4
Warning: My rice and beans cost hit a milestone I didn't see coming
I’ve been eating rice and beans as my go-to cheap meal for over a year now. I added up what I actually spent on ingredients last month and it came to $23.47 total for 28 meals. That is less than a dollar per meal for breakfast lunch and dinner. I was shocked because I thought I was spending way more on spices and extras. Has anyone else tracked their exact cost per meal and hit a number that surprised you?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
the_miles1mo ago
oh man I feel this so hard. I did almost the exact same thing last winter with my black beans and rice meal prep. I was dead certain I was spending like two bucks a meal because of the hot sauce and the onions and stuff, but when I actually wrote it all down it came to like 88 cents each. I was so surprised I did the math twice. the spices thing is so true too, I buy my cumin and garlic powder from the bulk section at Winco and it literally costs a few dimes per refill, lasts forever. your mileage may definitely vary if you're buying those tiny glass jars at the regular grocery store though, that stuff is robbery.
8
the_viola1mo ago
Wait that math might be off a bit, 28 meals a day for a month is like 900 meals if you're eating 3 times a day. 28 meals total is more like 9 days worth of food, not a whole month. I mean it's still crazy cheap at 84 cents a meal, but you gotta fix that part lol. Spices really add up fast though, I usually spend like 5 bucks on just cumin and chili powder every few weeks.
6
Wait did your friend actually try living off 28 meals for a whole month? I knew a guy who tried something similar with bulk rice and beans, thought he was saving huge until he ran out of food on day 12 and had to hit up a food bank. Spices really do add up, but you can always hit the bulk bins at a grocery store and just buy a spoonful of cumin for like 30 cents.
8