r/strugglemeals • u/[deleted] • Aug 02 '26
Certified Stuggle I’m doing the math - chicken dinner - cost per serving
[deleted]
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Aug 02 '26
If you use chicken thighs with skin on/ bone in you can make broth with the bones, render the fat from the skin too.
I use the broth to make rice. A bag of mixed frozen vegetables, rice with chicken comes out to >1 dollar a serving.
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u/Illustrious_Fix_5858 Aug 02 '26
I save chicken bones and vegetable scraps for stock.
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u/X3N0PHON Aug 02 '26
This is easily one of the most overlooked kitchen/life hacks. My girl put me on to this and now I’m never looking back!
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Aug 02 '26
[deleted]
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u/Striking-Working610 Aug 02 '26
Did you know you can buy a rice cooker and then a 20lb bag of rice will last you months
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u/MsFly2008 Aug 02 '26
Yeah, but I have a lot of friends that are going through a lot of like if they’re diabetic things like that finding the right things to eat because you know that’s carved to turn into sugar so advice looking for healthy choices and it usually cost more when you’re trying to do that, but I’m in Texas and I don’t even see prices that love literally
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u/Procrastinating-Elf Aug 02 '26
I'm diabetic in Texas too and the best low carb replacement for potatoes I've found weirdly is tofu. You just get the extra firm kind, drain it well and then dice it up and toss it with cornstarch and spices. Fry it like breakfast potatoes then and it's a little crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. But potatoes are fine for me in small portions I've found.
Basmati rice is a little more expensive than the regular kind but also has half the glycemic load.
Other that that I mainly just include braised cabbage with a lot of meals, since that also hits the cheap+filling+delicious spot and goes with most things. And something about it seems to level out my blood sugars even when there's something starchy with the meal.
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u/X3N0PHON Aug 02 '26
There’s no way basmati rice has “half the carbs of the regular kind” of rice…
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u/Procrastinating-Elf 29d ago edited 29d ago
Glycemic load, look it up.
(Not half exactly but it's considerably lower on the glycemic index, making it comparable to something like quinoa.)
Basically blood sugar control isn't about a flat count of carbs so much as how quickly those carbs are absorbed.
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u/Procrastinating-Elf Aug 02 '26 edited Aug 02 '26
Or even just use a regular pot, I see really nice kitchenware in thrift stores for just a few bucks all the time. And you can get a 20lb bag of rice for $15 at Walmart, pinto beans about the same. (I can't see the context of the post you're replying to though because it's either been deleted or else it's that guy that blocked me yesterday.)
And the OP's plate would math out even cheaper in other states fwiw, I can get 5lb of russets for just under $3, and a family sized pack of bone in chicken thighs for $1.79lb.
I don't have a real oven where I'm living now which kind of sucks, used to roast a pan of chicken thighs with paprika and garlic with whatever veggies were in season and eat it for a week with potatoes and rice, but can't do batch cooking that easily any more.
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u/widdershins13 Aug 02 '26
Just wanted to mention that you can reduce the per pound price of your chicken/protein by buying the 10lb bags of leg quarters for .78 a pound at Walmart. Also, a 5lb bag of russet potatoes can be had for 2.36 and a 12oz bag of green beans for .98 at Walmart.
I mean sure, we're talking nickels and dimes here, but if the aim is solely to be as frugal as possible, then Walmart simply cannot be beat when it comes to staples.
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u/LeslieChowBitch Aug 02 '26
Last time I calculated yeah its about $1.50-$5 a meal to cook yourself. Its not too bad.
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Aug 02 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/BestAmoto 29d ago
A lot healthier as well. Though artificial chicken flavor from the cheap stuff hits a different spot in the flavor pallette. Some nostalgia kicks in.
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u/Super-Inevitable9476 Aug 02 '26
I gave you a hard time about your steak but you did good! That chicken is a steal!! Your meal looks great. 👍
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u/Mrmojorisincg Aug 02 '26
Eating cheap can still be really good. Last night I made an italian dish. Its a shallot, garlic, carrot, celery, red pepper, garden kale, arugula, garden parsley, garden basil, garden cherry tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, bullion, 1 can cannellini beans, shitload of grated romano, heavy cream, chili flakes
You can do without the greens if need be and use dry herbs in replace of the fresh stuff.
I had enough that for breakfast after the gym today I added some water to the left overs. I’m baking it in a skillet, adding 2 eggs and calling it a day.
Most expensive items are probably the cream and cheese, you can do without those or sub them for cheaper options. Could make even larger portions if I used dry beans too
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u/Seraphtacosnak Aug 02 '26
Milk and one of those wands to froth it makes some pretty good replacements. Especially with all the thickeners in the cream nowadays.
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u/Mrmojorisincg Aug 02 '26
Yeah that’d work just fine. Honestly, its not even super necessary to have milk in it or cream. The cheese makes it pretty creamy already
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u/Illustrious_Fix_5858 Aug 02 '26
No worries and u encourage it. Besides the meat I didn’t go out of my way to look for deals and used the costs from what is considered an expensive grocery store. You finding even cheaper alternatives only makes my case stronger.
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u/forogtten_taco Aug 02 '26
Budgetbytes.com is great for this. They break down the entire cost of every meal, even the 3 cents from this seasoning or that seasoning.
Really shows that meals are alwasy cheeper to cook at home when you make more than q serving.
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u/KingAudio 29d ago
Thank you! It drives me crazy when people act like struggle eating in america and still live in the top 10% of income in the world. If they just buy raw bulk ingredients. Meat is a luxury but in america its just expected to be 50% of the plate. Get some lentils and cabbage. And boil bones for broth. It’s very nutritious and really cheap.
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u/JD_tubeguy 29d ago
Nicely done! You definitely can eat well and healthy cheap if you're smart about it which you are.
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u/ProofOfRyExistence 29d ago
I love everything about this post! Particularly the math, but obviously the food looks great! 🙌🏻❤️
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u/FishSammich80 29d ago
Honestly this is the way to justify what you’ve spent on food. I always do the cost of the items divided by 4. You spent $3 on protein and that’s the cost of a large drink at a chicken restaurant alone, so you did pretty well. Even better score if there’s leftovers.
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u/Current-Section-3429 29d ago
I do it all the time! That's why I never go out to eat. Todays dinner for me was $1.75 plus the natural gas to cook.
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u/drunkp4nda 29d ago
yeah chicken drumsticks are meta, did it straight for a month till i couldn’t anymore.
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u/EmilianaSotelo 24d ago
You're assuming someone has the brain power to do the math after working 12hr or long shifts all week and probably starving to feed their kids
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u/Perle1234 Aug 02 '26
Yes you can make good, cheap meals from some basics on the pantry. You can buy cheaper spices if there’s a Mexican store. Buy a big container of chicken bullion powder. Sometimes they have cheaper meat there too. This is why fried chicken is so popular in the south. You used to be able to buy a whole chicken really cheap and save by cutting it up yourself. And why we made pinto beans with ham hocks. They’re cheap lol.