One of my goals is too eat gourmet food on a budget. To that end, I’m happy to have discovered Frugal Cuisine, which chronicles the author’s attempt to eat well while spending $2 or $3 a day on food. The site features recipes, tips, book reviews, and more. I asked the author for some background:
Frugal Cuisine began when I was out of work briefly, earlier this year. The basic background strategy is to buy just what I need of the best values in my local grocery stores and markets. I often find creative ways to prepare them on recipe websites and food blogs. Though no longer out of work, I continue to cook frugally since the budget makes me focus on getting healthy things, using what I have on hand, and minimizing waste.
Frugal Cuisine features food-related advice, such as this bit on shopping, storing, and eating. There’s also an ongoing series about “the basics”, which has covered information on biscuit mix, granola, stock, and polenta. But I especially love the recipes:
- Onion fried rice with peas — This looks awesome in its simplicity.
- Eggs cooked on top of things — One of my personal favorites, though I usually do “eggs cooked with stuff mixed in”. Just this morning I did eggs with ham and parmesan cheese. Yum.
- Apple and raisin cobbler with almond biscuits
- Blueberry soup with polenta and chevre — Where did this combination come from? I have no idea, but I can’t wait to try it next June, when my blueberries are coming on.
My only complaint is that Frugal Cuisine isn’t updated often enough. I want more! But that’s a minor quibble — I’ll take what I can get. For more frugal food tips, you may also be interested in:
- The Frugal Foodie — John V. wrote to mention his own food blog, which he bills as “a graduate student’s guide to dining in and dining out in Silicon Valley”.
- The Frugal Oenophile — Richard Best suggests one new inexpensive bottle of wine every week.
- Hungry for a Month — In this recent experiment, a fellow spent only $1 for food each day for an entire month. Q: What can you eat for a buck? A: Starch!
Also check out the food category in the Get Rich Slowly archives for more articles on saving money while eating well.
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Another good option is Mark Bittman’s “How to Cook Everything” tome and any of the books in his “The Minimalist” series. Not all of his recipes qualify as “frugal,” given the ingredients, but they’re all delicious and easy to make. Most of his recipes can be accomplished in a half-hour or less, and even the longer ones require minimal effort. This means you’re more likely to cook at home, which will save you lots of money. We rarely go out to eat (once a month or two), but it never feels like a privation to eat at home…Bittman’s recipes are so good, and it’s so much fun to try new ones, that we’re rarely tempted to go out!
Another excellent cookbook in this category is The Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home. Every recipe in that book can be done in 30 minutes or less, and they’re all excellent. This is nothing like the high fat hippie-granola Moosewood cookbook from the 1980s; the recipes are healthy, low in fat, and sophisticated while remaining simple and easy. They’re mostly vegetarian except for a section of delicious fish recipes, so they definitely fit the bill of “frugal.” Highly recommended.
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While of course I recommend my own blog (http://frugalfoodie.blogspot.com/) for those looking for advice on how to eat like a king while spending like a pauper, these other ones look great.
And I definitely second the Bittman cookbook recommendation, especially his recent tome on international food, How to Cook Everything. The best way to cook well at home without breaking the bank is to focus on inexpensive ingredients, thus you need cookbooks with lots of recipes for whatever is a good deal in the market or whatever you have left in the fridge at home. I turn to Bittman’s books first.
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The first nutritional component to be lost when slimming the food budget is protein, yet it’s a very important food. The solution is beans and lentils. They have protein in spades. And they come in more varieties than is reasonable to mention here. So remember the musical fruit next time you make your grocery list!
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To add to the cookbook author list: Mollie Katzen and Deborah Madison. Their recipes are straightforward and delicious, and they both deeply respect vegetables.
Another really good online guide for budget cooking is http://www.ellenskitchen.com/faqs/improv.html
Most people visit Ellen’s site for advice on quantity cooking, but she has lots of great information here about eating on a budget. Putting this advice into practice would keep you healthy on a lot less money than my Frugal Cuisine budget.
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Thanks to the Frugal Foodie and brad’s book mentions for additional go-to’s when cooking on a light budget. This is what blogging is all about. Copy, paste http://frugalfoodie.blogspot.com. Got it.
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Thanks for posting these tips! I was just trying to figure how out to cut my grocery bill but avoid starving and cook efficiently.
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I also keep a blog and cooking gourmet but keeping costs low by preparing in bulk. Eat well, save a lot of time having some basics always prepared, and most important, SAVE MONEY!! http://beyond-cooking.blogspot.com/
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[...] Frugal Cuisine [...]
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Yes, it is a great site. I love the way the meals are balanced but simple. I have tried the Stuff Peppers recipe, but I used ground turkey and ground beef. Delicious!!
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I cook frugally – and for me slow cooking is perfect. Very little waste,highly nutritious and batch cooking if required.
You shouldn’t have to sacrifice quality when spending less on food…
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I make a lot of crockpot dinners which helps save money and makes dinner time easy. I would love more frugal recipes to add to my recipe collection.
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