Eating on a Budget
Replies
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There is a book 'Good and Cheap" by Leanne Brown 'Eat well on $4/day" It was first published 2013 and with todays price increases those will be a little higher. I believe it's free to download!
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You're right -- the video is not perfect and prices would vary on location in the world. It's just to generate some ideas about meals and money management. The person took the time and effort to make the vid and that is worth some praise.cmriverside wrote: »$10 meals from Walmart? I eat on about $7 a DAY. I hope that video is for a family meal.cmriverside wrote: »$10 meals from Walmart? I eat on about $7 a DAY. I hope that video is for a family meal.
It's not $10 per meal. It's $10 for the whole week of meals (for one person).
Title's also exaggerated: She updates the total at the end to $14 and change. I assume that's because she used more eggs and tortillas than in her initial grocery buy, but she didn't say.
She also used pantry staples that she maybe didn't count: Oil, cinnamon, soy sauce, parsley were the more cost-meaningful ones.
For those not curious enough to watch the video but wondering, the core substance foods (from memory) were oatmeal, eggs, brown rice, pinto beans, tortillas, with some fresh carrots, bananas, jalapenos, an onion and an apple. No meat, no dairy.
She made oatmeal/fruit for breakfast; for lunch/dinner, scrambled eggs/tortillas, rice/egg/carrot stir fry, rice/beans, with onion/jalapenos in small amounts in those. Repetitive meals through the week.
I don't know how outdated the prices are. Some, though.
Did you know the world is also not a perfect sphere (it's slightly pear shaped) -- yet when we calcualte distance across the globe we use maths that works with a perfect sphere? It's work well enough. There is always some distance between the ideal and reality.
Kind regards,
Canaan0 -
You're right -- the video is not perfect and prices would vary on location in the world. It's just to generate some ideas about meals and money management. The person took the time and effort to make the vid and that is worth some praise.cmriverside wrote: »$10 meals from Walmart? I eat on about $7 a DAY. I hope that video is for a family meal.cmriverside wrote: »$10 meals from Walmart? I eat on about $7 a DAY. I hope that video is for a family meal.
It's not $10 per meal. It's $10 for the whole week of meals (for one person).
Title's also exaggerated: She updates the total at the end to $14 and change. I assume that's because she used more eggs and tortillas than in her initial grocery buy, but she didn't say.
She also used pantry staples that she maybe didn't count: Oil, cinnamon, soy sauce, parsley were the more cost-meaningful ones.
For those not curious enough to watch the video but wondering, the core substance foods (from memory) were oatmeal, eggs, brown rice, pinto beans, tortillas, with some fresh carrots, bananas, jalapenos, an onion and an apple. No meat, no dairy.
She made oatmeal/fruit for breakfast; for lunch/dinner, scrambled eggs/tortillas, rice/egg/carrot stir fry, rice/beans, with onion/jalapenos in small amounts in those. Repetitive meals through the week.
I don't know how outdated the prices are. Some, though.
Did you know the world is also not a perfect sphere (it's slightly pear shaped) -- yet when we calcualte distance across the globe we use maths that works with a perfect sphere? It's work well enough. There is always some distance between the ideal and reality.
Kind regards,
Canaan
FWIW, my post wasn't intended as criticism of the video. It seems useful, to me. I was just reporting a summary of what was in it - that's kind of common to do here when one posts a link to a long-form thing, and I did it in this case because the idea that she was talking about $10 per day in the video - as seemed to have been assumed by some subsequent posts - was not what the video actually was.5 -
That video had a lot of good ideas! I'd be curious what the calorie count basically is for a typical day. I guess I could sit down and figure that out.
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LilithReigns wrote: »Thank you everyone for all the great advice, the most affordable store here is Aldis so I am going to make a short list and see what I can do today.
Many posters here have praised the low prices at Aldis
I cooked for a few months at a small, startup yoga retreat center in Costa Rica. Our staples were rice and beans. We got these delivered in 50 pound canvas bags by horseback. Maybe you should start with 5 pound bags though
To create variety, I used a wide range of spices from various ethnicities.
Back here in the US, I almost never buy spices at grocery stores - an exception would be the big cannisters of Badia. Dollar stores can be great sources for spices, as can Asian stores. I often buy in bulk. For example, I will get a pound of Italian seasoning, which contains oregano, marjoram, thyme, rosemary, basil and sage, and whenever a recipe calls for one of those ingredients, just use this mix.
Here are some of my favorite rice and bean dishes:- Hoppin' John (Southern US)
- Cuban Rice & Beans
- Lebanese Rice & Lentils
- Various Indian rice and dal
I also like to add beans to pasta dishes. For example, I just made chicken cacciatore with 2# boneless chicken thighs in the crock pot and added 1/2 C of dry lentils.
For meat/chicken, I look at the sales flyers, buy in bulk, and freeze. We have a chest freezer in addition to the freezer with the refrigerator.1 -
kshama2001 wrote: »LilithReigns wrote: »Thank you everyone for all the great advice, the most affordable store here is Aldis so I am going to make a short list and see what I can do today.
Many posters here have praised the low prices at Aldis
I cooked for a few months at a small, startup yoga retreat center in Costa Rica. Our staples were rice and beans. We got these delivered in 50 pound canvas bags by horseback. Maybe you should start with 5 pound bags though
To create variety, I used a wide range of spices from various ethnicities.
Back here in the US, I almost never buy spices at grocery stores - an exception would be the big cannisters of Badia. Dollar stores can be great sources for spices, as can Asian stores. I often buy in bulk. For example, I will get a pound of Italian seasoning, which contains oregano, marjoram, thyme, rosemary, basil and sage, and whenever a recipe calls for one of those ingredients, just use this mix.
Here are some of my favorite rice and bean dishes:- Hoppin' John (Southern US)
- Cuban Rice & Beans
- Lebanese Rice & Lentils
- Various Indian rice and dal
I also like to add beans to pasta dishes. For example, I just made chicken cacciatore with 2# boneless chicken thighs in the crock pot and added 1/2 C of dry lentils.
For meat/chicken, I look at the sales flyers, buy in bulk, and freeze. We have a chest freezer in addition to the freezer with the refrigerator.
haha 50ibs would for sure last me for a bit, I actually have bags of beans and rice I am just low carb so I include them in side dishes for fiber but don't eat it often. same for rice I use it for cultural dishes on occasion but not often. I am a meat eater I love chicken and fish so those are my go to but lately chicken has been pretty pricey here. On the plus side I can buy a big bag and have it last for a bit longer because as I have stated I live alone so only one mouth to feed. If you don't mind though I would enjoy some flavorful recipes if you have any you want to share!!!!
I am still learning to cook and would love to build up on my spice collection but I don't know anything outside of well...basic seasoning for meats and soups.0 -
A few years ago I had a job that made me miserable I toiled away thinking the reason I couldn’t get everything done and worked endless hours was because I was not good enough until one day I realized that it was impossible to do the work because we were massively under resourced and it was not going to change. I quit on the spot one day when I suddenly realized it was a choice between my mental health or my job.
I made the right decision, and got another better job, but in the short term I’d made myself suddenly unemployed with no plan. I had to immediately tighten my belt so my limited savings could see me through.
What I learnt was (I’m in the US)
- don’t bother with coupons, they’re largely named brands so even with a coupon they’re more expensive
- Lookout for buy one get one offers, but only on non perishable items that you absolutely would buy anyway. And don’t eat it just because you have it. Keep it for the week you would have bought it
- Cook from scratch/avoid processed prepared foods (it needn’t take forever and cooking in bulk can help address that)
- If you have time, don’t shop in one place. I was unemployed meaning I had time so I would shop in 3 places which luckily eee close to each other so it was easy to do. First a true farm shop where I bought whatever was cheapest. This would change depending on what they are growing and meant I ate a more diverse variety of foods, I did make tough decisions buying produce I could afford rather than produce I especially liked. Second I went to Aldi where I topped up on produce and bought canned and dried goods and lastly I went to Publix (the only large grocery store where I live). If I could get everything I needed before I got to Publix then I didn’t go there. Each week I would note down prices in each place on the things I usually buy so I knew where the best prices were.
- Make a list and only buy what is on it - each week I planned out every meal for the week ahead. I checked the cupboard to see what ingredients I had and what I needed. I only bought what I needed
- Switch to cheaper alternatives - as many have said canned beans are more expensive than dried, beans are cheaper than meat etc
- Set a budget - I worked out I could spend $30 a week including food and cleaning products/toilet paper etc. then I worked out what I could afford to buy in that budget. I took cash and had a special coin purse that I kept my food money in. It made me really focused on whether I was spending the money wisely as when it was gone, it was gone.
As others have said, check out your local food bank. During this period in my life I volunteered at my local food bank, as a volunteer I couldn’t also be a customer, but I learned that they are very welcoming and have people from all backgrounds using them. In the one I volunteered in, the food was largely good quality and often expensive brands. What you might get in any given week varied a lot based on what they had, much was donated by local stores and brands and so might be at the sell buy date but still good. Because they are not able to store perishables well you’re unlikely to get much fresh fruit/veggies.
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First of all, look into Asian style cookery as they have so many recipes where food goes a very long way and it's not usually expensive to purchase the base ingredients.
If you have access to an Asian supermarket check that out. You can often get things there for a steal -- not only the food items and condiments but cooking implements and utensils are also very well priced.
Some staple items in my household are Thai curry pastes and tins of coconut milk. These can be used to make a simple simmer sauce that you cook veggies and protiens in which can then be served up with rice or noodles.
You can freeze curry leftovers for months if you make in bulk.
Stir-fries are also a good option and you can make large batches which reheat pretty well.
Outside the Asian sphere soups are always an excellent option which can make pasta, veggies, beans and meat go a long way. If you need more Americana on a budget check out the WolfePit as this YouTuber has lots of very cheap meal vidoes here:
https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/budgetmeal
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnJm8wC-ABOvOn2piAt2WYg
When I have been in hard times I often purchased meaty soup bones. I would boil up the bones for several hours, take the meat off and then use the broth and flaked meat for a number of meals.
Raw meaty soup bones make the most amazing stock!
I save cooked bones in the freezer for stock, or make stock with the carcass from a rotisserie chicken. I simmer in the crockpot for at least 8 hours. FAR superior to store-bought stock.
People in the Boston area in search of an Asian supermarket should check out Kam Man - fabulous prices and selection!
http://www.kamman.com/quincy1 -
kshama2001 wrote: »First of all, look into Asian style cookery as they have so many recipes where food goes a very long way and it's not usually expensive to purchase the base ingredients.
If you have access to an Asian supermarket check that out. You can often get things there for a steal -- not only the food items and condiments but cooking implements and utensils are also very well priced.
Some staple items in my household are Thai curry pastes and tins of coconut milk. These can be used to make a simple simmer sauce that you cook veggies and protiens in which can then be served up with rice or noodles.
You can freeze curry leftovers for months if you make in bulk.
Stir-fries are also a good option and you can make large batches which reheat pretty well.
Outside the Asian sphere soups are always an excellent option which can make pasta, veggies, beans and meat go a long way. If you need more Americana on a budget check out the WolfePit as this YouTuber has lots of very cheap meal vidoes here:
https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/budgetmeal
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnJm8wC-ABOvOn2piAt2WYg
When I have been in hard times I often purchased meaty soup bones. I would boil up the bones for several hours, take the meat off and then use the broth and flaked meat for a number of meals.
Raw meaty soup bones make the most amazing stock!
I save cooked bones in the freezer for stock, or make stock with the carcass from a rotisserie chicken. I simmer in the crockpot for at least 8 hours. FAR superior to store-bought stock.
People in the Boston area in search of an Asian supermarket should check out Kam Man - fabulous prices and selection!
http://www.kamman.com/quincy
Oh yes -- I love that. I always keep all my bones (chicken, beef, lamb, pork, ham) in the freezer. I also freeze carrot, celery, turnip, swede, parsnip, onion, garlic offcuts/peelings and any stripped herb stems as well. Every few weeks I make up a big pot of stock from these, strain it off, and bury the scraps in my garden. Lots of ways to extract food value before it's turfed out.
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kshama2001 wrote: »First of all, look into Asian style cookery as they have so many recipes where food goes a very long way and it's not usually expensive to purchase the base ingredients.
If you have access to an Asian supermarket check that out. You can often get things there for a steal -- not only the food items and condiments but cooking implements and utensils are also very well priced.
Some staple items in my household are Thai curry pastes and tins of coconut milk. These can be used to make a simple simmer sauce that you cook veggies and protiens in which can then be served up with rice or noodles.
You can freeze curry leftovers for months if you make in bulk.
Stir-fries are also a good option and you can make large batches which reheat pretty well.
Outside the Asian sphere soups are always an excellent option which can make pasta, veggies, beans and meat go a long way. If you need more Americana on a budget check out the WolfePit as this YouTuber has lots of very cheap meal vidoes here:
https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/budgetmeal
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnJm8wC-ABOvOn2piAt2WYg
When I have been in hard times I often purchased meaty soup bones. I would boil up the bones for several hours, take the meat off and then use the broth and flaked meat for a number of meals.
Raw meaty soup bones make the most amazing stock!
I save cooked bones in the freezer for stock, or make stock with the carcass from a rotisserie chicken. I simmer in the crockpot for at least 8 hours. FAR superior to store-bought stock.
People in the Boston area in search of an Asian supermarket should check out Kam Man - fabulous prices and selection!
http://www.kamman.com/quincy
Oh yes -- I love that. I always keep all my bones (chicken, beef, lamb, pork, ham) in the freezer. I also freeze carrot, celery, turnip, swede, parsnip, onion, garlic offcuts/peelings and any stripped herb stems as well. Every few weeks I make up a big pot of stock from these, strain it off, and bury the scraps in my garden. Lots of ways to extract food value before it's turfed out.
All these things only work though if you have a big freezer. My freezer is so small that I can freeze 3 loafs of bread, about 6 tupperwares with precooked food, and a few portions of chicken, fish, mince or other things that are cheaper per 600g compared to 100-200g servings. Most places I've lived in Europe tend to have smaller freezers, especially when you live in a flat in a town. Plus those things eat up tons of electricity, which is a reason why many people don't have big fridges (apart from space, and people eating more food you can't freeze well compared to meat) I don't know how much electricity 8hrs of crockpot costs, but electricity prices here are currently over 30 Eurocent per kwh, thus if you've short of money it might be a lot cheaper to buy a pack of 10 stock cubes for 60 or so cents.
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kshama2001 wrote: »First of all, look into Asian style cookery as they have so many recipes where food goes a very long way and it's not usually expensive to purchase the base ingredients.
If you have access to an Asian supermarket check that out. You can often get things there for a steal -- not only the food items and condiments but cooking implements and utensils are also very well priced.
Some staple items in my household are Thai curry pastes and tins of coconut milk. These can be used to make a simple simmer sauce that you cook veggies and protiens in which can then be served up with rice or noodles.
You can freeze curry leftovers for months if you make in bulk.
Stir-fries are also a good option and you can make large batches which reheat pretty well.
Outside the Asian sphere soups are always an excellent option which can make pasta, veggies, beans and meat go a long way. If you need more Americana on a budget check out the WolfePit as this YouTuber has lots of very cheap meal vidoes here:
https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/budgetmeal
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnJm8wC-ABOvOn2piAt2WYg
When I have been in hard times I often purchased meaty soup bones. I would boil up the bones for several hours, take the meat off and then use the broth and flaked meat for a number of meals.
Raw meaty soup bones make the most amazing stock!
I save cooked bones in the freezer for stock, or make stock with the carcass from a rotisserie chicken. I simmer in the crockpot for at least 8 hours. FAR superior to store-bought stock.
People in the Boston area in search of an Asian supermarket should check out Kam Man - fabulous prices and selection!
http://www.kamman.com/quincy
Oh yes -- I love that. I always keep all my bones (chicken, beef, lamb, pork, ham) in the freezer. I also freeze carrot, celery, turnip, swede, parsnip, onion, garlic offcuts/peelings and any stripped herb stems as well. Every few weeks I make up a big pot of stock from these, strain it off, and bury the scraps in my garden. Lots of ways to extract food value before it's turfed out.
All these things only work though if you have a big freezer. My freezer is so small that I can freeze 3 loafs of bread, about 6 tupperwares with precooked food, and a few portions of chicken, fish, mince or other things that are cheaper per 600g compared to 100-200g servings. Most places I've lived in Europe tend to have smaller freezers, especially when you live in a flat in a town. Plus those things eat up tons of electricity, which is a reason why many people don't have big fridges (apart from space, and people eating more food you can't freeze well compared to meat) I don't know how much electricity 8hrs of crockpot costs, but electricity prices here are currently over 30 Eurocent per kwh, thus if you've short of money it might be a lot cheaper to buy a pack of 10 stock cubes for 60 or so cents.
If you have a freezer (or freezer compartment in a fridge) and you're running it, it's cheaper with respect to electricity to keep it packed. A freezer has to work a lot harder to keep air (empty space) cold than to keep food cold.1 -
kshama2001 wrote: »First of all, look into Asian style cookery as they have so many recipes where food goes a very long way and it's not usually expensive to purchase the base ingredients.
If you have access to an Asian supermarket check that out. You can often get things there for a steal -- not only the food items and condiments but cooking implements and utensils are also very well priced.
Some staple items in my household are Thai curry pastes and tins of coconut milk. These can be used to make a simple simmer sauce that you cook veggies and protiens in which can then be served up with rice or noodles.
You can freeze curry leftovers for months if you make in bulk.
Stir-fries are also a good option and you can make large batches which reheat pretty well.
Outside the Asian sphere soups are always an excellent option which can make pasta, veggies, beans and meat go a long way. If you need more Americana on a budget check out the WolfePit as this YouTuber has lots of very cheap meal vidoes here:
https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/budgetmeal
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnJm8wC-ABOvOn2piAt2WYg
When I have been in hard times I often purchased meaty soup bones. I would boil up the bones for several hours, take the meat off and then use the broth and flaked meat for a number of meals.
Raw meaty soup bones make the most amazing stock!
I save cooked bones in the freezer for stock, or make stock with the carcass from a rotisserie chicken. I simmer in the crockpot for at least 8 hours. FAR superior to store-bought stock.
People in the Boston area in search of an Asian supermarket should check out Kam Man - fabulous prices and selection!
http://www.kamman.com/quincy
Oh yes -- I love that. I always keep all my bones (chicken, beef, lamb, pork, ham) in the freezer. I also freeze carrot, celery, turnip, swede, parsnip, onion, garlic offcuts/peelings and any stripped herb stems as well. Every few weeks I make up a big pot of stock from these, strain it off, and bury the scraps in my garden. Lots of ways to extract food value before it's turfed out.
All these things only work though if you have a big freezer. My freezer is so small that I can freeze 3 loafs of bread, about 6 tupperwares with precooked food, and a few portions of chicken, fish, mince or other things that are cheaper per 600g compared to 100-200g servings. Most places I've lived in Europe tend to have smaller freezers, especially when you live in a flat in a town. Plus those things eat up tons of electricity, which is a reason why many people don't have big fridges (apart from space, and people eating more food you can't freeze well compared to meat) I don't know how much electricity 8hrs of crockpot costs, but electricity prices here are currently over 30 Eurocent per kwh, thus if you've short of money it might be a lot cheaper to buy a pack of 10 stock cubes for 60 or so cents.
Fair enough. Stock cubes are totally fine. I was a chef for 18 years and I still use them. It is all dependent on having the space in the fridge and freezer. Slow cookers have very low current draw. Also modern fridges and freezers are (in the main) more efficent than they have ever been. At least here in Australia we have an energy efficeny rating system which indicates which models are more energy efficient at the time of purchase:
https://www.energyrating.gov.au/retailers-tradies/fridges-and-freezers
I'm not sure what standards and initiatives occur elsewhere and of course the size is another factor. Eating cheap just may not be part of the general European experience. In this case I would be doing more Asian style food.
Here are some power calculations about slow cookers: https://littleupgrades.com/electricity-slow-cooker/0 -
I can’t recall the names and in any case it’s probably something different in the US, but we have various apps that are designed to eliminate food waste.
One people post up excess/unwanted items and others collect, the other you can signup to collect from cafes, restaurants, supermarkets at the end of service what they would have otherwise have to throw out. Granted it’s hit and miss but I’m sure if you could find similar it would save some pennies (or cents even).
Ah! Olio and ‘too good to go’ are the ones I was thinking of !1
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