$20 to spend this week on food
 

I’m stealing a thread from another site.…

You have $20 to spend to spend on food this week. What are you buying and what are you making with it?

There was a challenge floating around a number of years ago wow, it was over a decade ago now - known as the food stamp challenge. There have been a few more threads since. I found it interesting how varied the results are based on where you live and your family situation. I suppose it would even change over time. I would probably buy different foods now compared to then, partially because of how food prices have changed, and partially because of food preference change.

I think if I did it today, one of my preferred veggies would be either a head of cabbage or a bag of cole slaw mix if it was cheaper. There's so much you can do with it. I would probably buy basa fish since it's only 1.99 for (what I could stretch into) 4 servings - DH hates canned fish. Wieners, cheap lunch meat and buns (for DH) would be on the menu.

The hardest part about it for me would be the loss of freedom. If I want a LC treat, I can generally have it - I could make keto buns out of almond flour, etc - but that stuff is all expensive.

I went through a stint of poverty about five years ago. I was underemployed and could barely pay my rent. My saving grace was the fact that I was fed at work, and I got by with my food budget just being my coffee and cream, and weekend food - whatever was on sale at the walking-distance grocery store and dollar store. I was already pretty good at frugal eating. I'd make a recipe and freeze leftovers, so I always had a nice selection of frozen homemade food. It's not like I had to eat ONE meal repeatedly all weekend. So that's kind of a cheat to compare a $20-per-week budget. Most of my coworkers eat crap at work - heck, it's my job to MAKE the crap - but the food available is awesome if you make the decision to dig a little. We have lots of bacon, sausage, cheeses, a nice salad bar, and a stir-fry station with good veggies. Some of the meats are off-limits for me because they're not gluten-free, but I work around that.

Am I shopping for just myself, or do I also need to consider other people?

Hi, Deb. :) The answer I liked best from another site, was to "buy what protein I could, and go to a food bank for the rest".

There are a lot of people in the US and Canada who hunt for their meat!

The question is just to give people ideas. I am personally blessed and do not have to adhere to a $20 a week budget. Although I am the only LC eater in my house.

So the $20 a week is the boy for you (one person)

And it’s only for this one week, it’s not a life time of making your woe strict and without variation.

The question is to give people ideas and to let everyone be a little creative. And should I ever have to stick to a $20 a week budget, I can then refer to everyone’s ideas.

Thanks for the clarification. To make this work, I'd hope that I could spend more than $20 up front, relying on the money to average out over time.

For example, a local store has chicken leg quarters on sale for $0.59 a pound, as long as you buy at least 10 pounds at a time. Doing that, it makes each (pretty large) hunk of chicken about $0.75. I can do quite a few recipes with those pieces, so it probably wouldn't get boring.

Likewise they have pork loin on sale for $1.89 a pound. Each of those is a couple of pounds each, and one would work for a dinner and maybe a couple of lunches.

If you want bacon but don't want to pay the crazy prices for a pound of the packaged stuff, look for a pouch of real bacon pieces (often found near the salad dressings) or look for fresh bacon ends in the meat section. The ends are great to frizzle up and add to dishes, and if you save the melted-off fat, it can be used for other things.

To go with the meat, I'd grab a head of lettuce. Around here iceberg lettuce goes for maybe $1.50 when it's on sale (otherwise it's closer to $2.00). Chop some up and throw it on the plate next to the cooked meat, and you have a meal. If you want dressing, it's easy to find a cheap bottle of generic or store-brand dressing - be sure to check the label for ingredients and carb count - that will easily last a good week or two.

A head of cabbage is less than $1.00. Shred some up to make your own cole slaw. Or fry it up with some bacon for a special treat.

For other veggies, look at fresh broccoli or asparagus. Depending on the time of year, you can find either of those at pretty reasonable prices, and it doesn't take much to add some green flavor to a meal. And don't forget the frozen vegetable section. Sometimes there are great deals there, and if you can buy an extra bag or two, stash 'em in your freezer.

The freezer is your friend here. You can broil or fry chicken legs with some easy and inexpensive marinade, and you can also boil off a piece or two, remove the bones, and add some sauteed veggies that you pulled from your freezer stash to make a tremendous chicken soup.

Eggs are a staple for me. On sale, a dozen of medium eggs can be had for around $1.00. Large eggs at regular prices hover around $2.00 a dozen. A package of 18 or two packages of 12 will get me through a whole week pretty easily. Scramble a couple of them and throw in some of the bacon bits (mentioned earlier)...and you have quite a treat in the morning.

So basically, I would say to look for sales, and buy in bulk if it saves you money in the long run. And learn to rework your staple ingredients to keep it from getting boring.

A package of fresh chicken thighs/wings/drumsticks ($3)
A quart container of chicken livers ($2)
A Vidalia onion ($1)
A head of lettuce ($1)
A bag of radishes ($1)
Two cucumbers ($1)
Two cans of wild Alaskan salmon ($5)
A jar of mayonnaise ($3)
A dozen cage free/organic eggs ($3).

It's pretty evident that I won't be making anything fancy. Fry it, roast it, mash it, chop it. That would work for me. :)

Butter ($2)
2 dozen eggs ($3)
Cabbage ($2)
Any mark-down produce/bag salad-- a couple of servings worth($4)
Whatever markdown meats I can find to round out the rest of the money ($9)

I assume I have salt/pepper/spices available at home.

4 lbs 80/20 ground beef chub
60 count eggs
2 x 2lb Sauerkraut

I would thrive on this.