Living on a budget can be difficult, especially since it could mean having to eat less or eating lower quality of food. With a budget, I have but one goal: getting the biggest “bang for my buck” — getting more and better food while spending the least amount possible. My mission? To go one week eating and trying different types of prepared foods (from canned non-perishable foods to frozen entrees to instant noodles) and seeing which ones are worth buying when it comes to quality and quantity.

Day One: When I went grocery shopping  on Sunday, I was actually able to spend less than $10 on food and drinks for the week. For day one, I went for a Healthy Choice Fresh Mixer Alfredo. It was only necessary to add water to the pasta, heat it, drain the water and add the sauce.

It wasn’t as bad as I had expected. In the past, I’ve eaten a lot of those instant meals and they’ve never once made me full; even worse, they tasted awful. However, this time, I actually had a pleasant surprise; it was actually somewhat tasty. The fact that it was also inexpensive made it taste a little better. But as for feeling full, I was nowhere close to my limit.

Daily Total
$1.00 for Healthy Choice Fresh Mixer Alfredo
$0.40 for Capri Sun
______
$1.40

Day Two: Today, I tried testing whether or not Lunchables are evenworth eating, much less when on a budget. Originally, I thought it was a good deal, seeing as how the basic ones were only 50 cents to a dollar, so I figured, why not go for two Lunchables? And although I felt full after eating both, I grew of sick of the taste. So as far as quantity went, I was in fact satisfied with a full stomach, but at the same time, I wouldn’t eat another one because I was so sick of them. Let’s face it, Lunchables aren’t exactly a delicacy. 

Daily Total
$1.50 for Oscar Mayer Lunchables: Ham & Cheddar Cheese (75 cents each)
$0.40 for Capri Sun
______
$3.10

Day Three: I tried a frozen entree today, despite my past experiences of nevering being filled whenever I ate them. I tried my luck with Health Choice Cafe Steamers Sweet Sesame Chicken and it was surprisingly filling. On a scale of one to ten, one being absolutely starved and famished and ten being bloated, I would put myself at a solid 7 or 8. In addition to satisfying my hunger, I found it to taste pretty good. Though the meal wasn’t the best food in the world, I certainly was more satisfied today than the previous two days.

Daily Total
$3.10 from Previous Day
$1.25 Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers Sweet Sesame Chicken
$0.40 for Capri Sun
______
$4.55

Day Four: Today, I ate canned food: Chef Boyardee’s canned Ravioli. However, as soon as I began to eat it, I knew it wouldn’t end well; I didn’t like the taste nor was I full whatsoever. Opening cans at school is also difficult, which means I had to open it at home before I left to school and transfer it from the can to a plastic container; it wasn’t all that convenient. Factor in the fact that the taste wasn’t exemplary nor was I full, it was not a good deal at all.Daily Total
$1.50 Chef Boyardee Beef Ravioli
$0.40 for Capri Sun
______
$6.25

Day Five: For the final day, I decided to eat instant noodles ramen, with canned Vienna Sausages to add a little more flavor and variety. Now, it all really depends on what brand of noodles you eat for taste. I chose to eat Shin Ramyun Hot Spicy Noodle Soup which to me is one of the best. For this occasion, I bought it by itself rather than in bulk and even then, it wasn’t all too expensive. Neither were the sausages, so the money spent was well worth it. The actual taste was great and if anything, it was so filling that I was not able to finish it. This would have to be one of the more successful budgeted meals.

Daily Total:
$0.50 Armour Vienna Sausages
$0.75 Shim Ramyun Hot Spicy Noodle Soup
$0.40 for Capri Sun
______
$7.90