One way to stretch the food budget is to use meat, not as a main dish, but included in other dishes like casseroles, stews, etc. We Americans eat too much meat, and it shows. If you really want to cut your food costs, cut your meat consumption by including it as an ingredient to a dish, rather than as the main entree. Everyone gets some meat and no one fills up on just meat.
Learn to eat leftovers. Some folks refuse to. If times get tough, they had better learn how. If you don't want it for two meals straight, freeze the extra and use it again a few days later. Waste not, want not.
If you have extra vegetables, meat, macaroni after a meal save it in the frig and once a week, make a pot of soup/stew from everything you saved during the week.
I totally agree. I recently learned that some of our beef contains thyroid hormones, which will mess you up if you eat beef frequently.
The closer to the natural state that you buy something the cheaper it is.
Instant rice is more expensive, so is quick cooking barley, and rolled oats.
Ethnic groceries are one of the best kept secrets, you can buy 4 or 8 ounce bags of spice for 10% of the stuff in jars.
Same thing on the grains. Local Indian grocery has chickpeas, every color of lentil and many other dry beans at a fraction of the 1 lb sacks the grocery’s carry.
I don’t think Americans eat enough meat. Our real problem is we eat too much processed, high starch, low nutrient grains.