What did your parents do for Budget Friendly Meals?

[CharlieD]

Wow, this is a blast from the past.
Growing up in soviet union every day was pretty much a "budget Friday" .
For example a slice of bread, some oil in a bowl and a tomato, was great lunch on any given day of late summer, when tomatoes were available. The rest of the year it was the same thing minus tomatoes.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

I was fortunate. Though ww weren't well off, we always had freah, whole milk, a half coe in the deep freeze, freah, and canned ceggies frin the garden. Qhen I was very young, theee was creames cgippes beef, pktted meat sandwhichea, baked-stuffed acien squash, meatloaf, things like that. At my Dad's house, it was hot dogs, pepperony aticks, boiled dinner, often made with venison, pizza kits, liverwurst, pan akes, blt's, pan fried pork chops, spaghetti kits, really good American goulash, salmon patties, and occasionaĺy, a good steak. My Dad was an exceltional fisherman. I went with him as I grew ild enough. Our davorite was freh, wild brook trout, and rainbow, though we ate all specis of Geat Lakes fish.

At my paternal granparents home, it was normally chicken fried stea, with bouled potatoe. I was alsi introduced ti things like cod, pickles pigs feet, head cheese, a d beef organ meats. Pan akes were a breakfat favorte, as were waffles, eggs steamed in the cups of a poaching pan, grapefruit, ripe cantelope, even bread torn into bite size pieces, and covered with milk, and sugar. The grilled chees sandwiches werw epic.

At Mom's house, I enjoyed, or rather, loved her spaghetti, chili, fresh breafs, pies, and pastries. She was half owner of a bakerie. She could really make excellent baked goos, including Cornish pasties. Her cabbave rolls were also very good.

I had a huge appetite, and enjoed preþy much everything put in front of me. Two, or three servings wete normal for me. How I was inly 92 lbs. at hugh school graduation is hard to explai. Suffice it to say that I was an ojtdoor kid, who ne er slowed down, whether running thougg our ery thick forests, riding my bicyxle, sledding, skating, or any number of ways that I entertained myself.

I didn't slow down until I got maried, as my wife just couldn't keep up. We weren't wealthy by any means. But we were definitely middle class, and waysted no resources. I feel that I liced a very blessed life.

Wuth my own wife and kida, I strove to make e erything from scratch, grew agood sized veggie garden, and introduce my family to new and unique ffods, not found in.most homes, e erything from escatgo, to peppers of all kinds, and the list goes on.

Seeeya; Chief Longwind of the North.

 

[blissful]

When I was young, my mom tried to keep meat at $1/dinner. By the time I left home, she was trying to keep meat at $1/person/dinner. She always made a vegetable, potatoes, bread, butter, with whatever she made.



Potatoes were cheap, as well as eggs, wonder bread and peanut butter, those are the things we had in high supply.



Nowadays, in addition to fruits and vegetables (and seeds and nuts), we have unlimited potatoes, rice, beans, lentils, whole wheat bread, cooked grains.

 

[larry_stewart]

When I just gat married, was in school and my wife was the only income ($6.50 an hour), our budget was a $3 a meal.

We survived on spaghetti ( 3/ $1 (4/ $1 if on sale)), and aa jars of Francesca Rinaldi Sauce ( $.99). 3 times. a week, Pierogi ($1.99 a box), Frozen bean and cheese burritos ( 2 10-packs for $5 which was a multiple meals), Lipton broccoli and cheese rice ( $.99 a bag) and we'd buy aan additional broccoli to chop up and put I it ( at $.75 a head).

We'd also make our way down to the Italian market, where the produce was a dirt cheap to load up on fruits and veggies.

then a place called "Produce Junction" opened up where everything was a $1 ( bag of onions, 2lbs mushrooms , bunch of bananas, bunch of grapes ......).

Big pot of veggie soup or pea soup was a regular too.

 

[Kevin86]

Starving kids



Is there a parent in America who hasn’t used this line to get their kids to eat? And is there anyone in America who didn’t answer “Well, mail to them, then?”

Grandpa’s line was ‘kids in Africa would give their eye teeth for those bits. Clean your plate’

 

[Wan]

One thing was during lent, on Fridays, it was tuna casserole. My mom's a great cook, but this stuff was awful. The white meat canned tuna we can get now was not in existance then, it was gray, oily, stinky stuff. It gave me a hatred of fish that wasn't overcome until I was almost 30 and found myself in Hawaii and loving fish, even eating raw tuna on a regular basis.

Were those tuna processed properly? I believe that sushi-grade fish or fish that you eat raw need to be flash-frozen first. You can't eat unprocessed raw fish, they might contain parasites.

 

[taxlady]

Were those tuna processed properly? I believe that sushi-grade fish or fish that you eat raw need to be flash-frozen first. You can't eat unprocessed raw fish, they might contain parasites.

It says it was canned tuna. That would almost certainly have been commercially prepared and processed properly. It's definitely cooked fish. Any parasites are dead.

 

[dragnlaw]

Wan, in North America fresh tuna was not popular like it is now. It was not even available for people other than those living directly near where they were fished.
Transportation inland was not like it is today and land-locked cities really never had access to things like that.
Tuna and Salmon back n the 50's and 60's were almost always canned. Especially for "economical meals" budget wise.

 

[Andy M.]

Mom made everything from scratch. We had a variety of dishes made with lottos vegetables and sauces with som meat in them. My sister and I had no clue we were poor. Most of our meals were based on the foods of Armenia and surrounding areas because that's what my parents knew best.

 

[rodentraiser]

I have to admit, I really don't remember much about what we used to eat when we were kids. We were on welfare for a time, so I'm sure we were poor, but all I really remember is macaroni and cheese, hamburgers, and sometimes fried chicken. I do know my mom would get a whole chicken and cut it up - I'm not sure if that was cheaper or if they just didn't sell separate chicken pieces back in the 60s.

It's funny, but when I was around 22 or so and living on my own, I know I didn't have much money then either. But all I can remember eating then is fried potatoes and boxed mac and cheese, which I remember was delicious, so naturally it was discontinued. Seems to me this was about the time I started eating things like spaghetti and lasagna and Chinese food. I remember going home for a visit and was surprised to find out neither of my parents would eat Italian or Chinese food. They refused to eat that "foreign food" and all of a sudden I wasn't the picky eater anymore.

 

[Xocolatl]

In the time my parents had to save on living costs we were mostly vegetarian and mostly macrobiotic, so my 'poor' diet will have been quite different from most here yet it was also based around healthy and cheap staples that are common around the world.

Breakfast would be sourdough whole grain bread with peanut butter or jam (my mom made her own) or some kind of porridge of soymilk and oats with rice syrup ( a popular macrobiotic sweetener) and a piece of fruit.

For lunch it was basically the same but with some added raw vegetables and spreads like hummus or other vegetable or nut based spreads. Sometimes soup and bread. My mom would make those too.
Snacks consisted of rice cakes, date bars, and the occasional raisin bread.

Dinner was at least half the plate full of whole grains, brown rice, or unpeeled potatoes with raw and cooked veg on the side and a piece of protein like tofu/tempeh/an egg or sometimes fish. For dessert we'd have fruit or sometimes rice pudding.

It's a way of living that's very healthy and frugal, but not fit for a developing child about 6 years of age. My parents stopped eating that way due to the doctor diagnosing me with malnutrition. However, for an adult this would be a very healthy way to save money.
My parents were very unusual cooks for the Netherlands in the 1980's.

Specific main meals I remember were for example raw carrot salad with walnuts and vinaigrette, potatoes in their skins and a tofu or tempeh dish.
Rice with baked fish and green vegetables. Whole grain pasta with broccoli and tofu. Thick soups with dumplings and beans. Rice with beans and vegetables.

 

[dr morbius]

I remember having to eat puffed wheat for breakfast. No amount of sugar could make it palatable. For a family of 8 my mother would use 1 lb of 70% ground beef in spaghetti sauce. Off brand peanut butter and jelly; always white bread. No more than one thin slice of bologna on a sandwich, and a strict limit of one sandwich. My mother would make fried perch occasionally because Fridays were always meatless (a rotation of mac & cheese, tomato soup & grilled cheese, some kind of tuna dish and fish). Fried perch was awful. Milk was a mixture of powdered and whole milk in a half & half ratio; you would be in serious trouble if you drank the fresh milk by itself. I remember eating cheap hot dogs on white bread, because there was no way my mother would buy hot dog buns.

There was never any talk of starving children in China or India. Eat what's in front of you or you'll get the belt. I was the 7th child so my parents were wise to all tricks, so the belt was applied with the pants down.

 

[dragnlaw]

I liked Puffed Rice but not the Puffed Wheat - most of the family seemed to like the Puffed Wheat better. I'm a woos - what can I tell you..

 

[Linda0818]

I liked Puffed Rice but not the Puffed Wheat - most of the family seemed to like the Puffed Wheat better. I'm a woos - what can I tell you..

I actually liked that stuff.

I haven't read this entire thread, so I hope I'm not repeating meals here, but my mom, who was a fantastic cook (we grew up on home cooked meals) would often make Johnny Marzetti as a budget meal and also big pots of her amazing hamburger/vegetable soup. That soup was so awesomely good and I now make it myself once in a while.

 

[larry_stewart]

I actually liked that stuff.

I haven't read this entire thread, so I hope I'm not repeating meals here, but my mom, who was a fantastic cook (we grew up on home cooked meals) would often make Johnny Marzetti as a budget meal and also big pots of her amazing hamburger/vegetable soup. That soup was so awesomely good and I now make it myself once in a while.

Never heard of Johnny Marzetti before, had to look it up. Thats great! I love learning new things.

I don't specifically remember my parents doing anything specific to be budget friendly, but my mom was frugal. She made it a point to have a balanced meal ( always a protein , a vegetable, a dessert..). She would keep leftovers in the fridge until they were eaten. Didnt matter if they were starting to spoil, almost nothing got thrown away. My dad had a decent sized garden so during the growing season, that supplemented a lot of produce. She was all about not wasting food, so we did get ' The Look' if we didn't finish our meals. My mom was the one who prepared most of the meals, but my dad was the better, more adventurous cook. Once a week, usually a Sunday, my dad would make something different, usually from a recipe he saw in The NY Times, or various cookbooks. So during the week was more main stream, well balanced, typical meals. The weekend , my dad would make things much more unique ( especially for the times). I remember him getting a wok ( never had heard about it before until he got one), and making Moo Goo Gai Pan, using veggies and stuff that you'd only find in a Chinese restaurant at t he time ( no internet or amazon, probably not even any local ethnic markets without going into the city). I also remember him making artichokes , another thing I had never seen or heard of until he made them. Probably one of my fondest memory was hime waking up early Sunday morning, taking us to a local farmers market kinda store ( they had chickens and rabbits (live ) inside the store. He'd pick up a bunch of vegges and clams. He'd let us all help him make the clam chowder ( Manhattan). We each had a veggie we would be responsible for cutting up, while he opened up all the clams in the sink. The pot would cook for hours, and we'd have it for dinner.
I reviewed this thread from the beginning, and saw I was one of the first to respond. It reminded me of the time I had just gotten married and was on a strict budget ( No more than $3 a meal). Pasta multiple times a week, cause it was like 3 or 4 $ a box and 99 cents for a jar of sauce. Lipton rice packets (99 cents) ( usually broccoli and cheese flavor) with additional broccoli (75 cents) cut up to put in it. Ravioli 99 cents a box + the 99 cents sauce. Multiple different types of soup ( usually pea or vegetable). I remember shopping at the Italian market in Philly, where the produce prices were dirt cheap. Always came home with a huge box of fruit and veggies for under $15. In the super markets, shopping off the rack in the produce section selling the fruit and veggies that were starting to deteriorate. Ahh, the good old days.

When I just gat married, was in school and my wife was the only income ($6.50 an hour), our budget was a $3 a meal.

We survived on spaghetti ( 3/ $1 (4/ $1 if on sale)), and aa jars of Francesca Rinaldi Sauce ( $.99). 3 times. a week, Pierogi ($1.99 a box), Frozen bean and cheese burritos ( 2 10-packs for $5 which was a multiple meals), Lipton broccoli and cheese rice ( $.99 a bag) and we'd buy aan additional broccoli to chop up and put I it ( at $.75 a head).

We'd also make our way down to the Italian market, where the produce was a dirt cheap to load up on fruits and veggies.

then a place called "Produce Junction" opened up where everything was a $1 ( bag of onions, 2lbs mushrooms , bunch of bananas, bunch of grapes ......).

Big pot of veggie soup or pea soup was a regular too.

It's funny, I just saw I responded a second time, and wrote pretty much the same thing . Guess I still got my memory! I forgot about those frozen burritos, those were great!

 

[Aunt Bea]

We had several hunters and fishermen in the family.

Some years ground venison appeared quite often in pasta sauce, chili, ACS, etc…

The steaks were often used in Swiss steak.

We rarely had it plain because it tended to be dry and had a taste that was unfamiliar to us kids.

 

[larry_stewart]

I actually liked that stuff.

I haven't read this entire thread, so I hope I'm not repeating meals here, but my mom, who was a fantastic cook (we grew up on home cooked meals) would often make Johnny Marzetti as a budget meal and also big pots of her amazing hamburger/vegetable soup. That soup was so awesomely good and I now make it myself once in a while.

Never heard of Johnny Marzetti before, had to look it up. Thats great! I love learning new things.

 

[Andy M.]

Never heard of Johnny Marzetti before, had to look it up. Thats great! I love learning new things.

Yeah, it's a regional name for American Chop Suey.

 

[taxlady]

What are the differences between American chop suey, Johnny Marzetti, and American goulash?

 

[Andy M.]

What are the differences between American chop suey, Johnny Marzetti, and American goulash?

To my knowledge they are all about the same thing. The recipes vary regionally and from home to home.

Check out this earlier discussion: https://www.discusscooking.com/threads/american-chop-suey.89006/