$10 for 1 Week of Food from Dollar Tree

10DollarsForOneWeekOfFoodCould you buy one week’s worth of food for one person for just $10? I believe the answer is yes!

As anyone who visits this site probably knows, I LOVE DOLLAR TREE! The other day I started thinking, could you buy one week’s worth of food for one person for just $10? I believe the answer is yes! You wouldn’t necessarily have to do this at Dollar Tree, any $1 store would probably work.

This would not be the most interesting week of meals but it would get you through the week in a pinch. I have also tried to make the meals as healthy as possible. Even at the dollar store there are some small choices that made this meal plan a little healthier such as by choosing whole wheat bread over white and brown rice over white.

Here is what I came up with-

Items I bought for $1 each-

– 1) A Full loaf of Whole Wheat Bread

– 2) Brown Rice

– 3) Black Beans

– 4) Peanut Butter

– 5) Jelly

– 6) Canister of Oatmeal

– 7) Honey

– 8) Spaghetti Sauce

– 9) Spaghetti Noodles (these coincidentally were the largest bag of pasta offered for $1)

– 10) ?????? $1 item?????- Last item your choice!

 

$10 One Week Meal Plan-

 

Breakfasts

– Oatmeal with Honey (or Peanut Butter or Jelly)

– Toast with Peanut Butter or Jelly

Lunch

– Peanut Butter or Jelly Sandwiches

Dinner

– Spaghetti sauce and noodles

– Brown Rice and Black Beans

 

Alternative $1 Items-

* Note- most of these are not as healthy as the original choices

– Instead of Peanut Butter you could buy hazelnut spread

– Instead of Jelly you could just use the honey

– Instead of Oatmeal and Honey you could probably buy a bag of cereal and a small milk

– Instead of honey you could buy a large jar of apple/peach pie filling to have with the oatmeal

– Instead of Spaghetti Sauce you could use any sauce you can buy for $1

 

Ideas for the last $1 item-

– Parmesan Cheese for the spaghetti

– Popcorn for lunches

– Salsa for with the rice and beans

– Instant Coffee

– A 5 pack of Ramen Noodles

– A can of soup

 What do you think? Could you survive on this meal plan for 1 week if you had only $10 to buy yourself food?

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  1. Good ideas here to feed one person frugally, thank you for posting.

    Definitely oatmeal (best bot buy quick oats) is much healthier than cold cereal, as nutrition would be at a premium for this menu. Your choice of brown rice and black beans is very healthy also, and provides protein, especially the beans, but oatmeal and brown rice also have some protein. I’d buy a quart of 2% milk in the shelf-stable-type container that dollar stores often carry for the 10th item (also has needed protein)…(of course, refrigerate the milk after opening). Would eliminate the jelly and buy salsa for the beans n’ rice. Being able to season with salt and pepper will help a lot also.

    (note: to vary the taste, you can ‘toast the dry oatmeal in a sort of single layer in the over before cooking)
    ~oatmeal (might have to double this to fill you until next meal: 1/3 c. quick oats + dash of salt + 1/3 c. milk + up to 1/3 c. water …..bring to boiling, take off heat, cover until thickened….might want to stir a time or two) and honey before serving
    ~oatmeal as above with 1 T. peanut butter added for extra protein + honey
    ~cooked brown rice with honey + 1/3 c. milk
    ~cubed bread cooked or baked until crunchy, honey, then stir some peanut butter into some milk to pour over….for a sort of ‘cereal’

    ~peanut butter and honey sandwiches
    ~cooked black beans mashed with a little salsa and salt/pepper, spread on pieces of toast
    ~crunchy toasted bread broken into pieces in a bowl, add milk, eat immediately (when a child, this was our Friday night dinner as my Mom shopped every Saturday and food was low by then); also have a small side of salted cooked black beans

    ~spaghetti and sauce; slice of bread or toast
    ~black beans n’ rice with salsa
    ~spaghetti and sauce with added black beans
    ~bowl of beans, stir in a spoon or two of milk, salt and pepper, stir in some salsa; slice or two of bread or toast

    You could make it through a week like this, and would have food left over.

  2. Two more ideas for dinner or lunch:

    For an italian soup…..break spaghetti noodles into 1 inch pieces, then cook. Put spaghetti sauce and some of the pasta water in pot, add cooked broken noodles and cooked black beans, season with salt and pepper

    mix black beans, cooked brown rice, salsa, water, salt and pepper for a mexi taco soup

  3. I know you are thinking dollar store here, but just to show you a “what if”…..

    In my pantry right now I have:

    Kroger peanut butter, 18 oz…..$1.00 at Smith’s
    Brown rice, 1 lb…….$.57 at Winco
    Black beans, 1 lb……$.72 at Winco
    Honey from dollar store…..$1.00
    Hunt’s spaghetti sauce…..$.68 sale at local store
    W. W. bread from dollar store……$1.00
    16 oz. bag of spaghetti noodles…….$.50 at Smith’s
    Jar of salsa from dollar store……$1.00
    Canister quick oatmeal from dollar store…….$1.00
    Quart of stable-shelf milk, dollar store…….$1.00

    Total……$8.47

    • Ney@ShopahoicSavers.com

      Janet,

      Thank you for some really great advice! It’s a great reminder that sometimes regular grocery stores do have these items for cheaper, unfortunately we don’t have some of those stores where I live but for those that have them locally it could be a huge help. Keeping protein in mind and additional menu items also always helps!

      Thanks again!

      -Ney

  4. Yes, spaghetti. Olive and cheese plate and throw in an apple if you have one. Tuna sandwiches. Nutella crepes- add a banana if you have one). Tomato and black bean soup (you need an onion and a Nutribullet). Veggie fried rice with a bag of frozen vegetables. Frozen fruit smoothie with protein powder if it’s available. Potato pancakes from a can of potatoes, flour, milk, and bring your own egg.

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