$100 a month challenge!!!

[inneedofhelp]

Ok, here is the challenge.....

How would you spend $100 a month to feed yourself with the following restrictions?

No pasta or wheat (no pasta, cereals, bread, etc.)
Very little to no rice
High sodium canned soups avoided
Cooking experience is limited
Losing weight is key, so though potatoes may be cheap, the focus is on low-cost AND foods that encourage weight loss. No top ramen or instant cereal packs allowed.

Could you feed yourself on $100 a month in an urban environment and if so, how?

[simpleyme]

do not care to participate in this thread

[inneedofhelp]

LOl people who cannot feed themselves cheaply usually have objections to most suggestions

no rice ,noodles, potatoes, canned soup or cheap packaged foods?

what do you want to eat? or what do you normally eat? maybe someone can help cut the costs on that food in particular?

I am not sure what is so funny about those of us with dietary concerns.

Yes, i could feed myself cheaply and for far under $100 if I ate a lot of grains and flours, pastas, and rice. I grew up that way and am all too familiar with it. However, eating that way makes me sick and bloated and not at all healthy.

So, while it may be just hilarious to you, it is not funny to me and I am asking if there are people who have fed themselves for $100 a month on a diet of protein, fruits, and veggies.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

You did not rule out oats, barley, corn, beans, lentils or peas, so I'd eat a lot of those. The corn would be in the form of corn meal so I could make corn bread, polenta, crude corn tortillas or corn chips. Guess I might buy some grits or hominy, too, if corn is allowed. (Sorry for the corn emphasis. In reality, I'd probably not have much.) Then I'd add in some vegetables and a little fruit. I think I could even fit in some eggs, meat (what ever is cheapest per pound), cheese, tofu and oil. Do I get to assume I have spices and salt already? I'd drink water, mostly. Maybe some tea or coffee if I had enough money. DH and I spent $127 to eat one month about 17 months ago. So that was $63.50 per person. I don't normally budget or track my food spending, but I did that month.

Sorryy, I posted before I saw your note above. Do you want more specifics on which proteins, fruits, and vegetables we would eat?

[inneedofhelp]

Thank you, Joan. I can eat corn and grits and beans and lentils and peas. I haven't cooked much with lentils, so I am going to look into that and see if I can make filling lentil dishes.

Yummy!!!

[GREENBACK]

I'd have to hunt and eat alley cats J/k, That's a pretty tall order especially the limited cooking experience part. To many restrictions for me.

[disneysteve]

In another thread, I posted this:

"I have a glass of OJ ($2/64oz which is about 16 servings) and a bowl of cereal ($3/box which is about 6 servings). So breakfast costs about $0.63/day. I eat lunch at work but bring it from home. It might be leftovers or a sandwich or a frozen dinner. Let's say that averages $2/day. Dinner is one of a variety of things. Homemade pizza, tacos, grilled veggies and rice, pasta with veggies, etc. I don't generally itemize the cost of each meal, but rarely would it be more than about $3/person. That brings us to under $6/day or $180/month per person. Throw in a little more for desserts and snacks."

Dropping that total from $180 to $100 would involve buying more store brand or lower grade items and making more things from scratch, but I think it could be done. If you need a gluten-free diet, that would make it more difficult as the alternatives tend to be pricier. Lots of things on my list wouldn't work for you. Still, I think you could do it. Beans are cheap and good protein. Corn is very versatile. Fruits and veggies are fairly cheap if you stick to what is in season and find a good farmer's market or Asian market in your area or buy in bulk at a place like Produce Junction. Breakfast is very cheap no matter what: eggs, yogurt, fruit, etc. A cheap lunch might be a can of tuna and a salad. That would cost maybe $1.50. I'd be making a lot of soups and stews.

And I'd definitely get over the "limited cooking experience" mindset. The only way to get more experience is to do more cooking. It isn't rocket science, especially since on your budget, you'd only be preparing the most basic of meals.

[Daylily]

Just curious, do you have gluten intolerance? I don't include any gluten in my diet.

Do you have access to purchasing at a store that sells in bulk so that you can purchase as little or as much of an item as you want? You said you weren't interested in rice, but I would consider wild rice. It's pricey but if you can buy just a cup of it it would add nicely to your rotation of meals. Wild rice is a grass not a grain.

I would also possibly suggest buckwheat (sometimes called kasha) as another 'grain' suggestion. Again, not a true grain. And despite 'wheat' being in the name it is not related to wheat at all but is related to rhubarb. It can be fairly inexpensive if you can purchase it at a place where you can just buy one or two cups rather than having to buy a 3-lb bag. It would be good with minced carrots, garlic, onion and leaf thyme.

I can't say enough good things about corn tortillas. I can purchase a pack of 30 of them for 99-cents. Heat one or two in the microwave for 30 seconds and then stuff with scrambled eggs or a black bean enchilada mix.

How about canned tuna?

How about garbanzo beans with a little red onion and maybe a chopped tomato then topped with an italian dressing (homemade or from the bottle)

I'd also suggest that rather than purchasing canned beans, purchase dry beans. Even though canned beans can be found for as little as 50-cents a can you can purchase a whole bag of dried beans for 99-cents and that will make probably six times as much then the equivalent of purchasing two cans. After the beans have been soaked and cooked, you can portion them and then freeze what you don't use immediately. Cooking your own beans this way will allow you to splurge on something else.

I second the motion on lentils. I love lentils, just don't overcook them.

I'll keep thinking.....

[GREENBACK]

Losing weight is key, so though potatoes may be cheap, the focus is on low-cost AND foods that encourage weight loss. No top ramen or instant cereal packs allowed.

I'm nowhere near to being a dietician but I am a former college athlete who had to lose and gain weight sometimes in a few short months. I think cutting potatoes out of your diet is eliminating one of the world's most nutritious foods from your daily intake. Exercise more if you must, but don't eliminate this one.

[disneysteve]

Another great food is quinoa. It is not a grain but a seed, however it can be used in place of things like pasta or rice as a healthy side dish or meal component. It has fiber and protein. Add it to soups and stews, sprinkle it on salads, etc. A couple of our local stores sell it in the bulk aisle so we can buy as much or as little as we want.

[Daylily]

I was going to mention quinoa... it is my daily breakfast food.
The think about quinoa is that it can be expensive. The 2-lb packages are over $7. At the bulk place though, I can buy it for around $2.35/lb.

Super quick to cook.

[inneedofhelp]

Thank you, everybody!! I just got back from the store and spent $15 and got....drum roll please....8lbs of boneless skinless chicken thighs and two gallons of milk...the chicken turned out to be 1.25 a pound, and the milk 1.99 a gallon. woo hoo!!

I am going to eat more quinoa as my fiber filled grain as well as mixing it with black beans and salsa. Yum!!

You all gave great suggestions and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for them.

[DC Metro Crab]

Cous cous is also very filling and nutritious, but if you're aiming for a low carb diet, this won't help. Throw some whole grains in there, like steel cut oats for breakfast with milk. You probably know this already, but try to stick with chicken breasts as it is less fatty. You'll also save money if you buy skin on chicken and remove it yourself at home. Skin on bone chicken thighs can be had for .59/lb readily in my area, but wow... 1.99/gallon milk is cheap!

[cptacek]

I would think about starting a garden. Even if you just have porch space, do a container garden. A few years ago I bought a spaghetti squash from walmart, split it open and kept the seeds out and cooked the squash. Then, I cleaned the seeds from any of the pith and put them on a plate with a napkin wrapped around them, with the seeds in one layer. I kept them moist until I could see them sprout. Then, into the garden. I got 20 spaghetti squash from that one I bought, and I didn't even plant all the seeds.

[Daylily]

Since we are coming up on St. Patrick's Day, cabbage is on sale. It is 1-cent per pound at a store near me! It might not be the same price near you but it will definitely be on sale this week. You could use part of it in cole slaw, part of it in a stir fry and part of it baked with a roast.