{"id":480,"date":"2026-09-08T09:50:23","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T09:50:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/household-economy.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/08\/transform-leftovers-and-staples-into-tasty-family-feasts\/"},"modified":"2026-09-08T09:50:24","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T09:50:24","slug":"transform-leftovers-and-staples-into-tasty-family-feasts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/household-economy.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/08\/transform-leftovers-and-staples-into-tasty-family-feasts\/","title":{"rendered":"Transform Leftovers and Staples into Tasty Family Feasts"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"background: #f5f5f5; border: 1px solid #e0e0e0; border-left: 4px solid #2e7d32; border-radius: 8px; padding: 20px 24px; margin: 0 0 30px 0;\">\n<h3 style=\"margin: 0 0 12px 0; color: #2e7d32; font-size: 20px;\">\u26a1 Key Takeaways<\/h3>\n<ul style=\"padding-left: 20px; margin: 0; list-style: none;\">\n<li style=\"padding: 4px 0;\">\u2705 The cheapest healthy family meals usually start with beans, lentils, eggs, oats, rice, potatoes, pasta, cabbage, carrots, and frozen vegetables.<\/li>\n<li style=\"padding: 4px 0;\">\u2705 A nutritious dinner for four can often be cooked for roughly $6 to $12, depending on where you shop and what you already have in the pantry.<\/li>\n<li style=\"padding: 4px 0;\">\u2705 Meat is not the enemy, but it is expensive; use it as a flavoring rather than the main event when money is tight.<\/li>\n<li style=\"padding: 4px 0;\">\u2705 Frozen and canned produce can be just as useful as fresh, especially when avoiding food waste.<\/li>\n<li style=\"padding: 4px 0;\">\u2705 The best budget meals are flexible: soups, stews, fried rice, bean bowls, frittatas, curries, pasta bakes, and baked potatoes.<\/li>\n<li style=\"padding: 4px 0;\">\u2705 Planning around leftovers is not a sign of defeat; it is one of the oldest and smartest forms of household economics.<\/li>\n<li style=\"padding: 4px 0;\">\u2705 Healthy cheap cooking is less about perfect recipes and more about repeatable habits: batch cooking, smart shopping, and seasoning well.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>There is a particular kind of optimism involved in opening the fridge at 5:37 p.m. and expecting dinner to reveal itself. Usually, it does not. It offers half an onion, a yogurt tub with suspicious ambitions, and perhaps a carrot gone slightly bendy at the end. Feeding a family of four on a budget is not a television cooking challenge, though it can feel like one, only with fewer charming judges and more complaints about peas. \ud83e\udd55<\/p>\n<p>The good news is that the cheapest healthy meals are not miserable little plates of steamed virtue. They are the dishes people have cooked for centuries because they are filling, nourishing, forgiving, and inexpensive: bean stews, rice bowls, soups, lentils, eggs, potatoes, oats, noodles, roasted vegetables, and pasta stretched with whatever the week allows.<\/p>\n<p>For the purpose of this article, \u201ccheap\u201d means meals that generally cost less than takeout for one person, but feed four. \u201cHealthy\u201d means balanced enough to include a sensible mix of protein, fiber-rich carbohydrates, vegetables, and fats, without requiring imported berries blessed by a mountain monk. Prices vary by region, but the principles travel well.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"border-bottom: 2px solid #e0e0e0; padding-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 35px;\">The real secret: build meals from cheap nutritional workhorses \ud83e\uded8<\/h2>\n<p>Every affordable family kitchen has a quiet cast of reliable characters. They are not glamorous, but then neither is a mortgage payment. The foods that do the most for the least money tend to be shelf-stable, adaptable, and nutritionally dense.<\/p>\n<p>The best budget staples include:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"padding-left: 28px; margin: 20px 0 28px 0; list-style: disc;\">\n<li><strong>Beans and lentils:<\/strong> high in protein, fiber, iron, and patience. Canned beans are convenient; dried beans are cheaper if you have time.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Eggs:<\/strong> still one of the most versatile proteins, useful for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and the \u201cwe forgot to defrost anything\u201d emergency.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Oats:<\/strong> a breakfast hero that costs pennies per serving and can be sweet or savory.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Rice, pasta, barley, and potatoes:<\/strong> filling foundations that make modest portions of protein and vegetables go further.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Frozen vegetables:<\/strong> often cheaper than fresh, pre-chopped, and immune to the tragedy of wilting in the crisper drawer.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Cabbage, carrots, onions, and sweet potatoes:<\/strong> inexpensive vegetables with long storage lives and remarkable stamina.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Canned tomatoes, tuna, sardines, and peanut butter:<\/strong> pantry staples that bring flavor, protein, and substance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote style=\"border-left: 4px solid #2e7d32; background: #f0f7f0; padding: 16px 20px; margin: 28px 0; border-radius: 0 8px 8px 0; font-style: italic;\">\n<p style=\"margin: 0;\">The cheapest healthy meals are usually not the ones with the fewest ingredients; they are the ones with ingredients that work hard in more than one way.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>A pot of lentil soup, for instance, gives you protein, fiber, minerals, warmth, leftovers, and the faint feeling that you have your life together. That is a generous return on a very small investment.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"border-bottom: 2px solid #e0e0e0; padding-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 35px;\">Ten of the cheapest healthy dinners for a family of four \ud83c\udf72<\/h2>\n<p>Here are dependable meals that generally sit in the budget-friendly zone while still giving your family real nourishment. The rough cost ranges assume pantry basics such as oil, salt, pepper, and a few spices are already on hand. If not, consider spices a small long-term investment; cumin and paprika can rescue many a dull Tuesday.<\/p>\n<ol style=\"padding-left: 28px; margin: 20px 0 28px 0; list-style: decimal;\">\n<li><strong>Lentil and vegetable soup:<\/strong> Simmer lentils with onion, carrot, celery or frozen mixed vegetables, canned tomatoes, garlic, and broth or water. Serve with toast or rice. Approximate cost: $6 to $9.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Bean and rice burrito bowls:<\/strong> Layer rice, black beans or pinto beans, corn, shredded cabbage, salsa, and a spoonful of yogurt or cheese if the budget permits. Approximate cost: $7 to $11.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Egg fried rice with frozen vegetables:<\/strong> Use leftover rice, eggs, frozen peas and carrots, soy sauce, and a little oil. Add cabbage or onion for bulk. Approximate cost: $5 to $8.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Whole-wheat pasta with tomato lentil sauce:<\/strong> Stretch a jar or can of tomato sauce with cooked lentils, grated carrot, onion, and herbs. Approximate cost: $7 to $10.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Baked potato bar:<\/strong> Bake large potatoes and top with beans, broccoli, yogurt, cheese, tuna, chili, or leftover vegetables. Approximate cost: $6 to $12.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Chickpea curry:<\/strong> Simmer chickpeas with canned tomatoes, onion, curry powder, and frozen spinach or peas. Serve over rice. Approximate cost: $8 to $11.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Vegetable frittata:<\/strong> Combine eggs with leftover vegetables, potatoes, onion, and a little cheese if available. Serve with salad or toast. Approximate cost: $6 to $10.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Peanut noodles with cabbage:<\/strong> Toss noodles with peanut butter, soy sauce, garlic, a splash of vinegar, shredded cabbage, and carrots. Add scrambled egg or tofu if desired. Approximate cost: $7 to $10.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Turkey, bean, or lentil chili:<\/strong> Use beans and tomatoes as the base; add a small amount of ground meat only if affordable. Serve with rice or cornbread. Approximate cost: $8 to $14.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Oatmeal breakfast-for-dinner:<\/strong> Make savory oats with eggs and greens, or sweet oats with apples, peanut butter, and cinnamon. Not traditional dinner, perhaps, but neither is bankruptcy. Approximate cost: $4 to $8.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>The humble trick behind all these meals is that they contain at least one filling base, one protein source, and one vegetable. That formula is not fancy, but it is sturdy. A meal does not need to photograph well to do its job.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"border-bottom: 2px solid #e0e0e0; padding-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 35px;\">Breakfasts that cost less than a coffee run \u2615<\/h2>\n<p>Breakfast is where many family food budgets begin leaking money. Cereal disappears at a speed that suggests small children are part locust. Granola bars are individually wrapped coins. Yogurt cups are convenient but often pricey per serving. The cheapest healthy breakfasts are usually made in bulk.<\/p>\n<p>Oats deserve special mention. They are cheap, filling, rich in soluble fiber, and far more versatile than their reputation suggests. A large pot of oatmeal can be dressed with bananas, apples, raisins, peanut butter, cinnamon, frozen berries, or a spoonful of jam. If your household rejects oatmeal on aesthetic grounds, bake it into squares and call it breakfast cake. Nobody needs to know.<\/p>\n<p>Budget breakfast ideas include:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"padding-left: 28px; margin: 20px 0 28px 0; list-style: disc;\">\n<li><strong>Overnight oats:<\/strong> oats, milk or yogurt, fruit, and peanut butter prepared the night before.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Egg and potato hash:<\/strong> diced potatoes, onions, leftover vegetables, and fried or scrambled eggs.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Banana peanut butter toast:<\/strong> inexpensive, filling, and quick enough for chaotic mornings.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Homemade breakfast burritos:<\/strong> eggs, beans, rice, and salsa wrapped in tortillas and frozen for later.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Plain yogurt with fruit and oats:<\/strong> cheaper when bought in large tubs rather than single servings.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Protein at breakfast matters, especially for children heading into a school day and adults trying not to eat a vending machine by 10 a.m. Eggs, peanut butter, yogurt, beans, and milk all help breakfast last longer.<\/p>\n<blockquote style=\"border-left: 4px solid #2e7d32; background: #f0f7f0; padding: 16px 20px; margin: 28px 0; border-radius: 0 8px 8px 0; font-style: italic;\">\n<p style=\"margin: 0;\">A cheap breakfast is only a bargain if it keeps people full. Sugar alone is a short-term treaty with hunger.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h2 style=\"border-bottom: 2px solid #e0e0e0; padding-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 35px;\">Lunches built from leftovers, not wishful thinking \ud83e\udd6a<\/h2>\n<p>Lunch is the meal most likely to become an afterthought, especially when everyone is out of the house. But packed lunches are where leftovers go to become respectable. A scoop of chili, yesterday\u2019s rice, or roasted vegetables can become the next day\u2019s bowl, wrap, soup, or quesadilla.<\/p>\n<p>For families, the most efficient lunch strategy is to cook slightly more dinner than needed. Not double, necessarily; just enough to give tomorrow a head start. Leftovers are not a punishment. They are time travel.<\/p>\n<p>Cheap healthy lunch ideas for four include:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"padding-left: 28px; margin: 20px 0 28px 0; list-style: disc;\">\n<li><strong>Rice and bean containers:<\/strong> add salsa, shredded cabbage, corn, and a small amount of cheese.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Lentil soup in a thermos:<\/strong> filling, warm, and usually better the next day.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Egg salad or tuna salad sandwiches:<\/strong> stretch with chopped celery, grated carrot, or white beans.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Hummus wraps:<\/strong> use chickpeas, tahini or yogurt, lemon, garlic, and vegetables.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Pasta salad:<\/strong> combine whole-wheat pasta, beans, frozen vegetables, and vinaigrette.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If children are picky, consider the \u201cdeconstructed lunch\u201d approach: crackers or toast, boiled egg, fruit, carrot sticks, cheese cubes, and a dip. Adults call this a snack plate. Children call it fun. Nutrition calls it acceptable.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"border-bottom: 2px solid #e0e0e0; padding-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 35px;\">How to make meat fit a tight budget without vanishing entirely \ud83c\udf57<\/h2>\n<p>Meat can be part of a cheap healthy diet, but it rarely works well as the centerpiece of every meal. The old-fashioned solution is to use meat as seasoning: a small amount of chicken in a big pot of soup, a little sausage in beans, a modest portion of ground turkey stretched with lentils, or canned fish folded into pasta.<\/p>\n<p>This approach is not deprivation; it is culinary common sense. Many of the world\u2019s most beloved dishes use small amounts of meat to flavor grains, legumes, and vegetables. Think fried rice, minestrone, chili, jambalaya, pasta e ceci with a bit of pancetta, or chicken and vegetable soup.<\/p>\n<p>Smart ways to stretch meat include:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"padding-left: 28px; margin: 20px 0 28px 0; list-style: disc;\">\n<li><strong>Mix ground meat with lentils:<\/strong> use half meat and half cooked lentils in tacos, chili, shepherd\u2019s pie, or pasta sauce.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Buy bone-in chicken when cheaper:<\/strong> cook it once, use the meat for meals, and simmer the bones for broth.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Use canned fish strategically:<\/strong> tuna, salmon, sardines, and mackerel bring protein and omega-3 fats without much cooking.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Choose eggs more often:<\/strong> they can replace meat in fried rice, frittatas, breakfast burritos, and grain bowls.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Make soup:<\/strong> soup is the great equalizer, turning one lonely chicken thigh into dinner for four.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The same logic applies to cheese. A little sharp cheddar or parmesan can add flavor without requiring half the block. Strong-flavored ingredients often cost more upfront, but you use less of them, which is the sort of kitchen math worth learning.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"border-bottom: 2px solid #e0e0e0; padding-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 35px;\">A simple weekly meal plan for about $60 to $80 \ud83d\uded2<\/h2>\n<p>Prices vary wildly, and anyone who claims otherwise has not recently purchased berries in January. Still, a basic family meal plan can be built around inexpensive staples. This sample assumes a pantry with oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, chili powder, curry powder, and soy sauce.<\/p>\n<p>A practical shopping list might include:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"padding-left: 28px; margin: 20px 0 28px 0; list-style: disc;\">\n<li>Oats<\/li>\n<li>Rice<\/li>\n<li>Whole-wheat pasta<\/li>\n<li>Potatoes<\/li>\n<li>Eggs<\/li>\n<li>Dried lentils<\/li>\n<li>Canned beans<\/li>\n<li>Canned tomatoes<\/li>\n<li>Peanut butter<\/li>\n<li>Plain yogurt<\/li>\n<li>Milk or fortified soy milk<\/li>\n<li>Frozen mixed vegetables<\/li>\n<li>Frozen spinach<\/li>\n<li>Carrots<\/li>\n<li>Cabbage<\/li>\n<li>Onions<\/li>\n<li>Bananas<\/li>\n<li>Apples<\/li>\n<li>Tortillas or bread<\/li>\n<li>A small block of cheese, if affordable<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>With those ingredients, a week of meals might look like this:<\/p>\n<ol style=\"padding-left: 28px; margin: 20px 0 28px 0; list-style: decimal;\">\n<li><strong>Monday dinner:<\/strong> lentil soup with carrots, onions, tomatoes, and toast.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Tuesday dinner:<\/strong> bean and rice bowls with cabbage, salsa-style tomatoes, and yogurt.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Wednesday dinner:<\/strong> egg fried rice with frozen vegetables.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Thursday dinner:<\/strong> baked potatoes topped with beans, spinach, and a little cheese.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Friday dinner:<\/strong> peanut noodles with cabbage and carrots.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Saturday dinner:<\/strong> pasta with tomato lentil sauce.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Sunday dinner:<\/strong> vegetable frittata with potatoes and a side of apples or carrot sticks.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Breakfasts can rotate between oatmeal, eggs and toast, yogurt with fruit, and peanut butter banana toast. Lunches can be leftovers, wraps, soup, or rice bowls. It is not a luxury menu, but it is varied, nutritious, and mercifully free of the nightly \u201cwhat are we eating?\u201d debate.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"border-bottom: 2px solid #e0e0e0; padding-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 35px;\">The small habits that cut the bill without cutting nutrition \ud83d\udd2a<\/h2>\n<p>Cheap healthy cooking is less about heroic couponing and more about repeated, almost boring habits. Boring is underrated. Boring gets dinner on the table.<\/p>\n<p>The first habit is planning around what you already own. Before shopping, look at the fridge, freezer, and pantry. A meal plan should begin with the half-bag of carrots and the rice you bought last month, not with a fantasy version of yourself who casually juliennes fennel on Wednesdays.<\/p>\n<p>The second habit is batch cooking. Cook a pot of rice, lentils, beans, or soup once, and use it several ways. Rice becomes bowls, fried rice, burritos, and soup filler. Lentils become stew, pasta sauce, taco filling, and shepherd\u2019s pie. Beans become chili, wraps, dips, and baked potato toppings.<\/p>\n<p>The third habit is using the freezer like a savings account. Freeze bread before it molds, bananas before they liquefy, soup in portions, extra cooked rice, and chopped vegetables that are approaching their final act.<\/p>\n<p>Other money-saving habits include:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"padding-left: 28px; margin: 20px 0 28px 0; list-style: disc;\">\n<li><strong>Buy store brands:<\/strong> the beans do not know whose label they are wearing.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Compare unit prices:<\/strong> bigger packages are not always cheaper, though they often are.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Cook once, eat twice:<\/strong> intentionally make leftovers.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Use meatless meals several times a week:<\/strong> beans, lentils, eggs, and tofu are often cheaper proteins.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Keep emergency meals:<\/strong> pasta, canned tomatoes, eggs, frozen vegetables, and rice can prevent expensive takeout.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Season boldly:<\/strong> cheap food should not taste like an apology.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote style=\"border-left: 4px solid #2e7d32; background: #f0f7f0; padding: 16px 20px; margin: 28px 0; border-radius: 0 8px 8px 0; font-style: italic;\">\n<p style=\"margin: 0;\">Frugality in the kitchen is not about making food smaller. It is about making ingredients useful until the very end.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h2 style=\"border-bottom: 2px solid #e0e0e0; padding-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 35px;\">What \u201chealthy\u201d really means when the budget is tight \ud83e\udd57<\/h2>\n<p>It is easy to get trapped by the performance of health: the powders, the bars, the tiny bags of ancient grains with prices that suggest they come with legal counsel. But healthy family food does not need a marketing department. It needs enough protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and calories to keep people well.<\/p>\n<p>A useful plate model is simple: half vegetables or fruit, one quarter protein, one quarter grains or starchy vegetables, plus a little fat for flavor and satisfaction. Not every meal will look exactly like that. Some days dinner is toast and eggs. Some days lunch is leftovers eaten over the sink while answering email. Perfection is neither affordable nor necessary.<\/p>\n<p>Fiber is one of the unsung heroes of cheap eating. Beans, lentils, oats, whole grains, vegetables, and fruit help keep people full and support digestive and heart health. Conveniently, these are also among the least expensive foods in the store.<\/p>\n<p>Protein matters too, but it does not have to come from steak or boneless chicken breasts. Beans, lentils, eggs, yogurt, milk, tofu, peanut butter, canned fish, and whole grains all contribute. A family that eats lentil soup, eggs, rice and beans, yogurt, and peanut noodles over the course of a week is not \u201cmissing protein\u201d just because every dinner does not include a slab of meat.<\/p>\n<p>The main nutritional challenge in budget cooking is often produce. This is where frozen vegetables, cabbage, carrots, onions, apples, bananas, and canned tomatoes shine. They are not second-class citizens. They are the dependable civil servants of the vegetable kingdom.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"border-bottom: 2px solid #e0e0e0; padding-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 35px;\">The bottom line: cheap, healthy, and human \ud83c\udf3f<\/h2>\n<p>The cheapest healthy meals for a family of four are not secret recipes guarded by nutritionists in linen aprons. They are practical meals built from inexpensive staples: lentil soup, bean and rice bowls, egg fried rice, potato dinners, chickpea curry, pasta with lentil sauce, frittatas, peanut noodles, and oatmeal. They work because they are flexible, filling, and hard to ruin.<\/p>\n<p>There will still be nights when the plan collapses. Someone will hate the soup. The rice will burn. The bananas meant for breakfast will be eaten by an invisible household gremlin. That is normal. Feeding people every day is repetitive, emotional labor with dishes attached.<\/p>\n<p>But a modest pantry, a few reliable recipes, and the willingness to treat leftovers as assets can change the rhythm of a household. Dinner becomes less of a financial ambush and more of a routine. Not always elegant, not always Instagrammable, but nourishing. And frankly, any meal that feeds four people well without emptying your wallet deserves a standing ovation, or at least someone else doing the dishes.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"border-bottom: 2px solid #e0e0e0; padding-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 35px;\">FAQ \u2753<\/h2>\n<h3 style=\"margin-top: 24px; color: #333;\">What is the absolute cheapest healthy dinner for a family of four?<\/h3>\n<p>Lentil soup is one of the strongest contenders. Dried lentils, carrots, onions, canned tomatoes, and seasonings can make a large, filling pot for very little money. Serve it with rice, toast, or potatoes to make it even more substantial.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"margin-top: 24px; color: #333;\">Are canned and frozen vegetables healthy?<\/h3>\n<p>Yes. Frozen vegetables are often picked and frozen at peak ripeness, and canned vegetables can be nutritious too. Choose low-sodium versions when possible, or rinse canned vegetables and beans to reduce sodium. They are especially useful because they reduce waste.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"margin-top: 24px; color: #333;\">How can I feed picky children cheaply and healthily?<\/h3>\n<p>Use familiar formats: burritos, pasta, rice bowls, baked potatoes, soups with dippable bread, and breakfast-for-dinner. Keep vegetables visible but low-pressure. Shredded carrots in pasta sauce, frozen peas in rice, and mild bean dips can be easier than a dramatic heap of steamed broccoli.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"margin-top: 24px; color: #333;\">Is it cheaper to cook vegetarian meals?<\/h3>\n<p>Often, yes. Beans, lentils, eggs, tofu, oats, and peanut butter usually cost less per serving than meat. You do not have to become fully vegetarian to save money; even two or three meatless dinners per week can lower the grocery bill.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"margin-top: 24px; color: #333;\">What should I keep in my pantry for cheap family meals?<\/h3>\n<p>Keep rice, pasta, oats, lentils, canned beans, canned tomatoes, peanut butter, broth or bouillon, basic spices, oil, and canned fish if your family eats it. Add frozen vegetables and long-lasting fresh produce such as carrots, cabbage, onions, potatoes, apples, and bananas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u26a1 Key Takeaways \u2705 The cheapest healthy family meals usually start with beans, lentils, eggs, oats, rice, potatoes,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":479,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/household-economy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/household-economy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/household-economy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/household-economy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/household-economy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=480"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/household-economy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":481,"href":"https:\/\/household-economy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480\/revisions\/481"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/household-economy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/household-economy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/household-economy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/household-economy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}