As I seek to save money, one of the major costs I am trying to curtail is food. In olden days, read before Fall 2007, one of my weaknesses was buying my lunch. (I still long to do this, but I am resisting, thereby saving money and eating healthier. A win-win, right? I still want to buy lunch...) I hate being organized around food in the morning before I go to work, and before I even have had coffee. But nevertheless, I now bring my lunch. And when I have to go to Swarthmore or longsword directly from work, I bring my dinner too.
A typical lunch now consists of salad with dressing, cheese and nuts. An apple, clementine or other fruit. A soda.
I buy salad in large containers, fruit, and soda on the weekend, and toppings as needed. Approximate cost - $12/week. Not bad for lunch.
For breakfast, I buy yogurts and store them at work (Stonyfield Farms fat-free Lotsa Lemon. It's the only kind I'll eat, being generally a yogurt abstainer.). Approximate cost - $1 each or $5 per week.
Coffee is the one thing I still buy every day. But I bought a travel mug from ING Direct for $5 in December and get free coffee in it on Mondays, $.75 coffee every other weekday, and every 5th coffee is free. Approximate cost - $3/week.
I try to keep dinner and weekend food to things I have at home - pasta, eggs, couscous, rice, but it's so tempting to pick up something savory and expensive at the grocery store when I'm there, like a good cheese, or bread (I LOVE bread), or meat.
Do you have suggestions for cheap food/dinners/places to shop for cheap groceries? Any favorite recipies that are quick, easy, and only require cheap ingredients? Do tell...
4 comments:
Eating cheap is good, and of course eating healthy is too - but in case you need to indulge without breaking the bank, here are some options:
Dumpling House - 900 Race
8 dumplings for $2.50
http://philadining.blogspot.com/2007/11/dumpling-house-in-philadelphias.html
St. George's Greek Orthodox Cathedral - 256 South 8th
Friday Luncheon - Spanikopita $2
Syrenka - 3173 Richmond (Polish)
pierogies 5 for $3.75, kielbasa $4, potato pancakes 3 for $3.50
Ron's Ribs 1627 South St
http://www.ronsribsphilly.com
chicken leg & thigh $3.50; cornbread $2
Yeah, we have a great dumpling place here that's 6 for $3.00. Mmmmm. Pierogies, mmmm. Spanikopita, mmmm.
$3 on coffee per week! Wow. If I use my travel mug and go to Higher Grounds I can get my coffee for $1 a day, which is about the best I can do around here. Sometimes when my students work the Alderman library coffee bar I get free drinks too, which I guess is not kosher, but shoot I'm just a grad student I don't have any cash.
Anyway, bravo to you for seeking only the cheapest eats! There's an article in the latest Saveur on foraging for edible weeds...
Dried beans: Soup. So cheap. So good. Such lousy portable lunch, though.
Well, clearly we need to have you eat at our house more often, which is really cheap for you!
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