies, or $2.00 per pound on meat. Having a max budget on an item helps me recognize when to stock up, and is a good tool for avoiding overspending.
Shop loss leaders and manager markdowns

I look at store flyers to pick up the loss leaders of the week. Loss leaders are the advertised specials that are often priced lower than the store's cost in an effort to draw you into the store so you'll spend more on other, higher margin items. These are most often items on the top of the front page of the sales flyer. In addition to loss leaders, I make a point to look for manager markdowns, especially on meats.
Shop in bulk
I buy most of our baking goods and dry goods like beans and grains from bulk bins at WinCo, a store in my mom's city. I can get split peas for $.68/lb, where individual pound bags are over $1.00 at the local grocery stores. Flour is regularly $.31/lb, where a good sale will have it at $.50/lb locally. Making a trip up every few months, we make a point to go hit up the bulk bins and come home with a few months' supply.
Free food

Occasionally, we pick fruit from neighbors trees, with permission. Or we are treated to meals by generous friends or family, who sometimes even send us home with leftovers. Or someone we know grew way too many zucchinis and brings them just to get them out of their garden. Or someone bought a jar of something to try and didn't like it, so they pass it along to us (and then we get to try something I likely wouldn't necessarily buy, like cranberry shallot chutney, which was delicious.) Or my spouse is tipped at work with a bag of oranges. While we don't rely on it, we appreciate these extras and they help us stretch our budget and add variety.

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As this blog continues, I'll share the deals I find and how I make the most of my budget. What are your favorite ways to save money on groceries?

When life hands you a giant can of marinara sauce

In early November, I bought two food-service sized cans of marinara sauce for $1.99 apiece at the Grocery Outlet store. With 24 servings each, the cans would easily provide us with 6-7 meals at $.08 per person. What a score!

While we could easily have the sauce plain with pasta, I wanted to bulk it up a bit and build up the flavor. What I ended up with is a flavor-packed sauce that is the frugal base of at least 9 meals.

Here’s the cost breakdown:

1 lb. hot Italian sausage $2.99

1 lb. mild Italian sausage $2.99

½ lb. pepperoni, diced $1.50

4 medium onions, diced $1.33

6 zucchini, shredded $2.00

A handful of fresh basil from the garden $.00

6 lb. 11 oz. can of marinara sauce $1.99

Total cost $12.80

$12.80/9 meals = $1.42 per meals

$1.42 per meal/5 servings = $.28 per serving.

This is the sauce that does not end. It just goes on and on my friend...

Pasta

We’ve used this sauce on pasta, naturally, for a dinner ready in under 15 minutes. (I've added a label for meals ready in under 15 minutes, so as I add to this blog you can look up quick, cheap dinners.) I added another shredded zucchini, trying to use up the ones given to us by a neighbor whose garden overproduced. Our neighbor's zucchini came after I made the sauce, so I bought the ones in the sauce. With a serving of pasta costing us about $.20, that was an easy and filling $.48 dinner. We have two family members who are gluten free, and I buy gluten-free pasta for them. I cook it in the boiling water first, pull their pasta out, then cook ours, so there is no cross-contamination in the water. Their pasta costs a bit more, ours a bit less, so the $.20 is an average for the meal. It would be cheaper using all wheat spaghetti.

Soup

I made a big batch of pizza soup with white beans using my favorite beans with sausage and greens method. About a pound of cannellini beans ($.82) were cooked in the Instant Pot/pressure cooker along with a diced onion ($.25), celery ($.10), and carrot ($.06). Once cooked through, I added the pasta sauce ($1.42), an extra can of diced tomatoes ($.50), a package of frozen spinach ($.99) and a cup or two of water to get the consistency I wanted. I simmered everything together for about 20 minutes so the flavors could meld. The huge pot of soup cost $3.64 for at least 15 servings at about $.24 each. We had it for dinner served with cooked pasta, for lunch the next day, and it was in the fridge to take a bowl when someone was feeling a bit hungry between meals.

Pizza

On a night that the kids were at their dad’s, we made a pizza with homemade dough. Homemade dough comes in at $.35 per pizza. About 2 oz. shredded mozzarella is about $.38. Meaty sauce is $.54 for two servings. The $1.27 pizza served 2 of us at $.64 each.

Shakshouka

With another portion of that batch, I made shakshouka, poaching eggs ($.20) on top of the sauce, bubbling in a pan over low heat on the stovetop, and and serving with toast made with homemade bread ($.12)  A hearty splash of hot sauce gave it a nice kick for about $.01, and we were up to $.60 for a filling breakfast. If you've never had eggs poached in tomato sauce, I highly recommend it as a simple method with big flavor!

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We still have a few batches in the freezer for more pizza-flavored meals. I read a suggestion of adding hard cooked eggs to spaghetti with marinara and, being a fan of hard cooked eggs, that is next on my to-try list! Another unopened can of marinara sits in the pantry, ready for another round. How should I doctor up the next can of sauce?  

Beans with Sausage and Greens

I have made dozens of pots of this soup from a recipe originally found in the cookbook “Pressure Perfect,” by Lorna Sass, and tweaked to fit my flavor preferences over the years. You’ll find that variations come up over and over in our menu plans. It’s hearty, flavorful, and easily adaptable to what’s seasonally available and what’s on sale.

Plus, it stretches a more expensive ingredient - the sausage - to feed a crowd! While Lorna's recipe says this serves 4-6, we frequently get 10+ servings out of this when served with rice, pasta, or potatoes, and almost always for less than $.50 per serving.

This is not so much a recipe as a method. The ingredients are all variable and you can substitute almost everything and come up with a satisfying dish. Change out the greens, beans, and sausage for a different soup every time. Add extra vegetables. Add herbs and spices. Make it vegetarian by removing the sausage. The possibilities are endless. A few of our favorite combinations are kidney beans, andouille, and collards; Mexican chorizo, black beans, and spinach; cannellini beans, Italian sausage, and kale; and lemony lentils, chicken artichoke sausage, and spinach.

I make this in a pressure cooker, as the original recipe is written. I've added a stovetop and slow cooker variation below, and recommend that you soak your beans overnight if you use these methods. I personally prefer using an Instant Pot electric pressure cooker for cooking dry beans without needing to soak overnight.

Beans with Sausage and Greens

1 lb. fresh or frozen greens, such as kale, collards, Swiss chard, or spinach

1 lb. sausage, divided

1 lb. dry beans, soaked if using the stovetop or slow cooker method

1 1/2 c. chopped onions

2 stalks celery, diced

2 carrots, diced

2+ cloves of peeled garlic

1 T olive oil (to prevent foaming in a pressure cooker)

1 Bay leaf (optional but enhances the flavor)

salt and pepper to taste

2 t vinegar - cider and red wine work well

If using fresh greens rinse them well. Remove the leaves from the stems. Trim tough ends and discard. Thinly slice ribs and stems. 

If using frozen greens, defrost and strain of excess liquid.

Dice a quarter of the sausage. Set aside remaining sausage. 

Put beans, sliced stems from greens, diced sausage, onion, celery, carrot, garlic, oil, and Bay leaf into a large pot and cover with water by about 2 inches. 

• Pressure cooker method: Lock lid in place and set for beans. When the cooking is complete, test that the beans are tender. If not, return to pressure for another few minutes. 
• Stovetop method: Bring to a gentle boil over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Do not let them come to a high boil as this will make for a mushy consistency. Read package directions for cooking time, as some beans will cook quickly (20 minutes for lentils) and others take more time (such as chickpeas or pintos, which take several hours.) 
• Slow Cooker Method: Cook on low for 3-6 hours. (If using kidney beans, boil on the stove for 10 minutes before adding them to the slow cooker.)

If your sausage is not pre-cooked, pan fry it until cooked through. If using a hearty green like kale, collards, or Swiss chard, steam with water over medium-high until tender, using the same pan as your sausage to pull up any flavor left in the pan. You don't need to precook tender greens like fresh spinach, or frozen greens.

When the beans are cooked, remove the bay leaf. If the soup is too thin, mash some of the beans against the side of the pot. Add the cooked sausage, greens, vinegar, salt, and pepper to the soup. Let heat through at least 15 minutes so the flavors can combine. 

Serve with rice, pasta, or potatoes if you want to, or as is with a crusty piece of bread to dip. Delicious!
 

Weekly Menu Rotation

There are lots of methods for menu planning. Some people go to the store and buy what looks good, then plan their menu around their purchase. Some sit down with the sales flyers and plan based on the weekly sales before going to the store. Others make a plan a week or a month ahead, regardless of sales or current taste. All of these have their place, but none quite work for me. 

What works for me is using the Pantry Principle, which I learned about in The Tightwad Gazette, a newsletter about frugality that ran in the 1990's and (while a bit dated) is worth a read in book form. Author Amy Dacyzyn explains: "The basic premise is that you stockpile your pantry (and/or kitchen, freezer, basement, closet and/or the space under your bed) with food purchased at the lowest possible price. The sole purpose of grocery shopping becomes replenishing your pantry, not buying ingredients to prepare specific meals."

This shift in mindset has made the biggest difference in my food budget!

My menus are based on pantry staples, and then I shop sales to maintain those staples. I will stock up on an item when it hits a rock bottom price, even if I don't need it that week. Then I have enough on hand to make my meals with the least expensive option and I am not compelled to spend more for the same item when it isn't on sale.

My weekly menu rotation is flexible enough that I can plug in something I find on manager's markdown while shopping, but rigid enough that I don't come home after work wondering what's for dinner. It's a balance that works for me. 

Here's our weekly rotation: 


Sunday - Something Special 
I do meal prep for the week on Sunday evenings. I cook something like a roast chicken or meatloaf on Sunday nights, and then pack leftovers up for lunches throughout the week. I also make a big batch of steel cut oats to have for breakfasts throughout the week, boil eggs and cut veggies for snacks, and pack lunches. A solid two hours of prep on Sunday evening makes the rest of the week smooth sailing! 

Monday - Meatless
I make a big pot of beans and we start eating them Monday night, often with rice. Rice and beans are the rock stars of the frugal kitchen! Bean leftovers are then incorporated to bulk up other meals throughout the week. 

Tuesday - Tacos
Simple, fast, cheap and we never get bored of tacos! 

Wednesday - Whatever's On Sale 
I generally grocery shop on Wednesdays, when there's an overlap of two weeks' sales flyers and my local Mexican market has a meat special of the day. Dinner is whatever meat special I've bought, or more of Monday's beans, spiced up in a new way.

Thursday - Fish
My spouse, Starling, has dinner with his family on Thursdays, and he doesn't care for fish, so it's a perfect night for the kids and I to enjoy a meal featuring canned tuna, sardines, or salmon, or fresh or frozen fish found on sale.

Friday - Leftovers
Having a specific night for leftovers has proven an absolute necessity to avoid food waste. On any budget, wasted food is money in the trash; on a tight budget, money in the trash is not an option! 

Saturday - Soup
We eat soup year round. Chili, stew, chowder - it's all hearty and filling, and a good way to feed a crowd affordably.

Do you menu plan? What method works best for you?

WIC for a Week

A friend was going through a hard time earlier this year. She had WIC vouchers but not much else to get her through a week of food for her and her preschool-aged child. With her WIC food package and $5 at the dollar store, I created this emergency one week menu to feed the two of them.  

Shopping List

• Milk: 3 gallons
• Juice: 128 oz (64 oz. tomato juice, 64 oz. fruit juice of your choice)
• Strawberry Yogurt: 32 oz
• Cheese: 1 lb.
• Cereal: 36 oz
• Eggs: 1 dozen
• Fruit & Veg: $8 (7 bananas @ $.20 each= $1.40; 1 bag of small apples @ $1.49; 1 lb. carrots @ $.68; 1 lb. onions @ $.50;  1 can tomatoes $.69; 4 bag frozen mixed veggies @ $.99 = $3.96) 
• Whole grains: 2 lb - 1 lb. bread (10 sandwiches) and 1 lb. brown rice (11 servings)
• Peanut butter: 16-18 oz. (9 servings)

Extras from the dollar store

• 1 lb. lentils (7 one-cup servings) - buy the dry beans instead of using the voucher, because dry beans cost less out of pocket than peanut butter
• Jelly
• 1 box pasta
• 1 jar pasta sauce (like Hunt’s pasta sauce, already seasoned)
• 1 container Italian herbs

Menu

Sunday

Breakfast: Cereal, milk, ½ banana, 4 oz. fruit juice

Lunch: PB&J, carrot slices, milk

Dinner: Pasta with tomato sauce and cheese

Monday:

Breakfast: Cereal, milk, ½ banana, 4 oz. fruit juice

Lunch: Fried egg on toast, apple slices with peanut butter, milk

Dinner: Mujadara (lentils with fried onions over rice), mixed veggies

Tuesday:

Breakfast: Cereal, milk, ½ banana, 4 oz. fruit juice

Lunch: PB&J, carrot slices, milk

Dinner: Pasta and lentil soup with cheese

Wednesday:

Breakfast: Cereal, milk, ½ banana, 4 oz. fruit juice

Lunch: Leftover mujadara, mixed veggies, milk

Dinner: Leftover Pasta and lentil soup with cheese

Thursday

Breakfast: Cereal, milk, ½ banana, 4 oz. fruit juice

Lunch: PB&J, carrot slices, milk

Dinner: Leftover mujadara, mixed veggies, milk

Friday

Breakfast: Cereal, milk, ½ banana, 4 oz. fruit juice

Lunch: Egg over toast, apple with peanut butter, milk

Dinner: Leftover soup - add any extra veggies to bulk it up, add cheese on top

Saturday

Breakfast: Cereal, milk, ½ banana, 4 oz. fruit juice

Lunch: PB&J, carrot slices, milk

Dinner: Fried rice with mixed veggies

Snacks

Carrots

Hard boiled eggs

Cereal and milk

Strawberry yogurt

Additional Tips for Shopping with WIC

WIC is a supplemental program and not intended to provide for every meal. Its mission is "to safeguard the health of low-income women, infants, and children up to age 5 who are at nutrition risk by providing nutritious foods to supplement diets, information on healthy eating, and referrals to health care." 

While it is intended to be supplemental, there are times when it's all a parent has for a bit, and they have to make it last. This menu is based on the WIC food package for California for one young child. I understand that types and amounts of food allowed by this program vary state to state, and by age, so what you receive for your child might not match this list. You also may have an EBT card instead of a paper voucher, depending on your state.

• If you have a fruit and vegetable voucher, ask if there is a farmer's market or store in your area that will match the voucher dollar for dollar. California has such a program, called Market Match.

• Choose the more expensive option if you have more than one choice on a voucher. For example, buy beans with cash, and use the voucher for peanut butter. Peanut butter costs more out of pocket. Similarly, bread often costs more than brown rice. It is more cost effective to pay for the rice and use the voucher for the bread.

• Watch your box sizes on cereal! Years ago, one could buy three 12-oz boxes of Cheerios with the 36-oz voucher. Cheerios boxes have changed to 10.6-oz and 12.25-oz, so you can't get the full 36 oz. It is worth doing a little math and figuring out how close you can get to 36 oz without going over.

• If you're redeeming many vouchers at once and can't use all the fresh milk before it expires, buy powdered milk or evaporated milk. They're great for cooking!

• You can use coupons with your vouchers, and participate in sales such as Buy One, Get One Free deals. If your store is offering a BOGO on cereal, you can get two boxes for the price of one - and the one is covered by your voucher.

• Shop when it's not busy, have your order organized, and let the cashier know you're using WIC before you start. If there are multiple lanes open and you have several vouchers to redeem, you might suggest to people behind you that they could save time in a different line. 

Do you have tips for people using WIC? Share them in the comments! 

Additional tips for shopping with WIC

Welcome to Nickel and Dine!

Welcome to Nickel and Dine! 

I am blogging to share how our family of five is eating well off of $2.00 per person, per day. I'll share recipes, shopping tips, menu plans, and ways I make the most of our small food budget.  I do not assume that just because I can do it, you can, too. Everyone’s situation is different and your mileage (and costs) may vary depending on your location and circumstances. I hope that the tips and techniques I share will give you ideas that will help you meet your food and financial goals.