*Feed Your Family $10 A Day Challenge*(AT HOME)

[disneymom3]

DS is 14 and about 6 ft tall and about 150lbs. He eats more than DH and I (combined sometimes ). In between meals the rule in the house is if your hungry you can help yourself to fruit and veggies. I stock up on apples each week at the market (10 lbs for $6) and than I pick up whatever is on sale that week. My kids are not picky and will eat almost every fruit and veggie.

Oh yeah, I hear ya and DS is only 7! He still eats more than I do. He eats more than his brother and sister combined. I am soo in trouble when he gets to be a teenager. My sister got married and her DH was only 16(long story but they are still together after 25 yrs last Sept. ) Anyway, after he started coming to family dinners we NEVER had leftovers again. It was the family joke--Don't want to put the potatoes away? Give them to Mike!

I think anyone with teenagers who can keep it under $20 a day is still doing awesome!

TNK--I am sorry about the miscarriage. I did not realize that had happened.

 

[DisneyCrazyX5]

We had a good cheap meal tonight - I call it tuna pea tator casserole.
My mom use to make it with pototo chips but I use very thinly sliced pototoes.
I make a white sauce - about 3 cups but I don't really measure. Add just layer pototoes (about 4 if sliced very thin), peas (I used one can) and tuna ( I used 3 cans of tuna)white sauce and repeat - I made three layers ending with pototoes. I made it in a cake pan and baked it a 350 until the pototoes were tender.

 

[mom2my3kids]

I don't think I could ever do 10.00 a day for our family of 5. My kids are big eaters I spent 168.00 at the store for this week alone. This is the first week they are out of school. So I picked up lots of easy items for lunch and snacks that I normally would not. I usually spend around 125.00 a week at the store.

 

[mommiepoppins]

todays meals
cereal =0 free from day care kids again
Milk 1/2 gallon= 140


S. apple slices= 25 cents
s. yougart 35 cents

L. Salid again = 0
dressing 50 cents
pbj=50 cents
orange slices 25 cents
185

S. Motza crackers 17 cents for entire box (clearence)= 1 cent
Apple slices= 25 cents
milk 60 cents
85

Milk 60 cents
D.ground beef=125
Rolls= 50 cents
Salid=0
Salsa= 129
sour cream 50 cents
taco season fro Aldi 25 cents
439= yes This will be taco salid!


S
pop corn 25 cents
canned of maderine oranges 35 cents
= 60 cents

909 for the day!

 

[Sorsha]

Milk 60 cents
D.ground beef=125
Rolls= 50 cents
Salid=0
Salsa= 129
sour cream 50 cents
414= yes This will be taco salid!


S
pop corn 25 cents
canned of maderine oranges 35 cents
= 60 cents

884 for the day!

OK, first of all, I am NOT flaming! I think your meals look healthy and I wish I could be a frugal as you are.
BUT this just illustrates why I oughta just throw in my hat now on this challenge, cause it would NEVER fly in my family.
That's not a taco salad!! Just plain ground beef? No seasonings or add-ins to make the beef "taco"? And where's the cheese??? You can't have taco salad without cheese! And corn chips or tortilla bowls?? How about olives? Onions? Jalapenos? Diced fresh tomatoes? I am sorry but if I plunked a bowl of leftover salad topped with plain ground beef, salsa and sour cream down in front of my husband and pronounced it taco salad; first he would laugh at me, then he would want to know where the rest of his dinner was, then he would get in the car and head to Taco Bell. I think my family is spoiled... they don't want to be THAT budget conscious.
Again, not flaming or criticizing, just in awe...

 

[mommiepoppins]

OK, first of all, I am NOT flaming! I think your meals look healthy and I wish I could be a frugal as you are.
BUT this just illustrates why I oughta just throw in my hat now on this challenge, cause it would NEVER fly in my family.
That's not a taco salad!! Just plain ground beef? No seasonings or add-ins to make the beef "taco"? And where's the cheese??? You can't have taco salad without cheese! And corn chips or tortilla bowls?? How about olives? Onions? Jalapenos? Diced fresh tomatoes? I am sorry but if I plunked a bowl of leftover salad topped with plain ground beef, salsa and sour cream down in front of my husband and pronounced it taco salad; first he would laugh at me, then he would want to know where the rest of his dinner was, then he would get in the car and head to Taco Bell. I think my family is spoiled... they don't want to be THAT budget conscious.
Again, not flaming or criticizing, just in awe...

well my one dd breaks out in hives from cheddar cheese so I try not to use it in the same time as the milk is being used. Onions well you can forget that dd14 would hate anything that made her breath stink also my kids HATE onions big time . They dig threw the salsa looking for onions. Dh and I are watching our weight so we do not use tortia shells at all during the week ( weekends it is a total different story)I did forget to mention the taco seasoning so you can throw anothor 25 cents in to my total!. Also my kids hate tomatoes. We love Taco salid our way! Dh loves it to.

 

[smfritz03]

Last night I made a fast supper and very cheap. Not the healthiest but wouldve been better if I had homemade chicken noodle soup prepared from a prev. dinner.

I made mashed potatoes.

Put down some whole wheat bread----put some mashed potatoes on it--and then pour on some chicken noodle soup. I did cut some celery and carrots to add to the chicken noodle soup and cooked that before I put it all together.

Quick and easy for baseball night. We literally get home and have less than 30 min to eat, change and leave to get to baseball on time.

 

[mommiepoppins]

Last night I made a fast supper and very cheap. Not the healthiest but wouldve been better if I had homemade chicken noodle soup prepared from a prev. dinner.

I made mashed potatoes.

Put down some whole wheat bread----put some mashed potatoes on it--and then pour on some chicken noodle soup. I did cut some celery and carrots to add to the chicken noodle soup and cooked that before I put it all together.

Quick and easy for baseball night. We literally get home and have less than 30 min to eat, change and leave to get to baseball on time.

Thanks for the idea I will try that one

 

[smfritz03]

My kids like it. Not something I will feed on a routine basis--but something quick and in a pinch.

 

[ogreenlee]

You can't eat that cheaply in the US with organic foods either! Personally, I've done some research and don't believe in the whole "organic is worth the extra money" thing, but to each his own.

I do believe that organic is worth the extra money. I don't like having to pay extra for it, though. Girls are developing earlier and earlier in their lives. I attribute it to growth hormones in milk and meat.

We buy too many organic products to ever consider being in the $10/day club. A gallon of milk cost $6 at it's cheapest.

And we like semi-gourmet-like meals. I don't fry up a chicken. Heck, I don't even know how to without drying it out. I'll cook chicken, but then make a reduction sauce for it. We use quality olive oils, vinegars and spices. We try to use fresh veggies, but when we can't.. we use frozen. We eat lots of organic salad with tuna/salmon.. that kind of thing. We try to control our portions.

Those things are important to us. Granted, the kid doesn't always eat what we want her to eat, but I'm not going to cook our meals to suit a four year old. We try not to eat a lot of pasta and rice except on weekends. Even our spaghetti is made as fresh as possible... not just sauce and noodles.

I figure.. ya only live once. Eat well.

 

[TNKBELL]

I do believe that organic is worth the extra money. I don't like having to pay extra for it, though. Girls are developing earlier and earlier in their lives. I attribute it to growth hormones in milk and meat.

We buy too many organic products to ever consider being in the $10/day club. A gallon of milk cost $6 at it's cheapest.

And we like semi-gourmet-like meals. I don't fry up a chicken. Heck, I don't even know how to without drying it out. I'll cook chicken, but then make a reduction sauce for it. We use quality olive oils, vinegars and spices. We try to use fresh veggies, but when we can't.. we use frozen. We eat lots of organic salad with tuna/salmon.. that kind of thing. We try to control our portions.

Those things are important to us. Granted, the kid doesn't always eat what we want her to eat, but I'm not going to cook our meals to suit a four year old. We try not to eat a lot of pasta and rice except on weekends. Even our spaghetti is made as fresh as possible... not just sauce and noodles.

I figure.. ya only live once. Eat well.

Did you know that Braum's milk doesn't have BGH in it? The beef is a different story! I don't know if you have a Braums near you??

 

[ogreenlee]

I've never heard of Braum's. Midwest thing?

 

[smfritz03]

Did you know you can go to a local dairy farm and purchase milk that doesn't have the hormones in it as well? Gallons of milk in the store cost $3.00+ here, we just go down to the dairy farm and pay $2.00 a gallon and no hormones added.
You can do the same w/ beef. You can buy local cows w/ no steroids injected--you can buy half or a whole cow for WAY less than what the stores sell.

 

[ogreenlee]

We live in an Atlanta suburb. I think that it would be cheaper to buy organic from my grocery store than to drive out to a dairy farm (cost of gas these days) and buy fresh milk... which, btw, I'd LOVE to do. I bet it's yummy!

Our Iowan friends buy half a cow and stick it in their freezer. You midwesternerds (i kid) get the best meat and dairy.

 

[meandtheguys2]

We make our own organic bread for about $.80 a loaf. Buy free range eggs from a boy we know or atht the farmer's market for $2.00 a dozen, and raw, organic whole milk for $3 a gallon.

Breakfast: Toast and eggs $2.10
Milk

Lunch: Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for kids and me (organic/ homemade). $1.20
celery $.30 (Aldi's)
bananas $.22 (sale on Mondays)
Milk
Total- $1.76
DH lunch: Salad with chicken and veggies (freerange/ local and home grown)
Total- $2.20

Dinner: Hamburgers with lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, mushrooms and mayo
Burger from cow purchased in the fall (we use 2 lbs) $2.80
Farmer's Market lettuce $1.00
tomatoes, pickles, mushrooms from aldi's $2.25 tomatoes not in season for another month, here. Also ran out of home-made pickles
home-made mayo $.20
blueberries picked last summer at farm
Milk

Total about $12.00 for 5 people with almost all organic, and locally produced.

 

[punkin]

Yesterday wasn't too bad (sort of, but I can't get anywhere near $10 even with leftovers) I took DN8 strawberry picking and we got over 5 lb for $10 ($1.89 per lb) and that does not count what we ate in the field.

I also bought some fresh youg rhubarb ($1.99) and I have been making pies (and freezing them). My house smells devine.

Anyway:

Breakfast: waffles, cereal, milk. $2
Lunch: DN8 and I had broiled fish ($3.50), DD8: challah w/ butter, cheesits, apple, carrots ($1.50). DD14: farmer cheese and jelly on challah, apple.($1.50). DH ate out because he wouldn't wait for me to make lunch in the morning nor would he make it himself.
Snacks: avocado w/ lemon and salt, cheesits, strawberries ($1.75)
Dinner: leftover chicken schnitzel, mashed potatoes, salad, strawberry rhubarb pie. ($4.75)
TOTAL: $15

I think I will have to bow out of this thread. I cannot keep up. Either my groceries cost A LOT more than the others posting or I just feed my family things that others find too extravagant.

Let's try today:

Breakfast: waffles and milk. frozen bagel $2
Lunch: Leftover fish for me and grilled cheese for DN8. $1 DD8: whole wheat bread w/ butter, potato chips, carrots, chocolate pudding, apple. $1.50. DD14 whole wheat breat w/ farmer cheese and jelly, apple. $1. DH has lunch work meeting-FREE.
Snack: I don't know but probably around $2 for the gang
Dinner: Hedghog meatballs w/ salad. Strawberry pie. $5.50

TOTAL: $13 and this is a VERY cheap day for me.

 

[ogreenlee]

I'm a Whole Foods fanatic, but I can't justify spending the big bucks on fish when it's better to eat frozen (we don't live on the coast). We buy frozen fish from Trader Joe's and Costco. Fish is best bought flash frozen unless you live where the fish comes off the boat.

Frozen fish at Trader Joe's is actually inexpensive and very good!

I love Trader Joe's.

 

[hsmamato2]

we don't buy organic everything.... not sure it's all worth it,but try to do a lot, my sticking point is meats, I won't buy unless it's free range, hormone free,etc- I am beef skeevy to the extreme,which means it costs more,and I stretch it farther! I also like our farm fresh raw milk,and pay 6.50 a gallon locally at a farm.
the way we envision meat egg production today is NOTHING like what the reality is, so I only buy the high quality of life meats and eggs. If a cow gets to live like a cow should(like we all envision) it just makes sense that the quality will be better,and the health benefits are obvious.
Chickens crammed into stacks of cages with beaks and claws torn off, spewing out eggs for cheap production till they die an early, medicated death is not as healthful or beneficial as chickens who live,and scratch around normally,lay eggs in nests,and breathe clean air.....
and the slaughthouses,oh my goodness,I'm sorry, i've already spoken too much.... sorry...I'll be quiet now......
But I do it frugally,and we pretty much eat for $10 or less per day-

 

[hsmamato2]

Dinner: Hedghog meatballs w/ salad. Strawberry pie. $5.50

what's a hedgehog meatball? sounds fun!

 

[punkin]

what's a hedgehog meatball? sounds fun!

Also sometimes known as porcupines. It's basically ground beef with rice (you can use turkey) either baked or cooked in a tomato sauce (thin sauce). If you want I will post a recipe.