Food budget

[Anonymous No.8098247]

Theres got to be some responsible adults on here.

What is your food budget? Mine seems shockingly high now that I've finally collected enough data on my spending habits to make a budget.

How do you keep lunch costs down, as that seems to especially be a large chunk of my spending.

[Anonymous No.8098251]

Getting a lactose intolerant vegetarian girlfriend is one of the best things that ever happened to my food budget. I get 75% of my protein from sources way more affordable than meat now, my shits are super hardy and regular and my skin has almost totally cleared up. Seriously dude, learn to eat vegetarian 4 days a week and you'll notice an improvement.

[Anonymous No.8098255]

>>8098247
Increase your dinner budget and make extra.
Sandwiches are cheap if you aren't picky.
Make a big pot of soup on the weekend and reheat throughout the week.
Skip lunch and have fruit/nuts/seeds during the day.
Intermittent fasting (if you can make it work for you, I feel like it's more of a single person kind of thing).

[Anonymous No.8098300]

>>8098251
so you're just eating beans and chickpeas for protein or something like that?

[Anonymous No.8098303]

>>8098247
if i'm not lazy and cook all meals instead of eating out, anywhere from about $6 to $12 per day.
today:
>breakfast: ham sandwich with spinach, onion, mustard, olive oil, balsamic. maybe a buck, buck fifty
>lunch: big lunch, rice mixed with some quinoa, 2 chicken thighs, can of refried beans, 1/2 a bell pepper, 1/2 a small onion, 1/2 a carrot. so probably a bit under $3
>dinner: not very hungry, snacked on a banana, half of a kind breakfast bar and a serving, maybe a serving and a half of goldfish crackers. so like... another buck fiddy.

but like, other days i'll have a nice steak or fish paired with fresh pasta and a wine reduction. it just kind of depends on how i feel, not so much the budget, because i'm just cheap by nature. part of having a good budget is being a good cook. when you can go to a supermarket that has good sales and you just buy whatever's on sale that week (bok choy $0.99/lb, whole pork loin $1.69/lb - pic related) rather than having some set meal you want and buying stuff regardless of price.

also, buy ingredients and not meals. they're a lot cheaper.

[Anonymous No.8098312]

>>8098300
not the guy you're responding to, but probably broccoli, kale, eggs, cheese, etc. vegetarian is a lot easier than vegan

[Anonymous No.8098400]

>>8098247
bulk grains, bulk beans, small amount of bulk nuts/seeds.
Inexpensive fruits, like bananas and pears.
Frozen vegetables.
Cheaper greens, like romaine or spinach.
Dehydrate or juice whatever I don't use during the week, so they're still useful.
A handful of spices, some vinegars, etc.
Blend my own nut butters. Make my own sauces. Grind my own flours. Cook almost all my own food.

Groceries run me about $40 per week per person, but I could probably get that to $30-35 if I really wanted to.

[Anonymous No.8098425]

I spend $50-70 a week. I don't think I can get it much lower and still eat meat every day, or at least not any beef.

[Anonymous No.8098431]

I buy shelf stable dry goods and long lasting veg in bulk, meat when I get a good deal (and freeze it) and green veg throughout the week, usually on the way home. And I know how to cook. These two facts keep my food costs very, very low.
It's difficult to calculate just how much I spend because of the infrequency of my bulk purchases.

My last shopping trip, yesterday, I bought
• 10lbs of chicken thighs for $3.47
• 9lbs of onions for $2.67
• 2ish lbs of krab for $6.52

The bones and cartilage from the thighs is enough for 2 quarts of strong stock in addition to providing 21 portions of boneless chicken meat, a little over one cup of chicken grease (which is the best shit ever next to duck grease) and a bunch of delicious chicken rinds. All for under $4. If I just eat the meat and don't bother making stock or rendering grease or making chicken rinds, that's still only 19¢ per portion of chicken, which is still a pretty good fucking deal.

[Anonymous No.8098436]

On days that I work, my daily budget is $10/day. On days that I'm off, it's $15. I try not to reach that, and sometimes I go over because I allow for some wiggle room for special occasions or just really shitty weeks.

[Anonymous No.8100132]

Just got a job after uni and I've allowed myself a budget of around 400 a month, which leaves room for going out/delivery and a few fast food lunches at work if I haven't gone shopping in a while. I eat fresh fish 2-4 times a week, and it's a lot more enjoyable than my typical budget of about 60-100 bucks every 2 weeks while I was in uni. pic related, tonight's dinner of spicy catfish

[Anonymous No.8100152]

>>8098247
if lunch is a social event, like in most workplaces, its difficult. If you have a kitchen just cook larger batches and bring it to work?
My spendings on food average around 400-500€ per month

[Anonymous No.8100162]

I try to only buy 2 bottles of wine at lunchtime. It keeps the cost down.