We went to Fred Meyers. As usual, they had no chicken breasts for .87. It's beginning to look like bait be switch since that is about the fourth time it has happened. I was mad, but I composed myself and asked for a rain check and bought thighs. I cooked the thighs and made homemade refried beans.
They are easy, and inexpensive - about 3 times the beans for the cost of one can . The problem I think is going to be using them before the three day limit . It seems like a lot of time involved for 1 cup of beans at a time.
I did meal plans, but didn't incorporate the refried beans, so I'll adjust accordingly.
My rotation meat of choice would have been chicken breast, I usually de-bone them, boil the bones, and wrap the rest I separate packages and them put them in a old bread bag. It's easier to lull just what you need that way. Whole chickens are always 1.08 a pound at Winco.
Meal plans
- Tacos ( thigh meat) , refried beans , rice
- Leftovers
- Pizza
- Speghetti and meatballs
- Sausage and potatoes and peppers
- Fish packets
- Impossible pie
Notes: I have a matrix I use for meal plans. 1 beef, 3 chicken or pork, 2 vegetarian, amd a fish or shellfish. I only post the main dish, I think everyone can fill on a vegetable, fruit, or salad.
I have averaged two dollars a meal for protein all through the years. Out family has got larger ( at one time I had three adult children living here) and smaller. Protein prices have risen dramatically. Ground chick used to be .88 a pound, flank steak was two dollars a pound. We have adjusted and coped with adding two meatless meals a week.
Buying a months worth of a particular meat, portion controlling it, cooking it if appropriate and freezing it goes a long ways to stretch your protein dollar. I buy the so called loss leader , preferably one a week. Some weeks are dead and some weeks have two. By cooking efficiently, you can manage two of one is passive cooking or no cooking at all ( pork loin comes to mind) . I just cut pork loin into chops and roasts. I usually save a roast out for dinner, amd freeze the rest in meal sized portions. I use the inside liners of cereal boxes to separate chops and hambirgers.
I found Betty Crocker almonds and pecans at the dollar tree. There are also slices there. Some are cheaper, some not. Grocery outlet is cheap on large jars of spice and sliced cheese and ,sometimes, grated cheese. I almost never buy fresh veggies there. I'm very careful. I bought a bag of apples there. Every one of them was rotten. I went back, the person I talked to pointed to a guy and said you need to talk to him, he went running from the building. I rarely buy produce. When I do, it's something I can look over carefully.
Note: although it might sound like it, I rarely go to more than 2 stores a week. When I go to a speciality store. I buy the quantity I need to last me a while depending on pull dates. Always check pull dates-- especially when something is low in price.
Groceries on the cheap is looking at the Put Dinner On The Table meal train from a different
perspective. The emphasis is on purchasing good food( shelf- stable/ freezer staples )at the lowest possible cost and purchasing enough to last you until it goes on sale again -- Keeping a controlled non-perishable stock of the things you use on a regular basis. It means that when you shop, rather than purchasing just what you need for a day or a week, you buy a loss leader protein, produce you will
need on sale, a stock item if it's a RBP, and dairy instead. This allows you to put well balanced meals
on the table consistently for a four dollar a day budget per person. You spend more time on the
planning and shopping end of the meal train and less on the cooking end by cooking efficiently.
Four dollars a day is the target amount for people on snap. My premise is that of you can do it on four dollars a day, spending more isn't hard. You still get more bang for your buck.
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