Budget Recipe Guides
Free cookbooks and practical tips for eating well when money is tight — download them, print them, or read them right on your phone.
Two cookbooks, no cost
Both guides are free to download and share. Save them to your phone so you have them with you at the grocery store.
Good and Cheap
A beloved, beautifully photographed cookbook written for people eating on about $4 a day — the typical SNAP budget. Full of flexible recipes, pantry basics, and techniques you can reuse all week.
Download (8 MB PDF)Affordable Eats Cookbook
Simple, family-sized recipes built around inexpensive staples you can find at any grocery store — rice, beans, eggs, pasta, frozen vegetables, and canned goods.
Download (1.5 MB PDF)Four habits that stretch a grocery budget
Make a plan before you go
Pick 3–4 meals for the week, write down only what those meals need, and check what you already have. A list cuts impulse spending more than any coupon.
Compare unit price, not sticker price
The shelf tag shows price per ounce or pound. Store brands are usually 20–30% cheaper than name brands and the ingredients are often identical.
Frozen and canned count
Frozen vegetables and fruit are picked ripe and cost less than fresh, with no spoilage. Look for canned goods with no added salt or sugar.
Cook once, eat three times
A pot of beans, rice, or soup stretches across several meals. Freeze half in portions so a busy night doesn't turn into takeout.
Cheap ingredients that go a long way
Almost every recipe in these guides is built from the same short list of inexpensive staples. Keep these on hand and you can put a meal together without a special trip.
- Dried or canned beans and lentils
- Rice, oats, and pasta
- Eggs
- Onions, carrots, potatoes, cabbage
- Frozen mixed vegetables
- Canned tomatoes
- Peanut butter
- Flour, oil, salt, pepper
Need groceries this week?
Care Center provides free food to families in Cookeville and the Upper Cumberland every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 12:00–2:00 PM.