[Mother of Sons]

This is something I’m very good at. It’s not easy and it’s not gourmet but it can be done and we all hate beans.

A few tips...

Rice, bread or potatoes should be the base of every meal so focus on those when you shop. Making bread items is easy and cheap so focus on supplies for that. Bread doesn’t just mean sandwich bread, it’s biscuits, pancakes, dinner rolls, muffins etc.

A lot can be done with eggs.

If you can eat cheese, cheese can turn anything into a meal.

Meat should be cut very small. Smaller than you think. Cut thinly one Chicken breast can feed your family.

Substitute substitute substitute. If your recipe calls for peas, use carrots or whatever you have. It will work.

Be creative. Once I used potatoes instead of taco meat. Turns out it’s a real thing called tacos de papa! I’ve also used chopped walnuts, lentils and beans instead of taco meat.

Tired of Cheerios? Put them in a frying pan with a little butter and cinnamon sugar. Now it’s a new snack. Or butter and savory seasonings.

Add a dessert. Find a few low ingredient cookie or dessert recipes. It helps keep people full and have a treat. Use leftovers for this too. An old biscuit dipped in cinnamon sugar or drizzled with a quick glaze or covered in fruit is dessert

You can make burgers out of a can of beans and a little flour. Drain the beans and then mash with flour a little at a time until it forms kind of a paste. Add lots of seasonings, form into patties, dip in flour (optional) and fry in the pan. Serve on homemade buns. You could crumble leftovers and season for tacos the next day.

You can add anything to a pan of fried diced potatoes and it will be delicious.