How much $$ do we spend on dinner?

[glowworm2k]

I think there are several SCers that do even a bit better than her. Lol, like you said toast and jam everyday is not breakfast. I grow veggies, so that really helps keep the nutrition high and the cost low. And with couponing, chicken cost can be lowered to a couple dollars. Trust me, I have not compromised health for cost, I've just made sure that I buy when the prices are good and coupon for everything possible. Not trying to brag, but I've had weeks under $20 in groceries for two adults. It just takes a bit of work and pre-planning.

I lived for several years with a partner and we had a monthly food budget of $80, all in. (We couldn't afford more than that, didn't have a car - only shopped one grocery store - and had to try to make a go of it as we didn't qualify for income supports). It was all about flavouring and being creative. We did buy things in the big sizes (8kg bags of brown rice and black beans; 10kg whole wheat flour; 2kg jars of peanut butter; 4L jars of tomatoes and tomato sauce, etc.) and that helped a lot. We didn't use coupons. It is 100% do-able (with variety and flavour) provided that you are well-versed in how to use spices to perk up a simple dish, you like to cook and don't mind spending a bit of time on food preparation, and provided that you don't mind eating what is likely less meat than the average Canadian likely does. I have found that doing 4 or 5 meatless meals a week really keeps the food budget under control. For the record, my meatless meals are not all vegan. Yes, there are a lot of beans served at my house, but I also love cooking with eggs, cheese (get extra old and/or parmesan when it's on sale and a little goes a long way!), other dairy (cottage cheese is packed with protein and makes a wonderful accompaniment to so many different foods), etc.

My big "splurge" is fresh fruits and vegetables. I do grow a garden for veggies in the summer and I buy produce off the discount rack whenever possible, but this would still be the single largest area of expense in my budget, bar none.

When I first moved in with my DH, he told me that my style of cooking would have to change as he liked more meat than that. I politely told him that whenever he was cooking, he was more than welcome to decide what to cook, provided that he made sure that we bought the ingredients in advance (as we all know that you spend waaay too much on groceries when it's a last-minute trip!). After three weeks, he wanted me to help meal-plan the meals he was cooking as he couldn't decide in advance what to make. After six weeks, he wanted to cook whatever I did, without any qualms about "not enough meat" (Yes, he splurges for the occasional burger or hot dog with the guys at work on Fridays at lunch, but overall doesn't mind thediet change).

[harbie]

Meatless meals are the key (in my opinion). I try to stick to $100 a week for 4 adults. I can go to a local veg market and get several bags of veg/fruit for $30. I do love my fish and splurge on salmon (I won't touch the farmed stuff) so since I don't eat it everyday I'm ok with that cost.

When I do make a meal with meat I do things to "beef it up" without adding more meat. When I make taco's (using coupons and the meat coupons on the box) I always add a can of black beans and corn. It not only tastes better (IMO) but it also stretche further. My last "taco" night made 9 tacos for the boys and a mexican lasagna that served 6 large portions. So for $10 and change I made 15 portions.

[blueeyetea]

my point was just that we can have a low cost and eat well.
Some people have the pre-conception that people who spend not alot of money on grocery stuff have a bad alimentation.
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Depending on the resources someone may have, I don't think it's all that far-fetched to conclude that someone who can't afford to spend much on on food doesn't have a good diet. I mean, if someone has a restricted budget and can't afford to live in a house with a backyard to plant a garden, $20 won't provide for much that constitutes a healthy diet.

So, yes, I agree that it's completely doable to have low-cost and eat well, but it's only possible when other resources are at your disposal for which you don't account for, like a back-yard to plant a garden and your time to plant, gather, and preserve your harvest. Add a dollar value to these resources and it's a different story.

[DH666]

I found that after going vegan, we spent about 30%-40% less on groceries as cheese and meat were eliminated so it's definitely doable to have a low cost healthy diet without having a garden. Fruits and vegetables, pasta, grains and beans are cheaper than meat and cheese and we also eliminated most of the processed food we used to eat as well.

[Patty Smyth]

This is where I shop. We are 6 and I spend less than $100 a week. (we don't buy any meat, dairy or processed foods)

[AnnieP]

I saw some people saying they use Hamburger helper. This is really expensive and not that healthy option.
This is how I cook my homemade Hamburger helper from scratch. Just follow this few easy step:

Put a cup of dry pasta in a deep pan. Add 1 cup of homemade tomato sauce and 2 cup of water. Then put it on stovetop at med-low and stir (about 15-18 minutes to well cook).
Here, you can add any kind of veggies and even meat. Salt, pepper and fine herbs and/or spices. Voilà!

It's a no brainer and it's no longer then opening a HH box and follow the step.

In bonus, you know what you eat and the real cost of it. By using whole wheat pasta (or a mix of white and brown pasta) and veggies, you easily add fiber to your meal.

[FallenPixels]

So how do you manage to keep you food tab down to less than $20 a week?

I personally couldn't survive on $21 a week, let alone feed both my husband and I. We can't even get one chicken for less than $10 let alone the vegetables to keep us fed throughout the week. Looking at that post on Yahoo, I can't even imagine someone calling toast and jam breakfast. Cheap yes, but zero nutrition that will cost you in the long run.

We did it a few years back for work when they were doing a live on welfare wage thing to encourage us to donate. We got $28 a week per person but it was doable.