by Deborah Smith

Created on: October 24, 2008

You can feed yourself on $21 a week and eat really healthy food, too! In order to meet this challenge, you'll need do all your own cooking. If you do bulk shopping once a month, you will have an easier time sticking to your budget. Shopping at warehouse stores really saves on items pantry items - rice, beans, meats, and cheese. Pick up fruit, vegetables, and dairy items weekly at your local grocery store or produce vendor.

Inexpensive breakfast items include oatmeal, toast with peanut butter, eggs, pancakes, and yogurt with fruit. Buy your oatmeal in bulk, not in pre-made packages. Yogurt is most economical if you purchase a large container of plain flavor. You can add any kind of topping you like to the yogurt for variety; fruit, jam, jelly or dry cereal added to the plain yogurt can break up the monotony. Making your own pancake mix is very inexpensive; just check out a cookbook at the local library for a recipe. Leftover pancakes can be wrapped and frozen for future use.

Lunches can be leftovers from the night before, or, you can use the leftovers as a jumping off point for a new and different meal. Rice and beans from last night's dinner become today's lunch burrito with the addition of a little lettuce, tomato and cheese. Soups are a wonderful, inexpensive lunch option and can be augmented with bread or crackers for a heartier appetite.

Rice and beans served with meat, vegetables, or fish, is an inexpensive dinner choice. Having rice and beans as the main portion of your dinner serves several purposes, they're inexpensive, they can be made in many ways to keep dinner interesting, they're really healthy for your body and they are a complete protein when served together. Adding small amounts of vegetables or meats, as it's all around the world, can really help stretch your food budget!

Another favorite menu item for dinner is quiche. Yes, quiche! If you are so inclined, you can make the pie crust yourself, or you can buy the store brand pre-made shells from the freezer case. Frozen pie shells cost about $3.00, but you get two 8-inch shells per package. Fill the pie crust with cream, eggs, meats, cheeses, or vegetables, bake, and you have a few dinners plus a few lunches. You can serve your quiche with a small salad and have a very nice meal for very little money.

Finally, no budget meal planning would be complete without a mention of soups and stews. Soup is incredibly easy to make and can be very inexpensive. If you're new to soup making, start with something

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