Thursday, October 28, 2010

Cooking Hot Lunches vs. "Normal Lunches"..

Welcome to FRUGAL FRIDAYS!

I thought this would be a good thing to post about after I was asked a question about it. :-)
I appreciate questions- they inspire me!

Normal lunches, I suppose, would be things like; sandwiches on store-bought white bread, canned soups and ravioli, frozen pizzas, hot dogs, and golly gee, I don't know! ;-)   Really, I'm not sure- I don't  'get out' much.

Some of my lunches this week are;
Main Dish Macaroni, green salad, leftover white beans
Sausage Quiche, salad, popovers, homemade applesauce
Split Pea Soup, French Coconut Pie2

Let's see how they compare in (approx.)price.
But let's not forget that there's also better nutrition in a home cooked meal, which is of great value too!
(Leftovers also come in handy to keep costs per meal down too. For example; $2 worth of dried beans can sometimes make 5 or more meals a great side dish.)
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Split pea soup +


Sausage Quiche+


Main Dish Mac+


12 large servings plus sides/approx $4 for the whole meal
Plus leftovers


9 servings plus sides/$3.75 -$4 for the whole meal
Plus leftovers


16 servings on main dish plus sides/$4.25 for the whole meal
Plus leftovers





SANDWICHES+


FROZEN PIZZAS+


CANNED SOUP+


1 ½ loaves of bread$3
Meat/cheese+ $3-$4
Chips?- $1-$2 for cheap
Boxed cookies- .50


This would take at least 3 large for my crew and at $4 apiece= $12
Plus a sweet and maybe a veggie


This would take probably 4 large cans for my family. At (?) $2 a can, that’s $8.
Then there would have to be bread or crackers and maybe more to fill them.

Yes, it does have the disadvantage of a little more time for meal prep, but we are all home and I can work up lunches while the kids are doing homework at the table. I've also found that the more good food that I get down them, the less they get sick in the winter. That's a great bonus!



2 comments:

The Prudent Homemaker said...

I know you have a family of teenaged boys (aka big eaters :) ) but I was wondering if there is a cheaper source of peas and beans in bulk for you.

For example, my Walmart has most beans at $1.12-$1.25 a pound (dependant on variety). But I can buy a 25 lb. bag of beans for $14.50.

I'd have to look, but maybe Azure standard would be a good source for you. . .

Donna said...

Brandy,
Great point!

In my area, periodically I will have an opportunity to get them in bulk- but not often.

Azure ordering is not optional for me right now.

I did just order 150lbs of wheat and spelt! God is good!

*Also, in my split pea soup meal, I was including the meat in the soup, and French Coconut Pie listed above the charts. :)