FOK Mag: how to eat well on $7 a day

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FOK Mag: how to eat well on $7 a day

Postby Sammyleenoble » Sat Sep 21, 2019 3:55 pm

Help- trying to do my groceries for the week. The Fall 2019 FOK Mag article with the above topic- does each recipe feed only one person? So if I am trying to feed my family of four I should quadruple it? I got concerned when I was about to buy 20 lbs of Yukon gold potatoes for the week... The recipes are not clear as they tell you how many cups it makes, not how many people it feeds (and I know some recipes are used again for leftovers). Thanks for any help you can provide!
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Re: FOK Mag: how to eat well on $7 a day

Postby michaelswarm » Sat Sep 21, 2019 6:47 pm

Sammyleenoble wrote:Help- trying to do my groceries for the week. The Fall 2019 FOK Mag article with the above topic- does each recipe feed only one person? So if I am trying to feed my family of four I should quadruple it? I got concerned when I was about to buy 20 lbs of Yukon gold potatoes for the week... The recipes are not clear as they tell you how many cups it makes, not how many people it feeds (and I know some recipes are used again for leftovers). Thanks for any help you can provide!


I feed a family of five.
20 libs of pottoes might not be a lot.
An adult typcially eats 4 libs of food per day. So 4 persons x 4 lbs x 7 days = 112 lbs. That why you probably have a car.
When we lived in Mexico City without a car, I walked to the markets and easily carried 10-20+ lbs of groceries home every day.
If 50% starches and 50% fruits and vegetables, you really could be provisioning 50 lbs of rice, beans, pastas, breads and potatoes. (Though some of these staples might be dry, weighing less dry and not in cans with water.)

I divide shopping into categories
- pantry: Always have some extra on hand. Don’t worry if I buy too much, it will keep.
- freezer: Don’t buy more than one bag of any item. But don’t worry about too much, it well keep.
- cellar: Rough amounts of onions, potatoes, sweet potatoes. Keep well unrefrigerated if we don’t use immediately.
- fresh: Buy only what will be used in next 3-4 days. Greens, herbs, fruits and vegetables.

So I really only worry about buying too much fresh stuff, and experience is my guide. Potatoes wouldn’t be something I worry about. My kids cound eat toaster oven french fries and ketchup every day..Then there mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, soups, curries, potato-carrot cheese sauce, etc.

Maybe be ready to go shopping more often until the new routine becomes more stable?

If you can source your staple starches and vegetables at about $1 per pound, you should easily be able to do less than $7 per day.
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Re: FOK Mag: how to eat well on $7 a day

Postby Morris » Sat Oct 05, 2019 7:36 am

I had the same thought when I looked at that plan. What I am going to do is to look at each of the ingredients in the recipe then figure out how many servings I'd get from that.

But the article implies each recipe serves 1 since it was $7.00 a day per person.
Nancy (aka Morris)

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