Budget Bytes: Over 100 Easy, Delicious Recipes to Slash Your Grocery Bill in Half: A Cookbook

Such a great book for easy weeknight meals that are affordable. I love that I can mix and match different elements within it. Definitely recommend!

I overlooked this book on my bookshelf a long time. When at least $1 was added to everything in the grocery store I remembered this book. Found it immediately. Found a recipe that I had everything for and made it last night. My husband LOVED it. I sat down with this cookbooik and really studied the recipes. I've already decided what I'm going to make tomorrow night. I'm going to buy a copy for a friend.

I have been familiar with Beth Moncel's website for several months and wish I had found her much sooner. I decided to buy her cookbook and am so glad I did. While I haven't looked at all her recipes on-line, I found numerous ones in the book that I have flagged for future use. Plus I enjoyed reading her story and her ideas, organization tips, equipment needed or not needed, and how to make the best use of her Budget Plan. I spent a couple of evenings just reading her book from cover to cover. She writes well. Plus, she has a lot of spunk and determination.I read a couple of the "Bad" reviews and what some had to say about no new recipes or whatever else didn't please some. Once I had finished her book my initial thoughts were confirmed. It seems lots of people use her website, Some use it a lot. You can subscribe and every time she post a new recipe it e-mails you so you know to go take a look. She even post pictures of her entire cooking process. I remember one complaining there were no cooking pictures in this book. PUH-LEEZE!!! Beth lived in a less than desirable apartment, went back to school to learn a new profession, scraped and saved and learned and finally was able to afford to move to a nicer home plus doing all this website work. working a full-time job and have a life of her own.I doubt she made a boat load of money on this book or even a bucket full. BUT I HOPE SHE DID!!! She deserves it. Be generous, buy her book if you possibly able to, particularly if you are even a casual user of her website. It's a good book and it is only $12 dollars. Give it as gifts. Let's support Beth happily. She may not do this forever. You can also buy used copies if necessary. I don't know if her blog costs anything to "broadcast." But I suspect it does. I just googled this and there is a monthly fee and it varies. Plus there is website development. I stopped looking.I am through venting. I feel better now that I have responded to the criticisms that I believe she did not nor does not deserve.MY HUSBAND HAS LOVED EVERY VEGETARIAN RECIPE WE HAVE TRIED FROM THE WEBSITE OR THE COOKBOOK! THAT SPEAKS FOR ITSELF.

I found Beth's blog quite by accident, and I immediately felt that this is the type of cooking I like. Fast, easy, delicious, and budget friendly. I tried a couple of her recipes and knew that I had found what I was looking for. I like to support entrepreneurs who generously share their talents for free on the internet by purchasing items that they have for sale, so I bought Beth's book and am glad I did. She shares her secrets for cutting your grocery bills and provides great recipes that use items most of us have on hand. After reading some of the reviews, I am surprised that people complained that there are not more of the recipes that are on her blog. Why would you want to pay for those recipes that she's already given to you for free? I look forward to making many of the recipes in her book. I own many cookbooks, including those from Culinary Institute of America and America's Test Kitchen, which are terrific, but I think Budget Bytes will get much more use in my kitchen.Okay, I've now read this book from cover to cover, and here are a few additional comments: The book is divided into sections including Kitchen Basics; Breakfast; Bread;, Dressings, Dips and Sauces; Salads; Pasta; Soups; Meat, Poultry & Seafood; Rice, Beans & Lentils; Vegetables; and Desserts. There are sample menus and a separate appendix with vegetarian and vegan recipes. Another appendix for volume conversions is very handy. There are Budget Bytes (money saving ideas) and Chef's Tips (general cooking knowledge) at the end of many recipes.Quite a few of the recipes are Asian or Southwest inspired, and some call for specialty spices. I like that most of her recipes use dried spices which are readily available and on hand in most kitchens, as opposed to special fresh herbs.This book will give you ideas and inspiration to start experimenting with food so that you can change a boring meal into something special and delicious with minimal time, effort and money. Highly recommended for new chefs, singles, busy moms and dads, and anyone who likes to eat well.

Okay ish not great

Having flipped through this thing, there are only 5-10 things that I actually want to make. And I know it would probably cost more to produce, but a cookbook really needs pictures of every meal, there are some, but not enough. And another thing: it seems like Beth didn't include much of what is on her blog. Which I guess I get, cause then the book is exclusive, but there are some real winners on budgetbytes.com and I would have been happy to have them in a book. All in all, I'm happy to support the author, but if you just visit her site and don't buy this book, you probably won't be missing much.

So, I was never taught how to cook. Like, at all. I moved out on my own on a starting salary and went "oh, shoot, I guess I need to figure out how to eat without buying takeout I can't afford." It was a minor comedy of errors every night.This book has been a lifesaver, as has the author's website! Simple ingredients I can actually find at the grocery store, detailed descriptions of how food should be handled at each step (and what it's supposed to look like), and recipes that are quick, often great for meal planning in batches, fairly healthy, and delicious! It indicates which dishes will keep in the fridge or freeze well, which I appreciate, and relies on small amounts of expensive ingredients (like meats or spices) bulked out by cheap grains and vegetables to make filling meals that don't cost an arm and a leg to shop for. I especially like the Greek steak tacos, the pad thai is quick and satisfying, and the microwaved apple crumbles are a great little dessert.Thanks, Beth!

The recipes in this book are the perfect mix of easy-to-make, tasty, and inexpensive. I'm someone who loves cooking and baking and I consider myself to be quite skilled. I also really like to cook with real ingredients! That said, I like to save money - and I have a job, hobbies, a family to feed, and I don't always have a lot of spare time in the evenings.Over the years, I've found that a lot of 'budget' recipes feature too many pre-packaged ingredients or are so ridiculously bland and boring that I feel sad when I'm eating them. That's absolutely not the case for any of the recipes I've tried from Budget Bytes! Every recipe I've tried from the book (or the web site, for that matter) has been a hit with me and my family. I cook at least one recipe from Beth each week and sometimes more.I do adjust things like spices (because we like very spicy food in our house) and there have been a few ingredients listed that I couldn't find here in Canada (e.g., diced tomatoes canned with chili peppers) but was able to substitute quite easily.Recently I used several of the recipes from this book to run a "low budget cooking group" through work - the participants were surprised by how inexpensive and good-tasting everything was, and how easy most recipes were to make. We were also impressed that the recipes don't require any fancy cookware or kitchen implements.Cheap food can be great!

I've been a reader of Beth's Budget Bytes blog/site since it began and right away I hoped she'd make a book. She finally did, and it's a great one. This book has so many fantastic recipes. We are still getting through them all, and it's fun to mix and match mains with sides and such.Cookbooks are a dime a dozen. There are so many out there. But this is one of the only ones I consistently come back to and it has a prominent space in my kitchen, right next to my notebook that contains my favourite recipes and ones from my family.Buy this book. It will save you money and keep your belly full with delicious food.