Staples that you eat most days to keep food budget lower.

I have a wall of beans, about 12 different types. I created a cookbook of sorts that is based on these beans; Pinto, Cannellini, Black, Kidney, Garbanzo,Fava, Lima, Split Green, Split Yellow,French Green Lentils, Brown Lentils, Red Lentils and a few others. All dried that I buy in 5 or 10 lb bags. I can make delicious meals with these from curries, soups,dips, ect. Very cost effective and healthy.

Eggs are always a staple. Eggs contain every single micronutrient except for vitamin C. It also has all 10 essential amino acids making it the most bioavailable form of protein you can possibly eat. I’ll buy crates and crates of them locally for cheap.

Popcorn, just the plain kernels, popped in the microwave in a paper bag. I try to eat light during the day, so just smaller snacks throughout, and popcorn is so filling for so few calories. A 2lb bag is like $4 and lasts forever.

Our cheapest and most favorite meal is Puerto Rican inspired black beans and rice with sofrito

Also we like chicken taco salad

Oatmeal, gallo pinto, fried rice, pasta, lentil curry over rice, general stir fries with rice, homemade gnocchi, potato cabbage soup, potato onion soup. Basically go nuts with the starch+topping foods.

24 pcs bag of Members Mark Dinner rolls from Sam’s Club. Quite versatile. It answers to all my buttered or jam bread, toast, fish and breakfast patty sandwich bun needs. Only $3.87

Beans, and my instant pot was the best purchase of the year. It’s much easier to carry dry beans home from the grocery store. 

Homemade vegetable soup is a staple in my house. I don't follow a recipe, I just put food on hand in a pot and wing it. It means much less waste which keeps the food budget lower.

When Costco has Cheerios on sale, I buy the maximum number of boxes, and that lasts me my daily bowl of cereal until the next time they go on sale.

Grits.  Cheap, nutritious and filling.

Not on topic, but maybe this could help. If you’re in the US, you might try making bread with wheat imported from france or italy to see if that has a similar effect. Wheat there has less gluten, and from what I’ve heard from friends with IBS, they’re totally fine to eat bread in those countries.

buy olive oil in bulk. It'll pack everything you make with extra calories and good fats. I have spray bottle for mine that I loveee; I think the brand is called "Evo"

Quick oats with a spoonful of peanut butter every morning. It's around ten cents a serving and absolutely delicious.

Without regard to any budget, we tend to stick to simpler foods that happen to be less expensive. I make our bread products and my bread costs 20% of the cost for store bread and is tastier and healthier. My wife eats oatmeal and generic cold cereals. Usually, if I have anything for breakfast, it is leftovers or sous vide frozen beans.

Greek yogurt

oats, rice, pasta, greek yogurt, and frozen veggies.

I eat a ton of frozen broccoli. Rice. Eggs.

I only buy meat when it's on sale.

I eat cottage cheese every day for breakfast because it’s a relatively inexpensive protein. I use oats a lot too! I love using it as binder in burger patties and meatballs. A handful of oats helps bulk up a slow cooked spaghetti sauce as well so I can the stretch the meat a bit. I’m a huge fan of making soup. All those bits and bobs and leftovers meats are perfect in soups. All those veggies that have lost their snap but are still fine to eat go in there. Soup is a wonderful way to make a delicious meal out of the oddballs in your fridge.

I always buy the large package of rolled oats and they last me foreverrrr

Powdered milk and potato flakes.

Oats!! Make them however you want but a giant bag of Kirkland rolled oats is like $8 and I can eat it once a day for like 3 months.

I personally do overnight oats with berries or other fruits and peanut butter.

Eggs, black beans, refried beans, salsa. I buy lentil pasta, because my digestive system doesn't do well with wheat.

Peanut butter jelly time!

Beans, black and pinto from dry. Every day, every day, for over a decade.

Oats, I eat about 10 pounds a month? Something like that. A serving size for me is at least 2 cups dry old fashioned oats.

✨eggs✨

Oats, lentils (green, red and puy), brown rice, quinoa, canned tomatoes, dried chickpeas, various canned legumes (I usually stock up when they’re on sale), tofu, root vegetables (potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, especially), flours (white/whole wheat, chickpea), cabbage.

Rice.

Rice, pasta, potatoes, soup, chicken, eggs, oats, beans.

I only buy my fresh fruits & vegetables during their season's peak. Nothing off season or it is only as a very special treat.

Peas, tofu, beans

It's so awesome to see you being resourceful and creative with your food budget! Oats, rice, and lentils are total MVPs when it comes to stretching those dollars without sacrificing quality. Plus, going organic? Major kudos to you for prioritizing health and sustainability.

It sounds like you've found a sweet spot with your food rotation.

As for me, I'm all about meal prepping and buying in bulk. It's amazing how much you can save when you plan ahead and stock up on essentials. Plus, getting creative with leftovers can lead to some surprisingly delicious meals

Eggs and tuna. Oh and tomatoes lol. I eat a lot of these three things.

Canned chickpeas and various beans (kidney, black, white) - I do a mix and match for bean salads with a homemade dressing of just vinegar/oil/seasoning. If I happen to have some fresh veggies I’ll throw those in to mix it up, but on its own it’s filling and if you get the generic brands on sale, pretty cheap.

Along the same topic, I have gained a lot of information on shopping and food prep on extreme budgets from videos on YouTube to increase protein and incorporate other ingredients in means like frozen veg, use sharper cheddar and parmesan cheeses. 🍏🍇🍍

We always keep potatoes in the house. It’s an easy way to bulk up a meal or stretch out meat.

We’ve recently realized that a lot of vegetable prices have gone up. Broccoli and mushrooms are now crazy expensive. Have found that carrots, zucchini, onions, and frozen peas have the lowest cost per meal. Roasting the fresh veggies or microwaving the peas has been our low cost veggie staples.

Sounds like you've found a great balance! Staples like beans, eggs, frozen vegetables, and bulk grains like quinoa or barley help keep my food budget in check. They're versatile, nutritious, and can be incorporated into various meals without breaking the bank.

I do lots of oatmeal too. Beans, as well, come to think of it. Freezer pizza, when it's on sale. That makes several meals. Rice also comes to mind. Cheese sandwiches too.

Mainly I hunt for deals like a predator. I've given a little cheer when finding a great managers' special before.

I also try never to let anything spoil.

I've been making my own granola and oat bars because oats are crazy cheap. Also homemade yogurt. It cuts the price by like 75% for very little work!

Beans and rice stay in my house for the grind times. ..and flour. Mexicans got a million ways to mix that up. I fish and hunt also.

Cereal. I love the stuff.

So I'm going to preface this with I'm not fully caffeinated yet. I read the title as in you "eat staples" lol. Now ... Off to get another cup of coffee.

Oil

Brown rice, whole grain pasta, whole grain pita crackers, brown rice cakes, eggs, beans, hummus, greek yogurt, cottage cheese, almond milk, and frozen fruit

We make rice in our rice cooker constantly. Its always there to help pad a meal. Rice or potatoes on occasion for variety.

Wholesale chicken (and I mean wholesale - restaurant bulk box style) and eggs.

eggs, oatmeal, veg from my garden.

black beans are super underrated. add taco seasoning and it's like a full meal.

Rice, black beans, and leftover chicken or steak. Pasta with sauce. Bagels (get them for $6.99 a dozen on Sundays at shaws) with egg and cheese (and ham if it’s on sale that week)

Look up keto twins chaffle. Only theirs! Good GF bread substitute. I eat a lot of eggs, chicken (frozen breasts or thighs in a bag with a whole variety of "treatment"), small steaks, nachos.

Are you in the US?

Ground beef and beef brisket. $2.69/lb. and $3.99/lb., respectively at Costco Business Center. That works out to $0.20 per 100 calories for ground beef and $0.30 per 100 calories for the brisket.

Can you share where you get your organic lentils and oats? The prices I see for organic are horrible and I don't have that kinda money yet

Eggs and sticky rice. I make porridge all the time. I save time and money by making a huge batch and eating them for 3 days.

Eggs, beans, rice, nuts. Those big ass bags of spinach.

I make my own bread and pasta, so they’re pretty cheap and go a long way. We also eat a lot of rice and vegetables. Our proteins are only purchased when on sale and we buy a lot of items and freeze them for later consumption.

We also freeze any leftover vegetables in a big bag. In the winter, we make an “everything but the sink” soup with all of the leftover vegetables. We make our own stock out of chicken, duck or turkey carcasses. We eat a lot of soup in the fall and winter using this stock and adding beans instead of a lot of meat.

Oatmeal

Eggs

Small children JUST KIDDING(it’s a Bill Maher joke)

Ground beef and eggs

Lettuce and celery, both of which I love.

Peanut butter sandwich for lunch. No jelly.

Annually uying a whole cow from a butcher, and buying in-season fruits and veggies are the go-to for my SO and I.

The cow is helpful as we participate in endurance sports where iron deficiencies are very common.

Rice

Canned salmon. I stock up when it's on sale at Aldi. It's about half the price of filleted salmon, it's wild caught, and it has little cartilage bones that are fully edible and healthy. Great way to get protein + omega-3.

Potatoes, beans, pasta, rice. 

Frozen plants. Veggies for dinner, frozen fruit for smoothies.

PB & J

Chicken thighs are 99¢ per pound every other week at my local grocery store. I don’t eat it most days, but when I’m feeling like chicken, that’s what I buy.

Literally read the first line as eating staples to save money

Indian food, easily. The Indian grocer is WAY cheaper and lentils, rice, atta, besan, spices, etc are also super cheap and last ages. Only new things I have to buy each week are tomatoes, onions, and a little produce (depending on the dish).

I make a chili with just one lb of ground beef, turkey or ckn, canned petite diced tomatoes (several cans) and then 2 dark kidney 1 cannellini and 1 black beans I rinse the canned beans really really well- my preference. Doing that makes the chili seems more like a refreshing lunch than thick heavy darker chili And of course onion garlic the seasonings

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I stay away from all grains* and pre-made food and also eat organic - so I thought I'd share my lil bread recipe with you!

I make a really simple bread with chickpea flour, tigernut flour and eggs (like three small eggs, 3 tablespoons of flour each and a bit of water and salt...makes about 8 slices). What I've been doing to make it more healthy is adding smoothie mixes to it (that have pea protein, maca, chia, and stuff like that) and then it comes out like a type of brown/seed bread that's just awesome for toast

So I don't feel bad about having toast for breakfast, being I've packed it full of good stuff (=

*after going gluten free I started having similar symptoms again from corn and rice so I stay away from those too