By Mike Thayer
Can you eat for a week on just $50?
Breaking it down by the day, that’s about $7.14 per day or $2.38 per meal.
Day 7, last day of the challenge, dinner: It’s the last meal of the challenge, do I treat myself or do I stay on the under budget track? How about both? How does slow smoked meatloaf glazed with a spicy BBQ sauce sound? Both treating myself and staying on the conservative path in meal spending, I created a meatloaf for the grill. The recipe has three meats, ground beef, pork sausage, ground veal… It’s mixed with onion soup mix, red chili flakes, some cayenne pepper, dry yellow mustard, black pepper, seasoning salt, garlic powder, Worcestershire, Louisiana Hot Sauce, along with 3 eggs and some bread crumbs soaked in whole milk. I smoked the loaf in a cast iron skillet for about two hours. For the last 10 minutes of cooking time, I hit the loaf with a BBQ glaze. It was delightful and just look at that smoke ring of flavor pictured below! And while this meatloaf cost about $11 to prepare, a couple thick slices – OK three slices – for dinner came in under the per meal guideline of $2.38. It was another dose of YUM and a great way to end the challenge! During the course of the week I ate on a budget, but ate well, consuming a variety of foods. I cooked, ate restaurant food, enjoyed a variety of dishes and was also able to put some leftovers in the freezer and/or share with friends. Some folks didn’t think I could do this challenge and no, a person can’t if their habit is to eat fast food for lunch and/or dinner every day. But eating inexpensively (and well!) in a combination of cooking your own meals, coupon shopping and taking advantage of grocery store sales is very do-able!
Meal totals for the day:
Breakfast: $2.00Lunch: $2.65
Dinner: $2.38
Cumulative total for the Challenge:
Day 1: $7.25 Day 2: $6.90Day 3: $6.55Day 4: $4.21Day 5: $6.90Day 6: $6.47
Day 7: $7.03
Grand Total: $45.31, that’s $4.67 under budget and no Ramen in sight!
Need some meal ideas? Go to the Bachelor on the Cheap You Tube Channel
$pend Wisely My Friends…
Help support the continued content for Shopping, Dining, Best Deals, Product & Service Reviews, Tips, Hacks, Recipes and other great information by buying me a coffee. Your support to keep Bachelor on the Cheap a free resource is much appreciated! ~ Mike
Bachelor on the Cheap Challenge: $50 to eat for a week, Day 7, Dinner – Bachelor on the Cheap
By Mike Thayer
Can you eat for a week on just $50?
Breaking it down by the day, that’s about $7.14 per day or $2.38 per meal.
Day 7, last day of the challenge, dinner: It’s the last meal of the challenge, do I treat myself or do I stay on the under budget track? How about both? How does slow smoked meatloaf glazed with a spicy BBQ sauce sound? Both treating myself and staying on the conservative path in meal spending, I created a meatloaf for the grill. The recipe has three meats, ground beef, pork sausage, ground veal… It’s mixed with onion soup mix, red chili flakes, some cayenne pepper, dry yellow mustard, black pepper, seasoning salt, garlic powder, Worcestershire, Louisiana Hot Sauce, along with 3 eggs and some bread crumbs soaked in whole milk. I smoked the loaf in a cast iron skillet for about two hours. For the last 10 minutes of cooking time, I hit the loaf with a BBQ glaze. It was delightful and just look at that smoke ring of flavor pictured below! And while this meatloaf cost about $11 to prepare, a couple thick slices – OK three slices – for dinner came in under the per meal guideline of $2.38. It was another dose of YUM and a great way to end the challenge! During the course of the week I ate on a budget, but ate well, consuming a variety of foods. I cooked, ate restaurant food, enjoyed a variety of dishes and was also able to put some leftovers in the freezer and/or share with friends. Some folks didn’t think I could do this challenge and no, a person can’t if their habit is to eat fast food for lunch and/or dinner every day. But eating inexpensively (and well!) in a combination of cooking your own meals, coupon shopping and taking advantage of grocery store sales is very do-able!
Meal totals for the day:
Breakfast: $2.00Lunch: $2.65
Dinner: $2.38
Cumulative total for the Challenge:
Day 1: $7.25 Day 2: $6.90Day 3: $6.55Day 4: $4.21Day 5: $6.90Day 6: $6.47
Day 7: $7.03
Grand Total: $45.31, that’s $4.67 under budget and no Ramen in sight!
Need some meal ideas? Go to the Bachelor on the Cheap You Tube Channel
$pend Wisely My Friends…
Help support the continued content for Shopping, Dining, Best Deals, Product & Service Reviews, Tips, Hacks, Recipes and other great information by buying me a coffee. Your support to keep Bachelor on the Cheap a free resource is much appreciated! ~ Mike