Kroger’s chicken quarters are usually $7.99 (for @10), Lidl has sale of these bags on sale or $5.99.
We’ll use a price of 99¢ for a box of pasta and a jar/can of sauce (5 servings). Several times per year, you can probably bulk-buy pasta for 50¢ per box.
59¢ – chicken quarter
40¢ – pasta with sauce
35¢ – salad
10¢ – garlic bread
6¢ – iced tea (soda for 17¢)
click on images to enlarge
40¢ – 2 blueberry waffles
22¢ – 2 eggs
50¢ – 2 oz. ham steak
35¢ – 1/2 red grapefruit
12¢ – 1/2 banana
24¢ – 1/4 orange
49¢ – yogurt cup
19¢ – 8/12 oz. glass of milk
43¢ – 8 oz. glass of tomato juice
24¢ – 8 oz. grapefruit juice (4 oz. juice diluted with 4 oz. water to cut calorie and sugar
9 ¢ – 28¢- 8 oz. glass of milk (19¢)
Orange juice varies – especially when there’s a weather problem. In May of 2024, Kroger’s cheapest orange juice (frozen concentrate) was 55¢ for an 8 oz. glass. Cut that in half with water and it’s 28¢.
I cut my juice in half with water to reduce calories and sugar. I priced this using generic grapefruit juice or Ocean Spray with the regular 60¢ coupon, then half a glass of juice and half a glass of water.
10¢ – syrup
Smart-shopping cost: 56¢-61¢
Oatmeal is one of the top Super Foods and something you should eat multiple times during the weak.And it’s cheap! Quaker Oats is usually $3.15 a carton. I got it BOGO at Publix. I also had a coupon for $1 off when you buy two, bringing the cost down to 8¢ per 1/2 cup serving. Avoid the instant packets with fruit, brown sugar or cinnamon — the #2 listed ingredient is sugar.
For some reason, Kroger gave me a $2 coupon on Ocean Spray juice (I had just bought a few bottles), bringing the cost of an on-sale bottle down from $2.49 to .49¢, or 6¢ for an 8 oz. glass.
8¢ – 1/2 cup oatmeal
9¢ – 1/2 banana or raisins
40¢ – yogurt cup
13¢ – 8 oz. glass of milk
13¢ – 1/2 grapefruit
3¢ – toast
2024 Update
Hot dogs are always on sale, so buy in bulk and freeze them. In May of 2024, Lidl had Bar S 12 oz. packs of 8 hot dogs on sale for 69¢ (9¢ per hot dog).
Look for deals on hot dogs, buns, baked beans and condiments before the Fourth of July, Memorial Day and Labor Day and stock up.
You can substitute a soda or glass of milk, and/or add some baby carrots to this and keep it around $1.00 for the meal. Even if you go with the larger hot dogs, it’s still around $1.20.
Milk fluctuates week to week.
18¢ – 2 small hot dogs
32¢ – 2 larger hot dogs
13¢ – 2 hot dog buns (manager’s special at 50¢- I’ve seen them @25¢ for 8 buns and 22 slices of bread! – see pics below)
3¢ – 10¢ – 2 slices bread (full and sale prices)
25¢ – 50¢ – Kroger potato salad (half price mgr’s special/sale/coupon).
28¢ – 12 oz. glass of milk at $1.99 per gallon
6¢ – iced tea
17¢ – pickle slice
20¢ – potato chips
15¢ – ketchup and mustard
Smart-shopping cost: $1.52
Kroger sells frozen carnitas for $6.99. I can usually get them on manager’s special for $4.19. I recently found them on special for $3.59. That’s 90¢ a serving, although if you use country style pork ribs, you’ll pay about $1.00 per serving.
Publix had Bush’s Best vegetarian black beans (frijoles negros) on sale for 99¢ a can. I happened to see Bush’s coupons for 75¢ per can, so I got the cans for 24¢ each. I usually add half an onion to this dish; add another 30¢ if you want to do that. You can also add carrots, celery or your other favorite veggies. I got 2 liters of soda for 37.5¢ (Publix 75¢ store brand on BOGO).
90¢ – carnitas (marinated pork)
20¢ – yellow saffron rice
10¢ – canned tomatoes with chilis
6¢ – black beans
20¢ – 2 tortillas
6¢ – soda*
Occasionally, Publix will sell 2-liter bottles of house brand soda for half price (50¢ per bottle) and run a coupon for $1 off when you buy 3 bottles (about 3¢ per serving). That means, you get 2-liter bottles of soda for 17¢! This doesn’t happen very often any more.
Smart-shopping cost: $1.81
This is a good example of Smart Shopping vs. Bargain prices. Publix sells Old El Paso dinner kits for $3.15 each. I waited until they were on BOGO, getting them for $1.58 each. PUBLIX ran an Old El Paso digital coupon for $1 off the purchase of three OEP products. I then used a Kroger 75¢ coupon for a final cost of 99¢ per dinner kit. I also bought Bush’s vegetarian black beans for 24¢ a can (99¢ sale + a 75¢ Bush coupon). I got a 2-liter bottle of soda for 37.5¢ (Publix 75¢ store brand on BOGO). A bag of Kroger brand chicken breasts is $7.99. I waited until they went on sale for $5.99 (about once every 4-5 weeks), then used a $1.40 digital coupon and a $1.50 paper coupon they sent me for a total cost of approximately $3 for the $8 bag of chicken.
33¢ – tortillas, seasoning mix and picante sauce
60¢ – chicken
40¢ – veggies
20¢ – yellow saffron rice
15¢ – cheese
6¢ – black beans
7¢ – 12 oz. glass of soda
Veggie tacos
Ground beef tacos
Smart-shopping cost: 90¢/$1.67
Publix sells Old El Paso dinner kits for $3.15 each. I waited until they were on BOGO, getting them for $1.58 each. PUBLIX ran an Old El Paso digital coupon for $1 off the purchase of three OEP products. I then used a Kroger 75¢ coupon (buy three) for a final cost of 99¢ per dinner kit.
Update: I just got 12 taco shells for $1.09 on manager’s special at Kroger (9¢ each). 1/25/21 So, deals keep coming around.
I also bought Bush’s vegetarian black beans for 24¢ a can (99¢ sale + a 75¢ Bush coupon). I got a 2-liter bottle of soda for 37.5¢ (Publix 75¢ store brand on BOGO). I got a 5 lb. roll of ground beef at $1.99 lb, and got 12 servings per pound. I also got Old El Paso taco seasoning mix packs for .39 cents (manager’s special). You can make your own seasoning mix.
8.25¢ – taco shells, seasoning mix and picante sauce
42¢ – ground beef per taco
20¢ – veggies per taco
20¢ – yellow saffron rice or brown rice
10¢ – cheese
6¢ – black beans
12¢ – refried beans
7¢ – 12 oz. glass of soda
