Gourmet Poor House Recipes: Live on $15 of Food Per Week

Meucci Cameron
Meucci Cameron, Yahoo! Contributor Network
Mar 5, 2009 "Share your voice on Yahoo! websites. Start Here."
It's not fun trying to figure out how to survive with little or no money for food. Even with a budget, sometimes unexpected expenses can throw people into survival mode. Often food is the last thing we think of; it just always seems to be around. Until there is simply no money left to buy more food. This cheap grocery list and recipes can help get you through the tightest financial week.

Eggs
If you have a dozen eggs, you will likely survive the week in style. Eggs are the most versatile food in the world. They are also a great cheap source of protein. Look for the cheapest eggs available. Find a farmer's market or a family that sells them for the best product and price. Buy the smallest from the supermarket unless there is a sale on larger eggs. Don't spend more than $1.50 on a dozen eggs.

Potatoes
Potatoes are another cheap food and meal stretcher. Buy a 5lb bag of russet potatoes at the grocery store. Be sure to inspect the bag for quality. For better quality and prices look for a farmer's market or individual farm. You can make a deal with a local gardener to buy five or ten pounds of potatoes during the summer. Potatoes grow fast and easy, most gardeners have an over abundance. Potatoes are the perfect cheap filler food year round. They should not cost more than $3 for 5lbs.

Peanut Butter
Another great source of cheap protein is peanut butter. This is a pick-me-up food that sticks to your ribs at a cheap price. Crunchy peanut butter may actually feel like more of a meal. Sometimes it's about tricking your body into being full. Creamy peanut butter is better for using in recipes. A 10oz jar of peanut butter is about $2 with a coupon or at a discount grocery store.

Bread
A loaf of cheap bread will help stretch every meal of the week. Buy the largest loaf you can find for the cheapest price. Discount grocery stores often sell two loaves for $1. Get two if you can and freeze one to keep it fresh until use.

Ramen Noodles / Macaroni & Cheese
There just is no cheaper food than Ramen noodles. Available for eight or ten for $1 in most grocery stores. Ramen noodles will provide a carb/sodium boost to the cheap menu. Purchase different flavors for variety. If only boxes are available, stay with chicken flavor (it goes with more foods). Buy as much as you can for $1. If you are not a fan of Ramen noodles, get macaroni and cheese. Or you can mix and match both. Cheap brands of macaroni and cheese can be found 4/$1 at most discount grocers.

Milk/Drink
Milk goes in recipes and can be watered down slightly to go farther. If possible drink water, even if you have to buy a cheap gallon. It will cost less than coffee or soda for the week. Any drinks with added sugar will bring on hunger. Buy milk or water at a discount grocery store or look for sales, spend up to $2.

Butter
When it comes to butter, get the real stuff. It may be cheaper to buy the unsalted variety, not a big taste difference since we salt everything anyway. Buy the stick variety, tubs usually cost more. A pound of butter may cost up to $3.

Jelly
From crackers to bread to pancakes, jelly just makes food better. Any flavor, just stick with the generic brands or look for a sale or coupon. Cheap jelly is still good jelly. Get the best you can with the last $1.50.

This short grocery list will easily feed one or two adults for seven days. There are several menus you can make from these ingredients. Here are a few ideas to get your imagination started.

Fried Egg Sandwich:
Fry 1 egg. Toast 2 pieces of bread. Place fried egg on toast, add condiments to taste or eat plain.

Ramen w/Croutons:
Make Ramen according to package directions. Tear up 1 slice of bread, brush lightly with butter. Toast in hot oven till crispy. Put croutons in the bottom of a soup bowl and pour Ramen noodles and broth over them.

French Jelly Toast:
Beat 2 eggs till bubbles form. Dip 2 slices of bread in egg. Place in hot frying pan and let toast. Flip slices over in pan, cook through. Remove toast when egg is completely cooked. Spread jelly on French toast.

Living on cheap food for a week is not fun, but may be a necessity. The key to living on 'poor' food is to have fun with the food you have. Make up your own recipes from this $15 grocery list. Learning to live on a cheap food diet doesn't have to be painful or unhealthy. Be sure to add fruits and vegetables as often as possible for long term low income diets.

Published by Meucci Cameron - Featured Contributor in Arts & Entertainment and Lifestyle

Meucci is a retired dog groomer and avid television watcher. She is a sucker for talent shows and reality TV competitions. Meucci has worked with animals of almost every shape and size. Her experience inc...  View profile

  • Live On $15 Worth of Food
  • Cheap Food Recipes

11 Comments

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  • St Nicholas3/14/2012

    1 lb bag of rice
    1 lb bag of dried beans
    2 cans of corn
    a few cans of tomato sauce
    2 onions
    a few cloves of garlic (optional)
    salt & pepper, to taste (optional)
    vegetable oil, optional

    Using prices I found at Big Lots - also check Aldi, dollar stores and the like - this meal would cost approximately $7.50 (more if you buy oil), and, when cooked, yields about 15 cups of food (not including the sauce or onions).

    You still have half your grocery money for the week. Buy a big tub of oatmeal and some brown sugar for breakfast - will cost around $3, or buy the oatmeal in the bulk foods section and save a little. You don't really need that fancy container, anyway :)

    Now with your last $4, you could buy things to bulk up your meals (a little ground beef or some additional veggies for the dinner, nuts, raisins and/or milk for the oatmeal), or you could buy something for a cheap lunch. Ramen is delicious and easy, but VERY fattening and terrible for your health. I recommend sandwiches, such as:

    PB&J
    PB&banana slices
    Plain old banana - mash the banana and spread on bread (sprinkling of sugar, optional)
    Scrambled egg on toasted bread
    Cheap lunch meat with mustard (you might even have enough money to add lettuce and tomato)

  • Debra9/9/2010

    Sal? Are we to assume from your writings that you think all poor people are dumb and afraid of a kitchen? I feel sorry for you if you are that narrow minded. As for me I've just fallen into hard times with my husband being out of work. I have NO fear of the kitchen and love it and love to experiment with new things. I just surf the net for people with new ideas other than mine. thank you for posting these ideas; they are all staples in my house. As for fruits and vegetables for the poor; you acquire them as you can and hope it will nourish your body enough till you are back on your feet..

  • Melanie4/24/2010

    Sal oviously has never lived the poor life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Wendy Wilkins Valdez2/20/2010

    I remember being down to nothing in my apartment except a bag of popcorn, margarine, instant mashed potatoes, chicken bouillon cubes and some canned peas. I ate a lot of popcorn, mashed potatoes with peas and chicken gravy made from the bouillon cubes (I also had flour to thicken it). I survived until I got an emergency food box for a couple weeks or so. I'm glad I had those things, though.

  • Christine Cameron1/10/2010

    Sorry you feel that way Sal. However if you read the entire article, there are recipes at the end. Also I state that this is a way to get by for a week (one week or maybe two) if you absolutely have to. When a person or family has only a tiny bit of money for food in the U.S., they are forced to make choices that are readily available. This is just a way to make it a little more palatable.

  • Sal1/10/2010

    This is the wrong set of instructions for helping poor people with the food needs. You lack recipes, which is a necessity for helping people to over come the fear of the kitchen and their dependency on conveniences foods, which is a real struggle for the working poor who feel they have neither the knowledge or the time to cook for their selves. You suggestions are limited to using the base ingredient as is without exploring the use of simple foods in conjunction with more nutritional items. You also completely ignore people cultural needs, why not instead compile a list of cheap standards such as rice, beans, and potatoes and give people the resources to convert these foods towards their own needs.

  • Lunar7/30/2009

    it's refreshing to see a list that is actually for poor people.
    Dollar stores usually have eggs 6 for a dollar, spaghetti and sauce, sometimes fish.
    Push come to shove, go ask the farmer markets/supermarkets for their throwaways.

  • Sophie3/9/2009

    I was intrigued by your title. The only thing that worries me about this is the fact that there are no fruit and vegetables, so there would not be a healthy, balanced diet. But when people are in dire straits, they must do what they can to get by.
    Sophie

  • Waldorf PC3/7/2009

    Cool stuff! I'll be sharing this. I'm also recommending this, as well.

  • samaira3/6/2009

    A very good write up.

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