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Living Los Angeles, food prices are certainly crazy out here.
The other night I went to a little Italian Place in west la. Not at all Beverly Hills, Spagos or anything like that. Higher up than Dennys, IHOP or Olive Garden but not 4 stars.
We had a salad..$12.99...pizza, $12.99..."dinner", if you could call it that for two, for $33. Thats not uncommon at all.
But you always have subway, in n out, which are dirt cheap. A great cheeseburger at in n out is only $2 dollars and change. Last night I spent $4.98 on dinner there..a double, double and strawberry shake.
How people do the Beverly Hills restaurants, $12 martini's...who knows.
I am 20, I easily live on less than $100/month for food, I don't see how anyone can't do it.
I eat lots of healthy foods, lots of chicken and steak, and lots of breakfast foods (ceral, waffles, pancakes, etc.)
Learning how to cook saves you alot of money too.
My only secret is just to do ALL your shopping at walmart, and "ad match" your groceries. If you tell the cashier the 5lbs of chicken that normally costs $20 at walmart is only 97 cents a lb at frys, they will change the price.
I am 20, I easily live on less than $100/month for food, I don't see how anyone can't do it.
I eat lots of healthy foods, lots of chicken and steak, and lots of breakfast foods (ceral, waffles, pancakes, etc.)
Learning how to cook saves you alot of money too.
My only secret is just to do ALL your shopping at walmart, and "ad match" your groceries. If you tell the cashier the 5lbs of chicken that normally costs $20 at walmart is only 97 cents a lb at frys, they will change the price.
Walmart? Does Walmart sell chicken?
Yes, I think you can eat for $100 a month, but I don't want to load up on starches. They never fill me up and I end up looking like a cow. I don't know if I could do all my shopping at Walmart. I might have a little trouble with that. My Hamburger Helper experiment did not go so well...
Yes, I think you can eat for $100 a month, but I don't want to load up on starches. They never fill me up and I end up looking like a cow. I don't know if I could do all my shopping at Walmart. I might have a little trouble with that. My Hamburger Helper experiment did not go so well...
- Greenie
I've found that fresh produce is pretty expensive here in NC. Produce prices are a lot higher than in the SF bay area, even the stuff that is in season. I suppose maybe we don't grow as much stuff locally as is grown in California.
I try to buy seasonal vegetables and salad on a weekly basis. Stuff that I don't use I either cook and freeze or just freeze (depends on what it is). I buy meat when it is on sale and stock up. Same goes for canned goods.
Location: Stuck on the East Coast, hoping to head West
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Greenie, I'll have to look up some crockpot recipes for you. I usually go to the library and check out recipe books before buying them. I also subscribe to Light and Tasty. There are so many.
Re the cooking for 2 cookbook, I cannot remember the name of it, but I saw a bunch over Amazon.
A super easy recipe that everybody here loves is to stir fry boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into pieces) with garlic, onion, and green pepper, and some Italian seasoning. Then add any type of tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, or sometimes I'll add a can of italian-seasoned tomatoes. Stir in some tomatoes and cooked whole-wheat penne (or whatever pasta you like, in whatever amount you want) and then sprinkle with a little mozarella. Simple and good and you can switch around the veggies however you want.
Does anyone have luck with the warehouse clubs? I've tried them once before, years ago, but they didn't have a lot of the stuff I use at a good savings. Most of the stuff was processed junk food and lots of big screen tvs, and other non food stuff.
Greenie, I'll have to look up some crockpot recipes for you. I usually go to the library and check out recipe books before buying them. I also subscribe to Light and Tasty. There are so many.
Re the cooking for 2 cookbook, I cannot remember the name of it, but I saw a bunch over Amazon.
A super easy recipe that everybody here loves is to stir fry boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into pieces) with garlic, onion, and green pepper, and some Italian seasoning. Then add any type of tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, or sometimes I'll add a can of italian-seasoned tomatoes. Stir in some tomatoes and cooked whole-wheat penne (or whatever pasta you like, in whatever amount you want) and then sprinkle with a little mozarella. Simple and good and you can switch around the veggies however you want.
Does anyone have luck with the warehouse clubs? I've tried them once before, years ago, but they didn't have a lot of the stuff I use at a good savings. Most of the stuff was processed junk food and lots of big screen tvs, and other non food stuff.
Thanks for the recipe idea, Bande.
I've tried going to Costcos, but it's too much food for me. I don't want to commit to 5 pounds of cheese. But for someone who eats a lot of meat, they have good prices. You can go and stock up. I don't generally eat red meat, because I don't trust this country has control over the whole mad cow thing.
Yes, I think you can eat for $100 a month, but I don't want to load up on starches. They never fill me up and I end up looking like a cow. I don't know if I could do all my shopping at Walmart. I might have a little trouble with that. My Hamburger Helper experiment did not go so well...
- Greenie
Not only can you eat on 100 a month, you can eat well, it is merely just getting in the habit. High protien, high fiber, mineral rich diets are actually easier to achieve when people avoid boxed goods. Granted I maintain a small garden of stable veggies such as tomato's peppers, squash, beans but even still it is most important to get away from that garbage they try to pass off as food in most supermarkets.
In addition, caloric restricted diets are the only proven way to extend the human lifespan, as one only has to look to the longest lived peoples on earth, those in Okinawa Japan. Their diet is heavy on rice and veggies, light on meat, and eaten in moderation.
Interestingly enough, there are 12-13 essential amino acids necessary for human life to exist. 11-12 of them are found in beans, the other is found in fiber. This is why that you can travel anywhere in the world and find dishes such as beans and rice or any combination similar. The best part is, these are some of the most inexpensive components of the human diet.
I dont know...seems like theres alot more places, than people with expense accounts. If you go up and down west la, there are high priced restaurants everywhere.
There's an old school italian place 5 minutes from where I am, probably been there 25 years, smack in the middle of a middle class neighborhood. Dinner for 4 is at least $75-80, not counting wine. Do that twice a week, that's $10 k a year. And thats not wolfgang puck or a celebrity chef.
I'm sure some people are spending more on food every month than most spend on rent/mortgage.
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