$20 Challenge

[Kevin86]

I've been watching a lot of frugal family cooking so I'm challenging myself to make my meals for $20 for this week coming up. Sunday to next Saturday.

It's just my wife and I so obviously easier than a family of 4.

I'm starting into the week with a big pot of broccoli soup.

Pancakes for breakfast or egg and hashbrown skillets.
A roast as the meat for the week
Beef soup to follow the broccoli

Looking for some other ideas these aren't set in stone. I think I can do all of this without shopping but I have to do a cost break down to come yet.

Anyone else is welcome to see how they can do

 

[buckytom]

$20 per meal, per day, or per week?

 

[Janet H]

Cook up some pinto beans. Make tacos, beans and rice, add some cooked greens or a salad, bean soup, etc. Filling and cheap.

Cook a chicken. Make soup from the bones, chicken salad, chicken and veggie stir frys with rice.

Lentil soup and brown bread - again cheap and filling. You may be sick of soup by the end of the week...

 

[Kevin86]

$20 per meal, per day, or per week?

My aim is a week we’ll see how I can do

 

[blissful]

If you make a beef roast, don't waste the opportunity to make beef gravy, and if you have any bones, beef broth. Use some of the beef for a beef/carrot/onion/tomato/pepper filling, stuff it into potato dumplings or top it with mashed potatoes in a casserole.

Broccoli, the trees can be blanched or roasted, the broccoli stems are good raw or ground up and used in your soup. Personally, I like the taste of stems more than the taste of the trees.

 

[Kevin86]

If you make a beef roast, don't waste the opportunity to make beef gravy, and if you have any bones, beef broth. Use some of the beef for a beef/carrot/onion/tomato/pepper filling, stuff it into potato dumplings or top it with mashed potatoes in a casserole.

Broccoli, the trees can be blanched or roasted, the broccoli stems are good raw or ground up and used in your soup. Personally, I like the taste of stems more than the taste of the trees.

Mmm beef pot pie outa the gravy as a stew would be yummy with a homemade crust

 

[buckytom]

$20 for 2 people, 2 meals per day, times 7 days?

That's 71.4 cents per person per meal.

Good luck. It'll be interesting to see if you can pull it off.

 

[CraigC]

$20 for 2 people, 2 meals per day, times 7 days?

That's 71.4 cents per person per meal.

Good luck. It'll be interesting to see if you can pull it off.

Is that in Canadian money?

 

[buckytom]

Lol, you made me check my math.

2 people x 2 meals per day = 4 meals per day

4 meals x 7 days = 28 meals

$20 divided by 28 meals =.714 'merican.

Canada uses Monopoly money, so I'm not sure.

 

[caseydog]

$20 for 2 people, 2 meals per day, times 7 days?

That's 71.4 cents per person per meal.

Good luck. It'll be interesting to see if you can pull it off.

20-bucks for two people is very tough. I've seen videos on YouTube for 20-bucks a week for one, but not two people.

I wouldn't carve your menu in stone before going to the store. You'll need to take advantage of sale pricing.

Good luck!

CD

 

[Cheryl J]

It also depends upon what Kevin already has in his pantry, fridge, and freezer, to supplement the $20 for the week.

 

[caseydog]

It also depends upon what Kevin already has in his pantry, fridge, and freezer, to supplement the $20 for the week.

If you don't count the cost of things previously purchased, I could probably go a month on 20-bucks.

My challenge to myself should be to go a week just eating food I already have in my house.

CD

 

[Cheryl J]

If you don't count the cost of things previously purchased, I could probably go a month on 20-bucks.

My challenge to myself should be to go a week just eating food I already have in my house.

CD

Same here, Casey....I would only need to buy milk and salad fixin's and be fine for a good long while.

 

[blissful]

If you don't count the cost of things previously purchased, I could probably go a month on 20-bucks.

My challenge to myself should be to go a week just eating food I already have in my house.

CD

The food I've canned, the food I've dehydrated, the cheese I made, the sausage I made, the food I've frozen, the potatoes and onions in the downstairs pantry.....I don't think we'd starve.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

Good luck with your challenge, Kevin86. I'll be interested on how well you've done. Even if you don't get down to $20, any savings over the regular weekly spending is a success.

...My challenge to myself should be to go a week just eating food I already have in my house...

Same here, Casey....I would only need to buy milk and salad fixin's and be fine for a good long while.

Another food hoarder here. I need to start using up my stash. We dispersed enough food to neighbors when we moved last time. It will take me a year to get my larder un-stocked and not move food.

 

[caseydog]

Another food hoarder here. I need to start using up my stash. We dispersed enough food to neighbors when we moved last time. It will take me a year to get my larder un-stocked and not move food.

I'm not really a food hoarder, I just can't pass up a good bargain, or a really nice piece of meat. My eyes are also bigger than my stomach, and I forget what I already have when I'm shopping.

So, I end up unintentionally loading up my freezer and pantry. Especially with the forgetting what I already have part. When I sort through my freezer, I always find stuff I didn't know I had, and a few more that I bought because I didn't know that I already had it.

CD

 

[Aunt Bea]

$20.00 will be tough if not impossible for two people but the good news is that even if you fail you will still be saving money and learning to live on less.

I would head for my local PriceRite or Aldi and try to buy as many of these basic items as I could for $20.00. It will take a little juggling and editing based on your personal preferences. It also assumes that you are not starting from scratch and have a pantry with a few odds and ends.

chicken, ground turkey, hot dogs, a can of tuna, a dozen eggs, a gallon of milk, a starch like potatoes rice or macaroni, a couple bags of frozen vegetables, a can of beans, a box of cereal or oatmeal, tomato juice, a loaf of bread, a dollar bag of cookies or a baking mix and a two dollar brick of coffee. Gotta have that coffee!

Good luck!

 

[CakePoet]

Been there done that and trust me, in Sweden it harder because it more expensive. I couldn't buy beef at all on a 20 dollar budget, Most beef is minimum 7 dollar per kilo most often 15 dollar.

My tips are, find novel use for leftovers. I use stew and meat leftovers that is around 1/4 cup to make hot pockets. I bake bread every third day, so I do a loaf and a few hot pockets every time and that makes a good lunch. I have two bags, one hot and one mild, or the kid would cry, I guess.
If I get left over that is around ½ cup- 1 cup, it becomes soup or pie.

You can use the same batter for pancakes to make waffles and you can break an egg before you bake them and that makes for a lovely lunch or breakfast.

 

[CraigC]

Our pugs eat Origen. It is $78.00 for a 25# bag. That is basically $20.00 a week for dog food alone.

 

[Just Cooking]

I do well on meal pricing when its just Jeannie and me...

My daughter and SIL spend way too much on groceries but... its their house and I don't interfere... I just enjoy while trying to not eat more than I'm used too.. They aren't big on desserts so, that will help me..

Ross