Handbook for Good Low Cost Eating

Books by Clarence Parker by Low Cost Cooking, Business Handbook for the Self Employed, and Basic Cooking for Men and Women

1 Full size cover, click here

2 Some key points, click here

3 Table of contents, click here

4 Free information from the introduction, click here

5 Free information on breakfast, click here

Some Key Points

This book is for all persons who struggle to feed their families for the lowest cost or for those who just want to save money on their food costs.
The good news is there are many easy ways to save money on food. The important thing is you must have the will to do it. For a family of four, save up to $200 or more/month.

Preparing good food at minimum cost is made easier because of the large number of items that can be bought at low prices by shopping carefully.

My estimate for feeding a family of four is about $275/month. This low cost is only possible if you use the recommended cost savings to obtain food that is good for you.

You need to be able to find and buy low cost items and be prepared to make changes in what and how you eat. A little difficult at first but it gets easier.

Prices do change depending on many circumstances. If prices increase, the lowest costs will still be obtained by using the ideas from this book.

Once you understand planning, shopping and cooking, you only need to use this book as a reference and for selecting low cost recipes.

In addition to meal planning and shopping tips, there are over 60 low cost recipes.

Table of Contents
	Preface		i
	Acknowledgments		ii
1	Introduction		1
2	Planning and Shopping		5
3	Breakfast		9
4	Lunch, Including Home, Packed for Takeout and Snacks		11
5	Supper, Including Meat, Fish, Vegetables, Rice and Pasta		13
6	Dessert, Including Fruit		17
7	Baking		19
8	Recipes
		Breakfast	21
		Lunch (including salad and soup)	27
		Main Course Meals	37
		Meat and Fish	48
		Vegetables	61
		Dessert	73
		Baking	81
9	Appendix
		Cooking Terms	87
		Cooking Utensils	89
		Sample Shopping List	91
		Shopping Cost Guide	95
		Bulk Foods	97

Sample Info from the Introduction

There are major cost savings available at large stores.

They have specials, low cost and reduced items.

They use cost codes to help you find the lowest prices.

The savings justify the use of a taxi. Use a bus to the store and a taxi home.

Meat markets, discount stores and bulk stores have some low cost items. Transportation to several stores may be expensive.

At large stores, cost codes are used for all items except for fresh meats, fish, vegetables and fruit.

25 cents/100 gr is “25 100 gr”.

25 cents/100ml is “25 100 ml” also “25 cents 100M”

Example

a 284ml can at 60cents is 21 cents/100ml

a 796ml can at $1.00 is 12 cents/100ml

If an item is $1.50/kg, the cost is 15 cents/100gr

A single serving of most food is about 100 gr or 1/2 cup

For most foods, 100 gr is about 1/2 cup

If there are no cost codes, calculate these as follows:
If price is 80 cents for 200 gr(or 200 ml), divide 80 by 200 to get 40 cents/100 gr.

You can save 50 to 300% per item ($200 to $250/month) on your total food purchases.

Buy reduced and low cost meat, vegetables and fruit.

Buy skim milk powder and flaked oatmeal cereal.

Do more home baking.

Do not buy store prepared foods or instant foods.

Buy spices in bulk, except for salt.

Use cost codes to find the lowest prices.

Suggested Budget Amounts / Month at a Glance (Total $250-$300)
Meat and Fish	$40-$45	Vegetables	$30-$35
Fruit	$25-$30	Juice	$12-$14
Eggs	$11-$12	Rice, Pasta, Beans and Cereal	$15-$17
Baking Ingredients	$25-$27	Milk, Cheese and Ice Cream	$55-$60
Bread	$13-$15	Spreads	$15-$17
Flavorings, Hot Drinks, Store Packages and Miscellaneous			$20-$30

There are many choices with different prices for meat, fish, vegetables and fruit.
Mostly they are expensive, but there are some low cost choices.

At a Glance, Fresh and Frozen Meat, Fish, Vegetables and Fruit
	Range, price/kg	Range, price/lb	Too expensive
Meat and Fish	$2.20 to $5.50	$1.00 to $2.50	$6.00/kg or $2.75/lb
Vegetables	$0.75 to $2.00	35 to 90 cents	$2.20/kg or $1.00/lb
Fruit	$1.10 to $2.40	50 cents to $1.10	$2.60/kg or $1.20/lb

Sample Info on Breakfast

A good breakfast provides energy for a positive start to the day. The cost is about:

60 to 73 cents/day or $18.00 to $22.00/month for 1 person

$2.40 to $2.92/day or $72.00 to $88.00/month for 4 persons

SUGGESTED ITEMS FOR 1 PERSON FOR 1 MONTH
Items	Serving Size	Cost/Serving	Servings/Month	Total Cost
Oatmeal cereal	1/2 cup	3 cents	20	60 cents
Dry boxed cereal cents 2	3/4 cup	10 cents	2	20 cents
Pancakes	6 small (4 inch)	30 cents	1	30 cents
Eggs	1 medium	16 cents	4	64 cents
French toast	2 slices	40 cents	1	40 cents
Juice	1/2 cup	9 cents	15	$1.35
Milk	1 cup	20 cents	30	$6.00
Fruit	1/2 cup	30 cents	15	$4.50
Toast	1 slice	6 cents	30	$1.80
Muffins	1	8 cents	3	24 cents
Hot drinks (adults)	1 cup	2 cents	12	24 cents
Miscellaneous				$2.63
Total Cost Per Person for 1 Month				$19.00

BREAKFAST (includes sugar, jam, syrup)
1/2 cup oatmeal cereal, 1 cup milk, 2 toast, 1/2 cup fruit or juice, hot drink	60 cents/meal
3/4 cup dry boxed cereal, 1 cup milk, 2 toast, 1/2 cup fruit or juice, hot drink	70 cents/meal
1 Egg, 1 cup milk, 3 toast, 1/2 cup fruit or juice, hot drink	70 cents/meal
6 small pancakes, 1 cup milk, 1/2 cup fruit or juice, hot drink	72 cents/meal
1 Muffin, 1 cup milk, 1/2 cup fruit or juice, hot drink	50 cents/meal
2 French toast, 1 cup milk, 1/2 cup fruit or juice, hot drink	94 cents/meal
Note: If juice is not served, use 1/2 cup of lemonade as a cold drink.

COST REDUCTIONS

There are not many options for reducing breakfast costs. However, for some meals either fruit or juice (but not both) might be served. Not all individuals will have milk with each meal. Make pancakes without adding an egg or milk (use water instead). Serve larger portions of oatmeal leaving out the toast.

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