Our grandmothers

By all accounts my grandmother was an excellent cook,   She could take whatever she had and make a meal out of it.   Not being rich and going through the Great Depression, she was a miracle worker in the kitchen,   They didn't obsess about what was "good for you ".  They were too busy trying to scrape two cents together to put  food on the table.  Let's just be grateful we have food.  

We have become a nation that is obsessed with what we think is good food and what we think is clean food.   That terminology irks me,   My food is clean,  I always  disinfect counter tops and use multiple kitchen knives, rags, amd kitchen shears while cooking so I don't cross contaminate.  We have a glass chopping board that I can wash in the dishwasher and won't harbor germs,   I wash our fruits and veggies,  and  disinfect  the  drains and sinks, amd wash my hands with a soap dispenser  that requires no pumping.  I don't cook dirty food.    

Eat balanced, eat real food, and eat in moderation.    Avoid salt, sugar and saturated fats and hydrogenated oils.   We all need some oils, especially the ones that boost our good cholesterol. Salt and sugar.....in moderation.   We also need a whole host of vitamins and minerals to keep our body running properly.  Self imposed diets are dangerous: it's not nice to  try to fool Mother Nature.  

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.