Is It Possible To Eat Healthy On $10 For A Week

[Behemoth]

But given the original information and assuming that BoboBrazil lives in a small town in the USA (not a place where ethnic and famer's markets abound) anyone prepared to list what that $10 would buy that would provide healthy eating for 7 days?

That's the assumption I had before I moved to the rural midwest, but I was pleasantly surprised to find a large and thriving Mexican population and the groceries that serve them. Even the local Walmart carries nopales, pozole and masa harina. And we're talking otherwise very white-bread town here. (Ronnie Suburban can vouch for this). The more rural you are, the more likely you have a migrant farm worker population.

Two more things I thought of: you can do a web search on area farmer's markets/farm stands etc. Here in Illinois I found the Land Connection, which has been a lifesaver.

Another thing: If a whole chicken is too expensive you can buy the more unpopular parts for real cheap: Chicken backs to make stock (sometimes if you ask you can even get these for free -- my grandfather used to get them from the supermarket for next to nothing for bait in his crab trap).

Finally: non-instant oatmeal for breakfast. No fancy packaging, kills hunger for hours and is good for you. You can also make porridges using barley or leftover rice, with syrup or honey. The more filling the breakfast, the less tempted you will feel to buy something in the middle of the day.

Edited June 11, 2004 by Behemoth (log)

[mongo_jones]

i think it can be done easily if you go the indian vegetarian route (assuming you already have some rice, oil, salt, chilli powder, turmeric etc. laid by). of course you'll have to shop at an indian store where things are cheaper.

buy

a medium packet of red beans

a small packet of channa dal

3 red onions

4 tomatoes

1 bunch cilantro

a head of garlic

a 4 inch piece chunk of ginger

3 potatoes

1 bunch spinach/fenugreek leaves

i'm pretty sure i could get all of that from my local indian grocery for $10.

the beans will be enough for 3 days worth of lunches and dinner; ditto for the channa dal. make a potato dish to accompany the dal or the rajma with rice and the greens the other. the onions, tomatoes, garlic, ginger and cilantro will be enough for making everything.

oh right, after purchasing everything go to the india forum for recipes

edit to add: on $20 a week you can eat very well indeed on indian vegetarian. as long as you have a start-up fund of about $30 for stocking staples.

Edited June 11, 2004 by mongo_jones (log)

[GSBravo]

Last week I bought our weeks worth of groceries for $30.00, this week there's pretty much nothing left in the pantry.

The only way to answer this question is to know what's on hand. Without knowing that you can not realistically answer the question.

Also, do you cook? Can you cook? This is just as important as knowing what you have on hand.

[Edited to add the also.]

Edited June 11, 2004 by GSBravo (log)

[babka]

$10 is harsh, but here's my poor-week shopping list:

1 carton eggs--$1.50.

Parsley: $1.10

cheap white fish: $3

limes & lemons: $1 for five.

cheese from a 'bits' basket: $1

cheapo decent bread: 5 rolls for $2

boxed salad, leaf only, from the whole foods salad bar: $2

a few mushrooms: $1

avocado: $1 (yeah, I've got good latino markets nearby)

three cheat dishes:

Trader joe's vegetable dumplings--they're good, and can do three meals from a $3 bag.

cucumber-yogurt soup--$2.50 for the yogurt, $1 for two cucumbers, $1 for dill (half frozen for next week). skin, seed, and dice the cucumbers, mix with the yogurt and dill, add walnuts if you have 'em, and olive oil, quantities increasing if you're looking to this for sustenance. makes several days worth of soup.

rice, with frozen peas, butter, and a little bit of parmesan (cheese bits, if ya got 'em)--yum.

and then I have onions, garlic, ginger, butter, oil, vinegar, peppers, pasta on-hand...

secret is to increase the fat if quantities are limited. So scrambled eggs and omelets for breakfast or lunch. fish cooked a bunch of different ways for dinner and lunch. salad for several days with the avocado for fat & flavor. dumplings when I get bored, with ginger grated into soy & hoisen (already on-hand.) bread with butter and a bit of cheese, or smushed avocado, for snacks. pasta with garlic, olive oil, red pepper.

[Arey]

But given the original information and assuming that BoboBrazil lives in a small town in the USA (not a place where ethnic and famer's markets abound) anyone prepared to list what that $10 would buy that would provide healthy eating for 7 days?

Today while at my local Acme I saw a large display of grocery bags showing what you could buy for $5.80. The object being to get you to include a donation to the local food bank when checking out. The note attached to the grocery bags started out with "No one in America should have to go hungry". The $5.80 bag of groceries wouldn't even have gotten you through a half of a week. I had $10.00 added onto my grocery bill as a donation.

Years ago I was taking an overpayment waiver request from an elderly woman the agency I worked for had overpaid. I questioned the low figure she had shown for monthly food expenses for a large multi-generational household, and got a lecture on feeding a lot of people on very little money. It started with checking all the grocery store ads, and finding what was on sale, her example was if a grocery in town is having a sale on chicken wings, having found the best buy, WALK to the grocery store having the sale. because as she pointed out, if you take the jitney to the store, you're not saving anything, then WALK back home and cook the wings. In conclusion, she said , "there's always something in the pot for anyone in the house who's hungry".

Arey

P.S. In case anyone is wondering , I did waive the overpayment

[Bicycle Lee]

beans, rice, greens (collards, kale, chard) Two nights worth of greens (for one) is 1.50, dried beans are so cheap, they might as well be free, and rice...well...yeah...

Plus what I like to do is buy a chicken a week...freeze the carcasses and when you have like 5 or 6 of them, make some good stock and flavor rice, greens and beans with it...

eh?

[chromedome]

A couple of years ago, in dire straits, I fed my family for a week on a pumpkin, a bag of flour, a dozen eggs, and the various bits and pieces left in my pantry (not as much as usual, either...things'd been dire for a while).

Not that that's any help to you, of course, but as generations of our ancestors knew, you do what you have to to get by.

[phaelon56]

Healthy is relative. If you mean getting basic and fundamental nutrients there are plenty of options. Many generations of Irish lived on a diet that consisted of little more than potatoes. My grandmother could make salmon loaf from one can of salmon and feed 11 people - haven't a clue how she managed that trick but my mom insists that you could really taste the salmon (we now make it with the same size can of salmon and it feeds no more than four people).

I was pleasantly surprised to find a large and thriving Mexican population and the groceries that serve them.

You'll find that many Mexican people and especially children, in rural areas of Mexico, are surprisingly healthy despite the level of poverty. The diet may well be a factor and it's really cheap: tortillas, beans, rice, bananas and milk. Add in a fewe herbs and spices, some tomatos and some greens and there are mucho options.

[Rebel Rose]

Smoked ham shanks/hocks are affordable and add a lot of flavor.

Smoked ham hocks in lentils are cheap and so, so good. Addictive and hearty.

Even though I have a food budget now that's hundreds of times larger than my college budget I still buy beef bones for $1 or $2 a package. Brown them in a frypan, then simmer patiently in water, stock, tomatoes or whatever you have (if your produce gets soggy, throw it in for flavoring and nutrition). Remove the bones and use the meat and the cooking stock to cook your lentils.

Get several kinds of rice, preferably brown and basmati. Brown rice acts like little scrub brushes for your, um, digestive tract, which will help on a carb-heavy diet, and it's high in vitamin B.

Take it easy on potatoes. They're cheap and hearty, fast to fix in a microwave and can be dressed up with any vegetables and some olive oil, but they're a pasty fiber, like wallpaper in your intestines, and you'll put on weight if you rely on them.

Buy good bread with plenty of nuts and seeds in it. More expensive, but on a carb-heavy diet you'll need the healthy fiber. Also, one slice of a heavy grain bread is more filling than 2-3 slices of cheap white bread. Never throw bread away. Carve off the mold and make croutons, bread pudding, bread crumbs, etc.

Save all your vegetable ends and trimmings and freeze them for vegetable stock. Even if it tastes like celery water, it'll be nutritious and free! Celery ends, carrot tops, potato peels, garlic bits, outer leaves and hearts of cabbage. . . when your freezer bag or Tupperware is full, just simmer them up with salt and pepper. Actually, I read somewhere that the most nutritious part of a carrot is the neck, right below the greens.

Let us know how it's working out for you!

[AzRaeL]

ermm Food Banks and Soup Kitchens.

you're all set!