[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="400" caption="blue kale sprouts"]
[/caption]I have gotten so much from being more conscious about my spending this month--grocery and otherwise. It was a goal for my Lenten season this year anyway, but this month conscious spending was also necessary. I'd like to continue the series on frugal eats and treats after April is over in an the very least a weekly post. The reason I won't be doing it everyday is that some of what I will be eating for little immediate out of pocket expense will have been pre-paid CSA food, so I realize that it did have a cost to me at one point. Some of what I will be eating will not have a low grocery-store price, and so won't fit into a "cheap eats" setting for most of you even if it was a 100% CSA meal for me.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="400" caption="new growth on the blueberries"]
[/caption]So, the question: What is your dollar limit for a frugal dinner for four? $5? $10? Another amount? Please share! Once I know what you would like to see I can start working on healthy, delicious foods that fit into those price ranges. I see lots of meals out there in the $10 range, but part of me wonders how frugal this really is. If I fed my family $10 dinners every night, plus breakfast and lunch, my grocery budget would be pretty high. I think $10 is reasonable for a nice meal, sure--but there are many people who survive on less. Far less. Feel free to connect on this post, via email ( cardamomandcastiron {at} gmail {dot} com ), or on Facebook.
PS: Remember to enter the giveaway before May 1st!
i agree that $10 can get a little spendy as a nightly budget; would love to see some $5 meal ideas. i cook only for two, but we like leftovers =)
ReplyDeleteProcessed foods are the most expensive way to feed a family. Fast food is cheap in the short term but leads to health care and environmental expenses in the long term. Heat-and-serve foods from the grocery store are easy but expensive. For many reasons, frugality included, processed foods should be avoided.
ReplyDeleteFresh, whole, unprocessed foods are the healthiest, least expensive way to go but people are worried about this path. People complain about the cost of fresh foods, but that doesn't scare people as much as the thought of cooking them does.
To help lighten the cost of fresh foods I have planted a garden and grow a wide variety of things. A farm is just soil; it is no different than anyone's yard or a pot in anyone's window. Anyone can grow their own food. Let a single potato begin to grow eyes in your cupboard then plant it in the ground. A plant will emerge and in several weeks you will have your own sack of potatoes for free. Plant two potatoes and you will get two sacks. It really is that simple.
A garden, some pots on the balcony, or a herb garden on the window sill aren't truly free - after all, there is still the cost of the water each day, and patience is required while things grow. During that time you must still buy produce from the store. Growing your own food will easily work out to be the least expensive, healthiest, and most satisfying way to feed a family, but also requires patience, cooking, and occasionally getting your hands dirty.
Our family has been fed for less than a dollar. That doesn't count the cost of my own labor. Labor costs, transportation costs, taxes, and more are always charged to consumers for foods that are purchased, but such things aren't a factor for foods you grow yourself.
"such things aren't a factor for foods you grow yourself"
ReplyDeleteThank you for those thoughts! I grow greens and blueberries on our balcony, and you're totally right: Growing your own vegetables costs pennies and a bit of time. I don't have lots of room to grow food right now (only that little balcony), but I've chosen foods that would otherwise cost me lots of cash: herbs, those berries and the kale, and probably some heirloom tomatoes this year. Hard to beat heirloom tomato sauce from homegrown fruits!