Two people on $15 a day

[Matt71]

My wife and I start our 80 day road trip in just 3 weeks, and I'm hoping for some food advice.
Here's our current plan

We have two  24" x 19" x 12" storage containers dedicated to food and cooking accessories, and a 5 gallon cooler for ice water.
We also have a variety of food coolers, but have not determined what size we need to bring yet.
[img=250x250]http://www.wolverinesports.com/medi...33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/t/e/te046p.jpg[/img]
We currently have one of the bins loaded with condiment packets, peanut butter, 30 cans of soup, 10 cans of tuna, 10 cans of chicken, 4 cans of salmon, 10 packs of precooked rice, 6 packs of instant potatoes, and a cylinder of stovetop stuffing. Once we get closer we'll also add flatbread for sandwiches, fruit, fresh vegetables, and perishables like lunch meat, hotdogs, etc. for the cooler.

For cooking, we have 1 single butane burner, a 2 element electric burner, and a Roadpro 12v stove.

We plan to shop once a week, and have $10 a day budgeted for groceries and about $35 a week for eating out.
We also plan to take advantage of continental breakfast whenever we can. And Costco rotisserie chicken for $5. I seriously hope every Costco has that deal and not just the ones in Michigan.

We plan to stick strictly to water for drinking, and figure we can keep the cooler full of cold water by topping it off with ice to it every couple days. If we keep it in the trunk of the car how long can we expect ice water to stay cold in the cooler when the temp is in the 80s and 90s? Also, this may be a stupid question, but is bagged ice more expensive in the desert?

I'm really thinking I'm not budgeting enough for for food, but I spend $450 to $600 a month for groceries for 3 people at home normally, so $15 a day for 2 people should work out right?

Any cheap healthy recipes that don't involve beans would be greatly appreciated.

,Matt

 

[Queen]

Your last sentence kills any of my suggestions.

 

[GotSmart]

If all you keep the water in is the ice jug, it will get contaminated quickly.  I have a dispensing 5 gallon square jug i tap out of into 1/2 gallon juice bottles.  Bagged ice is really filthy as I found out when buying it from different convenience stores that bag it by hand from a machine in the back room. 

I kept my drinking water in the ice chest,  Buy block ice, and drain it once a day.  

Electric burner in a car?  How does that work?

 

[Oopslala]

You might want to consider insulating the cooler you'll be keeping water in. That should help a lot.

I'm planning on 5-10 dollars per day on food on my trip so you're $7.50 per person isn't unreasonable. Something I've also done is can a lot of food, obviously your in a little different situation but it could still work if you know how to can. I pretty much did pot roast in a jar, and one jar is very filling and easy to warm up.

 

[minimotos95]

$5/meal for 2 is $2.50 a meal per person. That's easy if you avoid buying precooked junk, cheese is expensive and even on sale beef is not a very good value.
You say in the last line "healthy" define what healthy means to you? Most of what you listed sounds quite bad to me.

Aside from beans, peanut butter is a staple of any low cash diet or survival stash. It's cheap, packs a bit of protein into a small serving. On a spoon, bread, saltines, oats, or whatever you feel like

 

[Milk Hauler]

What Mini said. I have an electronic presto 8qt presure cooker. Its been a life and budget saver. I eat lots of oatmeal, rice, and even cornbread for less than $3.00 a day. Ive saved enough just from that pressure cooker in 3 months, to fund an up coming trip to the Philippines. Life a good when you save money. My health is excellent now. Im at 9% body fat, just from eating healthy and cheap.

Sent from my SM-T700 using Tapatalk

 

[Matt71]

If all you keep the water in is the ice jug, it will get contaminated quickly.  I have a dispensing 5 gallon square jug i tap out of into 1/2 gallon juice bottles.  Bagged ice is really filthy as I found out when buying it from different convenience stores that bag it by hand from a machine in the back room. 

I kept my drinking water in the ice chest,  Buy block ice, and drain it once a day.  

Electric burner in a car?  How does that work?

My thinking is that the water won't last long since it will be all we are drinking. How is the water going to get contaminated in a sealed insulated water cooler?

We use bag ice at home all of the time and don't have any issues. The thought of people bagging their own ice in the back of the store does seem unsanitary and  I was unaware that was a thing. We'll be sure to be careful about where we buy it.

The electric burner may not go with us, but I was thinking it would be good to have when we are staying at hotels. Some of the campsites we are staying at also have power. The butane burner should work fine, but it can't be used indoors.

 

[Matt71]

$5/meal for 2 is $2.50 a meal per person. That's easy if you avoid buying precooked junk, cheese is expensive and even on sale beef is not a very good value.
You say in the last line "healthy" define what healthy means to you? Most of what you listed sounds quite bad to me.

Aside from beans, peanut butter is a staple of any low cash diet or survival stash. It's cheap, packs a bit of protein into a small serving. On a spoon, bread, saltines, oats, or whatever you feel like

By healthy what I really mean is stuff that's going to provide enough vitamins and minerals. Yeah, the stuff I've mentioned so far isn't the healthiest, but it's stuff that will hold up. I want stuff to supplement that stuff that is inexpensive

 

[Van-Tramp]

I found it difficult to keep it under $10 per day (combined groceries and dining out) myself, when I was a single guy. I tried to eat healty-ish foods (high protein and complex carbs, low sugar and empty carbs). $7.50 per day per person is doable, but it will be tougher than it first appears. See http://www.van-tramp.com/wp/category/van-living/finances/

Regarding those Costco chickens. It may not be all that great of a deal anyway (see http://www.mymoneyblog.com/costco-rotisserie-chicken-vs-homemade.html) but may be your best bet since you do not have an oven. If you like dark meat, you can usually find uncooked chicken thighs at $.99 per pound. Sometimes you can even find breasts for that!

A dutch oven may be worth the expense to cook your own chickens (and other foods)... see http://www.van-tramp.com/wp/van-essential-dutch-oven/
Or go all out and get a Camp Chef oven (I love mine)... see http://www.van-tramp.com/wp/im-cooking-now/ and http://www.van-tramp.com/wp/van-berry-muffins/

Some additional links that may be helpful
http://www.van-tramp.com/wp/no-refrigeration-foods/
http://www.van-tramp.com/wp/simple-foods-for-a-frugal-traveler/

 

[bcbullet]

Eggs, cabbage, salads (not bagged) SEASONAL veggies bought at the roadside, potatoes, salad dressings made from plain yogurt, bulgur salad with fresh veggies and maybe some chicken. Did I mention potatoes? You got yer boiled, yer mashed, yer baked, yer fried.... , Corn fritters, baking powder biscuits, etc. etc. 
When it comes to meats, marinating, slow cooking and "velvetting" (look it up) will be your friends. All will turn cheap cuts into delicious dishes, Ragus, stews etc.

 

[highdesertranger]

another tip, do your shopping in the bigger cities. small town stores are usually expensive. highdesertranger

 

[steamjam1]

What my G/F and I have done is make maximum use of left overs while using our RV fridge as little as we can. We make vegan burritos, vegan tacos and vegan tostadas.

The basics are simple:

One can Bush's black beans
One can small corn
Uncle ben's rice Rice
An Anaheim pepper
a clove of garlic.

Slow cook rice, add beans and corn into a separate pot. simmer. Add rice. simmer some more. Spoon onto a tortilla, and your done. Add sour cream.. what ever, meat, etc. Super yummy and filling. Lest overs last a week in a fridge. akes meals down to 75 cents per person per meal

 

[anewbiewannabe]

My food grocery budget is about $6/day. I buy mostly organic foods and mostly whole foods. I love beans so I'm not too much help on things without beans. I don't eat much meat because I don't really care that much for it anymore, but I'll buy organic turkey or chicken once in a while when it's deeply discounted and sounds good to me. I'm stationary right now so I know the basic sales schedules of the big grocery I use for half of the things I buy so that helps a lot.

A couple ways to keep the cost down----some grocery stores have clearance sections in their bakery/bread and in their produce sections. I've lucked out a few times finding good produce on clearance when I had already put the same thing in my cart at regular price---I just put the regular price stuff back and now I look in the clearance first. One example was honey crisp apples---6 for $.99 when regular price was over $3/lb. The meat departments have managers specials that are close to expiration.

The big chains have loyalty cards that give more savings on products as well as putting points towards cents off gas. So get one for anyplace that has one since it seems most sales are tied to the cards. You don't have to put in your real information to get the cards, in case anyone is concerned about that.

I don't know what discount chains there are other places, but the Dollar Store and Big Lots that have the "EBT accepted here" signs have decent selections of things like tuna packets (saves on trash and cleanup so worth paying a bit more than the canned when water is precious), packets and cans of soups and quick meals (though the organic selection is more limited and gluten free even moreso), rice cakes, pasta, oatmeal, spices, snack foods, etc.

Everyone has different flavor profile preferences. Investing in dry spices in your favorite flavor profiles to season whatever you eat is is one of the best ways to spend some money in my opinion---if what you make tastes good to you then you are less likely to eat restaurant food except for when you planned to.

No exact recipes, but mixed salads or stir fry of whatever veggies you like that are in season or priced right, with meat if that's your preference---season with your favorite spices. I don't really use recipes so can't just write any out---I just put in what sounds good at the time. You mentioned bread so sandwiches with a salad and fruit are quick meals. You can add spice blends to a mix of vinegar and oil either in meal size portions or more for shelf stable salad dressings.

I think it's very possible to do it well on the $15/day for two you mentioned or less---at least in the midwest---I always have grocery money leftover at the end of the month. On the west coast costs are probably more expensive, not sure about the southwest or northwest.

 

[Matt71]

another tip,  do your shopping in the bigger cities.  small town stores are usually expensive.  highdesertranger

We plan to buy our groceries and gas at Costco whenever we can. I have them all mapped out. If we can't shop there we'll shop at Walmart. We're moving around enough where we'll have a lot of opportunities to shop.

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

I can't offer much practical advice. I love beans in everything and I am horrible at eating cheaply/saving money when it comes to food. It's something I need to work on so very interested in the advice of this thread.

 

[Matt71]

I think it's very possible to do it well on the $15/day for two you mentioned or less---at least in the midwest---I always have grocery money leftover at the end of the month. On the west coast costs are probably more expensive, not sure about the southwest or northwest.

We have friends that moved to California a couple years ago and they always freak out about how cheap stuff is in the midwest when they come back for the holidays. We plan to stock up on groceries before heading into California, so we don't have to shop there as much.

Hopefully gas prices will stay low and we can funnel some of our gas money into the food budget. I budgeted using 2014 gas prices which were considerably higher than they are now. Good thing we're going during an election year.

 

[LivingandLearning]

Since you will be on the road, maybe you could consider a different strategy.  When doing a road trip, I plan to carry two days worth of food at a time.  The packages coming from Costco are too big to carry comfortably in our vehicle.  I go to a smaller market (it could be bigger, but I like Sprouts and similar markets) and get fresh meat and cheese from the deli, fresh fruits that are on sale, and whatever else I need to round out the two days.  I pick sale items in the produce section--not too much--I try to get what I can eat in two days.  So, for example, I went to Sprouts bought:
Sandwich rolls: .50/ea
1/4 lb of preservative-free turkey breast thinly sliced 3.00
1/4 lb of sharp cheddar, thinly sliced 2.00
2 pounds of grapes for .88/lb
1 large cantaloupe for .88
An avacado .50
2 tomatoes .80
Organic lettuce 3.00

This gave us lunches for two days.  I had packaged cooked rice, and a shelf-stable vegetable curry for dinner.

I have found it is good to carry mayo and salad vinegar.  We like to make a salad using a bagged coleslaw mix and a canned meat, like tuna mixed with mayo, and whatever vegetables I have, like tomato, cukes, and olives.  Easy.

We like to drink tea, eat oatmeal in the mornings with fruit. Both inexpensive and satisfying.  Having a way to heat food and water is essential.  I heat water to boiling, pour some for oatmeal, then put teabags in the hot water and let them brew.  I use a two burner propane stove, since I had it from camping years ago.  Also, green propane bottles are easy to get anywhere.  I try to keep one bottle spare.  When I use up one, I look for a Walmart to pick up another.

We live in our van when we travel, so it is important that we not carry any more than we have to, since it makes our living space too crowded.

I noticed a mention of water and cleanliness thereof.  I also have found the ice not to be drinkable when it melts.  I used to put ice in pitchers in the ice chest and pour from them to drink as it melts.  We found this water to be kind of yucky.  We ended up buying water to drink.  There are reverse osmosis machines almost everywhere that sell water for .25 to .30/gallon.  You could put your 5gallon thermos container on the machine and get good-quality water for pretty cheap.  We carry separate water to wash up with.  This is just tap water we refill the jug with.  If you like Costco (as my husband does) they have allowed us to fill our ice containers from their ice machines at the food court when I've asked.

California is where I live regularly.  I haven't noticed a huge difference in prices when I travel.  Especially fresh produce.  Most of it is grown in CA.

My biggest message is not to worry about carrying a lot of food or other supplies.  If you are on a road trip you are close to more food and more supplies.  We have only one plastic bin for groceries and a small fridge (last year it was an ice chest).  Three of us travel together and this is a good amount so stuff is not in our way and we don't have a lot of stuff we don't want to eat.

Good luck,
Tracy

 

[akrvbob]

When we went to Alaska we did the stock-up thing on food because it was so expensive. And it was expensive, northern Canada is obscenely expensive and Alaska is just flat expensive.

It's worse there than anywhere you are going and I think we overdid it and you are greatly overdoing it. The room for other stuff will be much more valuable than the money you save. I think you will find yourself buying other things along the way and not cooking as much as you think. Your time and energy will be spent better ways than cooking.

But we're all different, so who knows?
Bob

 

[Hippiechk]

I eat for $5/day & I eat very well. I do devote a lot of space to food storage & I enjoy cooking so I also do cook virtually all my.meals

 

[USExplorer]

I'm a fellow bean-hater, mainly because I have inadequate ventilation in my camper.  :s My staple grain is wheat. 

I eat for $2-4/day. I have a cooler but have never used it. Unless you are crazy about lunch meats, they are better passed by, being expensive, unhealthy, and needful of cooling.

If you enter Walmart at the right time, you can get deli items for 50% off. The right time varies widely between stores, and some stores don't have any right time. In the morning in most any Walmart, numerous bakery items are 50% off, back in the dairy section. Some items I picked up: 1 pound artisan pepperoni cheese bread, $1.49; small coleslaw salad, 27 cents; fried tilapia fillet, 50 cents; rotisserie chicken, $2.50, 12 inch pecan pie, $2.75.

For cooking I use a Primus backpacking stove which uses overpriced propane/butane mixed fuel cans. I once ran out of fuel and had to pay 8 dollars for an 8 ounce fuel canister at Kmart. Walmart has 16 ounce canisters for the same price, still far more than the 3 dollars a propane canister costs. Due to the cost I use fuel economically. I cook on a plywood platform in my driver's seat. Cooking (and eating) instruments include a single saucepan and a table spoon. For cleaning I have a scrub brush; fill the pot with water, scrub it, dump, repeat.

I don't see why you can't use your butane stove indoors. A little ventilation is necessary, of course. CO alarm if you are concerned about that. Be aware that butane does not vaporize below freezing. Unless you have a deep cycle battery bank I would not use any sort of electrical heating appliance.

Walmarts in California are about the same as elsewhere. Regular grocery stores are sometimes overpriced, but if you have their loyalty card you can get a decent price. Interestingly for Cali, fresh produce is often far cheaper than in the rest of the country, even in places where packaged food is overpriced (San Francisco, for example). Farm stands in California also kick a$$. I remember one near Salinas charging 10 cents for a grapefruit (Walmart charges 88 cents). I bought a dozen and they were all sweet and delicious.

99 cent only stores in the Vegas and LA area have very inexpensive fresh produce, sometimes half-rotten but other times just as good as any grocery store. 99 cents a pound for green or red grapes, why not?

If you go to bakery outlets you can get a 20 ounce loaf of whole wheat bread for a dollar. You can often get cheap brand-name crackers there as well. 

I never cool my water, but then again I'm quite tolerant of warm water. Out west, especially at high elevations, nights are cool, so as long as you keep your water out of sunlight, it will stay cool. 

My often nasty road diet consists of; off-brand macaroni and cheese (with the cheese sauce packets), off-brand canned spag&meatballs, Knorr Pasta sides beefed up with ramen, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with various discounted breads, discounted bakery items from Walmart, instant potatoes (just add water variant), off-brand club crackers with sardines or herring, some snacks (Austin crackers, fruit&grain), and a fruit a day. I don't patronize chain restaurants, occasionally trying out inexpensive local options. Sorry, I don't have any good recipes.