FoodBanter.com - View Single Post

kilikini

Ophelia wrote:
> kilikini wrote:
>> wrote:
>>> Friends,
>>>
>>> I have decided to live the month of July spending just two dollars a
>>> day on food. Other than vague notions of pasta, rice, beans, and
>>> raman, I have little idea what I'm gonna eat.
>>>
>>> That being said, there are a few things I have in mind:
>>>
>>> *Eggs - fried, scrambled, and boiled.
>>> *Potatoes - fried, baked
>>> *Pasta - 1 can diced tomatoes, 1 can tomato sauce, garlic, onions,
>>> herbs, 1lb pasta
>>> *Tuna salad
>>> *Home baked bread - loaves, rolls, cornbread, pita, soda crackers
>>>
>>> That's pretty much the list I've come up with. I really need some
>>> help coming up with more menu items.
>>>
>>
>> We're always on a really tight budget, so I've learned some tricks to
>> get us by when we're in a serious pinch.
>>
>> 1. Homemade soups. For instance, bean soup is probably one of the
>> cheapest. It may cost more than $2.00 initially, but you get a week's
>> worth and you can always freeze some.
>> 2. Frozen, non-breaded, fish filets - I get mine at a place called
>> Sav-a-Lot. For about $3.50 I get 5 frozen pollock fillets. Yes, it
>> comes to about $.70 a fillet, which is about 65% of your daily
>> allowance, but if you eat ramen for lunch ($.15), 2 eggs for
>> breakfast ($.40) that allows you about $.75 cents of veggies to go
>> with the fish for dinner. And, if you haven't finished all the ramen
>> (I never do), you can stir-fry the veggies and place them on the bed
>> of left-over ramen.
>> 3. Buy off-brand canned goods at surplus stores like Dollar General.
>> The sell-by-date is usually expired, but that's not important for
>> canned goods. Spaghetti sauce can be had for under $1.00 and again,
>> you can get at least 3 - 4 meals out of a jar. These kind of places
>> are also good for cheap, dried pasta.
>> 4. You mentioned rice. Fried rice is cheap and it's a great way to
>> use up any veggies. I make a batch and it lasts me all week. What I
>> don't end up eating (because I can never eat it all), I end up
>> feeding to my pet rats. They love it, too!
>> 5. It's summer - think tuna salad. Go to the Dollar store to get
>> your tuna, pasta, mayo and whatever else you want to add. That's
>> another one that lasts me a week.
>> 6. Casseroles. Filling, cheap and they go a long way. A casserole
>> can be as simple as frozen broccoli and mushroom soup (or broccoli
>> cheese soup), baked, with breadcrumbs on the top. Again, if you go
>> to the Dollar store, you can get frozen broccoli and canned mushroom
>> soup for cheap.
>>
>> I could write a book on this and to all the foodies out there, yes, I
>> know most of this is processed food. I like to eat as fresh and
>> healthy as I can, but sometimes you have to cut corners.
>>
>> Anyway, I hope this helped!
>
>
> Wow kili, you really know your stuff!! You could write a book
> yaknow???

LOL, I've been poor for WAY too long, I think! :~)

kili