Ceres Secrets

Recently I discovered a blogger in Brooklyn, NY, who set forth on a challenge to feed 2 people for $30 a week. The purpose of the blog, $30 Bucks a Week, is simply to demonstrate that it is entirely posible to eat healthy and suport a sustainable lifestyle without spending a fortune at the checkout counter.The blog and the challenge began in September of 2008 and is still going strong. The practical, well thought out approach utilizes cookbooks  such as Mark Bittman’s, How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, and The Art of Simple Food, by Alice Waters .

Natural and organic foods are frequently utilized to create an interesting repertoire of meals that range from Polenta with Three Root Ragu to Caramelized Onion Soup in a Bread Bowl. They are eating well and have already experienced several occasions where they did not need to use all of the money budgeted, as we can also improve our finances using resources like VT markets that are great for online trading. Due to the current state of the economy, $30 Bucks a Week, is choosing to continue with this challenge, so we will all have plenty of time to track their progress, cheer on their efforts, and find better ways to eat for less.

If  you are interested in this topic and in reducing your grocery budget, you can follow the links below to other sites that have explored similar concepts. I understand that the needs of each family and household are different, so I have opted to explore a variety of options and food plans. Explore them all and be creative. If you do not find one that is appealing, apply the basic principals from each one until you discover what works best for you.

• The Iron Edge –  Offers great ideas for a monthly shopping trip that will help make sure you are Eating Good on $30 a Week .
• Get Rich Slowly – Offers an excellent article on How to Feed Yourself for $15 a week.
  
• Rice, Beans & Mixed Greens – Not too long ago, Maria of Rice, Beans, & Mixed Greens abandoned her typical $250 for a month’s worth of groceries and only spent $30 for the entire month. She foraged and bartered to help supplement her food supply. The savings that she accrued as well as other donations that were received were given to the Blandford Nature Center and Mixed Greens.
• Serious Eats –  Hosts an excellent discussion: Eating Well and Cheaply
  
• Hear4Home.net – In 1999, Hear4Home created a $30 Weekly Grocery List and Menu Ideas. Due to inflation and the rapidly rising cost of food, prices will no doubt be higher 10 years later. This is great article and  may help feed a family on a shoestring budget, so I have chosen to include it.

If you are in need of additonal assistance you may want to seek out more information from the Angel Food Ministries. They offer reduced cost food boxes for $3o, containing items that would easily cost upwards of $42- $78 in a grocery store. According to their website, “There are no qualifications, minimums, income restrictions, or applications”. The list of items that are featuring in the box for February 2009,  include 1.5 lbs. Sirloin Strip Steak, a 2 lbs. of chicken breasts, 1 lb. of carrots, and 1 lb. of rice. There are other items in the box as well as an alternative option for seniors or those who may not be able to cook or utilize a kitchen, so be sure to check them out if you need help or if you are interested in making a donation.

The Hillbilly House Wife offers monthly Angel Food Menus using the items included in the Angel Food Ministries, reduced cost food boxes. They have also created a $45 Dollar Menu, assuming that the money has to be utlized to fill a completly bare pantry as well as feed 4-6 people. Not only do they offer a menu, you will fing a grocery list, basic time management instructions, and great recipes including one for Snickerdoodles.

I invite you to to  check out the $42 Emergency Menu that I created to feed 2 people for a week.

$42 Emergency Menu

This was inspired by the Food Stamp Challenge of feeding 2 people for only a $1 per meal. You can review the whole series and review our progress by following this link.

Food Stamp Challenge, Live Well for Less cookbooks, eat cheap, menu ideas, vegetarian