Only $10 to buy food

[BiggerPiggyBank]

I posted this on another group I belong to but figured it should go
here as well since Liss gave the inspiration to try to see if I could
make meals on just $10.

I wanted to see if I could make up a list such as the one on Budget101
to see if I could feed dh and myself for a week. I took a local paper
from a place called Food Basics. This paper lists what their usual
prices are for food items (so you can compare with other stores).

I
also chose this store since it is within walking distance to my home
(as are 2 others). I figured if I only had $10 I didn’t want to have
to buy gas as well. The list also assumes I have NOTHING in the house
not even spices, so here goes…

Whole chicken .68 pound, I would spend up to $1.70
1 dozen medium eggs .48
5# potatoes .97 (I have seen better prices such as 10# for 1.49 but
not within walking distance)
5# flour
64oz jar store brand applesauce 1.08
salt .29
1# stick margarine .49
cabbage .36 per pound, I would spend up to 1.06 (3 lbs)
canned vegetables 3/$1.00
dried onions .34
1/2 gallon milk (on sale at a store on the way home) 1.00

Total spent $9.98 (add the .o2 to next weeks budget)

First thing I would do is to get some sourdough starter going. All it
takes is flour and water and a warm place…or to make it quicker some
water left over from boiling potatoes. With the starter I would make:
biscuits, muffins, bread, pancakes.

From the bread I would make stuffing.

With the flour and some of the other ingredients I would also make
tortillas, noodles, popovers (from Budget 101 site).

The chicken would be boiled in water until the large pieces of meat
such as the breast could be removed…the carcass returned and boiled
until every last piece of meat fell off the bones. Of course, the
neck and gizzard would be in there as well. I boil the chicken to
help better flavor the broth.

The broth would be strained and every
last piece of meat would be carefully picked out of the bones. I
would then flavor the broth with salt and dried onions. I would make
the following using the chicken some with and some without the broth:
chicken noodle soup (add 1/2 to 1 can of vegetables with the juice),
chicken in gravy over noodles with sauteed cabbage on the side, fried
potatoes with some onions and chicken mixed in, chicken pot pie,
chicken in gravy (other 1/2 can or 1 can of veges) over biscuits or in
popovers, sauteed cabbage with rice and chicken, egg drop soup.

The potatoes would make: scalloped, potato soup, pan fried, baked,
mashed etc as side dishes. Also I would make potato pancakes with
applesauce for breakfast or lunches.

The cabbage would be served as a side with most meals for a vegetable
serving. If I had just $2 more I would buy mayo (store brand 1.08)
and vinegar (.69) and make a large batch of coleslaw.

Rice would be used in some recipies but also served with milk as a
breakfast cereal. I would probably add a small amount of rice to
almost every dish as an extra filler.

The applesauce would be used on toast, pancakes, potato pancakes and
in the muffins for added flavor and a bit of nutrition.

With the homemade stuffing I would make a sort of bread pudding.

It may not be the healiest meals or varied but I think we could eat
well enough to not feel hungry. PFC Kim

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[Janice Terrell]

In this economy feeding 2 people for $10 is just mind blowing. Thanks for the post.

[JoAnn]

You have some really great prices here. I haven’t seen prices like these in some time. For example eggs for me cost $1.38 a dozen and that’s on sale.

And milk here is $2.50 a half gallon on sale, just to list a few items. I’m certainly living in the wrong area here in Ohio. And I’m one that watches the sale ads closely. But I like the ideas and the creative menu that you came up with, and posted here.

It does get the mind working …and to

Quote:

also think outside the box…

thanks……

[incheck4real]

Wow al I can say is you are awesome and that my apron goes off to you !!!! Great Job !!!

[mdowdy]

@BiggerPiggyBank 4374 wrote:

Re: Only $10 to buy food

I find recipies online and through some of my email groups that sound
interesting and then adapt them to what we really eat. For years now
we hardly ever eat a hunk of meat with potaotes etc but casserole type
meals or soups. This not only makes the food stretch much farther but
in my case lowers calories which has helped me lose 60 pounds since
July.

When I find an item I am thinking about buying such as the chicken…I
jot down any ideas for meals that pop into my head. I then decide on
the other items that I may need for those recipies and what I can
leave out if not available at a price I am willing to spend. For
example with the chicken soup, I would have liked to have celery in it
but since it was not within the budget I simply left it out.

One hint
that I did not do for this exercise…whenever I buy celery I dry the
leaves for soup, they add a great flavor and if the celery costs too
much at the time I can leave it out.

It is kinda fun to think of different things to do with what I can get
for loss leaders or just about anything I feel like cooking. Here is
one for you to try…Chuck roasts on sale for $1.29 per pound…what
can you think of to make with it? Give it a try, you may find more
ideas than you first though.

Also think outside the box…for example
you can use cut up small pieces of the roast to make chili instead of
ground beef. Have fun with it. Kim in mi

hey kim, i have an idea for that chuck roast. my boyfriend loves it when i fix this. cut it into cubes and brown add brown gravy serve over mashed potatoes. kind of like beef tips and gravy.

quick and easy and not really all that expensive.

[herblife]

I love your ideas. I think tha I could learn a few thing from your opost. I need to go back and study it more to fully get the idea.

Michelle

[Baggz1971]

I have tried and will keep trying to make a meal for two under ten. I think sometimes one has to be a real good cook to think up all these things. I wouldn’t know the first thing about cooking on a dime.

So your tips were greatly appreciated. Thanks

[jaime]

Kim, what a cool thing you posted here. I do this on a weekly basis (not for $10 though). I like seeing just how far you can stretch it.

My apron off to you too 🙂

[FreebieQueen]

:occasion16: Congratulations! :occasion16:

The post, Only $10 to buy food , was nominated for Topic of the Week and Won!

BiggerPiggyBank has just received 25,000 Experience Points to spend in our Experience Shop.

Thank you for your participation in the forums and adding content that our members can appreciate and value.

We look forward to reading more of your posts.

[catlady]

those prices do not sound like 2009. and most people have a pantry supply which would allow you to buy other things. The diet also is not very healthy.

I would add some bran and whole wheat flour and brown rice. really could use some fresh, frozen or canned fruit. May cost a little more but in the long run be healthier and save you money in doctor’s bills.

[brchbell]

Wish I could find prices like that! I am able to buy Potatoes at 90 cents for 5 lbs. but you have to buy 100 lbs.

We’re going to can some of them up.

[excaliber]

I am in my 40’s and feel like I am just learning how to cook. I mean I learned to cook Italian but its pricy to prepare, some Mexican and American dishes all with recipes. My husband is the cook but its time I took over.

The recipes seem easy. I am building my confidence in cookin by reading how simple it can be and you can’t beat $10. I feel I can do this!!!!!

[brchbell]

Oh you can do it! I know you can! Just try something new each week.

If it fails let us know and maybe one of us can help learn a new skill. Even I am learning new things all the time! I tried to make home made crackers for years and finally learned the trick was rolling them out very thin.

My friends and family love them now!

[trekglo]

I don’t know that I could do a menu for 2 on just $10 a week. I think it has to do with how much time I’d give to scratch cooking–honestly, virtually none. However, in my cooking, I don’t do much fancy or complex as that’s how hubby likes it, plain and simple.

A typical weekly menu for hubby:
Breakfast
2 packs of instant oatmeal, 2 slices of toast with margarine, and glass of milk, he has this 6 or 7 times a week usually.

Only variation is maybe a Peanut Butter sandwich early with milk, and then a breakfast out before golf.
Lunch
Typically if he’s out working on the water it’s a sandwich (maybe 2in really busy times) from 2 slices bread–by the way, bread has to be Wonder, and lunch meat, usually ham, sometimes peanut butter or bologna…2 or 3 snack cakes/pies–Tastycakes, Walmart Brand, Little Debbie, etc.
Lunch at home–hot dog, cheeseburger, steak-um, sometimes with chips, but not always.
Several, 2, 3, or more bottles, depending on the day, Diet Cokes per day.

He doesn’t drink juice and water only when it’s super hot.
Supper
Most typical meals are:
Fried Ham slices, mac & cheese, 1 small size can green beans
Diced Ham in a potato dish–scalloped or fried, with peas or green beans
3 links of sausage, 2 eggs fried/scrambled, 2 slices toast with margarine, or 3 slices of french toast with 3 links of sausage and to drink, milk (breakfast for supper)
Fried steak, french fries (frozen), green beans or peas
Pork Chops with mac & cheese or potatoes and veggie
Meatloaf, 1 personal sized, about the equivalent of 2 good sized hamburger patties with a potato and veggie side
Beef cubes or roast or pork roast, or chicken or turkey breast, potatoes prepared in the crockpot or a side of mashed
Ground Beef, Chicken or turkey with gravy over macaroni, sort of bland Hamburger/Chicken Helper, veggie on the side
Baby Lima Beans with “doughboy” dumplings
Navy Pea Beans with ham
Kielbasa sliced in rounds fried with potatoes
Roast beef, chicken, or turkey luncheon meat on bread with gravy
Homemade Vegetable Beef Soup
There are some variations on this, but hubby only eats peas and green beans as green veggies for a side.

Potatoes are preferred cooked with a roast, french fries, pan fried, and mashed–in that order.
Sometimes suppers are just a sandwich–cheeseburger, steak-um, chicken patty, or chicken tenders with the potato harsh rounds.
Drink is almost always Diet Coke, some meals milk, and sometimes Iced Tea.
Desert is usually a slice of pie, purchased from the grocery store not homemade, or ice cream. I do make homemade bread pudding, and the occasional cake from scratch or box sometimes.
Snack(s) usually a bowl of ice cream at night, during the summer might have a bowl during the day also.
Obviously the above is a very bland/boring diet. he has the eating preference of a young child.

i eat virtually none of that. honestly, except for dinner out at a restaurant or at a family gathering, we never sit and eat together. he won’t eat anything with, or at least that he can identify, tomatoes, onions, or almost anything spicy, in it.

thus none of the tomato based sauces. and, nothing can be seasoned with more than salt and pepper, except where he won’t “know.” no, it’s not a doctor prescribed let alone a healthy diet. but he was this way when i got him38 years ago, and he’s now almost 60, so I don’t expect him to change his eating habits.
In a way, I have a rather easy when cooking for him, nothing complicated.

Much can be tossed in the crockpot, requires little extra for seasoning, and most can be done in 30 minutes or less. I use prepared from the meat/dairy section mashed potatoes, as I hate to peel potatoes!!!! french fries are frozen from the store, and even the pan fried potatoes are from the store.

when put in the crockpot, i use small, or simply cut, not peeled.
i prefer almost anything other than the above meals, except for meatloaf and homemade vegetable beef soup. i usually make something completely different. i’ll eat prepared items from the freezer section of make things for myself using boxed items. i like spicy, italian, chinese, mexican, etc.

so effectively we have 2 very different meals. That alone means a double of any cost. I do try to buy meat on sale–chicken, turkey, pork, beef and have ready to cook or prepare it, and have it ready to toss in the pan if possible.
Gloria, who has it easy and difficult in cooking for hubby

[MrsPaws]

I’m gonna give this one some serious thought since I’m trying to lower our grocery bill.

Grocery prices have really risen since this thread was started, but I wonder how well I can do.
I’m gonna incorporate some advice I was given in another thread to help with this. Will post results later…

[brchbell]

Looking at what you buy and learning how to do without and how to make things from scratch. Times are getting tough and we all need to tighten our belt and make do with less. I’m expanding my garden this year and hoping we can grow most of our own food.

Did pretty good last year and hope to do better this coming year. I thank God daily for a roof over my head and dinner on the table.

[MrsPaws]

I finally got around to tinkering with this idea. What I ended up with is around $12.00.
It’s very limited, and not exactly nutritionally sound, but it’s a way to feed a family until, (hopefully),
more can be provided.

(1) dozen eggs – $1.00
(1) 5 lb bag flour – $1.50
(1) 2 lb bag rice-(not minute or instant) – $1.00
(1) half gallon milk – $1.50
(1) pkg ground turkey – $1.00
(1) whole chicken – .79/lb –approx. $2.50
(1) 2 lb bag dried beans – $1.00
(1) 1 lb bag frozen mixed veggies – $1.00 OR (2) cans mixed veggies
(1) 2 lb bag cornmeal – $1.00
(1) 1 lb pkg margarine – .50

*NOTES*
All beverages must be water during this time.
All bread is homemade sourdough using just flour and water.
All left overs are to be used either in planned overs or for lunches.
Quantities will have to be monitored and limited within reason.

From these limited ingredients, these meals can be made:

-scrambled eggs and biscuits
-scrambled/fried eggs with toast
-waffles/pancakes
-french toast
-biscuits/toast and gravy
-rice in milk
-egg in a hole
-fried rice
-egg sandwiches
-ground turkey and rice with gravy over toast
-chicken and dumplings
-chicken and veggie stew/soup
-chicken soup
-tacos and burritos
-beans and cornbread
-chicken and rice with gravy over toast
-ground turkey soup and toast
-chicken pot pie
-chicken casserole

Seems like there could be more, but this is what I came up with off the top of my head.

[FreebieQueen]

@MrsPaws 220609 wrote:

I finally got around to tinkering with this idea. What I ended up with is around $12.00.
It’s very limited, and not exactly nutritionally sound, but it’s a way to feed a family until, (hopefully),
more can be provided.

(1) pkg ground turkey – $1.00
Seems like there could be more, but this is what I came up with off the top of my head.

With just a pinch of a few spices you can make your own sausage using ground turkey, we do it all the time. This is a great addition to our original $10 menu that I published in 2001, I will definitely convert this to the articles area of our site! Thank you so much for sharing.

[brchbell]

I’m so impressed with anyone who goes to the store and can buy a weeks worth of food for $10 or so dollars! I hadn’t been in a grocery store since last November and we just went again with a couple college kids to buy food for them and flesh out our storage. $702!!!

1 cart! One of them has already inquired if we’d be going again next month and we let them know that next month we’d be starting to live out of the garden and would be heading 100 miles the other direction to the LDS storehouse for dry milk and #10 cans, can’t believe we’ve ran out! We grow most of our food and we barter with our neighbors so the kids can go get their pizza and junk food on their own nickel from now on!

[Liss]

@brchbell 220690 wrote:

$702!!! 1 cart!

Holy Cannoli! I cannot fathom spending that kind of money on a single cart of groceries! Lobsters?? 😉 In all seriousness though, generally if I spend for a full month of groceries at one time, it’s a Very Rounded cart for around $200. Maybe your stores carts are bigger?

I’m curious, is it actually cheaper to go 100 miles with the gas prices so high? I find that we’ve been price matching with store flyers the last few months with the gas prices soaring. If they continue to climb, we’ll go back to monthly menus rather than weekly ones.

[brchbell]

The kids bought frozen pizza’s, meats and cheeses. We bought things like canned pineapple, etc we can’t grow ourselves.

[MrsPaws]

@brchbell 220690 wrote:

I’m so impressed with anyone who goes to the store and can buy a weeks worth of food for $10 or so dollars! I hadn’t been in a grocery store since last November and we just went again with a couple college kids to buy food for them and flesh out our storage. $702!!!

1 cart! One of them has already inquired if we’d be going again next month and we let them know that next month we’d be starting to live out of the garden and would be heading 100 miles the other direction to the LDS storehouse for dry milk and #10 cans, can’t believe we’ve ran out! We grow most of our food and we barter with our neighbors so the kids can go get their pizza and junk food on their own nickel from now on!

holy smokes!!!
i, literally, would have fell out!!
but then again, if you haven’t been to the grocery store since november, that may not be so bad. personally, i wouldn’t have been able to handle the shock of the price tag of that one shopping trip at once…
i do understand about kids wanting their ‘junk’ food.

to mine, they think it’s a required daily food category. :/
:moneytight:

[MrsPaws]

@FreebieQueen 220661 wrote:

With just a pinch of a few spices you can make your own sausage using ground turkey, we do it all the time. This is a great addition to our original $10 menu that I published in 2001, I will definitely convert this to the articles area of our site! Thank you so much for sharing.

i’m gonna have to look into the sausage making thing. hubby loves sausage, but i absolutely hate the cost. does it require special equipment…cause i don’t have the sausage attachment on my ka stand mixer.

[Liss]

@MrsPaws 221024 wrote:

I’m gonna have to look into the sausage making thing. Hubby loves sausage, but I absolutely hate the cost. Does it require special equipment…cause I don’t have the sausage attachment on my KA stand mixer.

No, not at all. You just mix the seasonings with ground pork or turkey (or a combination of both) and shape into patties if you want a breakfast sausage kind of deal, or if you’re using it in a recipe, like Sausage & Gravy over biscuits, etc, then you don’t even have to shape it, you just brown it like you would ground beef.

If you’re making it up ahead of time and want nicely shaped patties, you can roll the seasoned meat into a log (with with wax paper), pop it into the freezer for an hour or so, and then slice it into patties.

Generally speaking, throughout the summer you can find lean cuts of pork loin on sale for around $1 a pound. Most stores will be more than happy to grind it for you at no charge.

Breakfast Sausage Seasoning

Per 5 lbs of Meat

* 2 Tbs. salt
* 2 tsp. black pepper
* 1 Tbs. Ground sage
* 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
* 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
* 1 tsp. cayenne
* 1/2 tsp. onion powder
* 1 1/2 Tbs. sugar
* 1 tsp. Fennel Seeds

[MrsPaws]

Wow…it’s that easy…????…:Drogar-Shock(lbg):
breakfast sausage patties is what hubby really likes, only every so often he’ll want links. they’re not too expensive. i can buy a pkg for a buck in several places.
and to think how much i’ve been paying for sausage…and for how long…:drogar-sick(lbg):
i sooooo appreciate the info, how to, and recipe!!

thanks so much for sharing!!

[lilmomma]

Thank you for this. I’ve been sticking with a $50.00 budget. I use my calculator and keep up with how much groceries I get and if I get $50.00 I usually stop.

This seems to be working for me thus far and I make what ever. I don’t really have a menu for it yet. I’m still waiting to stockpile on food.

Which I have not done yet. But have stockpile on a few other things. Well thanks to you again for this Idea.

I copied and printed out the list for next time. That is cool. I have been looking for something with the assumption That a person had nothing and started with a small list. (even though a person may still have something.) but I like the assumption.

know what I mean. lol.
Ruth. aka Lil Momma.

[lala72]

For the next two weeks I’m really going to lower our food budget due to our finances. My dh has a new job that pays monthly. He was recently unemployed so after his first paycheck we don’t have much to spend after the bills.

I’m so thankful to all of you who give such wonderful ideas and support.

[Merry3]

Wow I love this post. Now I cannot get a chicken at that price so my cost would be more but it gives me wonderfull ideas. Right now I am thinking of using ground beef at the meat and thinking up ways to use it. Probably a soup and ?
Thanks for sharing
Merry3

[MrsPaws]

@Merry3 242451 wrote:

Wow I love this post. Now I cannot get a chicken at that price so my cost would be more but it gives me wonderfull ideas. Right now I am thinking of using ground beef at the meat and thinking up ways to use it. Probably a soup and ?
Thanks for sharing
Merry3

every so often, one of our local stores, usually a mom and pop type, will put a type of chicken on sale.

this week, htm is offering chicken quarters for .49/lb in a 10 lb bag. So, for under $5 for 10 lbs chicken…yeah, needless to say, I’ll be partaking on this…at least 1 pkg, maybe 2.
In the past 6 months, a few stores have offered boneless skinless chicken breasts for as low as $1.59/lb. If able, I’ll usually buy several packages.
Whole chickens regularly go on sale for .99/lb, but every so often, for anywhere from .69/lb-.79/lb.

I usually buy a least a couple if I have the freezer space and money.

Merry-sometimes it’s cheaper, and way more healthy to use ground turkey. My Hubby loves ground beef, but what he actually gets is what we can afford at the time. As long as he isn’t aware it’s not exactly ground beef, he’s a happy camper.

he’s yet to be able to tell the difference. maybe in something like hamburger patties, i guess it would be more difficult to hide, but as far as ground meat dishes, i’ve been lucky.
just an idea, if you’re having hamburgers, make a few extra. for the next night, crumble them back up and have some type casserole, soup, or burger helper meal.

-or- could make brown/mushroom gravy and serve it over your burgers. (make gravy in deep skillet, add burgers, sliced mushrooms, and onions. heat until veggies are done and burgers are hot.

voila! new dinner dish to be served to the hungry family.)
over the past year or so, i’ve been searching for and trying to implement ways to save money…especially on our grocery budgets.

[AndreaGwyn]

Wish we had prices like that around here

Whole chicken on sale $2.29 a pound
1 dozen medium eggs on sale at Easter $2.25
5# potatoes on sale at least $2.97 (at local Walmart)
5# flour minimally $3.00
64oz jar store brand applesauce around $4.00 (at Walmart other places in town much more)
salt $0.89
1# stick margarine on sale $0.98
cabbage on sale $0.79 per pound, (not purchased often around here my other half hates cabbage)
canned vegetables 2/$1.00 if lucky and on sale, but due to the salt content and my diet restrictions I have to buy frozen, which is about $1.29/32oz bag
dried onions $2.75 or more
1/2 gallon milk $2.68 whole gallon $2.86 (go figure and no joke)

I really wish we did have better prices around here, being diabetic with a cardiac diet (even though I have no cardiac issues, its a family history causing the need) I have to really be careful what I buy, low carb and low sodium. Hard to stick to a tight budget.

[gapger]

I love the post but see the prices are back from 2007. Would love an updated version

[Rochetkak]

This week I was sent coupons from krogers for a free 24 count bottles of water. A pound of baby carrots free. A bag of kettle brand chips free.

If I only had ten dollars for the week I would go to save a lot or Aldi’s where food is really discounted. A pound of pasta is 69 cents. A can of tuna fish is 59 cents and a can of peas is 49 cents.

Mix all of it up and serve. I add two TBLS of butter and salt and pepper, it cost 1.77 and would last one person two days. A loaf of bread on sale this week was .88 cents.

Romaine noodles are 10 for 1.00. A dozen eggs are 1.09 for medium. A half gallon milk is 1.88.

A bunch of bananas 59 cents a pound, so two pounds is 1.18. Get another pound of pasta for 69 cents and get a head of cabbage at 39 cents a pound and cook and mix is 1.37 assuming the cabbage is two pounds. I’m at 9.27 cents.

A lb of margiraine is 69 cents. My grand total is 9.96.

[SueeBee]

wow… so amazing i just look this tip… thanks

[Ahuvah]

I continue to be amazed at how much I depend on such expensive (and unnecessary) mixes and convenience foods!! i am learning and applying and i am so happy!
transmission just went out so i am glad i have already begun to apply my lessons! we really are going to have to live on about $10 a week!

Thank you for all the help and lessons!

[Angie192]

Wish I could plan ahead this well. I guess I’ll just keep on trying, practice makes perfect as they say.

[QKirsti]

Food is so expensive in Canada, $10 wouldn’t cover much. I do my best, though. At least my boys are good eaters 😀

[Author]

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