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I suppose you CAN do that, but it won't be much fun... $75 / 7 days / 4 people / 3 meals = $0.90 a meal/person.
I see lots of stir fry that is basically just a small portion of seasoned veggies and TONS AND TONS of rice in your future. I'd get a second job before I committed to that. Even boiled instant pasta with garlic and butter is just about $0.90/meal.
I think an admirable, and attainable, target for a family of 4 is probably $5-$10/meal, so much closer to double what you're thinking. You have a lot of room to work with some meals being less and some being more around that target. You can get a giant pork loin for about $1.40/lb most days with even trying, cut it down to meal portions from there, add some starch and veggies for another few bucks and be well on my target without being murdered in your sleep for serving your family prisoner of war caliber meals. Pasta night is no brainer. Pizza night is pretty cheap too if you make your own dough and bargain hunt cheese. Taco night is a bit more expensive if you like beef, but chicken fajita night is close and MUCH cheaper, especially if you enjoy dark meat. Every family eats breakfast a different way, but a boiled egg, a chunk of fruit, and some toast is about as cheap as it gets. Lunches are obviously fodder for leftovers or you can do a simple soup and sandwich a couple of days a week or a nice salad. I even like to get a big bad of frozen skinless chicken breasts, grill them all, and just use them as a base for all sorts of other meals (sandwiches, salads, whatever).
Anyhow... I don't see your budget being realistic. If you HAD to do that, you could, but good God why would you want to?
You say you eat the same stuff over and over. What do you eat?
Lots of grilled chicken, salad, spaghetti, homemade burgers made with 92% lean meat, baked fish ( cod or salmon ). That and some other things. It's seems like I eat the same stuff s lot. I marinade chicken and broil or grill it and eat it with salad.
Ok, maybe 150 is not realistic. My husband is a meat guy. He has to have meat with his meals. If I increase my budget to 250 every 2 weeks and look for crock pot meals and make lots of food, I can put in the freezer and eat again.
I wish I could grow my own veggies but I have no yard to do it in. We live in an apartment. No balcony either.
Last edited by glass_of_merlot; 09-24-2017 at 12:48 PM..
I think someone who likes to cook can do better than someone who doesn't, but if the desire is there and OP knows how to read, there are plenty of cooking on a budget cookbooks.
One suggestion is: you need less meat than you think. A pound is enough for 4 people. Anymore, one chicken breast can weigh a pound. A pound of ground beef is enough for a variety of meals. Pioneer Woman has several shows on 15 minute meals, so even if you hate to cook, anyone can tolerate it for 15 minutes. Chef and the Farmer chef, Vivian Howard, cooks the southern way in which meat was really only used as a flavoring, back in the day, instead of the main course. For example a big pot of beans would have a left over ham bone for flavor, but it didn't cost anything. Same with making a roast chicken and making soup with the leftovers.
Here is what I'd try...make a menu for one week. You could even do the same menu for several weeks in a row, until the family starts to rebel. Then you could come up with some changes.
Spaghetti, Italian sausage, and salad
Hamburgers and baked beans, applesauce
Tuna noodle casserole
Meatloaf, mashed potatoes and a frozen veg
Baked chicken with potatoes, gravy, canned corn
Ham slice and Mac and cheese, frozen veg
Cube Steak, roasted potatoes and salad
If I could buy these foods on special, I get a value of about $55.
I know you will also need things like milk and eggs and butter etc.
Do the same for breakfasts and lunches, and see how you do.
I think of it as a game, watch the weekly sales and see how cheaply I can get by. Some weeks you'll do better than others, but at least you'll feel like you are in control.
Oh, about the wine. It's fun to find a good cheap wine. There's no talent in finding good expensive wine.
Last edited by gentlearts; 09-24-2017 at 01:24 PM..
Lots of grilled chicken, salad, spaghetti, homemade burgers made with 92% lean meat, baked fish ( cod or salmon ). That and some other things. It's seems like I eat the same stuff s lot. I marinade chicken and broil or grill it and eat it with salad.
Is the $1000 you are spending a month now, on food items only or does that include other non-food items in that total? Do not include what you are spending on non-food items, pet food, wine, etc and then post back what your food "only" amount is. (The non-food items is a whole other issue to be dealt with)
If the $1000 is for food only then that is insane even based on what you said above that you eat. Either you waste a LOT of food, you are shopping at an extremely expensive grocery store or you are purchasing the most expensive types/brands of food out there like top of the line steaks, lobster, fish, etc. For starters, with 4 people you should be able to get your "food only" monthly amount down to $500 - $600 easily. Once you have done that then you can start going down from there but some of it will also depend on where you live and the overall cost of food there, buying more generic or lower cost foods and whether you can learn to cook more in bulk and freeze meals, etc.
So, let's start with the first question above and we can go from there.
Is the $1000 you are spending a month now, on craving my atention food items only or does that include other non-food items in that total? Do not include what you are spending on non-food items, pet food, wine, etc and then post back what your food "only" amount is. (The non-food items is a whole other issue to be dealt with)
If the $1000 is for food only then that is insane even based on what you said above that you eat. Either you waste a LOT of food, you are shopping at an extremely expensive grocery store or you are purchasing the most expensive types/brands of food out there like top of the line steaks, lobster, fish, etc. For starters, with 4 people you should be able to get your "food only" monthly amount down to $500 - $600 easily. Once you have done that then you can start going down from there but some of it will also depend on where you live and the overall cost of food there, buying more generic or lower cost foods and whether you can learn to cook more in bulk and freeze meals, etc.
So, let's start with the first question above and we can go from there.
Honestly, it's mostly food. Impulse shopping. Its a bad habit I have.
I am ready to change this though. Wish I could could explain more but my 3 year old is craving my attention at the moment. I come back later with more details.
Lots of grilled chicken, salad, spaghetti, homemade burgers made with 92% lean meat, baked fish ( cod or salmon ). That and some other things. It's seems like I eat the same stuff s lot. I marinade chicken and broil or grill it and eat it with salad.
Ok, maybe 150 is not realistic. My husband is a meat guy. He has to have meat with his meals. If I increase my budget to 250 every 2 weeks and look for crock pot meals and make lots of food, I can put in the freezer and eat again.
I wish I could grow my own veggies but I have no yard to do it in. We live in an apartment. No balcony either.
If your husband is a meat guy, start feeding him more pork. Like, A LOT more pork. I looooove pork so I'm pretty happy with this.
I also suggest you not crock pot much of anything (ewww... bowl of mush) or at least certainly not do that and freeze it (now a bowl a gruel). Freeze your meat fresh and then thaw it and crockpot it later.
I'd also recommend you look into the shopping clubs in your area. My Sam's has had fresh Haricot Verts ("fancy" green beans) for like $2/lb all summer and they're always very good. Fresh broccoli and cauliflower florets are right next to them at about the same price. I wouldn't even bother to grow them at that price. Year round they also have monster containers of spring salad mix (I think 3lbs) for something like $5. A similar box of fresh spinach is like another dollar. 15lb bag of potatoes is something like $6.
Their meat counter is also both pretty good quality and fairly well priced. If you happen to live very near one and can shop several times a week and loot the stuff on it's last day you can save a mind blowing amount over regular stores. I bought some ribeyes last trip for like $4/lb.
If hubby is a meat man, buy meats on sale & freeze in meal size portions, we do this with beef, pork & sometimes chicken. I also buy the bags of skinless chicken that are already frozen & I can take 2 or 3 out in the morning to defrost & they will be ready for a quick grilling in the evening. Grocery outlet sells bags of 3 pounds of chicken breasts, skinless & boneless for $4.99, that shoudl last you a few weeks, it is a lot cheaper than buying the Styrofoam trays of chikcen.
OH.. My Sam's also has rotisserie chickens (which are seasoned a little "meh" but well cooked... I'm sure that varies by store) for freaking $4 (I can't buy a raw chicken for $4) and LARGE deli pizzas (I'd say 18") for $7 that they will cook in the store for you for free if you take them up to the food court. Assuming that you're a human, so you like cold pizza, 2 pizzas and a box of salad is one dinner and days of lunches for $20 and you don't lift a finger.
Every time I go I get a pizza for that night, a chicken for later in the week, and a chicken to freeze. I just dump in the freezer right in their little plastic shells and they're good for a couple of weeks, no problem.
I love Sam's... I even splurge on the popcorn shrimp in the freezer section... 3lbs of Seapak shrimp (which is tasty) for like $12-$13. I'm losing money if I don't buy it at $4/lb... I mean... they're paying me to take it... I have to!
OH.. My Sam's also has rotisserie chickens (which are seasoned a little "meh" but well cooked... I'm sure that varies by store) for freaking $4 (I can't buy a raw chicken for $4) and LARGE deli pizzas (I'd say 18") for $7 that they will cook in the store for you for free if you take them up to the food court. Assuming that you're a human, so you like cold pizza, 2 pizzas and a box of salad is one dinner and days of lunches for $20 and you don't lift a finger.
Every time I go I get a pizza for that night, a chicken for later in the week, and a chicken to freeze. I just dump in the freezer right in their little plastic shells and they're good for a couple of weeks, no problem.
I love Sam's... I even splurge on the popcorn shrimp in the freezer section... 3lbs of Seapak shrimp (which is tasty) for like $12-$13. I'm losing money if I don't buy it at $4/lb... I mean... they're paying me to take it... I have to!
Isn't Costco the same way. We have a Costco membership.
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