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Isn't pasta another inexpensive food item that is rather healthy? Depending on the amount of sauces and condiments of course.
So basically there's oatmeal, rice, potatoes, pasta, bread, that is a good base to eat from for those on a limited budget. Fruits and veggies will always vary from season but buying them in bulk can significantly lower the price.
If you are talking about eating out, yes prices of healthy food will always cost more. But then if you are on a limited food budget, you shouldn't be eating out a lot in the first place.
It is a variable thing. The last few months I've been spending about 50 a month. 99% of the time it is under 70. And it isn't like it is a bragging or shaming thing, but rather, you know, just posting about how I spend my money for my diet. So why you feel the need have an attitude is beyond me. You'd be surprised! I'm not actually actively trying to spend this amount of money, I'm just reporting what the average of my grocery bill is.
Also, I never said 25 cents of vegetables a day. If you look clearly you can see there is a serving of kimchi (1 vegetable!), a serving of mushrooms (another!) a serving of seaweed (1 more!), a serving of spinach (one more!) at least two servings of celery (at least 2 more!) and an orange. Perhaps 10 mushrooms isn't a serving, so maybe the 8th one doesn't count? But I'm pretty sure it is close. FYI, a serving of celery is one and a half sticks according to this Celery | One Serving This morning I had cherries and an apple for breakfast. That was part of my $50 I spent the other day and I have plenty more fruit along side it. In fact, most of what I bought was vegetables and fruits. Why is that? Because I've bought bulk foods and seasonings continuously that do not spoil in and still have plenty of food from it left without needing to buy more, except for fresh produce. I can concentrate my money on fruits and vegetables. That is why it is not necessarily easy to give you a representative $2.00 meal--although I obviously managed that--because it is a $2 meal averaged throughout the entire year, understand? But some money is more upfront than others (not a significant deviation, though), but it saves in the long run. Simple concept.
I see, when you said $2 a day wasn't right, you meant you spent much lower than that, $1.60 per day.
I see the misunderstanding here. Everyone else is using a given amount of money per week/month to mean the amount spent on the bulk of what's eaten that week, with things like chutneys and oil amortised. We're not spending $500 on half a cow or a CSA share and then saying meat or veg is free for the rest of the year. We're also talking about normal healthy eating patterns, not disordered ones.
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Also, rice isn't empty calories. Rice is fortified and has nutrition to go along with everything else. It also is splendid at filling you up and giving you energy. Also, sorry to break it to you but yes, an orange and a few sticks of celery is a meal. It is called a "snack". I don't need 3 meals a day.A lot of places around the globe don't seem to either Also, try telling 2 billion people--a large percentage of which happen to be the longest living and least obese people on the planet--that these things are not "meals". Lordy, throw in a potato for 80 cents if you want more calories in a soup.
Edit: I'm pretty sure I'm getting my 3 pound tubs of kimchi for 10 dollars at the Korean supermarket called H-Mart. Along with a huge variety of really cheap vegetables that you would never EVER find in American grocery stores. Or one could just make their own kimchi for a fraction of that price even. It isn't particularly difficult.
Oh, I see you weren't taught to make rice by a Japanese person. Normally in Japan you rinse the rice thoroughly before cooking. This washes off the enrichment.
Veggies at Hmart aren't that good a deal, you should shop around.
I live in Las Vegas where wages are very low but the COL is reasonable. We have an amazing store, the 99centsOnly Store. If there is one in your area you need to check it out. We also have lots of Hispanic/ethnic stores that often have better deals than the more familiar name stores. I had to teach myself how to eat well on the cheap and one of my best discoveries is bulk cooking. I only cook 3 or 4 days a month and those who eat, help. Then we have lunches and dinners in the freezer, portion controlled, that can be ready in minutes.
We aren't perfect. We do budget for eating out or fast food every now and then but it's a conscious choice.
Location: RI, MA, VT, WI, IL, CA, IN (that one sucked), KY
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Originally Posted by jade408
Where are you shopping. I rarely see apples under 79c/lb. Meats at $1.99 a pound? Hahahah maybe at Thanksgving. Eggs? More like $3 a dozen for the basic eggs.
In Boston, which is not cheap, eggs are $1.69/dz and boneless white meat chicken is $1.99/#
I spend about $40 a week on food. I dunno if that is a lot or not. It's about $5.75 per day. I buy all my groceries at Trader Joe's, a food co-op and an asian supermarket.
I had to teach myself how to eat well on the cheap and one of my best discoveries is bulk cooking.
When I closed my restaurant after 16 years of feeding the masses (!) I sold all my commercial equipment but quickly realized that my cooking MO couldn't work without a freezer as the freezer space in a 'fridge is very limited. I do weekly catering for former customers and friends but, even without that, the purchase of a small chest freezer I finally found on craigslist is a huge help to my budget. A LOT of money is saved by buying in larger quantities, buying sale items, etc. and freezing both cooked and uncooked foods.
Apples are 59c a lb (typically 3 per lb.), eggs can be had for $1.99 per dozen, oatmeal is like $2 for a big container. There are inexpensive cuts of meat that can be had for 1.99 per lb and there are plenty of cheap meal options - I've fed a family of three on $35-70 per week (not easy, but doable).
You can even eat fast-food, but the catch is it's like a kids size cheeseburger - NOT a burger, fries, milkshake, etc.
Saying that "healthy foods are too expensive" is another excuse. People with limited financial means CAN afford to eat healthy.
Just yesterday, I was out running errands and I was in a rush, so I did what I don't normally do - I went through the Sonic drive through and bought a small hamburger, fresh apple slices, and a carton of 100 percent apple juice for $3.49. It was very satisfying and inexpensive. I don't normally eat fast food, but for fast food, that's not a bad meal.
I've been rich and I've been poor - rich is better - as the old saying goes.
That being said, I was poor - I mean, free cheese poor, living in the projects poor - for several years during my twenties. This was due to some poor personal choices I made and believe me, I slept in the bed I had made. Anyway, long story short, I had four kids by the time I was thirty and for several years of that time, we lived well below the poverty line. It takes a lot of determination and self discipline (and consistently good choices rather than bad ones) to dig oneself out of poverty, but I know for a fact it can be done.
Anyway, I still had to feed kids well and I was able to do so on a very tight budget. I remember distinctly that for about a year or so, after we paid all our bills each month, I had a budget of $25 a WEEK for groceries, gas, clothing - whatever. That was in 1984. That equates to $57.24 in today's dollars. And I had two children and a husband to feed. CPI Inflation Calculator
You may not believe this, but we literally went five years without buying a single soft drink. Soft drinks were a luxury that we could not afford. We also didn't go to a movie, take a vacation, or go out to eat more than probably three or four times a year max. We had one phone - a home phone. My husband rode a bike to work if I needed the car. I bought all our clothes at resale shops.
Here's the cool thing - my kids were well dressed. My house was clean. And most important (in my opinion) my family was fed healthy food. Here's how I did it.
First of all, if there was a free cheese giveaway, I went and got our portion! My kids were on WIC as well, and I didn't give that food away, or let the coupons expire, etc like so many people do, because that WIC food is HEALTHY FOOD.
I cooked with dried beans (very healthy) and we had plenty of oatmeal, rice, etc. I bought meat when it was on sale and we had small portions of it. I bought inexpensive fruits and veggies - what was in season in other words and what was on special. I cooked from scratch and didn't buy convenience foods. We just didn't have chips and that sort of thing in our house - we couldn't afford them and they were junk anyway. I didn't have cream in my coffee - that would have been a luxury.
Our meals were plain, but nutritious - and we never went hungry.
I am so glad for that experience, because I learned a lot from it, and even though now I can afford to buy whatever groceries I want - or eat out every meal - I learned to cook and bake and shop frugally and I've never forgotten those lessons.
Honestly, I couldn't have imagined the wastefulness of driving the whole family through the McDonalds drive through and buying happy meals and that other junk and calling it good. That fiasco could have bought us four DAYS worth of groceries!
When I closed my restaurant after 16 years of feeding the masses (!) I sold all my commercial equipment but quickly realized that my cooking MO couldn't work without a freezer as the freezer space in a 'fridge is very limited. I do weekly catering for former customers and friends but, even without that, the purchase of a small chest freezer I finally found on craigslist is a huge help to my budget. A LOT of money is saved by buying in larger quantities, buying sale items, etc. and freezing both cooked and uncooked foods.
I agree.
My parents recently bought a small freezer for $20 at a garage sale. They're not hard to find at very reasonable prices (less that it costs a family of four to go through the drive through at McDonalds!) and can save a family a TON of money in the long run.
In Boston, which is not cheap, eggs are $1.69/dz and boneless white meat chicken is $1.99/#
I currently am in a small town in Wisconsin and just got back from the store. ..chicken breasts were 5.59$ lb...bratwurst 4.50$ lb and eggs 2.39$ a dozen on sale. This us the only grocery in town.
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And it isn't like it is a bragging or shaming thing, but rather, you know, just posting about how I spend my money for my diet. So why you feel the need have an attitude is beyond me. You'd be surprised! I'm not actually actively trying to spend this amount of money, I'm just reporting what the average of my grocery bill is. 
