Cooking for 2.5 people

[jaksilee]

I see a lot of you are cooking for larger families and have space to store bulk items. I have a little problem with that as I am cooking for just 2 adults and 1 toddler. I don't have a large fridge/freezer so I can't just cook meals and freeze all the leftovers. I also don't have a lot of pantry space to store bulk things. Anyone have any suggetions on how I can cut down my food bill?

[zacsmum]

I'm in a similar situation. It's just me, hubby and mr 10 months. We are moving into a two bedroom unit soon. We are just going to get inventive with storage space by hiding things in boxes under beds, in the linen cupboard, covered in table cloths in the corner of the lounge room etc. Also remember, because there are only 2.5 of you, you won't actually need to stock up as much as those people who have four or so kids because you will use less before the item is on special again. Try writing a list of meals for the week, write a shopping list off this and sticking to the list, then if you see something on special that is too good to pass up buy some (as much as you can use before expiry) and incorporate it into your next weeks meals.

[Tree0164]

I would menu plan by looking at the loss leaders (weekly specials) for that week. If chicken is on sale for that week, make several chicken meals for dinner and use leftovers for lunches.

[Bluezy]

Use coupons and buy in bulk, should you have any extra space.

It's just my little son and I, taking care of my two elderly parents. Therefore, I have to buy with coupons and find every sale around. I am also looking into a small deep freezer to place frozen meats and pre-made meals.

Goodluck to you hun!

Bluezy & Wee CJ

[PrincessPerky]

My family is growing fast, but we don't like the taste of a lot of premade meals after thawing. We only get in bulk what will fit in the pantry and not go bad (ok at some point pasta might, but I never found when .) and then meat, and that plus the occasional homemade ice cream and vetgetables is all that is in the freezer, so we can fit the meat.

When it was just DH and DS and I, we had to be pretty careful about planning how much to cook and leftovers and such, lunch was usually leftovers, and then once a week or two we would eat what was still there. Now I tend to use up more of the meal, but I still try to watch the leftovers to avoid having to toss them.

[CRFSaver]

Do you purchase pasta sauce or do you make your own? I make my own pasta sauce and it is the cheapest meal I can ever make. Probably all together it costs me 10 bucks and for a single guy i could probably get 10 meals out of it. This is the sauce I grew up with and its quite simple and you can get variety by adding different meats such as ground beaf, veal or italian sausage. If you want the recipe I am more then happy to give it.

I figure you could make a pot to have at dinner that night and the next and freeze the sauce for the next week for probably one or two more meals. Not sure how much your family eats.

[jaksilee]

I would love that recipe...I'm always looking for a good one!

[rob62521]

It's just hubby and me and one thing I do is use the slow cooker or Crock Pot. There are numerous sites out there with free recipes for the use of the Crock Pot. For example, if I do a beef roast, I make sure I put in extra carrots or potatoes and then use the leftovers for what we call "T.V. dinners" for our lunches. The nice thing about using a Crock Pot is you can buy cheaper cuts of meat and since it cooks all day, it's tender and juicy come supper time.