Saving Money on Food: 3 Days of Meals for Under $30 (What I Actually Eat)

I promise to tell you where I’m headed soon enough, but I’ve been working on this food post to give you an idea of one of the ways I’ve been saving money for travel in my day to day… and we wouldn’t want to waste perfectly good food pics, right? 

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So now that I’m working with a finite amount of paychecks, I’m becoming cheaper and cheaper… even for me. Scary, I know. But it’s working! My savings account has been growing and I’ve reached the amount I think (and hope and pray) that I need for about a year’s worth of travel.

Aside from not buying new clothes, non-essentials, or too many Friday night beers, I’ve been saving a lot of money on food. Funny story:  Some of the girls at work, after learning of my travel plans, admitted they’d been wondering why I always ate leftovers for lunch, never wanted to go out to eat, and instead just microwaved my little Tupperware containers most days. (Like I think they were actually worried about me. Thanks guys, now you know!)

After all the love that my last food post about Aldi received, I decided to document another few days’ worth of meals with more money-saving tips I use. The meals in this post – breakfast, lunch, and dinner for a little over three days – cost under $30. Again, most of these ingredients came from the super cheap grocery store chain, Aldi, though I did have to pick up a few items elsewhere.

This list is only three days long because, well, I had to go to the bar to watch a football game one night. And ya know, because Friday is Friday.

I used the same concepts of meal-planning and list-making via Pinterest, reusing a couple of the same ingredients in multiple meals, and eating leftovers for lunch to save money. This post also offers a peak into what I eat for breakfast… and dessert.

Don’t forget though, these aren’t pretty, staged food photos. They are pics of what I eat in real time, like right before I actually eat it.

My Breakfast Almost Every Weekday

Wheat toast topped with cheddar cheese, a fried egg (courtesy of Charlie), and Valentina hot sauce. Filling, tasty, and quick, I eat my breakfast in front of The Today Show each morning before work. Creature of habit, I am.

These things will obviously have to change on the road. I plan to eat lots of free breakfasts and have a lot less personal space… and cable.

Tip: The cheese is cheaper if you buy it by the block and grate it yourself (or make your boyfriend grate it).

Weeknight #1, Crockpot Chicken Pot Pie Soup

I have mixed feelings about this “soup.” One, it’s not really a soup as it’s so incredibly thick. Two, I have to season the hell out of it and garnish it with green onions and/or chives to get it to taste how I like. But it’s hearty and easy, if not entirely seasonally appropriate. I ate a TON of it and still had lots of leftovers. Just be prepared to add a lot of salt if you use this recipe.

Oh, and it pairs great with Natural Light.

Tip:  If you ever purchase green onions for cooking, re-plant the root ends. They grow back surprisingly fast and you can always use them for garnish. Also, free!

Weeknight #2, Bacon & Egg Lyonnaise Sandwich

This sandwich is the bomb! MAKE IT NOW! Bon Appetit does not fuck around. Sunny side up egg, bacon, blue cheese, brioche bun – how is it NOT going to be good?

Yes, Aldi sells brioche buns in a four-pack. They’re getting fancy.

Note: I did not use frisse as the recipe recommends – just a little bit of your average salad mix instead. I also used regular old spicy brown mustard instead of dijon because I already had it in the fridge (what IS the difference anyway?), and I added a little more honey to the vinaigrette than the recipe called for.

Pro Tip:  If you need small quantities of spices or things like honey, peanut butter, or almond butter, you can actually SAVE money by shopping at Whole Foods (shocking, I know). Since they charge by weight, you can just buy what you need. When I needed honey for this recipe’s vinaigrette, I went and bought a dollar’s worth. Kevin McAlister would probably call me “Mr. Cheapskate.”

Weeknight #3, Chicken Caesar Blue Cheese Bacon Salad

Well, ya caught me. Just like last time and the time before, I used a bag of Caesar salad… BUT I added bacon and blue cheese crumbles, and I cooked a little chicken to go on top. Hmmm, these ingredients sure have a lot in common with that sandwich don’t they?

Hey, I didn’t hear any complaints.

This was also the last meal I was making before Labor Day Weekend (you know, the last weekend that wearing a bathing suit is mandatory), so I figured we’d have a salad and I’d squeeze in three days of my trusty DVD workout with Jillian. Every little bit counts, right?

Dessert! Off-Brand Hazelnut Spread and Cookie Butter

This has become an actual problem. Aldi now offers the off-brand versions of Nutella and Cookie Butter. I am so screwed.

Each night, I get out a spoon (or fork, or knife, or whatever is in my hand after I finish my dinner) and eat out of these jars. Sometimes separately, sometimes together, but man, it is SO good. Charlie’s into it too. These things are bad news. But they are SO much cheaper at Aldi than buying them elsewhere.

Yes, I could save an extra $5 by not buying these, but they last a couple weeks and they make me happy, so I can’t resist.

For more tips on saving money on groceries, meal planning, etc. be sure to check out that detailed Aldi post if you haven’t already.

For more cheap weekday meals (and my Aldi shopping list) check out my original budget food post!

What are you guys eating these days? Is anybody else out there THIS cheap?

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On an unrelated note, I’d like to say thanks for the overwhelming amount of positivity, support, and excitement that I’ve received from everybody about quitting my job to travel! I fly out October 6th! (Ahhhh!) Whether via social media or in person, it’s been crazy – in a good way. It really means a lot, and you guys have reinforced my belief that I’m making the right decision. Keep reading and I’ll try to keep you entertained! And feel free to throw out some topics you’d like to hear about on the blog!

In the meantime, follow me on Instagram and Snapchat – @rsass – for more updates!