Under a 100 Dollar grocery list for month?

[TheChemicals]

Ive decided to save money by reducing the cost of my groceries. I was paying 130 dollars per month and now its gone down to 50 dollars. However it is not a healthy list- if anyone has a better list to add that is under 100 dollars (preferrably 75 at most) please post.

First i go to Dollar general
1. Rice and/or Beans- 10 boxes of rice (chicken rice mmm) = $10
2. Chips 2 bags= $2
3. Deoderant= $1
4. Razors and Shaving cream= $2

Subtotal $15
Then i go to Winn Dixie (cuz they gave me a free discount card)

1. 15 mini cans of chefboyardee (3 were actually regular size)= 13.50
2. 2, 6-packs of noodles = 2.60
3. 2 Boxes of Wheat Pasta= 1.65
4. 2 Cans of Pasta Sauce= 2.00
5. One small can of parmesan cheese= 1.40
6. Ground Beef= 5.32
7. Variety pack of ham/turkeyham/ bologne= 2.89
8. Bread= 2.40
9. Crackers= 2.40
10. Peanut butter n Jelly= 2.80
11. Bananas= 2.50

Grand Total= 54.46

I sacrificed drinks and additional meat products like steak,fish, and also produce like carrots/corn/apples/lettuce/etc. I would like to have a healthier list, if anyone has suggestions.

[silivrentoliel]

The Chef Boyardee is NOT healthy, lol. If you are looking for easy meals, you can always go for the frozen Bird's Eye (if you are in the USA) meals, they are cheap and you can normally get more than 1 meal out of them if it's just you. Also, chicken and rice is cheap and easy and a LOT of meals... same with Shepherd's Pie or stuff you can make in a crock pot... yeah, it's a little more up front, but considering it can feed you multiple times.... it evens out. I can dig up some recipes if you want? My DH and I try to do this a lot of the time... but we often can't stay under $100 if we have to get food for the "kids" ...

[TheChemicals]

Originally Posted by silivrentoliel

The Chef Boyardee is NOT healthy, lol. If you are looking for easy meals, you can always go for the frozen Bird's Eye (if you are in the USA) meals, they are cheap and you can normally get more than 1 meal out of them if it's just you. Also, chicken and rice is cheap and easy and a LOT of meals... same with Shepherd's Pie or stuff you can make in a crock pot... yeah, it's a little more up front, but considering it can feed you multiple times.... it evens out. I can dig up some recipes if you want? My DH and I try to do this a lot of the time... but we often can't stay under $100 if we have to get food for the "kids" ...

im flying solo for right now. When i was with my ex- we paid 125-135 a month but the food always ran out a week before the month ended.

The chefboyardee is mini cans- just something i eat for lunch at work. They arent terribly unhealthy if you eat small amounts 2-3 times a week. Noodles are actually worse for you lol but if you drains half the soup- its not terribly unhealthy too.

[silivrentoliel]

Originally Posted by TheChemicals

im flying solo for right now. When i was with my ex- we paid 125-135 a month but the food always ran out a week before the month ended.

The chefboyardee is mini cans- just something i eat for lunch at work. They arent terribly unhealthy if you eat small amounts 2-3 times a week. Noodles are actually worse for you lol but if you drains half the soup- its not terribly unhealthy too.

I can concede that for lunch... it has to be healthier than my lunch choices lately, lol. Do you ever use coupons? I am awful at remembering them, but if I make my shopping list with the coupons ON the list and then staple them to the list (lol) I can save myself quite a bit... was cereal on your list? I love cereal. The malt o meal cereals are cheap and pretty good.

[Fraser_0762]

I lived off 10 bags of whole grain pasta in 4 weeks once. (Stupid bet I made with someone ). But I saved a great deal of cash in the process.

[silivrentoliel]

Does your dollar store have food stuffs? There is a lot of dry grocery stuff at ours here, that helps w/ budgeting

[CK302]

I believe raw beans (I like pinto beans the best) are priced at about an average of .50 per lb. They are full of protein and other nutrients. Put them in a crock pot for 4 hrs on high. Once fully cooked, the sky is the limit!

- Add ground beef and spices and you've got Chili.
- Put in a food processor, or hand mash then fry them up and you've got re-fried beans
- eat them with a tortilla and some tibasco sauce and sour cream

Oh and if you are worried about the excess gas...umm your body will adjust after a while ;-).

[TheChemicals]

Originally Posted by CK302

I believe raw beans (I like pinto beans the best) are priced at about an average of .50 per lb. They are full of protein and other nutrients. Put them in a crock pot for 4 hrs on high. Once fully cooked, the sky is the limit!

- Add ground beef and spices and you've got Chili.
- Put in a food processor, or hand mash then fry them up and you've got re-fried beans
- eat them with a tortilla and some tibasco sauce and sour cream

Oh and if you are worried about the excess gas...umm your body will adjust after a while ;-).

thats a great idea. Except that i have to buy a crockpot Might be worth it though. The flatulence definatly isnt.

[Fuzzy12]

For me the best trade-off between simple, quick, cheap and healthy is to boil wholewheat pasta with a can of beans and some frozen (or fresh) vegetables (or anything else you can find). I'm not sure if you like spicy food but I've found that if I add a bit of chilli powder, anything tastes good

You could also try to make pasta sauce from scratch. It's very simple and very quick. The simplest would be to just fry some onions and/or garlic, add a can of tomatoes (or fresh ones) and some fresh basil (or other fresh/dried herbs). You can add milk/cream or cheese in the end to make it less sour.

I think, if possible, don't sacrifice vegetables or fresh fruits. Especially, not apples. I attribute all my good health to eating at least one apple a day.

Maybe you could buy fruits and vegs in larger quantities (if possible) or from a market. I'm not sure about the US, but in the UK if you go to a South Asian super market, the vegetables and fruits are in general much cheaper. You can also get there wholesale rice, pulses and beans. (In the UK, at least).

I love pinto beans as well by the way. I usually buy them canned but dried beans/pulses are tastier and probably healthier. Is a crock pot the same as a pressure cooker? A pressure cooker cooks beans and pulses faster but you can also cook them in the microwave or just boil them on the stove. If you soak them overnight they cook much quicker and become more easily digestible.

[Flory]

Fuzzy i miss living in London, oddly enough for a city my food bill was so much cheaper as i could visit all the specialist litte stores and get things so cheaply greengrocers, little polish shops etc now i rely on tesco and sainsbury's and literally get robbed every month

[CK302]

Crock pots are awesome for cooking beans and lots of other cool dishes AND worth the money spent as they last forever.

And as others have pointed out, take advantage of some of the seemingly more expensive foods like fruits and veggies. They are essential for proper digestion and absorbtion of essential proteins and amino acids.

Just buy in bulk and share with your friends :-)...or if you have a green thumb you can grow your own veggies.

[spunkysmum]

There is a recipe for Crock Pot Squirrel in one of my mom's cookbooks. Do you want it?

[TheChemicals]

Originally Posted by spunkysmum

There is a recipe for Crock Pot Squirrel in one of my mom's cookbooks. Do you want it?

We have an overpopulation of squirrel in Florida. Do they taste good? Please dont say they taste like chicken....

[pechemignonne]

I get bulk rice and cans of refried beans and jars of salsa- makes a yummy "Mexi-fake-an" meal.

Cans of spaghetti sauce and dry pasta I find even cheaper than Boy-R-Dee if you can get them on sale.

Bread and peanut butter.

Dried lentils and rice I eat as much as possible, very cheap. Good with a can of diced tomatoes and lots of spices.

[Spacemaster]

Rice, for sure. Potatoes too! Sometimes I poke a couple holes in a tater with a fork and throw it in the microwave for like 4 minutes, more or less depending on the size of the spud, and you got yourself a baked potato.

Search for a crockpot at a garage sale.

Big bags of generic frozen veggies are good, and frozen chicken goes a long way too. I go to Target when they have their bags of chicken breast already sliced into smaller fillets so there is less messing around with chicken. I slice chicken into strips and fry it in a pan with butter and garlic, pair with rice and frozen veggie and you have one cheap meal.