How much do you allow per meal?

Dry beans are the best bargain. Put them with rice and you've got quite the deal. Foraging and gardening make for some great deals, too. Even a window sill garden can be a really big help. Going back to pricing is really the way to go these days. Good luck and let us know how you do. Thanks and take care.

I didn't do as much last year, either, due to surgery and radiation therapy. Thank heavens I didn't have to go the chemo route. My daughter helped some and by the time the harvest was ready, I was feeling well enough to can a few things. Not as much as I usually do, but it has helped. I'm almost out of canned lambsquarter and down to one jar of green beans, but spring has sprung and there are dandelion greens and chives out there. Soon to be more. Gardening and foraging do make a big difference in the total grocery bill and it's healthier, too. I think that's especially important for those of us who have gone through things that destroy the immune system.

I had my massive surgery July 28th and was not cleared to do anything until October. So that really did a number on my doing much of anything.

This year was expensive for us. With the chemo,not much time home and when home not much energy. So the garden didn't happen except for a few things like chives, onions, oregano, and marjorun that come back every year. Didn't do much with foraging either. I was a mess for a long time with taht 7 hour deconstruct and reconstructive surgery. $100 a month is excellent. Yes, I was explaining to GreenMoo that when you start figuring 4 cents for squash seeds and 40 squash result 1/10 a penny for a squash, it is getting to be like splitting hairs. But it's still terrific to see. And zero for lamb's quarters that just come up, etc. Discussions like that would help people to see that if you're healthy enough, gardening and foraging are worth it because lot's of people don't think they are. Until you start showing them the savings. Thanks and take care. My foraging teacher would be proud of you.

I love foraged meals. I had a bowl full of lamb's quarters and 8 oz of yogurt one time and for 25 cents, I had a huge salad. lamb's quarters and yogurt makes me high. Strange, but true. I get just as high on that as I do on ice cream and that's saying a lot. Gardening can get knit-picky hard to figure. As a kid, 4 squash seeds at a penny a seed. Dad just rotated the crop when he and Mom planned that year, so no soil amendments (you'd just use goat furtilizer anyway). We got 40 squash from the 4 seeds. 4/40 is 1/10 a cent per squash. Yet, I've had people tell me it's not worth it to garden. I don't see what they're talking about. Esp. squash and pumpkins up here, they grow like weeds. If you can't grow anything else, you can grow that and string beans without trying. What work if you stick to those? We spend $2 on green and yellow bean seeds one year when I was a kid. 4 bushels of beans. That's 25 cents a bushel! A bushel!Not a quart, not lb, not a pint, a bushel! People don't even know what a bushel is! You can't afford a bushel of anything now-a days. We had meals where my Mom said, "This meal is on the garden. " Meaning go pick what you want and eat it. Less than a dollar a meal for the entire family was not unusal in a good year. In a bad year, a dollar per person per meal. Some years your crops don't do as well as others. But it's worth a try. I bet you'd be amazed at how little some of your meals cost compared to if you bought food at a store. I haven't done the cost from the garden like I did as a teen. Like seed to table. But I have seen crazy prices for veggies and known that I had way more than that for food for the price that was there. When you do, it will make a great topic for Mylot and blow people's minds!

Most of my seeds are free too as I seed save each year. This year I have more lettuce and radish seed than my family could eat in ten years so I'm using it as green manure. You just have to factor in human work when calculating the cost of a home grown meal. As we take volunteers to assist things can sometimes be far more expensive to produce in terms of man hours than you would expect! That's what happens when you have to do things twice! i am with you in not understanding the thought process behind saying veggies are not worth producing yourself. We had friends with no land and we had masses so we offered them a 50/50 deal for working it. They refused, saying that the work v reward wasn't worth it. I really don't understand that. Potatoes are cheap to buy compared to many veg, but you just stick them in the ground and water them then dig them up. If you have a well prepared soil or use mulches then you don't even need to weed. How hard can that be?!

Here, sandy soil, we can grow potatoes. Clay soil, root crops don't work at all. I'm lucky that I have a little of both. When I lived with my parents, their soil was sooo clay that they had to bring in sand for any crops and double for root crops and celery. Maybe they came from clay soil area.

I like your attitude , writer's edge , frugal living and healthy , we don't need so much more than that. I also recomend to eat vegetables that were not spread with spray against worms , bacteria and etc. The spray is also not healthy. If you pick fruits from the tree , eat them fresh , they have good materials for the body.(not just vitamins and minerals , but , also pitochemicals , antioxidants , chlorophile...).

Thanks stringer. I hope we have more fresh veggies this year. Last year was horrible. We had so much rain. No snow caused me to not be able to snow shoe. Without snow shoes, getting to the moth scabs and scraping them off wasn't possible this year, so apples amy be out.

SomeCowGirl, Check out GreenMoo and Pergrammos discussions. Hope when you move out you can have a windowsill garden or something to help with the cost of food. You would be amazed at how a little of something that you do can save a lot. Take care and good luck.

Yes, and you can supplement with wild mush rooms some times! Our JCEO gives out seeds to some families and that helps save money, too. Growing food and foraging can be a help. If you have at least windowseills or like my Aunt, a table you can plant in front of a window. Thanks and take care.

After a certain age, kids can have their own garden and help you water. That depends on the child, of course, but good idea to get him involved. Kids do great with little onions, radishes, and lettuce, chives, etc. the fast growing stuff.

Yes, I used to have a lot of plants infront my window. Kids sort of make that hard to do now. I have a safety zone in my room. Need to find a small table. Or out on the back small patio. I just don't go out much so hard to keep them watered. We will see.

Where we are, the sun is not out much for weeks or months at a time. Our vitamin D levels get dangerously low. We have to have either a lot of milk, fish bones, or take supplements. You can not compare where you live to where I live. If we drink no milk and took no suppliments, depression and broken bones result. Every place in the world has challenges. Our sub-zero fareinheight (spelling?) winter days are ours. Plus I'm European decent and we have a bone structure that has existed on cow's milk for centuries. Suddenly taking it away is probably not the greatest idea in the world. My brother stopped drinking milk due to an accident and the resulting antibiotics that messed up his system. He is now failing his Vitamin D tests and has to take supplements. He never failed them before when he drank milk. My family has very large bone structures. My brother was the largest kid on the football team and weighed 275 pounds in high school-all skin, bone, and muscle. No fat. My brothers tend to be in the 6 feet tall range with wide shoulders, hips, and huge barrel chests plus thick legs to hold all that up. My family tends to be huge. One of my brothers was born 10 lbs. Your fruit list is very enviable. We have apples, grapes, strawberries (some years), raspberries, and blackberries on our property. I want to buy some blueberry plants. They can be tricky since they're such a high acid soil demanding berry. Our seasons are short here. There are 365 days in our calendar year, 366 in leap year (once every 4 years) and we have, at the most, 120 days of growing season with one month on each end for only cool veggies like root crops or greens. So unless a person has a greenhouse, hoophouse, indoor garden, something, we have over 200 days when we can't grow anything because it's too cold, snowing or rainy. Where you live, there are much longer growing seasons to get such wonderful fruit. I'm sure you will eat well and think well to be able to live on your own. I'm glad what I wrote will inspire you to keep track of how much a meal costs. Transitioning from home to on your own is difficult, but figuring the costs of meals and using foraged food (the fruit you pick up in the neighborhood) is a big help. I hope you can read some of the other ideass on here and also see how other people live. Take care and thanks for the input.

I can understand you , if you always eat meat and milk to support your body structure , it will not be easy to start using vegetarian things instead for all the proteins and calcium. I guess growing vegetables and fruits is not so practical either where it's to cold. Maybe you can still consult a professional dietant to ask about meals that are more of vegetables and fruits and nuts and cereals and pulses instead of so much meat , milk and fish. There are still strong people that are vegans out there , like Gary yourofsky says , and they handle their diet well. Don't forget that meat and milk are expansive and maybe you can save money if buying other things...I personally find the other things are expansive too. Do you consider eating cooked meals every day that are based on rice ? What about soy ? tofu ? Those have some proteins that are not from the living animals but from vegetable sources. Anyway , have a great care and live well. good luck.

All right then. I got your point. I can't just change your ways. If you throw up tomatoes ,like dog throw up grass , I can't help you with that. Maybe you are all built to eat meat. But one thing is for sure : I bet you can't eat the meat uncoocked or not boiled or not on the grilll , just raw and fresh. Can you eat fresh meat like a predator ? No , because you are not a predator. Think about it.

Unless food is really cheap where you live, you have a garden (even a window sill one), make your own babyfood, forage, or something, that may be the bst you can do. But without doing it consistantly, it is hard to know. Let us know if you do start doing it more consistantly, what you learn.

As I said, my son buys some of his own stuff. One thing that helps me out is that my local Dillons (Kroger) store has a section where they bag up the less pretty produce, so I can get a mixed bag of apples, for instance, for around $1.00 if I go in early enough.That might be two pounds or more. They are very proactive about discounting their meat two days before expiration . . . I either use it that day or freeze it.Buy large packages and divide it, or cook in a batch. I get lots of their coupons from using my loyalty card, and almost every quarter they give us a free item or two. I take advantage of sales on their frozen veggies, and there again, there is usually a coupon that will say "save $3.00" when you buy $15 from frozen. So I buy a lot of store brand frozen veggies at that time, often at 88cents per bag. That also includes things like hash browns 26-32 oz for less than $2. Instead of lunch meat, I like to get a boneless ham. and we have a slicer. I also use ham or left over roast, turkey or chicken and make meat spreads. I can sneak in veggies for my son there. Beans and brown rice are big staples for us. I just try to keep track of which store has the best price on what. I go to a couple of scratch and dent stores. The one I like is a ways away from us, but less than a mile from my husband's favorite auto salvage, and with old cars we have to make a trip occasionally. My favorite scratch and dent place gets some day old bread, and some short dated things, but the other half of this store is baking supplies that have been purchased in bulk and weighed out. I get some of the add ins that I put in my homemade granola. I just recently started doing the home made granola, as my son remembered it fondly from his childhood. . . much cheaper than cold cereal, and it can be warmed up with milk in the microwave, for hot cereal. I think it takes a while to build some saving momentum. If we have a stretch where we are poor, we get behind and use up back stock, but it is good to know we have it.

Gas is $4 a gallon here. We can't drive all over to stores. Stores are miles away from each other here. We pick the store with the best buys and go to it for that week if we can buy that week. I know people who are nuts and drive all over to save a few pennies while spending dollars in gas. We don't have Dillions or Krogers. We have Aldis. Some stuff from Aldis is good, some stuff I don't care for. In the early spring and late fall, we use up stuff, too. We stock up like you do. Food cost us nothing when we were at Hope Lodge, but I don't recommend cancer as a way to save on food. I love home made granola.

We're very lucky that our bread store takes the almost done dates and post-dated bread back for resale and even luckier that it's on my husband's way home from work. Driving very far would negate the savings. It's getting too hot for that bread to be reliable. Some last week was moldy. I'll have to fire up the bread machine again. Yesterday was in the 80s and broke all previous records here. You're my sister in "stock up for emergencies" and in the foraging world as well as most things frugal. We keep spreading the word. Peavy, pergrammo, and GreenMoo, we're getting the word out in as many ways as we can. Like I told GreenMoo and pergammo (who had some cool responses, too) you'd be amazed at what you can learn from these calculations. I remember being amazed as a teenager. I don't think it's any less amazing now. Maybe even more so. Let us know what you come up with for calculations. $300 a month for 3 people is inspiring, esp. when you're adding to your stockpile for emergencies. Maybe you can even provide us with some sample meal ideas.

$240 a month for 4 people is very good indeed. Gardens are a wonderful help. I'm trying to get the energy to start some food on the windowsills in the house. Radishes, lettuce, onions ,chives, mint, lots of things grow well on window sills if you can have a window sill garden. We buy a lot of canned goods in the fall for winter, too. Like veggies, fruit, etc. We also do some wild food foraging, when stuff is up. I'm lucky that when I had extra money years ago, I went to wild food classes. So this summer should be better for us, too. I hope seeds are on sale where you are now. Before it snowed again, our dandelion greens were up. Most people can identify them and read up how to cook them online from foragers. We have a perenial and an annual garden. One comes back every year and one we have to plant. The perenial had chives, onions, garlic, oregano, and marjorum started. But now it snowed. 80 degrees last week down to the 30s this week. I hope you're able to get more food soon. Thanks for responding and take care.

Thank you, dear! Please take what I have to say with a grain of salt...as we have had clashes over Food Banks before! I attribute a lot of my frugalness to my foraging spirit, and the need for survival! Making the effort to learn about my harvestable natural foods..and "getting off my lazy BUTT and reaping, while the harvest is available...rather than putting my hand out..like those that drive fancy cars, and are at the Bars every night! I AM NOT, better than they are...I guess I am just hungrier...and blessed with natural pride! Please, I do understand there are conditions where this is ABSOLUTELY necessary! It tho, is still a current of anger running deep, that when I go out picking .. or harvesting, which is available to all & sundry..I don't meet another like minded soul! It took energy to learn what is available! Nettles now are growing amok..once again, I have stored my fodder for another year...and enjoying the soups, and using to replace anywhere that I would use spinach! Our mean winter temp this year, ran from +2C to minus 10C! Beets, carrots, all manners of Chard and Kale, I heavily mulched and were able to harvest all winter! Hopefully, I can get my son to take a picture and help me post this weekend! Of course, my Garlic was planted in mid-October and doing wonderful...I was a little worried about it, tho...I planted deeper this year, as we were warned of a bad winter, it took a while to show..but is doing well! OMG, I am fully aware of the WILDLY high temperatures you are having, as they are the same on the East Coast of Canada...PHEW! So early, I hope this is a harbinger of the type of summer you are going to have! One of our mid-provinces, Manitoba...is already being hit with wildfires! I, too pray that you..will have the health and energy to harvest this year! This is my big weekend, my son coming home to help me celebrate my 65th on Monday, and I have already sent the applications in for both of my Pensions! I, tho, will not quit my working...I will just be able to get some of the jobs done around this house, that required a bit more cash than I was able to muster up, without borrowing, and I won't go there..LOL! Great discussion, my dear! HUGZ!

I think you're doing wonderful for the area you live in. Can you imagine how much it would cost if you didn't garden, forage, and ocean harvest? I'm so hoping I feel well enough to do a lot this year. A winter where you still ahd a garden harvestable. Now you should start a discussion about that. We still had some subzero and some snow to about 12 inches. But yesterday was in the 80s and in March here. Unheard of. Record breaking temps all over the place. 80 is like June here. Occasionally, the end of May, but March. Totally wild.

Happy 65th birthday. Yes, took energy and money for me to take foraging classes. But that has paid itself back many times over. Like I was telling someone, Lamb's quarters plus 1/2 cup of yogurt gives me a natural food high! We're going back to normal temps now. Oh well, interesting while it lasted.

If that works for you, fine. But right now, where we live, the costs of things are exploding. I learned cost per meal per person in High School and was fairly good at it by 16 years of age. There are many ways to look at budgetting. There are also many ways to look at food. Since this was news to you, you might want to check out some of the other responses. Thanks for responding and take care.

My husband does the snacks and drinks. Like I said to the person a few responses ago, if that works for you, fine, but here the prices of things are going crazy. We also can do gardening and foraging, too.

Right now, where I live, there are many people who run out of food before the end of the month. So for 1 day to 1 week, they have no food. There is no money until another day or another week. If you always have money for food and that works for you, then fine. But if someday, you have not enough money and you are suffering, you will need to learn to budget. This is one way to budget. I know many young people who leave home and can not make it and have to move in with their parents. Likewise there are elderly people who don't have enough money for food and have to move in with their children. If you are fortunate enough to have food and not be hungry without worrying about money, great. But things change. Someone who is raising a child has to try to have enough food all the time so the child can grow and learn well. Yet, you wrote that sometimes there is no money to eat anything. Maybe if you thought about it more, there would always be enough money for you to eat. Hard to say. I don't know your income or your circcumstances. But you can read other people on my post to see how they budget. There are easier ways to think of money and still have enough food all the time.

I dated a Capricorn and it's very true. He was a Correction Officerr. Although he did not get much respsect from the inmates, he had a lot from his fellow officers and from me. From me because he knew that to give respect, you have to give it and he certainly did. Hope you find happiness Capricorn guy.

Your Dr. should have sent you to a nutritionist to help you figure out what the best food for you is right now. If you read some of the other responses, you might get some ideas. Whole grains like brown rice, etc. are usually considered healthy, but that depends, whole grain wheat might be a problem if you have gluten intolerance or other problems. Otherwise, research healthy foods and see what you come up with. Like nuts are healthy in moderation, but that's a problem for most people, serving size. Take care and thanks for responding.

There is a company in Canada that says it makes a solar stove that works in Canada up to 10 months out of the year. I can't imagine that working for more than 6 to 8 months and I'm below you guys. But that would cut costs and keep the place from overheating. July here is terrible, so I want one for that month. Although could have used it yesterday, 80 degrees here and it's March! Broke all the records! I think $100 in Canada per week for a family of 4 is excellent. I wonder what the cost breakdowns are for your meat and meatless meals. Thanks for responding and keep up the good work!

Not a problem. I am remembering right, you are the wild mushroom hunter of my friends here on Mylot, correct?

I have. I recently wrote a series of articles about the five mushrooms that are actually found to aid in cancer treatment. May have mentioned some of that in discussions. And I do tend to give my 2cents worth to people who are suffering and speak about it on here. Not necessarily a 'mushroom hunter' though.

I did research for a friend who couldn't keep white blood cell count up due to chemo and mushrooms were what I kept running into for the best way to help.

Unless we grew all our own orgainic, organic would usually be double that amount for two people unless you eat like birds. Our organic costs a lot here. Natural tends to cost a little less. Glad it costs that little where you live. Hope that continues. Thanks for responding and take care.

My Father started a hobby farm, so he could feed us kids. Teens do eat a lot. We're a couple in our 50s. My husband works, but I often can't. My Mom had a large garden and my Dad and we teens raised pigs and cows. We often traded for fish and deer. My Dad hunted rabbits. We went wild berry picking. I helped with freezing corn,string beans, whatever else came up. I also helped with making pickles, jams and jellies. We ate squash umpteen ways and as fast as it came up. If and when we had enough to get sick of it, we gave it to the pigs. That's a totally different situation when you have kids. But it's still a good idea to figure out how much you spend of food per meals.

Good for you. Sounds like you're doing what you can. I sometimes get a little carried away if I don't have list in front of me so that's good advise to help people. You may also want to check out other responses. People have had some great ideas on here. Thanks and take care.