Eating for $1 a Day: Cheap and Healthy Meal Ideas You Need to Try

I live on $600 a month. I cook everything from scratch and have plenty to eat. I was raised poor as a church mouse and learned very young how to live well on very little. Parents were depression folk and they could stretch food unbelievably. Thanks mom and dad.

What I love about this as a social worker is that you gave people resources and no shame ❤

A tip for using canned tomato paste - if you aren't going to use a whole can, freeze tablespoon sized lumps on a tray lined with foil or parchment paper and once they are hard you can transfer them to a freezer bag. Then just grab and go when you need some for a recipe!

As someone who grew up in Asia, a big tip I learned is to sauté green veggies — usually spinach, water cress, or long beans (chopped or diced) — with some ground meat. You can season with soy sauce, salt, or fish sauce, or you can get fancy and add whatever you like. Paired with some rice, you get a good balanced meal.

I'm from Brazil and rice and beans is a staple in almost every home, so here are some tips we use daily: You can cook large batches of rice and beans and freeze them up to 3 months To make the rice more tasty, fry garlic and onions before putting the rice in the pot, also use the proportions 1 cup of rice 2 cups of water and it will cooks better Hope it helps!

If you buy the cans of tomato paste you can freeze them in 1 tablespoon dollops on a sheet pan and then put in a ziplock bag. Then you can add it to you recipe instead of having to open a whole can the next time.

Coming from someone who's worked in the Human Services field, it's refreshing to hear you talk about assistance with no shame. It's been years, but when I was a case worker, I'd have people come in and almost expect me to scold(or judge) them for not having enough food to feed their family. Imagine someone coming in for a job interview, but instead of telling you why they deserve the job, they give you a resume' of life events that put them on the path of needing food assistance. I'd just explain to them that they don't need to convince me that things have been tough. To put them at ease, I'd even mention my mother needing temporary assistance when I was a child. The last thing I wanted to do was make them feel like they were a failure or that they needed to beg and grovel. I randomnly clicked on this video and I'm glad that I did.

I LOVE HOW PPL LIKE U MAKE THESE VIDEOS TO HELP PPL LIKE ME! IM 55 DISABLED. LOW INCOME BUT GREW UP IN A CHILDREN'S HOME AS A TEEN SO I REALLY DONT KNOW HOW TO COOK😫

Totally agree about oatmeal. Peanut butter and eggs. Homemade bread. Beans, lentils and rice. Chicken hind quarters or thighs, ground beef. A bag of carrots, a cabbage, canned tomatoes. Super stars in my rock bottom budget.

I moved out on my own at 18 with no budgeting or cooking skills and hardly any money, but I learned how to get by. I lost a ton of weight the first year. Content like this would have been great back then. This video is probably helping some young folks.

Talking about cheap meals with beans, I had a good friend in college that was vegetarian and we were poor college kids so she made meals with beans all the time. My favorite meal was rice, garbanzo beans, pinto beans, taco seasoning, and then topped with lettuce, cheese, and sour cream

Well I just learned how to make bread after clicking on a random video. Thank you ma'am for making simple, affordable advice that me and my mom can use to save money on food. One of the best videos I've been happy to stumble upon.

Hi. I'm Dominican and I can give you an easy recipe for your Dominican beans. So you did great cleaning and soaking the beans overnight. That's the first step. The ingredients are: 1 lbs of beans soaked over night. 1 TBS of canola oil. 1 cubanela pepper (they're the light green ones that are long. I think Americans sometimes call them banana peppers) and they are cheaper than bell peppers. I cut these in 2 lengthwise. 2 garlic cloves mashed with a little salt (to make it a paste). 2 heaping TBS of tomato paste. A small handful of cilantro, fresh. 1/2 TBS oregano. My grandma toasts it for better flavor but I don't 😅 2 chicken bullion cubes (usually the Maggie brand). This has all the spices you used/all the ones you need. 1 tsp of sour orange but vinegar is good, too. To cook: In a dutch oven or similar pot, put in the oil and saute the tomato paste and garlic for about 2 mins. The tomato paste turns like a brick color. Add the beans with the (clean) water you soaked them in, the bullion cubes (I crumble them into the pot), the cilantro, the pepper and the oregano and then I cover and let simmer until the beans are tender (about 40-60 mins in a regular pot but 30 mins in a pressure cooker). Once tender, I put in the sour orange or vinegar and let it simmer 5 more mins. That's it! It's easy when you get the hang of it. That's the basic version but if you have it, I also add peeled and cubed butternut squash and half an onion as well as some bacon or other pork products (pork chops, pork ribs, ham) those are just flavor add ons. Not mandatory but it does taste better. 😅

You can mix the oatmeal with some of the mashed beans with some onion and seasonings, shape into patties or balls and bake. It’s a quick way to make burgers full of protein. 😊

Oatmeal isn’t just for breakfast. Throw a handful in stew, mix with cooked rice, herbs bullion, onions and butter for a side. Save your citrus fruit peelings, apple/pear cores and boil with cinnamon. Makes either a hot tea or cook your oats in it for added flavor.

Oats are so versatile! I love to make bean burgers. One cooked sweet potato, cooked beans, oats and herbs/spices. Blend in a food processor if you have one or mix by hand until you have a paste ish consistency, cook on your stove, bake or air fry! This can make many meals and they're filling, healthy and so good❤

It always makes me so happy when you mention sources for help if people are really stretched for cash. There is such a stigma associated with getting public assistance, but for some people it can really be life saving and help you get through some tough times. I love your videos and appreciate all your time and money savers you share!

The fact that the food stamps office where you live gives people a basket of food is so beautiful to me. I remember struggling so bad when I was in my early 20’s. It was either gas to get to work or food and the gas always won. I appreciate your videos now but I would’ve really appreciated these videos back then. ❤

Now that I live with my spouse in our apartment (I’m 23) - I’ve learned to cook so many basics and super cheap fast meals because I realized it’s fun and also once you do it once or twice you realize how much $ is wasted when you don’t - tonight dinner was about a dollar and it was a creamy pasta with spinach in it - I bake muffins for breakfast often and makes me so shook I used to buy 4 for 5 bucks at the store when I can make so many for depending on what it is less than a buck for 6-12 :) I know everyone can’t cook or doesn’t have time for it but honestly a lot of time it’s way less time consuming than we think - good luck all with your endeavors and do what you can you got it!

My mother always made hot yeast rolls to eat with pinto beans. I know lots of people pair cornbread with beans, but you will be surprised at how good homemade rolls go with beans. We ate beans and rolls as the complete meal.