what would you buy with $20

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ashesfromfire
ashesfromfire Posts: 867 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Very poor college student here. I have $20 to buy groceries for the next 10 days. I'm trying to make a healthy shopping list that will cover 3 meals a day for the next week and a half. What would you buy?
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Replies

  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
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    http://www.budgetbytes.com
  • MissElectricEyeliner
    MissElectricEyeliner Posts: 122 Member
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    This is the best I got:
    $10 pack of chicken breast from Walmart and portion them out for dinner every night.
    $1 or $2 on oatmeal for breakfast
    75c per can of veggies to eat with chicken. 9 cans = $6.80
    May have to eat ramen noodles for lunch. 10 packs = $2.20
  • 1_FitLibra
    1_FitLibra Posts: 1 Member
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    Eggs
    Potatoes
    Chicken breast
    Strawberries
    Mixed vegetables
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
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    Membership to a dating site. Get a bunch of guys to buy you dinner.

    Kidding. Kind of.

    Do you have a kitchen?
  • karyabc
    karyabc Posts: 830 Member
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    Eggs are kinda expensive right now, don't know the cost around your area ! But are so great .
    Oatmeal
    bread
    Milk
    Frozen veggies
    Rice
    Tuna
    Chicken ,whatever is on sale

    Seriously I could tell you millions things or ideas but just buying smart, everything on sale and taking advantage of the weekly specials you could make anything fit ! You don't need much money to "eat healthy"

    Good luck
  • Frankenbarbie01
    Frankenbarbie01 Posts: 432 Member
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    eggs
    sweet potatoes
    cauliflower
    chicken
    some type of power greens (put them in eggs or blend in a smoothie)
    Rice

    cheers!
  • Gingergal12
    Gingergal12 Posts: 64 Member
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    Eggs, chicken legs, canned tuna, canned clams, canned soup, frozen veggies, frozen fruit, Greek yougart and low carb pitas.
  • strangesoul79
    strangesoul79 Posts: 84 Member
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    Hit up a big lots if one is near you. Can sometimes find some canned tuna and soups cheaper than walmart and places. Check ads for local grocery's like kroger or if they have it Ruler Foods. If you have any friends that hunt see if they have any extra meat to spare. It may seem odd but hunters are fairly giving.
  • ashesfromfire
    ashesfromfire Posts: 867 Member
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    Kalikel wrote: »
    Membership to a dating site. Get a bunch of guys to buy you dinner.

    Kidding. Kind of.

    Do you have a kitchen?

    Hehehehe

    Yes, I do have a kitchen and I'm a half way decent cook ⌒.⌒
  • abetterluke
    abetterluke Posts: 625 Member
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    newmeadow wrote: »
    lentils
    rice
    eggs
    potatoes
    a whole large chicken
    a large bag of frozen mixed vegetables
    bread
    butter

    Hate to say this but depending on location this is not feasible on $20. Where I'm it would look something like --

    lentils - $3
    rice - $5
    eggs - $4
    potatoes - $3
    a whole large chicken - $12
    a large bag of frozen mixed vegetables - $3
    bread - $1
    butter - $4

    That's $35 -- whole chickens here are not cheap by any means. The $12 is a pretty low estimate a lot of the time too.
  • abetterluke
    abetterluke Posts: 625 Member
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    My recommendation would go along with the first person to comment --

    bag/box of frozen chicken breasts.
    canned or frozen veggies
    eggs
    rice

    also -- if you need spices at all to keep things from getting too boring and bland and you only need a little for a short period of time then buy them in bulk if your local grocery store has a bulk spice section. You can get just a little bit of each spice you want for almost nothing.
  • ashesfromfire
    ashesfromfire Posts: 867 Member
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    I love eggs, I could eat them constantly, but I feel like they've gotten so much more expensive lately
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
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    ashesfromfire wrote: »
    Kalikel wrote: »
    Membership to a dating site. Get a bunch of guys to buy you dinner.

    Kidding. Kind of.

    Do you have a kitchen?

    Hehehehe

    Yes, I do have a kitchen and I'm a half way decent cook ⌒.⌒

    Rice, frozen veggies and those bags of cheap, frozen chicken breasts. $20 doesn't really allow for a healthy, varied diet!
  • abetterluke
    abetterluke Posts: 625 Member
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    ashesfromfire wrote: »
    I love eggs, I could eat them constantly, but I feel like they've gotten so much more expensive lately

    Agreed. I used to be able to get a dozen for about $2 around here. Now that's double and it's about $4.
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,134 Member
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    Bus fare to Mom's house? ;)

    For me, I'd buy
    - peanut butter
    - sliced cheese
    - bread
    - Ramen
    - bologna (sliced meat of choice)
    - dried fruit, probably raisins
  • Fitwarrior7_Round_2
    Fitwarrior7_Round_2 Posts: 453 Member
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    Eggs have definitely gotten more expensive these days.
  • sixxpoint
    sixxpoint Posts: 3,529 Member
    edited September 2015
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    $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.
  • abetterluke
    abetterluke Posts: 625 Member
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    sixxpoint 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.

    Maybe not -- but if she really only has $20 (which is entirely possible) isn't it better to TRY to make it at least relatively healthy rather than just eating ramen for the next 10 days straight?
  • TinyTexn59
    TinyTexn59 Posts: 96 Member
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    A bag of dried lentils, brown rice, a box of old fashioned oats, a whole chicken (bring a pot of water to a boil, add chicken, bring back to a boil, turn off heat and cover, leave on burner for one hour, remove meat from bones, save broth for soups, done!), a bunch of celery, 2 onions, a bag of carrots, a large can of tomatoes, a small bag of potatoes and bananas.

    Make tomato, chicken lentil soup for dinners and/or lunches.
    Serve over potatoes or with rice for change of pace.
    Use oats for breakfast - overnight oats, or pancakes with the bananas
    Use some of the leftover rice and chicken with the celery, onions and carrots to make chicken fried rice for alternate meals.
    Use the rest of the bag of carrots and onions to make carrot soup with brown rice.
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