What does an average meal cost?

[bethwc101]

My schedule has become very busy, to the point I rarely have time to cook dinner, and don't have time ever to pack my lunch. So I am wondering if somebody has done the math and knows the average cost of a home cooked meal.
I have purchased several of the frozen TV dinner styles for my lunches and just keep them stocked at work. They range from $1-$2.50 per meal. And I know that is a lot cheaper than eating out, but how much more expensive is it from packing my lunch?

 

[Darcy03231]

It's probably about the same, just that those frozen meals usually contain very high levels of sodium and are generally not the healthiest options. If you're ok with that, I don't think you'll really save any money by packing homemade lunches.

I used to eat the frozen meals for lunch pretty much every day (along with soda). Since I cut them and the soda out I've lost 15 lbs over the last year without doing anything else different.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

I think around $3 for a decent lunch from home is reasonable. If you have an hour or two on Sundays, it's fairly easy to cook dinners and pre-pack lunches for the week. I usually cook a large package of chicken breasts. For lunch I might grab one of those, some raw or cooked veggies, an apple, yogurt, etc. I also sometimes do a large pot of soup or chili with ground turkey, beans, corn, diced tomatoes and seasoning. I have an Instant Pot so it cooks very quickly. I make individual servings so I just have to grab a container, a fruit, a drink, and toss it all in my lunch bag. If you don't have any time for meal prep, you can buy a pack of deli turkey, a loaf of bread, some yogurts, fruit, maybe hard boiled eggs, cheese sticks, etc. Keep it all in the fridge at work (in a bag, stapled shut and labeled with your name!) and grab what you want at lunchtime. You would be better off spending a little more and getting a healthy lunch each day. Or you could be like my DH and work for a company that provides lunch to its employees everyday. He gets different entree choices, or he can make a big salad with a grilled chicken breast on top. For me, it either bring my own or eat elementary school cafeteria food!

 

[bethwc101]

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[bethwc101]

I think around $3 for a decent lunch from home is reasonable. If you have an hour or two on Sundays, it's fairly easy to cook dinners and pre-pack lunches for the week. I usually cook a large package of chicken breasts. For lunch I might grab one of those, some raw or cooked veggies, an apple, yogurt, etc. I also sometimes do a large pot of soup or chili with ground turkey, beans, corn, diced tomatoes and seasoning. I have an Instant Pot so it cooks very quickly. I make individual servings so I just have to grab a container, a fruit, a drink, and toss it all in my lunch bag. If you don't have any time for meal prep, you can buy a pack of deli turkey, a loaf of bread, some yogurts, fruit, maybe hard boiled eggs, cheese sticks, etc. Keep it all in the fridge at work (in a bag, stapled shut and labeled with your name!) and grab what you want at lunchtime. You would be better off spending a little more and getting a healthy lunch each day. Or you could be like my DH and work for a company that provides lunch to its employees everyday. He gets different entree choices, or he can make a big salad with a grilled chicken breast on top. For me, it either bring my own or eat elementary school cafeteria food!

Will precooked food last throughout the whole week until thurs in the fridge? We normally don't have leftovers so not sure on food durability.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

Will precooked food last throughout the whole week until thurs in the fridge? We normally don't have leftovers so not sure on food durability.

If I cook a bunch of stuff on Sunday, it's fine in the fridge until Friday. As long as I wrap it up or seal it well, it doesn't go bad. I do try to use the chicken within a few days since it tends to dry out. Soup and chili is fine in a tightly sealed container. You can also put it in the freezer and then in the fridge the night before you want to use it.

 

[hsmamato2]

I don't know about cost since it varies wildly based on the foods you make and ingredients you choose..... but it's usually cheaper to make your own food than to buy premade foods. And in my case it's a lot healthier since much premade food has stuff I don't like to eat a lot of like refined sugars,unwanted types of oils,and salt and chemicals to preserve them. Not saying I don't eat premade foods ever,just not a lot for those reasons,and the cost multiplied for a family is way higher. Our usual meals cost about a dollar per person for a dinner,and I only use organic meats,and high quality ingredients.

 

[tvguy]

I don't know about cost since it varies wildly based on the foods you make and ingredients you choose..... but it's usually cheaper to make your own food than to buy premade foods. And in my case it's a lot healthier since much premade food has stuff I don't like to eat a lot of like refined sugars,unwanted types of oils,and salt and chemicals to preserve them. Not saying I don't eat premade foods ever,just not a lot for those reasons,and the cost multiplied for a family is way higher. Our usual meals cost about a dollar per person for a dinner,and I only use organic meats,and high quality ingredients.

Exactly. And portion size matters too.
For example, if you fix a traditional dinner of Corned Beef and Cabbage tonight for St. Patrick's day, corned beef is on sale for $1.77 a pound and cabbage is on sale for 37 cents a pound.
If your portion of meat is 8 ounces, and your portion of cabbage is 8 ounces, you dinner cost $1.07. If you wash it down with an 8 ounce glass of 2 Buck Chuck from Trader Joes, that adds 32 cents to the cost, and your dinner cost $1.39.
And if you earn the Federal minimum wage of $7.25 and hour, you have to work 11 minutes every day to earn enough to pay for dinner with wine. If you live in San Francisco where the minimum wage if $15 an hour, you have to work 5 1/2 minutes to earn enough to pay for dinner with wine.

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

I don't know whether it's cheaper, but I'm picky and don't particularly care for frozen meals or takeout. I cook my own meals because I'm so particular and perfectionist about food. But that doesn't mean that I don't take shortcuts One of my favorite meals to bring to work is my take on chicken parmasan. I buy a bag of frozen parmesan chicken from Aldi (about $5 for 5-6 large, breaded chicken breasts), bake them in the oven and cook a $1 box of pasta. Pour some doctored spaghetti sauce on top and sprinkle some grated parmasan. I will usually add some broccoli on the side too. Cost breakdown is $8-9.00 for 5 generous portions. My second favorite meal to bring to work is taco salad and the cost is about the same.

 

[missnic]

I usually make chicken and rice and veggies on Sunday for the week. A huge bag of frozen mixed or stir fry veggies is about $10 at Costco and will last about a month. Brown rice is cheap, and chicken breast is fairly cheap. You can dress up the chicken with any marinade or flavoring so it doesn't get super boring. $30 or so for a month of lunches that are much healthier than frozen stuff.

I'll also do salad or just leftovers for lunch. This week I'm trying a Korean beef bowl using ground beef. I'm excited. lol

 

[shells4]

Will precooked food last throughout the whole week until thurs in the fridge? We normally don't have leftovers so not sure on food durability.

We freeze many of our leftovers. Soups, casseroles, frozen veggies. It's nice to have variety so u can grab what sounds good that day without much work. I typically add a salad, fresh fruit, yogart, hardboiled egg, cheese, roll, or something along that line. The simpler, the more likely u will be to stick to it. I purposely make our dinners something I know freezes well. Sometimes it is trial and error until u figure out what u like.

 

[wendow]

I am big on making my cooking count Plus we are a very busy family with activities almost every single night. We also rarely eat out (once every 4 mos??...including fast food). I double every recipe (sometimes even triple). We are a bigger family and my dh would much rather have dinner leftovers for lunch than a frozen dinner. I can almost always double (or triple) a recipe for $12-15 total. If our family of 6 eats that for dinner twice plus dh can get a lunch out of the deal, the cost for his lunch is in line with your frozen dinner but what I make is much healthier. I'm not a fan of frozen dinners. The amount of preservatives is shocking and I'd rather steer clear of food like that on a regular basis. I also freeze meals.

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

I don't eat leftovers, so don't ever have any of those to take for lunches. But I work 30 seconds from where I live. So I can easily run home. That said, I usually only take about 30 or so minutes for lunch because I'd rather get off work early. So I usually get Subway (2-3 times per week) or something else like the local hamburger joint and bring it back and eat at my desk. We spend, on average, about $200-$250/week on food not counting eat out on the weekends. So, after that (Friday and/or Saturday night and after church on Sunday), we spend close to or over $300 per week on food (about $1,200 per month). As I said, I only live literally 30 seconds from work, but I don't like to go home. I don't like plain bread (love hoagie rolls) or soups/chili, don't like leftovers and rarely have time to cook something for lunch outside of nachos. I'm also not big on the prepared meals because they're so high in sodium and other nonsense.

 

[shelemm]

True leftovers are free, but if you are buying food specifically for lunch, you can't compete with cheapo frozen meals on the basis of price. I think they are awful, but if you find them acceptable, then go for it. You will almost surely pay a lot more for any other food option.

 

[LovesTimone]

When I was working I took my lunch 4 days a week, and on Friday we would all get together and order something in, or go out for lunch...

Start small... try packing your lunch one day a week , then up it to two days... then go crazy and go for 3, then if things get really wild swing for the fence's and go for 4...

You have to plan and work at this to make it work for you... I know when I see the savings in front of me... I tend to want to keep going.... more savings... more money for fun things....

So on Sunday night if I had planned to grill chicken... I would throw in a couple of extra pieces(1 or 2)...plain with just salt and pepper... and you can make a ton of different options with this... Chicken salad, BBQ shredded chicken, top a salad with some slices, top leftover Pasta w/Alfredo sauce... eat cold with some raw veggies...then later in the week if a made something in a crock pot... like chili you can take the left over, throw it over some left over pasta for chili-mac or rice...

Pack your lunch the night before... Make sure you have plastic container to put stuff in all sizes ( the dollar store is the place I go for this stuff) make sure to get some little ones for ketchup & mayo or salad dressing, baggies, foil, plastic forks, knives and spoons if you break-room doesn't have any thing like this... I always picked up pretty napkins, it made lunch seem better.. pack everything in the bag so all you have to do is grab it out of the frig on your way out the door....

Last week I made some yellow rice and had quite a bit leftover, so I added some mild sausages that we had grilled out( Johnsonville) left over, I sliced them up and threw in some left over corn, and broccoli... chopped up some green onions. Add some cheesy bread and dinner was served... there was enough from the leftover meal for me for lunch the next day.

Also how you shop, can effect your budget... check out your local stores AD, see and use what's seasonal right now, plan meals around those items...Make a list and stick to it...

Sometimes when my DD's was still at home and we had things going on dance, colorguard, some youth thing a church, working late, or whatever... I would stop and get rotisserie chicken and the sides at Publix's, then whatever was left was my lunch the next day..