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I am always amazed when I go to visit my brother in Atlanta. It seems like everyone down there is obese. Disney World too. That is the only place I have ever been where it is common for young people ride those scooters because they are so obese, they can't handle walking around the park. Not that there aren't fat people around where I live. There are. But not anywhere near the numbers in those places I have mentioned.
The US in general has a problem with "portion control" but it's really bad in the South. I remember eating in Louisiana and the size of the BBQ plates for lunch or crawfish platters were enormous...
Most of my family is fat and I have to watch myself more than others, but still I've been fat and I've been in great shape...never thin though....my point is that whatever I was at any given time it was because of my choices that I was making.
...And yes, I must work harder than others at being in shape versus fat, but it's still my CHOICE to do so or not!
Appreciate the effort, however. Where's everyone else who insisted it could be done?
If you only ever have $10/week, forever, and magically carry zero condiments or pots and pans from week to week, and have no burner, then no, you can't do it.
I would lay my last dollar that the above statement applies to a TINY percentage of the poor.
Here is your $10:
1lb meat = .99, on sale. This would be chicken thighs, discounted chops, etc. If you contend this is not available in your area, substitute more dried beans or 2 cans of sale tuna.
1lb dried beans = $1
1 doz eggs = $2
1lb carrots = $1
1lb onions = $1
1 loaf wheat bread, on sale = $2
small bunch bananas or sale apples, $2
You now have a slice of toast and an egg for breakfast daily. Your snacks are your sale fruit.
The lb of meat cooked into a soup or casserole with the carrots, beans & onions will require some time and effort, and daily reheating. If you have rice or potatoes left over from last week (see my initial point about very few starting from scratch each week) you can bulk up your dinner and be quite full.
I'm sure some will object because it will take time to prepare meals, time to compare sale flyers. There are tradeoffs, but somehow the time I put into meal prep after a 10 hour day at work, before doing my college homework and putting my kids to bed is unacceptable to ask of the poor?!?!
I'm not even touching the large amounts of milk, beans, cheese, bread, cereal, carrots that WIC gives, or those who receive food stamps. The question was how to eat on $10 a week and make it healthier than ramen.
I wrote similar but deleted it as I thought TWIS was just being an internet drama queen. If a person cannot think for themsevles then what the **** are they good for?
None of the below are poor specific. They are inexpensive and healthy. I still do all of the below.
1.Potato,carrot, onion,garlic, small amount of meat, water and you have soup for two days.Consume with bread.
2.Delete water and add tomato sauce and you have stew. Consume with rice.
3.Deleted Tomato sauce and roast in the oven and you have a broiled dinner. Consume with anything side dish.
4.Vary the above as needed and BOGOs and Specials apply.
5. Pasta
6 see unconventional.
Breakfast:
1. Oatmeal $0.33 a bowl. Consume with black coffee or tea or milk
2. Make your own waffles,pancakes- mixture, egg, milk. consume as is or with honey and coffee. One box is enough for 24 pancakes. You only need 3pancakes for breakfast. Dozen large eggs on special are $0.99 per dozen. For a $3.99 mixture investment + $0.66 in eggs you have an 8 day supply. That is $0.75 per meal per day when the milk is included.
3. BOGO specials in the store. I saved $575 in 2013 mostly in BOGO stew/soup/roast meat purchases. That is about $2.85/lb for fine lean muscle meat(london broil) that supplies 48grams of protein per 6oz serving for $0.96 per serving. Recently picked up no artifical preservative protein waffles 20count for $3.15 total. That is $0.16 per waffle or $0.32 satisfies breakfast nutrition needs.
4. toast with poached eggs or scrambled or fried or boiled. Egg price above. I regularly BOGO fructose free wheat breat at $4.49 for two loaves. That is 40 slices total. or $0.11 per slice. 2 toast + 2 eggs = $0.22 + $0.17= $0.39 for breakfast
5. toast and peanut butter
9. Grits
10. see unconventional approach
Lunch.
1. Same as above or
2. Salad with 4oz of animal protein
3. leftover soup,stew,etc from dinner made the night before.
4. see unconventional
Unconventional approach:
1. Purchase whey protein in the 5lb tub and you have 72 servings of 25-30gr of protein for $50. By comparison 4oz of chicken breast is 24grams of protein. That is $0.70 per drink and you have met a third of the USDA daily protein allowance.
2. Practice intermittent fasting. Actually it is healthy for your system.
3. Hydrate often. Reduces hunger.
You can have healthy and delicious food 3x per day for less than $5 total.
$10 per week not feasible if your are male with 1200calorie TDEE. You would need $80 per month minimum and fast once per week.
I used to think it was the cost, then I've unfortunately had a couple of different "opportunities" to try each one out.
The second time I hit bottom I actually had less money than the first time yet I ate much healthier.
I was much more educated the second time though and made better choices.
One very effective diet on a budget is a combination of sweet potatoes, tuna, eggs and citrus fruit. All are very cheap and healthy. If you eat each separately there's no combining issue and since the items themselves aren't that interesting, you will only eat what your body needs because there's no motivation to overeat.
If you are going to eat less, then it doesn't pay to go to the buffet in the first place. That is why I avoid buffets in the first place. It's a rip off, unless you plan on eating a ton of food.
Buffets make me sick. It epitomizes American culture....consume consume consume, glut glut glut, waste waste waste. Disgusting.
They do this 'food desert' experiment once in a while in a suburb fairly close to my Parents and I ride through it on the weekends. The only people really selling anything in any great quantity is the KFC booth and the taco wagon. The most expensive items in the entire farmer's market.
So much for bringing fresh, cheap produce to them.
They do this 'food desert' experiment once in a while in a suburb fairly close to my Parents and I ride through it on the weekends. The only people really selling anything in any great quantity is the KFC booth and the taco wagon. The most expensive items in the entire farmer's market.
So much for bringing fresh, cheap produce to them.
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