Two people on $15 a day

[Van-Tramp]

Ouch! USExplorer, that is some unhealthy eating there... but cheap

 

[Hippiechk]

Yeah, USExplorer my friend you lost me completely with "a fruit a day"! I can't survive without at least the 5 of my 5 - 10 serving of fruit/veg a day & I am a lot happier with the full 10.

You win cheap though for sure!! *smile*

 

[IGBT]

Totino's party pizza when they are on sale for $0.99 each!

3 per day, done!  (this was my go to diet in college)

 

[Van-Tramp]

I would need 3 of those *per meal*, plus a roll of toilet paper for the aftermath.

The cheapest (along with healthier) options are to make your own meals. Soups, stews, etc are going to give you multiple meals in the $1 to $1.50 per meal range and you can easily keep it healthy. You will have leftovers to eat tomorrow, and the day after, each time you make up a big meal. Here is a great example of a stew that costed less than $1 per meal http://www.van-tramp.com/wp/chicken-chilli/

Complex-carbs (wheat breads, nuts, whole-grains, etc) will keep you full longer and with more energy while empty-carbs (sugars, white rice, white breads, etc). Buying pre-packaged meals may sound cheap, but they are empty-calories and high-fat (and little protein) will do nothing bu increase your belt size. So, while you may save a dollar with prepackaged "cheap" stuff, you will eat more of them (costing you more) and get unhealthier in the process.

Best advice... Find a bulk bin store and have at it.

 

[VanForNow]

An inexpensive way to eat is to prepare dehydrated meals before your leave home; you prepare them on the road by adding boiling water. The meals are highly compact and keep for at least a year without spoiling.

A good source of dehydrated recipes is the Youtube channel of MrBabelfish5. His beef stroganoff is especially tasty. Used dehydrating kits can be bought cheaply on craigslist or Ebay.

Note: Dehydrated meals are made with a minimum of fats or oils in order to keep for a long time. When preparing a dehydrated meal, it helps to add a tablespoon of olive oil to each serving, which restores the taste to more of a homemade quality.

 

[DougV]

While my van has yet to hit the road I'm live off grid in a little house and carrying water and ice. It's good practice for my van trips.

I also use a pressure cooker. I regularly find 10lb packages of chicken leg quarters priced at 35 cents a  pound. If frozen thaw them just enough to separate and repackage as single servings. Cut the leg from the thigh cook in the cooker with chili paste, garlic, 2 or 3 tablespoons of yr fav BBQ sauce, soy sauce (I use low salt), pepper, onion and enough water to not quite cover the chicken. Cook under pressure for 15+ minutes and let cool. Alt/additional additions to the cooker would be apple sauce/ diced apples, orange marmalade, balsamic vinegar, fish sauce....

I usually get two meals from this; Chicken tacos - learn to use and like corn tortillas they keep longer and are cheaper. 2nd meal would be ramen noodles open the pack and throw the little foil envelop away. The liquid that the chicken cooked in has way more flavor/nutrients (and less salt) just boil the ramen in the skimmed liquid. Along with the leftover chicken I usually add thinly sliced kale and onions.

Breakfast for me is a rotation between store brand cheerios and oatmeal. I use chocolate milk in my coffee and my cheerios- whee! Boil the oatmeal water for 2 or 3 minutes with tsp of rolled oats, tsp of raisins and cranberries, tsp of brown sugar, dash of olive oil and soy, tsp of sunflower seeds just before adding the oats. I like the rolled oats, they just seem more filling. If I have extra, some diced apple w/ the sunflower seeds.

 

[VanLifeCrisis]

ive been doing 2 dollars a day for food for last 3 months. I tried 1 but it was not feasible. I sometimes boltster this with eggs ..but they are free from the chicken. so maybe 4 a day if i had to buy them.
Things getting tight lol

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[GCAdventurer]

  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


Good luck,
Tracy

Grapes @ .88/lb? Wow and I thought $2.99/lb was a good deal. We're always getting hosed north of the border!
I've been doing some price comparing before my trip to Florida in Oct and I think even with the crappy exchange rate, life will be cheaper than staying in Ontario.



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[Almost There]

I've been doing some price comparing before my trip to Florida in Oct and I think even with the crappy exchange rate, life will be cheaper than staying in Ontario.

The exchange rate isn't THAT crappy this year! It's been holding steady around 75 cents on the dollar for the past couple of months. Last year I endured as low as 67 cents on the dollar. If you're not heading down until closer to Xmas I suggest exchanging money well in advance. It always seems to take a nose dive just when all those Xmas travellers are changing their money...

Whether it's cheaper or not will depend entirely on the lifestyle you expect to live. If you're staying at KOAs and eating out several times a week, shopping at the ABC twice a week then no it's not. I lived on less than $500. US a month last winter in AZ with only my Cdn insurance and a reduced cell bill (to keep my #) in Cdn bills and was quite comfortable. But then I was living on BLM and NF land with no rent, only paid for showers in town as needed and a bit of extra gas for the generator.


I use RBC because they have RBC Georgia Inc as a US affiliate. I can exchange money on line and move it to my US bank account then use my US debit card for shopping and cash back. They also offer a US $ Visa card attached to the US bank account so that I can use it without having to pay the upcharge on each transaction on a Cdn credit card.

If I can help in any way with how to's, let me know.

 

[kayell]

Another good source of inexpensive groceries - Asian markets, especially Korean chains and Indian markets. Great sources of very low cost beans, grains, (all) spices, seasonings, sauces and nuts (Indian) and produce, fish and meat (Korean markets). All becoming increasingly common all over the US.

Korean grocery stores by state: http://www.maangchi.com/shopping/us (The Korean owned grocery chains are often very large stores and carry a lot of other specialty foods. Near me that includes Indian, Thai and Vietnamese (good cheap coconut milk), Japanese (always high $), Peruvian and other Hispanic cuisines, Middle-Eastern*.)

Indian grocery stores by state: http://www.thokalath.com/grocery/ (This list isn't as complete - several I know of aren't on the list, so do a search near you)

*Middle eastern stores are worth hunting out for good prices on olives, spices, rice, beans, etc. as are Hispanic markets.

 

[romeosierrabravo2]

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

 

[highdesertranger]

rsb you should be fine on 15 bucks a day if you shop smart. I have a cooler like the one picture, with a combo of ice and water, the ice last about 24 hours in 80-90 degrees in full sun. a side note, most of those leak around the lid. to see if yours does fill it up and shake it. on rough roads mine only keeps of about 80% of the water in it. I just fill it up and live with what makes it, because I also have a 25g water tank. highdesertranger

 

[Zizzer_Zazzer_Zuz]

cous cous
dried soup veggies
TVP
bouillon cube
Add boiling water about 1:1 for total volume of the above ingredients
Allow to stand covered for about 5 minutes
-------
Get a small pressure cooker and you can cook more quickly and save fuel

Things that are cheap and will get you a lot of bang for your buck

Dried rice
dried beans/lentils/barely (yeah yeah, I know you don't like beans)
salted meat and fish (country ham and or salt fish)
Potatos
onions
fresh garlic
Avoid iceberg lettuce it has NO NUTRITIONAL VALUE AT ALL
cabbage and many standard veggies
corn tortillas
corn meal/masa for polenta and or tameles
use meat as an ingredient not a main course
oatmeal
eggs
peanut butter
cous cous
buluion cubes
freeze dried soup veggies
Cheap cuts of meat (cook in the pressure cooker)

For washing dishes get a a couple of spray bottles, one for white vinegar and one for plain water

I would not recommend drinking melt water from bagged ice.  You're better off just buying 2 1/2 gallon cubes of water or even refilling a jug at the local grocery store or WalMart.

 

[romeosierrabravo2]

Long time trucker here. Hot water in thermos for hard boiled eggs and oatmeal breakfast is a must. Add lemon juice for healthy liver, cutting fats, oils, etc... Without lemon juice or I use the crystalized lemon paks- it's just not living. The hot water is free at any convenience store or the obvious of course is home brewed. One stanley thermos makes my breakfast, 2 cups of folgers singles packet coffees, and ends or starts my day by adding bit of apple cider vinegar to a hand towel with the remaning hot water, using a 2nd hand towel for finish and I'm good for another 500 miles. Fresh clean scent keeps the flys away. The apple cider vinegar is good on salads but I just drink it like medicine. Clears my innards. Lunch is Kale salad with tuna, peppers, raisins, grapes, spices, sunflower seeds, whatever and etc... Add olive oil. Keeps for 2 weeks in cooler. Other salads wilt.

Use the quality food for dieting. Never eat hots dogs, sodium filled soups, beans, pork, bottom feeders, road kill, chicken etc...No cokes, fruit juices, tourist trap drinks= it's all sugary crap. More veggies less fruit. It's cheaper with fewer sugary carbos. I'm hooked on seltzer water. It's the fizzle of a coke but just water. Serve very cold, it's better imo. Make own soup and stews with 1 can sodium free veg broth. Add veggies, spices (cinnamon, pepper, paprika, ginger, whatever) stewed tomatoes, sodium free red beans, brown rice, Not crackers. And enjoy with avocado and turkey chili. All for about ten bucks a day. Do this for 1 year and you will look like George Clooney with the energy of a rutting buck. Your wife will think you've been working out but we'll all know better. God said not to eat pork not as a legal issue which the orthodox believe, but as it says in scripture, it's unclean for you. Dead pork, bottomfeeding shell fish or fish, is filled with toxins. It's unclean. Daniel after escaping in the lions den asked for veggies only. In a week he was cheerful and of good countenance. Han't worked for me but jus sayin. I'm usually grumpy and anxious but do remain regular. Happy Trails.

 

[ArtW]

def stealing some of these recipies

 

[VanGuy6678]

Meat is expensive. Explore beans and other sources of protein. There are thousands.

 

[ArtW]

unfortunately not everyone can live on beans, they are more starch than protieen

 

[ccbreder]

Is it life, without bacon?

 

[rvpopeye]

CCB
I gave up bacon (and all pork) when I was 17!
I don't feel deprived at all..........

 

[TrainChaser]

Beans have protein, but it's not a COMPLETE protein. Here's the list of complete protein foods:
•Meat
•Fish
•Dairy products (milk, yogurt, whey)
•Eggs
•Quinoa
•Buckwheat
•Hemp and chia seed
•Soybeans (I would choose organic)
•Spirulina*

But there are other foods that can be combined (within the entire day's intake) to make a complete protein which contains of all nine of the essential amino acids:
* Legumes (beans, peas) + whole grains
* Nuts or seeds + whole grains
* Legumes + nuts or seeds