Sorry.. this is a long one.. but I hope it's helpful.

Not so much about recipes per say.. but how to keep food stocks on the cheap, which is cheaper than trying to buy for every meal. If you have some of this stuff on hand, it's easy to make a large number of cheap but yummy meals. Your library and it's cook books will become your best friend. Look up specific food recipie books, aka Lentils, quinoa, super soups ect. Of course online recipe sites are great too, but I find it hard to become focused in your search and find results.

So.. my cheap eating guide?? Mainly: Buy dried or frozen, and buy in bulk. I live in Toronto, so I'm extremely lucky to be able to price shop with tons of options. My main trick is that I try to stock up on dried goods at a bulk food store (especially those on young, or strictly bulk), or frozen goods from the cheapest grocery stores, and then try to mix things up.

As soon as you buy something packaged, you are paying extra for the packaging and the marketing. So I try to buy from bulk food stores. I try to always have dried black/red/various dried beans (cheaper than canned) and lentils, dried peas, rice, gluten free pasta, stock cubes (healthiest option is the organics vegan super low sodium in the blue box.. very little salt!), powdered cheese (cheddar and parmesan), vegan "chili" mix, nutritional yeast, brown sugar, lime leaves, quinoa, spices, dried so soya chunks, "ground" and slices (many people will think it's chicken), cashews, sliced almonds, dried fruit, walnuts, peanut butter, honey, pepper corns and maple syrup, sesame seeds and spices on hand. I get all this things from various bulk stores (the nut house, Strictly Bulk, and bulk barn). Take a sharpie with you to the bulk store, as not all have tags and you'll need to write on the bags to identify your stuff when you get home. I tend to keep and re use all glass food jars for bulk items, aka pasta sauce jars, apple sauce jars, juice bottles, maraschino cherry jars ect. Other great staples for flavoring: Mustard, Soy/Tamari sauce, Worchester sauce, oils/vinegar, tomato paste/juice, lemon/lime juice, cheap wine or beer and cornstarch or nutritional yeast for thickening.

Fresh produce and meat is usually the most expensive way to eat, even if it is also the tastiest. I buy chicken in large white plain boxes from certain price choppers. I haven't counted, but you get a LARGE number of pre seasoned, boneless skinless chicken breast for about $30, and this can last me 4 months or more, especially if you are slicing them in half lengthwise and cutting into strips.. one breast goes a really long way. I'm insanely lucky that here in Toronto, there is an insanely cheap produce place near me (economy fruit), as well as cheap Asian grocery/produce stores. Another fun thing to do is grow your own herbs. Almost any container will do.. and dirt is all around you. Start off with one or two different seed packs. Fresh parsley, chives or dill from your window sill is a lovely thing to add to all the dry and frozen food. You invest $2 for some seeds.. and they'll keep growing so long as you water them.

In my freezer I keep frozen spinach pellets (not blocks.. too hard to separate), baby Brussel sprouts, and frozen fruit. I buy curry paste in large containers from super cheap from Asian stores on Young, where you get 4 times as much for half the price. I buy large boxes of Grace brand coconut powder, and from that create my own coconut milk and cream, rather than wasting $1+ per can every time I want to make thai green curry. Also, I invested in a bread maker froma thrift store ($16), as I should be eating gluten free. I now make my own breads, cookies and crackers, as those things are simply too pricey, and the cheap breads are very bad for your health and creating spare tires! Double or triple bag all bread, and it lasts MUCH longer.

Buy whatever produce or fruit is being discounted, then chop/cut/puree and freeze it for soups, bases, smoothies ect. Buying discounted /near end of life peppers, chopping them up very fine and freezing them is a great way to add flavour to many dishes. (Note... cut peppers in half, scoop out seeds.. freeze.. then chop into bits and re freeze. Make sure pieces are loose in baggie so that you can get small bits later.. not one huge chunk).

Other things that make my life easy: Laughing cow cheese (I buy the 24 packs of the light) and Kiri Goat Cheese cubes are very versatile and melt really well into anything hot, adding tons of flavor and creaminess, but very little in calories. I love putting it in quinoa and stir fries, lentils, and any other grain or soup. I keep a HUGE bag of onions on hand, and squash makes a great buy because it lasts so long in your fridge, freezes well, and is fantastic in soups, casseroles, mixed with nuts/grains, mixed with potatoes ect. If you drink milk, buy the skim version in bags, as you can put them in the freezer. Also, ground turkey is cheaper and healthier than any beef, and cheaper than ground lean beef. The other main fresh item I always have on hand are eggs. They keep for a much longer time than advertised. If you are wary about your egg, look up the float time test.

Another tip: If you have a roommate, split on getting a Costco membership, which split is $25ish a year. Basically one person buys one, and the other person has to be able to prove they live at the same address, and they get the "spouse/family"card. Buy things in bulk, and freeze things, especially meat and cheese. FYI you DONT need a membership to get prescriptions there, which are a zillion times cheaper than getting them elsewhere. Just call them to as how much XX generic prescription will be, compared to your normal pharmacy. You can also save a mint on prescription eyewear there. Another thought: Get a crockpot. Slow, low heat cooking makes everything taste amazing, especially if you can keep a $7 bottle of cheap wine around for it. They are especially great for cooking the less desirable cuts of meat.

The best overall tip though??? Chow hound. Awesome resource!! : )

And after all that, as to the original question regarding recipes... My fav. is Thai Green Curry. It's cheap to make a number of times assuming you have some essential dried/long shelf life ingredients, which for me are:

Coconut powder, green curry paste, brown sugar, dried/frozen lemon grass, fish sauce, dried lime leaves, water, rice, so soya slices/chicken, and whatever vegetables you have lying around.
OR
Quinoa boiled with low sodium bouillon cube, then add 2 spinach blocks, chopped mushroom, 1 or 2 laughing cow cheese, thinly chopped or julienned carrot, pin nuts or cashew bits
OR
Couscous cooked in bouillon water then add curry powder, cinnamon, small amount of parsley, dried chopped up pits of cherry and or raisins and cashews/almonds/walnuts. Can add in laughing cow light.
OR

Chopped onions and minced garlic fried with whatever veggies you have lying around with whichever flavorings you like.. tamari and oil
OR:
Mixed Soup: Throw dried beans/rice/whatever you have into a crock pot with a bouillon cube, water, onions, and any other chopped veggies you have. Look up online recipes for inspiration and guidelines.
OR
Roasted Veggies: Cut up anything you have into small pieces, or into "fries". Coat in any available oil, and if you have it coat in spices (salt/pepper, cayeene, garlic, onion ect) and either bread crumbs, crushed cereal, corn meal or whatever else. Stick in oven until tender and perhaps crunchy.

Thanks so much guys! I did finally find all the PC small containers, and like Vidal says.. another product I didn't know about, the 900g PC Whey ($35.99?) and Soy powders, ($30.99?). They are SUCH a better deal than the mixes I found at GMC... which for the most part were over $60 for essentially the same thing. I tried the Whey powder, 900g PC (Which I finally found at a No frills in the pharmacy area at Dufferin location) so I gave it a try. It's doable, (the Whey one). It mixed great, and was nearly flavourless aside from a milky aftertaste. Two days later I was at the Lawblaws near Dundas west station at the LCBO, and I was curious.. so I went into the grocery store, and they had an Exact brand, chocolate flavoured, 25g of protein a serving for $25.99. I decided to risk it. I really like it! It mixes well, and the taste is very nice! I mix the power with cold water.. so it tastes like watery chocolate, which I'm fine with.

Anyway, thanks for all your help.. I'm relieved to have an easy, no-cooking hassle-less protein source to make watching my food intake easier while getting filling protein. With a side bonus of a chocolate craving killer : )

I've seen some rave reviews for a protein powder from PC that doesn't break the bank.
I've been to 5 places so far that sell PC products, but I find Zilch.

Has any one eyeballed this product recently?
Thanks so much.

President's choice Soy Protein Shake Mix
http://www.superstore.ca/LCLOnline/pr...

I'm a huge fan of Vena's Roti out in the west end, very close to Lansdown Subway on Bloor. Little hole in the wall.. but SO yummy!!

If you can bike, bring a large back pack, and a bike basket, and head over to Economy fruit (fruit and produce, and a couple of canned items). It's unbelievably affordable. I've walked out with 2 grocery bags full of fruit and veggies for $5. It's just west of Dufferin on Bloor. Don't let the initial look of the place throw you, as it's doesn't look like much, just remember, you can wash everything. It's a little hole in the wall, very easy to miss, across from the high school. $10 will go a long ways there. I like to buy an entire bag of onions and I can make onion soup numerous times. It's fabulous for stocking up, and freezing the extras. Otherwise, I go to bulk food stores, the Nut house just up the street from me is excellent, and buy only what I need, or keep a stock of beans ect. for soups in the crock pot. I also make my own bread in a bread maker, putting in a little honey as a presevative, and tying it up in 3 plastic bags, and storing in the fridge. It stays fresh for a week. But it's usually gone by then....

OMG thanks for posting. Very good news.

I'm all about anything at Greg's.
The Pumpkin pie is really neat, so is the stout. But Toasted Marsh mellow is by far my favorite.

Oh!!! Ivory Thailand (Queen church area) has a bit of an ice cream bar as part of their buffet.. and the coconut is.. just.... meltingly (me, not the ice cream) good. It's smooth.. subtle yet strong and delicate... and you just want more. No chunks. mmmmmm.

Hey again, I did a quick forum search for places that sell fresh olive oil, but nothing turned up in the archive.

I have heard a couple of times about people/places that will have bottles of really fresh, good olive oil, either made here or recently brought over in the last few months, not factory/company made.

Does anyone have the names of places I can call/ bike toothat are not too far out on the Danforth (I'm biking from young/dundas) or in the downtown core, along queen, or up to lansdown/bloor that might sell really excellent olive oil??

I know I saw a guy selling some out of a used record/ice cream/book shop down on queen west, but I can't remember the name of the shop now to call and make sure he has some before I go down there. Anyone happen to know what it's called?

Also, is there a "best" feta cheese out there? What about katamala olives..or other salad olives... is there a "best type/place to buy from"?

Thanks so much!!!!
Have an AWESOME YUMMY weekend everyone! Drink up the sun!

Thank you everyone for your replies! I'm going to try to make something! Our trip/picnic has been postponed till this weekend. I'll let you all know how it goes! :)

Hi there..
few years back my mom went to Greece on a cruise, and she still swears the salads over there were the best thing she's ever eaten, and has not had one as good since.

So for anyone on here that knows Greek salad .. (I have NO clue)
Where can I go to get the absolute best salad? Im' thinking like a Greek grocery or .. what not on the Danforth ( or anywhere.. I 'll go where I need to for supreme quality/yumminess) . I need this for a Sunday picnic.

I'd also welcome recipes, including the proper spices, and where to get them .

Mom figures it was the spices over there vs. the spices available over here that made the difference.

Thoughts? Opinions??

Many thanks!!

Hi there..

I am trying to find Panang curry paste, in stock. We went to T&T, down at Cherry, and I've tried one of the supermarkets on Spadina (the largest one on the east side closest to Queen) but neither of them had it in stock.

I'm trying to recreate Salad King's Thai Islamic Noodle, as it the most addictive dish I know of!