If you only had 100$ a month to spend on food...
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Lots of good ideas here, especially if I ignore the back-and-forth rhetoric.
Will go over more closely in a day or two and distill down to the most important points.0 -
Water, strawberries/lettuce/pickles, yogurt, bread, sandwich meat, cheese, and any meat if there's enough money left over!
I'm sorry, these are like my basic necessities that I cannot live without, hahaXD0 -
brown rice, dried beans, frozen vegetables and fruits, chicken on sale and splurge on almond milk
I already spend less than $200 a month for 2 people, but we cook everything from scratch and buy whatever we want. I could easily get by on $100, since cooking for myself ends up being cheaper than buying processed crap, but I'd have to cut back on a lot of my treat foods, like nuts and expensive proteins (fish and lean meats).0 -
I hope this is a purely hypothetical question because I can't see how you could spend so little unless you A) lived on a farm or
ate crap.
I absolutely emphatically disagree.
Not everyone can live on organic, farm-raised "good for you" foods due to the cost. People live on "that little" and less EVERY SINGLE DAY. And guess what? They can actually eat a wealth of nutrient-rich foods without spending a fortune.
Please keep closed minded comments to yourself.
But...but...but...TOXINS!!
I never said anything about toxins. I am not a health food zealot. Check out my food journal; I eat processed foods on occasion. What I was suggesting is that if someone ONLY had $100 to spend, they should try to make every bite as nutrient dense as possible - which I hardly think is justification to be so disrespectful.
They should focus on their food being as calorie dense as possible FIRST and nutrient dense second. What you proposed was beans, frozen veggies, and no grains with only two servings of meat per week. How on earth does that qualify as nutrient dense?
And my MAIN issue was you feeling the need to bring politics into play, which is not only unnecessary, but against the forum guidelines.0 -
How 'bout we don't hijack the thread with imposing ideas and opinions on people with a budget less ample than some and start giving more money-saving tips for those of us that don't make a higher end income?
Yeah, that'd be awesome.
You're right.
OP, the best tip that anyone can give you is to look a the weekly circulars that come in the mail and see what is on sale across a variety of stores. Plan your meals around what meats/veggies are on sale and you'd be surprised at how cheaply you can eat.0 -
That's quite a challenge! That's only $25 per week, $3.57 per day, or about $1.19 per meal if three meals daily. With my current MFP settings of 2000 kcal/day I am not certain I could do this $100/mo and still eat relatively healthy food. It could obviously be done on a Ramen diet, but I hate Ramen so I wouldn't do that. I am going to plan a sample day and see if I can keep it to $3.57.
Morning Meal
Equate Shake $0.83, 180 kcal, 6 g fat, 5 g fibre, 10 g protein, 180 mg sodium, 25 g carbs
Banana $0.38 (based on $0.72/lb) 211 kcal, 1 g fat, 6 g fibre, 3 g protein, 2 mg sodium, 54 g carbs
Toast with peanut butter (cheap Walmart whole wheat bread + 2 tbsp JIF) $0.19
250 kcal, 17 g fat, 4 g fibre, 10 g protein, 250 mg sodium, 20 g carbs
Morning Meal Total: $1.40. 642 kcal, 24 g fat, 15 g fibre, 23 g protein, 432 mg sodium, 99 g carbs
Afternoon Meal
Salad (romaine lettuce, kale, spinach, English cucumber, 2 tbsp raspberry vinaigrette dressing, garlic & herb croutons, shredded sharp cheddar cheese; 1 large salad) Idea is to make a huge salad at the beginning of the week and use it for afternoon meal each day. Approximate cost for 1 day of this salad: $1.22
527 kcal, 23 g fat, 13 g fibre, 21 g protein, 830 mg sodium, 61 g carbs
Afternoon Meal Total: $1.22
Evening Meal
Greek Pasta Salad (whole wheat pasta, green pepper, diced tomato, Greek vinaigrette, parmesan cheese) Like with salad, make huge batch at beginning of week and eat every freakin' evening Approximate cost per serving: $0.89
582 kcal, 16 g fat, 14 g fibre, 23 g protein, 888 mg sodium, 102 g carbs
DAY TOTALS: $3.51, 1750 kcal, 42 g fibre, 67 g protein, 2150 mg sodium, 262 g carbs
Does plan stay within budget? Amazingly yes, by $0.06
Did plan meet kcal requirement (2000 kcal)? No. Short by 250 kcal. This could be solved by using $0.06 in additional cheese and/or croutons on the salad I think. lol
Did plan meet macro requirements? Surprisingly yes, very close to actual goals.
Would I be willing to eat the same thing for afternoon and evening meals all the time? Not a chance. I love variety. But I am sure similar cost recipes could be made weekly to allow for variety. This could actually work. Will I do it? No. My food budget is $400/mo for me and my cat. I like it that way. However, if I ever find myself in the position where I have to do it at least I know it can be done.0 -
I have recently learned that the .99 cent store is loaded with fresh fruit and veggies and their freezers often have pre-portioned meat that is pretty good, especially on the barbie this time of year. I found frozen steaks and chicken breasts for 99 cent each and they were 3 oz each which is just the right size for most people on a diet. I cruise it weekly and spend about 30 dollars and get a lot of food. They even have the 45 calorie Sara Lee bread and occasionally I see Flat Outs and Tortillas. This week I found asparagus and portabella mushrooms...great find.
Call some local churches and see if there are any food banks in the area. We have a couple places in our area that sell meat and fresh food boxes for 25 dollars to the community and there is often enough healthy food in there to last a family for a week, no joke.
Also, go to Fresh and Easy and ask about there discount isle. I can not tell you how much meat I have bought there and stuck in the freezer.
At farmers markets the key is to buy what is in season. Buy extra of low cost things and store up or freeze.
Also if you are truly hurting financially don't be afraid to ask your place of worship for food cards if they have them. Many do, especially larger churches, just be responsible and only ask if you really need them, lots of hurting people out there in this economy.
We have a lot of cheap food in this country, and ways to get inexpensive food if you look for it. There is no need to go hungry or spend too much on food if you don't have it. Good Luck to you!0 -
Well, an ungodly amount of potatoes, carrots, parsnips, turnip; root vegetables tend to be very cheap. I'd have to cut out most fruits save oranges (the big tasteless, but still nutritious ones), apples, bananas, and pears. These are the cheapest fruits I know of. Cabbages (especially savoy) are flavorful, cheap, and keep well if refrigerated, so these would be a major source of iron for me on such a tight budget.
I'm vegetarian so I wouldn't have to worry about meat. I'd still have to have cheese and eggs though which would probably make up a quarter of the budget. Another quarter would go to dehydrated legumes such as chickpeas, peas, pinto beans etc. Their cheap and protein rich.
All soy products would be out, though I could potentially make my own tofu and soy milk from dehydrated soybeans. You only need the beans, water, and edible epsom salt.
For drinking, water would of course be the staple; though I could potentially supplement it with the home made soy milk mentioned above.
That would be my skeleton diet I suppose.
Not exactly something I'd be thrilled about. I love my avocados, but damn are they pricey
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How 'bout we don't hijack the thread with imposing ideas and opinions on people with a budget less ample than some and start giving more money-saving tips for those of us that don't make a higher end income?
Yeah, that'd be awesome.
You're right.
OP, the best tip that anyone can give you is to look a the weekly circulars that come in the mail and see what is on sale across a variety of stores. Plan your meals around what meats/veggies are on sale and you'd be surprised at how cheaply you can eat.
:flowerforyou:I have recently learned that the .99 cent store is loaded with fresh fruit and veggies and their freezers often have pre-portioned meat that is pretty good, especially on the barbie this time of year. I found frozen steaks and chicken breasts for 99 cent each and they were 3 oz each which is just the right size for most people on a diet. I cruise it weekly and spend about 30 dollars and get a lot of food. They even have the 45 calorie Sara Lee bread and occasionally I see Flat Outs and Tortillas. This week I found asparagus and portabella mushrooms...great find.
Dude, if I had a .99 store like yours I'd be SOOOO HAPPYYYYY.
Though I have looked around at my local Dollar Tree in the frozen food section. EPIC deals on frozen fruit!!! Can't find frozen fruit for cheaper.
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Dude, if I had a .99 store like yours I'd be SOOOO HAPPYYYYY.
Though I have looked around at my local Dollar Tree in the frozen food section. EPIC deals on frozen fruit!!! Can't find frozen fruit for cheaper.
Yeah, in CA our 99cent stores have a lot of stuff. It's pretty cool.0 -
What would you buy? I'm not looking at anything that drastic, but I am looking to save on my food budget (I'm saving up for a down payment on a house). Money is tight for everyone, so I thought this would be a neat experiment.
Ever since I started eating healthy, I have been spending A LOT more on food.
What has really helped me, though, is..... Wal-mart Ad-Matches ANY advertised price within 20 miles. So, I go to the Mexican markets (Cardina's, El Toro...) and get their weekly ad's. I also go to the bargain stores, (Save-A-Lot) and other grocery stores... (Sprouts, Stater Bros).
There are usually AMAZING deals. examples are, 7 avocados for 99 cents, (So, I get 14 avo, for 1.98.), 6 husk corn for 99 cents, (get 12), Sweet cherries for 1.99 per pound. This week, Stater Bro's had Skippy and Planters peanut butter for 1.99 each.
These are just examples of some of the stuff you can find in the ad's. All you have to do is take your ad to walmart, and you get so much for so less!
Plus, I like to get my produce at walmart, because it is fresher than at the mexican markets.
(And, Ad-matching is not only for food! it is any advertised price, so long as it is not an online ad.)0 -
I have been eating super-cheap lately (ran out of money, job doesn't start yet), so ...
Look for sales. Go through supermarket ad circulars -- for example, I got a 10 lb bag of chicken leg quarters for 5 dollars. Sure, they're not the leanest cut, but that's a compromise I'm willing to accept. Good staples are rice, beans, eggs, oatmeal. Tuna is nice but try to watch sales for it and stock up, since it's canned. Same with turkey, chicken. Aldi usually has the cheapest milk and produce so I usually go there and one other place, depending on what's on sale. Also, if it's by choice and not by necessity -- go ahead and get the big bag from the mail-order place if it's a staple. For example, my last bag of oatmeal was 25 lbs and WAY cheaper than the store, and I've eaten almost all of it.0 -
What would you buy? I'm not looking at anything that drastic, but I am looking to save on my food budget (I'm saving up for a down payment on a house). Money is tight for everyone, so I thought this would be a neat experiment.
Ever since I started eating healthy, I have been spending A LOT more on food.
What has really helped me, though, is..... Wal-mart Ad-Matches ANY advertised price within 20 miles. So, I go to the Mexican markets (Cardina's, El Toro...) and get their weekly ad's. I also go to the bargain stores, (Save-A-Lot) and other grocery stores... (Sprouts, Stater Bros).
There are usually AMAZING deals. examples are, 7 avocados for 99 cents, (So, I get 14 avo, for 1.98.), 6 husk corn for 99 cents, (get 12), Sweet cherries for 1.99 per pound. This week, Stater Bro's had Skippy and Planters peanut butter for 1.99 each.
These are just examples of some of the stuff you can find in the ad's. All you have to do is take your ad to walmart, and you get so much for so less!
Plus, I like to get my produce at walmart, because it is fresher than at the mexican markets.
(And, Ad-matching is not only for food! it is any advertised price, so long as it is not an online ad.)
Omg I LOOOOOVE Cardenas!!!!0 -
No drinks....
This is from an actual receipt, and I rounded up on anything over 50 cents and down on under 50cents.
2 1/2 gallons of almond milk, 2 1/2 gallons of chocolate almond milk,,,(my couple times a week treat) $14.00
3 1 lb packages of Plainville Farms 99% ground turkey breast $21
1 pound of organic valley stick butter $5
2 dozen cage free eggs $3
1 loaf Rudi's organic millet bread $4
1 pack of low card tortilla shells $3
2 cans of wild planet minimal mercury tuna $8
1 small jar spectrum cage free, made with olive oil mayo $3
1LB canister steel cut oats $3
1 box Yogi Kombucha green tea bags $4
1 8oz block of New bridge farmers cheese. $5
1 bottle of Bolthouse farms ranch yogurt dressing $3
1 bag each of frozen lima beans, green beans, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, diced onion....BOGO...$6
13 bux left would get me a water melon ($4) 2 qts strawberries, ($3) spinach ($2) tomatoes ($2)and cucumber ($2) at out local farmers market....:)
HOWEVER, I would have more than that because the dry goods and oils I buy online for less.....Vitacost.com
it would mean lean times for calories, but not willing to give up the less processed foods.
I could make this last with egg salad, tuna salad, turkey burgers, egg sandwiches, salads, cooked veggies, for probably about 3 weeks...then I'd eat a lot of oatmeal and drink a lot of tea:)0 -
I have recently learned that the .99 cent store is loaded with fresh fruit and veggies and their freezers often have pre-portioned meat that is pretty good, especially on the barbie this time of year. I found frozen steaks and chicken breasts for 99 cent each and they were 3 oz each which is just the right size for most people on a diet. I cruise it weekly and spend about 30 dollars and get a lot of food. They even have the 45 calorie Sara Lee bread and occasionally I see Flat Outs and Tortillas. This week I found asparagus and portabella mushrooms...great find.
Dude, if I had a .99 store like yours I'd be SOOOO HAPPYYYYY.
Though I have looked around at my local Dollar Tree in the frozen food section. EPIC deals on frozen fruit!!! Can't find frozen fruit for cheaper.
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Yep Dollar Tree is good, I have seen the steaks occasionally there but I find better fresh food at the 99 cent store though it is rotated every week and I don't always score, they usually always have some sort of fresh stuff, I love fruit and veggies and am not all the picky about them as long as they are fresh so the place works for me. However both places ALWAYS have cans of chicken, tuna and salmon, and potted meat ( I am big on protein).
I am pretty fortunate with having both of them within a few miles of me...I know not everyone may have them, so that is why I gave the other suggestions :flowerforyou:0 -
Eggs
Cut of meat that is on sale
Boneless Skinless chicken breast (walmart has them for sale for like $2/lb all the time)
Rice
Beans
Veggies that are on sale
Corn tortillas
Cheese
Milk
Flour
Cornmeal
Oil
Butter
^You can make a whole variety of stuff with just what I listed.
This.
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Watermelon if something to add to the list!
I love fresh, cold, sweet watermelon,
it's great filling and a whole bunch of servings for one big melon!0 -
beans, brown rice, eggs, frozen veggies, whole wheat pasta, lentils, canned tuna, frozen chicken breast/legs/thighs (whatever is on sale), whole wheat flour for pancakes, waffles, bread (assuming you have baking supplies on hand already), romaine and iceburg lettuce, bananas, apples0
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Boneless skinless chicken breast.
FF/SF plain yogurt
fresh produce-pref. co-op, but on sale at the grocery store would work. Whatever is in season
black beans-the dry kind
salsa
coffee
tea bags
wine-the cheap kind
cheese-the best I could afford
almond milk
2% dairy milk
protein powder
sweet potatoes
spinach
I have a lot of things I seem to rotate through-and I sometimes buy the processed crap just because it is cheaper, but I try to combine it with healthy stuff-for example, tomorrow we are having stuffed green peppers-the peppers are from our produce co--op basket. I got some Rice-a-Roni for 49 cents a box. I will make the rice with a can of tomatoes I got on sale, then stuff the peppers with them. I never add the butter/margarine indicated on the box instructions and we never ev3n miss it, but it saves somewhere around 50 calories per person, which is some mangoes or strawberries We would normally add some kind of ground meat-I grind my own bl/sl chicken breasts because I know that way thee are no beaks and claws included and it's leaner. Instead, this time I have some apple and onion chicken sausages thawed, so they will be the protein. We'll probably had a dinner salad on the side.
Hope that helps.0 -
Well $100 a month = approx £67. My guess is that food in the US is a ****-load cheaper than it is here in the UK then because even if you decided to live on Veg alone there is no chance in hell you'd survive a month on £67.....let's put it this way, a lettuce I bought yesterday from the local supermarket was £1.20. That'd be over half the daily budget gone on a lettuce.0
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Bump0
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You could probably get away with this suggestions, eggs, occasional meat, and lots of frozen veggies, no drinks. I think I'd buy a huge bag of rice, too.0
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oats
frozen stirfry vegetables
rice
coco
artificial sweetener
kiwi fruit
thai curry ingredients
eggs
....
lol actually for the last 3 or so months I spent $30nz on food a week, which is pretty much $100us.
its not hard.0 -
bump0
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I feed me and my daughter on about 100-125 month due to limited income! it is very possible, I buy meats, frozen veggies and brown rice / potatoes/bread, oatmeal, juice, milk, eggs, cereal, lunch meat and sliced cheese etc. basically food I have to cook! i get her some simple foods like ramen and whatnot also when budget allows. and a lot of planning, we shop once a month with exception of milk and eggs, and store in freezer. precook big meals and eat off it for a few days by heating it up. by buyng like this i think saves a lot also.0
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I have oatmeal almost every morning. i think it works out to seven cents a serving. My big splurge is fresh fruit on top sometimes.0
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It depends where you are. I know that where I am, you wouldn't be able to get much in the way of meat, so you have to look for other protein sources. Eggs are good. When I've been short of money in the past, I've eaten a lot of lentils - so much that I'm not a big fan of them now! But red lentils are cheap and versatile. They are handy for soups and curries, or use instead of minced meat in dishes like lasagne. Dried beans can be cheap but take a lot of soaking and cooking, and personally, I don't like them.0
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High quality eggs
high quality coffee beans
frozen vegetables
local fruit
canned beans
peanut butter
rice
coconut oil
good oatmeal
chicken
ground meat0 -
Wow..I have a kid with food allergies, so this would be impossible for us, but if I did not consider this, I would buy:
Frozen bulk veggies
Apples
Bulk chicken and ground tukey
Dry beans
Eggs
Tuna
Quiona
Orzo Pasta
Olive Oil0 -
Well $100 a month = approx £67. My guess is that food in the US is a ****-load cheaper than it is here in the UK then because even if you decided to live on Veg alone there is no chance in hell you'd survive a month on £67.....let's put it this way, a lettuce I bought yesterday from the local supermarket was £1.20. That'd be over half the daily budget gone on a lettuce.
TBH $100 a month is £100 a month in purchasing terms. The US Federal minimum wages is about the same $ as ours is £.
Consumer expenditure surveys come up with numbers like "average weekly £44.20 grocery bill" or "Households spend an average £53.40 a week on food" so I agree that £100 a month is a stretch. While the households might have 2.4 people in them it isn't necessarily proportionally cheaper to buy for one person.0
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