Eat Cheap For A Week Challenge

The recession is being discussed everywhere you look - food bloggers included. People are constantly conversing and comparing notes on how to save money anywhere they can. It seems one of the first things people sacrifice is food.

No more daily take-out or dine-in meals. No more daily coffee runs to the local shop. No more throwing wasted food away because it went bad or no one felt like having left overs.

Suddenly, it's boxed meals and cheap imitation foods, instead of smarter food choices.

Since I'm a big believer in organic foods, I'm not willing to sacrifice my food first. I'd rather continue to eat as healthy as possible for a variety of reasons - level of health, especially as the cold weather approaches and germs tend to spread; mood regulation, to fend off depression or irritability; higher nutrient value in less food consumed, to prevent myself from eating and snacking constantly; etc.

Many of my friends and family believe I'm spending triple digits at the grocery store each week because I'm vocal about eating organic as much as possible. Oh, how I wish I had that kind of money. The truth is I have been frugal in my weekly grocery runs for quite some time now. Sure, I splurge occasionally on a big ticket item if I have a certain recipe in mind or if I'm celebrating a holiday and cooking a lot of food, but the majority of the time I watch my dollars carefully. (I also tend to go weekly since I use fresh vegetables and other ingredients, so they do not keep for several weeks.)

I decided I needed to do something to prove how it's possible to eat cheap organically. I Stumbled upon the food blog Cheap Healthy Good and found my answer. They took a challenge to eat for a week on $25 with a diverse menu that yielded 17 meals. All the recipes they used looked delicious and straightforward. I decided to duplicate their challenge with two differences: buy a week's worth of groceries for $50 and all ingredients must be organic.

Grocery List

2 whole chickens $14.72

8oz self-serve creamy peanut butter $3.99

6 carrots with top $2.99
3/4 lb green bell peppers $2.83
1 medium cucumber $2.70
1.29 lbs red potatoes $2.57
1 can salsa $2.50
6 pack 2 oz raisin boxes $2.09

1.18 lbs celery $1.76

1 lb yellow onions $1.69

Greek yogurt $1.69

1 can black beans $1.67

bundle green onions $1.59

1 lb brown rice $1.49

1 can corn $1.29

4 oz green chilies $1.19

1 can garbanzo beans $1.09

1 can white beans $0.89

2 lemons $0.79

2 oz roasted peanuts $0.44

1 small ginger root $0.28

Total $50.25 (it counts, just round down)

Now, this only works if you're able to shop at a store with self-service items, meaning not everything is in bulk. For example, I was able to purchase 2 oz of roasted peanuts instead of paying several dollars for a big jar of them. I also used several ingredients already on hand, which does not count toward the grocery bill.

Below are the 5 recipes I cooked and how many meals each provided:

Marcella Hazan's Roasted Chicken

Printable Recipe

2 3 1/2 lb chickens

1.29 lbs red potatoes

3 carrots

olive oil

2 lemons

4 tbsp butter

salt & pepper

Preheat the oven to 375*F. Wash each chicken thoroughly, inside and out, then allow to drain and rest for 10 min.

Roughly chop the red potatoes and carrots into large pieces, saving any scraps. On a 13-by-18-inch pan, place the potatoes and carrots around the edges. Cover with a few tablespoons of olive oil, plus salt and pepper. Wash the lemons well, then roll on a hard surface and puncture with a knife several times; set aside.

Place the chickens on the pan, breast side up and making sure the wings are tucked under, then put one lemon into each cavity. Carefully massage 2 tbsp butter on each chicken between the skin and breast meat without puncturing the skin. Liberally season the chickens with salt and pepper.

Cook the chickens for 160 min (20 min per pound, plus 20 min). Remove from the oven and allow the chickens to rest for 30 min before slicing.

Dinner: 2 chicken breasts & roasted potatoes and carrots

~Yields 2 servings.

~Adapted from Cheap Healthy Good & cooking tips from Robin at Caviar & Codfish.

After this dinner, I had 5 lbs chicken meat left. I did not have to purchase chicken stock since I had plenty of scraps to make my own - a little over 2 quarts in fact. After stripping the chickens of all their juicy meat, throw each chicken into a pot (or throw them into one jumbo pot if you've got it) with 10 cups of water each and food scraps from prepping the vegetables for the week (meaning dice up all the veggies now and store them in tupperware to utilize the left overs in the stock and for faster cooking later - except the carrots, just peel them and leave them whole since one needs to be grated later) and any preferred spices. Let the stock simmer for 4 hours. Strain the stock into several containers and refrigerate overnight.

Before using, skim off the fat and save for cooking in the future by freezing (and don't forget to save the chicken fat from the roast pan, too! It makes the best gravy base.)

Chicken Curry

Printable Recipe

2 cups chicken stock

1 cup brown rice

2 tbsp olive oil

1 cup onion, diced

1 tbsp curry powder

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced

1/2 cup water

1 1/2 cups shredded chicken

1 can garbanzo beans

1 carrot, grated

4 oz raisins

Greek yogurt

cilantro

Bring chicken stock to a boil and add the brown rice. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 30 min until rice is tender.

Heat olive oil on medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add onion, curry, salt and cook for 5 min. Stir in the garlic and ginger, cooking for 1 min. Add the remaining ingredients through raisins and cook for 5 min.

Plate 1/2 cup rice with 1/2 cup chicken curry. Top with 1 tbsp Greek yogurt and cilantro to taste.

~Yields 4 servings.

~Adapted from Cook's Illustrated Chicken Curry in a Hurry

White Bean Chicken Chili

Printable Recipe

1 tbsp olive oil

1 cup celery, diced

1 cup onion, diced

1 cup green bell peppers, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tsp cumin

2 cups chicken stock

1 can white beans

1 1/2 cups shredded chicken

1/2 cup raw milk

2 green onions, diced

1 tbsp all-purpose flour

salt & pepper

Greek yogurt

Heat olive oil on medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add celery, onion, bell pepper and cook for 5 min. Add garlic, cayenne pepper, cumin and cook for 1 min. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 5 min. Add the white beans, chicken, milk and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and add the green onions and flour, stirring well. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with 1 tbsp Greek yogurt, if desired.

~Yields 4 servings.

~Adapted from Chili Cheese Fries.

Chicken Over Noodles

Printable Recipe

Soba noodles*

sesame oil

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tbsp ginger, minced

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

1 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp brown rice vinegar

3/4 tsp crushed red pepper

1 cup chicken, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

1 green bell pepper, finely sliced

green onions, diced

roasted peanuts, chopped

Cook soba noodles according to instructions, then toss with sesame oil (1/2 tbsp per bundle).

In a pan on medium heat, add the ingredients from garlic through red pepper, stirring until well incorporated. Add the chicken and cook until all ingredients are thoroughly warm.

Plate 1 bundle of soba noodles with 1/3 chicken mixture, carrot, and bell pepper. Top with green onions and roasted peanuts to taste.

~Yields 3 servings.

~Adapted from Food Network.

*Use 1/2 cup brown rice if noodles are unavailable.

Chicken Picadillo

Printable Recipe

2 cups chicken stock

1 cup brown rice

1 can black beans

1 tbsp olive oil

1 cup onion, diced

1 cup chicken

1 1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup salsa

4 oz raisins

slivered almonds

cilantro

Bring chicken stock to a boil and add the brown rice. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 30 min until rice is tender. Stir in can of black beans.

Heat olive oil and onion on medium-high heat in a large skillet and cook for 3 min. Add ingredients of chicken through garlic and cook for 5 min. Add salsa and raisins and cook for 2 min.

Plate with 1/2 cup black beans & rice and 1/2 cup chicken picadillo. Top with almonds and cilantro to taste.

~Yields 4 servings.

~Adapted from Cooking Light.

I think the challenge was a success. I ate delicious meals all week long and even had 2 cups of chicken stock left over for another time, and made Smitten Kitchen Oatmeal Cookies with the leftover raisins (which are phenomenal!). I realized afterward a few of the meals doubled up on protein, meaning I ate chicken and beans. I think I could successfully redo this challenge for less money by switching up the menu some. If I was growing my own vegetables or bought dried beans, that would save even more. However, this was a great starting point that hopefully shows how important it is to continue to eat as healthy as possible on a frugal budget.

Thanks to Kristen from Cheap Healthy Good for approval to share my take on their challenge! Be sure to review their challenge which has a more thorough breakdown of prices per meal.

Update: I submitted this post to participate in Food Renegade's Fight Back Friday. Be sure to check out all the other fabulous real foodies!