What Meals Can I Get for 20 Dollars?
Sadly, many people in America struggle with food security. Food security means having reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food. Often, figuring out what to eat is a decision that is made daily, based on whatever funds you have on hand at the moment.
Food prices continue to rise
While food prices have skyrocketed, fast-food items have also increased in cost. It can feel like spending money on a hot meal from a fast-food restaurant is the best option. But that is not necessarily the case.
Making meals with 20 dollars
We will determine ways to stretch your dollars at the grocery store instead of a fast-food restaurant. These examples work within a budget of 20 dollars, serving 2-4 people. Let's break it down!
Fast food meal option
At Burger King®, a Whopper® Jr meal costs about $8.89 and feeds one person. The meal includes:
- 1 hamburger
- 1 side French fries
- 1 medium soft drink
This meal will be filling as it has plenty of carbohydrates from the bun and fries and protein from the meat and cheese, but very little fiber, vitamins, and minerals as the vegetables are limited and the bun is not whole grain. This meal also likely meets or exceeds our sodium limit for the day, and this is just one of our meals.
If we were to feed 2 people, we would order 2 meals, which would cost about $18.84, including tax.
Grocery store meal options
We have chosen to shop for ingredients to make a shrimp stir-fry. This meal, when prepared, will make at least 4 servings. Here is the cost breakdown for each ingredient:
- 1 bag of frozen shrimp: $6.99
- 1 bag of frozen broccoli: $1.14
- 1 pound bag of long-grain brown rice: $0.99
- 1 bottle of soy sauce: $1.69
This meal is also very nutritious, as the broccoli and brown rice provide lots of fiber, and the shrimp provide plenty of lean protein. The soy sauce is used sparingly, which means the bottle only needs to be purchased once and can be used multiple times for many meals!
The total cost for the shrimp stir-fry is about $11.45, including tax.
Adding another meal
Since we are below our budget, we will add more ingredients to create another meal with the leftover budget. To make spaghetti squash with meat sauce, we will need:
- 1 pound of ground beef: $5.99
- 1 fresh spaghetti squash: $1.59
- 1 jar of pasta sauce: $1.69
Again, this meal will yield at least 4 servings, enough for multiple people or meals. It is also loaded with nutrients such as protein, fiber, and antioxidants. The total is $9.82, including tax.
Stretching your food dollars
The grand total for both meals is $21.27, which is extremely close to the $20 budget. It also yielded more meals than choosing to purchase meals at Burger King®.
This is to show that with a little extra planning and thought, you can have a quick, healthy home-cooked meal for half the cost of a trip to a fast-food restaurant. Whether you have diabetes or not, being budget-conscious when shopping is a great skill!
Join the conversation