KaraCooks
New member
Ok, a while back on the other forum I mentioned that I could come up with a menu that would enable one person to eat healthily for around $80 a month. A bunch of people told me it wasn't possible, so I took it as a challenge. It's taken me a while to get to the program, but here it is finally.
A few disclaimers:
Sunday
Dinner: roast chicken (eat the breast meat for dinner, save the rest of the chicken), baked sweet potato, steamed broccoli (or other frozen veg)
Monday
Breakfast: Oats with a splash of milk and frozen fruit (choice of sweetener optional).
Lunch: Sandwich made with leftover roast chicken breast, lettuce, tomato, mustard. Carrot sticks and celery.
Dinner: Remove rest of meat from chicken, make small casserole with 1/2 of the chicken meat, brown rice, frozen veg, and some cheese. (Save chicken bones and skin for stock.)
Tuesday
Breakfast: Oats with a splash of milk and frozen fruit (choice of sweetener optional)
[after breakfast, put the black beans in a pot of water to soak and leave them all day]
Lunch: Leftover chicken casserole (there may even be some leftover after this that you can freeze for lunch or dinner next week).
Dinner: Boil the chicken bones/skin and vegetable to make a quick stock. Put 1/2 the stock in the fridge or freezer. Drain the beans from the morning, rinse them, and cook them in the remaining half of the stock with some onion and garlic. Add a scoop of brown rice and a handful of frozen veg near the end of cooking. Black bean soup.
Wednesday
Breakfast: Oats with a splash of milk and frozen fruit (choice of sweetener optional)
Lunch: Leftover bean soup.
Dinner: Strain out some of the beans from the soup and use the last of the leftover chicken meat and some frozen veg (maybe spinach?) to make a quesadilla or soft tacos. Top with salsa and lettuce.
Thursday
Breakfast: Oats with a splash of milk and frozen fruit (choice of sweetener optional)
Lunch: Last of the leftover bean soup, maybe with a couple of tortillas topped with cheese and a couple of slices of tomato.
Dinner: Scrambled eggs (or an omelet, or frittata). If there are a handful of beans left, put them in, add some leftover spinach from Wednesday's quesadillas, or any handful of thawed veg from the freezer, and a few bits of cheese
Friday
Breakfast: Oats with a splash of milk and frozen fruit (choice of sweetener optional)
Lunch: Tuna sandwich with carrots and celery sticks,
Dinner: Big mixed salad with all the leftover lettuce, tomato, carrot, celery, veg, etc,. the leftover canned tuna, and some crisps of tortillas and cheese. Salsa for dressing.
Saturday
Breakfast: Eggs and toast.
Lunch: egg salad sandwich (or sliced boiled egg sandwich), veg dipped in salsa
Dinner: veg soup made with remaining frozen veg and the other half of the chicken stock, add in rice or some tortillas for a veggie tortilla soup
Sunday
Breakfast: Pancakes made with oats and eggs and milk
Lunch: Leftover soup from yesterday.
----------
And here's the grocery shopping and costs:
whole chicken $3.59
rolled oats $1.99
18 eggs $1.99
small bag brown rice $0.99
small bag black beans $0.79
load of whole grain bread $1.79
cheese $2.99
package of tortillas $0.99
jar of salsa $0.99
tomato $0.70
lettuce $0.99
carrots $0.99
celery $0.99
sweet potato $0.50
milk $1.99
frozen mixed fruit $1.50
3 various bags frozen veg $1.50 (usually on sale 2/$1)
frozen spinach $0.60
canned tuna $0.99
Total cost (before tax): $26.86
At the end of the week there should be almost 1/2 a loaf of bread left, over 1/2 the container of oats left, 3-5 eggs (depending on how many used for the various meals), half a bag of brown rice or more, at least 1/3 a package of tortillas, over 1/2 the jar of salsa, and possibly even some frozen veg left. All of this can be rolled over into the next week's budget and eating plan.
With a little extra money, you can add a bag of apples (about $3) or some other kind of fresh fruit on sale for healthy snacks or to add to your lunches.
Finally 2 last things:
Keep in mind that very very very few people eat every single meal for 7 days a week at home. Most people eat at least one lunch or dinner out - whether it's work related, going out with friends, whatever. Most people when considering their grocery budget don't have to plan 21 full meals (7 breakfast, 7 lunch, 7 dinner).
Food prices vary depending on what part of the world you live in. For some people $80 a month might be impossible. This post is not meant to say that EVERYONE can eat on $80 a month. The actual number is not all that important. It's meant to show that with some planning ahead and minimal cooking, you can eat HEALTHY meals prepared at home for as much or less than you can eat junk and pre-prepared unhealthy, packaged meals. Eating healthy does not have to be expensive.
A few disclaimers:
- This is a healthy and balanced diet. It might not necessarily work as a weight loss diet for everyone, but it is healthy. A few tweaks depending on the person could make it work for just about anyone.
- This is a HEALTHY diet, I'm not saying it's necessarily gourmet or fun. It requires eating much of the same thing over and over again.
- It requires COOKING. Nothing too fancy, but you'll have to roast a chicken, cook some beans, etc. If people want, I'll post recipes.
- The figures I used for cost are based on my most recent trip to the grocery store and the weekly sale circulars for Publix and Kroger - the two big grocery stores in this area, and where I shop regularly.
- All brands are generic or store brands, except where sales or specials make the brand name products less expensive.
- The figures are also based on someone who has a fixed amount of money each week. I could set up a menu with quite a bit more variety and cut the cost even more for someone who has more financial flexibility and could invest maybe a month's worth of food money at a store like Costco or Sam's. This would allow them to buy more expensive meats in bulk and to buy staples like oats and olive oil and so forth for pennies per serving.
- The menu assumes that you already have the basics at home: salt, some kind of cooking oil, a few basic spices. Add $5 a month towards replenishing these items.
- The menu starts with Sunday night dinner, assuming a Sunday afternoon shopping trip for groceries and then starting off with a bit of preparation and cooking on Sunday. The meals progress logically based on leftovers from previous meals.
- The menu also progresses similarly to how my week works - I am fresher and more likely to cook at the beginning of the week. As the week comes to a close, I'm more tired, running out of food prior to my weekly grocery run, and more likely to make things like an omelet for dinner, or a big mixed salad with whatever is left in the fridge.
Sunday
Dinner: roast chicken (eat the breast meat for dinner, save the rest of the chicken), baked sweet potato, steamed broccoli (or other frozen veg)
Monday
Breakfast: Oats with a splash of milk and frozen fruit (choice of sweetener optional).
Lunch: Sandwich made with leftover roast chicken breast, lettuce, tomato, mustard. Carrot sticks and celery.
Dinner: Remove rest of meat from chicken, make small casserole with 1/2 of the chicken meat, brown rice, frozen veg, and some cheese. (Save chicken bones and skin for stock.)
Tuesday
Breakfast: Oats with a splash of milk and frozen fruit (choice of sweetener optional)
[after breakfast, put the black beans in a pot of water to soak and leave them all day]
Lunch: Leftover chicken casserole (there may even be some leftover after this that you can freeze for lunch or dinner next week).
Dinner: Boil the chicken bones/skin and vegetable to make a quick stock. Put 1/2 the stock in the fridge or freezer. Drain the beans from the morning, rinse them, and cook them in the remaining half of the stock with some onion and garlic. Add a scoop of brown rice and a handful of frozen veg near the end of cooking. Black bean soup.
Wednesday
Breakfast: Oats with a splash of milk and frozen fruit (choice of sweetener optional)
Lunch: Leftover bean soup.
Dinner: Strain out some of the beans from the soup and use the last of the leftover chicken meat and some frozen veg (maybe spinach?) to make a quesadilla or soft tacos. Top with salsa and lettuce.
Thursday
Breakfast: Oats with a splash of milk and frozen fruit (choice of sweetener optional)
Lunch: Last of the leftover bean soup, maybe with a couple of tortillas topped with cheese and a couple of slices of tomato.
Dinner: Scrambled eggs (or an omelet, or frittata). If there are a handful of beans left, put them in, add some leftover spinach from Wednesday's quesadillas, or any handful of thawed veg from the freezer, and a few bits of cheese
Friday
Breakfast: Oats with a splash of milk and frozen fruit (choice of sweetener optional)
Lunch: Tuna sandwich with carrots and celery sticks,
Dinner: Big mixed salad with all the leftover lettuce, tomato, carrot, celery, veg, etc,. the leftover canned tuna, and some crisps of tortillas and cheese. Salsa for dressing.
Saturday
Breakfast: Eggs and toast.
Lunch: egg salad sandwich (or sliced boiled egg sandwich), veg dipped in salsa
Dinner: veg soup made with remaining frozen veg and the other half of the chicken stock, add in rice or some tortillas for a veggie tortilla soup
Sunday
Breakfast: Pancakes made with oats and eggs and milk
Lunch: Leftover soup from yesterday.
----------
And here's the grocery shopping and costs:
whole chicken $3.59
rolled oats $1.99
18 eggs $1.99
small bag brown rice $0.99
small bag black beans $0.79
load of whole grain bread $1.79
cheese $2.99
package of tortillas $0.99
jar of salsa $0.99
tomato $0.70
lettuce $0.99
carrots $0.99
celery $0.99
sweet potato $0.50
milk $1.99
frozen mixed fruit $1.50
3 various bags frozen veg $1.50 (usually on sale 2/$1)
frozen spinach $0.60
canned tuna $0.99
Total cost (before tax): $26.86
At the end of the week there should be almost 1/2 a loaf of bread left, over 1/2 the container of oats left, 3-5 eggs (depending on how many used for the various meals), half a bag of brown rice or more, at least 1/3 a package of tortillas, over 1/2 the jar of salsa, and possibly even some frozen veg left. All of this can be rolled over into the next week's budget and eating plan.
With a little extra money, you can add a bag of apples (about $3) or some other kind of fresh fruit on sale for healthy snacks or to add to your lunches.
Finally 2 last things:
Keep in mind that very very very few people eat every single meal for 7 days a week at home. Most people eat at least one lunch or dinner out - whether it's work related, going out with friends, whatever. Most people when considering their grocery budget don't have to plan 21 full meals (7 breakfast, 7 lunch, 7 dinner).
Food prices vary depending on what part of the world you live in. For some people $80 a month might be impossible. This post is not meant to say that EVERYONE can eat on $80 a month. The actual number is not all that important. It's meant to show that with some planning ahead and minimal cooking, you can eat HEALTHY meals prepared at home for as much or less than you can eat junk and pre-prepared unhealthy, packaged meals. Eating healthy does not have to be expensive.
