Just to clear that up I am not eating a whole container of yogurt each time I mention it. I bought a large container of full fat, plain Greek style yogurt on sale for 1.99. 1/10th of that container is assigned a value of .20;While it is not a lot of yogurt and not a 'serving' the little bit tastes great on fruit.
...and I had more this morning. I begin my day with 4.25.
Coffee .25
Nectarine .50
Yogurt .20
Breakfast Total .95
A reader asked me to try some of the cheap frozen meals because she used them and they 'filled her kids up'. I can't review them all but there is a site that does Michelina's and Banquet are among those reviewed and commonly available for 1.00.
I did purchase a couple and they sat in my full freezer for a couple of weeks while I got up the courage to try one. I don't have a microwave so the Banquet Mac and Cheese took a long time to cook in the oven, but eventually it thawed and was done.
I ate half of it. I didn't feel so much full as bloated. The ingredient list reads like a science experiment and it has a lot of ingredients my body is not used to. It was salty and cheesy and did not have an unpleasant taste. My advice would be to make your own and freeze it in blocks. If you make 6 servings or more at once you can beat their price and you need not include a science experiment in the dish.
Cost .50
Last night I made a Farm Market Potato Leek Cabbage soup. Leeks, 2.00, 1 large potato .38, 1/2 of a small cabbage .50, Turkey stock 1.00. I got 8 large cups out of this making it cost .48 a cup.
Though not hungry I began a lamb curry for either tonight or tomorrow and had an asthma attack so hot soup was in order. 2 cups
.96
I had a reader who asked me to use more cabbage and share how. Cabbage is cheap and very nutritious and one of my favorite vegetables. Get away from the idea it can only be boiled and served with corned beef and treat it like any other vegetable.
I came home to more soup. Salt water really, bouillon cubes and a few noodles. It reminded me of Campbell's but the price was right.
.24
For dinner I tried another one of those frozen meals a reader requested I try. This one was a Celeste Pepperoni Pizza for one. It did have a list of chemical ingredients, but with a lot of hot red pepper was tasty and did not leave me bloated.
1.25
3 glasses of iced tea .09
...and two hours later I was hungry so popcorn with butter was in order.
.38
Considering that I had two frozen items the nutrition was not bad. C and E were low but nutrition powerhouses like cabbage kicked it all up a notch.
I end my day with -.12
12 cents in the hole, and not a lot of food. I think that frozen foods while cheap are not a good value either calorie or nutrition wise. They can make you full(or bloated) but the lesson is clear that planning ahead is really the only way to work this out. I have two more frozen meals to try and we will see how those days go.
Total Calories 1,662
3 comments:
Fascinating series. Yes, I know cabbage doesn't need to be boiled. You can fry it too.
And I love fried red cabbage with bacon or fatback! Mmmm!
Most of the cheap frozen dinners don't work for me. Too high in sodium, still lacking in good flavor, corn as the veg, not enough food, and well, yucky.
Some of the more expensive ones are less expensive when on sale! Lower sodium, decent flavor, real veg, and enough food for two meals.
I need the sodium. I have such a hard time keeping my blood sodium up but I agree they are a bit on the yucky side.
Post a Comment