You don't have to spend a lot to eat well. Although yes, for the sake of truth it should be noted that good products like vegetables, fruits, nuts and cold-pressed oils often cost more than bread, pasta and even meat. Most of my clients who switch to , complain that it is more expensive. Of course, I always have an answer for them:

Eating right today will save you health and money in the future. After all, you don’t have to pay doctors or buy medicines for numerous ailments.

But is there really no other way out, and will you have to again invest not only your strength, but also half your salary into your health? And this is more than realistic in the context of rising food prices...

I hasten to please you. Not at all necessary! I offer you my personal nutritionist lifehacks on how to eat cheaply, but tasty and healthy.

1. Cook with ingredients that are in season.

This means that if tomatoes and cucumbers do not grow in your area in winter, then... eliminate them from your diet at this time of year completely or reduce them to a minimum. Replace them with canned ones (preferably those that your grandmother or yourself prepared). And even better - for root vegetables and cabbage of all varieties. Instead of salads with arugula and other fresh greens in the off-season, prepare salads with cabbage and beets. Lean on until you overwinter. Such food will cost you much less. You will also avoid unnecessary substances from sprayed foreign vegetables.

2. Say no to processed foods

It just seems that dumplings are not that expensive. Good dumplings are often more expensive than meat. And the bad ones... why do you even need them? If you buy the meat yourself and spend a wonderful evening with your children making dumplings for a month in advance, it will cost you much less. And they will also taste better.

My sacred rule: homemade food is preferable, tastier, healthier and cheaper than semi-finished products.

The most I can buy out of laziness is ready-made pizza dough. But sometimes, when I think about how much pizza crust I could make myself for this money, I quickly regret this decision. So don't repeat my mistakes.

3. No sausage

First of all, it's harmful. And secondly, it's expensive. If you really want a sandwich, you can bake a piece of meat with spices in the oven and cut thin slices from it. If you live alone or don’t eat much at home, then to prevent meat from going to waste, you can freeze it in a ready-made form and take it out as needed.

If you like lightly salted fish, then it is much cheaper to salt it yourself. Here is the basic universal recipe that I use to salt fish.

For 500 grams of fish fillet, take 2 tablespoons of salt and 2 tablespoons of sugar (mix salt and sugar well). Roll the fish in a mixture of sugar and salt, cover with film or simply leave in a sealed container and place in the refrigerator for a day. All! After a day, the fish is ready to eat. If desired, you can add any dry herbs (dill, parsley...) and/or something strong, for example sprinkle with cognac, whiskey or vodka. After salting, the fish can be cut into portions or frozen for future use.

4. Create a menu for the week

Nothing saves money, time and nerves like creating a weekly menu. To the family’s question, “What are we having for dinner?” you will always have an answer ready. And you don’t need to worry about this issue yourself every day.

Yes, you will have to spend an hour a week creating a nutrition plan. But I promise you that later you will thank yourself for this, and more than once. Agree, you have to make different decisions and implement them all day long. By creating a menu for the week ahead, you will save yourself from making two more decisions a day: what to buy on the way home and what to cook from it now, preferably quickly?

When planning your menu in advance, take into account your plans for this particular week and on some days prepare larger portions so that there is enough food for two days. Soups and stews are best suited for this purpose.

For example, if you are on Wednesday, then on Tuesday prepare something for two days at once. Then you won’t have to starve yourself after fitness or waste your efforts by eating the leftover cake that was lying around in the refrigerator from the weekend.

5. Buy as many products as possible from wholesale stores.

Yes, the quality and range of products in some of them leaves much to be desired. But buckwheat from Magnit is definitely no worse than buckwheat from ABC of Taste. And the price differs sometimes very seriously.

Personally, I do this: having made a shopping list, I first go to a cheap supermarket and buy everything possible from my list there. Then I go to a good/expensive store that definitely has everything or almost everything.

Yes, it takes longer. But I buy groceries only once a week, since I have a menu and a shopping list for it. If you compare this with daily runs to the grocery store on the way home from work, then my method is both faster and more economical.

6. Don't throw away food

Learn to eat the leftover food in the refrigerator first, and only then go to the store.

Yes, I understand that you feel safer if there is always milk and milk in the refrigerator. But the world will not collapse if they are not there for two or even (oh horror!) three days. Use your imagination. After all, if you have at least some food, then you will not remain hungry. By cooking from leftovers, you will try new, sometimes unexpectedly delicious dishes, and also save a lot of money. After all, rarely do any of us manage to go for milk and buy only milk... As a rule, we fall for marketing tricks and buy more than what we need.

My children, for example, love bananas. I buy a ton of them a year. And often at the end of the week they still end. At first there was outrage: “How can this be! There are no bananas in the house, mom?!” But then the children reconciled themselves and began to eat what they were given. And we also lost the headache of how and what to feed the child.

I added a “dinner from leftovers” day to my weekly menu. On such a day, I either put on the table all the uneaten hot dishes left over from the previous day or two, or, if there are none, I cook something from what is left. Usually this day closes the week.

7. Pay attention to frozen vegetables and berries

They are no worse than fresh ones. Especially in spring and autumn, this advice will come in handy. Such vegetables and berries are frozen immediately after harvest, so their nutritional value is preserved as much as possible compared to those “fresh” vegetables that are stored in basements for weeks.

The only thing is: when you choose them in the store, make sure that they are not covered with ice or rolled into lumps. This suggests that their storage conditions were violated at some stage, they were half-thawed and lost some of their nutrients.

Good frozen vegetables and berries should be crumbly.

8. Look for products with expiration dates.

Not always, but often there is a discount on such products. If it’s not there, then go to the checkout and ask for a discount. It is more profitable for them to sell to you at a discount than to throw away products.

Manufacturers are often overly cautious with product expiration dates. I hardly pay attention to the expiration dates of cereals and pasta, seasonings, salt, tea and other products that can be stored for a long time.

If it is meat, then when you come home, freeze it immediately, after distributing it into portions in plastic bags. Don't forget to sign them with a regular ballpoint pen, indicating the contents and date of freezing. Otherwise, you won’t be able to identify anything later.

If these are cheeses and dairy products, then it is better to eat them as soon as possible (no later than five days from the date indicated on the package). It’s good if today you are going to cook something with cottage cheese, and it’s just lying on the shelf, discounted due to its expiration date, which also expires today.

ATTENTION! It is better to leave these products in the store if the expiration date has expired: fresh meat and poultry; salted and especially lightly salted fish; defrosted food that should have been frozen; milk and bread.

9. Prepare for two days

As mentioned above, this will save your time. Plus, surprisingly, it will cut down on food costs. The secret is that there will be less leftovers.

If you have a very large family and everything is eaten at once, then from possible leftovers you can make an excellent lunch the next day for someone in the family.

10. When creating a menu, choose dishes where the products are repeated

If you have a cabbage salad, you are unlikely to eat a whole head of cabbage at one time. Therefore, it is advisable to include either cabbage soup or stewed cabbage on another day. If one dish contains basil or parsley, use it in at least one more dish this week. This way you won't have to throw anything away. After all, throwing away food means throwing away money.

To be honest, when I was thinking about this article, I wasn’t sure if I would get enough advice on the topic. But during the writing process, I remembered many more ideas that I successfully apply in life. So many that they all couldn’t fit into this article. Therefore, I promise to continue this topic in the future.

Good health to you!

The Motherhood portal offers one of the possible options for an economical menu for 10 days. This topic is not for those who eat lobster, but for those who want to save a lot while using in their diet foods that contain the vitamins and minerals necessary for the body.

The menu is designed for a family of two adults and two children. It assumes that children and parents eat milk porridge in the morning and are not big “meat eaters.”

Day 1. Monday

Breakfast: millet milk porridge, black tea (loose leaf), homemade cakes left over from Sunday. Result – 85 rub.
Dinner: fresh cabbage soup (prepared for 2 days), mashed potatoes, black bread, homemade cutlets - 4 pcs., homemade canned cucumbers and tomatoes, mustard from mustard powder, berry juice. Result – 225 rub.
Dinner: salad of boiled grated beets with garlic and sour cream, black bread, apple tea with mint. The result is 75 rubles.
Total per day: 385 rubles.

Day 2. Tuesday

Breakfast: dairy-free oatmeal with grated apple, sandwich with butter, black tea, jam. 65 rub.
Dinner: cabbage soup (second day), navy-style pasta with a piece of minced meat (the size of a cutlet), black bread, apple tea. 100 rub.
Dinner: cottage cheese with milk or sour cream, jam or frozen berries with sugar. 165 rub.
Total: 330 rubles.

Day 3. Wednesday

Breakfast: omelette, black tea, sandwich with butter. 43 rub.
Dinner: noodle soup, cabbage solyanka, black bread. 127 rub.
Dinner: pollock in milk sauce with onions and carrots, grated carrots with sour cream, black bread, vitamin drink made from rose hips. 250 rub.
Total: 420 rubles.

Day 4. Thursday

Breakfast: buckwheat porridge with milk, sugar, cookies, tea with lemon. 100 rub.
Dinner: pickle with pearl barley (see chicken soup sets), boiled rice with fried onions, fried chicken (4 pieces), black bread, 4 bananas, compote. 260 rub.
Dinner: potato and zucchini pancakes with sour cream or vegetable lecho, tomato juice, kefir for the night. 140 rub.
Total: 500 rubles.

Day 5. Friday

Breakfast: milk semolina porridge, tea with lemon and sugar. 50 rub.
Dinner: rassolnik (second day), buckwheat with cutlet, canned vegetables, black bread, apple tea, tangerines (4 pcs). 250 rub.
Dinner: fried zucchini with onions and herbs, black bread, kefir for the night. 130 rub.
Total: 430 rubles.

Day 6. Saturday

Breakfast: cottage cheese with milk, tea with lemon. 165 rub.
Dinner: pea soup with water, pilaf (for 3 times), black bread, homemade cakes (for 3 times), apples, berry juice. 420 rub.
Dinner: vegetable gratin (casserole), apple tea with homemade cakes. 95 rub.
Total: 680 rubles (including preparing portions for several days).

Day 7. Sunday

Breakfast: dairy-free oatmeal with grated apple or jam, tea, pastries (from Saturday). 30 rub.
Dinner: pea soup (second day), pilaf (second day), black bread, rosehip drink. 35 rub.
Dinner: omelette with cauliflower, rosehip drink. 125 rub.
Total: 190 rubles.

Day 8. Monday

Breakfast: rice milk porridge, tea, sandwich with butter. 80 rub.
Dinner: pea soup (third day), pasta with eggs (2 pcs.), 2 sliced ​​fried sausages, bananas (4 pcs.), apple tea. 120 rub.
Dinner: pancakes with cabbage (plus cooking cabbage for the next day), apple tea. 160 rub.
Total: 440 rubles.

Day 9. Tuesday

Breakfast: millet porridge (for 2 times), tea with cookies. 180 rub.
Dinner: rice soup, solyanka with minced meat, black bread, berry juice. 130 rub.
Dinner: jacket potatoes with homemade pickles, rosehip drink, jam. 55 rub.
Total: 365 rubles.

Day 10. Wednesday

Breakfast: millet milk porridge (second day), tea with a sandwich. 30 rub.
Dinner: rice soup, mashed potatoes, herring, black bread, compote. 150 rub.
Dinner: radish salad with carrots and sour cream, stewed chicken (4 pieces, use the broth for further preparation of the soup). 170 rub.
Total: 350 rubles.

Costs for 10 days according to the proposed menu are about 4,000 rubles, that is, about 12 thousand rubles per month.

note that complex and time-consuming dishes to prepare prepared on our menu on weekends or the night before: soups, broth, long-cooking porridges, homemade cookies and other baked goods. Mid-week and weekend mornings - quick-to-prepare meals. By the end of the work week, we be sure to include fruits, proteins, and higher-calorie foods in our diet, since the body is already starting to get tired and needs “recharge.”

List of products for 10 days on our menu:

milk - 8-10 liters,
cottage cheese 1.5 kg,
sour cream - 800-1000 g,
kefir – 2 l,
lemon – 1 piece,
bananas - 1-3 kg,
apples – 3 kg,
tangerines, oranges - 1.5-2 kg,
flour – 2 kg,
sugar 1-1.5 kg,
vanilla sugar - 3 sachets,
yeast -100 gr.,
eggs – 30 pcs,
semolina – 1 package,
rice - 2 packs,
pasta – 2 packs,
vermicelli - 1 package,
millet porridge - 1 pack,
buckwheat - 1 package,
pearl barley - 0.5 packs,
peas - 0.5 packs,
chicken (cutlets, soup sets, for frying) - 3 pieces,
pork - 1.5 kg (cutlets, minced meat, pilaf),
pollock - 1.5 kg,
herring – 1 piece,
cookies (biscuits, “Maria”, crackers) - 1.5 kg,
radish (or daikon) – 2 pcs.
carrots – 2 kg,
onion – 3 kg,
rose hips (from the pharmacy) - 2 packs,
potatoes - 7-8 kg,
cabbage - 3 heads,
cauliflower - 1 head,
zucchini – 3 pieces (large)
little creamy - 1-2 packs,
vegetable oil – 1 l,
black bread - 5 pieces (? per day),
loaf – 7 pieces (sometimes tea with cookies and homemade cakes),
tea - 25-40 bags or 50-100g loose leaf.

Saving effort

In our menu, similar products are used repeatedly. At the same time, the family’s money and the housewife’s energy are saved. For example, by boiling a little more rice, we can make it into a filling for pancakes or pies, freeze them until next time, or take them with us to work and school.

Weekends are built on the principle of preparing homemade baked goods and partly food for the beginning of the working week. Each housewife can adjust this idea to suit her busy schedule; perhaps someone prefers to bake in the evening, and leaves the weekend for relaxation or other family concerns.

Saving on meat products

If children in your family do not eat sausages and chicken, then you should reduce the amount of them on the menu by adding rabbit meat, canned children's meat, pork/beef tongue, and heart. The broth from preparing these dishes can be used as a base for a common soup (it is not recommended to use broth from boiled tongue).

About cooking economical cutlets and receiving “free” soup sets.

An economical “meat” dish would be meat sauce or gravy. It can be cooked thick with flour, sweet, spicy, etc., but the main point of saving is that we put a piece of minced meat the size of a cutlet or fried sausage/sausage in a decent amount of sauce. Serve it with cereals and pasta.

Mushrooms, dried, canned or frozen in season, are an excellent alternative to meat dishes. We make soups from them, season them with vegetable oil and garlic - they are very tasty with mashed potatoes, we use them as a filling for pizza, pies and pancakes, various rolls, soups and sauces.

Save on fish dishes You can buy inexpensive varieties and enhance the taste with various gravies and sauces. The simplest one is with onions, carrots, hot seasoning and milk or sour cream. Salt frozen fish (herring, mackerel, red fish) yourself. The fish cutlet turns out to be more than just portioned pieces (we also add a loaf of bread and other ingredients). In addition, the cutlets can be frozen for later use.

Mixing principle- the basis for saving on food. So, to prepare pilaf, you can use a small piece of meat or chicken breast, cutting it finely. You need to put 2 large carrots and 2 onions in it, then the pilaf will be richer, with less meat used. If you boil 4 sausages for four people, you will get a small portion, but if you take even 2 pieces, cut them, fry them with onions and mix them with rice, buckwheat, pasta, pearl barley, cabbage, you will get a completely rich dish. Remember the nature of stirring: you can always save on expensive ingredients by using more garnish.

Eating out

Eating out makes us spend significant amounts of money every day, so if you want to save money, it’s worth switching to “brakes” and “stuff”. Recently, in some schools it has even become fashionable to take food from home in a thermos. This practice is common in schools in many countries.

By the way, a thermos can be a gift for any holiday - it is a useful acquisition. It is wise to purchase a thermos with a wide universal neck, with a volume of 1-1.5 liters. Here you can pour not only liquid food, but also a side dish with a cutlet, milk porridge, or vegetable stew. The cost of such universal thermoses starts from 750 rubles.

Adults who have the opportunity to heat food in a microwave oven at work can limit themselves to purchasing a special food container.

Embargo on products

As you can see, this menu does not include chocolates, cheese, carbonated drinks, sausages, store-bought cutlets and much more. One meat portion is allocated per person: cutlet, sausage, sausage or a small piece of meat, chicken. It's economical, but probably won't be enough for every family.

However, in order to save money, it is worth reviewing your grocery basket and making a list of “prohibited” purchases for you.

Other economical dishes

Taste of childhood
Remember well-forgotten dishes from childhood - buckwheat with sugar, pasta with sugar and grated cheese, other “kindergarten dishes”? For the most part, they are simple and economical, and are officially approved for baby food.

A piece of black bread sprinkled with vegetable oil and salt is very cheap. Or a piece of white bread sprinkled with sugar. Did you eat these “sandwiches” as a child?

Let's look at other cheap dishes that can be included in the family diet.

Soups:
oxalic,
pumpkin,
fish soup (from leftover fish when cutting into cutlets),
you can cook soup using water from dumplings,
soup with fried sausage or sausages plus vegetables/cereals.

When preparing soup, you can freeze some of the resulting broth or leave it in the refrigerator for a couple of days. From the first part, cook the main soup for several days, from the frozen part - a quick soup with vegetables or noodles for one day. This way you can save your time in the middle of the week.

Economy salads:
Olivier “simple” (2 sausages or wieners, 3 small potatoes, pickled cucumber, boiled carrots, green or onions, 3-4 eggs, salt, pepper, sour cream or mayonnaise dressing, green peas if desired),
vinaigrette with vegetable oil,
canned fish salad (when there is boiled rice left, add a can of saury in oil, onions, pickled cucumber, eggs, seasoning and dressing-mayonnaise or sour cream),
vegetables, carrots, beets.

Snacks:
For light snacks we use budget fruits and vegetables: apples, bananas, a piece of pumpkin or turnip, carrots.

As various “spreads” on bread you can use: lard rolled with garlic and seasonings; a snack of two processed cheeses, eggs and garlic; forshmak, homemade liver pate, etc.

Seasonal preparations
Even if you live in the city, don’t have your own garden, and have never been involved in “harvesting” - now is the time to think about an action plan for the upcoming summer season.

We actively use autumn freezing when preparing economical dishes. During the season, you can buy village vegetables at very reasonable prices.

Freeze in portions:

• 10-12 bell peppers (wash, remove the core, cut into small strips or cubes) - they will be used for preparing fresh salads, vegetable soups and stews, as a seasoning for gravy and meat sauces;
• greens: onions, dill, parsley, sorrel, garlic arrows, etc.
• mushrooms,
• berries.

In the fall, you can independently pick the fruits of hawthorn, rose hips, chokeberries, various berries and drink vitamin tea based on them in the winter. Rose hips can be purchased at the pharmacy. It is brewed in a thermos and poured with boiling water several times (one serving for 2-3 times).

Country apples, carrots, zucchini, pumpkins in urban conditions can be stored on the balcony, covered with old warm things - a blanket, outerwear. During winter frosts, we bring them home (as a rule, this is only a couple of days), then we take them out onto the balcony again.

Homemade preserves are a great way to save housewives money and time: jam, canned cucumbers and tomatoes, sauerkraut, bell peppers, mushrooms, preparations for soups, squash caviar, eggplants, cherry and apple compotes, jams, various salads as appetizers or a full dinner option , adjika, homemade horseradish and various lecho, ketchups, tomato pastes and juices.

Bread, milk
You can save on buying baked goods. To do this, you need to know the approximate consumption of bread. We put unused bread in an omelet with croutons, make croutons, and use it for cutlets and casseroles. We buy biscuits or cookies, alternating them with morning sandwiches - it’s more varied, and sometimes you just don’t have to buy bread. On weekends we make homemade baked goods, they are much cheaper than store-bought ones.

When preparing milk porridge, it can be slightly diluted with water: na? or 1/3. This also leads to saving resources.

Second life of products
Consider “zero waste” cooking. There are also significant savings in this. For example, you can prepare an omelet for the morning or evening with the remaining portion of pasta or vegetable stew, buckwheat. Leftover pasta, cottage cheese, and porridge can be used for casseroles. From the leftover kefir and sour cream you can make “thick” pancakes and other baked goods - loaves, buns, pizza dough, muffins, etc.

Saving means looking for previously unused reserves and opportunities!

Photo - photobank Lori

Today, the economic situation in most of society has its own characteristic features:

• the possibility of buying a home, mainly with a mortgage (which many people use);
• the great needs of each person and the ability to satisfy them due to the diverse supply of the market, but since not many earn enough, the credit system has spread.

Therefore, most people may experience financial difficulties. Then it becomes necessary to tighten the belt. In such cases, one of the lifelines is an economical menu. It will help you save money and at the same time eat tasty, satisfying and even healthy.

Let's look at one menu as an example, and then talk about general recommendations for economical nutrition.

Below is a menu for the week indicating the serving size and its calorie content per person.

Day of the week	Eating	Dish	Portion volume	Calorie content
Monday	Breakfast	Milk rice porridge	150 gr	225
	Lunch	Glass of tea	200 ml	60
			150 gr	300
	Dinner	Sauerkraut borscht	300 gr	250
	Afternoon snack	Cottage cheese with sugar and sour cream	200 gr	200
	Dinner	Vegetable stew	200 gr	300
		Pork sauce	100 gr	355
		A glass of kefir	250 gr	75

Tuesday	Breakfast	Oatmeal	150 gr	205
	Lunch	A glass of kefir	250 ml	75
		Cookies “warm milk” 4 pcs	80 gr	95
	Dinner	Sauerkraut borscht	250 gr	390
	Afternoon snack	Baked apple	180 gr	80
	Dinner	Rice	150 gr	226
		Vegetable salad	200 gr	300
	Second dinner (2-3 hours before bedtime)	Vegetable salad (cucumber, tomato, pepper)	130 gr	195

Wednesday	Breakfast	Milk buckwheat porridge	150 gr	300
	Lunch	Glass of tea	200 ml	60
		3 sandwiches (bread, butter, cheese)	150 gr	300
	Dinner	Cabbage soup with fresh cabbage	300 gr	250
	Afternoon snack	Banana	200 gr	200
	Dinner	Mashed potatoes	150 gr	195
		Cutlet	100 gr	200
	Second dinner (2-3 hours before bedtime)	Glass of fermented baked milk	200 gr	160

Thursday	Breakfast	Milk soup with rice	250 gr	400
	Lunch	Glass of fermented baked milk	250 ml	160
		Cookies 4 pcs	80 gr	95
	Dinner	Cabbage soup with fresh cabbage	250 gr	220
	Afternoon snack	Pear	130 gr	50
	Dinner	Pasta with cheese	150 gr	300
		2 pickled cucumbers	200 gr	60
	Second dinner (2-3 hours before bedtime)	2 fresh carrots	100 g5	80

Friday	Breakfast	Fried eggs	130 gr	260
	Lunch	Millet porridge	150 ml	250
		Cookies 4 pcs	80 gr	95
	Dinner	Chicken noodle soup	250 gr	617
	Afternoon snack	Cranberry juice and apple jam bun	250 gr; 100 gr	150; 200
	Dinner	Buckwheat	150 gr	255
		Beef liver goulash	80 gr	160
	Second dinner (2-3 hours before bedtime)	Beetroot salad with prunes	200 gr	140

Saturday	Breakfast	Cottage cheese casserole	150 gr	200
	Lunch	Glass of tea	200 ml	60
		3 sprat sandwiches	100 gr	300
	Dinner	Chicken noodle soup	250 gr	617
	Afternoon snack	Fruit salad (apple, pear, tangerine, yogurt)	200 gr	300
	Dinner	French potato	250 gr	650
			80 gr	160
	Second dinner (2-3 hours before bedtime)	A glass of kefir	250 gr	75

Sunday	Breakfast	Fried egg with tomatoes	150 gr	280
	Lunch	Semolina	150 ml	300
			100 gr	300
	Dinner	Rassolnik	250 gr	615
	Afternoon snack	Milkshake with berries	250 gr	200
	Dinner	Pilaf	150 gr	4000
	Second dinner (2-3 hours before bedtime)	Apple	180 gr	80

Weekly grocery list

1. Pork (1 kg) 350 rubles
2. Minced beef (1 kg) 280 rubles
3. Chicken soup set (200 gr.) 60 rubles
4. Beef liver (400 gr.) 75 rubles
5. Rice (1 package) 60 rubles
6. Oatmeal (1 package) 35 rubles
7. Buckwheat (1 package) 70 rubles
8. Millet (1 package) 48 rubles
9. Semolina (1 package) 30 rubles
10. Pasta (1 package) 53 rubles
11. Vermicelli (1 package) 30 rubles
12. Eggs (10 pcs.) 60 rubles
13. Sprats (1 package) 90 rubles
14. Potatoes (2 kg) 40 rubles
15. Cucumbers (2 fresh \ 3 salted) 70 rubles
16. Bell pepper (1 pc.) 30 rubles
17. Fresh tomatoes (3 medium pieces) 140 rubles
18. Beets (2 medium) 10 rubles
19. Carrots (4 medium) 20 rubles
20. Apples (2 pcs.) 50 rubles
21. Bananas (2 pcs.) 20 rubles
22. Pears (2 pcs.) 30 rubles
23. Cookies (2 packs) 60 rubles
24. Bread (2 rolls) 60 rubles
25. Milk (1 package) 120 rubles
26. Cottage cheese (1 package) 170 rubles
27. Sour cream (1 jar) 80 rubles
28. Low-fat kefir (1 bottle) 70 rubles
29. Ryazhenka (1 package) 70 rubles
30. Butter (1 package) 120 rubles

The total cost of products on this list is 2401 rubles. It is designed to prepare food according to the above menu for a family of two adults.

And in you can see a list of products for only 1000 rubles for a whole week, also for a family of 4 people

Before you go to the store, you need to make a clear list of products needed to prepare dishes from the menu. There is no need to buy anything extra.

It is worth buying products in places where prices are really lower. The most profitable way is to go to the market (you can bargain) or a wholesale center. Promotions in stores are a great help. You must always keep an eye on them.

You need to go to the store for shopping purposefully, and not when you have to. And in order to avoid wasting money, you must be well-fed at this time.

Most people's main dishes are meat dishes, which are expensive. To save money, you can buy offal - liver, hearts, stomachs. In addition to their low price, when prepared well, they have a wonderful taste.

It is necessary to completely exclude fast food, hamburgers, sushi, and carbonated drinks from your diet. It is very expensive and unhealthy. You should also avoid going to cafes and restaurants (only on very special occasions can you afford such a luxury).

One piece of meat can be used to prepare two dishes. For example, boil a whole chicken or a bone with meat (it’s better to cook for a long time over low heat - this way the meat will be soft and very tasty). Use the broth to make soup. And clean the meat from the bones. Add some of it to the soup, the rest can be stewed with vegetables or made into goulash.

In order not to cause indignation among household members during the week, it is necessary to cook their favorite dishes or food with their preferred ingredient at least once. For example, make stew with potatoes for your husband on Monday, and bake fish with rice as a side dish for your son on Thursday.

For picky families, you can cook for several days at once. If you cook a large pot of soup, it can last for three days. This will save a lot of money on groceries and time for the housewife.

Many people love to buy juice in cardboard boxes and bottles, which is a very big waste of money. In addition, they contain many preservatives and dyes, which is why they are harmful to health. It will be useful and less expensive to cook compotes and fruit drinks yourself.

It should be taken into account that for breakfast you need to eat easily digestible dishes, for example, porridge. The highest calorie meal is lunch. Dinner should be between breakfast and lunch in terms of calorie content. It is advisable to eat more often, but in small portions. Therefore, the menu includes snacks - second breakfasts and dinners.

Eating tasty and healthy doesn’t mean it’s expensive! Eat healthy and be happy!

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Maria Dolgopolova

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Of course, it turned out that dear readers also have something to tell. We analyzed the user experience and came up with 7 steps that will allow you to achieve total savings on food or simply survive a difficult period.

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Review your inventory

Surely you sinned and bought more than you should. Look in the cabinets, there you will see unclaimed supplies of groceries. If you need to save on food, then the best decision would be to finally put these supplies to use, and buy only inexpensive ingredients that will add color to your life. It is best to replenish stocks with goods on sale, when possible.

Alsou Saitbattalova, saves five a month:

“I wait until payday in this way - I eat what I have at home: cereals, vegetables, a piece of fish or a chicken wing. I only buy bread and take something with me to work. This way I manage not only to “make it”, but also to put aside an A. Of course, not every month, there are unexpected expenses. And what I save for my dream is kept in a bank deposit account.”

Increase the proportion of carbohydrates in your diet

Carbohydrates have been helping humanity out in times of crisis for more than a century. Cereals, pasta, legumes, bread - all this and, most importantly, is stored for a long time.

Elena Krutova, lived for a month in Sochi for a couple of thousand:

“Literally a month and a half ago I found myself in Sochi with almost no money (I had 1000 in my hands and an apartment that I had paid for a month in advance). I couldn’t go to work due to the fact that I was also injured, I just had to enjoy the sea air in the absence of money. Friends helped. They sent us a little money each, but since it was a shame to constantly ask for more, I survived on what I had, eating very modestly - in the morning oatmeal porridge with fried cabbage soup (onions, carrots and spices). Buckwheat with sautéed onions, pearl barley. Everything is very tasty indeed. I also really love yeast-free bread - I ate it in small pieces, washed down with water or herbal tea. Yes, of course, in the store I looked at the baked goods, and at the cookies, and at the canned goods, and at other cheap products, but I dismissed everything at once, realizing that it would only harm me. During all the time of such a “meager” diet, I never felt hungry.”

Avoid ready-made and processed foods

The closer the product is to consumption, the more resources and money the manufacturer has invested in it - all this affects the final price. Thus, washed carrots are more expensive than the “Unwashed Russia” variety, and uncut animals are much cheaper than lovingly packaged fillets.

Natalya Golimbievskaya knows everything about chicken:

“You can buy chicken. Cut into pieces and cook soups. One chicken for 150 rubles is enough for five days.”

Learn to cook

It follows from the previous point. Improving your culinary skills will save you thousands of rubles and will take up your free time - you will no longer have to answer the question of which expensive entertainment to do on the weekend.

Ekaterina Ermolenko, knows how to bake:

Try a mono-diet

Some products are cheaper than others and may be more popular in a given household. In extreme cases, such a diet can significantly reduce costs and even physical weight of consumers.

Svetlana Girshfeld advises frying:

“In principle, you can fry potatoes in the morning, afternoon and evening. 3 kg of potatoes - 100 rubles, plus the cheapest vegetable oil is 45 rubles per half liter at a discount, it will probably last for a week.”

Ecology of consumption. Products have become noticeably more expensive, but the income of most of us has remained the same. We have prepared a guide that will help you eat more economically, but still be tasty and satisfying.

Products have become noticeably more expensive, but the income of most of us has remained the same. We have prepared a guide that will help you eat more economically, but still be tasty and satisfying.

No matter how much noise is poured from TV screens, saying that the government controls the prices of goods from the food basket, statistics are a stubborn thing. By given Rosstat, at the end of 2014, the consumer confidence index of the population decreased by 11 percentage points and amounted to -18%.

Most citizens note the rise in food prices. The price growth index for them over the past six months amounted to 15–20%. According to a VTsIOM survey, the most significant increases in price were for sugar, cereals, vegetables, fruits, dairy, meat and fish. At the same time, every fifth respondent (20%) admitted that he had to switch to cheaper products, and refuse to buy some altogether.

According to experts, prices will continue to rise. This means it’s time to learn to save. We'll show you how to spend the least amount of money on food.

In the shop

1. Make a shopping list and strictly follow it.To do this, develop a menu for the week: breakfasts, lunches and dinners. Inspect your kitchen cabinets and refrigerator and add ingredients to your shopping list that are missing to prepare your intended meals. Nothing extra!

Mobile applications will help you keep a shopping list: Myconomy, “Buy a loaf!” and others.

2. Compare prices in different stores. Buying everything in one supermarket is convenient. But sometimes, if you walk to the bakery around the corner, you can buy tastier and cheaper bread.

If you don’t have time for monitoring, try to shop once a week. “Today I’ll buy cottage cheese, and tomorrow I’ll go and buy more eggs” - an approach that leads to unplanned expenses.

3. Attend agricultural fairs. They usually take place in autumn and spring, and there you can very profitably buy farm products: potatoes, eggs and others.

4. Avoid impulse purchases. Don’t buy products not on the list just because they are cheap or because you suddenly feel like, “Oh! Discount on Chinese cabbage! You have to take it, it’s usually 10 rubles more expensive” (are you sure you’ll eat it?), “Mmm, cake! Want! Want!" (what about diet?).

Don’t take children to the store: their “wants” are harder to resist. Willpower alone will not save you.

5. Use discount cards. You may have to pay to purchase it, but this is a one-time expense, and discounts can be used every time you visit this store.

6. Buy in bulk. Flour, sugar, salt, pasta and spices are always needed. Plus they have a long shelf life. This means you can borrow for future use. Moreover, prices at wholesale outlets are usually lower.

“Where do I need so much? I have nowhere to store it,” are typical objections of housewives to the advice to buy food in large quantities. The solution is simple: chip in with friends. By purchasing a package of rice and dividing it among yourselves, you will quickly experience the benefits of this approach.

7. Look down. According to merchandising rules, the most expensive products are placed on shelves at eye level of the buyer, and the cheapest ones are placed on the lower shelves. Don't be lazy to lean over and study the assortment below.

Also, don't look in departments you don't need (separate the products on the list into groups: meat, vegetables, etc.). And don’t forget that you should visit the store well-fed.

8. Turn off autopilot. We often wander around the store, thinking about our own things and automatically putting products in the basket. Remember how disappointing it is when you find at home that the apples are broken and the cookies in the package are broken. Choose your products carefully.

9. Don't overpay for a name. Famous brand products are more expensive. But this is not always a guarantee of quality and taste. Take a closer look at less famous but cheaper analogues. For example, brands of chain stores. As a rule, the taste characteristics of popular goods (vegetable oil, groceries, etc.) do not differ from branded ones.

10. Don't overpay for packaging. Milk in a nondescript package can be tastier and cheaper than a drink in a bottle, and loose bulk products are more profitable than those packaged in colorful boxes.

11. Pay attention to grams and displacement. Often the same product is on the shelves, but one is cheaper than the other, for example, by 5 rubles. Don't rush to grab what's cheaper. Compare the difference in weight or volume of these products. It is more profitable to take a “full” kilogram than 940 grams.

12. Don't buy semi-finished products. They are a priori more expensive than self-prepared (from “A” to “Z”) dishes. Don't let yourself be lazy: cook dumplings, cabbage rolls and cutlets yourself and store them in the freezer.

And further. Sliced ​​bread and sausage are always more expensive. Can't you cut your own loaf?

13. Don't be afraid of delays. The discount policy of chain grocery stores is a subject for a separate discussion. But when a product expires, sellers are willing to get really generous. As a rule, products “with a timer” are quite suitable. The main thing is to use them as soon as possible.

The exception is fermented milk products. It is easy to get food poisoning with them, so it is better to buy only fresh ones.

14. Don't waste money on bottled water. It is more profitable to buy a filter for cleaning once.

15. Keep receipts. They will help manage the family budget.

In the kitchen

1. Adjust your diet. For example, include poultry in your menu instead of fresh fish, which has become noticeably more expensive. Replace ingredients with cheaper ones whenever possible (pink salmon instead of trout, Adyghe cheeses instead of mozzarella).

2. Take a closer look at offal. Nothing beats a juicy sirloin steak, but liver, heart and other organ meats can be cooked deliciously. Buy them from time to time instead of meat - you will save money and improve your culinary skill.

3. Follow cooking sites. Budget recipes often appear there. Keep them for yourself. They will help you create your weekly menu and shopping list.

4. Cook yourself what you can do at home. For example, kvass. In the store, a one and a half liter bottle of this drink costs an average of 50 rubles. Three liters of homemade kvass will cost you only 20 rubles.

5. Cook according to the season. A salad of fresh tomatoes and cucumbers can cost a pretty penny in winter. Cabbage and carrots are much cheaper at this time of year. Make a salad from them - it will turn out just as tasty and healthy.

6. Don't cook too much. There are housewives whose “hands don’t take much.” If you cook borscht, then in a large saucepan, if you fry cutlets, then use a full frying pan. Such wastefulness, as a rule, ends with half of the prepared food going into the trash bin. Learn to cook only as much as you eat.

Alternatively, don't cook until you've eaten what you've cooked.

7. Make preparations. We're not talking about three-liter jars of pickles. With the modern pace of life and urbanization, this is not an amateur activity. But anyone can freeze greens and berries.

Finely chop parsley, dill and other favorite herbs, place in a container and put in the freezer. Aromatic seasoning is always at hand.

8. Use perishable foods first. We bought yogurt, put it in the refrigerator, and five days later, when we remembered it and wanted to eat it, it turned out that it was expired. As a result, several tens of rubles go into the trash. Sound familiar?

To avoid getting into such situations again, stick bright stickers on perishable foods: “eat by Thursday,” “use by the end of the week,” and so on.

9. Store food correctly. Compliance with storage conditions prevents premature spoilage of products. The more thrifty you are with food, the less often you will have to replenish your food supplies.

By the way, about frugality. Many products can be given a “second life”. Has the bread started to dry out? Make crackers and add to salads.

As you can see, you don’t have to be a pedant to save on food. Anyone can follow these recommendations. But the main thing is not to be fanatical about food saving. Sometimes you can and should allow yourself something tasty or your favorite. published