NFT: the Vermont challenge

(makes 2 meals)


1 can beans
4 table spoons cheap veg oil
salt
tabasco or similar
1/4 onion

healthy and yummy

saving too much food. Buying in bulk is not a problem. using it is. Far too often I buy in bulk, put half in the freezer, then throw it out a year later because I never got back to it.

I've already said I don't live in a food desert. However, for anyone who lives in the capitol district, there is no desert.

many people just simply don't have the cash balance or credit at certain times to make the actual purchase.

however, there are affordable items, you have to keep an eye out.

Gristedes, for example, will raise certain prices on basics randomly.

amount of money for food for the year. Whatever I didn't spend, I could keep. I learned how cheaply you can eat. How much does it cost for 2 eggs and toast and coffee, or oatmeal for breakfast, PB and J or a baloney sandwich for lunch, or rice and beans or spaghetti and meatballs for dinner? You could make 5 dinners for 2 out of a pork butt or chuck roast.

it definitely saves you money.

In comment 12000481 steve in ky said:

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it definitely saves you money.

Just go easy on the saffron and truffles :)

In comment 12000419 alligatorpie said:

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I have the same problem at times, schedules and feeding the kids -at times- on similar budgets. and it is totally true, about not being able to buy in bulk. I have learned to look for things like: Shampoo at Gristedes- $1.47 Eggs- 1 doz (all eggs are basically same quality) $2:80 Small bottle of cheapest vegetable oil- $1.99 a single large onion- ? a few cans of beans- $1.29 ea. in a pinch, I have: washed dishes with laundry soap and or table salt (rinse well with hot water).... or clothing with shampoo, or the floor with a process involving WD40 and a damp mop, brushed my teeth with table salt... you use what is on hand that week, then something else the next time - as available. after a while, you loose the feeling that this is extreme and just get on with your day. any shame or extra stress would not help the situation. and no, while I would 'qualify' for all the 'benefits' and do not at ALL resent those who do take them, I do not take them.

I want to start a campaign where every BBIer
sends you a dollar.

is the pet food and the non-grocery items: toiletries, batteries, plastic wrap, trash bags, etc etc.

to eat cheaply. We shop sales, we can buy nonperishables three or four months out if it's an exceptional deal, we are members of Sam's Club. Still, there is a startup cost involved in a $300 grocery bill, even if it covers the bulk of our needs for a month or longer. We aren't at the whim of bus schedules and we're not restricted by what we can carry, we can absorb the initial outlay of money, etc etc.

But eating organic, or gluten free, or whatever other trendy crap is the flavor of a given week is an expense that we certainly can't make. We had a local guy in my area who had fallen on hard times and the community's facebook page was trying to organize food donations for him and some fucking moron jumped in to chide is for not contributing healthy, unprocessed crap. Because a guy cooking his meals on a hotplate or in a microwave is concerned with the chemical content of his food instead of the fact that he finally has some.

In comment 12000422 fkap said:

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note that I didn't say I bought organic. I buy fresh. there's a difference.

Break it down then. How much do you spend on what that adds up to 40 bucks?

of my unfulfilled resolution to start bringing my lunch more often. The food options in the financial district are really overpriced. Easy to spend $8-12 a day on salty, fatty lunch.

.

You are not supposed to live off of it alone, it supplements your food income.

AFDC is one of the most successful social safety net programs in our history.

Unless you're using the 1941 Leningrad menu plan. Cheapest meat I can find is whole chicken for about a buck fifty per pound. The chickens I see at the store are usually around 4-5 lbs. That's $6-7.50 per chicken, which will give you at most 2 meals. If you did that for lunch and dinner every day, that alone costs more than $40.

it would just suck..which is the point of the excersize.

The wife and I restricted our food budget to very similar numbers years ago when we dug ourselves out of debet. We had 2 dollar tuesdays, no snacks/junkfood, or eating out. It sucks but can be done.

i call BS as well.

I have three kids which immediately upends that dynamic, since they bring lunch to school everyday, and need to eat three well balanced meals, and have healthy snacks every day.

but my food bill is around $180 - $200 each week - just the weekly super market shopping my wife does - and that doesn't include eating out (which we rarely do, but there's always unscheduled trips to the super market or buying additional snacks/food at target or somewhere else.

I'd be more comfortable saying my family food budget per week is $400 per week, and it's not like we live like we're the Rockefellers.

In comment 12000575 Greg from LI said:

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Unless you're using the 1941 Leningrad menu plan. Cheapest meat I can find is whole chicken for about a buck fifty per pound. The chickens I see at the store are usually around 4-5 lbs. That's $6-7.50 per chicken, which will give you at most 2 meals. If you did that for lunch and dinner every day, that alone costs more than $40.

It also doesn't include the items mentioned by another poster, such as detergent, plastic wrap, aluminum foil, TP, etc. et-fucking-cetera. A grocery bill is never just food costs.

In comment 12000575 Greg from LI said:

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Unless you're using the 1941 Leningrad menu plan. Cheapest meat I can find is whole chicken for about a buck fifty per pound. The chickens I see at the store are usually around 4-5 lbs. That's $6-7.50 per chicken, which will give you at most 2 meals. If you did that for lunch and dinner every day, that alone costs more than $40.

You can buy boneless chicken breasts for ~$3/pound. Unit price is higher, but you can get ~3 lbs for $10 (in my area at least). A "portion" is supposed to be 4 oz, but even if you had 6 oz portions, you would get 4 meals for 2 people out of the chicken.

But even then, you'd have to keep the cost of your other meals pretty low (doable with eggs/toast/cereal for breakfast)

Greg,

the chicken example, I bought a whole small free range hen from a fancy market for the kids, served with fresh squeezed OJ. 6$ something plus 3$ for the OJ.

after the meal there were some un eaten bits of chix. >on the plates.

I bagged and stored them in the fridge.

Next day, ..bam- saute'd with more of that cheap veg oil, lots of it, salt, hot sauce, cheap CVS garlic powder.

then saute'd some more with water added, after the flavors had had a chance to build....and so the dried out chix would absorb moisture...YUM!

If you're really good at it. It would help to live in a low food cost area (ie not where I live on the upper east side). Lots of cheap carbs -- rice, beans, oatmeal etc. Meat prices also vary so wildly. I might see chicken breasts for $6-7+ a pound one day, but then sometimes I'll walk by associated and see chicken thigh family packs for $.99 or $1.29 a pound. If you load up when things are cheap, you can save massive amounts.

Also, avoid paying for packaging. I recently balked at Gristedes on wanting $8+ for the 2.5 lbs container of Quaker Oats. Fairway is 2 blocks away and had fresher, loose organic oats for $1.50 a pound.

In comment 12000406 kickerpa16 said:

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Children are picky eaters. Lots of people in poverty (and on AFDC) live in food deserts. Buying in bulk is a luxury that many can't afford. The campaign sucks, because putting someone in someone else's shoes often doesn't work (hey, I can do this as a white class white person; why can't the poor people do it...).

I think the campaign is silly but kids aren't picky eaters by nature. When they are used to getting carb-ed up because it's "easier"

A decent crock pot costs about 40 bucks. W a cheap roast and dried beans you can make an awesome healthy chili. A salad or greens with that or stewed chicken is healthy and easy. You don't need to buy in bulk. BBQ is quick and easy. The problem is people take the path of least resistance. My two boys are something green with every dinner. I cooked in college to pay my way thorough college and I can make chicken Marsala or chicken in about 20 minutes. And it doesn't cost that much. 40 bucks a week is a bit small but you can eat healthy for much less than people think.

The reality is it's easier to make Kraft Mac and cheese for 99 cents and it's filling than spend $2.50 and take the time to make it. There's a reason my grand mother made pasta fragiolo so much as my fathers family was dirt poor. Beans, pasta and a can of tomato sauce. Buy a whole chicken and that can make two to 3 meals. It's not hard but you would think its impossible the way they make it sound to cook for a family today.

It doesn't mean you can't get them to eat healthy, but there are a variety of physical reasons why they may not like the things that they do.

yup, first world problem.

look on the bright side...the more finicky they are, the cheaper your food bill :)

beef is healthy, I buy the cheapest (and a small cut) at a regular super market typically.

Then there is the famous and true BBI maxim of 'never cook a cold steak'.

Good advice, but, what to do? You get home and don't have time to allow it to get to room temp.

Run the fresh beef under hot tap water while kneeding it with your hands until it gets to 70 degrees or so. meanwhile you are heating your pan to super hot.

Then pat your "steak" very dry (kitch towels are cheaper to hand wash then buying paper towels are to buy).

add a touch of sugar, maybe some soy, .garlic....a touch...too much moisture will kill your sear....remember, this is cheap stuff you can cheat and add the inexpensive vegetable oil...make sure to let that heat as well.

serve with your vegetable raw, kids often like the vegetables raw better, and it is healthy! and faster. and less 'smelly'.

I also use raw apple slices at dinner.

this all takes less than 10 minutes.

let the wheat or grain based carbs be in dessert...or at lunch

I don't use it. reuseable food containers. I even save yogurt containers (the kind with the lid, which I only buy when on sale). makes for a handy individual serving of whatever. once in a while you need foil/plastic. For me, it's rare.

obviously, detergent and TP are essentials, but many things are simply wasteful. A group at work were bellyaching that neighbors must not be recycling because they didn't put out the recycle bin more than once a month. I recycle fully, but I don't buy a lot of stuff that fills my bin. The biggest item is newspaper. Other than that, I could probably put out the recycle bin about once every 2 or 3 months.

it's certainly doable if you have an Aldi near you

and when one has BBI, who needs newspapers?

Even though I don't have to, my breakfast routine would put someone well on their way. Buy from the supermarket bakery a package of 6 scones. Freeze the ones you don't use right away and pull them out each day. Buy coffee when it's on special (Chock-full-of-Nuts) and use a Melita system. That puts breakfast, coffee w/Half and Half and a scone at about 90 cents a day (including the Melita filter Saran Wrap needed to freeze the scones).

well, BBI is getting more disappointing all the time. Without my newspaper, I'd never have known that there's dissension due to a verdict. Seriously? how is it not a topic?

so as to avoid buying melita filters

latin expresso type coffee, bustello, el pico, generic, whats on sale

THEN I cheat and often use the same wet grounds again the next day, with or without one additional spoon of new coffee!

fucking ye-ah..caffiene is a MUST

last week I found an over a year old bag of Drum roll your own tobacco in a drawer...bam....newspaper (ok I confess, I had an old newspaper) for rolling papers...I had me some smokes.

this is not bullshit

week at once, usually on Sunday. I make some kind of crockpot stew for my lunches, or a chicken. I roast sweet potatoes and other root veggies and have them as sides during the week. I make my own breakfast patties out of ground pork and some spices. I usually just grill something for dinner and have one of my prepared sides.

I do feel for me it's worth it to get organics and good quality food because of my health issues. Obviously I couldn't do that on that budget.

In comment 12000745 alligatorpie said:

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so as to avoid buying melita filters latin expresso type coffee, bustello, el pico, generic, whats on sale THEN I cheat and often use the same wet grounds again the next day, with or without one additional spoon of new coffee! fucking ye-ah..caffiene is a MUST last week I found an over a year old bag of Drum roll your own tobacco in a drawer...bam....newspaper (ok I confess, I had an old newspaper) for rolling papers...I had me some smokes. this is not bullshit

Remind me not to eat at your place. you may be (I repeat MAY be) saving a few pennies, but at what cost. Unless of course eating doesn't really interest you. Nothing amiss with that; it's just an attitude that lies far outside my bailiwick.

Hell, we eat very well, and well within a reasonable budget. We cook everything ourselves and we do use leftovers. But I'm not ever going to advocate sacrificing taste for economy...it just isn't at all necessary.

Judging from what you've outlined as your diet, you're probably generating future high costs when your system just shuts down one day.

Try buying green coffee beans and roasting/grinding them yourself. It's way cheaper than any canned ground coffee you can get, tastes worlds better, and removes the need to reuse grounds.

or any drinks really. I drink tea, hot and cold, which I can make myself. And if you really want to save money, eat more animal fat. It's more filling, will give you energy and it is not that bad for you, unless you are also filling up on junk.

I buy the vacume bagged coffee, its typically cheaper.

trust me, I love and know all about fine living and cooking...this is mostly from necessity....

and buford,

totally agreed on the animal fats. and agreed, I dont buy soda anymore, ever, with the exception of as an occasional stomach settler, then a cola.

50$ a day?

to compare against NYC grocery prices. I'm pretty frugal myself, but no way I'd be able to get it down to that level.

A couple of my friends had a similar challenge 2-3 year back, where they bet each other they couldn't live on $5/day for food. First one to give up was the loser, they went three weeks on a lot of eggs, rice, beans and ground beef.

with downstate prices. I do appreciate that it can be significantly higher.

milk is 2.29 a half gallon.
chicken (boneless breast) easily found in the 2-3 buck a pound range.
cheap steak 4 bucks a pound
burger is 4 bucks a pound
pork easily found for 2 -3 bucks
I can get cheese for 2-3 bucks a pound.
carrots a buck a pound.
peppers 1 buck and a half a pound.
broccoli a buck to a buck and a half a pound

These are reasonable sale prices available a decent amount of the time, or regular prices. It's easy to double/triple all that if you don't pay attention.

Dunno how that compares to shopping at a decent downstate market (not a mom and pop corner store).

I travel a fair amount, and don't think this area is a particular mecca for good prices, but I also allow that there are areas that are likely worse.

In comment 12000575 Greg from LI said:

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Unless you're using the 1941 Leningrad menu plan.

LOL!

If you're not bargain hunting, expect to pay double those prices in a Manhattan grocery store.

In comment 12000928 fkap said:

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with downstate prices. I do appreciate that it can be significantly higher. milk is 2.29 a half gallon. chicken (boneless breast) easily found in the 2-3 buck a pound range. cheap steak 4 bucks a pound burger is 4 bucks a pound pork easily found for 2 -3 bucks I can get cheese for 2-3 bucks a pound. carrots a buck a pound. peppers 1 buck and a half a pound. broccoli a buck to a buck and a half a pound These are reasonable sale prices available a decent amount of the time, or regular prices. It's easy to double/triple all that if you don't pay attention. Dunno how that compares to shopping at a decent downstate market (not a mom and pop corner store). I travel a fair amount, and don't think this area is a particular mecca for good prices, but I also allow that there are areas that are likely worse.

Do the three people drink shot glasses of milk all week?

support is different from those who aren't.

no.

any other questions?

I go to Newark, NJ and Elizabeth to the large food stores and some specialty fish and meat stores. You can get great prices on virtually all fresh food at Seabras and other stores. As a comparison apples are 89 cents a pound in Elizabeth and 2.99 at Whole Foods.

There is no food desert in either of those towns and prices are cheap and produce and fish and meat are high quality - better than Whole Foods IMO. You have to be willing to walk a few blocks and change your diet though. Many do and to be sure many use stamps and come from the dicey neighborhoods.

In comment 12000829 alligatorpie said:

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I buy the vacume bagged coffee, its typically cheaper. trust me, I love and know all about fine living and cooking...this is mostly from necessity.... and buford, totally agreed on the animal fats. and agreed, I dont buy soda anymore, ever, with the exception of as an occasional stomach settler, then a cola.

I highly recommend investigating green coffee beans. There's no way that any pre-ground coffee (unless it's made from acorns or burnt bread crumbs :o) is less expensive. Considering that one cup of roasted/ground green beans will give you around 48 cups of high-quality coffee, you really can't go wrong.

Best of all, you really don't need highly-sophisticated equipment. You can roast with a hot air popcorn popper, and a decent burr grinder can be had for as little as $60. Once the tools are in place, your costs drop like a paralyzed falcon.

Actually, after a few tries, I am skilled at doing it in my oven. You do need a gas oven though. I have also tried on a stovetop in a pot but did not like having to continue to stir and felt it added to the smoke.

in Brooklyn. Lots of chicken thighs & drumsticks, rice and Goya beans. Most of my money was reserved for rent and substance abuse.

In comment 12001058 Some Fan said:

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Actually, after a few tries, I am skilled at doing it in my oven. You do need a gas oven though. I have also tried on a stovetop in a pot but did not like having to continue to stir and felt it added to the smoke.

I've graduated to an inexpensive (relatively) hot air roaster simply because I don't get any burning at all and can see/hear the roast in progress. I base it on a visual inspection. I typically like any where from an American roast to a Full City roast, depending on the beans/blend I'm doing.

My favorite is Mocha Yemen and Java Estate (Mocha Java) with one part Mocha Yemen to three-to-four-parts Java in a Full City roast. Lovely everyday coffee.

I probably spend $53 a week at starbucks alone.

2 people for 7 days =14
1 person for 3 days = 3
total = 17
17 times 2 meals per day = 34
40 dollars divided by 34 = $1.18 per meal per person.
never mind the cat,but there is no way you are getting proper nutrition,please explain what you eat every day and expect everyone to believe this is how you live on a regular basis.