About three weeks ago I was reading my friends’ Facebook feeds when I saw a comment about a person who did a $20 grocery challenge. My friend Khaleef was adamant that there was no way anyone could duplicate the shop that the original poster did and I was in agreement with him. So, I decided to try out a $20 grocery week and it went better than I expected.
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However
I did think it was possible for me to do a $20 grocery week, eat well, and survive to tell the tale. The issue was that I was about to go on a 2 week trip to visit family and present at a tiny event. Then I realized that it was the perfect time to try this out because: I would have very few groceries in the fridge when I returned. I connected with Khaleef and asked if it would be possible to do the challenge without duplicating the original basket of items the first person purchased. Instead, I wanted the freedom to craft a menu that was filled with meals that I normally eat…but perhaps you may not have considered.
By the way, I’ve basically cut my meat consumption by 90% due to a recent loss of love for meat. I tried to fight it…but I just lost that loving feeling for meat right now (was confusing to my Grandma btw). So, I had to really think about how I planned on getting most of my protein that week. Fortunately I was a vegetarian for 5 years and I like to cook so I had some ideas.
My $20 Dollar Grocery Week
You’re probably thinking the following: it’s not possible to eat and eat well on $20. The challenge was from Monday-Saturday.
My process was pretty simple and here it goes:
- I Evaluated What I Already Had-For those of you who are new to my blog you might not know that I’m really into stocking up my pantry, my products, and any personal items that you might need. I grew up stocking up and it’s great having plenty of stuff on hand during the lean months. I spent about 20 minutes going through my pantry and wrote down some ideas of what I wanted to eat.
- Checked the Weather-I eat a ton of salad and the warmer it is the more salads I feel like eating. I hate to tell people this but Colorado can stay pretty warm (even with the occasional snow) until the end of November. If it’s really cold I want to eat food that will keep me warm and cozy. I discovered that the week I planned on doing this challenge would be a mix of warm and cold.
- Nutrition and Taste-I didn’t want to eat boring bland food, so I took some time to think about what I could cook, trying to balance the carbs, and manage the taste.
- Made a Menu-As a rule I now shop about once a week and do a fairly loose menu plan. For the challenge I was strict about the menu plan and then I went shopping.
The Groceries: $19.35
I actually started off with $17.36, then I went to another store and picked up some kale for $1.99.
- Hershey’s Dark Chocolate Chips
- A dozen eggs (cage free, vegetarian chicken eggs)
- Shredded parmesan cheese
- avocado (1)
- cucumber (1)
- green onions (1)
- bunch of radishes (1)
- yellow onion (1)
- cilantro (1 bunch)
- parsley (1 bunch)
- lemons (2)
- carrots (1 bag)
Ibotta
I also used my iBotta app (affiliate link) to get some money back on my veggie purchases. I earned a .60 rebate. I actually ended up spending $18.75 on my groceries. Use grocery saving apps to get some money back. I eat a lot of vegetables so I love iBotta because it offers rebates on fruits and vegetables. This is great because it’s hard to find coupons for fresh food.
By the way, if you sign up for Ibotta using my affiliate link and redeem a purchase within 2 weeks you will receive a $10 welcome bonus! SWEET.
$20 Dollar Grocery Week
- Chickpea Salad–Chickpeas, cucumber, green onion, parsley, fresh lemon juice, olive oil, and radishes (Lunch or Dinner)
- Shashouka-Absolutely delicious baked egg dish from the Middle East/Africa. You cut up some white or yellow onions, bell pepper (I had red), garlic, sauté add some canned crushed tomatoes, season (I used red pepper flakes/salt/pepper) then make a “well” crack the egg and drop it in the well. Repeat with the second egg. Bake around 350-400 degrees around 6 or 7 minutes. The eggs will be firm. Add parmesan on top. DELICIOUS. Had this couple of times during the week. (breakfast)
- Yogurt-I had Pumpkin Noosa Yogurt on hand. It’s a Colorado Company and it’s freaking phenomenal. (breakfast or snack)
- Kale based Salad-With avocado, boiled egg, radishes, cilantro, and cucumber (lunch or dinner)
- Vegetarian Sushi–With rice, avocado, green onion, and cucumber. Wasabi and Soy sauce dipping sauce. (lunch or dinner)
- Vegetarian Congee–A dish out of China/Japan/and I think Korea. You cook the rice down in a vegetarian broth (at least 45 minutes) I also added some Star Anise to the broth (just two) Then top with a soft-boiled egg, cooked onion, cilantro, and mushroom (I had Portobello mushrooms in the fridge) (any meal-but I ate it for lunch or dinner)
Additional Meals
- Kale Salad–With apple, radish, and scallions and steamed fish. (lunch or dinner)
- Brussel Sprout Salad-Love this. It’s a little labor intensive but worth it. You have to peel the leaves off of each sprout. Then, blanch in boiling water. Don’t overcook! then I just let it cool of a touch and toss with olive oil and vinegar or fresh lemon juice. (lunch or dinner)
- Pasta with Cooked Lemon–This was the first time I made it. I needed to blanch the lemons just a little longer but it was DELICIOUS. I also added scallions, garlic, canned artichoke hearts and lemon zest. I topped it off with parmesan cheese. (lunch or dinner)
- Yogurt covered prunes-Grandma gave me yogurt covered prunes which were surprisingly good. As is the case with most Grandparents, she actually gave me 3 bags before I left her place. (snack)
- Homemade tortilla chips and salsa verde–Basically, I had corn tortillas in the fridge so I cut them up and toasted them to make some chips. I already had a mini can of salsa verde on hand so I paired the two together. (snack)
- Homemade protein bars-with peanut butter and chocolate chips. I forgot to add my protein powder but had some on hand. (snack)
- Chicken with Brussel Sprout Salad-I had uncooked chicken in the fridge so I cooked it up and made another Brussel sprout salad. (dinner or lunch)
Let’s Talk About This:
I spent only $20 dollars on groceries and I ate really well. Most of us could be spending a lot less on groceries so here are a number of take aways that I want to share from this experience.
- Focus on Your Pantry-I can’t say it enough, take time to put together a well-crafted pantry. Well-crafted pantries should aid you in throwing together healthy and delicious meals when you: lose a job, are sick and can’t leave home, have variable income as a freelancer, or don’t have time to go to the store.
- Quality is key-As you buy items for your pantry rock grocery store sales and buy the best quality that you can afford. I tend to buy: dried beans, canned organic and low-sodium beans, frozen veggies, frozen fruit, good quality canned meats such as tuna/salmon/chicken.
- Meat is Good-Eat Less-it’s cheaper. Also, if you eat less meat then the quality of the meat you purchase can be higher. I only purchase meat from Whole Foods/Tony’s Market/or a farmer’s market. Grass-fed beef only.
- Know How To Cook-If you don’t know how to cook it would be difficult to really rock this challenge.
- International Inspiration and Creativity-I’ve traveled…A LOT. I also have lived in other countries. Thankfully that has helped to broaden my palate. I like to eat food from other places and thankfully what I like to eat is great for a frugal wallet.
- Plan Your Menu-The menu will work as your guide. Without a guide you will have a hard time staying in budget.
Caution!
Please don’t read this post and think that a poor person who lives in a food desert could live on $20 dollars a week. That’s just not the case. I live within proximity of 5 grocery stores which include: Whole Foods and Sprouts. I am a huge foodie and cook like a Rock Star (I kid-not really, I am a really good cook).
In order to do this there is a lot of thought that has to go into the process. The USDA’s October 2015 food plan report shared the following range for a thrifty meal plan:
- $43.60 for a male between 19-50 years old
- $38.50 for a female between 19-50 years old
I would argue that it’s possible to spend less on your groceries but that to do this would take a lot of thought and focus. I enjoy challenges like this and have done a No Grocery Shopping challenge as well. Most American homes have a TON of food in them.
My $20 dollar grocery worked but it took some thought and effort to do well.
USE YOUR FOOD
I’ve cut down on waste and on my grocery bill by being very deliberate about using the food in my home.
Related Post: How I Eat Organic Food for Less, Tips, Tricks, and Tools
Oops!
I did end up picking up two items during the week.
- It got super cold on the Monday that I started the challenge. I was at a side hustle and ended up buying a meal at Noodles and Co. Because the salad I brought was warm enough for me. $6
- I went to a coffee shop and purchased a gorgeous avocado sandwich. I don’t regret it. The coffee shop is now officially my favorite in Denver. $7 (posh place=expensive)
However, I still feel that I did a great job on this challenge.
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Have You Tried A Grocery Challenge Before?
How Did It Go?
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Nice job! In reading your menu I can already tell you are a way better cook than I am. I’m seriously terrible. Every month is still a struggle with the grocery budget, but at this point I’ve almost come to accept it since I don’t go crazy in other areas of my life.
LOL! I really love cooking and so my issue is that I get tempted to buy everything. And, I love food. Right now I’m really trying to focus a primarily plant based diet with meat or fish once or twice a week. I’m trying to get a handle on my weight. Such a pain.
That’s super amazing. These days, even with a well-stocked pantry, I have trouble keeping my spending below $80-$100 a week (I cook for three adults and one toddler). You gain a lot with economies of scale, so $20 is a huge challenge. It looks like you could have made falafel, give it a try next time.
I think that it helped that I didn’t buy any meat or milk products other than the parmesan. It did take me awhile to wrap my head around how I would approach the challenge. I’ll admit I wasn’t sure if I would end up at the register and taking things back to the shelves. Fortunately, I didn’t have to. I do make falafel from time to time but I didn’t have sesame seeds to make homemade tahini LOL! Also, I’m trying not to eat deep fried foods to often so it’s more of a treat. I think spending $400 bucks a month on a family of four is amazing! You’re kicking grocery budget butt.
This might be possible if I were a good cook. We did get down to $50/week for the 4 of us earlier this year but it was HARD!
You have two growing kids and an adult male in your home. The fact that you got this to $50 a week is pretty impressive to me.
This is so inspiring and sounds delicious! Food is my one budget buster, so am always looking for tips. These all look really doable and yummy!
I love to cook and might..just might spend way too much time thinking about it LOL! If you try some of these recipes let me know how it goes!
I try really hard to stock my pantry also but the hard thing for me is sometimes my cravings for dinner is different than what is in my pantry so I run out for a “quick” stop at the market and end up over shopping. I was giving myself a $200 budget just for food already and that is so hard!
What you mention was one of the hardest habits that I had to break. Because I’m trying to really, really cut my expenses to the lowest amount possible while still maintaining quality I had to stop popping into the grocery store for “quick shops.” Unfortunately for me, the grocery store is the same as Target-I can’t leave without spending at least $100 so I have to go with cash, a list, and I have to get myself out as fast as possible. I’m now spending around $150 a month or less on groceries. But, I’m also making certain things that I may have purchased before.
Nice job I’m going to try to have a similar experiment living for an entire week with 30 euro and not only on grocery…
Giulia, let me know how it goes!! It was an interesting experience. I love challenges like these so I have a lot of fun with them.
So here are a few things that stood out to me:
As I said on fb, I am amazed at the variety you were able to have on such a limited budget.
I think it’s great that you were able to plan for a lot of snacks as well as major meals.
Your food pictures look great! What are you using for the slideshow?
You didn’t have any nutrient deficient meals during the week.
I think you did a great job during the week and I’m definitely sharing this post everywhere. Thanks for putting in the disclaimer about living near a bunch of good supermarkets – that makes a huge difference.
Thanks Khaleef! I spent a lot more time focusing on the process then I normally do because I had to stay in the $20 range. I’ve read a lot of low grocery budget posts where people are eating nutrient deficient meals and in my mind sends the wrong message. I wanted to share yummy, healthy meals that might inspire readers into thinking about meals that they hadn’t considered before that are easy to make and inexpensive. I have a Nikon Coolpix that I picked up last year on Black Friday and I just used the slideshow option where I upload my pics. Thanks for sharing and I DID think it was important for people to understand that I live near 5 (actually 6) grocery stores. One is a boutique high end grocer. That makes it easier for me to pick up food in a few minutes vs. someone who may need to travel for an hour or so to get to a grocery store.
Great work, Michelle! It definitely does take some effort but if American households put more thought into meal planning, a lot of food costs could be lower…maybe not $20, but certainly close to it! I’m going to try to make some of these dishes also. They look interesting!
Thanks Tai! It took some effort but I ate well, I didn’t feel deprived, and I ate really well. I’m digging in deeper this year and I’m trying to actually finish some of the things that I’ve started but haven’t finished. Like debt repayment. In order to do that certain things have to happen. Like spending less, a lot less, on everything. And, I work hard so why am I throwing my money away like I DON’T work hard? It doesn’t make sense. I have investing, savings, dating, family, and retirement to plan for. I don’t have time to waste my money LOL!
It is so much cheaper to buy food in the US. I bought this exact you posted and in Alberta, Canada, it cost me 35.86. Lemons are 1.89 each and it is May! Admire your plan though!
Grr!! I wish we had our own lemon trees. Do you have access to grocery apps? Definitely use those as well. Maybe I will put an addendum to the post that talks about being clear about what’s considered inexpensive in your neck of the woods. Thanks for letting me know. $1.89 is nuts for a lemon 🙁
You want to live in the uk then everything is horrendously expensive,I tend to buy the cheapest of everything I can but it still costs me £80.00 a week and that’s just for two of us, I cook fresh each day and do not buy processed food.
My best friend is British! Lives in Hitchin 🙂 I am very familiar with the cost of groceries there. I also eat extremely fresh food every day, stay away from processed and cook daily. I’m planting a garden now so that’s going to be really helpful towards the end of summer when I start to harvest all the yummy stuff that I’m planting. But, you’re right-American food is cheap.