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In my child’s mind there was an easy solution. Go to the store and buy more.

Grannie smiled as she told me that a huge tree had fallen and was blocking our driveway. We couldn’t get out.

That was, I believe the first time I felt panic.

I’ll never forget the look on my Grannie’s face.

“Every problem is just a solution waiting to happen. Let’s see what we can salvage and we will make lentil soup.”

That was then. Today, my family’s food budget is $30 per week per person. It’s tighter than a rusty nut and bolt.

We’ve stuck to this budget for 20 years. In that time we’ve erased almost all our debt. The only one remaining is a small mortgage on our house.

The problem was debt. The solution was spend almost nothing so most of our money could be used to give us debt freedom.

Anyone can do what we’ve done. It takes practise but we are here to guide you along.

Our strict budget came out of a will to survive. The debt we found ourselves face down in was created by job loses, kids in college and medical expenses for our handicapped child. We knew there was only one way out. Cut spending so we could pay off our debt.

One day with only a bag of lentils, a can of tomatoes and a few other things we recreated Grannies’ Lentil Soup.

Everybody’s budget is different. The idea is to look at what you’re buying now and figure out where you can make cuts.

Let’s start with how our budget looks at the end of February 2025.

Budget Review

• Year: $3,000
• Meat budget: $119.29
• Month: $250
• Weekly: $58

This budget feeds two active adults and often visiting family. There is no wiggle room with our budget. We have a meat budget of $119.29 accrued from unspent emergency fund money in 2024.

Here is what we’ve spent so far in 2025.

• Total value of food purchased: $379.42
• Value of PC points redeemed: $150
• January: $125.37
• February: $104.05

Total cash used to purchase food by the end of February: $229.42

We are both very active so food needs to nourish us so we are healthy and feel energetic.

Here’s how we shop for our food.

1. First refill any holes in the pantry. We stock three of every item we use regularly.

Once one is used we list its replacement on our shopping list.

For example we had three tins of green beans but we used one tin last night for dinner, leaving only two on the shelf.

Now we will add one can of green beans to our shopping list.

2. We have a food emergency budget of $15 per month.

The emergency budget can be used to purchase a food we need but can’t fit into our regular budget. This budget usually accrues until the end of the year. This is how we create our meat budget of $119.29 that is outlined at the top of the article.

3. Buy nutrients not calories

There is not much room in our budget for empty calories. Our meal plan concentrates on clean meat, vegetables, fruits and sour dough breads. Everybody needs a treat.

Potato chips, candy and treats are limited by the constraints of our budget.

For two former junk food lovers this is likely a very good thing!

4. Stick to a daily food plan that nourishes the body. Stay tuned for the next article where I will outline our basic food plan in detail.

5. Research and collect recipes that cost almost nothing to make. Then adapt them to your particular taste.

Grannies Lentil Recipe

It wasn’t enough for my grandmother to just make one meal of stew. From two cups of dried lentils she created six meals for the two of us. They were large meals. We could have fed two more.

• Lentil Stew
• Lentil Spaghetti Sauce
• Lentil Soup.

Basic Stew

• 2 cups dry green lentils, 1/2 a 900 gram bag
• 3 cups broth or water
• 2 cups water
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon bacon grease, butter or oil
• 2 stalks fresh celery
• 2 carrots
• 1 medium size onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 can tomatoes

Spices

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon basil flakes
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• Salt and pepper

Option: Create a creamy stew by adding Greek yogurt at serving time.

Method

• Chop celery, onion and garlic very fine
• Chop carrots into small chunks
• Melt butter, bacon grease or oil in a large heavy bottomed sauce pan
• Sauté vegetables in butter approximately five minutes until onion is almost translucent
• Add dry lentils, tomatoes and broth
• Bring the stew to a boil
• Turn the heat down
• Add spices
• Simmer until lentils are very soft and begin to fall apart
• This can be done in a crock pot
• Taste your stew. Correct seasoning by adding salt and pepper to taste.

Create Cream of Lentil Stroganoff

Here’s how!

• Remove the stew from the heat source
• Add 1 tablespoon Worcester sauce
• Stir in 1 tablespoon of Greek yogurt for every two cups of stew
• Do not reboil stew after the yogurt has been added
• Ladle the creamed stroganoff into hot bowls

Served topped with a dollop of yogurt.

Lentil Soup

To the remaining lentil pasta sauce:

• Add one can of chicken or beef broth: $2
• 1/3 cup cooked pasta: 50 cents

Serve hot with crackers.

How to Store your Basic Stew

This stew actually tastes better the next day. Store the stew four days in the fridge. Freeze for up to six months.

How to freeze your stew

If you plan to freeze your stew do not add the yogurt. Wait and add it after your frozen stew has been reheated.

Approximate cost to create

Grannies three meals:

Basic Stew

2 cups lentils: $1.50

Onion, carrot, garlic and celery: 50 cents

Tomatoes: $3

Broth $2.50 (free if using homemade)

Pasta Sauce

• 2 cups of left over stew
• 1 can of pizza sauce: $2
• 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning

Optional: 1 cup of grilled mixed vegetables: $3

In today’s dollars it will cost you $15 to create three different meals to feed two to four people.

In Grannie’s day it cost almost nothing.