Meal plans.

What to do with what you got,   

I cooked both chickens yesterday.  I would have to say hands on these the pressure cooker chicken was easier,   I cooked the slow cooker chicken 4 hours,  mis calculated  and should have cooked it for six.    It wasn't done.   Always check the temp of the meat,   It was 160 degrees. I took it out of the slow cooker and roasted ot off on the oven for another 45 minutes.   Another hour would have done ot on tjems,or cooker, but this gave it a nice crispy crust.   

We had chicken, mashed potatoes with parm, and green beans for dinner.   

Meal plans for Monday through Sunday this week : 

1. Sausage with penne pasta and red cream sauce ( Pinterest) . 1/2 the free sausage, 8 ounces of penne .37, sour cream .22, tomato sauce .50.   Free chicken stock from cooking the chickens - total 1.09.   Green beans from the neighbor.  Free.    
2. Pizza.    Crust   .30, pizza sauce .16, cheese (1.58 a lb ) .40 , pepperoni .25 total 1.11
3. Chicken enchiladas.  Tortillas .50, filling 1.30.  Cheese sauce .20. Total 2.00
4. Sausage, Oven roasted veggies.    Sausage free, potatoes .40, carrots .30, radishes .25 , cauliflower .25 .   Total. 1.20
5. Shrimp stir fry :  stir fry veggies .66, shrimp 2.70, rice .10. Total 3.46
6. Mac and cheese : macaroni .55, white sauce (staple) cheese .60, breadcrumbs free , peas and carrots .33.   Total 1.48 
7.   Breakfast for dinner : 6 eggs .40, English muffins .42, fruit 1.50 ( oranges and blueberries ) total 2.32

Notes:  this is for three people.    It does not include staples that that are took all on qualities to price.  It also doesn't include  bread or salads.     Add 2 breads ( .88) and 2 green salads ( 200) or 2.88 total 

Total for the week.    15.54 or 2.22 a meal or .74 a person.   

If you have bigger eaters, you can still double that and still be well within a four  dollar a day budget.    

None of those meals are terribly time intensive.    Assuming you inky have a limited time to devote to getting food on the table, spending less time cooking and more time planning your grocery trios and going to two stores a week really pays off.    

Not everyone will find the same buys I did unless you are in the Seattle area.  We, however, have one of the highest COL in the nation.   I suspect some of that is housing,    Watching food hauls. I have seen less expensive  food, and more expensive  food and a lot of junk food.   It's no surprise that junk food will jack your food cart up.  

I can't say this enough "If it doesn't have food value, don't buy it. "  read labels.   

Speaking of reading labels,    We have seen a great influx of trendy foods all touting the healthy lifestyle,    Please use some common sense.  It used to be that convenience foods started with the letter $$$$.   Now, convenience foods sometimes are cheaper than making scratch and "trendy" foods start with the letter $$$$. And, yes, I know $ is a symbol.    The point  is, not all trendy foods are 

actually good for you.    Coconut oil and milk is full of saturated fat.    Read your last dos and use 

common sense.   A well balanced diet is always better than a trendy one.  You body needs a host of nutrients to work.    I remember a few years back when a liquid diet was all the rage.   People died from being on a liquid diet. Use common sense and eat balanced.   It is a well known fact in all the healthcare professionals I have seen to eat less fat, sugar and salt is a good thing.    Fake is fake; real is better.    Avoiding large amounts of saturated fats and hydrogenated oils is important.   That usually means avoiding a lot of processed foods.   I usually keep our processed foods down to once a week or less.    This week I have two because we don't eat a while sausage and I don't want to throw away 

food.   Next week, we can have none to balance it out.    Moderation is the key.  

Fake fat makes you fat.   Fake sugar makes you fat.  What do bread is that the body doesn't know what to do with it so it sticks to the fat cells and makes them fatter.    Fake butter often has hydrogenated oils.    Palm oil is bad for you.    The only vegetable oils that are not hydrogenated are olive and canola.    Safflower oil isn't either, but it's not good for you.     A lot of trends are started by someone  trying to make a buck.   Look at information with an evil eye. Is there real scientific evidence behind the trend.    Is the "bad " thing in enough of a quanity to really effect your health. 

I avoid trends.   Trendy clothes come and go and you pay the price, changing out a wardrobe that is perfectly good, but not in style.  My take is to stick with the tried and true.   We are living longer than ever before.  Eat balanced. Eat  in moderation,   And eat as close to scratch as you can.  Limit your processed foods, salt, sugar, amd fat intake- especially saturated fat and hydrogenated oils.    Scratch cooking has gotten a whole lot more efficient with the advent of kitchen appliances and new recipes.    You no longer have to rely on a box or bag to cook efficient meals.   Stick to the basics on appliances.   No need to a hot dog cooker.   I use certain appliances a lot and they are worth their weight.  

1. Popcorn popper, air popper: it makes a more healthy snack than chips etc.   
2. Coffee pot 
3. Toaster 
4. Slow cooker - who can't love an appliance that allows you to come home from work to dinner cooked and the house smelling glorious.   
5. Rice cooker.   I paid 16.00 for a black and decker one.   The bigger ones are too big for a 
6. regular family rice and beans have a very short fridge life.
7. Electronic pressure cooker.   Cooks rice, beans, and meat in record times.    Things are more flavorful because slices are infused into the food.   An insta pot works as a rice cooker, a pressure cooker and  a slow cooker.  It's more expensive , but well worth the price for its efficiency.   
8. Food processor.   You can use it to make bread crumbs and a multitude of other things.   It makes fast work of making beans into non fried refried beans and chop or slice, or grate almost anything. 
9. Kitchen aid mixer.    Pricy , but well worth it.   You will have it for generations.    The meat grinding attachment will pay for it alone.   Sometimes a roast will be cheaper than good ground beef.   If you grind it yourself, you can control the fat.   Also, baking and making mixes.   
10. Bread baker.    A lot of help.  I hear you can find them as cheap as three dollars at thrift stores.    

I have listed these in order of expense, the lowest  first.   It takes time, one thing at a time, but all win save money and make a kitchen more efficient.    Garage sales where grandma is going to assisted living or estate sales are your best bet for finding used.