How I have eaten Breakfast and Lunch for under $2 a day for the past 5 years
Several years ago when I was living on a very tight budget, I found a way to eat two of my three meals a day for under $1 a piece. Even though I no longer need to 'pinch pennies' as much as I used to, I have still continued to eat the same thing for my meals for around 5 years now. I use the money I save to enjoy other things in life.
My Breakfast:
- Two gummy multi-vitamins
- One cup of coffee
- One packet of "Carnation Instant Breakfast", mixed into my coffee
My Lunch:
- One "Equate Creamy Milk Chocolate Ultra Weight Loss Shake"
I have been told by many people that "what I am doing is extremely unhealthy". While that may be true to some extent, I have found that I get significantly more nutritional value from what I am currently eating, than what a large percentage of Americans eat every day. It is also healthier than the "no breakfast" and "fast food lunch" that I was often eating before I started this.
I have literally been doing this for 5 straight years now, and I feel just fine. My body/system has gotten used to my meal-plan, and I find myself functioning perfectly normally. I have not lost or gained a significant amount of weight; I have significant energy to get me through the day; and I am not really hungry outside my regular scheduled meal times.
I also get asked "don't you get bored of eating the same food every day?". Nope; I actually don't. Maybe it is because I am a creature of habit and I like routine, but I actually like what I eat each day. My breakfast is basically gummy vitamins and a Mocha (chocolate and coffee). My lunch is a flavored shake, which I have grown quite fond of over the years.
I do vary it up once and a while too. If co-workers are going out to lunch and want me to join, I will go with and eat "regular" food. I also tend to break my routine a lot on the weekends, when I am out with other people and eating is part of the socializing we do.
I also have kept my dinner a 'regular' meal, which usually averages between $4-12 per night - depending on what I chose to have. I have always thought about finding a way to make this meal cheaper too, but I have yet to find a third healthy cheap meal that I would be willing to commit to eating on a regular basis. I also do kind of like my one 'regular' meal each day for some variety.
I wanted to share this with you all, since many may be interested to know that it is possible to eat meals for under $1. While you may not be ready to totally commit to such a plan for a long period of time, the option is there for you to save a few bucks on a meal once and a while.
Just to put it in perspective, if you are currently spending $5 per meal, that is $8 per day that you would save. If you did this every day for a year, that would add up to around $3,000. $3,000 is a lot of money!
In addition to sharing my idea, I would like to get some discussion going. Does anyone else in the community have any "cheap, good, and healthy" meal options that they would be willing to share? Does my idea seem crazy, or is it actually a good idea? Are there other suggestions for cutting back on meal budgets?
You should reverse your dinner and breakfast. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day for a lot of reasons. It's your jump start in the morning. Not just for energy, but mentally. It sets the pace for the rest of the day.
If you are going to cut down a meal, the one to do this with is dinner. Dinner is the most meaningless meal of the day. I get that overall, the nutritional value you're getting right now is better than what most people get; however, you're paying a tax. You could be getting even more nutritional value out of it by balancing where you get most of your nutrition. You desperately need more calories in the morning. When your body is shutting down for the night, it definitely doesn't need to be digesting a meal.
When you go to sleep your body is either digesting dinner or your heartrate has slowed to the point where nothing is really happening at all and your dinner is just sitting there partially digested until you wake up in the morning. Neither case is ideal. Balancing things out a little bit and taking your multivitamin at the end of the day will probably help you out a bit more. It can be digested quicker than a full meal and the nutrients distributed to your necessary organs before you even get to sleep allowing your rest functions to work more optimally.
Cool, thanks! Curious, how did you come across this old article?
It's a long story. I am new to steem and I've been following @jesta and @haejin. Recently, I started seeing posts for something called a witness, so I investigated and saw you on the list. I thought I recognized your name and then remembered I've seen your name in Steem on Github. I decided to check you your profile page and there's some really good stuff on there. I really connected with this one because I'm always looking for ways to save more money through my diet and I used to have a diet just like this. In my teens in college, I used to have a diet of a multivitamin, 8 oz. brownie, and can of jolt cola. It wasn't sustainable, so the search continues. LOL
Cool :)
Two years ago I was on a really tight budget. For about three months, I lived quite well on less than $25 a week. A loaf of bread was $1.89, a dozen eggs $2.99, two avocados were $1, lettuce was about a dollar a head, 2-3 tomatoes another dollar. Coffee, tea and orange juice--unlimited quantities at work at no cost. I drank water or tea at home. For around $9 per week, I was able to enjoy smashed avocado on toast with scrambled eggs for breakfast, and lettuce, tomato and mayo sandwiches for lunch. (A small jar of mayo cost $4 but lasted the entire month therefore cost was about $1 per week.) Dinners were simple and were typically vegetarian--lots of home made soup, beans with rice, and stir fry. Home-made apple sauce for dessert with free apples from my neighbour's trees (they fell into my yard so...). My current food cost is still low and I rarely spend more than $150 CDN a month on groceries--and that includes the odd take-out sushi. I don't usually eat breakfast on the weekends--just tea in the morning and a veggie omelette or french toast for lunch. I very rarely eat out. I'm healthy and trim from walking and cycling. I personally think people eat far too much. Studies have shown that a reduced calorie diet can add years to your life which might explain why my grandparents, who starved during the war, lived until their 90s in reasonably good health. Only one of the four developed dementia.
That's awesome! Thanks for sharing 😀
You're welcome. It really got me thinking about food budgets and then this morning I came across a financial article in the Globe and Mail. The couple profiled talk about living a "simple life" with few expenses but their monthly grocery bill was $700 and they spent an additional $200 eating out. They also spent $60 a month on coffee which included a bag of quality coffee beans, and a few trips to Starbucks. Total $960 CDN each month on food (plus $80 a month on booze) for two people. Their food bill was nearly as much as their monthly rent. How is that even possible?
A 75 cent can of black beans goes a long way when mixed with rice and spices. Often times, the beans are only a medium for tons of turmeric, mustard, black pepper, chaga, basil, and other super herbs! More health to you all!
health is wealth @timcliff but its so nice to see people like you who still trying to save their best just to have a better tommorow. i really love to read and comment to all the post that i read here in steemit . and thank you for this wonderful tips and maybe a tricks. haha i want to read more from your post sir. keep posting and salamat at mabuhay. (its an english translation of thank you and have a long live)
Have you looked into Soylent? It's a bit more expensive than your shakes, but better nutrition and they've recently come out with Coffiest which is basically Soylent/Coffee.
No; I'll check that out. Thanks! :)
Just what I was going to say. Soylent is actually a complete nutrition drink, and it tastes very much like soymilk. I tried a bottle recently and I've found myself craving more.
Not sure what soy milk tastes like, but I'd describe it as cheerios milk and there's some definitely consensus around that on the Soylent forums.
I have also wanted to try soylent, but you have to commit to a couple months supply and they've had some recalls recently that scare me. I really want to try it though. Every weekend I bring it up with relatives.
I have to try that tomorrow morning!
:)
Without even realising it you are doing a fast diet. I do similar for 2-3 days a week. Often not eating till 3pm and having a slice of toast and a coffee. But dinner is a free for all (but must be healthy) and must be eaten with a 3-4 hour window of my first meal at 3pm. Studies are showing peoples cholesterol is lower than ever and ability to burn fat is greatly improved. My bloodwork is better than ever.
I also do what I like on the weekends. I train at the gym so need high protein and high cal at the weekend. How about you, do you change it up at the weekend?
I never thought of it that way. Yes, I definitely do change it up on the weekends :)
Thx 4 Sharing!
I love budgeting tips. I don't have much to add to this one. I usually have something like a banana and a cereal bar or banana and slim fast shake for breakfast. Tuna sandwich for lunch, or leftover pasta.
I eat pretty cheap because my family all loves pasta, but I know it's frowned upon nowadays.
Ever tried zoodles? There's this really cool zoodle maker
fastest pasta evar!!!
Oh yeah, we actually picked up a ton of squash/zucchinis yesterday and plan to make zoodles. We do have a zoodler thingy too.
I love pasta too! It's another great cheap meal idea :)
I eat think thin high ptotien bars 5-10 a day
with coffee, so I see your point. about $12 a day cause I like it
not really t save money but I do save a lot of money anyway.