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How to Create Cheap, Healthy Delicious Meals

Community Q&A

Are you spending more on food than you can afford? Do you always end up tossing things away? Well you're not alone. This article will show you how to create cheap meals and to reduce wastage to save your money.


  1. 1
    Start evaluating how much you were paying for food. Include what you spend at the grocery store or super market, restaurants, canteens, coffee shops etc. Unless you include everything you spend on food, you won't, overall, make any saving. Doing so will let you know how much you are currently paying and whether you are within your desired budget.
  2. 2
    Always buy in bulk where appropriate. If there's a staple food such as rice, flour, potatoes etc, that you can buy cheaper in bulk, do so. Bulk buy items must be something you will use up before they can perish. If you're one of those smart shoppers, you would've paid much attention to the regular individual prices or stuffs that comes in bulks. Check the prices and buy bulk, if it's cheaper. To figure out the cost the divide the cost of the article by its size or volume. For example: Divide $8 by 12 ounces to figure out the cost of a can of coffee. The cost per ounce will tell you what the actual price is. Compare this with the bulk price per ounce. Take care to ensure your household will consume the bulk food within its use by or sell by date, otherwise this can compound the problem and create more waste.
  3. 3
    Remember, meat can be expensive. Consider only buying meat once every 9 or 10th day and make it last. Meat can be purchased in bulk and then portioned up into smaller serves, wrapped in cling film and frozen for future use. It's best to do this before freezing the meat to ensure its not frozen and then refrozen (which may create food poisoning conditions)
  4. 4
    Think about any kinds of creative, healthy, delicious but cheap foods that could be made in a large portions. Very often most recipes are better if made in a large quantity as opposed to cooking for one. There's a lot of food that can be made in large portions, be made cheaply and can last for a couple days in the fridge for a future lunch or leftover dinner, or put into a freezer safe container for a future time. Some examples are:
    • Chilli
    • Fried rice (which stores well in the refrigerator but does not freeze well)
    • Homemade soups, casseroles and stews.
    • Stir-fry
  5. 5
    Plan your purchases. If you buy food that you could sometimes have some extras left over for next time, consider how you can use those for the next days meal. Good ideas would be:
    • Tomato soup with basil and a garlic bread as a side.
    • Vegetables with tips and milk
    • Pasta with tomato sauce and water
  6. 6
    Don't buy food you usually ended up throwing away anyway. If you do buy some food but usually ended up at least a good solid half of it away then don't think about buying that as you'll lose valuable money that goes out the drain.
  7. 7
    Share your purchases in a food co-op. If you may only consume, for example, half a block of cheese before it goes moldy, shop and share the bill with someone who can use the other half.
  8. 8
    Try to only spend $50 or the equivalent or less a week on food regardless of the number of people you need to feed. If you spend too much money on food a week you'll risk getting too much that you could use.
  9. 9
    Quit any of the junk food that you might be buying. That includes any soda, chips, and everything else that comes along with that category. A lot of the times they can actually be a lot more expensive than healthy food in the long run.
  10. 10
    Remember to use coupons or in-store specials. Those things can actually help you save money. Granted, you'll only save bits here and there but you can save up to $20 or more easily enough if you take advantage of them.
  11. 11
    After cooking your meals in a large portion, pack them in a small single portion containers. Doing so will help you make sure you don't don't overuse more than what you should.
  12. 12
    Plan your meals out throughout the day instead of eating large meals. This will help you not feeling hungry throughout the day and at the same time if you incorporate this with the single portion step, it will help you not eat more than you really should.
  13. 13
    During Christmas, birthdays or Thanksgiving you might be invited to your family or friend's place for dinner. This is a good opportunity to catch up with them and possibly get free food out of the entire thing so don't feel bad to eat and save some money out of this opportunity if arises.

Community Q&A

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  • If you must eat junk food or sweets, consider only buying $5 or less a week and try to make it last.
  • Try to only eat food that contain less sodium and less sugar.
  • If money is a very big problem for you, you might be qualified to receive some sort of governmental pension of some kind. Check into it if that is the case.
  • Try to only eat when you have to. Overeating will cause you to gain unnecessary weight and use more food.


  • If your friends offer to buy you lunch or dinner often, don't always accept. Sometimes it's more polite not to always let them pay for your food because if you always depends on them to pay then you're just using them for their money.

Things You'll Need

  • Calculator
  • Pen and paper to write down meal plans

Article Info

Categories: Pages Needing Attention | Sandwiches and Quick Meals

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