My hot boyfriend and I are leaving in two weeks to spend 12 weeks in Europe and we make below poverty level income, whilst living well and eating mostly local/organic yummy food 🙂 Our food bill comes out to $50-60 a week for two. I get a lot of pleasure out of food and am not one to deprive myself, so we’re definitely not eating cereal and canned soup. Several people in the last week have asked how we do it. It seems automatic to me so it’s a bit of a strange question to answer, but now that I’ve sat down and thought about it – here are the key things we do to make that happen:
- Don’t eat (or drink) out. If you want to – be smart about it. Don’t deprive yourself, but don’t over do it. If we go out to eat, we hit a happy hour, if we go to a coffee shop we get a $2 shot of espresso or an iced tea versus a $4 latte.
- Don’t be afraid to own #1 confidently. There is a lot of power and intention behind your words so when friends invite you out for drinks or to a restaurant or to a concert or whatever, refrain from saying, “I can’t afford it”, which has a negative connotation. And it’s not true. You CAN afford it. You are simply choosing to make something else a priority (ie – your travel fund).
- Think ahead. If you’re going to be out for the day, pack a lunch and bring a water bottle. If you’re going to run a bunch of errands – make sure you’ve eaten before you left or that you bring snacks in case you get hungry.
- Meal plan, never shop without a list and never fucking shop while you’re hungry. This is by far the best trick for shopping on a budget. Plan what you’re having for breakfast, lunch and dinner + snacks.
- Don’t waste food. #4 will help with that a lot. If your bananas are brown, freeze them to make smoothies or banana bread later. Pears looking wonky? Put that shit in your food processor and turn them into pear sauce. Bread stale? Blend it into mother truckin bread crumbs. Tomatoes lookin grody? Freeze em for pasta sauce or chili later. Every time you go to eat or snack, make sure there’s not something on the verge of going bad that needs to be eaten.
- Buy in bulk. I buy coffee, butter, rice, baking soda, and vinegar at Costco. I order sea salt, olive oil, coconut oil, honey, and tea in bulk online. Keep an eye on Sprouts bulk bins for sales on nuts, beans, oats, and baking items. I shop for organic produce from Sprouts or the farmer’s market, and Trader Joe’s for everything else.
- Pay attention to how much things cost at different stores, and buy produce according to what’s in season. Then you’ll find the best grocery shopping route that works best for you based on what you’re buying. For instance – at Sprouts the cheapest container of whole milk plain organic yogurt is $5, at Trader Joes it’s $3. At Sprouts a decent loaf of bread will be at least $5. At Whole Foods an organic store brand loaf is $3.50.
- Eliminate all of the bullshit fluff. Don’t buy anything that’s “fortified”, “low fat”, “sugar free”, etc. Ditch processed foods as much as you can. Don’t buy prepared food or prechopped produce. Read ingredient labels and only buy actual food. If it’s got shit in it you can’t pronounce or don’t know what it is – don’t buy it. Get creative, make your own versions, take control of your food and your health. As your food choices become more conscious, your will find yourself buying and spending less.
- Drink water, iced/hot coffee or tea (that you make at home). Don’t buy juice, soda, milk, ready made tea, etc.
- Ditch personal care products and cleaning supplies. I use vinegar for laundry, bentonite clay for toothpaste, water and rags for cleaning (vinegar or baking soda if shit gets crazy), coconut oil for my skin. I don’t wear make up or use fancy hair products. I use Dr. Bronners bar soap for my body and hair. I only wash the parts necessary – usually just arm pits and crotch. Water is fine for everything else.
- Make shit yourself. Almond milk, peanut butter, pie crusts, pie in general, pickles, and beans are things that spring to mind that are all stupid easy to make and soooooo much cheaper than buying.
Inexpensive, easy meal ideas (I’m just pulling this from what we’ve been eating the last month or so)
Breakfast:
- Steel cut oats. I like steel cut because you can make a big batch of them and eat it all week. It retains it’s density and texture and doesn’t get soggy and gross like regular oats. Switch it up by mixing in peanut butter, bananas, nuts, honey, maple syrup, whatever floats your boat.
- Eggs, toast, and a piece of fruit.
- Pancakes. Another thing you can make a big batch of and eat all week, switching it up by mixing in your favorite toppings
- Chia pudding – 1/2 cup water, 2 tbsp chia seeds mixed and soaked overnight. In the morning mix in your fave add-ins – fruit, nuts, chocolate chips, honey, etc.
Lunch & Dinner
- Quesadillas – fill a tortilla with your home made beans and cheese, fry each side, top with plain yogurt, hot sauce, diced tomatoes, red onion and avocado.
- Rice & Bean bowls – just like it sounds. Make some rice, make some beans, top with your favorite shit
- “Cheesy” pasta – this recipe is so easy to make and is great leftover for lunch or dinner
- Tex Mex salad – greens, tomatoes, avocado, home made beans, corn, green onions, bell peppers, some kind of tangy dressing (yogurt and bbq sauce is a good mix) and a crunchy topping (crushed up tortilla chips is yummy)
- Soups and chili – search pinterest for good recipes or just make something up
Snacks/Dessert
- Fruit
- Plain Yogurt with honey and/or fruit or granola mixed in. Avoid pre-sweetened/flavored yogurt. 9 times out of 10 it has shit in it you don’t need to be eating.
- Chocolate ice cream (a sliced frozen banana, a scoop of peanut butter, a spoon full of cacao powder, spoon full of cinnamon and dash of salt whirred up in a food processor or vita mix) – Its super decadent and completely healthy. We eat this almost every day.
- These amazing, easy-to-make, healthy cookies
- Peanut butter – Never buy peanut butter again. Instead by bulk roasted, salted peanuts. Whip them up in a blender or food processor till its peanut butter. Never use raw peanuts.
In the Flow (and sometimes not) 