A dear friend recently confided in me that they're really hurting financially and that for the next few months she, her hubby and their young son need to try and get by on low, low grocery bills. When I asked about her budget she said that some weeks she wouldn't have much more than $40 or $50 to spend for weekly household groceries- and that includes non-foods, and food for goldfish and a kitty, as well.

I haven't put much thought into this yet for her, but wanted to put the question out there to gather insight from others... I know we've tossed around banter about frugality before, but any more creative thoughts on getting high impact bang for the buck? (The best part is, they have adventurous appetites, are open to meatless meals, and will try almost anything!)

So much of this depends on what they keep as staples, Kevin. Given a handful of herbs and spices you can make anything (well, short of Goatsucker's stuff) palatable.

Generally speaking, a frugal diet has to be based on grains and legumes. Two reasons for this: first, they are both inexpensive. And second, if you combine any grain with any bean you produce a complete protein.

Next, if they don't know this already, they should take a tip from Asian cuisines and use animal protein as a flavoring agent rather than as a main component of a dish.

Are they making their own stocks? If not, shame on them. By watching the sales, they can combine a couple of chickens into as many as 20 meals so long as several of them are soup and stew based.

Speaking of which, poor people have always known the benefits of stone soup. Give them a recipe for it if they don't already have one.

I think soup is a great way to go. It's nutritious homey and satisfying. You can use all your bits and bobs at the end of the week so that nothing goes to waste. I hope that your friends are shopping at places like Aldi? That will help them tremendously. Anohter thing to cut costly meat from their diet would be to use more eggs. They are alot cheaper than beef and I think healthier too as long as they aren't eating more than one or two per person. You can add a fried egg on top your rice and beans for an even more filling meal. Also if they have a nice store of spices already you might suggest Indian food to them. Indian food makes tremendous use of some of the most inexpensive ingredients. My husband LOVES potato and pea curry. It's one of the vegetarian meals that he will very happily eat and no meat is required.

I agree, I think Aldi is a really Good way to go for rice, frozen fish, pizza, can goods, etc.. I have always liked Lima beans with some parmesan cheese & margarine it's a meal for me.

I think p.b. & jam with bread is always a good thing to have in the home, for a quickie. Pasta dishes are always economical, you can always add some frozen veggies to pasta for a perfect dish. Cookie