What I Don't Buy At The Grocery Store

When you are eating for $5 per person per day, there are a lot of things that you don't buy at the store. I choose to focus my food budget around nutritious, whole foods. Consequently, I don't buy hardly anything processed. For one thing, unprocessed foods are much cheaper than processed foods. For another, they are healthier.

Here is a list of things I rarely, if ever, buy at the grocery store:
-Chips
-Candy
-Packaged cakes or treats
-Crackers
-100 calorie snack bags
-Soda
-Granola bars or cereal bars

Occasionally, I will buy these things if I know I will be too busy to cook, and thus, tempted to grab fast food on the way home:
-Frozen lunch entrees
-Frozen skillet dinners
-Breakfast bars where I can pronounce all the ingredients

The key to these "occasional" foods is if I can pronounce all the ingredients and if they come to less than $2.50 per serving (for lunch/dinner) or $.75 for breakfast.

Instead of spending money on the things on my "rarely" list, I like to spend my grocery dollars on more fruits and vegetables, wine, expensive meats (like good fish) or exciting condiments (like nice olives) to bring a meal over the top. I feel I get a bigger flavor bang-for-my-buck and I know I get a better nutrition bang-for-my-buck.

A Note on Animal Protein

You may notice on this blog that I don't make a lot of meals that have a big portion of animal protein in them. Really, there are two reasons for this:

1. Personal Taste- I very rarely crave a big piece of chicken breast or steak for dinner. It's more of a special occasion treat than an everyday craving.
2. Cost- Animal protein can be expensive to buy.

In my house, we have, on average, one meal a day without animal protein, sometimes two. This helps us keep our grocery costs down. Instead of animal protein, I spend this extra money on fruits and vegetables. In the meal without animal protein, I include a plant protein, usually beans or nuts. I don't buy a lot of soy or tofu either. I don't care for it, and there are mixed ideas about how healthy or unhealthy processed soy is.

Also, in the meals that include animal protein, it is very rarely a breast of chicken or a steak along with a side. I try to stretch my animal protein dollars very far by using meat as a component of a meal instead of the star of the meal. For example, I would make a stir fry with vegetables and half a chicken breast per person instead of one large chicken breast and some vegetables on the side per person.

Being creative about stretching your meat into several meals and including one vegetarian meal a day can help you eat healthfully on less than $5 per person per day.

Leave a comment about how you use meat in a healthy and cheap menu.

Invest in Staples

A big part of consistently eating on $5 per person per day and limiting how much eating out you do is to have enough meals that have lots of flavor and don't feel like you are eating on a budget or being deprived. Not eating out as much has been the hardest part of our journey to lower our food costs. My husband and I do have one date night a week where we go out to dinner, but other than that, we eat at home now.

To have a lot of flavor variety in your meals, you need to invest in some flavor staples that you can combine to go in any meal. Here is a list of flavor staples that I think are important:

1. Spices. The spices I use most and always have on hand are garlic salt, chili powder, ground cumin, cinnamon, Italian seasoning, dried oregano, dried parsley, dried basil, dried dill, and lemon pepper. Figure out what spices you love most, and invest in keeping them in stock in your kitchen. When buying spices, always check between brands to find the best deal.

2. Asian Flavors. We eat a lot of stir fry and Asian-inspired dishes. Consequently, I always have in my kitchen soy sauce, lime juice, and Siracha (or chili garlic) sauce.

3. Keepin' It Hot. My husband and I love spicy food. In addition to Siracha, we always have Tabasco and Cholula hot sauce. I add it to beans, chili, soups, or use it to marinade meat.

4. Canned Goods. I try to keep canned tomatoes and a variety of canned beans in my pantry that I can add to soups, pastas, or to round out a meal.

5. Starches. I try to keep some kind of starch in my pantry in case I get cooking and then decide that I don't have enough food in our meal to satisfy us. I keep rice, pasta, and cornmeal for polenta all the time. Adding these items to a meal keeps the cost of the meal down and can stretch a meal to be more servings.

6. Sandwich Fixings. I always keep spicy brown mustard (my favorite) and mayonnaise in the refrigerator to make a good sandwich or to add as flavorings in a meal. Mustard goes great on roasted vegetables!

Always having these items on hand will keep you from heading out to grab some fast food when you think you have nothing to cook with. Add the things that you will use regularly to your pantry slowly (may 2 to 4 items per week) to avoid raising your grocery bill too much at once.

What are the staples that are always in your kitchen?