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I know this is geared to grocery stores, but my wife an I realized a few years ago when we go to certain places we'd both rarely finish our meals. So we started ordering a single mean and maybe a side dish and would split it. We wont do this at nice restaurants, but like chipotle for example, just get 1 bowl and split it. Could also help if you're trying to watch calories.
Also, meat isn't a necessity. All nutrients found in meat can also be found via plant sources.
But not necessarily in cheap plant source. (if "cheap" plant sources even exist any more.) Beans are a good food source, but you need more than beans to have a balanced diet. Fruit and veggies are all expensive and the rice and beans and lentils have gone up in price, and while they are a tasty food item, they get pretty boring pretty quick if you are not adding pricey spices and onions, and other herbs a and flavorings.
I suspect that an interesting and varied vegetarian diet is not any cheaper than a carnivorous diet.
I know this is geared to grocery stores, but my wife an I realized a few years ago when we go to certain places we'd both rarely finish our meals. So we started ordering a single mean and maybe a side dish and would split it. We wont do this at nice restaurants, but like chipotle for example, just get 1 bowl and split it. Could also help if you're trying to watch calories.
You can always try ordering online, or call for a take out, and split it at home.
We seek out out of the way places, decor not the best, nor the "atmosphere". That's not what I'm eating anyway.
But the food certainly is!
One is on the main drag, but was established in 1956, a large addition added on to the back expanded the kitchen and dining areas.
Well "paid for" as the building goes, long ago.
Food is "common down home" meals.
A senior discount is given to regular seniors.
$20(including the generous tip) gets two meals: water with lemon, main entree, two sides, soup or salad, rolls.
Usually enough to take half the meal home (each).
We have two other restaurants in nearby towns we frequent.
The less variety you can be OK with, and more you can cook, the cheaper it will be.
Unfortunately, I have not been able to do either of those things, but if I could live on a steady diet of chicken thighs, pork chops and rice, and broccoli, it's be pretty cheap.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Our $100/ month for entire family (since 1980) has rapidly increased to $150. But still quite comfortable (and includes eating out + entertainment).
We do eat far less as we age. Fasting 2 days / week cuts out a few meals.
I'm nuts about BBQ / smoked turkey. I just cooked another one yesterday.(free turkey if you buy a spiral ham (~$22)... So now I'm all set for a couple months.
Turkey stock makes 12 servings of soup.
Costco chickens supplement when I'm low on turkey. That's a ways out since a friend bought me 6 turkeys last yr for $0.11 / lb. I take frozen turkeys as carry-on luggage and trade / barter for local foods.
Edible landscape... We get 200-300# of blueberries/ yr + apples, pears, persimmons, plums, prunes, cherries, grapes.... And a lot of wild berries. (A freezer full at the moment)
Bob's Red Mill is close by, so get 25# sacks of various meals and flours + have our own flour mill / grinder.
We volunteer at homeless / community kitchens, so often get leftovers.
We raise beef, and used to have lamb, but neighbors have plenty of spare everything, including huge gardens.
Salmon / steelhead / sturgeon are 5 minutes away.
Wild game? 22 deer in the front yard tonight, but have had 3 various herds this week including some exotics. (Currently at Texas home) Washington home has plenty of deer, elk, bear (and Sasquatch)
Making homemade ice cream every Sunday night is a luxury expense and our neighbors and friends love it, especially during berry season.
Potlucks! We do lots of potlucks, once / week when possible. Did a huge one with Master Gardeners yesterday. I'm still stuffed.
But not necessarily in cheap plant source. (if "cheap" plant sources even exist any more.) Beans are a good food source, but you need more than beans to have a balanced diet. Fruit and veggies are all expensive and the rice and beans and lentils have gone up in price, and while they are a tasty food item, they get pretty boring pretty quick if you are not adding pricey spices and onions, and other herbs a and flavorings.
I suspect that an interesting and varied vegetarian diet is not any cheaper than a carnivorous diet.
From the standpoint of people who have a tighter budget, I disagree. I know the meat industry tries very hard to push meat, but with the soaring costs, it will be a losing battle. Water sources are a main problem now in Kansas, and if one takes a look at industrial farms, well, I have seen them.
Buying in bulk, and price shopping the internet for spices and flavorings (whatever that is), will bring down the cost.
The last beef roast I priced, and it wasn't all that big, was over $35.00. It would probably have been about 4 servings. Even the price of chicken is climbing, but high enough it isn't moving, so buy one get one free is happening about monthly here.
If one knows how to shop for fruits and vegetables, of which I just bought a whole refrigerator full, they are not that expensive.
Rice and beans? My adult son with special needs loves them. There are SO many ways to prepare them. I guess better cooks would have more luck when it comes to being creative with less expensive options.
Not everyone makes 6 figure incomes here in central KS, so we know how to shop to save. Shop sales flyers and know what days they reduce certain items like produce, bakery and even meats. We can get the pre-made salads normally $3.99 for .99, along with other fresh veggies/fruit trays, etc. I have shopped from AZ to NC over my life, and if you know how to shop, you can save money and eat what you like. We even got a $35 beef brisket reduced to $20 and had 3 meals off of it for 3 people! Meat is OK, but limiting it is just a one part of a healthy diet.
We grow our own fruits and veggies and raise livestock for meat, poultry and dairy. We have a 2400 square foot fully automated greenhouse so we can grow year round on our little farm.
My grocery budget, including non-edibles/potables such as paper towels and toilet paper is a hair over one hundred dollars a month, which is a bit more than it was prior to the recent inflationary prices. Some months are a bit higher if they're "stock up months" and others are lower but overall, the annual average remains fairly constant. I feed myself as well as have at least one other person at my table several times a week and most meals are taken at home. We/I eat very well on a budget if I don't say so myself.
Picky eating, soda pop, ice cream, convenience foods, and snack foods other than unpopped popcorn kernels are budget destroyers as is a meat-centric diet, so it's a good thing that I'm not a picky eater nor is my partner. We both eat a fair amount of meatless meals, although I usually keep the bean-centric meals to myself as he's not a big fan of them when they're the star of a given meal. My partner *is* a snacker, so he buys those things for himself to eat when he wants them unless I've bought them as a special treat.
Vegetables and fruits are still relatively inexpensive--especially when just buying foods that are currently in season and the basics such as sweet and white potatoes, onions, carrots, celery, apples, and citrus. Even at today's higher prices, eggs are still a relative bargain as are canned tuna, salmon, and sardines. I stock up on tomato products and other basic canned goods such evaporated milk (great replacement for cream when making sauces) whenever they're on sale. Specialty items such as jarred artichokes and canned pumpkin are also bought in quantity when on sale, too.
I keep an array of stocks in the freezer for cooking. This is soup-making season and we're just coming off the Thanksgiving holiday, so turkey stock was the latest addition to the freezer. Vegetable scraps, peelings, bones, and shrimp shells are all saved for making stock, which takes me little time to put together as they simmer overnight in the crock pot.
Protein foods that are always kept on hand for main dish meal prep are canned fish, eggs, tofu, shrimp in the shell, and ricotta cheese with other foods making a guest appearance in the fridge or freezer whenever they're on sale. Frozen vegetables and a few canned (both home and commercially packed) goods are also kept around for convenient meals. There's also always flour, various types of rice, pasta, cornmeal, and oatmeal in the kitchen, too.
All of this novelization aside (heh), I think that finding cooking to be enjoyable, easy, and convenient, being a resourceful finder of foodstuffs as well as being willing to eat a wide variety of foods helps to keep the food budget under control.
Food is actually not that expensive if you shop mindfully. I spend <$50 per week on groceries (U.S.) while still being able to eat a healthy diet.
Look at foods from a macronutritional standpoint. Look at the back of the label and see what you're getting for your money.
Examples of foods that offer a lot of macros per dollar:
* Protein: Eggs are dirt-cheap. Protein powder, if bought in bulk. Tofu, dairy and nuts too.
* Fats: This is the most calorically dense macro. Protein and carbs have 4 calories per gram while fat has 9. This means that many fats, even if it doesn't seem like you're getting high volume per dollar, are still affordable from a calorie per dollar standpoint.
* Carbs Breads, pasta, rice, oatmeal, etc. are all dirt cheap.
Use these as a base for the majority of the calories. Then add in fruits, veggies and herbs to your dishes to complement them.
Carbs and fat aren't inherently bad for you. You can eat complex/low-glycemic carbs (i.e. whole wheat bread) if satiety and blood sugar are concerned. You can eat unsaturated fats like canola oil, olive oil, avacados, nuts, etc. Saving money on food doesn't necessitate always having a diet of soda, fast food and walmart brand icecream.
You can mix less calorically dense and more calorically dense foods together to get a good mix of value and nutrition. For example, sauteeing veggies with oil. It has enough calories to be filling, while also having micronutrients and the overall cost isn't too high.
The other factor is not exceeding the calories/macros reach your goal weight/physique. Many people in developed countries are overweight; I know this sounds crass, but people can save money on food by eating normal human portion sizes instead of the large portion sizes Americans have been accustomed to.
Calorie-dense foods don't inherently make you fat; you can get fat on them quickly if you eat them mindlessly, but if you track your calories/macros, you can eat as much as you need without going over.
I like this but I think you have it reversed. FIRST ensure you have your fruits and vegetables. Easiest and cheapest way is to juice them. Mom and Pop health food stores will give you organic greens they cut off such s carrot tops(greens) red beet Greens, Turnip Greens. Juice the peels from mandarins, they are healthier than the oranges themselves. It's quite inexpensive to buy a bag of organic carrots, a container of organic baby cabbage leaves, and some organic celery. You can add a tbsp of olive or avocado oil. We add in a tbsp of apple cider vinegar and nuts but we put the nuts in the grinder first.
It's best to avoid bread, overall it's really bad for you. Sourdough is the best so I do splurge and use one piece of sourdough for a tuna melt a few times a week. Sugar will kill you.
The reason people are overweight is because they are under-nourished. The food they eat isn't food so they. need to consume much more of it to feel full.
Our son ate a ton of fast food while he was ill from schizophrenia. When we started juicing vegetables, he got much better but it took months. His body was so run down he slept all day and was white as a corpse. and he had such bad health issues. He dropped 2 medications, 1 pants size as he no longer has those issues. He feels full so eats smaller portions since we juice 2x a day now.
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