To-may-toes, to-mah-toes!

Here at the Dollar Stretcher we know that prices can vary, locally found foods are different and people from different areas do not cook the same. Have you really considered that what you prepare for dinner may actually be an expensive or fancy meal somewhere else?

Let's make some comparisons in what we buy and cook. Let's start with sharing what is a cheap price for food for you, how low can you buy meat, staples, dairy or produce that you use frequently? Please detail what you would consider your cheapest meal to make for dinner.

Helene has shared in another post that she finds lentils to be a cheap buy. Where I am, they are over a dollar a pound and at the same price as other beans like red beans, white beans or black beans. I find these others to have more use in a variety of meals than lentils so I stock these others.

 Probably more of a supply and demand type of thing.  Around here, beans are in far greater demand.  Lentils are something that might be an additive in a dish, but beans are the dish.

 A lot of lentils are grown in Idaho, so they can be purchased relatively cheap locally.  I don't use them, i think they taste like dirt.  Other people love them.  This fall they were selling for 25¢ a pound at the farmers market.  No clue how much they are in the stores.

 

On the note of lentils, we love them. Speaking of, I made a big old pot of lentils and oats last night for a vegetarian spread and leftovers. I cook them nice and soft/tender and could just enjoy as is. I love their taste. Anyhow, Violet's 25 cents a lb deal? Let's just say if I were there at that time I would have an Acura full of lentils and some really happy/new farm friends, lol. Wink.

I can get 1lb bags of lentils at Grocery Outlet for .99 cents a bag. For the same price I can also find black beans, split peas, pintos and 16 bean mix at this store. If I don't buy them here I will get them at Foods Co/Kroger but the price bumps up to about 1.30 a bag. Lucky's has been having a select variety for 1.25 a bag. Pintos I can always find cheaper though especially at Mexican stores or bulk bins. The Dollar Tree stores here also offer black and pinto beans in 1lb bags for $1. I can happily say that same for 1lb bags of brown rice there too (same goes for Grocery Outlet when they are stocking brown rice to sell).

This is a good post Brandy. I hope people participate. I'd have a lot of math to do in order to answer so I'm going to observe other's answers. This month I have started a new goal of basing more meals around more frugal, but healthy/wholesome, real foods, as well as many other frugal ways of living I would like to better support more. Things are going good so far.

One thing I got spoiled on the first time I lived in California was the abundance of affordable avocados. When I got back to North Carolina, I had a hard time finding avocado and the ones I found were different and more expensive. When I moved back here 12 years ago, one of the first things I did was buy avocado!

Spider, avocados are a major spoil for us CA'ers. They are a staple in my home. We are never high and dry on avocados and I always have a supply of both ripe and ready to eat and green/on their way. i buy in bulk each week from local organic farm friends and get a MAJOR discount. Avocados are staples here the same way flour or sugar is in other's homes... a must have at all times. You are right, we are spoiled with fresh CA avocados all year round.

Avocados on sale are close to $2 each, and normal price is over $3-4 each.  Occasionally I will get one as a special treat.  Same with citrus fruits, they are outragiously expensive most of the time.  In the winter they go on sale, oranges will be about a dollar a pound, but normally they are over $2 a pound.  Grapefruit are about a dollar each, lemons and limes run about 50¢ each, sometimes on sale for 3 for a dollar. 

Can't tell you how handy having a lemon and/or lime and orange/citrus trees are if you can grow them... or bartering with those who have them... citrus can get pricey

Brandy:

Let's start with sharing what is a cheap price for food for you, how low can you buy meat, staples, dairy or produce that you use frequently? Please detail what you would consider your cheapest meal to make for dinner.

What a great question/topic, Brandy!  If I can buy on markdown I can usually buy pork & poultry for $1/pound, beef around $2/pound.  Beans are probably $1/pound on average.  Pasta is a staple; I wait for sales on veggie pasta and whole wheat/blend for $1/box which, depending on shape or size, is 12-16oz.  I will buy around 10 boxes of each at a time, which usually lasts me until the next sale comes around.  I consider bagged salad a staple in my house and there was a great sale on some for $1/bag recently, but normally I pay closer to $2/bag and we use 1-2 bags a week on average, mostly for lunches.  We add tomatoes, cukes, bell pepper, and carrots, so I buy those every other week.  I also buy a good amount of dairy.

Our cheapest meal is probably breakfast for dinner.

Eggs (6 total) 75cents
Bacon (1/2 packages) $1.75
Veg & cheese $1
Toast (6 pieces) $1
Jam free (gifted from my grandma)
Total $4.50

I think the price would go down if I made waffles or pancakes instead.  I wouldn't be using any bread and I would use fewer eggs.  The flour, sugar, etc. are cheap. But we would use applesauce or syrup as a topping so maybe the price is comparable.

I guess the next cheapest would be soups or stews that use meat as a flavoring and not the centerpiece -- chili, potato soup, chicken noodle, chicken and dumplings, and vegetable are my family's favorites.  I'm sure some people think HM soups are fancy but I see them as one-dish meals, which are my favorite!