Extreme Cheap Eating

If you were given a challenge to go for one year and try to make your per day food costs as low as possible what would you do? No rules but you would have to have decent nutrition. How low could you get your food costs per day and for the year? Of course this would not included any dining out. I think this would be a neat challenge.

Oatmeal, rice, beans, canned tuna. Water to drink.

Any single parent or struggling student can tell you the value of a single whole chicken. Bake it for one meal, chicken salad for leftovers and pitch the bones and carcass in a pot and stew for broth for soups with some rice or tiny pasta.

Oatmeal, rice, beans, canned tuna. Water to drink.

Add in whole chickens and pasta.

Vegetables if you can grow a garden

As our work is seasonal, the winter can get pretty tough. We find that being creative we can eat well for about 7 to 8 bucks a day when we have to. We buy large primal cuts of meat,freeze/can garden veggies,lot of pasta,soups and eating a somewhat veg diet helps. We get by just fine and we dont fall into the marketing trap that somehow we need WallyWorld to help us get along. Ethnic stores are a great resource for the frugal shopper and most often they are independently owned and operated.

Any single parent or struggling student can tell you the value of a single whole chicken. Bake it for one meal, chicken salad for leftovers and pitch the bones and carcass in a pot and stew for broth for soups with some rice or tiny pasta.

Carla, my late father in law immigrated to NYC in the mid-60's. He used to tell a lot of stories on how far he used to be able to stretch a chicken. It really is amazing.

We eat pretty darn cheap most of the time. It gets old but we also do mostly vegetarian, lots of beans, frozen vegetables when fresh isn't in season, and lots of from scratch cooking. We're going to try canning this summer. We can't grow a garden because we're in an apartment but we have access to free blackberries, pears and tomatoes. I'm happy about that because I know we never eat enough fruit.

I know lots of people that do the Angelfood Ministries thing, but from what I have seen the quality isn't anything we would eat. For people that are less concerned with where their food comes from though, I suppose it would be a good option.

As for cost, my budget is $30 a week for both of us. I usually can't do it for that, but that is what I strive for.

Ramen noodles, peanut butter, fake cheese, Bunny Bread

[Robin Garr]

Beans, rice and greens in varied combinations, with an occasional treat of a dinner out at J. Gumbo's.

Any single parent or struggling student can tell you the value of a single whole chicken. Bake it for one meal, chicken salad for leftovers and pitch the bones and carcass in a pot and stew for broth for soups with some rice or tiny pasta.

You also forgot the pot pie that will last for a couple of meals!

Jam Sandwich ! Get 2 pieces of bread and jam them together. Pretty far down on the wheel of YUM, but better than Old Roy Dog Food.

GG

i know alot of people are making light of it.... but this is actually a way of life for my family....

We eat VERY cheap, but also some-what healthy. I cook whatever meat is on sale, be it chicken legs, chicken breasts, ground beef, beef roasts, just whatever i find that is on sale. We eat frozen veggies, canned are a bit cheaper, but the frozen of course have more taste. Rice/pasta/tortillas/beans added as another side are always good. Potatoes go a l-o-n-g way......

Typically my dinners run under $10 dollars, and sometimes way under that. The biggest amount of that going for meat.

Breakfast of course is easy. Always a dozen eggs, easy. Then if we are having chorizo that is under 2 bucks for half a pound, and a package of tortillas is also under 2 dollars. If we are having pankcakes, they are from scratch, which is always cheaper.

We always have fresh fruit, just whatever is in season.....because it is cheaper. Add in about 5 gallons of milk a week, that is another 10 to 15 dollars.

Personally, i think i do extremely well feeding my family on a budget. And that is because we are a family of 7.

I'm memorizing a bunch of great jokes and stories to increase my chances of getting invited out most nights! Until then, I'm growing my own lettuces and vegetables (esp. arugula) this season. Thanks, to Deb, I'm also baking the occasional bread. Entrees like the one I talked about last month, the zucchini, roasted tomato and squash over pasta tossed with cheese, oregano,EVOO and sauteed onions cost pennies per serving whether you grow them or not, regardless of sesason. CD

We eat a lot of grits. And the nice long cooking ones at that. They are cheap and go a long way. Eat them with eggs and toast or put a piece of fish on top. Fry up grit or polenta cakes with beans on top. Delish.

5 gallons of milk a week?