Eating On The Cheap

If you ever wanted to hear a blond go on a crazy rant for 45 minutes all you need to do is tell me that it's impossible to eat healthily on a budget. The first part of my rant would be lamenting America's priorities. We spend $50 to $100+ a month on cell phone service and $100 a month on cable and internet and yet we are unwilling to plunk down a few dollars in order to put quality food in our bodies?! But I'm here now to make the argument that yes, on a budget, you CAN eat healthy and delicious foods on a strict budget.

One week's groceries:

Farmer's market meat
1 dozen eggs- $3.25 at farmer's market
1 whole roaster chicken- $11.00 at farmer's market
2 pork chops- $5.00 at farmer's market

Grocery store
1 bag spinach $2.00
3 lb bag of apples $2.50
1 green pepper-$1.00
3 lb bag of yellow onions-$2.50
1 quart (4 cups) tomato soup-$2.25
1 pound pasta $1.00
1 jar tomato sauce-$1.00
4 pack yogurt $3.00
1 loaf bread $1.00

Total: $35.50

Monday:

Breakfast- Yogurt
Lunch- 1.5 cups of tomato soup, spinach salad with sliced apples with olive oil and salt and pepper.
Snack- apple
Dinner- Roasted chicken-eating a breast and 2 wings and saving the rest

Tuesday:

Breakfast- Yogurt
Lunch- left over chicken breast, spinach salad
snack-apple
Dinner- Pasta with tomato sauce, green pepper, onion and chicken. Cooking the entire pound of pasta and using the 3/4th green pepper, 1 onion, and using the thigh meat from the chicken.

Wednesday:

Breakfast- Yogurt
Lunch- left over pasta
snack-apple
Dinner- 3 egg omelet with caramelized onions and spinach

Thursday:

Breakfast- Toast
Lunch- 1 egg sandwich with spinach, 1 cup tomato soup
snack- Yogurt
Dinner- 1 pork chop with simmered apples

Friday:

Breakfast- Toast
Lunch- left over pasta
snack-apple
Dinner- 3 egg omelet with green peppers and onions

Saturday:

Breakfast- scrambled eggs (2) with any left over pork chops
Lunch- 1/2 pork chop sliced thin and served as a sandwich, spinach salad
snack-apple
Dinner- Chicken legs (2) and cooked apples

Sunday:

Breakfast- Toast
Lunch- left over pasta
snack- apple
Dinner- 1/2 pork chop sandwich, 1.5 cups tomato soup

I STILL HAVE:
a couple onions
most of a loaf of bread
3 eggs

I did assume most people can get 4 servings out of a pound of pasta. I also assumed you already had olive oil to cook with and salt and pepper.

So for under $36 I made a weekly menu that includes getting 100% of your meat from local sources. Yes, you can shave $2.00 off of the eggs, $6.00 off of the chicken, and $2.00 off of the pork chops if you got them at the grocery store but it's nice to know that eating ethically can be cost effective.

Let's do the math. First of all we spent $5.00 on food each day. That's all?! Subway is making a big freakin' deal about $5.00 for a foot long sandwich and here we are making a menu that feeds you every day, all day with local meat for $5.00! If you work at a job that pays $9.00 an hour and you work full time (40 hours per week) you will bring home around $300 a week (after taxes). Spending $35.00 per week on food is 12% of your income. That's pretty affordable if you are single. If you have a child or two, well honey, you qualify for food stamps on that income so sign up! Get those groceries on your food stamps, feed your babies well!

And next week, since you have some eggs, bread, and onions left, you can get some sharp cheddar cheese ($3.50), a jar of peanut butter ($1.00), or some mayo or mustard ($1.50).

Okay, are we all on the same page??? Eating healthily IS affordable. Eating local meat is also affordable. In fact, in the summer, eating local fruit and vegetables is also affordable as the prices for in season produce is cheaper than in the grocery stores! Yes! Yes! Say it with me! People who say they can't afford to eat healthy foods are morons! AGAIN! People who say they can't afford to eat healthy foods are morons! ONE MORE TIME! PEOPLE WHO SAY THEY CAN'T AFFORD TO EAT HEALTHY FOODS ARE MORONS!

(By the way, inspiration for this posting was found at The Low Fat Low Sugar Blog on Oct. 14th. I just took it a step in my direction.)