Nutritionists often advocate to eat at least 3 meals per day or 2,000 to 2,500 calories per day. For many people especially those in families may find it difficult to provide a healthy and financially savvy meal every day without paying a premium. According to the USDA, in 2020, households in the lowest income quintile spent an average of $4,099 per year on food, roughly $341 per month. On the other hand, the highest quintile spent an average of $12,245 on food, roughly $1,020 per month. Taking these statistics into account, the average between the two income groups is roughly $680 per month. Assuming 30 days in a year and 3 meals per day, you’re looking to spend around $7.56 per meal. This may not sound a lot, but if you were on a tight budget and you were trying to spend less of your disposable income to allocate towards other areas, this meal cost would be pretty substantial.
One may ask, if on average people spend $7.56 per meal, why not just buy a couple of items on the dollar menu from a fast-food joint every day to come way under the U.S. average. The answer simply is lack of substantial nutrition and I just can’t imagine eating a dollar sandwich every meal every day. As much as I love ordering a dollar cheeseburger from McDonalds, I’m pretty sure at some point, I’d get tired of it or maybe even sick of it. The cost per meal will likely only go up through time as labor, transportation, and supply chain issues persist. Eating out could save you a ton compared to dining out, but there are several ways to take it a step further. If you feel like you’ve had difficulty finding ways to get your cost per meal down then these 4 strategies below may help you.
1. Portioning
According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, women are likely to need between 1,600 to 2,400 calories a day, and men from 2,000 to 3,000. The calorie intake will vary based on a person’s age, height, lifestyle, and activity level. Obviously, we can’t stop eating altogether, but theoretically if you consumed less, you would spend less. Therefore, if you were to stay within the daily calorie guidelines, it could potentially save you money if you are consuming the recommended daily calorie intake. Though, tracking calories on a daily basis can be difficult, meal prepping or portioning your meals can help eliminate the time it takes to count calories given that you are making the same meal multiple times. On top of the health benefits to staying within the recommended daily calorie intake, you should also see an incremental saving from throwing out leftovers.
2. Simple Recipes
We often see either on TV or online very elaborate and time-consuming recipes. Whether it may be a Beef Wellington or a Filet Mignon which are undoubtedly delicious also require several or premium ingredients as opposed to a simple chicken and broccoli dish. A Beef Wellington costs roughly $50-$70 per dish where most of the cost is for the center-cut beef tenderloin. Point being is that simple recipes that require relatively inexpensive ingredients or ingredients that are readily available in every grocery store should save you money compared to making a premium dish. To take it a step further, perhaps you still want to make a specific dish that requires several ingredients. In order to cut the cost, you can simply substitute ingredients like replacing beef with chicken or even cut out ingredients that don’t sacrifice the quality of your dish.
3. Buy in Bulk
Its not a secret if you buy in bulk, the cost per unit is likely cheaper than if you were to buy in smaller quantities. Several grocery stores or wholesale stores even list out the cost per unit whether it be cost per ounce or pound. For example, the average Walmart price per pound of chicken in a family pack is roughly $2.18/lb compared to $3.38/lb for a 3-pack. One of the few downsides to bulk buying is the space that you would need to store food in your fridge. However, if you are able to time when you bulk buy proportionate to the space that you have, then bulk buying your groceries can be a very effective method to getting your cost per meal down.
4. Reduce Meat Intake
Meat has always been touted as the only and most effective way to get your recommended daily protein intake especially for those that go to the gym. For myself, it’s quite difficult to not have meat in a meal given that I grew up always having some sort of meat in my meals. However, meat is largely the most expensive ingredient in your dishes and if you are worried about protein intake, you will be surprised how many vegetables can provide you substantial amount of protein. Not here to argue against meat lovers, but if you are really looking for a way to cut your meal cost, I wouldn’t advocate for the complete elimination of meat from your diet, but instead a small reduction in meat intake. For example, instead of having sausage and bacon for breakfast, you can substitute with eggs or potato wedges which is a relatively inexpensive substitute.
Having 3 meals a day is almost unavoidable and at times can be expensive coupled with the existing inflationary environment that we are in. According to the USDA, food expenses in 2020 accounted for roughly 8.6% of an individual’s disposable income. This ratio can grow if you are the sole provider of a family, but the strategies above are really not meant to dissuade you from living your life, but instead can be used as a complement to your lifestyle. Whether you apply the strategies once a day or once every month, these strategies can save you a meaningful amount long term and can be beneficial to your health.
