“Really? Three squares/day on five bucks? Not where I’ve ever lived.”
Sure you can, if you avoid pre-prepared foods, and avoid waste. And, you don’t have to eat like a Somalian, either.
A pot of corned beef and cabbage can last us 3 or 4 meals, for around $8. A $5 pot of Chili can last the entire weekend. PB+J makes a great snack, instead of cakes. Wok meals with rice can really stretch a budge.
Baking your own bread is healthier, better tasting, and often much cheaper, especially with a $5 Bread maker from Goodwill. They can’t give those things away.,
Buying in BULK can save a ton, if you know how/where to buy the basics.
But, if you are buying $8-a-person Nuk-a-meals, you aren’t going to be able to do that.
The only Nuka-a-meals I buy are a buck each.
Maybe if you buy the yeast in bulk (Costco has it). My wife sometimes uses a bread maker (from Amazon, although they do turn up at Goodwill) and although fun as a hobby, the loafs made from small units of yeast are not cheaper than the various sale breads we buy at Safeway or Winco and you have to consume the product quickly. Additionally, I am accustomed to the mass market bread and it is hard to make the switch, although I certainly would in an emergency!
I am not a foodmaker myself so can't comment much on the ingredients but saw this on mint.com (seems you could find a cheaper recipe).
I flipped to the American Sandwich Bread recipe in my favorite all-purpose cookbook, The America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook (third edition, 3-ring binder). The recipe calls for whole milk, water, butter, honey, bread flour, yeast, and salt. Basic bread ingredients.
Using Peapod.com, I calculated how much each ingredient would cost. Note, I did not include the cost of ⅓ cup water because it is negligible.
At $3.69 per gallon of whole milk, the 1 cup of milk called for costs $.23
At $2.99 for four quarters, the 4 tablespoons of butter costs $.37
At $3.89 for 12 ounces of honey, the 3 tablespoons of honey costs $.49
At $5.49 for 5 pounds, the 3 ¾ cups of bread flour costs $1.23
At $.50 per package, the 2 ¼ teaspoons of yeast costs $.50
At $.99 for 26 ounces, the 2 teaspoons of salt costs less than 1 penny
That brings the total cost of handmade bread to $2.83.
Yowza!
It does. Back when we were really struggling, one of our favorite snacks was just sugar (with or without cinnamon) on buttered toast. It really is tasty and satisfies the sweet tooth. Peanut butter's probably healthier, although it is pricier.