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I don't always calculate the cost of my meals, but I generally keep a rough estimate in my head when I'm shopping - figuring out how many meals I can make with a certain component, etc.

One thing that has helped me save money and eat a bit better has been to try to keep myself to a serving size, or at least not a huge amount over. I found that doing this with pasta sauce was very difficult at first. I like a LOT of sauce, and 1/2 cup seemed like it wasn't enough... at least until I realized I was cooking too much pasta per meal.

Still, estimating the cost of meals helped my finances. Not only am I eating better by bringing breakfast and lunch to work, I'm saving much more money... or at least allocating less money to buying food outside. :)

We do this sometimes to pat ourselves on the back for eating at home when we'd rather go out to dinner. For example, stir fry made with leftover steak from the night before costs maybe $2 a person, which is basically the cost of the fresh veggies we throw in. We consider the leftover steak $0 (we throw out a lot of leftovers, so without that stir fry, it would have had a sad fate), then a few quarters for the noodles and a few cents for the various sauces.

Frittata dinners are even less expensive, even with free-range organic eggs. Our favorite is just caramelized potatoes and onions, easily less than $2 a person.

Yay! I love to do this. I wonder, though, how much my power bill increases because of both the energy going into the stove or oven and the extra work the air conditioner has to do to make up for the heat?

I do this!

I try to cook a pasta night at least once a week. (pasta, jar sauce, left over bread, salad).

I find that cooking without meat significantly lowers my portion costs. I'll have a hefty sandwitch at lunch time, but then cook a meat free dinner.

I agree with Marisa as well.. breakfast for dinner is dirt cheap.

I frequently do this. More often than not, meals come in at $2 or less per serving. My cheapest full scale meal is probably chicken biryani. It's two chicken breasts, 1.5 cups rice, chicken stock, fresh garlic and ginger, 2 onions, a green pepper, and various whole and ground spices. Six servings cost about $5 in Tokyo where food prices are high. You can add a vegetable side or just have it as is and it's less than a $1 per serving.

You can't add the costs of a meal up by incorporating the entire cost of a jar of spice or whatnot though as the OP's friends did. You have to factor in a portion of the cost of a bunch of cinnamon sticks or star anise, not the entire expense. The cost of spices to any particular dish is negligible in most cases, unless you're using things like saffron.

Groceries are kind of expensive where we live...and takeout is sometimes cheap. And I like fancy produce and only buy antibiotic-free meat. Still, dinner parties tend to be about $15 a person not including wine...

I do this pretty much every meal, since my partner and I disagree about the costs associated with cooking in/eating out in the city (I am wrong, but I really enjoy eating out, so...)

Also, because she just moved in and we are having to put a lot of items in my pantry for the first time, we often do go to the market for the exact items of a meal, so it is easy to calculate.

I must confess, I know cooking at home is cheaper, but the amount of the savings often depends on how often you can do it. I really can't cook at home more than a few times a week (and dinners only), so it makes it more difficult to stock a fresh pantry and fridge in a economical manner.

We have been doing this quite a bit lately, because we have been grilling on the weekends rather than eating out. Even when we go "all out" with fresh, butcher-bought steaks or sausage, have fancy cheese beforehand, and a few drinks, it's far, far cheaper than going out for those items; $25 rather than $50 .

Most weeknights we eat pretty inexpensively: fish and veggies, rice and beans, omelettes. The cost of those meals is ridiculously low, just a couple bucks per person.

I recently made a Sheperd's Pie vegetarian style, using a bag of dried beans ($1.79). That, combined with the veggies and the fact that it was a HUGE amount I think made it literally pennies per serving!

Well, I spend about $40 per week on groceries, and that's if I guesstimate staples like flour, olive oil, oatmeal, etc., that lasts for longer than a week. If I eat 21 meals, including desserts after dinner because I'm into that sort of gluttony, and about seven snacks (which I undubitably do), then I guess I'm eating for about $5.72 per day . . .

Granted, I do splurge at least once a month, whenever I host a multi-course dinner or lunch party, and the bill for that alone to serve about 6 people can get up to a whopping $100, give or take $20.

What is funny to me is that my Mom, who was born in the Depression and lived through World War II, has shopped and cooked with cost in mind all her life. In fact, this was how it was always done for decades - people pinched pennies and saved food stamps and cooked at home. Eating out was a rare treat. It is only starting in the go-go Eighties that eating out became more of the norm. Now we have a generation of people for who cooking at home and analyzing food costs is a NEW thing!

My husband and I can't afford to eat out right now, and we're on a very limited budget, so I definitely pay attention to how much money I'm spending on a meal and whether I can use each ingredient for multiple meals. However, I do have to factor in basic pantry item costs because I use those up pretty quickly as well - I cook/bake every meal, and those things definitely add up on the grocery bill.

I've been doing this more lately----since cutting down a bit most of my meals come in at $10 for 4 servings, previously they were closer to $25. Some of this comes from having a better spice rack. Still when I'm on the high end, it tends to be more cost effective to eat out at lunch and save the leftovers for dinner or lunch the next day---most take-out lasts for 2-3 meals unless you get some sort of sandwich. So I agree, getting started cooking can be more expensive, not only due to the spices but also various equipment. Also when I was first learning I did not have the sense about recipes that I have now and so I made a lot of things that didn't taste great to me and threw them out----now that's expensive.

Last night I made one of my favorite dishes, a spicy tomato and basil tofu recipe I created. It costs no more than $6 total to make, is extremely healthy (I've plugged the ingredients into a nutrition calculator), and is absolutely delicious. It makes two large dinner portions for my girlfriend and me, and we both have lunch for today. I make it 3-4 times a month and it's great when I'm low on time because prep is about 5 minutes and cooking is only about 4 minutes. It takes more time and effort to walk to the main collection of restaurants in my neighborhood. I have to make rice, and that takes time, but it's unattended and still only takes as long as delivery would, but I pay a fraction of the cost.

I also will occasionally make a big pot of chili or chowder. Hearty, warm, and I can get 8 meals or so out of $6-$10 depending on what I throw in.

Of course the biggest pain when cooking at home is the clean up. If I didn't have a dishwasher, I'd be much lazier in my cooking I'm sure. There would be far more one pot meals. When it takes more time to clean up a meal than it did to eat it, you start to wonder if it's worth it.

Oooh, i love this! I definitely did it a lot more when i was just out of college and poor, and the type of food that i cooked at that point also lent itself to being cheap. (I made a lot of one-pot meals, or as my roommate put it, "gruel" -- generally the type of stuff i might serve as a small side to guests, or not serve to guests at all, but is just fine for me myself & I). A good example would be red lentil stew served with brown rice (really just a dressed up version of rice & beans), but its actually delicious! Red lentils from Goya ($0.70), 1/2 bag of brown rice ($0.75), salt, pepper, butter, some onion, some garlic, a splash of vinegar, and most importantly some of Goya's ham buillon -- delicious!!! Makes about 5 very filling servings and costs probably $0.50 per serving -- booya! :)

My old roommate played this game a lot, but she tried to see how low she could get her $/serving for gourmet meals that she served at dinner parties. Stews tend to go a long way, and you can brighten up the meal with a good farmer's market salad.

I usually go through the receipt and see how much each meal and snack costs. I try to keep meals at $2 and snacks at $1. With everything getting more expensive, it's important to me. And if something turns out to be more than $2.30, I see what the ingredients were and how I can change it up the next time. Like a favorite snack of pita chips and hummus. Store bought hummus was $4. Now I make my own hummus (about $1.50). : )

I've never actually done this before, and am curious to take down some numbers. I figured that eating in is always cheaper, even if you splurge for good/rare ingredients.

Louiedog.....might I request a recipe for the tomato/basil/tofu meal? It sounds DELICIOUS and right up my alley :)

It's easier for me to do this in the winter, with stews and roasted meats and such. In the summer, I'm much more likely to be smitten with something that's fresh at the market or the store.

That said, I love that my husband's favorite meal, Pulled Pork Sandwiches from Simply Recipes, comes out to under $1 per person per meal (not including sides), and we usually get 4 or 5 meals out of it.

Every now and then I do this. I'm a vegetarian, and I have several meals that clock in at a buck or less per serving. Unless I'm using organic ingredients, unfortunately. Then it's the 2 buck and up range. Cash is TIGHT right now, so it's time to price things again!

I cook at home on weeknights and usually 3 or 4 meals on the weekends (including breakfast and lunch. We usually order in dinner once every 2 or 3 weeks).
I have found that it is the best way to save money. I always make 4 servings so that my boyfriend and I both have lunch for work the next day, and I always make things like alfredo and marinara sauce from scratch as well.
I've been on the look out for an affordable baking stone for bread and once I find it, we won't even be buying bread anymore.

It's a real money saver to just cook and eat at home. With a well stocked pantry (we usually have to do a big shopping once a month, but other than that we pick up fresh stuff once a week) and a good source for ideas and recipes, it's more rewarding and engaging than calling up the take-out place.
Plus, it is so healthy!

I find that coming home from work every day and being able to relax while cooking dinner is really my favourite part of the day. If I don't get to cook, I find I get very restless throughout the evening and I have a harder time sleeping that night. But if I get to come home and be creative in the kitchen, then I feel fulfilled, my stress from work is relieved, and I'm just generally happier.

*sigh*
I wish I could just cook all day long and feed people.

Occasionally I roughly calculate how much a home-made meal costs, and while more often than not it's pretty cheap, it's not dirt-cheap. Especially if there's fish or meat (pastured and organic) involved.

Of course, a meal of comparable quality and comparable ingredients at a restaurant would cost several times more...

My boyfriend and I moved in an started with a pretty empty pantry. So, our first few trips to fairway must have been $200 a pop (we had to buy everything, seriously.) Now when we go it's much cheaper, and refreshing to make full meals with just a few new ingredients.

1 thing that is so cheap for us is buying a big cut of cheap meat, aka pork shoulder or brisket. We slow cook it (crock pots!) and must get 4 meals at least out of each one. And this is grass-fed meat too.

I eat breakfast for under a dollar every morning. My best price per serving recently was a shoulder of lamb that I got 13 servings out of. It cost $9 to start which means only $0.70 per serving (in soup, rissotto, lamb sandwiches, on salad)

I only cook for myself and limit my eating out. When I do eat out its between $7-$12 unless its a special occasion but adding my grocery, CSA, and eating out costs together and averaging them across the month I come out with $6-$7 per day. And thats not even considering a portion of grocery costs aren't food - like paper products and cat litter/food.

I always have a rough estimate at the cost of the food in meals I make.

It makes me proud that I can have guests full to bursting on only a few dollars pp.

I spend about $60-90 per week in groceries. That amount allows me to cook 7 breakfasts; 5-7 days of bagged lunches; 6 dinners; and whatever snacks (typically, apples, bananas, and energy/power bars) I may want to eat.

Weeknight dinners tend to be under $10 for my me and my partner. Weekend dinners tend to be a bit more costly, as I typically purchase wine and dessert along with whatever ingredients I need to test out new recipes, which I love doing.

Going vegetarian has helped just a tad bit on the weekly grocery budget; more importantly, it has done wonders for my health and waistline!

Plus you don't have to leave a tip! :)

Hm.. I haven't really sat down and calculated the cost for any particular meal, but over the past year, I've spent an average of $60 per week on groceries. Ignoring the fact that this includes non-edible items like toilet paper, as well as restocking things like sugar or olive oil, this means that I'm eating for about $9 per day. This includes three meals a day plus snacks, as well as occasionally cooking for a second person. So it's pretty easy to see that I'm saving money by cooking at home and bringing my lunch to work everyday, versus eating out or buying "convenience foods".

"it's not dirt-cheap. Of course, a meal of comparable quality and comparable ingredients at a restaurant would cost several times more..."

I think that's really the key thing here. I mean, the lunches I bring for work (usually a salad of fresh veggies, tofu and cheese) certainly aren't as cheap as, say, a PB&J sandwich, but it beats spending $5-10 to buy something locally (not to mention that what I bring tends to be yummier and healthier than what's available).

Also, I'd probably save quite a bit more if I actually owned a freezer, and I also dont have my own kitchen, so it's hard for me to make anything that requires a long time on the stove (i.e. cooking dried beans versus buying canned).

(I live in a dorm-style apartment building, with a single shared kitchen, and I have a mini fridge in my room with one of those really tiny freezers that don't actually work.)

Cooking cheap definitely depends a lot on economies of scale. It's easier to reach that $4 per head mark when you're feeding an entire family than when just cooking for one or two, unless you're truly willing to eat the same leftovers for the week.

If you try to rely a lot on vegetables and stay away from starchy potatoes, pastas, and rice it gets even worse.

It's always cheaper than eating at a comparable restaurant, of course, but I wouldn't really call eating at home "amazingly cheap" unless you're really working at cheaper meal plans.

I don't count spices, but I do roughly count staple things like canned goods, rice, beans, etc. I figure if I'm going to be doing all that work of cooking, I might as well make sure I'm REALLY saving money, instead of spending more at home.

My girlfriend and I had the beginnings of a little dinner food-prep company about a year ago. The basic theory was that people still want to feed their families a good home cooked meal and still want to actually prepare it, but on a busy weeknight who has the time to defrost and prep and chop all that food? We prepped balanced (protein, veggie, starch) meals, included all pre-measured, chopped ingredients and all instructions, and the idea was that you could get a meal on the table in around 30 minutes.

The company idea kinda went under due to a number of factors (rising gas prices, sagging economy), but I still prep at least 2-3 meals on the weekends for myself (sometimes I package extras for friends). My husband and I work long hours, and since he usually gets home before I do, it's great to have something like Chicken Parm, or Korean BBQ ribs, where everything is prepped and pre-measured and he only has to follow some simple directions to finish the meal. Dinner's on the table when I get through my 60 minute commute!

That said, I think the best I've done is a meal of Chicken Saltimbocca with Mushrooms over Butter Parsley Noodles for (4) for about $2.30/serving. And that included all packaging for the food to be bagged and delivered!

I do this quite a bit. I have a food blog where I often make a meal and breakdown its cost. It's kind of something I do for fun.

I often can do items for very little, but they are mostly vegetarian. The cost of food has wreaked havoc on my meal calculations...used to be I had several meals at less than $0.75/serving. Now...not so much.

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