$13.30 for three days of food
Replies
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Eggs (idk because I'm vegan) frozen vegetables (the walmart brand is usually $1), beans 2 cans $2) pasta ($1.50) salsa ($2) pasta sauce ($2) salad mix ($2), bag of rice ($2), and then a bag of potatoes (3)
Meals:
Breakfasts: eggs with salsa and a side of potatoes (or mixed in)
Lunch/dinners:
Pasta with sauce
Rice and beans with salsa
Baked potato with a little frozen veggies that have been steamed
Rice with a bit of potato and steamed veggies
Etc1 -
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This is brilliant.1 -
Beans rice broth and a fishing pole!
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Thanks for documenting your progress. I can't wait to hear back regarding your and everyone else's assignments.
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Here's how I would do it:
dozen large eggs, $0.98
10ct flavored instant oatmeal, $1.54
1 lb dry black beans, $1.88
1 lb dry rice, $0.78
rotisserie chicken, $5.00
2 cans peas & carrots, $0.80
12 oz ground coffee, $2.30
Total cost: $12.48
Strip the meat off the rotisserie chicken, separating the skin, bones, and fat. Cook the black beans with the chicken skin and some bones. Cook the rice with the rest of the chicken bones or reuse ones from the black beans. Pair the chicken with rice and the peas & carrots, or you can make chicken fried rice using the same ingredients plus the fatty chicken skin to provide oil and flavor. Breakfast is oatmeal, eggs, and black coffee. Should get 5 meals out of the chicken/rice/peas & carrots, 6 meals out of the black beans & rice, 10 or 6 breakfasts depending on if you eat one egg or two.
The thing that makes the budget challenging is all of the the food items we take for granted, like seasonings, coffee, etc.
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I was thinking about this as I was in the grocery store last night - I might see what I can come up with1
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Here's how I would do it:
dozen large eggs, $0.98
10ct flavored instant oatmeal, $1.54
1 lb dry black beans, $1.88
1 lb dry rice, $0.78
rotisserie chicken, $5.00
2 cans peas & carrots, $0.80
12 oz ground coffee, $2.30
Total cost: $12.48
Strip the meat off the rotisserie chicken, separating the skin, bones, and fat. Cook the black beans with the chicken skin and some bones. Cook the rice with the rest of the chicken bones or reuse ones from the black beans. Pair the chicken with rice and the peas & carrots, or you can make chicken fried rice using the same ingredients plus the fatty chicken skin to provide oil and flavor. Breakfast is oatmeal, eggs, and black coffee. Should get 5 meals out of the chicken/rice/peas & carrots, 6 meals out of the black beans & rice, 10 or 6 breakfasts depending on if you eat one egg or two.
The thing that makes the budget challenging is all of the the food items we take for granted, like seasonings, coffee, etc.
cook oatmeal in water?0 -
Here's how I would do it:
dozen large eggs, $0.98
10ct flavored instant oatmeal, $1.54
1 lb dry black beans, $1.88
1 lb dry rice, $0.78
rotisserie chicken, $5.00
2 cans peas & carrots, $0.80
12 oz ground coffee, $2.30
Total cost: $12.48
Strip the meat off the rotisserie chicken, separating the skin, bones, and fat. Cook the black beans with the chicken skin and some bones. Cook the rice with the rest of the chicken bones or reuse ones from the black beans. Pair the chicken with rice and the peas & carrots, or you can make chicken fried rice using the same ingredients plus the fatty chicken skin to provide oil and flavor. Breakfast is oatmeal, eggs, and black coffee. Should get 5 meals out of the chicken/rice/peas & carrots, 6 meals out of the black beans & rice, 10 or 6 breakfasts depending on if you eat one egg or two.
The thing that makes the budget challenging is all of the the food items we take for granted, like seasonings, coffee, etc.
Seasoning and coffee end up being luxuries (it becomes a choice between eating and having a sip of coffee). When I tried to see if it could be done where I live, even the smallest amount of tea was off limits (I prefer tea).1 -
Here's how I would do it:
dozen large eggs, $0.98
10ct flavored instant oatmeal, $1.54
1 lb dry black beans, $1.88
1 lb dry rice, $0.78
rotisserie chicken, $5.00
2 cans peas & carrots, $0.80
12 oz ground coffee, $2.30
Total cost: $12.48
Strip the meat off the rotisserie chicken, separating the skin, bones, and fat. Cook the black beans with the chicken skin and some bones. Cook the rice with the rest of the chicken bones or reuse ones from the black beans. Pair the chicken with rice and the peas & carrots, or you can make chicken fried rice using the same ingredients plus the fatty chicken skin to provide oil and flavor. Breakfast is oatmeal, eggs, and black coffee. Should get 5 meals out of the chicken/rice/peas & carrots, 6 meals out of the black beans & rice, 10 or 6 breakfasts depending on if you eat one egg or two.
The thing that makes the budget challenging is all of the the food items we take for granted, like seasonings, coffee, etc.
That sounds great, too, and as a hoarder of bacon grease, I particularly admire the use of the schmaltz for frying! Although it breaks my heart a little to think of all the fat that was lost during the rotisserie process. You could probably use the odd change you had left over to buy some small quantities of spices from the bulk bins (I believe what was prohibited was buying an entire bulk item and prorating it, but I don't think the bulk bins are prohibited unless I misread).0 -
Apologies if someone else has already posted this, but this is a cookbook designed for budgeting on $4 per day, and you can download a free PDF: https://www.leannebrown.com/cookbooks/
When we had a tight food budget this was really helpful (although I think some of her cost estimates are a bit off). A few of these recipes have become long-term favorites - the easy pizza dough is great.1 -
deannalfisher wrote: »Here's how I would do it:
dozen large eggs, $0.98
10ct flavored instant oatmeal, $1.54
1 lb dry black beans, $1.88
1 lb dry rice, $0.78
rotisserie chicken, $5.00
2 cans peas & carrots, $0.80
12 oz ground coffee, $2.30
Total cost: $12.48
Strip the meat off the rotisserie chicken, separating the skin, bones, and fat. Cook the black beans with the chicken skin and some bones. Cook the rice with the rest of the chicken bones or reuse ones from the black beans. Pair the chicken with rice and the peas & carrots, or you can make chicken fried rice using the same ingredients plus the fatty chicken skin to provide oil and flavor. Breakfast is oatmeal, eggs, and black coffee. Should get 5 meals out of the chicken/rice/peas & carrots, 6 meals out of the black beans & rice, 10 or 6 breakfasts depending on if you eat one egg or two.
The thing that makes the budget challenging is all of the the food items we take for granted, like seasonings, coffee, etc.
cook oatmeal in water?
How else would you do it?
And instant oatmeal isn't cooked, just add a little boiling water.3 -
heatherkmcc wrote: »Apologies if someone else has already posted this, but this is a cookbook designed for budgeting on $4 per day, and you can download a free PDF: https://www.leannebrown.com/cookbooks/
When we had a tight food budget this was really helpful (although I think some of her cost estimates are a bit off). A few of these recipes have become long-term favorites - the easy pizza dough is great.
Thanks for posting this! I've been looking for a good comprehensive source like that.
I doubt this was the reason for the assignment, but one benefit of doing this kind of experiment is learning to eat well for less. That's a useful skill both to use and to be able to teach. No one would learn it all in 3 days, but it can help with getting started.1 -
heatherkmcc wrote: »Apologies if someone else has already posted this, but this is a cookbook designed for budgeting on $4 per day, and you can download a free PDF: https://www.leannebrown.com/cookbooks/
When we had a tight food budget this was really helpful (although I think some of her cost estimates are a bit off). A few of these recipes have become long-term favorites - the easy pizza dough is great.
Thanks for posting this! I've been looking for a good comprehensive source like that.
I doubt this was the reason for the assignment, but one benefit of doing this kind of experiment is learning to eat well for less. That's a useful skill both to use and to be able to teach. No one would learn it all in 3 days, but it can help with getting started.
I would agree that this assignment likely has an entirely separate agenda, and it is sad that this point might not be made, but one important takeaway is that one CAN put together an awesome meal plan on very little money, with just a touch of organization and knowledge of rudimentary cooking.3 -
In a short time frame like this, most bulk purchases will probably be unaffordable. I'm thinking of things you normally buy in big containers and use over a long time, including (usually) coffee and tea, and staples like salt, spices, sugar, and cooking oil. Unless you can find a store with a "bulk foods" section that sells those things, where you can buy as much or as little as you want, it probably won't be practical to include them.ladyreva78 wrote: »Seasoning and coffee end up being luxuries (it becomes a choice between eating and having a sip of coffee). When I tried to see if it could be done where I live, even the smallest amount of tea was off limits (I prefer tea).
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deannalfisher wrote: »Here's how I would do it:
dozen large eggs, $0.98
10ct flavored instant oatmeal, $1.54
1 lb dry black beans, $1.88
1 lb dry rice, $0.78
rotisserie chicken, $5.00
2 cans peas & carrots, $0.80
12 oz ground coffee, $2.30
Total cost: $12.48
Strip the meat off the rotisserie chicken, separating the skin, bones, and fat. Cook the black beans with the chicken skin and some bones. Cook the rice with the rest of the chicken bones or reuse ones from the black beans. Pair the chicken with rice and the peas & carrots, or you can make chicken fried rice using the same ingredients plus the fatty chicken skin to provide oil and flavor. Breakfast is oatmeal, eggs, and black coffee. Should get 5 meals out of the chicken/rice/peas & carrots, 6 meals out of the black beans & rice, 10 or 6 breakfasts depending on if you eat one egg or two.
The thing that makes the budget challenging is all of the the food items we take for granted, like seasonings, coffee, etc.
cook oatmeal in water?
How else would you do it?
And instant oatmeal isn't cooked, just add a little boiling water.
Personally I use milk for extra protein/fat but I don't find oatmeal to be particularly sastiating0 -
deannalfisher wrote: »Here's how I would do it:
dozen large eggs, $0.98
10ct flavored instant oatmeal, $1.54
1 lb dry black beans, $1.88
1 lb dry rice, $0.78
rotisserie chicken, $5.00
2 cans peas & carrots, $0.80
12 oz ground coffee, $2.30
Total cost: $12.48
Strip the meat off the rotisserie chicken, separating the skin, bones, and fat. Cook the black beans with the chicken skin and some bones. Cook the rice with the rest of the chicken bones or reuse ones from the black beans. Pair the chicken with rice and the peas & carrots, or you can make chicken fried rice using the same ingredients plus the fatty chicken skin to provide oil and flavor. Breakfast is oatmeal, eggs, and black coffee. Should get 5 meals out of the chicken/rice/peas & carrots, 6 meals out of the black beans & rice, 10 or 6 breakfasts depending on if you eat one egg or two.
The thing that makes the budget challenging is all of the the food items we take for granted, like seasonings, coffee, etc.
cook oatmeal in water?
How else would you do it?
And instant oatmeal isn't cooked, just add a little boiling water.
Sorry, but gross
I use milk with my oatmeal. 0 -
Christine_72 wrote: »deannalfisher wrote: »Here's how I would do it:
dozen large eggs, $0.98
10ct flavored instant oatmeal, $1.54
1 lb dry black beans, $1.88
1 lb dry rice, $0.78
rotisserie chicken, $5.00
2 cans peas & carrots, $0.80
12 oz ground coffee, $2.30
Total cost: $12.48
Strip the meat off the rotisserie chicken, separating the skin, bones, and fat. Cook the black beans with the chicken skin and some bones. Cook the rice with the rest of the chicken bones or reuse ones from the black beans. Pair the chicken with rice and the peas & carrots, or you can make chicken fried rice using the same ingredients plus the fatty chicken skin to provide oil and flavor. Breakfast is oatmeal, eggs, and black coffee. Should get 5 meals out of the chicken/rice/peas & carrots, 6 meals out of the black beans & rice, 10 or 6 breakfasts depending on if you eat one egg or two.
The thing that makes the budget challenging is all of the the food items we take for granted, like seasonings, coffee, etc.
cook oatmeal in water?
How else would you do it?
And instant oatmeal isn't cooked, just add a little boiling water.
Sorry, but gross I use milk with my oatmeal.
And some people find milk gross with oatmeal.
But when you are very short on money anything that uses a lot of milk is generally out of the budget.4 -
I never use anything but water with my oatmeal.0
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Something running through my brain while swimming - any estructions on kitchen appliances (is the assumption there is a microwave or just a hot plate)0
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I don't get the rule where you're not allowed to buy from bulk. Would that just make it too easy? Because I know for a fact it's accepted on assistance.0
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I thought it meant that they couldn't buy IN bulk and just use the partial cost of the package.LadyRooster wrote: »I don't get the rule where you're not allowed to buy from bulk. Would that just make it too easy? Because I know for a fact it's accepted on assistance.
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Look for frozen sales. You can get a bag of frozen broccoli pieces for $1 at Kroger or Walmart. (you will notice a difference in price between the florettes and the pieces because the latter is mostly stems for that price, sadly, but it works for your purposes.) You can put broccoli into casseroles, etc. Bread (sadly, white bread with no nutrition and cheap peanut butter ) is cheap, just not very nutritious. It's a good project.2
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LadyRooster wrote: »I don't get the rule where you're not allowed to buy from bulk. Would that just make it too easy? Because I know for a fact it's accepted on assistance.
I think the rule was, you couldn't buy a $10 big bag of something that would last 10 days, and say "well that's $1 a day out of the budget". If you were going to buy a big pack, the whole cost had to come out of the $13.3 -
Alatariel75 wrote: »LadyRooster wrote: »I don't get the rule where you're not allowed to buy from bulk. Would that just make it too easy? Because I know for a fact it's accepted on assistance.
I think the rule was, you couldn't buy a $10 big bag of something that would last 10 days, and say "well that's $1 a day out of the budget". If you were going to buy a big pack, the whole cost had to come out of the $13.
Yeah - which isn't so unrealistic, because when you're living hand-to-mouth, sometimes you run out of food and money at the same time and have to deal with what you've got.
ALso: It goes against basic economic sense, but states have been trying to limit the ability to buy in bulk on assistance. As I've posted already, Wisconsin tried to limit the acceptable packages of dried beans and rice to ONLY 1-pound packages, as well as limiting total purchases on EBT cards to $25 at a time.0 -
Alatariel75 wrote: »I never use anything but water with my oatmeal.
me neither- you cook the oatmeal with water and then you pour milk OVER it.
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Alatariel75 wrote: »LadyRooster wrote: »I don't get the rule where you're not allowed to buy from bulk. Would that just make it too easy? Because I know for a fact it's accepted on assistance.
I think the rule was, you couldn't buy a $10 big bag of something that would last 10 days, and say "well that's $1 a day out of the budget". If you were going to buy a big pack, the whole cost had to come out of the $13.
Yeah - which isn't so unrealistic, because when you're living hand-to-mouth, sometimes you run out of food and money at the same time and have to deal with what you've got.
ALso: It goes against basic economic sense, but states have been trying to limit the ability to buy in bulk on assistance. As I've posted already, Wisconsin tried to limit the acceptable packages of dried beans and rice to ONLY 1-pound packages, as well as limiting total purchases on EBT cards to $25 at a time.
isn't that based on known fraud, where people are buying larger quantities and reselling?
It's all quite sad though, well intentioned officials adding such new regulations can do more harm than good. Instead of stopping fraud, they prevent earnest recipients for improving their food value.
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Potatoes, beans, rice, flour, oats, egg noodles, pasta, canned spaghetti sauce, eggs, salt...
Actually, I could get some rice, margarine, milk, and sugar and thoroughly enjoy myself.
...or some baked potatoes topped with some canned chili.
...or cheap hot dogs with sliced bread buns.
...or beans and cornbread FTW.
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Alatariel75 wrote: »I never use anything but water with my oatmeal.
me neither- you cook the oatmeal with water and then you pour milk OVER it.
I am of the school where you cook the oatmeal with milk, then pour heavy cream over it. According to my daughter, who just had an unpleasant experience at a restaurant with sad water-based oatmeal, I make the best oatmeal EVER, and according to my son, my oatmeal is EPIC, so that settles it.
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French_Peasant wrote: »Alatariel75 wrote: »I never use anything but water with my oatmeal.
me neither- you cook the oatmeal with water and then you pour milk OVER it.
I am of the school where you cook the oatmeal with milk, then pour heavy cream over it. According to my daughter, who just had an unpleasant experience at a restaurant with sad water-based oatmeal, I make the best oatmeal EVER, and according to my son, my oatmeal is EPIC, so that settles it.
I prefer the school of you cook the oatmeal with water then toss a healthy pat of butter on top and pour honey overtop.2
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