Hey Houston, HEB is running some great deals if you are a real foodie on a budget. I’m glad I have a big freezer, because I stocked up.
Today I got:
Organic red grapes, $1.67/lb.
Natural, antibiotic/hormone free whole chickens, $1.97/lb. (Bought 4)
Natural, antibiotic/hormone free boneless chicken breast, $3.97/lb. (bought 4 packages, 1.5 pounds each. Probably will go back and get more).
Wild cod, $4.98 (wild caught fish for less than $5 a pound? We’re having fish tacos this week!)
100% Whole Wheat bread, 24 oz $1 a loaf (and this brand is made with sugar, not HFCS)
The large eggs in the clear boxes are $1.44, not on sale but that is the best price for vegetarian fed, hormone and antibiotic free eggs I’ve seen.
Horizon organic butter was clearanced for $2.69 a pound. I usually by Challenge hormone free butter because the organic is out of my price range, but this was cheaper than the Challenge butter! I bought 5 pounds. Did you know you can freeze butter?
I usually go to Bunker Hill, they have a the biggest selection of organic and the good meat. Last week they had organic peaches for $2 a pound, but they were out this week.
Speaking of food and food prices, I’m going to start a series on budget meals and cheap cooking. Then I realized that my idea of “cheap” might be far different from other peoples. So here’s an informal survey.
What would you consider an inexpensive meal? Under $5, total? Under $1 per serving? 50 cents per serving? Let me know!
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{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
I am interested in learning about budget meals. I have to admit, I don’t know much of anything about this. I tried about a year or so ago to shop with a budget and I failed miserably, but I’m pretty sure that I spend way more than I should on food. I can’t even imagine a meal for under $1 a serving but am very intrigued by it.
I consider $1 per serving to be a cheap meal. $.50 a serving would be something I managed with leftovers and would be very exciting.
I’m actually pretty happy if my evening meal is between $5 and $8 for the 4 of us. My thin, very active husband eats a lot. My thin older daughter eats quite a bit. My younger daughter and I eat what I would consider to be an average amount. Many of the sites that post recipes (think $5 Dinners, Money Saving Mom, etc) show meals that I would have to double to feed my family, and not one of us is overweight. Okay, so I would love to lose 5 pounds 
, but still.
I view $1.00 per person to be cheap, we try to eat mostly organic and do have our own garden but it is still difficult to maintain the cost for $1.00 or less.
For an at home meal I think anything that costs less than $4.00 per person is very cheap. Going out to eat, anything less than $10 per person is cheap.
I can’t even make cheap ramen noodles because my kids want cubed ham and shredded cheese in it. So even ramen costs me about $1.50 per kid. LOL. I don’t mind though. I buy alot of convenience foods so it costs me more to feed my family than most. I am not into scratch cooking. If they want ribs I will go to Kroger and buy Corky’s brand pre-cooked BBQ ribs (just bake to reheat for 30 min) which, on sale, run 10.99 per rack. I only need 1 rack to feed the kids but if DH is home I have to buy a second rack. That runs about $7 per person, but still cheaper than buying ribs at a restaurant.
I will buy a ham that is pre-baked spiral sliced when the kids want ham and it will cost me about $35 for a good half ham. That turns out to be about $2.50 per person per meal out of the ham. Those are just some examples of why I spend between $150 and $200 a week for 2 kids and 1 adult. (2 adults when DH is in town from work- one week a month)
Dh likes steak so he will buy steak alot which runs about $20 for 2 steaks. He eats one and the kids spilt the second one.
I can’t imagine what kind of meal would cost $1.00 per person besides chicken noodle soup from a can or something like that.
I guess when I bake Tyson frozen chicken nuggets and baked Rally’s seasoned fries that only runs about $1.75 per kid. That’s cheap to me. Half the price of a happy meal with nuggets and fries in it. My kids don’t like sandwiches unless we are having a picnic or out on the lake so I never get to get off cheap and easy with sandwiches much.
But you’re a frugal person. Your goal is to make cheap meals. Mine’s not. That’s probably why I am not good at it. Cheap takes more effort and more scratch cooking.
I think it does matter what your priorities are. I do use a lot of scratch cooking, and that’s definitely a money saver. Our “average” meal cost is $10-15, which is $1-1.50 per person.
For example, spaghetti. I’ll use 1 pound of ground meat (right now, bison for $5 a pound). 2 boxes whole wheat spaghetti noodles, $2. 2 big cans crushed tomatoes, $2, if that. 1/4 tub of prewashed organic mixed greens, $1.25. Salad dressing made with 1/2 c. sour cream and a splash of buttermilk – .50. Spaghetti and salad? Less than $12 for 10 people. Cheaper if I use cheaper meat, though I’d probably use MORE meat if I had cheaper meat, i.e., using 2 pounds of italian sausage at $2 a pound.
Actually, my biggest money saver is cutting the meat. Making taco salad with ground meat and beans, both. Making sausage and rice or ground beef and rice used as a filling. Cutting the chicken breast with veggies and making stir fry. I think we eat less meat than most people (though husband is on Atkins). For example, I probably wouldn’t serve steak. I’d make swiss steak or fajitas or carnitas to stretch the meat.
Though we eat pork chops, roasted chicken/ham, and pot roast pretty often.
I try for $1 per person. We like meat, so I usually cook about 1/2 lb per person. We’re on the other end of the beltway from you, but prices seem to be different. I don’t have the organic deals you have at your HEB. I would have to go to Buffalo Market or Central Market to get that much organic.
I went to Central Market because I heard it was the Houston Mecca for organics. I was really disappointed – selection not THAT great, aisles so narrow, and so pricey! The bulk bins there are awesome, though.
http://www.milehimama.com/2010/01/05/central-market-houston-review/
I agree with all the $1/person votes. For a meal that I make regularly, it needs to be $10 or less, which is for a family of 6. More than that, and it’s a special occasion meal.
It’s the only place worth it to buy bulk spices. It’s also the only grocery store I won’t take my kids into because of how narrow it is.
The HEB on Buffalo Market has better deals than Central Market and I don’t feel so darn claustrophobic…
I aim for $1 per person/per meal. An extravagance would be $2 per person for an extra-nice dinner, for example. Middle son and I are both wheat-sensitive, so I cannot rely on many typical meal-stretchers like pastas or breads, except for alternatives like rice or other grain pasta (more expensive). Eggs seem for us a great protein source for cheap. Today, for example, omlettes for brunch: fresh eggs from a local, zuchinni, onion, spinach and tomatoes from our garden, with a little shredded cheese and hot sauce. Yum. Fed five for way less than $1 each, even including the price of garden seeds! LOL.