$1 A POUND grocery list

[Packratona!]

This is a starter list of foods I usually can find on sale at $1 a pound or less, at some time of the year or other. I buy at international groceries, farmers markets, Aldis, Save-a-lot, Sam's, Walmart, day-old bread sources, and use store flyers to find loss leaders at regular grocery stores:

Cabbage
onions
carrots
celery
apples
potatoes
flour
sugar
rice
pasta
beets
oranges
chicken
turkey
tomato sauce
eggs
fresh green beans
broccoli
lettuce
cucumbers
dried beans
sour cream
oatmeal
margarine
peanut butter
Corn tortillas
squash
frozen corn
strawberries
ramen noodles
bananas
papayas
plantains
yams
tomatoes
pineapple
bread
cornmeal
cantelopes
sour cream
beets (fresh)
rutabagas
turnips
cucumbers
jicama
tomato sauce
spaghetti sauce
pears
watermelons
fresh ginger
green peppers
bean sprouts
barbecue sauce
popcorn (raw)
evaporated milk
Yogurt (homemade)
Mayonaise
Mustard
Ketchup
Canned Tomatoes
Jam
Salt
Vinegar
Lentils
Frozen Veggies
String Beans (in season)
Zucchini
Pumpkin (in season)
Winter Squash
Peaches (in season)
barley
wheat berries
bok choy
collards
daikon type radishes
kale
mustard greens
turnip greens
Callaloo
Chicken broth (homemade, from boiling carcasses)
Veggie broth (from saving water in which veggies are cooked or canned, as well as boiling scraps peels etc.)
tofu (homemade or on sale)
mung beans
eggplant
plantains
yuca
chives, grown in pot
parsley, grown in pot
cilantro, grown in pot
mint, grown in pot
basil, grown in pot
plums
peaches
barley







I use these as the main ingredient for many recipes, and use other ingredients that are more than $ a pound sparingly.

[iris lily]

This is a great thread, not sure we've had this approach to inexpensive food. Good for you!

It reminds me of the bargain basement Goodwill where they price things by the pound.

[Packratona!]

Thanks, hope all those grocery shoppers out there suggest some items to add to my list!

[Marianne]

Great list! But $1 a pound for milk, too? Dry milk? Fluid milk would weigh 8 lbs. for a gallon...Ethnic stores are the best places to pick up spices, too.

Unfortunately, I only have one small town market that I buy from (the downside to living in the sticks).

[Packratona!]

Also, an additional point: my husband lost 50 pounds over the past few months just by weighing his food: he limits himself to about 14 ounces per meal, or less than 3 pounds per day. So if you eat 3 pounds a day of an average of $1 a pound food, that would be a total food cost of $1,095 per year per person. A good number to aim towards. You will go over on some items that you add sparingly when you can get them as close to the $1 a pound as you can, but will go under when you forage, dumpster dive, eat at Mom's, accept free handouts, grow some of your own, etc.

[Packratona!]

Thanks, removed milk, wasn't thinking! And you are right, you have to have access to a variety of sources/competitors to do this optimally. However living in the country you can garden and forage probably a little more easily. Though you can still do them in the city.

[Packratona!]

As an aside, I live in a location with tons of ethnic stores, a healthy variety of recent immigrants who are all looking for bargains, 5 different grocery chains who are competing, 2 competing drugstores, and also I grow herbs on my front patio in pots. I cook quite a few dishes from other countries because they are cheap, healthy and taste good.

[Packratona!]

Added bananas, how could I forget them?

[Packratona!]

Also, another trick to stretch the food dollar is an old Native American strategy: use the whole buffalo. Don't throw away those chicken bones and skins, make broth for soup! Ditto for the water you boil pasta in! Don't throw away those papaya seeds, they are highly edible and extremely healthy (anti-cancer) make a peppery salad dressing out of them! Make candied grapefruit and orange peels for cooking and gifts (they are delicious). Etcetera etcetera etcetera. And transform those leftovers. Because a $1 a pound ends up as more or less than that depending on what you do with the raw ingredients.

The extreme of this is in Haiti where they make dirt cookies by mixing dirt with some spices and oil. Beats nothing in the stomach.

[Rosemary]

This is a good way to illustrate how a whole foods diet is less costly than a processed foods diet, which is still sometimes argued in the media.

[Packratona!]

This is a good way to illustrate how a whole foods diet is less costly than a processed foods diet, which is still sometimes argued in the media.

Yes, that's right. Notice that hardly anything on my list is processed, except the pasta and the bread which you could make your self for less than a dollar a pound.

[ctg492]

ALDI,
For those that shop there: How do you find the quality of foods? Where are they made, stateside or other places? I have heard much about them, but wonder about the ingredients, place of processing. Is any of it local? Or is it just low cost that brings people in? Thanks

[Rosemary]

The processed foods at Aldi are very processed and full of ingredients that we don't buy, but the produce is generally the same as what you'll find at any supermarket, but at a much lower cost. I buy produce there regularly, as well as a few other things like frozen peas.

[Bastelmutti]

Hey, that looks like my shopping list! I don't think I can get strawberries at that price ever, and chicken only if you count chicken drumsticks & leg quarters, not breasts or whole chicken.

Aldi's food is mostly processed snack stuff and frozen foods. I mainly buy chocolate and baking supplies there.

[Packratona!]

Hey, that looks like my shopping list! I don't think I can get strawberries at that price ever, and chicken only if you count chicken drumsticks & leg quarters, not breasts or whole chicken.

Aldi's food is mostly processed snack stuff and frozen foods. I mainly buy chocolate and baking supplies there.

Yes, I only buy certain things at Aldi's. Whole chickens I can frequently purchase for $1 a pound or even less. But yes often I just buy the drum sticks, leg quarters or thighs.

[Packratona!]

Still waiting for some things to add to my list, no suggestions? I must have done a pretty good job then? I just did it off the top of my head, without even my price list in front of me.

[Packratona!]

Ready for my list of dishes that I prepare often using these foods?

[Aqua Blue]

I do find quiona for right around $1 a pound in bulk.

[Packratona!]

I do find quiona for right around $1 a pound in bulk.

Where do you buy it?

[AnneM]

Oh, I looked at that list and realized I can never get close to it as long as I am buying most everything organic. With a developmentally disabled child, I do all I can to avoid chemicals, etc. as people like him have a harder time ridding their bodies of toxins.

[Packratona!]

You would really need to either live in a location where organic is cheap and plentiful, or grow your own.

[Aqua Blue]

Where do you buy it?

I get it at a small locally owned whole food store. It was $1.05/lb when I last bought it about a month ago.

[Packratona!]

Very cool.

[thinkgreen]

Thanks for this great thread. I am enjoying it.

I can buy barley and seven grain cereal in that price range and use them a lot for baking and soups.

I'd love to see your list of dishes you prepare with your ingredient list.

[Bastelmutti]

Tofu! I'm sometimes able to get that for $1.00/pack, but it might not be exactly 16 oz. Example of a meal - what we had last night: BBQ baked tofu, baked sweet potatoes, coleslaw made with cabbage, shredded carrot and lime vinaigrette (limes 12/$1 right now at the ethnic market!)

[ljevtich]

Cabbage
onions
carrots
celery
potatoes
beets
fresh green beans
broccoli
lettuce
cucumbers
squash
frozen corn
yams
tomatoes
beets (fresh)
rutabagas
turnips
jicama
green peppers
bean sprouts
fresh ginger

apples
oranges
strawberries
bananas
papayas
plantains
pineapple
cantaloupes
pears
watermelons

flour
sugar
rice
pasta
oatmeal
Corn tortillas
ramen noodles
bread
cornmeal

eggs
chicken
turkey
peanut butter

sour cream
margarine
evaporated milk

tomato sauce
spaghetti sauce
dried beans
barbecue sauce
popcorn (raw)

(I changed it around a little so that it is easier for recipes.)

Plus:
Yogurt
Mayonaise
Mustard
Ketchup
Canned Tomatoes
Jam
Salt
Vinegar

Lentils
Frozen Veggies
String Beans (in season)
Zucchini
Pumpkin (in season)
Winter Squash
Peaches (in season)

If you noticed, many of the things that are less expensive are the fruits and veggies. But people eat mostly carbs and candy, yet they are usually the most expensive stuff!

[ljevtich]

For me, I can do breakfasts very easily from this list, even if you dried apples, pears, and strawberries to use for your oatmeal:
So Oatmeal:
1 C Oatmeal
2 C water (or dried milk - although not within the $1 a pound, I would not use Evaporated milk as it would be too strong!)
Dried cut up apples or pears

Cook until soft. Add yogurt (for the milk), add bananas or strawberries, or add jam!

Eggs: Scrambled with veggies:
2 eggs per person
1 dollop sour cream
(saute onions and green peppers - we use olive oil, but that is over $1 per 16 oz, but I do not think butter would be cheap either...so there might be a little fudging here!) although I guess you could use margarine.
mix up the eggs and the sour cream, then spread onto frying pan, wait a bit, put in onions and peppers
serve with tomatoes

You could also make hash browns or fried potatoes or bread for your starch

Lunches are usually salads with lettuce and veggies, plus sprouts. Most all of the condiments could make your salad dressing.
You could also have tortillas with veggies.
Fruit for desert

The hardest part for me would be dinners.

[Acorn]

Savory oatmeal makes a very inexpensive, nutritious and tasty meal. Add leftover meat, veg, top with an egg if so desired. I've added in cheese, broccoli and sausage, leftover taco meat, pulled pork, spinach, cream cheese - just about anything. Very fast and filling.

[HappyHiker]

What a very cool and helpful list. Many of the items are already on my regular shopping list, but some were not--I'm going to add them. I try to measure how well I'm doing in healthful eating by seeing how small is my trash output...I compost vegetable matter and if I'm using little in the way of packaged goods, my trash output is tiny. Except for a few wine bottles here and there..lol. But those are re-cycled, yes?

And eating frugally sure seems more healthful when I go for the seasonal specials in fruits and vegetables. It's a win-win!

[Amaranth]

bok choy
collards
daikon type radishes
kale
mustard greens
turnip greens

[Bastelmutti]

Amaranth,
Good additions. I have a local Asian market that has a lot of that stuff at or under the price guideline.

I bet most of the recipes on this site use the $1/pound ingredients!

http://www.manjulaskitchen.com/

The cook is Jain, so the seasonings don't include garlic or onions. It's all vegetarian, too. If you live anywhere near an ethnic market, particularly an Indian one, the spices are dirt cheap.

[Packratona!]

Excellent replies all! Going to add your ingredients to the master list!

[Packratona!]

Savory oatmeal makes a very inexpensive, nutritious and tasty meal. Add leftover meat, veg, top with an egg if so desired. I've added in cheese, broccoli and sausage, leftover taco meat, pulled pork, spinach, cream cheese - just about anything. Very fast and filling.

I have heard recently that you should soak grains overnight for best nutrition and also much easier digestibility, before consuming. $1 a pound ends up being more than that if your body can't get that much nutrition out of it.

[Amaranth]

Homegrown mung bean sprouts--In our area, the mung bean seeds themselves are usually a bit over a dollar a pound, but when you grow them out the bean sprouts increase in size and weight to the extent that they are significantly under a dollar a pound.

This is probably the case with homegrown wheat grass as well.

In our area the other sprout grade seeds are priced high enough per pound that even when grown out, they are still over the $1 a pound.

[Packratona!]

I buy the mung beans at the Chinese grocery. Very cheap. How do you get all the skin off after you sprout them?

[Amaranth]

If you put the sprouts in water and swish them around, usually the skins will float off and you can collect them for the compost.

[Packratona!]

Love the way you think Amaranth; Soul food and Chinese!

[Tiam]

Cabbage is your first on your list. I love Cabbage. I can usually get several meals from it. Cabbage is dense, I usually end up paying 2 or 3 dollars a head, but that usually will make it into 3 to 4 meals. I don't know what callaloo is.

[Packratona!]

Callaloo is a green that is popular in Jamaica. They steam it. I like it very much and it is great for you. I usually buy a large bunch for about $1 or $2. You can google for the recipes for it. Great to grow in a garden.