Thanks for posting this. I’m bookmarking it.
Pretty soon we’ll be like north Korea and the TV and radio will run with PSAs on how to prepare grass and tree bark soup.
They are free...
Many cities have large farmers markets that sell local produce, bulk items like beans, rice, cheese and other fresh food...
Yea, you will buy in larger quantities, but the price can as much as a third verses the supermarket...
We saved two to three hundred dollars a month making that trip...that was 20 years ago...
Oh' they often open up at 4:00 am to 10:00 am...so the restaurants can buy as fresh as possible...
On second thought, forget it.
Fortunately she taught me how to cook many things from scratch. A whole chicken for example can be simmered with some carrots, celery and an onion to make fantastic chicken soup and taking the meat off the bone you can make chicken sandwiches or my favorite chicken pie by using a tube of biscuits.
When they had food stamps back in the ‘70’s I was a bag boy at Big Star. The people who paid with stamps often bought the best cuts of meat and the most expensive prepared foods. When I told a woman she couldn’t buy canned dog food she shoved the cans aside, huffed off and returned with several steaks an told me “Well f*ck all of you he be eatin’ steak.”
I was recently in a Wal-Mart and the foreign couple in front each paid with their own EBT card. Not only did they buy expensive stuff but they were wearing leather coats, plenty of jewelry and had iPhones.
NY DAILY NEWS writers pretend that people live off SNAP even though these people can have other income: “To qualify, a family of four can have an annual net income of up to $23,556”... yet this fact seems to not penetrate their skulls
I'd never heard of that "theory." It flies in the face of all logic.
Short grain brown rice in a pan of water topped with a vegetable steamer filled with green beans or broccoli. Cook covered gently for about 40 minutes or until water is absorbed. To finished add Italian dressing and Parmesan cheese.
I lived on this for years and never got tired of it. I was very active back then. I tried to eat it recently and gained weight.
“Anybody gone into Whole Foods lately and see what they charge for arugula?”
Possible garden ping list interest? I bought $.50 of turnip seed and $.75 of leaf lettuce at a nursery last year, gave some away and still have over half of the 1/4 cup left. I wanted to check for tomato seeds my last trip past there, but they were already closed for the day.
Potato egg hash. Lived on it at the frathouse in the early eighty’s.
Could eat for $5.00/wk. Still make it now and then cause it GOOD!
1. Sweet potatoes are much more nutritional that white ones. Fresh carrots last and they aren't expensive.
2. If you look, there are cheap ways to get canned tomatoes. Canned vegetables are cheaper than canned soups. Some stews etc have good nutrition for the price. Make your own soup.
3. Eggs, sardines (the cheapest, look for sales) are terrific protein. Chicken or turkey legs on sale are good protein sources... use them in that homemade soup.
4. Tea bags can be used for two or three cups of tea
5. Discount stores such as Job Lots and Dollar General often have quality, practical foods at excellent prices
6. Buy fruit juices and mix them 50% water instead of buying juice drinks. Applesauce is inexpensive.
7. Nothing is wasted. If you have any food at all that can go bad, make meals of it before buying any more food.
$30 a week was not difficult by following these rules.
Give me a break, averaging $4.50 per person a day for a family of four is nearly extravagant.. Shopping and buying food 3 times a week and meal planning should be both healthy and relatively simple..
One needs to cook at least 4 days a week, for enough delicious home-cooked meals for 6 days, is about all that is necessary..
I feed an average of 6 people a day, 6 days a week, on less than $150.00, Spending less than a hour in the kitchen 4 nights a week.. I serve a home-cooked meal each evening, including a soup or fresh salad, main course, with two fresh or frozen vegetables, and a starch at every meal..
With a minor alteration, 2 of the main courses can be transformed into the other 2 meals, taking less than a half hour to prepare..
Last week as an example;
Monday, I made a mixed green salad, Pot Roast, with 5 vegs, including diced potatoes in the gravy, over brown rice.. Total cost, under $25.00..
Tuesday; Being chilly, I made Kosher, Chicken Noodle Soup, including 4 vegs, with Home-made egg noodles, and Matzo Balls, with Caesar Salad.. Cost less than $15.00
Wednesday; I made Meatloaf, Green Beans, Kernel Corn, and Double Baked, Sour Cream, Garlic, Potatoes.. Fresh Cole Slaw, with raisins.. Cost less than $15.00
Thursday: I thicken the Chicken Soup, and made Dumplings, and served it in Sour Dough Bread Bowls, with fresh green salad, tomatoes, cucumbers.. Cost less than $12.00..
Friday; Pasta, with meatless gravy, and garlic bread (the center of the bread I removed from the bread bowls).. Cole slaw, lime jello for a starter.. Cost, less than $10.00
Saturday; I diced up the rest of the Pot Roast and thickened the gravy and made it a stew, served in a mashed potato boat.. Vinegar, and oil Chicken (from the soup), salad, appetizer, in stuffed Tomatoes.. Cost, under $8.00
We eat out on Sunday..
People drop by our church asking for help. Most of them smell of smoke, which costs over $5 per pack. And many of them have cell phones. They also have a particular dislike for work.
We are not poor, but we like good bread and love to save money ... plus milling your own flour is a workout; it is has a hand crank.
If those poor folks just made their own bread with store bought flour, they could save a ton. It is also easy to make flour torilllas and pasta and save bucks.