Really wanting to see this grocery list.
The new grocery budget is 60 instead of 30 dollars. But here's a copy of the 30 dollar article ala Matt Canning Style
In this day and age of staying within budget, one of the biggest expenses for most American is the cost of food. The average grocery bill for 1 person is about 100-142 dollars a week (Source: Fox Business). This doesn’t even include eating out sadly. There are a numbers of reasons why this is the case but I’ve narrowed it down to the following conclusions:
Lack Of Education: Many years ago, home economics was a common class which taught students how to prepare and cook meals. The focus however is shifted to a more technical side in the computer age in which these classes are either no longer available or simply shunned as being efeminine or quite the opposite a sexist projection of women being in the kitchen. ( I took home economics in school and I didn’t find it as either being effeminine or sexist
Pre-Made Foods: We are a society in with we are always on the go and it's easy and it's more convenient to just grab a frozen pizza, hot dogs, or just go through a drive thru at your local clown-inspired restaurant
Perception of Cost: Some people simply think that eating healthy is too expensive because a fresh salad is compared to a 20 cent bag of ramen noodles. This is ridiculous because when you get down to the numbers, it's actually an excessive amount of money for what you get...a small portion of poorly made noodle and a cheap flavor pack. In addition, the continuous advertising of things such as 99 cent value menus and combos makes it very attractive to whip out your wallet without proper thought.
For the record, I’m not by any means stating that you should avoid pre-made meals or going out to eat. However, it should be done as only sparingly rather than with every meal. The consequences are not just in the financial realm but also in overall health. Pre-Made meals and take out food usually contains a high amount of fat, sodium, cholesterol and an excessive amount of calories that well exceeds your daily allowance. This article is a revision to one that I wrote for a nutritional website from 2013 in which I explained how to spend only 20 dollars a month on groceries. Of course, it's 2020 and this is no longer feasible however I still spend on average about 30-40 dollars a month on groceries. The action plan that I use is no different than my methods on investing in commodities which is purchasing long term bulk foods with a significant shelf life in addition to simply preparing my own meals for either immediate sustenance or placing the content in a plastic or glass container for future use. This is all about getting back to the basics. By redefining the way you plan your meals, you can save up to 6000 dollars in food cost over the course of a year. The following below is my personal list of items that I keep in my kitchen to reduce the monthly cost of buying groceries. This is only a sample of items and some examples of what can be prepared with these foods so if you wish to have more variety then I would get yourself a cookbook. Lets Begin!!!
Long Grain Rice
25lb - $9.64 (Source: Walmart/Sam’s Club)
Number Of Servings: 378
Cost Per Serving: 2.5 cents
Shelf Life: 3-5 years
Rice is the most widely consumed food in the world. It is quite easy to prepare as you only need to rinse it out to remove the excessive starch and boil it. For the most part I keep it simply and make mine with a touch of butter, salt and pepper. However I have made a number of other items such as fried rice balls, rice bread, black beans and rice, and a breakfast dish arroz con huevo fritos ( rice with a fried egg).
Flour
5LB Baker’s Choice All Purpose Flour -$1.80 (Source: Aldi)
Number Of Servings: N/A
Cost Per Serving: N/A
Shelf Life: 6-8 months
Flour is also a huge staple and ingredient in food preparation. You can make pancakes, biscuits, and bread with it...pretty self explanatory. I use it mostly to make no knead bread which will last for about a week and is very good with soup. However, I’ve also used it to make some very crepes which only require flour and some oil. There’s a wide range of different foods you can make with just flour and some basic ingredients so do a little research
Lentils
20lb Kosher Lentils - $21.50 (Source: Warehouse Outlets, Walmart, Lidl, Aldi, Target)
Number Of Servings: 280
Cost Per Serving: 7.5 cents
Shelf Life: 2-3 years
Lentils are one of my favorite legumes and I use it to make some very hearty stews and soups which pairs quite well with bread, pork or chicken. It's also quite healthy and its slow digesting starches are perfect for people with diabetes. Just be advised that lentils are my personal favorite but you can buy black beans, pintos, or any other variety and the pricing is just about the same.
Rolled Oats (Oatmeal)
10LB Quaker Oats Old Fashioned Or Quick Oats - $8.98 (Source: Sam’s Club, Wal-Mart)
Number Of Servings: 110
Cost Per Serving: 8.16 cents
Shelf Life: 6-8 months Opened
For me, there is nothing like a hot bowl of oatmeal in the morning and I have it with a variety of different things from P28 peanut butter powder, frozen cherries or bananas, or simply with a touch of butter and salt. But I’ve also taken oatmeal and mixed it with bananas to make oatmeal cookies as well for a healthy snack. But the best thing for me is just the time it takes to make a bowl. I use quick oats and simply go to my Primo water cooler for some boiling water. Three minutes later, I’m ready to chow down. You can of course just boil some water of course and it's hard to mess that up. There are a number of other items I’ve made but for the most part, it's a very cheap, heart healthy, breakfast food.
Peanuts
34.5oz Members Mark Dry Roasted Peanuts -$4.28 (Source: Walmart, Sam’s Club)
42oz Southern Grove Dry Roasted Peanuts w/Sea Salt - $5.75 (Source: Aldi)
Number Of Servings: 34-42
Cost Per Serving: 12.58 cents
Shelf Life: 6-8 months
Peanuts are pretty versible and there are a number of applications that can be used. Personally I will blend up some of them to make peanut butter and store it in a glass container in the refrigerator. Peanuts are high in protein and its caloric value will definitely keep you from being hungry for an extended period of them. You can also blend it to make peanut flour which is excellent for gluten free diets. Of course, since its a legume...it's perfect for vegan and vegetarian diets
Bananas
3lb Dole Bananas - $1.39 (Source: Sam’s Club, Aldi, Target, Various Outlets)
Number Of Servings: 15
Cost Per Serving: 9.26 cents
Shelf Life 2-7 days fresh, 12-18 months dehydrated
A lot of people simply do not get enough fruits and vegetables in their diet. I use them in my oatmeal cookie recipe but you can eat them plain just as well as part of a breakfast food or add it to a peanut butter sandwich for a hearty meal. Because they can go bad very quickly, I will either freeze them or put them in a dehydrator for some banana chips which are a very healthy snack
Chicken Thigh Or Drumsticks Fresh (Skin On) - .79 - 1.08 cents per pound (Anywhere)
Number Of Servings: 4
Cost Per Serving: 19.7-27 cents
Shelf Life: 2 days Fresh, 1 year Frozen
Chicken is a complete protein and I will usually remove the skin to grill them or just throw them in with my lentil stew. But I don’t have to tell you of all the ways you can prepare them.
Eggs:
36 Count Sunny Meadow Large Eggs - $3.98 (Walmart, Sam’s Club)
Number Of Servings: 18
Cost Per Serving: 22.11 cents
Shelf Life 3-4 weeks fresh, 3-4 months unshelled and frozen
*Note: You Can Get A Dozen Eggs At Aldi for 1.19 however I did not find them very palatable when scrambled or sunny side. They were only half-decent boiled.
Eggs can be used in a wide range of different foods but a lot of people don’t know that you can freeze eggs for a significant period of time. I used to scramble up a bunch of them, pour them into an ice tray and then place them in a freezer bag so I can just take them out individually for whatever meal I was fixing. However I’ve stopped eating whole eggs so I nowadays purchase a box of egg white powder from Rose Acres Farm under SportsProtein. I use them just the same as any other egg and the shelf life is much longer. I used to sell this brand when I ran a vitamin store so this is my personal choice. But feel free to use whatever company you wish.
So there you have it. I certainly hope that you find the information provided to be of use in your food budget. If you treat food as a long term investment rather than an immediate purchase then you will find that your wallet and bank account will thank you for it.
