what would you buy with $20
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I'd buy
lentils (or other cheap legumes)
offal (I know... but it's cheap and super nutritious)
spaghetti
eggs
canned tuna
Those foods are the best bang for the protein buck in my spreadsheet.0 -
laneyfarmer22 wrote: »$2 a day, for 3 meals per day, for a span of 10 days is not realistic when it comes to having a rational diet.
Suggestion: look into a more reasonable plan.
Unfortunately I agree with this. It's not realistic. That works out to 66 cents a meal. Any chance you could hit a local food bank and use your $20 to fill in the gaps?
I think many many people have told her, very realistic ideas , including me, that live that reality
Awesome if she could get some items from her local food bank , but words like unrealistic and impossible doesn't apply in op vocabulary when clearly $20.00 it's all she got.
Yes I would very much like to eat and have amazing food like you see in the "show me what your meals look like and what you're having for dinner today" but no ,I get rice, chicken, frozen veggies and oatmeal every single day... You don't seat and cry of how unrealistic life it is, you just do what you have to do.
Just to show you how unrealistic that plan is (although some people probably do this...)
$20 in dollar menu fast food burgers or chicken sandwiches with the works (you can add certain veggies on them for no charge). I've even gotten away with free extra patties in the past.
Two sandwiches per day... 10 day span. If you take a multivitamin and drink plenty of water, that might work, though not ideal. BOGO coupons could even stretch it to 3 sandwiches for a few of those days.
I don't understand your point here... Yea, maybe she can't eat out, but she has to eat.
She has $20. That is realistic because IT IS REALITY. It is BY DEFINITION realistic.
And definitely possible for her to find enough to eat with the $20 she has. Rice, beans, frozen chicken, and some carefully selected fresh or frozen veggies will see her though until her next paycheck.
My point is that it's doable in that particular scenario, but not ideal or realistic in the slightest.
OF COURSE this isn't ideal(not going to get into the "realistic" comment again, just see above). Don't you think she'd LOVE to have $200, heck, even $2000 to feed herself for 2 weeks? The point is, she doesn't have that money. She has a $20 bill. Literally. That is what she has in her hand and there is no more money. So she has to do something. You telling her it's impossible is not helping. It IS possible, and I'm sure, with the great options other people here have suggested, she'll be absolutely fine.0 -
$2 a day, for 3 meals per day, for a span of 10 days is not realistic when it comes to having a rational diet.
Suggestion: look into a more reasonable plan.
How arrogant of you. It must be nice to not have to worry about money. OP said she is very poor; what would you have her do?
OP - Wal-Mart has chicken breast you can buy with about 7 breasts that weigh 8 ounces apiece for about $9. Buy that and it covers you for most of your days. Buy a bag of rice for $2. Buy some canned veggies (on sale if you can get them, if not get the off brands that go for about 70 cents a can). Buy a bag of dried beans or lentils for the days you don't want rice.-1 -
I agree about getting a chicken. Roast in the slow cooker then save the bones for soup. Your lunches can be soup or leftovers. Breakfast, oatmeal.
Pick the carb staple that is on sale. It might be rice or potatoes.
Similarly for your vegetables...see what's on sale. Frozen might be fresher and cheaper. The sturdy vegetables are carrots and cabbages.
Day old bananas can be salvaged, frozen and used in smoothies (but you need milk with that) or in those horrid paleo pancakes.
Dried beans and lentils are cheap and fairly complete nutrition wise.
If you can squeeze an onion in there all the better. It will flavour the chicken, soup, and beans.0 -
My son when he was living very poor bought a family pack of hamburger meat, a bag of potatoes, and frozen peas. That's it. He was proud of his self sufficiency.0
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so wait you're saying that the only this could work, is basically fast food value mane + multivitamin.? #facepalm
No... Strong reading comprehension.How arrogant of you. It must be nice to not have to worry about money.
How did that come across as me making fun of her for being poor?
Stop being angry because you tried to prove me wrong in another thread. Then I turned around and actually proved you wrong.-3 -
If you have a Dollar Tree near you, you could buy some food items for $1 each.0
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so wait you're saying that the only this could work, is basically fast food value mane + multivitamin.? #facepalm
No... Strong reading comprehension.How arrogant of you. It must be nice to not have to worry about money.
How did that come across as me making fun of her for being poor?
Stop being angry because you tried to prove me wrong in another thread. Then I turned around and actually proved you wrong.
This has nothing to do with anything other than you saying something about the OP and her 'needing another plan' when she's already said she only has $20. Sometimes people only have what they have, and when they reach out for help, just try to help them. If you don't have helpful ideas, it's better to say nothing than to try to sound smart by saying things that are just hurtful.0 -
How did that come across as me making fun of her for being poor?
Stop being angry because you tried to prove me wrong in another thread. Then I turned around and actually proved you wrong.
Agreed that it did not come across as derogatory in regards to her financial situation -- just not overly supportive of what she's trying to do...which is eat healthy despite a bad situation. We should be commending her and helping her to do the best she can with what she has.
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She is shooting for ~ 67 cents a meal. If we assume 600 Calories a meal, then:$2 a day, for 3 meals per day, for a span of 10 days is not realistic when it comes to having a rational diet.
Suggestion: look into a more reasonable plan.
For a start, lentils and rice are about $1 a pound, for 1800 Calories. Then a meal is 33 cents.
Oatmeal is the same. Again, 33 cents a meal.
The 3rd meal of the day has $1.33 left over. Eat some in season vegetables. Tofu if you are of that persuasion (the store brand of Sprouts is $1.25 for I think 400 grams.) Go wild
You can buy spices by weight at many health food stores.
Pretty easy to eat a reasonably varied, healthy diet.
Granola and cookies
Lentils/beans/peas + rice
Oatmeal
In season fruits and vegetables, or frozen on sale for < $1 a pound. Walmart used to sell frozen peas,carrots and mixed veggies under a store brand for 80 cents a pound IIRC.
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Eat for under $2 a day
If you are really swift, you organize a group and buy in bulk:
http://www.webstaurantstore.com/17545/rice.html
80 cents a pound for lentils
40 cents a pound for rice
25 cents a pound for flour
60 cents a pound for sugar
All of these are ~ 1800 Cal a pound
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ericGold15 wrote: »$2 a day, for 3 meals per day, for a span of 10 days is not realistic when it comes to having a rational diet.
Suggestion: look into a more reasonable plan.
She is shooting for ~ 67 cents a meal. If we assume 600 Calories a meal, then:
For a start, lentils and rice are about $1 a pound, for 1800 Calories. Then a meal is 33 cents.
Oatmeal is the same. Again, 33 cents a meal.
The 3rd meal of the day has $1.33 left over. Eat some in season vegetables. Tofu if you are of that persuasion (the store brand of Sprouts is $1.25 for I think 400 grams.)
Can you eat a pound of lentils, a pound of rice, and a pound of oatmeal with some vegetables peppered in there for 10 days straight?abetterluke wrote: »not overly supportive of what she's trying to do...which is eat healthy despite a bad situation.
I understand the need to be healthy, but that is what I was claiming wasn't realistic... eating healthy for 10 days straight at just $2 per day.0 -
ericGold15 wrote: »$2 a day, for 3 meals per day, for a span of 10 days is not realistic when it comes to having a rational diet.
Suggestion: look into a more reasonable plan.
She is shooting for ~ 67 cents a meal. If we assume 600 Calories a meal, then:
For a start, lentils and rice are about $1 a pound, for 1800 Calories. Then a meal is 33 cents.
Oatmeal is the same. Again, 33 cents a meal.
The 3rd meal of the day has $1.33 left over. Eat some in season vegetables. Tofu if you are of that persuasion (the store brand of Sprouts is $1.25 for I think 400 grams.)
Can you eat a pound of lentils, a pound of rice, and a pound of oatmeal with some vegetables peppered in there for 10 days straight?
I understand the need to be healthy, but that is what I was claiming wasn't realistic... eating healthy for 10 days straight at just $2 per day.
If that's all you can afford, then you can do it. People all over the world get by with less. Perhaps having a surplus of food available has caused some people to think they couldn't possibly eat the same thing every day. But if that's all you had and you were hungry, you would do it.0 -
ericGold15 wrote: »$2 a day, for 3 meals per day, for a span of 10 days is not realistic when it comes to having a rational diet.
Suggestion: look into a more reasonable plan.
She is shooting for ~ 67 cents a meal. If we assume 600 Calories a meal, then:
For a start, lentils and rice are about $1 a pound, for 1800 Calories. Then a meal is 33 cents.
Oatmeal is the same. Again, 33 cents a meal.
The 3rd meal of the day has $1.33 left over. Eat some in season vegetables. Tofu if you are of that persuasion (the store brand of Sprouts is $1.25 for I think 400 grams.)
Can you eat a pound of lentils, a pound of rice, and a pound of oatmeal with some vegetables peppered in there for 10 days straight?
I understand the need to be healthy, but that is what I was claiming wasn't realistic... eating healthy for 10 days straight at just $2 per day.
If that's all you can afford, then you can do it. People all over the world get by with less. Perhaps having a surplus of food available has caused some people to think they couldn't possibly eat the same thing every day. But if that's all you had and you were hungry, you would do it.
You're bound to be deficient in your dietary fat and protein macros as well as more than a couple micronutrients with most of these plain rice and oatmeal meals people are suggesting. It's just very unhealthy. You'd struggle to hit more calories than someone who is in a coma with these low fat plans. It's kind of hard to have BOTH a healthy diet and a dirt cheap diet. Pick one.
Nevertheless, my first priority would actually be foods high in dietary fat. At 9 calories per gram, these foods carry the heaviest caloric load, which will help you surpass 1200 calories on a very strict budget. Dietary fat is also crucial for a variety of bodily functions and overall health... so foods like peanut butter, eggs, mayo, chocolate, or even something on the $1 menu at a fast food chain. Then incorporate the cheap carbs like bread, beans/lentils, veggies, potatoes, rice, oatmeal, pasta, etc.0 -
your best bet would be going to the markets- you can get discounted meat and veg- i went last week and got 16 meals out of $240
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You are misinformed.You're bound to be deficient in your dietary fat and protein macros as well as more than a couple micronutrients with most of these plain rice and oatmeal meals people are suggesting. It's just very unhealthy.
Take advantage of MFP and look up the nutrient analysis of a staple based diet.
As for essential FFA, take a look at this table:
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ericGold15 wrote: »
You are misinformed.You're bound to be deficient in your dietary fat and protein macros as well as more than a couple micronutrients with most of these plain rice and oatmeal meals people are suggesting. It's just very unhealthy.
Take advantage of MFP and look up the nutrient analysis of a staple based diet.
As for essential FFA, take a look at this table:
Honestly, no. But thanks. It's funny that you trust mfp recommendations by the way.
Also, what are you trying to accomplish with that chart? That is just breaking down omega 3 and 6 intake rates. To even suggest optimal omega 6 is actually kind of funny. And the omega 3 chart ignores epa and dha for adults for ala, which is also funny.0 -
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OP won't starve, or be nutrient deficient, in two weeks of eating just rice and oatmeal. Which is not what I had recommended, by the way. I recommended chicken breast, rice, lentils and canned vegetables. Which she could get for $20 and stretch for 2 weeks.0
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so eating rice, beans, lentils, oatmeal, eggs, milk, chicken, potatoes, veggies, etc = unhealthy/ unrealistic diet
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OP I hope you took some great ideas of the countless suggestion people have gave you, and hopefully you're going to be just fine.
Please let us know how you did after the 10 days.
good luck.
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I used to make a tuna noodle casserole:
Large can tuna
Can campbells cream of mushroom soup
half a can of milk
Bag of pasta spirals
Mix the first 3 together in a saucepan while you cook the pasta, mix them all together in a casserole dish, top with a bag of crushed up plain potato chips and bake. It would last me (and the cat, actually) for dinners for 5-6 days and came out at about $5 for ingredients.0
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