How Low Can You Go? Safely.

Every time I see someone post a "super cheap but healthy" menu, they always seem to assume....

....that people would rather die or get in a soup line rather than give up meat, eggs, and dairy.

Not realizing that by giving up these three items, and rationing any kind of processed food - food actually drops drastically in cost. I'm going to post a couple of menus, and the daily cost for one person to eat these menus daily. In the Northern Virginia area, which is probably comparable with many other areas. You could get these foods even cheaper at Costco or Aldi's, but I'll take my prices from Giant Foods, a high end grocery that is located everywhere around here.

This menu assumes that you do a LOT of cooking from scratch. Most people who really are chasing the wolf away from the door have enough free time to soak beans and make their own bread. It's not a high tech skill, I've even seen these skills taught to the mentally retarded, so I'm not buying the "it's just too hard" excuse. Yes, you CAN make your own bread, hummus, beans and rice, TVP spaghetti, etc.

The food items are accompanied by numbers. The first is calories, the second fat, the third carbs, the fourth is protein. Totals for the day are at the bottom and in the same order.

Each days menu allows for 3 meals, water to drink, no snacks.

Milk, soy, ready-to-drink, 1/2 cup 51 2.0 5.6 2.8 - 20 cents
Oatmeal, cooked, regular 1/2 cup 73 1.2 12.7 3.0 - 5 cents

Hummus 0.5 cup 212 10.3 24.1 5.8 - 20 cents
Bread, whole wheat, 100%, made from home recipe 4 thick slices 598 13.6 108.7 18.4 -25 cents
Carrots, raw 0.25 pound 46 0.3 10.9 1.1 - 25 cents
Raisins small box (1.5 oz) 129 0.2 34.0 1.3 - 35 cents

Textured vegetable protein 0.25 cup, 56 0.2 6.5 8.0 - 10 cents (at Whole Foods, shelf stable)
Spaghetti, cooked 1.5 cup 330 1.9 64.4 12.1 - 30 cents
Sauce, HUNT'S, Traditional Tomato Spaghetti Sauce 1/2 cup 59 1.2 10.9 2.6 - 25 cents
Kale, cooked, from fresh cup, 69 4.2 7.4 2.5 - 50 cents (easy to grow, tolerates neglect)

Total 1,623 cals 35.1 fat 285.4 carbs 57.6 protein

Total - 2.65 cents

Corn flakes 1 cup 90 0.1 21.7 1.7 - 15 cents
Banana, raw medium 105 0.4 27.0 1.3 - 35 cents
Milk, soy, 1/2 cup 51 2.0 5.6 2.8 - 20 cents

Strawberry Jam 2 Tbls 101 0.0 26.6 0.1 - 20 cents
Peanut butter 4 Tbls 376 32.2 12.5 16.1 - 40 cents (this is for the natural kind, peanuts only)
Apple, raw small (2-1/2" dia) 55 0.2 14.6 0.3 - 45 cents
Bread, whole wheat, 100%, made from home recipe 4 thick slices 598 13.6 108.7 18.4 - 25 cents

Pinto, calico, or red Mexican beans, dry, cooked 1 cup 313 14.8 33.9 11.6 -15 cents
Rice, brown, cooked, regular 1 cup 215 1.7 44.4 5.0 - 15 cents
Chard, cooked cup, stalk and leaves 57 3.2 6.1 2.7 - 50 cents (easy to grow, tolerates neglect)

Total 1,961 cals 68.3 fat 301.2 carbs 59.8 protein

Total 2.80

If all shopping was done at Aldi's or Costco I'd say the price could fall another 25-35 percent. With even a very modest vegetable garden (say a patch of collards, kale, chard) it's could chop 50 cents a day off. Grow carrots or put up several bean teepees of dried beans and spend your evenings shelling dried beans for a couple of months in the autumn and that would chop another 25 cents a day off. Both of those crops are pretty disease resistant, store moderately well (especially the dried beans if carefully dried) and carrots are relatively invisible and not vulnerable to vandalism/theft in "iffy" neighborhoods. Beans not so much. Kale, chard and collards tends to not be real attractive to thieves, and frost will slow it down but not destroy it.

Bottom line, if you cut out meat you cut your grocery bill way down. Cut out dairy and don't become too dependant on dairy alternatives and it goes down again. Eggs too.

Both daily menus provide adequate protein (over 50 grams) and sufficient calories. Low in fat, high in fiber, and both have 5 servings of fruit and veg.

Also, this plan has an added side benefit. If anyone asks why you don't want to order pizza with everyone else in the office, or if your kids are asked why they aren't buying lunch, etc - you or they don't have to actually admit you or they can't afford it - which has a big stigma in our society. Instead you or they can say "we're doing this vegan thing" or "my mom is on this health kick" or "my doctor has me on a special low cholesterol diet" or "I don't eat anything with a face". It's an out. You don't have to admit that you don't have the money or can't see spending the money on something that's not an investment.

One thing I would recommend though. I would say that a good multivitamin (cheap if you shop around or buy online) is not a bad idea. Get one with iron (because you aren't eating meat) and B-12 (only found in meat, milk, eggs, or fortified foods). This diet isn't loaded with calcium either. So a generic bottle of tums might be good. A couple at night should set you up just fine. They are cheap too if you buy generic in the big bottle.