Believe it or not, by becoming conscious of the cost per serving of various grocery items, it is possible to create delicious, healthy meals for under a dollar per person.
Learn to build meals that take advantage of low cost staples such as beans, rice, potatoes and pasta. For example, one of our favorite lunch or dinner main courses is a Fettuccine with Lentils Alfredo sauce. Sound different? It is, and it's absolutely wonderful.
1 cup lentils, 8 ounces fettuccine, onion, garlic powder, oregano, 4 tbsp butter, 4 tbsp Parmesan. Serves four. Outstanding, and only about 60 cents per serving. Add a side of canned vegetables for 17.1 cents and brown rice at a 4.5 cents: 81.6 cents a person.
Needless to say, beans are an incredibly rich source of protein and cheap, cheap, cheap. Pinto beans, at about 5.6 cents per serving, and brown rice, at 4.5 cents a serving, give you a head start to a cheap and nutritious meal at just 10.1 cents. Add a side of canned mixed vegetables at 17.1 cents and you're up to 27.2 cents. With London Broil on sale for $ 1.69 a pound, add 42.2 cents for a 4 ounce serving, bringing our total to 69.4 cents, and add a dollar for a homemade marinade makings and come in under the wire for 94.4 cents a serving. Healthy, nutritious, and less than a buck.
Splurge if you want to on the rice. Store brand white rice store brand can be had for a full nickel a serving, but brown rice is slightly cheaper and is better for you.
Contrary to popular belief you DON'T have to buy 50 pound sacks of rice, beans and potatoes to eat more economically. Just lose any brand loyalties you might have and go for the store brands, they're just as good. Also, skip the instant rice and bite the bullet and take the time to cook it. It tastes better anyway.
Cut down on your red meat portion sizes. The recommended serving size of beef is just four ounces, and most of us go way overboard on that. Learn to stretch meat dishes with one pot wonders like stews, soups and chili, though a hamburger now and then is okay, too.
Bill's love for cooking on a shoestring budget stems from his experiences as having been Mr. Mom to three teenagers and one day finding himself having gone to millionaire status on paper to suddenly having 19 cents in the bank. An empty nester now, he misses cooking for others and somewhat satisfies his urges by being the chief advisory cheapskate at Dollar a Day Gourmet where he writes on cooking and saving money on food in general.
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