After looking at a recent article I thought this is too large to add as a comment.  I wanted to expand on some points made. 

Most of us worry about money at some point in our lives.  We've been on an extrememly tight budget for the last few

months (yay this is the last month of it) and have had to make do with a tiny amount for food, petrol and expenses - like Aus $120! per week (I have two little ones in nappies/diapers also - cloth in the day, disposable at night!) but we have done it and I have never felt healthier, my kids are glowing from the lack of artificial things in their diet.  We didnt get a loan from anyone and we got out of our tough situation.  Depending on how organised you are as to how much you can save on your food bill.  I reduced mine by about 75% so there is enough left for us to go out for dinner or drinks at the end of the month, so important in a marriage. Unfortunately the first thing to go when you are on a budget is your diet - you eat cheap fatty meat and clean your plate (or your kids) and you gain weight pretty quickly.  Heres what I do to lose weight the healthy (and cheap) way.

Baking

I havent bought any cakes or biscuits in 4 months, preferring to make my own.  Even though electricity to bake puts people off baking there are so many recipes that are quick and easy - anzac biscuits take 10 mins (thats not much electricity), no excuses then not to bake as they are expensive in shops and really impress visitors too. We buy about 2kg of bananas every week and any uneaten ones that go brown get put into banana cake (if you dont have time to make one mash the bananas and freeze them for when you do).  Its easy to make, healthy and my son loves it in his school lunch. It can be cut then frozen to prevent naughty snacking and defrosted as needed. I also make my own wedges/oven chips by boiling them then adding olive oil and some potato seasoning and baking them for 10 mins - my kids demolish them and they are so healthy! I also make my own sweets - fudge is extremely fast and easy to make and the kids love it.  Its nice to give them treats that are home made and without preservatives or artificial colours. The only problem is the homemade stuff tastes so good you have to be careful not to eat it all yourself!

Slow cooker

First thing I did was buy a slow cooker - that investment (and really they are not expensive) has saved me so much time and money and I have been able to turn meat that wasnt far off dog tucker (actually in some cases it prob was dog tucker haha) into delicious stews.  I make my own pastry to go with the stews that I make in my slow cooker and also make my own tortillas for the chillie.  Both things are usually expensive.  Leftover tortillas can be heated in microwave and shaped into tacos or cut and sprayed with oil, sprinkled with seasonings and parmesan cheese then baked for 7 mins - delicious, natural (and almost fat free) tortilla chips and no waste!

I have not bought dog food in 4 months!  No my dog did not die or run away.  I realised I was spending a lot of money on his food and stopped.  Now I use my slow cooker to make his food. 

To make dog food use:

1 cup of rice (a packet of noodles also if you wish), leftover meat, chicken skins etc (which are kept for his meat and frozen), vege peelings are kept in a bag in the fridge.  Every fortnight I make up a huge batch of dog meat with 400 gms of cheap meat (you can actually buy meat for dogs) and I throw it all in the slow cooker together (the rice in the last hour) with some stock. Do not give dogs onions or garlic as it can make them sick.  When its done I put it into sandwhich bags and freeze in portions enough for 2 days worth.  My dog was a very fussy eater before (we had to change his tinned food constantly as he would go off it).  Now he eats every bite and it costs me such a small amount to make. Keep it in the fridge in a bowl overnight to defrost.

Mince mince mince

I buy about 2kg of the cheapest mince I can find( I can buy half a kg of frozen beef mince for $2 but thats where I live), cook it with stock, onion and garlic in my massive slow cooker until it is almost cooked (skim off the oil - i get a cup of it, we are on diets). I then separate it into two and put half in a massive pot.  One half gets taco seasoning, tomato paste, tinned tomatoes and tinned kidney beans (if you buy dry its cheaper but not worth it) and corn kernels.  add paprika to it if its not a rich enough flavour.  When done we eat half over the next couple of days and freeze the other half in glad sandwhich bags and my husband takes some to work with either a baked potato or tortilla chips/wrap. (sometimes after I add the tomato paste and tinned tomatoes but before the seasoning I seperate half and keep it aside for bolognaise and also lasagne- the latter is a treat as it uses quite a bit of meat but you can bulk it up with slices of boiled pumpkin and potato) The other half of the mince gets carrots and peas (and gravy/sheppards pie mix) added to it and becomes sheppards pie (mini ones in the freezer for my husbands lunch), mince with mashed potato.

It takes most of the day to cook the mince up like this but it is worth it. It is enough food for all of us for ages and tastes great. 

Pasta

Everyone knows pasta is cheap.  But we also get sick of italian pasta dishes so here is an easy recipe for something slightly more exotic which my Sri lankan maid learnt to make when working with a Kuwaiti family.  I have no idea of the name but we call it Arabic macaroni:

A packet of any dried pasta you have (we use 400gm packet)

About 4oogm mince (any kind you have) - if you dont have mince then use whatever you've got.

Heaped Tbs each of ground corriander, ground cumin (or cumin seeds, mustard seeds and curry leaves if you have them),

Tsp each of curry powder (any kind you have, garam masala is tasty) use more if it is mild, mixed spice, garlic paste, ginger paste.

1 onion - chopped

Tomato paste and tinned tomatoes (400gm pasta will require 2 of each)

Any veges that you have can be cut small and put in this, frozen mixed veg and a potato is great if that all you've got.  This is a great way of finishing veg that will go rotten if not used.  I particularly like this dish with eggplant, capsicum and courgette but really just use whatever is in season.

Instructions:

Fry the seeds and curry leaves (if you have them in your country) for a minute in a little oil, then add chopped onion - fry until nearly cooked, add garlic and ginger paste, then all the spices.  Add the mince and brown.  Add your vegetables, tomato paste and tinned tomatoes and cover with water, simmer for 10 mins.  Add your pasta and more water and boil a couple of mins past al dente - this dish is supposed to be a little bit sloppy with quite a lot of sauce.  Turn up the heat in the last few mins and reduce it down if there is just too much water. Mix through some chopped corriander leaves when its done and if its too spicy put a dollup of yoghurt on each bowl (and remember how much curry powder you used so you dont make the same mistake twice!)

Good news is this can be made with nearly anything, its packed full of veg and it is very tasty.  We make a huge pot and it all gets eaten.  It is not at all fattening - in fact its wonderful for your waistline, so your kids might need dessert. My husband takes some to work, my 5 year old eats 2 bowls and my 2 year old eats 1 (quite an achievement if you have ever had a fussy 2 year old).

Pizza at the park or beach

Another thing we did when we were too poor to get takeaways or eat in cafes when we were out is make pizza.  I made my own pizza bases (so cheap to make and pretty easy too!) I doubled the mix and got enough for 4 large, thin pizzas.  I buy big bags of frozen chicken pieces so take about 4 and boil them, stripping off the chicken with a fork when cooked.

I then separate the chicken into 4.  1/4 I fry for a couple of mins with some tandoori paste, making a delicious tandoori pizza with tomato sauce, tomato slices, capsicum slices, onion, (i even put sliced almonds on the top before the cheese. Last I mix some mango chutney with water and drizzle over the whole pizza.  It tastes great!

Another 1/4 I fry with some fajita seasoning and corn kernels, then add it to another pizza with capsicum onion and tomato followed.  The last two pizzas are usually hawaiin and meat lovers  - steak sauce and any leftover luncheon that needs to be used.  I then cut the pizzas up and freeze them in sandwhich bags so that they are available any time we go out.  Kept in a cooly bag they last several hours and are very tasty when eaten cold (my children and hubby love them).  They are low in fat - if you want more fat then keep the chicken skins on or put more chicken on each pizza.  They are probably about $1 each to make. 

Salad

I have started making salads more often, with the cheapest lettuce and adding the staple veges always in my fridge - grated carrot, sliced onion and capsicum, (corriander in mine)  and lemon juice.  I dont like mayonaisse - preffering a lighter salad so lemon juice (or vinegar) and some seasoning is all I use. Because the salad is not covered in dressing it lasts longer too. I use fajita seasoning if we are eating mexican that night and italian seasoning if we are eating italian (you get the drift) so I'm not buying lot seasoning that I never use.  Suprisingly my children actually love the salad - I never expected that! My husband takes some to work for lunch.

Quiche - easy and delicious

I use the same staple vegetables again to make quiche - but this time it doesnt have an expensive pastry (and my husband doesnt like tomatoes). I buy large quantities of cheap luncheon every month and seperate them into about 4 slices per sandwhich bag (or you could seperate with baking paper and use less sandwhich bags) I take out the meat slices when needed for sandwhiches or if I need to; quiche or omelettes.  This way they dont sit in your fridge going off - we were wasting a lot of money on meat slices that we couldnt use in the 2 days after buying.  They freeze very well and defrost in water if you need them fast.

Chicken and Corn Impossible Pie

Ingredients:

About 200gm of cooked chicken pieces (or any leftover cooked meat you have) cut into cubes.  I buy 450gm chicken mince (its cheap here)which I fry like an omelette (without stirring or breaking) and that gives me nice chicken pieces.  I freeze half this chicken with half my tin of creamed corn - ready to defrost for next time I want to make this.

1/2 cup standard/plain flour

4 eggs

2 cups milk (I use whatever we have - fresh, powdered, condensed and mixed with water - they all work)

100gms melted butter (or margarine if you dont have butter, although butter tastes better to me).

thin sliced vegetables in long strips - capsicum, courgette, microwaved until soft.

1/2 tin off creamstyle corn (you can make your own with corn kernels and a little bit of milk in a food processor)

1 cup grated cheese (you can use less if you dont have enough, or add some parmesan to get the cheesy flavour)

Instructions:

Whisk eggs with milk then add butter.  Sift flour into a large mixing bowl and slowly pour in egg mix while stirring to remove lumps. Add vegetables, corn and 1/2 cup of the grated cheese.  Season with salt and pepper and a tsp of garlic paste if you like.  Pour into a greased glass quiche dish and sprinkle remaining cheese on top - bake for around 50 mins in a moderate oven (about 190 celcius) or until brown on top and equally firm in center as the sides (you dont want a soggy centre) leave to set on top of oven for one hour before cutting.  Apparently this can be frozen however it never lasts long enough in my house to try!  My children easily eat 2 slices each with salad and again my husband takes it to work.  It is also extremely low fat so enjoy with salad if you are dieting.

I had all my iron and vitamin levels tested the other day and I'm extremely healthy (dr was impressed) so 4 months on a tight budget has actually done me well! A couple of tips for using sandwhich bags (they are my preferred choice for freezing and storing as they are cheap and hygenic):  only put cold food into freezer bags as chemicals can leech from the plastic if you put hot food in.  When defrosting put the bag into cold water until you are able to remove the bag.  Put the food in a glass or ceramic bowl to reheat until piping hot.  Do not heat food in the bags as the chemicals can go into your food.  I freeze everything, I make about 3 times what I need and freeze the rest into portions.  That way I dont have to cook too often and that saves electricity.

Hope this helps some people to save time as well as money -  my husband is the envy of all the men in the office with his yummy lunches and he is not wasting money on lunch anymore.  I try to use the same ingredients in most recipes, only changing the odd item.  If you have more recipes to share please add them to the comments. Thanks!