5 Cheap Foods to Stock Up on Now for Your Fridge and Freezer from Walmart

I share 5 cheap foods to stock now for your fridge and freezer in today’s video. I show you real foods from Walmart with minimal ingredients that will help to provide nutrition to you and your family during these challenging times.

In an earlier video, I showed you 10 cheap foods to stock in your working and extended pantry, also known as your Prepper Pantry. With these two videos, you’ll learn about all the non-perishable and perishable cheap foods to fill out your Four Corners Pantry.

Why Pick Walmart for Cheap Foods?

I ventured away from home and my neighborhood H-E-B grocery store, and I shopped at Walmart in Central Texas for all of the cheap foods in this video.

This video and blog post are not sponsored. Many of you had requested that I shop for real foods at a Walmart since the items and prices might be similar if you go shopping at your local Walmart. And I will be using all the foods that I purchased to make nutritious meals for my family.

Keep in mind, when I use the word cheap, I do not mean food that is of inferior quality or highly processed. The foods I share in this video are reasonably-priced real foods that help us stretch our food dollar as far as it can go!

Cheap Foods in Five Categories

If you have been with me for a while, you know that when I say five cheap foods, I am actually going to give you five categories. So there will certainly be something for everyone in my comprehensive video.

I share a wide selection of foods in the following categories of cheap foods:

• Dairy
• Fruits
• Proteins
• Tubers
• Vegetables

I focus on the most affordable foods in each category and forgo those items that have simply increased in price too much.

Two Chickens for Ten Dollars

One of the cheap foods I share in the video are whole fresh chickens for $0.94 per pound! I bought two of them for only $10.

I cooked both chickens up with some of the cheap vegetables I purchased to create a delicious and healthy meal for my family.

In my video, I also share how to best shop for other affordable foods, including:

• Apples
• Bananas
• Breakfast Sausage
• Carrots
• Celery
• Cheese
• Eggs
• Onions
• Yellow Potatoes
• And more!

Cheap Foods in the Four Corners Pantry

The Four Corners Pantry refers to the four areas in our home where we store food. These areas include the following:

• Working Pantry
• Refrigerator
• Freezer
• Extended or (Prepper Pantry)

In today’s video, I focus on how to shop within a tight budget for perishable foods that you can store in your fridge and freezer.

And as you’ll see in the following sections, I have made numerous videos discussing how to stock your working pantries and extended pantries where you stock non-perishable foods.

In my previous video, I showed you how to shop for non-perishable and cheap foods that are perfect for stocking your working and extended (or Prepper) pantries.

Stocking both non-perishable and perishable foods gives you a wide variety of foods to choose from to create nutritious and delicious meals.

Beating Inflation with Cheap Foods

We are all trying to stay one step ahead of inflation, and in the following videos, I show you exactly how to do that! (And be sure to download the printable inventory list that’s part of my How to Accelerate Stocking Your Prepper Pantry!)

Kitchen Scrap Videos

You may already know that you can use your vegetable scraps to make bone broth, but did you also know that you can use your kitchen scraps to create a reoccurring harvest?

Saving and using your kitchen scraps are ways to make the most of the food you buy and maximize your grocery budget. In the following videos, I’ll show you how to get started cooking with scraps.

How to Create a Prepper Pantry

To help you learn how to create a Prepper Pantry to stock cheap food as part of your Four Corners Pantry system, be sure to check out the three videos below where I share:

• Prep Like a Pro With the Ultimate Four Corners Pantry System
• Why we need a Prepper Pantry
• How to stock a Prepper Pantry with real food
• How to stock a Prepper Pantry for $5.00 per week

And I also have several in-depth videos that show you how to store food in your Prepper Pantry.

How to Create a Traditional Foods Kitchen

I never want you to feel overwhelmed as you transition from a processed foods kitchen to a Traditional Foods Kitchen. So to help you on this journey, I prepared a printable chart that you can tack up on your fridge or kitchen cabinet.

This downloadable chart will walk you through four weeks of how to incorporate making traditional foods into your daily meals in an easy and stress-free way.

More Shopping Videos

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What Are the Best Costco Finds for Food and Preparedness?

Discover our top picks for food and preparedness as we stock our Four Corners Pantry.

What Are the Best Trader Joe’s Family Finds?

Each Shrader grabbed a cart—no peeking! See what real food deals we scored at Trader Joe’s in our first family haul video adventure.

Shop With The Shraders For Real Food, Real Deals

Join our new YouTube channel—Shop With The Shraders—for real food finds, pantry tips, and family fun on a budget!

Download Your Free 36-Page Pantry List

As you progress on your journey to creating a traditional foods kitchen, you’ll probably wonder how to stock your four corners pantry. But not to worry. I’ve got you covered!

For an extensive list of the traditional foods you can make and purchase to stock your pantry, be sure to download my free 36-page Traditional Foods Pantry List. This comprehensive eBook is full of links to recipe videos, helpful articles, and more!

Start Your Traditional Foods Journey

Part of my passion for keeping traditional cooking skills alive—in addition to my online cooking school on YouTube—is writing cookbooks. My first book, The Modern Pioneer Cookbook published by Penguin Random House (PRH), is full of my traditional foods recipes that show you how to create a traditional foods kitchen.

Be sure to order your copy of my bestselling book, The Modern Pioneer Cookbook, to start your traditional foods journey. And stay tuned for my next cookbook that will be published by PRH in 2025!

Join the Traditional Foods Kitchen Academy

Are you looking for more traditional foods videos? If so, I invite you to join the Traditional Foods Kitchen Academy. Members of this optional paid YouTube community get access to exclusive videos, and other members-only perks. Plus, your YouTube comments include a special members-only badge.

To help you select cheap foods that work within your budget, I talk about Traditional Foods on a Limited Budget in the following members-only video.

Stay in Touch with Mary’s Nest

1. Subscribe to My YouTube Channel for Traditional Foods Videos (Free) - When you subscribe, be sure to click on the notification bell that will let you know each time I upload a new video.
2. Subscribe to Mary’s Traditional Foods Newsletter (Free) - Get a free 36-page eBook for signing up: How to Stock Your Essential Traditional Foods Four-Corners Pantry.
3. Join the Traditional Foods Kitchen Academy - For more detailed videos and exclusive members-only perks, join my YouTube membership community.
4. Order The Modern Pioneer Cookbook - Get a hardcover book of Mary's nourishing recipes from a Traditional Foods Kitchen. This bestselling cookbook is published by Penguin Random House with their DK imprint.
5. Preorder The Modern Pioneer Pantry - Be one of the first to get Mary's hardcover book about preserving food and making delicious meals from your Four Corners Pantry. Mary's second cookbook is also published by Penguin Random House.

I look forward to having you join me in my Texas Hill Country Kitchen!

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Shop for items used in this blog post or video

Favorite Kitchen Supplies

• Favorite Aprons
• Spice Grinder
• Countertop Burner (On my kitchen island in many recipe videos.)
• Handheld Vacuum Sealing System
• Vacuum Lids
• Whisk
• Silica Gel Packets (Helps keep moisture from building up in your mix)
• Cast Iron Dutch Oven
• 8-Quart Slow-Cooker
• Fat Separator (Clever kitchen device to help you decant bone broth)
• Flour Sack Towels
• pH Strips (Helps you check on the acidity of your vinegar)

Amazon Shop and Shopping Guide

• Visit Mary’s Nest Amazon Shop
• Visit my Shopping Guide page
  Get up to 15% off for stocking your Traditional Foods Pantry and equipping your Modern Pioneer Kitchen, including discounts from US Wellness Meats, Farmhouse Teas, Lehman's, Masontops, Cultures for Health, Survival Garden Seeds, Redmond Real Salt, Plan to Eat, and More!

Recommended Reading

• The Modern Pioneer Cookbook
• Nourishing Traditions
• Food Storage 101 Where do I begin? (Cookin’ With Home Storage)
• Cooking with Scraps: Turn Your Peels, Cores, Rinds, and Stems into Delicious Meals
• Scraps, Peels, and Stems: Recipes and Tips for Rethinking Food Waste at Home