[Angel]

Trying to stay on a super tight budget. We get a free site, power, water & internet. Trying to buy everything we need on sale, second hand. It’s mostly the cooking, buying groceries I am struggling with.

We have a Save on foods groceries store(Canadian). We’re we can buy groceries once a week.

for health reasons we have to eat very low card, sugar.

Looking for all the tips I can get for cooking, living in a pop-up camper.

[Michele]

Flash food at Zehrs sells fruit boxes of imperfect things, discount usually 50 percent of things ready to expire soon, usually frozen

[April]

Lots of dried beans for soups, lots of potatoes which serve any meal. A cast iron big pot with lid for outside cooking.

Lots of flour for rolls, pancake, fry bread for stew dipping.

You need to learn which weeds and plants you can eat (they used to joke we would mow the lawn to get dinner).

[Jude]

Oatmeal is cheap and easy for breakfast and shelf stable too. Peanut butter, canned tuna and canned chicken can save on refrigerator space.

Plan your meals each week and use up everything, no waste.

Can you grow some plants in containers? Lettuce, tomatoes, peppers.

Grow your own salad. Put them up high so the critters don’t eat them.

[Debra]

This might be controversial but have you considered foraging? There’s lots of apps that will let you know what is safe to eat in the wild.

I did a lot of that in the 70s

[Downing]

Check out YouTube and Pinterest on recipes for camping. When we camp, we cook as we cook at home, grilling a lot and making a lot of foil packets type meals on the open fire, I also have $20 electric griddle

[Linda]

Check out scouting groups/websites for great cooking ideas. They run the whole spectrum of recipes, but my troop used to cook very inexpensively.

Do you belong to any camping groups, I found there were awesome ideas for easy inexpensive recipes, and storage/living ideas.

Start a game swap group in your campground.

[Jude]

I wonder if there is a creative way to encourage campers to leave you their leftover (still good) food or other things that you could use.

[Nola]

Also, look for info about healthy inexpensive cooking in a dorm room, because a student in a dorm is gonna be under similar constraints – not much space, less fridge, and obviously not much money or time.

[cack]

instant pots and crock pots show up used at thrift stores all the time and are great for lots of cheap recipes and you can totally use one inside your camper as long as you have someplace to set it and plug it in.

[Lisa]

Plenty of YouTube videos with eat for $1 per day or $10 per week type challenges.

Usually beans, rice, potatoes and peanut butter are staples.

[Allen]

Eggs, canned chicken, una, mussels. Look for cheap cuts of meat, usually suitable for stewing, and make soups, stews, casseroles.

As they need lengthy cooking time, make a hay box unless you have a slow cooker. Serve with lower carb veggies, all the brassicas, pumpkin, turnips, radishes (roast them), green beans, mushrooms, whatever you can find on sale.

Remember to include fats like butter, olive oil, ghee ( from Asian shops), cream.

Hay box – pad a cardboard box with thick layers of newspaper, bottom, sides, insert you pot and add sufficient paper layers to make a snug fit, including a thick layer on top.

When you cook, bring the whole pot to a good boil, insert pot (lid on) enclose with that top thick layer of paper. Wrap with additional blankets and leave to slow cook.

You can rebuild the pot after several hours, and repeat if necessary.

[Paul]

Popcorn is a good filling snack.
Homemade soups go a long way.
Bananas are a cheaper fresh fruit usually.

Make applesauce from reduced Apple’s.

Unsweetened dill pickles can be cheap and keep well.
Garlic and onion powder are good basic spices to add more flavour to meats and casseroles.

Sugar free jello with a cup of yogurt or cottage cheese makes a nice healthier dessert.

[Krysia]

Celery sticks with peanut butter. A piece of meat with a salad that includes beans, boiled eggs, sunflower seeds or chopped peanuts, and even some fruit.

Cabbage, carrots, onions are inexpensive and keep well. Cottage cheese or yogurt with some homemade muesli and fruit makes a great breakfast.

Popcorn is a cheap snack, but lot low carb.

[Sherri]

Low carb soups, veggie bowls, eat a light dinner and eat a heavier lunch. So, soups are easy to make and cheap.

So, a bit of onion, cabbage, frozen mixed veggies, a can of diced tomatoes and a can of beans, spice how you want them.

I often do Italian spices or slightly Mexican. Veggie bowls again cabbage, carrots, broccoli, zucchini, radishes, sauté and again spices or a sauce.

Both you can add a bit of meat if you have it and you can add rice/noodles/ potato if you need to.

So many variations to both of these. Also roasted veggies with a bit of meat or a scrambled egg is a great meal.

[Jaime]

Look for mutual aid programs in your area. I run a food distribution program fully free of charge with beautiful produce, dairy, meat and bread every week.

See if you have something like that near you.

[Wilma]

U can get all kinds of stuff from thrift stores also check the giveaway sites it’s surprising what you can find

[Author]

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