Rate this meal.

[Wabi Sabi]

The various posts on different diets, recipes, grocery budgets, etc. always interest me just because I like seeing how what "healthy" means varies depending upon who you ask, it's interesting to see how other people eat, etc.

 

So, I'm curious. How would you rate this means in terms of what you consider healthy? What about cost- is it about on par with what you'd spend on an average dinner? More expensive? Cheaper?

 

Roast chicken legs (little olive oil, salt, pepper) $3.50

Frozen potato/vegetable mix 2 bags @ $2.50 each

Fresh pineapple $1

 

Total= $9.50 for family of 4

Edited April 26, 2012 by Wabi Sabi

[REv1053]

I think your total should be $9.50 for dinner.

 

Normally I spend about $15 for dinner most nights, though we are a family of 6 not 4. So I would rank a $7 dinner as super cheap, and a $9.50 dinner as cheap.

[Wabi Sabi]

I think your total should be $9.50 for dinner.

 

Normally I spend about $15 for dinner most nights, though we are a family of 6 not 4. So I would rank a $7 dinner as super cheap, and a $9.50 dinner as cheap.

 

Oops. I only counted one bag of the potatoes. Fixed!

[Jpoy85]

it would be a tad healthier if those were fresh veggies instead of frozen. You can easily steam them to make them soft and yummy! (you can buy the steamer bags over by Ziploc baggies at the store!)

 

Thats about it. It sounds GOOD!!!

[Laurie4b]

The various posts on different diets, recipes, grocery budgets, etc. always interest me just because I like seeing how what "healthy" means varies depending upon who you ask, it's interesting to see how other people eat, etc.

 

So, I'm curious. How would you rate this means in terms of what you consider healthy? What about cost- is it about on par with what you'd spend on an average dinner? More expensive? Cheaper?

 

Roast chicken legs (little olive oil, salt, pepper) $3.50

Frozen potato/vegetable mix 2 bags @ $2.50 each

Fresh pineapple $1

 

Total= $9.50 for family of 4

 

What kind of vegetables are in the mix?

[KungFuPanda]

I'd have no problems with that meal (assuming the frozen veggies weren't brussel sprouts). The price is good and meat and veggies makes me happy. My kids LOVE fresh pineapple and I'm impressed you could get it for a dollar.

Edited April 26, 2012 by KungFuPanda

[nova147]

You could do fresh potatoes and veggies for less. Or fresh potatoes and frozen veggies, which are usually $1-$1.50 a bag, and are enough for 4 people.

 

I don't usually buy chicken legs, so I don't know about the price on those.

 

But it sounds healthy and delicious!

[alpidarkomama]

A cheap meal is $5 for the 6 of us. Tonight's meal was $2, not counting our home-grown eggs and salad greens. (Soup from leftover chicken carcass + eggs and leftover orzo; salad w/homemade dressing; homemade bread.)

 

I make homemade veggie burgers that cost $0.35/each w/all the fixings! (At least, that was the total 2 years ago; it may have gone up slightly since then.)

 

Friday/Saturday is our sabbath and celebrated with lots of good food, so then I usually spend $25-35 on chicken/meat for 2 meals (typically 8-15 people per meal) + lots of veggies/salads. That would be our 2 most expensive meals of the week.

[SonshineLearner]

 

Friday/Saturday is our sabbath and celebrated with lots of good food, so then I usually spend $25-35 on chicken/meat for 2 meals (typically 8-15 people per meal) + lots of veggies/salads. That would be our 2 most expensive meals of the week.

 

Do you get these from the Deli? Is there Mushroom Barley (Pasta) in it? Do you get Challah... especially with golden raisins? and enough of it for French toast the next day? Do you get the Noodle stuff (yuck, I hate it :)) Do you get Potato Knish??

 

If so... I'm MAD at you!!! I'm SOOOOO freakin' jealous of this meal... My favorite... I even like the kiddush wine... And I can sing the Prayer... I wanna have Shabbot with you!!! :) It's been... 20 years and I can still taste it!! :)

[alpidarkomama]

Do you get these from the Deli? Is there Mushroom Barley (Pasta) in it? Do you get Challah... especially with golden raisins? and enough of it for French toast the next day? Do you get the Noodle stuff (yuck, I hate it :)) Do you get Potato Knish??

 

If so... I'm MAD at you!!! I'm SOOOOO freakin' jealous of this meal... My favorite... I even like the kiddush wine... And I can sing the Prayer... I wanna have Shabbot with you!!! :) It's been... 20 years and I can still taste it!! :)

 

No deli shopping here. There isn't a kosher one, and it would be so much more expensive if I did shop there! :)

 

So I make challah, kugels (savory, not sweet ones), not a knish fan, and we have grape juice not sweet wine. :) Dinner is usually challah, three veggies, two salads, potatoes, chicken (or beef 1x/month), and dessert. Lunch is usually beef/barley cholent, salads, often some sushi, fish cakes, and dessert (of course!).

[Laura Corin]

 

Roast chicken legs (little olive oil, salt, pepper) $3.50

Frozen potato/vegetable mix 2 bags @ $2.50 each

Fresh pineapple $1

 

Total= $9.50 for family of 4

 

But I wouldn't use frozen potatoes - fresh are much cheaper around here if you prepare them yourself.

 

I'd call it healthy - we probably have that much meat three or four nights a week - the other days we have beans/lentils/eggs, which are cheaper.

 

Laura

[EthiopianFood]

Wow, if that is inexpensive for a meal, then I am WAY out of touch. :( We spent about $5 for dinner for three tonight, and it felt like a splurge.

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

Sounds healthy to me! It is also a typical meal we might have- frozen veggies come in handy in the winter. Now that it's spring, there is a lot more salad, asparagus, etc, on the menu. Chicken legs (skin on) contain good fat with fat soluable vitamins, which I am a fan of (We love animal fat here!) I would have maybe fried mine up in some duck fat, just to make them REALLY yummy... :D

[Alessandra]

Sounds tasty. I'm not a nutritional expert, but I do worry that prepared food mixtures, like the potatoes may have too much sodium. Is 180 mg per serving a lot? I would probably make the vegetables myself -- we would eat much more than the 1 cup serving.

 

But overall, you have a nice meal at a good price!

[Soror]

The various posts on different diets, recipes, grocery budgets, etc. always interest me just because I like seeing how what "healthy" means varies depending upon who you ask, it's interesting to see how other people eat, etc.

 

So, I'm curious. How would you rate this means in terms of what you consider healthy? What about cost- is it about on par with what you'd spend on an average dinner? More expensive? Cheaper?

 

Roast chicken legs (little olive oil, salt, pepper) $3.50

Frozen potato/vegetable mix 2 bags @ $2.50 each

Fresh pineapple $1

 

Total= $9.50 for family of 4

I also look at how the food was raised/grew. Typical chicken would not be my preference, for health(the nutrient profile varies according to how they are raised) and ethics. I buy grassfed/free range chickens but of course they are more expensive. I would use fresh potatoes and vegs to save money there (to help make up for the cost of the chicken). So cost wise a similar meal wouldn't be any cheaper but I'd just spend my money differently. Of course I believe organic vegetables are superior as well but I don't buy them 100% though but we all have to prioritize and I do that in regards to meat and fats.

 

In a general sense, it sounds great to me though as far as health goes, if anything I'd add some more green/cruciferous veggies. But then we are talking about ideal and I don't always live up to that either :)

Edited April 26, 2012 by soror

[LaxMom]

Sounds good to me! I'm not a huge fan of frozen potatoes, and mixed in with other frozen veggies seems weird to me, since they would all seem to cook at different rate, at least in my mind... And if they don't, it's from some magic of processing, which I wouldn't care for.

 

There is nothing wrong with frozen veggies, nutritionally. (as in, not with sauces and whatnot) They're flash frozen straight from the field so they don't even degrade as much as fresh grocery store produce, which is often gassed to be more "shelf" stable. :ack2: Of course, nothing beats your local farm market, but ours have just opened with decorative plants at this time of year. No local produce here yet.

 

So, there you have the nitpicker's opinion: Good meal, decent price (based on our local prices).

[Jennifer in MI]

I agree with the others - decent meal, decent price! I wish I could get things that cheap! Or, maybe it's just that I have hungrier kids. I roasted a 5# chicken last night and we have very little leftover today for lunch. And, all the roasted veggies I made are gone (1 pound brussel sprouts, 1 pound green beans, a couple carrots, and onions).

 

Anyway, if you wanted to decrease the cost a little, I'd probably buy a big bag of potatoes and cook those separate and then buy the frozen veggies without potatoes and use one bag instead of two.

[stripe]

I'd prefer fresh potatoes, but have no problem with some frozen vegetables (I don't like the texture of some).

 

I wouldn't spend $5 on frozen vegetables for one meal, that seems strange. I can buy a LOT of fresh or frozen green beans for much less money, and potatoes always seem cheap to me.

 

Not criticizing, just suggesting. Sounds yummy.

[Joyofsixreboot]

Sounds healthy enough to me. I would use regular potatoes for cost/filling factor. Here each person gets a whole potato. We'd roast a whole chicken. Veggies would probably be canned or home frozen. I'm having something similar tonight for supper

Feeding 9

 

Whole chicken~$0.89/lb

roasted potatoes~$2.89/5lb (probably use 1/2 the bag?)

cauliflower~$.90/head on sale

bread&butter (hm bread)

pumpkin pie (hm)

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

Where do you get fresh pineapple for $1.00?? Even the non-organic ones around here are $2.99 on sale, more if you get them precut.

[Laura Corin]

The price sounds reasonable. It wouldn't be cheaper here to do fresh everything.

 

 

I'm surprised. The UK is usually more expensive, but I can get a kilo (2.2lbs) of fresh potatoes for 59p (less than one US dollar).

 

Laura

[Jenny in Florida]

It's not a meal we'd eat, because we're a veg / vegan family. However, setting aside the meat issue, it looks like a perfectly reasonable meal at a decent price.

 

The only frozen vegetable I use regularly is corn niblets. (I also use frozen strawberries in smoothies, but those aren't vegetables.) Although we do love to eat fresh corn on the cob whenever it's in season, I like the convenience of having the frozen niblets in the freezer to defrost and toss into Mexican foods.

 

I, too, think the idea of potatoes being mixed in with other frozen veggies sounds a little odd. But, hey, if it works for you, that's cool.

 

In terms of price, I can't help at all, except to say that the fresh pineapple for $1 sounds like a deal!

 

We're having channa masala with onion and mint chutneys, curried potatoes on the side, basmati and chapatis tonight. It's one of our more expensive meals. It might be as much as $10 for the four of us, but it will leave leftovers for lunches for both kids for at least a couple of days.

[Annie G]

I've had those Alexia potato/veggie blends. I was surprised the potatoes and veggies were all done at the same time - I thought something would be under or overcooked. They are expensive but they're good in a pinch.

 

Potatoes here are nearly $1 a pound. I think if I bought 20 pounds I might get a pretty good buy but we don't eat enough to warrant buying that many.

 

I look at a week's worth of meals rather than trying to balance every one. Last night we had meatloaf (Pioneer Woman's meatloaf- not healthy at all since it's wrapped in bacon and slathered in sauce), mashed red potatoes, and butter beans. Yep, too starchy, but over a week, the meals balance out since some nights we just have veggies and we only eat beef maybe twice a month. Well, I guess three times this month because we have meatloaf leftovers.

[Wabi Sabi]

Where do you get fresh pineapple for $1.00?? Even the non-organic ones around here are $2.99 on sale, more if you get them precut.

 

Aldi's has had pineapple on sale for $0.99 each for the past several weeks. I look at the sale circulars that we get in our mailbox each week and make a mental note of places that have a super good deal on something we'll actually use. Then, over the course of the next week, if I happen to be in the general area of that store and have an extra few minutes I'll stop in just for that item. I don't regularly shop at Aldi's, but now that my ds has soccer practice once a week less than a mile from the store I've found myself using that 45 minutes to go pick up a couple things.

[Wabi Sabi]

I also look at how the food was raised/grew. Typical chicken would not be my preference, for health(the nutrient profile varies according to how they are raised) and ethics. I buy grassfed/free range chickens but of course they are more expensive. I would use fresh potatoes and vegs to save money there (to help make up for the cost of the chicken). So cost wise a similar meal wouldn't be any cheaper but I'd just spend my money differently. Of course I believe organic vegetables are superior as well but I don't buy them 100% though but we all have to prioritize and I do that in regards to meat and fats.

 

In a general sense, it sounds great to me though as far as health goes, if anything I'd add some more green/cruciferous veggies. But then we are talking about ideal and I don't always live up to that either :)

 

Trader Joe's organic chicken legs. I'd love to buy local pastured meat but that just isn't possible on our budget. That being said, can't bring myself to buy conventionally raised meat either, so the store brand organic is the best compromise for us. Not ideal, but better than the alternative. And, it's also why I buy lots of whole chickens, chicken legs and thighs and very, very rarely will I buy something like boneless/skinless breasts (too expensive!)

[Soror]

Trader Joe's organic chicken legs. I'd love to buy local pastured meat but that just isn't possible on our budget. That being said, can't bring myself to buy conventionally raised meat either, so the store brand organic is the best compromise for us. Not ideal, but better than the alternative. And, it's also why I buy lots of whole chickens, chicken legs and thighs and very, very rarely will I buy something like boneless/skinless breasts (too expensive!)

 

I hear ya, you have to do what you can afford and sometimes even finding good sources is hard to do, even if you can afford them. I just buy all whole chickens as well, no way I could afford pieces. I've been buying a lot of Aldi produce lately as that is all that has been in the budget and supplementing w/ frozen organic and some fresh from Azure. I cut a lot in other areas of the grocery/household to make it work as well, and ration when I can, it is a challenge and I have plenty of room for improvement myself.

Edited April 26, 2012 by soror

[*********]

The various posts on different diets, recipes, grocery budgets, etc. always interest me just because I like seeing how what "healthy" means varies depending upon who you ask, it's interesting to see how other people eat, etc.

 

So, I'm curious. How would you rate this means in terms of what you consider healthy? What about cost- is it about on par with what you'd spend on an average dinner? More expensive? Cheaper?

 

Roast chicken legs (little olive oil, salt, pepper) $3.50

Frozen potato/vegetable mix 2 bags @ $2.50 each

Fresh pineapple $1

 

Total= $9.50 for family of 4

 

I'd say it's pefectly fine heath-wise.

 

However, I'd PERSONALLY never spend $5 for frozen potatoes. I see that it has some mushrooms, green beans, and onions added; but I suspect that it's mostly potatoes. Instead, I'd make it myself. Buying whatever veggies are on sale that week (whatever potatoes are on sale, plus whatever else looked good at a good price; green beans, carrots, parsnip, cauliflower, onion, asparagus, brussel sprouts) and add my own olive oil and seasonings.

 

I'd also get the chicken legs for $0.99 a pound, because that's what they go on sale for around here occasionally.

 

So, if I stocked up when everything was on sale, I could probably do that meal for $5.50 here.

[justamouse]

For my own family, I'd never buy frozen potatoes, the bag of fresh is just as much and don't have chemicals sprayed on them. I can buy a 5 pound bag of organic potatoes for the price of those frozen ones. Of course I'd have to prepare them, so there is time consumption.

 

Most times frozen veggies are actually healthier-they're flash frozen and then shipped. The produce you get at the grocery store has traveled many miles, and has lost many of its vitamins. Farmers markets are still the best bet, though, if you have one by you.

 

Steam microwave bags- nooooo.

 

I have a friend who works for patent office of the gov, and he's a Dr of plastics. He says to never, ever, ever, ever put ANY plastic in the microwave. Take your food out of the plastic, place it on a ceramic plate, and then warm it. He knows they say it's safe, but for his own family, he won't store or cook anything in plastic.

Edited April 27, 2012 by justamouse

[*lifeoftheparty*]

The various posts on different diets, recipes, grocery budgets, etc. always interest me just because I like seeing how what "healthy" means varies depending upon who you ask, it's interesting to see how other people eat, etc.

 

So, I'm curious. How would you rate this means in terms of what you consider healthy? What about cost- is it about on par with what you'd spend on an average dinner? More expensive? Cheaper?

 

Roast chicken legs (little olive oil, salt, pepper) $3.50

Frozen potato/vegetable mix 2 bags @ $2.50 each

Fresh pineapple $1

 

Total= $9.50 for family of 4

 

I haven't read the replies, but I would need more information to see if would pass as "healthy" in our house :)

 

- I would only buy Organic chicken, from Whole Foods.

 

- The frozen potatoe/veggies mix. What kind of veggies? Are they Organic? Is there a sauce involved? A lot if times, conventional veggie mixes have sauces/butters on them that contain trans-fats, food dyes, etc. it's ridiculous! I would probably still have it here if it wasn't organic. I buy Organic when I can and don't sweat it when it isn't available, for most things anyways.

 

-Pineapple sounds good. That isn't on the dirty dozen list. Organic wouldn't matter at all.

 

I would serve that meal at my house, as long as the chicken was Organic AND from WF's (or other reliable source) and the veggie/potato mix wasn't covered in some funky sauce :)

 

Cost sounds good to me. I just got back from Whole Foods and I got for one nights dinner....

 

Chicken thighs stuffed with Spinach & Feta (6 thighs) = $10.21

 

Whole Red and Purple potatoes (going to roast) = $8.02

 

1 large bunch Asparagus= $4.67

 

Total is $22.90. That is dinner for 3 people, PLUS I got enough that DH can have leftovers for lunch the next day. It's all organic except for the potatoes... they didn't have red/purple potatoes in the organic section. I think I may have bought way too many potatoes, but whatever, I can eat what's left for breakfast one day :)

 

ETA: I went back and read the thread, and THEN noticed you put the link up for the veggies blend and where you got the chicken. YES. I would consider that meal healthy, and I would totally spend $5 on the veggie mix b/c sometimes, I'm just so stinkin' busy that sauteing a veggoe mix is cheaper than getting take-out :)

 

And I am STUNNED that someone said they were able to spend $5 for a meal!!! Even if I did rice and beans, which MIGHT come in under $5, I would still need to add onions and peppers, and there would go the $5 limit. Maybe it's a regional thing, but I can't even imagine getting costs down that low.

Edited April 26, 2012 by Gao Meixue

[stripe]

I'm surprised. The UK is usually more expensive, but I can get a kilo (2.2lbs) of fresh potatoes for 59p (less than one US dollar).

 

Laura

Me too. I can buy 3lbs for $1 or 10 lbs for $3 most of the time. I would only think to buy frozen potatoes for things like fries, not for a regular potato.

 

I cook very inexpensively out of necessity. I do not generally buy organic. I can certainly cook rice and beans for under $5. I shop at a lot of ethnic markets. Onions, peppers, and spices are pretty cheap, for me.

Edited April 26, 2012 by stripe

[Pretty in Pink]

Roast chicken legs (little olive oil, salt, pepper) $3.50 I spend 10.00 to 12.00 on a package of chicken (drumsticks or thighs) but we buy organic. I can get conventional for the price you listed.

Frozen potato/vegetable mix 2 bags @ $2.50 each I get frozen veggies for around 1.00 per bag so yours seem kind of pricey unless they were local or organic

Fresh pineapple $1 I always pay upwards of 3.00 for a pineapple

 

Total= $9.50 for family of 4

 

It sounds like a fairly healthy meal to me.

 

My only changes would be to use free-range and/or organic chicken and fresh veg (not for health reasons, we just generally prefer the taste of fresh and I have the time to prepare them most days). I would also have served a green salad to up the number of veggie servings for the meal.

[JustGin]

The various posts on different diets, recipes, grocery budgets, etc. always interest me just because I like seeing how what "healthy" means varies depending upon who you ask, it's interesting to see how other people eat, etc.

 

So, I'm curious. How would you rate this means in terms of what you consider healthy? What about cost- is it about on par with what you'd spend on an average dinner? More expensive? Cheaper?

 

Roast chicken legs (little olive oil, salt, pepper) $3.50

Frozen potato/vegetable mix 2 bags @ $2.50 each

Fresh pineapple $1

 

Total= $9.50 for family of 4

 

I'd consider it healthy, and the price seems reasonable as well. :)

[Pretty in Pink]

it would be a tad healthier if those were fresh veggies instead of frozen. You can easily steam them to make them soft and yummy! (you can buy the steamer bags over by Ziploc baggies at the store!)

 

Thats about it. It sounds GOOD!!!

 

I disagree that fresh veggies are typically healthier. As someone else mentioned, frozen are picked and flash frozen to preserve their freshness. They are pretty darn healthy. I think microwaving anything in plastic is a terrible idea and I wouldn't buy the steamer bag things you mentioned for that reason. I think it's unhealthy. :tongue_smilie:

[ssavings]

Sounds healthy enough to me.

[cjzimmer1]

I would consider the meal healthy enough if I was really pinched for time, otherwise I'd be adding another veggie (probably a salad) to it. The amount of veggies is a little low for what we try to get in a meal. But otherwise I think it's fine.