My husband is out of work for the second time this year. We were okay the first time because I'd been shopping super deals and had stocked up on food. But that was only 5 months ago and I wasn't able to replenish our supply. Even worse, there seem to be no immediate prospects for jobs for him in our area. And we're just 18 days from baby #3.
Yikes!
So I'm looking for ways to make the cheapest foods yummy.
I've always hated oatmeal. I've always gotten it thick and bland and it literally makes me gag after 2 spoonfuls. My husband introduced me to those flavored instant packets. The whole family loves those, primarily when we're camping. It's so much cheaper to make our own from scratch, but how to make it yummy?
Yesterday, I tried chopping up part of an apple and adding it to the water before it was boiling. Then at the end I added some brown sugar and cinnamon. It wasn't bad, and I made it thinner so I wouldn't gag, but it wasn't that good, either. We ate most of it, but usually every drop disappears and there is begging for more.
Since expense is my primary consideration, expensive fruits like blueberries and raspberries aren't going to be an option. And none of us really like nuts.
Do you have any tried-and-true, inexpensive recipes for making oatmeal yummy?
Do you have any other super-cheap recipes to share?
I have a great and easy way to make oatmeal yummy! My kids are picky and they love this! I call it apple-pie oatmeal. I use my crockpot because I never have to worry about sticking/overcooking or buring the oatmeal - somthing I always did on stovetop ;-). Funny you mention camping, the first time I made this was camping I took the crockpot and threw in the ingredients and before the fire was started we have nice hot oatmeal.
Two cups oats
1 cup low fat milk
1 cup apple juice
1 cup water
2 apples cut up - I leave skin on
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped pecans (my DD is allergic to walnuts but they would be good too - I know you said you don't like nuts, but they add protein on the cheap and if you chop small enough your kids won't notice)
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tbls cinnamon
Throw it all in crock pot - jump in shower/get dressed and by the time you are done it's perfect - we serve with a bit of milk ontop. Hope you enjoy it!
If you shop at a wholesale food store like sams or costco buy your oatmeal there. We buy the huge box of individual packets, flavored. They also come plain. I add canned fruit, juices and all. My daughter loves it. Peaches, mixed, ect. The cheep stuff is fine. If you are making oatmeal from scratch you can add the fruit while cooking to get it warm. Peaches, apples and pears are great warm. The juice from the can sweetens the oatmeal and you can avoid adding milk and sugar. Also when making oatmeal from scratch try cooking it with apple juice and not water. This makes it very sweet and tart. Of course you can add your own cinnamon, brown sugar, maple syrup. Also try nutmeg, honey, pumpkin spice, ect... If your kids like PB&J add a dollop to the oatmeal. Applesauce and yogurt as well.
If you are still looking for cheap breakfast foods try cream of wheat (can be mixed with all of the above) also grits. If you ever find pureed baby food on sale a jar of prunes or other sweet items can be mixed in oatmeal.
I think the secret ingredient to making homemade oatmeal yummy is salt. If you look, you'll see those instant ones have their fair share. I like it with a bit of salt in the cooking water, then lots of cinnamon and brown sugar.
Here's a recipe from a friend that looks really incredible:
She uses steal cut oats, which is another thing to consider. They take longer to cook, but taste totally different: nuttier and not mushy like rolled oats.
I love to add a tablespoon of peanut butter, a teaspoon or so of unsweetened cocoa and sweeten to taste with sugar or honey. Yum! It's like dessert, but still healthy with the whole grain, and the addition of protein with the peanut butter.
I have a couple things I do to save money. I use www.thegrocerygame.com and I also just found this page, but haven't checked it out. Need to before I go back to the store! http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Parenting/mom-feeds-family-week/story?id=8463295 also www.pinchapennynook.blogspot.com This one is completely free. They are located in IL, but have a lot of resources available. There's a group called Carries Deals on Facebook, which is where I found the second link. The last two are friends of mine, and the deals they post, although not specific to CO, can be used to get free and almost free things, as well as "buy" things that you get more money back than you paid. I'm new to the game, so, so far, I've only been paid a penny. I also found a book on the cheap called Miserly Moms that has some great recipes as well as lots of shopping hints. I like all the recipes in the book that I've tried so far, but I have found that doing the other things, I seem to be able to buy cheaper than make some of the things. Other than the book, the grocery game has a minimal fee ($4 a month or something, but the other day, I saved 60% off my groceries, so it was well worth the fee) and the 2nd website is a dollar a year.
I do make bean tacos that are really cheap. I cook the beans and mash them a bit and mix in taco mix just like you would for meat. Fix the tacos like normal. Depending on the type of beans you use, they taste almost the same. I just use the cheapest. I buy dry beans and get several meals out of a bag. I often cook them in the crock pot until soft and freeze any leftovers. Saves time that way, and I can use the leftovers as quickly and easily as canned would be. Obviously, anytime you can use beans and such instead of meat you save a lot of money, too. The book I mentioned has a really good recipe for meatless lasagna, but it's still about 3x as expensive as the other meals.
I know I don't offer recipes, but I've found that when I'm buying items for between .17 and .47, a lot of really good meals become cheap again. :)
I'm sorry to hear your situation. We have huge medical bills that make money never go far enough for us, so I understand that part, but the unemployment part makes it even harder. I hope your husband finds something soon! I did notice on Carrie's Deals there is a link to get some free fruit. :) Maybe that will help. Let me know if you need an invitation to that. GL!
I am so sorry about your financial struggles. They can be greatly accentuated by the impending arrival of a child. I am a stay at home mom of 5 (soon to be 6) children. My husband is fortunate enough to have a full time job, but makes a very limited amount of money. We have to survive on about $400 a month for a family of 7, so I have picked up a few tips. Here is what I do with oatmeal...
I buy a 25 pound bag of oatmeal 3 times a year. I use it in several recipes because it is so cheap and filling. It makes muffins, quick breads, and pancakes more filling. For breakfast oatmeal I premix a large quantity (about 16 cups) with some powdered milk (about 1 cup) and brown sugar (according to your taste). Then in the mornings I scoop this into a microwave safe bowl and add water. Since there is powdered milk in it the water makes it a nice creamy consistency. Then I let the kids add their desired toppings. We add raisins, peanut butter, homemade jams (I make them in the summer when the fruit is cheap at the produce stands). Occasionally, I will also do cinnamon and sugar, dried cranberries (easy to make from fresh since they are cheaper). I have too many ideas to post, if you would like you can message me and I would be happy to give you some more ideas.
My husband is CRAZY about oatmeal and I've learned to like it because of the way he makes it.
I go to Walmart and they have a bag of mixed frozen berries, we always get a 2 pound bag for $2. something. and add it. Instead of using sugar we use honey, and sometimes we add powdered chocolate. Also granola, gives it a better taste. raisins???
I find adding banana and honey on top is yummy...I agree that when oatmeal is so thick it seems horrid to me. I make sure I add enough water (and milk) to get the consistency I like.
Can't go wrong with the cinnamon and brown sugar either!
I am so sorry for your difficult situation. Have you tried brown sugar and margarine. I know I find coupons for both of these items. Novemeber is a big month for sales on baking things like brown sugar. I also got a bunch of free butter/margarine using coupons and shopping sales. I don't know if you are in the Denver area or not, but if so check out SpringsBargains.com. They tell you how to use your coupons to get things for really cheap and even free. Becentsable.net is another great one that you can find your area stores via the Grocery Gathering. Feel free to e-mail me back if you want me to help you figure out these sites. I use them regularly to get a ton of cheap and even free grocery items. Best of luck with baby #3 and your family.
I like to take and make up the oatmeal and put vanilla creamer in it. Then I take and put sugar on the top and put it in the oven on the highest rack on broil. It scorches the sugar and makes it have a crispy top. It is very yummy that way.
I buy the bag dried fruit at Walmart. They've got blueberries, mixed berries, cranberries, apples.. almost everything. It would be tedious but if you have time to chop them in 1/2 or even 1/4s you could stretch a bag through several meals.
I mix a flavored packet w/an unflavored instant packet-makes it go further & the flavor is still good. I add water at the tap, microwave my 2 packets & water for 1 min & pour a bit of milk in it-I can't stand thick either. My boys like it just w/superhot tap water.
Lucky for you, hubby lost his job during soup season! (I know, there's nothing lucky about it, but the timing could be worse-summer when it's too hot for soup). You can literally make soup out of anything! We fell on some really hard times a couple of years ago & I became really creative w/my cooking. I made soup to feed us & the neighbors (who were sharing food w/us at the time) out of the neighbor's leftover chicken thighs (3 of them), "end of the bag" veggies from the freezer (that last little bit that's too small to serve for a meal) & barley, along w/some chicken boullion.
Buy frozen veggies, dried beans, bagged barley, & canned hominy, 10lbs of potatoes, smoked sausage, the big cheaper cuts of steak (round steak I think is the one I buy all the time) & a package of chicken legs or thighs. I had our grocery bill to $50/month for our family of 4 because that's what we had to spend. We ate a lot of soup, a TON of beans, but we were always full.
Good luck to hubby in his job search!
I love to cook mine with raisins, that's how my grandma made oatmeal. The raisins get all soft and they're sweet enough that I don't need to add anything else. I like the idea someone else had of cooking with other fruit. Throwing in a can of peaches sounds good.
I happen to love making oatmeal from scratch - the regular rolled oats, not the instant kind, and I put cinnamon, brown sugar, chopped apples, walnuts, and if I feel like the extra few seconds, I'll toss in a tiny bit of cloves or nutmeg. If it gets too thick, just add a little water while cooking. If you do that and keep it covered, it'll get creamy.
Good luck with everything... I hope things work out with a job soon.
I'm sorry to hear about your financial situation. I hope positive changes are right around the corner. In the meantime, you could try making oatmeal and then mixing in yogurt to sweeten it. I do this a lot and love it. Yes, it takes the temperature down so it's not quite as hot, but it adds flavor and some creaminess. You can buy large containers of yogurt, whatever flavor you like, which are economical than the individual containers. You could then add in a cheaper fruit, like bananas, if you like.
You might also consider buying some dried fruit in bulk to mix in. It's not as expensive that way. You could even chill the oatmeal all the way and then mix in the yogurt and some diced apples and eat it Swiss style. Cinnamon is always a nice addition, too. I know I'm rambling, but one other way I add flavor to my oatmeal is to stir in some fruit preserves. Again, if you buy a larger jar, it's more economical. Good luck!
If possible make it with 1/2 water and 1/2 milk also if you cook it with the sugar in it the oats will absorb more of the flavor and Always add a dash of salt, with oatmeal it is mandatory. You may like steel cut oats better since they don't get a "gloppy" the can be bought in bulk at sunflower or or sprouts markets for 79 cents a pound. My family also enjoys malt-o-meal, grits and cream of wheat. All are cost effective options.
Sorry to hear about your situation. You've already gotten some great advice for oatmeal and other grocery saving ideas so I'll try not to be redundant.
One thing I do to save money is to buy a lot of food in bulk and make meals to freeze. Some great books you can probably check out from the library for this are "Don't Panic, Dinner's in the Freezer" and "Fix, Freeze, and Forget".
Also, Family Circle and Parents magazines have great recipes for families on a budget. Many have pasta and veggies and the total serving cost per person is only $1 or so.
One other way to save some money, if you haven't already done so, is to cancel the cable or satellite and watch your tv shows through hulu.com or other online sites where shows are free.
I wish you the very best through this difficult time and congrats in advance for your newest member!
I always HATED oatmeal until my mother-in-law taught me how to make it flaky. I LOVE it now. I don't like it mushy or creamy. To do this, you have to cook it in half the water that it says, but to do that you have to make more than 1 serving. You put the oatmeal in after the water boils. Cook for 5 minutes, then let it sit for 5 minutes with the lid off. I love it with cinnamon & honey to sweeten and a little bit of milk. BTW, cinnamon and honey have great health benefits if eaten daily, as well as the oatmeal. ENJOY!
The only way I have ever liked it was when my husband made it in the crock pot over night, and used a little milk to go with the water... When it was ready in the morning I would add a little brown sugar on the bottom of the bowl and cover the bowl with a plate and let the steam melt the sugar into the oatmeal, add a few crasins and it was pretty darn good!