Buy in bulk, but not at bulk stores
You really aren't saving anything more at sam's or costco, and you might be getting inferior goods (especially at sam's, yes, even the "name brand" stuff has a shoddier walmart version that is carried in walton stores). Instead, just go to your local megamart and buy the biggest sack of something. This applies to semiperishables and nonperishables like flour, sugar, rice, and the like. You can also freeze things like butter (seal it in a zip top bag first), chicken breasts, and hamburger. Don't freeze steaks, it ruins the texture.
Wait for sales!
Stock up on things you can save when they go on sale. Most meats (not steak, and I'm not a fan of frozen seafood either) freeze great. Canned soups are great to have around just in case. They're solid food in an emergency, and don't need to be cooked or frozen. Don't rely on them, because they're high in fat, calories, and sodium.
What do I get?
The obvious answer is only what you'll eat. What will you eat? What's on your list of meals to make. Constant snacking is bad for you any way, so don't worry about the tater chips. The trick is to pre-plan your meals. This does not necessarily mean deciding your menu for a day two weeks in the future, though I tend to do that. It can also mean having a variety of ready-made meal components in your fridge and freezer.
Making food
What’s a meal?
So you like this ready made thing, but don’t know about components? First we need to define what a meal is. Most people say a meal is whatever you eat in a sitting. Sure it can be. But many nutritionists would agree that a meal is a single fist-sized portion of a protein, starch, and fiber. That’s your basic meat, potatoes, and salad meal respectively. Have four of these a day, have a fruit for a snack here and there, and treat yourself to a nice dessert a couple of times a week.
Putting it together
I like taking a modular approach to this. I make up batches of each of the types and have them handy in the fridge. When I want a meal, I grab a protein, a starch, and a fiber. And presto, I have a meal. Simple, right?
Cooking day
Yeah, I work full time and do actually have a social life. Unless it’s a special occasion, I try to do my cooking once a week. I see what I’m running low on, and make more. Might be mashed taters, grilled chicken tits, or hamburgers. Six hours (which is a great time to socialize if I have company – people seem to love relaxing and watching someone cook) does me for the week easily. I could fit that in a weeknight no problem. Of course there are some things, like steak and broiled sausage and the like that just don’t do well frozen. Take the ten minutes to cook and clean these yourself. Oh yes, as an added benefit, you only have to do dishes on cooking day. Yay!
Cheap meal components
So this is where I tell you what to eat. I’ll break it down by component type, and order it by time of day (eg common breakfast foods first). Things marked with a star are splurge items. They tend to cost more, but can be so worth it. I find it’s best to let the sales surprise you and take advantage of them then.
Proteins:
Eggs, especially scrambled
More eggs (great source of protein, really cheap too – remove half the yolks before scrambling for lower fat and cholesterol)
Bacon
Sausage
Steak*
Chicken breast*
Chicken
Pork loin*
Shrimp*
Starches:
Oatmeal
Potatoes
Bread
Rice
Corn
Peas
Fibers:
Asparagus
Spinach
Broccoli
Grapefruit
Orange
Lettuce
Coleslaw
Greens
Green beans
Cooking methods:
Another variable for variety is the way you cook these. Most components can be cooked in lots of different ways. Shrimp can be boiled, broiled, or fried easily. Chicken can be grilled, broiled, boiled, braised, and fried. Having fried chicken one night, chicken stew the next, and grilled chicken after seem like totally different foods. But they’s all yardbird, massa! That much is too complicated for a simple edu, so I’ll just list meal suggestions with cooking method. Figuring out how to do it is fun left to you.
Recipe suggestions (with estimated cost):
Eggs, scrambled (.25)
Oatmeal, stewed (.10)
Orange, sliced into quarters (.15)
Sausage, pan fried (..40)
Potatoes, shredded, steamed, and browned (.10)
Grapefruit, halved (.20)
Chicken breast, grilled (1)
Potatoes, mashed (.15)
Broccoli, steamed (.15)
Steak, grilled (2.50)
Potato, baked (.20)
Lettuce, diced in a salad (.15)
Steak, pan seared (2.50)
Peas, steamed (.20)
Asparagus, blanched then steamed (.25)
Chicken breast, fried (1)
Potatoes, mashed (.15)
Green beans, steamed (.25)
Pork loin, braised (1.25)
Rice, steamed (.05)
Green beans, steamed, marinated, and broiled (.25)
Shrimp, boiled (3)
Bread, heated (.25)
Coleslaw (.25)
Chicken, braised (.25)
Rice, steamed (.05)
Lettuce, diced in a salad (.10)
There are plenty of more cheap components and a vast array of ways to combine them. You can focus on the less expensive components (eggs, chicken, hamburger, rice, and potatoes) and be eating for well under a dollar a meal.
Source: Off Topic
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