Such a great idea!!!!

This is stickied up the top, you might find some good ideas: Money Saving Ideas for Low Carb Eating

I find the slow cooker is my new best friend . You can use cheaper cuts of meat because of the cooking process it's always tender. I freeze whatever I've made into meal portions and use as grab and go meals.

But there is also a call for buying locally and saving money (& fuel). And don't forget to shop around an compare prices.

I get budget whole rumps at my wholesale butcher for $6.59 p/kg (& he is on my route to the pool). And his premium rumps are only $8.99. It feeds our 6 cats and us as well. I mince it for things like meatloaf and rissoles, and we have it as just steak. It's so good I even slice it very thin and have it raw a al Italian style Carpaccio.

When buying beef, you can pick grass fed (better for us I believe) as it does NOT have marbling and has softer yellow fat. Grain fed beef is marbled with fat all through the flesh and has hard white fat.

Roadside stalls can be excellent for fruit & veg in season too.

For really good quality and cheap fruit and veg, particularly stuff that's in season, I like farmers' markets.

I'm still struggling to find a good one locally, but I know of stacks down on the Mornington Peninsula, and go whenever I'm down there visiting family.

I like to buy my meat in bulk when I can, but I also like to support my local traders. I have a fantastic butcher locally, and although his prices aren't always the cheapest, his meat is consistently good.

I lament my low carb necessity sometimes, because we have the best baker and european style cake shop locally too Ahh well.

Slow cookers are the best, especially in summer. Although casseroles aren't really summer food, they're great because they don't add a lot of heat to the house while cooking, unlike ovens. They're great in winter, because they produce the best comfort food

My best friend in the kitchen, and for saving money, though, is my Thermomix. Cooking from first principles has never been easier, right down to mincing of meat and grinding of grain. But, that's another story altogether

Great thread!
I am currently unemployed... 3 teenage boys and a mortgage.. and a single parent.. so watching the $$ is very important, always, even when I do have work.....

I have a vegie garden and have had prolific zucchinis, spinach, beetroot and tiny tomatoes this summer... have just planted my winter crop...

When shopping, I only ever buy what is on special... nothing full price ever enters my trolley..

Am now planning the weekly menu, then checking the fridge, freezer and pantry, and only buy the essential ingredients... has cut my grocery bill in half!

I like the idea of buying toilet rolls once a year... I wonder where I could do that?
I also buy washing powder in a huge box...

I think the $2 chinese containers from cheap shops are a good way to help save money. You can then make meals in bulk and freeze them for convenience.

2 of my fav. meals to make on a budget are chickens soup & spaghetti sauce. I always have these in the freezer ready to go. When you break down the cost of a serving it's cheap as hell.

Chicken soup.
2kg of chicken legs (Cheaper cut than breast and you get the nutrients from the marrow. Soup is gelatinous, as it should be.)
Bunch a bunch of celery
Half a kg of carrots
2 x brown onions
chilli flakes
salt & pepper
Lots of water.
(prior to this WOE i would also use macaroni pasta in it as well.)

Method:
Remove skins of the chicken legs
Brown onions carrots and celery.
Add the chicken legs. ( You will need a super big, big pot to make this.)
Add enough water to cover everything. You will need to keep skimming any fat that comes to the top off with a spoon.
Add salt and pepper & chilli flakes.
When the chicken is falling off the bone, start to sift out the chicken and all the bones. This bit is a bit fiddley, but worth it.
You will need to keep adding lots water.
Break up all the chicken and add return to the pot.
Keep skimming the scum off the top.There will be a lot of it..
That's it.... divide it in chinese containers. This makes about 10 full chinese containers for me.
You can add any vegies you want too. This is just how I like it.

Spaghetti Sauce
1kg lean mince. You can use 3 star mince. You will just need to skim all the scum off.
1 x Brown onion
5 cloves of garlic
1 x 400g tin of tomatoes. (Even the cheap ones are a product of italy.)
1 x jar of passata
dried oregano
dried basil
1 x bay leaf.
2 x grated zucchini's
2 x grated carrots

Method:

Chop onion and sautee till almost translucent. Add mince and brown off. Don't drain if if there is too much liquid. You can skim this off later.
Pour in tinned tomatoes and jar of passata. Fill the empty tin with water x 2 =800ml and pour in. Add carrot and zucchini and start to cook down. You will need to keep adding water.... throw in garlic. ( I don't like burnt garlic. Hence the reason for not adding it with the onions.)

I cook my spaghetti sauce for between 4-6 hours. You can do it in about 40 minutes if you really need too. Add salt, pepper, oregano and basil to taste. Divide into containers and freeze.

You can make all this for around $25-$30 when things are on special. even cheaper if you have some of the ingredients at home. Makes about 30 meals.:)

I like to add bacon to my spaghetti sauce And a little red wine. And lots of beef stock, leaving it to simmer so the mince breaks down Last time I used purple carrots, and they tinted it a little, was odd looking but still tasted great.

I like the sound of your soup, but wouldn't personally add any salt until it'd nearly finished cooking. I've had some bad luck with salting stocks too early, and having them end up too salty.

I quite often make my own stocks, too, using a method similar to your soup recipe, but removing all solids, of course, when it's nearly done. Though I use necks and/or carcasses for chicken stock, not legs. Beef or lamb necks generally for those stocks. Home made stock is so much healthier than store bought, no MSG, no 'yeast extract'. Make sure to simmer really slowly, so you can barely see the bubbles. If you cook it too fast, that's when it goes cloudy.