Here are five easy, tasty dinners, with optional breakfast and lunch suggestions, that come in at about $5 a day per person. The goal with meal planning is to make efficient use of your ingredients and to shop accordingly—the key to making your budget work. Many ingredients appear multiple times throughout the recipes. We also suggest substitutions to help your ingredients go further. This meal plan centers around roasting a chicken, from which you can make 3 good meals for 2 or more people. You can easily skip the breakfast/lunch suggestions for a grab-and-go meal, like we often do, or mix and match your own.
Not in the mood to cook five times this week? Many items can be frozen for later: cooked chicken, chicken bones for broth, cheese, bacon, tortillas, corn, bread, milk, and even fresh herbs (wrapped in plastic or wax paper and stored in an airtight container). Also, substitute any herbs depending on what you have available.
Average daily price: $5.21