Extremely low food budget plan ideas for a $20 a week?

[Certaindeaf]

1) rice
2) beans

Not very exciting, but you can go a long way with these two staples.

In the directors cut of Forrest Gump (4735 minutes), after the shrimp, Bubba went on about rice and beans.

 

[mrblond]

navy beans
Ham Hock
onion
carrot

I can eat for a week on a pot of bean soup

 

[Helocat]

Rice.

Lentils & split peas (dried).

Potatoes.

^ Carbs and protein.

Kielbasa is tasty meat, but expensive (at least IME). I slice up about half a sausage and put it into a crockpot with some gumbo mix and lentils and mixed veggies. Then I have a bowl that about once a day - lasts about a week.

I have a sandwich with a slice of pastrami once a day. Put a little "spring salad mix" (various lettuce, spinach), onion and various condiments.

For one meal I have some dried soup - like Nissin chow mein pad thai - 60-80¢ per meal.

I switch those around for variety.

For breakfast I have a mix of malt-o-meal, grits, cream of rice hot cereal - a little honey and cinnamon with a bit of butter. A large bowl of that fills me up and is cheap. It takes much less milk than cold cereal. On weekends I have two poached eggs on hash browns or a english muffin - sometimes with a slice of bacon.

Once a week I have a salmon fillet (about $15 for 8-10 IIRC) for dinner, with tartar sauce - I keep them frozen and defrost the day I want one. Maybe some seasoned rice of fries to go with that or a baked potato.

The key is where you shop for the groceries. I shop only at Winco and Costco - mostly Winco. I also shop for bread at the bakery outlet stores that supply the grocery stores - their bread is one-third to one half the cost in the grocery store. Unfortunately those stores are closed now.

For $20 per week you have to be willing to not splurge, to fix your own meals, and use inexpensive but nutritious staples. It would be hard. I think double that would be a lot easier. I tend to splurge, eat comfort foods (chocolate) and eat more than I should.

Want to make 1 sausage 4? Boudain is the answer.
Anyone from the South will know what I mean. You can make your own w/o stuffing it in casings. (but traditional is stuffed in casings to be grilled or steamed) Basically your boil the ground sausage, then use the water to make "dirty rice" and mix the two. You retain as much of the sausage as you can and make the rice meaty, but its rice so it's cheap meaty.

Wilco sells its own ground sausage*, buy a few llbs and freeze it in servings. Thaw out as needed. Saute vegetables in a saucepan, but before done add a little more water than what you need to make your rice. Add the ground sausage and boil, cooking the sausage. Remove the sausage and veg. and add rice to the water to make rice like you normally do. When the rice is done, fold in the sausage and veg. eat as is OR brown it a bit in a fry pan. CHEAP and GOOD food. You can now add the Boudain to anything you want meat in. Omelets, tacos etc. it all works.


*You can also take an uncooked kielbasa and cut open the casing and just boil the ground meat so its loose. Easy pre-made one serving. BUT when you add the veg and rice it easily makes two servings.

Get a part time job washing dishes at a restaurant. All the calories you can eat and take home.

#1 advice I give kids going to college, find the best local restaurant, and get a dish job there. You make $ and are fed extremely well. When I was going to school I did this and was eating Ceder plank salmon, etc. 4 nights a week. Longer you work there you move up. When I left I was a dinner waiter and cleared $200 (1990's) a night in tips + got min wage. Cash, paycheck, and well-fed. Had some fun with some waitresses too.... it was a package deal.

 

[Certaindeaf]

Poor mans cioppino.. pretty much the same as regular but the seafood is all canned mackerel ($1/big can). It's really good.

 

[P7M13]

This $20 a week idea will be experimental. Maybe a month tops. Thanks for the suggestion though.

Now makes sense. Kudos to you!
Not married, I presume. Some suggestions:

• Raise your expectations a little, go for as much as $30. It will dramatically improve the meals you prepare.
• If you get rice, go for Brown Rice, a significantly more nutritious starch than white. Add quinoa, millet and whole wheat kernel for a protein boost and improved texture. Use barley too.
• Your best source of spices are Dollar Tree. No joke. Chillis, Mexican and Hindi flavors are your friend.
• Winco is the greatest for value in the produce department. I'd recommend potatoes, onions, garlic as basics. If you can find it on sale, kale, chard, spinach and cilantro/parsley.
• Keep an eye out for fig trees. Most people don't know what to do with them. They dry easily, and are fantastic energy sources and snacks.
• People selling their home picked veggies & fruit are the best value for these items. Many folks are already sick of zucchini and other growing stuff, and post signs, "free, you pick". I raid those places, make zucchini bread, or shred it, blanch and freeze for later.
• Tomatoes freeze exceptionally well. Just put in a ziplock and freeze. They turn into mush when you thaw, but in a tomato gravy or a choppino like @Certaindeaf suggested, are wonderful. Some people are giving tomatoes away.
• If you insist on meat, find the cheapest and crock pot it. Spices hide any sketchiness.
• Remember to give yourself a treat once in a while. Rewards are motivation.

#1 advice I give kids going to college, find the best local restaurant, and get a dish job there.

In college, I washed dishes (actually pots and pans) at sororities. 2 hours work per day, >2,500 calories at each meal. I ate like a garbage truck and got to hide in the kitchen. Learned a lot of lessons from the cooks. Some guys were bus boys, but I would have hated the few snooty women in the dining room who regularly made it a point to remind you, you were serving them. Yes, my compadres would complain....

 

[arakboss]

I am married but work nights, she works days. We share very few meals together and shop separately.

 

[Helocat]

In college, I washed dishes (actually pots and pans) at sororities. 2 hours work per day, >2,500 calories at each meal. I ate like a garbage truck and got to hide in the kitchen. Learned a lot of lessons from the cooks. Some guys were bus boys, but I would have hated the few snooty women in the dining room who regularly made it a point to remind you, you were serving them. Yes, my compadres would complain....

That would suck. Man, my sisters sorority hired me to play Santa for rush a few times. (they did a Christmas theme rush day) All the girls rushing had to sit on my lap, get a photo taken, and tell me what they wanted. It was a ruff gig, but I got paid for it and suffered though.

 

[P7M13]

That would suck. Man, my sisters sorority hired me to play Santa for rush a few times. (they did a Christmas theme rush day) All the girls rushing had to sit on my lap, get a photo taken, and tell me what they wanted. It was a ruff gig, but I got paid for it and suffered though.

Given actuarial tables and society, you're talking, at most, 30% unpleasant and the rest a situation most guys would jump at. Were you the drunken, lecherous Santa type?

 

[Helocat]

I am married but work nights, she works days. We share very few meals together and shop separately.

Man, that can be ruff on a relationship. Hopefully, you guys get some time together on the weekends. One advantage of buying and preparing food for two is the economy of scale. Figuring out a way to combine more meals together would lower both your food costs. Even taking turns making a meal that is on a plate waiting for the other on a different schedule would bring savings. (time too, preparing for one is easy to prepare for two)

 

[arakboss]

Given actuarial tables and society, you're talking, at most, 30% unpleasant and the rest a situation most guys would jump at. Were you the drunken, lecherous Santa type?

Like this?

 

[P7M13]

Like this?

View attachment 741614

Maybe that's what attracted Angelina....

 

[arakboss]

Man, that can be ruff on a relationship. Hopefully, you guys get some time together on the weekends. One advantage of buying and preparing food for two is the economy of scale. Figuring out a way to combine more meals together would lower both your food costs. Even taking turns making a meal that is on a plate waiting for the other on a different schedule would bring savings. (time too, preparing for one is easy to prepare for two)

You'll have to take my word for it but I won't save money by sharing meals with her and her 6ft 2+inch 315+lb son.

 

[Stomper]

Beans, rice, and tortillas. Tinned fish (e.g., tuna, sardines, etc.) are inexpensive, lean protein.

Canned fish, fortified with a hint of mercury for improved long-term mental health!

 

[Bon Sauvage]

Looking at some of the menus/recipes here I am reminded of one of dad's favorite homilies: Wouldn't it be awful to live forever and eat bad everyday?

 

[mrblond]

another thing, if you like it, it Thai curry. I get the yellow paste form amazon and it makes prob 5 0r 6 batches, depending on how much you use. All you need to add is coconut milk, a protein, onions, carrots and some spuds. then I serve it over brown Jasmine rice.
This will last me a week or so., depending on if i get sick of it ( gets rough eating the same thing day in and day out. ) but its a week or so of dinners for under $10

 

[Certaindeaf]

Looking at some of the menus/recipes here I am reminded of one of dad's favorite homilies: Wouldn't it be awful to live forever and eat bad everyday?

Eating Bad was a pretty good HBO series about a HS chemistry teacher that only ate from the hallway vending machine.

 

[aksu747]

Raman noodles.

This, you can get a 24 pack for $4.99, buy two, bam more than two weeks of food for less than $15.

 

[Reacher120]

Just cooked up a couple Pork"Butt" shoulder roasts from Winco, $1.48 lb,bone in. 7+ hours in the oven; Pepper, Garlic, some BBQ seasoning of choice. Shredded pork, frozen in portions.
At least twice a year Winco has Petite Sirloin steaks for $2.68 -2.98 lb. I picked up about 35lbs last week.
During Christmas holidays, we'll pick up several Honeysuckle fresh Turkeys, cook and freeze.
That's most of our yearly protein staple, Cheaper per lb than Tuna fish.

 

[Gonzales]

You guys are squirming about $20/week. I lived off of $5/week when going to college.
romen, eggs, beans, rice, the vegetable of the week at the local store (4-5 of them for $1-2 dollars in the summer). And the odd meat or meat like food. Hotdogs for $.99

I had never been to a food bank up to that point. I went with another starving friend once. Wow. Frozen bread! Condiments! flour, cornmeal, weird cans of "food". Never any real meat like burger or steak, but all the things that really help to make a meal.

Once a week, I would try to share a meal with a good friend. One of us would bring a canned food item, and the other a starch. Chili Mac For example. One can of Chili, and a box of Mac'n'cheese. A meal for Kings!

And yes, 2,000 calories a day is very doable, for all us piggies. It sucks, but it's doable.

 

[mrblond]

You guys are squirming about $20/week. I lived off of $5/week when going to college.
romen, eggs, beans, rice, the vegetable of the week at the local store (4-5 of them for $1-2 dollars in the summer). And the odd meat or meat like food. Hotdogs for $.99

I had never been to a food bank up to that point. I went with another starving friend once. Wow. Frozen bread! Condiments! flour, cornmeal, weird cans of "food". Never any real meat like burger or steak, but all the things that really help to make a meal.

Once a week, I would try to share a meal with a good friend. One of us would bring a canned food item, and the other a starch. Chili Mac For example. One can of Chili, and a box of Mac'n'cheese. A meal for Kings!

And yes, 2,000 calories a day is very doable, for all us piggies. It sucks, but it's doable.

I remember those days, $.99 for the dogs..$.99 for the buns.. and like 20 packs of ramen for like $1