Eating for $5 a Day from Dollar General | What I Ate / Cooked Today | Day 1 of 7
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- Опубликовано: 16 авг 2023
- Dollar General has 19,000 nationwide locations and it's accessible to those in food deserts or people with limited transportation. It may not be the cheapest store but it is the most accessible. This series is about is how to make a small grocery budget work at a store like Dollar General. At the end of these daily uploads, I will upload a streamlined version of all of the meals
My $35 Dollar General Haul:
Eggs $1.50
Bread $1.50
Breakfast Sausage $2
Instant Coffee $1.00
Vanilla Creamer $1.00
Deli Meat $3.50
Mustard $1.00
Beef & Barley Soup $1.00
Ham & Bean Soup $1.00
Hashbrowns $1.00
2 lbs of white rice $1.65
Condensed Broccoli Cheese Soup $1.00
Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup $1.00
2 Boxes of Macaroni & Cheese $1.70
2 pouches of ranch tuna $2.00
Chili $1.65
Broccoli $1.50
Canned Corn, Green Beans, Peas 3 for $2.00
Diced tomatoes and green chilis $1.00
Pork N Beans $1.00
Cheddar Cheese $2.75
Sour Cream $2.75
Taco Seasoning $0.75
Total (pre tax) $35.26
On Saturdays Dollar General offers a $5 off a $25 purchase, I used this to buy a bag of chips and some drink mix. Or you could use it to take $5 off this purchase for a total of around $30.
Today's meals
Coffee w/creamer
2 fried eggs on 2 slices of toast
1/2 a can of ham & bean soup served over white rice with chips
Taco Soup with Rice, Sour Cream, and Cheddar Cheese
Pink lemonade
Taco Soup:
1 can of corn (undrained)
1 can of rotel (undrained)
1/2 a can of chili
1 packet of taco seasoning
1 to 2 cans of water
Combine all ingredients in a pot. Bring to a simmer on your stovetop. Serve over white rice and top with sour cream and cheddar cheese. 
Хобби
I retired and became an unexpected widow in one year. I quickly learned a pension is amazing but not the same money as working. Your ideas may help me cook real meals again as opposed to Lean Cuisine for every dinner. Ive avoided cooking for one, but miss "real" food, so gonna give some of your ideas a try. Thanks❤
One week after retiring my husband was put on a low sodium diet. That meant a lot of cooking from scratch using fresh meats, fruits and vegetables. My recommendation is to cook a meal, like lasagna, meatloaf, barbecue chicken, stir fries, stew, casseroles and divide the leftovers for individual servings and freeze them. I buy several sandwich size containers, the same size and brand so they can stack easily in the freezer. Label what it contains and the date with masking tape. Over time you will have a variety for lunches and dinners. Batch cooking and freezing meals cost less but also offers healthy meals. I also make cookies but freeze 1/2 the dough to cook later. For myself I make a lot of chicken salad, tuna salad, salmon salad and avocado toast, all using mayo and most will last a few days. The canned meats have more sodium so I limit making this for my husband. Good luck...
@@kobecakes2660Great ideas!
I am planning on retiring soon. Single mom here. I am a little concerned as of course, the money is not the same as working. It's a trade off. These videos are so very helpful. I'm sorry to hear about your loss. Blessings to you. From, Cynthia in NY
@@CynthiaAva thank you, Cynthia. It's been an adjustment, living single at 67. You're right about trade offs, but I've made it work, I know you can, too. Blessings to you and your children ✌️💕
Suggestion:
I am a regular shopper at DG and I purchase the instant coffee and creamer as a staple. You might enjoy the iced coffee more if you make it the night before with boiling water and keep it in the fridge for morning. Then just add ice. The boiling water intensifies the coffee flavor much more. I think you will like it much better.
I am going to give that a go for tomorrow 🫶🏽
Since you would be putting it in the fridge, consider using a small amount to freeze as ice cubes. Flavor won’t be diluted by melting ice water.
That's a good tip...another option is to make one serving with a small amount of boiling water, add your ice and fill with liquid: water or as I do half milk and half water b/c it is often my morning meal...the milk provides protein, carbs and fat which is more satiating than coffee alone and the milk also has some good nutrients like calcium, vitamin D and potassium......b/c I like my iced coffee sweet I add some sugar free non-dairy flavored coffee creamer...on a tight budget a person could add some vanilla and sweetener they always have on hand. Most people usually keep vanilla in the pantry. OR one could use a flavored instant coffee too.
@@dinahsoar6982 Hello Dinah! Good to see you.
@@simplefoodsimplelife9632 Hey Robin!!
It's about time. I work at DG plus 4 days a week. I have been following you for about 2 months. I sometimes shop at my store for 35 dollars for a week and I feed 2 people. My suggestions would be to replace the chips with either our tortilla chips at 2.95 or our corn chips at 2 dollars or even a bag of oyster crackers at 1 dollar. But overall, nice job.
I LOVE the DG brand tortilla chips! ❤
Great advice
I always shop at Dollar General and I have made a cookbook with DG food only. I would like to get ahold of corp to see if they would want to put a cookbook with these 150 recipes.
@@marilynpafford2049 I'd buy it!
The oyster crackers are the bomb yo
A tip I learned for budgeting food, leave an extra $5 for things that just look good, or things on sale. Learned this in college and I ended up saving more by allowing myself that extra money than not.
If you have a spare creamer, I would make a rice/french vanilla flavored dessert. My dad was (passed away) 1/2 Japanese and would eat white rice with milk and sugar so the sweetened vanilla creamer gives me a similar vibe. Rice with an over easy egg was also a go-to. Looking forward to the series.
I love that idea! I might try to make some vanilla rice pudding tonight with it
@@DollarTreeDinners mom not at asian would also add a dash of cinnamon to it too. Good hot or cold.
We used to have "sweet rice" for breakfast often. Loved it!
My dad is from Kentucky and he loves rice, milk and sugar as a dessert, too...or for breakfast in place of oatmeal. I feel like if you have any extra coffee packets, you could maybe even make it like a latte flavored dish.
We did rice cereal (sweet rice but blended for more of an oatmeal consistency) so yummy
Love it!! I work for a local grocery chain here in Ohio warehouse but as a 40 year old single guy i love how simple and inexpensive your meals can be at dollar stores.
Love it!! Hope it helps! I am trying to keep all of these meals as easy as possible. I work from home but I know not everyone has the time or ability to cook 3x a day :)
If you have a milk frother you should try combining the coffee and creamer and doing a Dalgona style coffee. Something fancy when you're on a tight budget is always a morale boost.
That's a good suggestion! We use those little packets for our Dalgona coffee and they work really well. Do you think a blender would work if people do not own a frother?
@@tanishahogan9396 I think the normal way to make it is with a hand mixer, idk if a normally blender would work, but it'd probably make a great frappe if nothing else! ☺️
"now that I'm pretty sure you have double tapped your way through this entire intro"
Me extremely invested and glued to the screen: "oh"
Haha I love that! Thank you!
Please do a treat day. Like a day where we go out to eat or get fast food on a budget. Could find some great/budget friendly deals from fast food or restaurants for people that don’t want to cook every week and also want to reward themselves with their money. ❤
I liked the intro! You’re a real person with a real life! Do your thang!
You could use one of your Mac and cheeses to make a pasta salad with peas and cheese and make a dressing with sour cream, ranch and mustard
That is EXACTLY how I eat eggs!! Soft yolk. Mashed through fork tines. Sal. Pepper. Heaped on toast! My daddy made it that way for me. I never outgrew it. 😊 Love your videos. Thank you.
Me too! I've always eaten fried eggs this way.
Same but I still butter my toast 😂
You could serve the taco chili over Fritos instead of rice as an easy kicked up version of a frito pie!
Yum-O!!
Stuffed french toast with scrambled eggs and coffee. Corn chowder with the chips and cheese. Fried macaroni and cheese bites with a tuna melt. Potato pancakes with sour cream. These were an awesome selection of items. These would be so versatile.
Dollar General has some surprising options for food. Their canned meat section is pretty good. They have the small canned hams, which make great ham and eggs. They also carry hash and beef stew, and canned chicken and tuna at good prices. The Dollar General brands are very reasonable in cost, and the Clover Valley brand is not bad. Their freezer selection is a little pricey, I’d watch that. Other things you might consider getting from DG are pet food, paper goods, and medicines. It’s really a great alternative store, and much needed in rural areas and food deserts.
I eat fried eggs and toast like that! I save a piece of crust to “scoop” up the last bit of yolk on the plate. Your chili sounds really good.
Hey girl, shout out to a fellow Virginian! 👍 When I was a kid, whenever I was sick, my mom would make me soft-boiled eggs (white solid, yolk somewhat runny) with toast and hot tea. Your way of eating your eggs made me think of that. Mom's been gone awhile now, but I still make that meal for myself when I don't feel well. I really enjoy your videos! I can fortunately afford to get whatever I wish to eat at any of my local stores, but as a new retiree I realize there may come a day when I might have to curtail my spending; your videos speak to that possible eventuality. Looking forward to the rest of this series!
Try two sticks of coffee for the iced coffee. I put two in a pint jar and add a couple of tablespoons of hot tap water to dissolve, then fill the cup rest of the way with cold water. Then cover with the lid and shake. Then fix it the way you like. Pro Tip: make it the night before and put in the fridge. Then it’s ready to go in the morning. Love your videos!
Grew up eating eggs on toast like that! My mom always did it! 😋
The Food Lion near my house, will honor the DG coupon on Saturdays. You can stack it with their coupons and rewards, as long as you have $25 of groceries before taxes.
That taco soup looked great. Quite a few meals out of it too. I always eat bread with soup even if I'm pouring it over rice or adding rice to the soup, stretches it out even more. For the broccoli cheese soup can I'd cook rice and mix the rice with the soup in oven dish and bake it, broccoli cheese rice bake, maybe put some of the cheese on top, that will be a few meals. Looking forward to the rest of the series.
I eat my fried eggs and toast exactly like that!!!! My family thinks I’m weird! I have found my people 😂❤
there are several of us apparently!
Me too!
Shopping DG on Saturday you can take advantage of their $5 off $25 store coupon. Either as a digital coupon on their app or a paper one that typically prints out at the bottom of your receipt. Often cashiers have extra paper ones and will scan one for you.
love your channel, it keeps in mind people with the bare minimum but also useful for those who have the means to add extra ingredients to the recipe to make it even better but are still on a budget.
The eggs seemed very reasonably priced. I have been hearing horror stories about egg prices in the USA. They must have begun dropping! Thank you for the video!
Thankfully they have dropped. At one time I was paying $13.49 for a 30 pack of eggs. Now I am paying 2.49 for that same pack of eggs.
@@kathy3178 That is a huge drop!!!
Ok, I'm so impressed with that egg flip! Great ideas for the week. That soup is delicious! I buy it all the time. Try their loaded potato in that brand. Yum!
Me too. When she did it i said oh!
OMG! How have I lived without "egg toast". Have eaten it nearly every day since seeing this! I'm addicted. Thank you!
You could try the potato chip omelet from The Bear -- I'd probably do it with some eggs, frozen broccoli, cheese, sour cream (whisk into the eggs or drizzled on top) and then topped with potato chips.
I love that idea! Potato chip omelet for the win!
When I was younger I use to make potato chips, butter, on 2 slices of wholesome bread, and I had to flatten the sandwich with my hand. Everyone thought I was weird… but once they tried it… WOW… that’s good!
Ps. I still do it every once I’ll awhile!
You could do a tuna casserole with a potato chip topping and the canned veggies. Or toss the canned veggies and tomatoes together and make a chunky soup and add some sour cream and cheese in for creaminess and turn the chips into a powdered 'spice blend' for more flavor.
Sounds good 😊
@@cziegle3794my grandmother would always top her tuna casserole with potato chip crumbs.
This week I did the Blue Collar Belly Warmer, vegetarian, mock curry pie style, and also the Burrito Bowl. My family loved both and I cooked for 6 adults.
I just started watching your videos. Not only do I appreciate your budget friendly ideas ... but I love the ease of your recipes for a sorta limited cooking experience person, like myself! Thank you for sharing! 😊🎉❤
I enjoy your RUclips- inspirational videos to get creative on a tight budget 🙂
I completely forgot that I have a few Dollar Generals near me;
I would stop in every now and then but it’s so useful to know the deals on the website so I might be going more often now.
Pausing the video to see what could be made-
It’s tough with limited meat options and usually meals are made around meat/protein.
Tuna casserole is the first thing that comes to my mind.
The tuna casserole can be made with a white cheese sauce using rice or pasta (I think most people use egg noodles in their recipes but any pasta will do), and broccoli or peas. The ranch tuna might actually go great in it because I’m pretty sure that boxed Tuna Helper (the broccoli one) uses ranch spices.
And maybe I’m in the mood for fall recipes because I see a minestrone-style soup that could be made by adding beef broth/seasoning. You could even add the the macaroni from the Mac and cheese boxes (without the cheese).
My mother adds pasta and potatoes to her minestrone soup, usually with kidney or navy beans, to bulk it up.
I've totally eaten fried eggs and toast like that before! It feels like a fried, easier version of Gordon Ramsay's scrambled on toast, I love it!
I just found your channel a week ago and I am like binge watching all your video. I am looking at dollar tree in a new light. I enjoy your video very much
We love to mix the mac n cheese packet with any sort of liquid or sour cream thinned out to make a sauce. Its great over the top of anything for some cheap cheese. Or the packet added to any type of soup such as potato soup.
Then used the pasta for macaroni salad.
I love that you started adding snacks and drinks.
I like how you do this series and your idea for us to look at the ingredients for ideas. I’m not very creative and tend to be lazy and just look to others for ideas but this is a good exercise for me to work on.
I totally understand that, sometimes I wish someone would just tell me what to buy and what to eat LOL I like having someone else do the legwork for me so I hope that I can do the legwork for someone else as well. I also had hoped that someone could reference the comments for ideas and inspiration beyond what I offer throughout the week :)
Thank you for doing dollar general! We dont have a car and this is the closest place for us to walk to.
I’m glad it helps!
Oh my word I love this idea!! I like to shop the scratch/dented cans and boxes and so I end up needing to figure out how to put it all together!!! Loved loved loved it all- very good job :)
And I love your rice cooker too! It’s super cute and just the right size :)
I LOVE DG!! I always go on Saturday for the coupon plus use their digital coupons. My husband eats fried eggs just like you. Nothing weird about it. Great video. I really like this type of video. So many great ideas.
I like eating salty fried eggs on jelly toast! The salt and sweet go together beautifully!
Love, love your recipes. ❤️
Same thing with my dad about the eggs! I do this too every now and again, love your work and videos!
My grandma used to make a recipe we called 'salmon squiggle'. It used cream soup, prepared with milk, canned salmon and frozen (or canned) peas. This mixture was served like a gravy over pieces of toasted bread on a plate, we would cut the toast into squares similar to french toast and eat it with a fork. The tuna pouches and veggies, cream soup and bread all reminded me of this meal I haven't had in years.
I love your videos! So creative!
I would do the same as your start of taco soup but can of black beans, can of chicken, 32 oz water and bouillon powder. (Onion chopped if you have it)I
have been saving a bag of stale tortilla chips for just such a night. Toppings and rice make it yummy
You are amazing and creative!!! Excellent videos. My husband and I watch all your videos.
The taco soup sounds delicious. I'm going to start this right now. Ty for sharing the idea
With the ingredients you showed my mind immediately went to tuna noodle casserole which was always a childhood favorite of mine.
Your videos have been awesome, we are rural living and have a family dollar and dollar general next to each other in our tiny town... thank you again. we are sharing your videos with others
FYI.....anyone interested in this I have a tip! If you get coffee your not use to add the smallest amount of salt to it and it will sweeten it. I do a 1/8tsp or 1/16tsp to my cup of coffee. It does actually change it's flavor. Then I personally add what I enjoy in my coffee. I hope someone finds this useful 👍
I definitely should try the salt trick!
@@DollarTreeDinners it's only a little. I did it today and added maybe 20 grains. It doesn't take much to change the coffee. Building up is always the best option!
@@TBIJourneyI'm trying your tip now, it DOES enhance the coffee..THANKS❣️
@@bluize567 well our taste buds are not the same. To me it sweetens it and makes it smoother. I'm glad it worked out for you. Have a great weekend 🙂
@@TBIJourney Thank you. Actually, I'm having a 2nd cup now. I RARELY have 2 cups of coffee, but I kept thinking how good the 1st one tasted! I use a frother, it was extra creamy, too. You have a wonderful weekend 🙂
I never thought about using rise to stretch a soup. Great idea.
So glad I found your channel. I work from home as well and always looking for simple and quick meals. ❤❤
You are so creative with your food. You've given me so many ideas and I don't have to over spend. Can't wait to try these! Thanks for sharing.
You are so sweet and thoughtful of others who may be in need of this helpful advice. I enjoy watching for the creativity as well as budget options
Great start, Rebecca! I just have to say again how much I LOVED your fried dill pickle fritters! First time I stupidly salted the fritters after frying them, which made them waaaay too salty as the premixed dry batter was also salty. I'm going to cut the pickles with some yellow onion and also pulverized panko bread crumbs to cut back on the salt. Interestingly enough--I told my dad about this and he was excited immediately. Took him back to his childhood when his dad would make pineapple fritters with canned pineapple and a premix dry batter.
pineapple fritters sound so good!
I canned pickles last year. We haven't been eating them until I found the pickle fritters video. Now we go through a quart size jar every time I make them. They are so delicious.
God bless you. You’re helping a lot of people.
Love the video. The taco soup looks good. I will have to try. Love a runny yolk egg. I also like fried egg sandwiches and egg salad sandwiches.
I was amazed at how you flipped the eggs in the skillet.
Have a great day and thank you for the Dollar General video
You are so super cute! I loved your pancake and sausage muffins for our family reunion from another video of yours. I can’t think of any better recipes right now. You do a great job on your recipes!
The rice and bean soup is pure genius !!! You could prep some of the ingredients like rice, pasta and anything else you can think of, then , if you have a lot of ideas, you can just pull from the already prepped foods, then build on it if that makes sense. Another great video !🥰🪷🌺🌸🌼💗✝💖🇺🇲
Great ideas!
I really like Dollar General When I lived in Tennessee I had one right across the road from me and I would go there all time and could buy so much especially when money was tight. From food to housewares to home decorating items!
I’ve never seen anyone else eat eggs like that, I’ve eaten it like that since I was little. It’s still my favorite
The Campbells ham and bean soup is like my favorite thing ever from Dollar Tree. I will literally go out of my way to go there and get it because I love it so much!
A great haul thank you for making your content, I use your ideas as inspo and just sub something I cant get or I dont eat. You have the best ideas and never talk down to those of us on struggle street, so thank you.
Love how you mentioned the five of 25!! that’s actually how are used to buy all my household goods. When I had first moved out I had to quit the coupons and match it up was amazing.
Thank you! I really enjoy and learn a lot from your videos!
I gave a ton of staples from the dollar store in my pantry had no idea 💡 what to do with them now I do, Thanks! I so appreciate this video❤️
I am new to this channel. I am so impressed. You do an outstanding job of helping people save $ or make the $ they have go farther. Everyone needs a full tummy. Ty so much. Blessings
I love the Ocean 🌊 it is mesmerizing. You guys were doing what i love to do sit and let the waves come in over you. I went with a group of friends and ended up staying at a condo where allot of old people stay we did all the activities bingo etc ... One day we got blow up raft things when tide came up.We were the evening entertainment for the old people.
Have you tried taco rice - just taco meat with rice and the fixing's? I adjusted this from my taco ramen..... which is to love.
When I was a kid I would drink the broth then use chips to scoop up chicken rice soup. Lol.
Rebecca, Thank you for doing a different store. I like all of your videos & we don't lack for stores in our area, but its nice to see different options. Id love to see an Aldi store video too some tme. 😊
Sliced American cheese would be a good addition for sandwiches.
I would use the cream soups and rice together. I only drink coffee in the morning. Haven't eaten breakfast other than on the plane going overseas. Coffe for snack and sometimes at lunch. Maybe cook rice and tomatoes together too. Make mac and cheese then add some tomato and bake in the oven for 15 minutes til bubbly. Yum.
Love this dollar general challenge! This is great and very inspiring. New subscriber ❤
Thank you so much 🤗
Great ideas- I am headed to Dollar General tomorrow. I want to try the ham and bean soups as well as the creamer.
Ugh! You tossing that paper down is the definition of my week. Im glad it's almost over and the weekend is finally coming 👍
I had so many notes on what I wanted to say 😂😂😂
@@DollarTreeDinners yeah I can see how that would be overwhelming to a person! 🙂
Thank you for sharing 😊
OMGravy !!! The iced coffee !! You are a Goddess ! Thank you !
I love your channel. I have a lot of ingredients like what you show here, but i just cannot think of things to make with them! 😅 This channel helps a ton! Thank you!
Just found your videos and started binge watching them! 😀 I have eaten my eggs like that since I was a kid. I don’t bother smashing on the plate tho, I just slap them right on the toast and go at it.😂
I poach my eggs and eat this for dinner. Comfort food!
One of my favorite lunches was Ramon noodle soup with a can of vegetables in it, nice and hot with healthy fiber
We don’t have Dollar General where I live but I am getting good ideas from this video. You bring your all to each video!
I do my best!
Exactly how I eat my eggs. Great content, as always.
I do eggs like that also except with a tortilla. Great content as always!
Another great video! I would love to see the fried rice snack you mentioned.😃
Nice job. Good variety.
I love these videos. They make me want to budget and cook😊
Glad you like them!
Definitely love this style video!
Yay! Thank you! I'm always trying to find my "style" I'm liking this one for the time being haha
Yes! You're doing amazing! Keep it up girl ♥️💯
Thanks!
Food looks interesting .good ideas
That taco soup looked amazing will definitely be giving it a try❤
More LONG videos! Lol I love them!
Love these videos thank you. I make an Egg Bake sort of like a mock quiche. With the eggs, ham, tomatos and seasonings I would make this. Using a small pirtion of ham and tomato so I have the rest for another meal. The Egg Bake makes at least 4 servings.
I love your creativity for budget meals and think you're helping a ton of people. I make your biscuit bombs during winter for breakfast and they are yummy for breakfast.
You can also make what I call hamburger and fice but can use any ground meat in it and just add complete seasoning and then add in the rice
Because of dollar tree dinners on TikTok, I bought the Aroma Multi-cooker on your recommendation. It has been a real game changer to my cooking. Thanks.
That is awesome! I'm so glad you are enjoying it!
Sometimes I like getting jerky, typically teriyaki or just normal, and rehydrate it a bit to add it to stirfry. it's a delicious way to get like beef and broccoli without having to buy beef.
This was awesome
I love the taco soup idea !