Poverty Survival and Sustenance Diet

There are many ways to eat cheaply but many involve certain levels of activity; i.e. you could grow many of your own vegetables or salads. But given that you're not doing that and you're also not too good either at using and processing raw legumes, beans and seeds here is a diet that, over the years has become what I have come round to calling my 'basic, bottom-line survival diet'.
Due to my extreme poverty of the next two weeks I am, once more resorting to it.

I've just spent $50.00 on food for the next two weeks.
Now fifty bucks isn't much in this part of the world where I do, when I can afford to purchase a better diet spend around $130.00 a week.
I've been told too by friends who have visited USA that food is much cheaper in your USA parts.
Also food prices are seriously rising in this part of the world due to extremes of climate and sky high fuel prices (much of our day to day food gets carted thousands of miles prior to consumption).

So here's the list of what I bought to sustain me in the next fortnight;
2 x 1 pound tins of baked beans,
1 pound of butter,
1 pound of cheese,
1 pound of rolled oats (for porridge),
1 x 1 pound tin of tuna,
3 litres of milk (I think this is about 5 pints),
3 litres of 100%. no additives orange juice,
3 litres 100% no additives blended vegetable juice,
9 pounds of potatoes,
2 loaves of reasonably unadulterated wholegrain bread,
2 pounds of carrots,
1 large sweet potato (yam),
5 tomatoes,
1 bunch of broccoli,
Half a cabbage,
1 x 25 teabag Dilmah purple tea bags,
1 pound of whole meal flour,
About half a pound of biodynamically grown salad leaves,
2 pounds of bananas,
1 pound of apples,
1 Lebanese cucumber,
2 pounds of onions,
4 lemons,
¼ pound fresh, mixed nuts (no peanuts).
6 rolls of SAFE toilet paper and
1 pack of firelighters (very much needed here at the moment).

All basic food groups and essential nutrients are there and the food is all basically 'dense'. Though many people might ask, "Where's the meat"?
I was a strict vegetarian, and at times vegan for over a decade and though not now a vegetarian I still do not eat much meat. And there is a young rooster in the freezer who was culled earlier this year too so I will not be entirely meat-less. And I'm also relying on the chooks (chickens) to provide me with a few eggs so I can make either frittata or a quiche. Or a banana and apple cake (I have molasses sugar already) or pancakes of course too.
Not an exciting diet by any stretch of the imagination but I do have the odd spice, spice blend and fresh herbs from the garden to throw into the mix.
Hmmm - a lemon meringue pie sounds appealing at the moment too.

I just read out this list to a friend of mine who is a medical doctor. His response was, "Where's the protein"? "The protein" I said "is in the combination of beans, potatoes and breads". That's not to mention the complete proteins there are in tuna, milk, cheese and eggs. He's obviously never heard of transamination; but this also is fodder for further articles. Getting sufficient protein in this diet is my least concern as it is pretty well loaded with it. This diet has potassium in reasonable amounts, calcium (made higher if I can find some tahini hiding somewhere in the fridge), essential fats, plenty of complex carbohydrates (called low GI in current day parlance) and a reasonable amount of fibre. There's also a fair few micro-nutrients which, if I can find the odd nori sheet or two hiding somewhere in the cupboard or fridge can be made even higher. So - all in all it sounds to me that it is a good and well balanced poverty survival diet albeit a bit on the boring side. And boohoo; no Lindt chocolate will be on the menu this fortnight.

Interestingly enough a food show is currently on the TV (Gordon Ramsay) and I just heard Gordon commenting on something a friend said to him about low-fat foods being the future to which Gordon replied, "I think that's bollicks".
Now - don't get me going on that topic just now .
Keep posted.

PS - Would one of my USA readers like to give me an estimate on the price these items might cost in the USA, and on whether or not it qualifies as a very low cost survival food list over there?