Monthly Food Expenses

[caretaker]

i would find a food bank,,,,,ramens ok for a snack once in a while but its not that hard to find other resources….yellow pages,,on line,,,you might even Qualify for SNAP bennies

 

[jonsun]

breakfast
egg sandwich - $1.25 + $1.25
pancakes - $.50
syrup - $.25
oatmeal - $.50

Lunch
ramen noodles x 3 - $.75
tuna sandwich x 2 (1 can, mayo from free packets) - $.75
soup X2 - $1.50
for soup - pb&j + croutons - $1

Dinner
canned beef stew - $2.50
spaghetti made with tomato paste X3 - $2
Canned chili - $3
dried soup mix x 2 - $3

incidentals
coffee - $1
paper towers - $1
TP - $1
dog food - $1.75
trash bags - $.50
soap of all sorts - $.50


= $25 week....minus anything I catch, gather, or find to make a meal

 

[slynne]

ON a side note, I find those rotisserie chickens to be brilliant from an economics point of view.

 

[purplepeopleeater]

I don't have food costs but some ideas for things to eat using maybe a small ice chest and a little ice if needed.

Oatmeal with raisins (soak overnight) and cinnamon.
Nido powdered milk, mix with water,cereal

Bread with PB,banana, or honey or syrup/jelly

Raw veggies: Carrots,celery,tomatoes,cucumber,summer squash,zucchini, brocolli,kale (lettuce,spinach fresh from store)
Canned veggies (rinse)


Buy fresh fruits & veggies that at in season and on sale.

Fruits: Raisins,dried cranberries or other fruits, fresh fruits-apples,oranges are a little hardier than say bananas or berries. But you could get those & eat right away. I recently saw Dollar Tree had dried strawberries.

If you can make ramen you should be able to do spaghetti. Heat water,place noodle in & cover. Should be ready to eat in about 10 mins. Also,if you can heat water you can have hot oatmeal. Cooked rice may be fairly cheap at an oriental takeout. Add beans to it. Taco shells with tuna. Grab a McD side salad & add for veggies. Top a aide salad with canned chicken. Mash a can of beans up & eat with baby carrots. Add some bagged coleslaw mix or canned veggies to Ramen. Flour tortillas with mashed beans.

Mixed nuts, beef jerky,canned tuna,sardines, or chicken,canned beans. (Rinsing helps lower sodium intake) Protein drink mix.

 

[mdoverl]

Thanks for sharing, How many meals are you getting out of each Little Cesar's pizza? I remember eating them in one sitting but I am a "bottomless pit".

A Little Cesar's pizza last me about two meals.

Sadly I don't have anything to cook with yet, mostly due to my laziness of not buying something. I live in the city in my Prius and I worry about cooking in public, this is why i have avoided buying a burner or anything. I can see myself going to state/county parks on Friday nights, weekends, and cooking outside with no problem.

At the moment I do use a microwave a lot at work mostly and sometimes I'll asked to use the microwave at the truck stop (only when I'm super hungry).

I agree with you about fast food, three burgers is never enough, I should cut fast food out completely.

 

[mdoverl]

Crap, I guess I am going to get some experience with cooking if I start fulltiming and boondocking in the remote desert SW. Oh well, there is always ramen (I like to put eggs and nori in mine) and canned greenbeans

I have eaten Ramen plenty of times without heating it up myself. Be warned, i did a Ramen only diet for a week, it gets super boring, but at least your not hungry.

 

[mdoverl]

On a side note. Michigan has some of the best pizza anywhere but we decided to share our worst with the rest of the country (Little Caesar's and Domino's) That always cracks me up.  Sorry.

I agree, Little Cesar's is horrible pizza, but cheap at 5 dollars for a large pizza

 

[mdoverl]

OP, Please tell me there are some fruits and vegetables somewhere in your diet. That sodium-packed list gave me high blood pressure by association.

Sadly, hardly any fruit. Sometimes I buy canned Peaches, doe this count as fruit?

 

[mdoverl]

When I was living in town helping at home the Subway had a buy one get one free coupon so for about $6 a day I could get 2 pretty healthy meals.  The local paper ran the coupon one day a week but they just always handed it back and said it was good for the whole week!

Subway is great, I'll have to start checking for coupons for them

 

[mdoverl]

You might consider a small pressure cooker. I can cook dry beans from scratch in 10 minutes.

So far I am in love with mine. I got the 2 liter model but there is an even smaller 1.5L model.

https://www.amazon.com/HAWKIN-Class...70866&sr=1-2&keywords=hawkins+pressure+cooker

Can't find anything listing how many watts, amps, or volts it uses, or am I stupid and not realizing it can be used on a stove?

 

[ArtW]

good way to add some fruit, no cooking required
Cottage cheese and your choice of a fruit (I like pineapple)
Just gotta keep it cool till you eat it
Pretty cheap, too, and good quality protien

 

[mdoverl]

Sushi can be made relatively cheaply.

Well of course your screen name is Sushidog!

 

[mdoverl]

i would find a food bank,,,,,ramens ok for a snack once in a while but its not that hard to find other resources….yellow pages,,on line,,,you might even Qualify for SNAP bennies

I did one time, when I ran out of money and had no food. Now money is not an issue and I don't want to feel like I'm taking advantage of something that other people may need.

What is other people's opinion on using a food pantry when you have money? Maybe I won't feel to bad after some of you reply, because that would be a good way to reduced ones food budget.

 

[mdoverl]

ON a side note, I find those rotisserie chickens to be brilliant from an economics point of view.

If it wasn't for lack of storage in my 2007 Prius, I would get those rotisserie chickens often

 

[ArtW]

I use food pantries only as a last resort

 

[mdoverl]

Buy fresh fruits & veggies that at in season and on sale.

Fruits: Raisins,dried cranberries or other fruits, fresh fruits-apples,oranges are a little hardier than say bananas or berries. But you could get those & eat right away. I recently saw Dollar Tree had dried strawberries.

If you can make ramen you should be able to do spaghetti. Heat water,place noodle in & cover. Should be ready to eat in about 10 mins. Also,if you can heat water you can have hot oatmeal. Cooked rice may be fairly cheap at an oriental takeout. Add beans to it. Taco shells with tuna. Grab a McD side salad & add for veggies. Top a aide salad with canned chicken. Mash a can of beans up & eat with baby carrots. Add some bagged coleslaw mix or canned veggies to Ramen. Flour tortillas with mashed beans.

Mixed nuts, beef jerky,canned tuna,sardines, or chicken,canned beans. (Rinsing helps lower sodium intake) Protein drink mix.

This actually seems perfect for someone like me who is worried of drawing to much attention to myself in the city. I have constant access to hot water from coffee machines. I could totally make spaghetti, can't believe I didn't realize that earlier. Thank you!

 

[slynne]

Instant ramen has nutritional value. It has carbs and fat. What it doesn’t have is much fiber, protein, or vitamins. It also has a lot of sodium but as has been mentioned previously the role of sodium in our health isn’t clear other than we need some and maybe too much is bad for some people. At any rate, I like to cook it with nori and egg which help make it a more nutritional choice with the addition of fiber, protein, and vitamins. Nori is self stable and eggs can last a while without refridgeration too but you would need a way to boil water. Have you considered an electric 12v kettle? You could cook with that inside your car even while stealth camping in the city

 

[mdoverl]

I'm guessing that although Ramen will fill your stomach there is little food value included and way too much salt if you use the packet. Be carefull when reading the information on the cup o soup things as they often are determined for half of the cup so if you eat the whole cup you are getting double the salt, fat, etc as listed.

Guy

It's very little calories in packet of Raman I believe. 380 calories per packet. Depending on the meal, I either eat two Ramen packets or one Ramen Packet and one can of food. So roughly around 720 calories per meal. I eat twice per day, so an average of 1440 calories.

 

[mdoverl]

good way to add some fruit, no cooking required
Cottage cheese and your choice of a fruit (I like pineapple)
Just gotta keep it cool till you eat it
Pretty cheap, too, and good quality protien

I love cottage cheese, will start getting small servings of that so I can eat in one sitting, and I think I'll start buying fresh bananas more often. Thanks

I like making list, so I'm going to make a list of the suggestions some of you guys have made that I think will help me in the city.

 

[jonsun]

scallions in noodles with an egg....whole different ball game