Discussion Board

There is always some trade-off between cost and convenience but it can be done.

To hit the lowest numbers, you have to buy in bulk (oats, beans, rice, frozen veggies, etc).

However, regardless, I would challange anyone to put together a more nutritious diet (at about a 2000 calories average) for less. It's not just price, but price, nutrition & time.

I recently did the same experiment for Whole Foods and was able to create a diet at 2000 calories that surpassed all the RDA/RDI for all nutrients (except D and B12) for around $5.

In Health
Jeff

You'll get no argument from me about the validity of the nutrition of this WOE.

However, how on earth could you do that at $5???

I shopped at Nob Hill & Trader Joe's and only got the beans from Whole Foods. The basic 5 ingredient recipe came up to over $9 - and less than 1,300 calories. And this isn't my usual - I usually only buy organic and fresh whenever possible. But I am trying to wrangle my high food budget, cut down on the time I spend prepping and cooking, and still eat nutritiously. (Herding cats leaps to mind.)

I am very, VERY curious about what you purchased to come in that low price at Whole Paycheck - I mean Whole Foods.

1 can beans $2.39 (Eden from WF)
2 bags frozen veg $3.00 (1# bags: Nob Hill house brand on sale, 2 for $3)
1 big can tomatoes $1.99 (28oz: Trader Joe's)
1 bag rice $1.16 (~2 cups: Trader Joe's frozen)
1/4 bag greens $0.57 (1/4#: Trader Joe's Southern Blend*)
Total $9.12 Total Calories ~1,290

This is too low in calories even for me, so adding a couple of fruits and a bowl of oatmeal in the morning would put me at over $10 a day.

I must be one lousy shopper! Help me Jeff, share some more of your grocery budget magic...

*I have tried several stores and can not find anything but spinach in the frozen section. (Why stores need 8 different kinds of frozen spinach is beyond me.) So I have started looking for bagged greens in the fresh produce section since discovering that the Southern Blend freezes just fine.

As I said above in the last post...

"There is always some trade-off between cost and convenience but it can be done.

To hit the lowest numbers, you have to buy in bulk (oats, beans, rice, frozen veggies, etc)."

Your example is using more convenience items, not bulk items, so the cost may be higher.

In Marshall, TX last August, Rip and I shopped at the local grocery store and were able to prepare a full days menu for about $4.25 and that was buying at the grocery store.

In Health
Jeff

Of course there are not Kroegers here in California and I did not recognize the store in your video.

I guess this WOE is not going to work for me.

Wow, I need a tutorial! Most of my budget is for food. Of course, I do buy the 12 dirty dozen foods organic. Also I eat alot!

The main different has nothing to do with Krogers or whether or not you live in California but whether the food is bought in bulk or not. If you read the beginning of the thread, you will see that to hit the lowest numbers, the beans, rice, potatoes, frozen vegetables, and oats were bought in bulk at Costco. For convenience, they are then cooked in large batches and kept on hand.

On the other end of the scale is convenience, which comes from using individual products that do not have to be prepared ahead of time, like canned beans and frozen rice. Doing it this way, may have some short term advantages in regard to speed of preparation for those who do not want to cook ahead, but it will cost more.

This WOE will work for anyone who is willing to take the time to learn the program and apply the principles appropriately.

In Health
Jeff

Krogers = Ralphs

This is why I buy beans and rice in bulk. I cook up 1-2 pounds of beans at a time and freeze extra in quart-sized bags, so I don't have to spend hours cooking them every week. I can make a pot of brown rice on the stove in 30 minutes so we rarely eat the frozen stuff (though my husband really likes the Trader Joe's rice medley). I make a large amount of rice at once and store it in the frig for several days, using it in various recipes.

Aren't there Fred Meyers in CA? That's a Kroger store.

And I challenge you to find a WOE that is cheaper than this one. You don't HAVE to buy Eden beans--they are lower in sodium, but you can make your own beans--or not have beans.

They have Costco in CA as well--I get 10 pounds of organic brown rice for #13.99--and that's AK price. It makes about 128 cups, which comes out to about 21 cents for 2 cups of rice.

So find something cheaper, and tell us about it--unless you think it's the dollar menu at McDonald's!

Ha! I actually did this a couple of years ago when I challenged myself to eat for $3 a day. Here was the result:

Sample Menu:
Breakfast
Old-fashioned oats (1 cup dry) = $0.14 300 cal.
Small box of raisins = $0.21 130 cal.
Ground flaxseed (1 Tbs) = (free gift) 60 cal.
Tea = $0.05 0 cal.
Stevia = $0.09 0 cal.
Breakfast total = $0.49 490 cal.

Lunch
Split pea soup (2 cups) = $0.26 each 268 cal.
Medium baked potato = $0.09 168 cal.
Baby carrots = (free with coupon) 42 cal.
Apple = $0.30 90 cal.
Lunch total = $0.65 568 cal.

Dinner
Brown rice (1/2 cup dry) = $0.15 170 cal.
1/2 bag of mixed vegetables = $0.50 120 cal.
1/4 bag spinach = $0.25 30 cal.
1/2 can of canned tomatoes = $0.18 44 cal.
1 tsp. chopped garlic: $0.04 5 cal
Dinner total = $1.12 369 cal.

Snack:
Oatmeal leftover from breakfast
Banana = $0.16 110 cal.

Total for Day: $2.42 1537 cal.

Strictly for my own amusement, I compared this to three meals from the McDonald's dollar menu.

My meals:
12 gm fat (from oats and flax) 2 saturated fat, 0 cholesterol. 7% of calories from fat.
2300 mg sodium (I used bouillon in my soup)
319 gm carbs, 52 grams fiber
54 gm protein (more than adequate)
469% of RDA for vitamin A
190% of RDA for vitamin C
107% of RDA for iron
45% of RDA for calcium
Cost:$2.42 for 1537 cal.

From McDonald's $1 menu: a sausage biscuit for breakfast, a McDouble for lunch, and a McChicken for dinner:
58 grams fat, 23 grams saturated, 135 mg cholesterol 44% of calories from fat.
2910 mg sodium
107 gm carbs, 6 grams fiber
51 gm protein
6% of RDA for vitamin A
4% of RDA for vitamin C
50% of RDA for iron
36% of RDA for calcium
Cost: $3.00 for 1180 cal.

So my meals were less expensive, provided more carbs, fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals and calories. And my meals were so bulky with water and fiber that I could eat more than enough and be completely satisfied. If I'd eaten that $3.00 worth of Mickey D's crap, I would have been starved at the end of the day.

Kate

There you go! Although I'll never find a 21 cent box of raisins or a 36 cent can of tomatoes up here!

In Alaska, there isn't even a dollar menu. Last time I looked, I think it was a $1.69 menu, or 2 for $6, or something like that...

uh..... my sister asked me to pick up a bag of Ruffles potato chips on the way to a BBQ. they were $4.29. that regular $2.50-sized bag.... now 4.29!!!

(thinking we can't complain about spending 5 or 6 bucks to fuel our bodies well if even junky food is so pricey)

the dollar menu at mcdonald's has a nice side salad. two of those make a nice starter for lunch (carry your own potato)

I just recently signed up for produce delivery and am hopeful this will help my grocery bill go down. Its cheaper than what I spend on produce in the store so we'll see how it goes price wise. It is something I'd recommend looking into.

For those looking for the discussion on eating 2 meals a day & fasting, it has been moved to the lounge as its own topic

Thanks

In Health
Jeff

Ellen, the one I'm getting just sends you a variety of what's in season as it's all local. You can let them know what you don't want or what your favorites are and they comply. I'm excited to see what I'll get.