I can say I did it; it's done. I made a meal of sorts with five items from the Dollar Tree. I knew going into it, a protein and high sodium were going to be the main issues. You can get a lot of basics at Dollar Tree, and I wish I had stuck to them. It would not have been anything unique, but it might have had better results. First, the rules. My meal had to be enough to serve a minimum of 3-4 adults. I had to have five different items and for my self imposed challenge, nothing from my own pantry to add. Many allow salt, pepper, and even stretch to any seasonings they have, plus oil or butter, and sometimes even egg and milk. I was very strict-which really makes it much harder, but if the challenge is a DT meal for $5, then that's what I think it should be. Had I challenged myself to make 3 meal for $10, I would have had an easier time planning, and probably better quality meal in the end. But, those weren't my rules. First, here's what I bought.
- 8 ounce/2 beef patties (I had seen people post Jennie O Turkey burgers, but my DT didn't have
- 16 ounce bag broccoli
- 5 ounce cheddar cheese
- Jambalaya rice mix
- Spring rolls
The intent was to make a beefy rice and broccoli hotdish, topped with cheese. But when I saw the state of the broccoli-huge chunks of stems and very little florets, I decided to just cook that separately and hope that putting cheese over it would help. It did not. I learned why the only frozen vegetables I see anyone buy is the pepper and onion mix, or the carrot, pea mixed vegetables, if they have either. The beef patties cooked very odd. I used as ground beef, but even though it was an uncooked product, there was no juice whatsoever. I reread the package multiple times. Still, mixed in with the rice dish, it was pretty tasty. Had I known the broccoli would be such a disappointment, in hindsight, I would have bought the sausage links instead of beef, and just browned discs of that instead. The spring rolls were going to be my side dish to the hot dish, but because I served the broccoli and cheese on the side, my plate shows three items. Here's my plated meal.
The review. The rice was pretty tasty, but with each bite, I could feel the salt coursing through my veins. Run, do not walk, past the frozen broccoli. I swear this must have been what was left after the plant packaged the real vegetable, and this was the remnants. The stalks were thick and woody, with no flavor except what was pulled from the cheese I put on and allowed to melt from the steam. The egg rolls, made in the air fryer, had good reviews on YouTube, which is why I forced them into my menu. I cooked them in the air fryer. They were just OK-the roll itself got nice and crispy, but the veg inside was a bit mush. A little dipping sauce would have gone a long way. The hit though might be the 5 oz. little brick of cheese-which was actually cheddar cheese. At 20 cents per ounce, it would come to $3.20 per pound, which is about what I can get at Walmart or Aldi. Admittedly, I had bought this before in both cheddar and pepper jack, so knew it was going to be fine. Thankfully, I didn't waste more than 1/2 on the broccoli that could not be saved.
Here's the sad facts. Packages were different serving sizes, so I converted everything to five servings to compare along with the main ingredient, the rice. My plate above is roughly 1/5th of each, so the following should apply. While I didn't care for the broccoli, I had enough to eat. DH ate a plate, but then later had a bowl of granola and yogurt. I have probably 2/3rds of the rice left and will use over the next couple days for lunch. We nibbled on the spring rolls later, and I tossed the rest of the broccoli. I've got1/2 the cheese left.
Total Calories 562 (women average 2,000 day, men 2,500)
Total Sodium 1,230 gr or 61% of ADA for a 2,000 calorie diet
Total Protein 19 grams (women need average 46 g, and men ave 60 g)
We both would likely exceed our ADA of sodium, and be shy on protein in the day depending on what else we ate. DH would be calorie shy by a long shot, unless he ate double portions, but then, his sodium on this meal alone would be over his ADA. This was an interesting experiment, and as I said, with different rules, I might have done much better both in quality and health. Your thoughts? Please note this was all for fun and entertainment. I in no way endorse eating this way nor will rush to repeat it myself. In a future post, I'll share what I do think might be worthwhile DT buys.
You are lucky that your husband will "experiment" with you. Mine definitely will not! :-)
ReplyDeleteHe knows blogging has kept me mentally fit, and having little things to share gives me fun, so he tolerates my whims.
DeleteI haven't been in the DT for ages. With financial security, I am able to be able to try to avoid it, which I do, because SO MANY items come from China. I confess, however, to buying tea light and votive holders there at Christmastime, to use for my candles which I give as gifts. That said, I think it would be a lot of fun to attempt a challenge like this. I remember when I first moved to my apartment after college, relying only on public transportation, that decent supermarkets were quite a ways away--not somewhere I could pop into easily after work...I did a lot of my staple shopping at the dollar section of a CVS--pasta, herbs and spices, rice, canned fruit, etc. (No DT back in those days!)
ReplyDeleteIt is a luxury to do this for fun and not out of necessity to be sure. I have a short list of things I regularly get from dollar stores, and food is generally not on it. I did look at the "made in labels" and supposedly all these food items are US, but I know that can be deceiving.
DeleteI think you did very well limiting yourself to just $5 AND not including anything from home. It's sad to say though that when you pay so little for food it probably really is rubbish most of the time isn't it (although the pictures on the outside of the packet are deceiving). But well done anyway (and hey, you really ARE a numbers buff aren't you)!
ReplyDeleteLoaded food with salt and unpronounceable things for flavor gives cheap and usually unhealthy food options. I agree the pictures are very deceiving! You should see my retirement projections and spread sheets. I've got them flowing to cover me to age 100 an d several scenarios.
DeleteI HAVE WATCHED MANY YOUTUBE VIDEOS ON DOLLAR STORE MEALS AND I shun all. Now I will buy rice and beans there as it is the cheapest place to get them. But then I go drink a diet coke, so where is my brain?
ReplyDeleteIt's all in good fun, but it also illustrates the need for accessible, quality food for every human. Some people really don't have options, and these challenges shed light on it. I would have done much better meal wise had I done 3 meal for $10 challenge, as even spending less per meal, I'd have had more room to work with ingredients.
DeleteIt's a fun thing to try out once in a while and you never know what you might turn up in these places! Arilx
ReplyDeleteIf I ever do something like this again in a dollar sore, or 99 p/Puntland, I think I have a better idea of what might work. I am eager to try a 3 at $3 meal challenge, but shopping with $9 and leveraging ingredient's.
DeleteWhen I look at the sodium content in foods, I am so appalled I sometimes act like the package burned me, getting it back on the shelf quick as I can. If we have something high sodium, I try to put it with foods not so high or absent sodium. Cheddar cheese adds lots of sodium. I love your descriptive language.
ReplyDeleteYes-cheese was a big sodium offender, but really the most real food item I got. I used only half, so cut some of the sodium out.
DeleteI think it was a valiant effort! We really like the thin pizza crusts that DT sells, you could make a meal out of that with cheese, sauce, pepperoni, and jarred mushrooms if you had to. We’ve even cooked them on the grill for a “no oven” twist on the challenge. Frozen fruit and spinach and shelf stable almond milk, toss in some oats or peanut butter for a smoothie. The wheels are turning! Our DT sells eggs too, fried rice could be an option. Or a breakfast for dinner casserole-I mean hot dish ;) I’ve gotten pita pockets before too, maybe a canned chicken salad with Mayo and a bag of trail mix that has say walnuts and cranberries? I would struggle with feeding four adults. No one would be full, but we could live if we had to. JoAnn
ReplyDeleteOur store is so small-I've never seen many of the items that the YouTube folks find, and have not seen spinach or pizza crust. I just can't call these things casseroles-sounds too uppity for me in Minnesota.
DeleteI thought the spring rolls were an inspired idea. I have been thinking about this challange for a while and many of my ideas are either pasta or asian food related.
ReplyDeleteThe spring rolls weren't a bad option, considering. They really though are a snack food, not a meal ingredient. I was trying to stay away from pasta and plain rice since I wasn't allowing nay additional seasonings. The jambalaya was tasty, but oozed salt.
DeleteMy daughter does beans and rice from DT and some can of green veggies. Said she fed her 2 teenage sons (eating machines) more than once with it close if not under $5
ReplyDeleteBeans, rice, the staple spices, pasta (but compare to sales) are practical purchases there. The canned veg is there, but so much more than most other stores at $1 per can, but again, if this is the option a person has, so be it. Ive bought the Campbells soups there that are just peel the can lid back and heat. Again, no a great price for a cup of soup, but to keep in a desk drawer in the office was a nice find when I had no time to grab anything other than a mug of soup.
DeleteI think this was a fun challenge. I might try one at a later date just to see what I can come up with.
ReplyDeleteIt pure entertainment, and if you are game, I'd love to read about your efforts.
DeleteI enjoy the challenges, but I'm not brave enough to try the Dollar Tree food challenge. I usually buy the gift wrap, plates and stuff there. I think that your idea for the hamburger and rice dish sounds tasty. Thanks for the review on the broccoli.
ReplyDeleteNo and no again to the broccoli. I rarely do food items as much for the price per ounce is not usually that great, but also some quality seems sketch. But, I wanted to give this a try.
DeleteWhat an interesting challenge! I have never thought to try this particular one,but I may out of curiosity's sake,check our DT and see what they offer.
ReplyDeletePoints made already-easier to do 2-3 meals with $10 than to try 1 with five based on ingredients. Proteins are minimal unless you go with dried or canned beans. Also, on YouTube most allow themselves own spices, oils etc. and I stuck with just what I bought. It was an eye opener to see hw poor the quality of prepackaged foods really are nutritionally.
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