The week I lived on a $20 bag of potatoes and learned a hard lesson

Last month, my truck needed a new part and my food budget for the week was just gone. I had a five-pound bag of russet potatoes I got for $3.99 and about $16 left. I thought, how hard could it be? Monday was baked potatoes with butter. Tuesday, I fried the leftovers with an onion. Wednesday, I made a thin potato soup with some bouillon and the last of an old carrot. By Thursday, the smell of potatoes made me feel sick. I was so tired and hungry for something green. I finally caved and bought a bunch of kale for $1.50 on Friday, chopped it fine, and mixed it into mashed potatoes with a lot of garlic. That one change saved the whole week. It taught me that the cheapest meal plan fails if you don't plan for variety, even if it's just one cheap veggie. Has anyone else ever tried to stretch one ingredient too far and found a simple fix?

3 comments

3 Comments

carr.james1mo ago

That point about the smell of potatoes making you sick is so real. It's not just hunger, it's food boredom that gets you. Your brain just shuts down on the idea of eating. I did something similar with a giant sack of rice. By day four, the plain sight of it made me feel tired. The fix was stupid cheap, a bottle of hot sauce from the dollar store. A few drops changed the whole flavor and tricked my brain into thinking it was a new meal. Variety isn't a luxury, it's a basic need for your willpower.

noah88015d ago

Tricked your brain into thinking it was a new meal" is the real life hack here. My brain is so easy to fool, I could probably put the same rice in a different bowl and call it a new dish. The dollar store hot sauce is the real hero, saving us all from our own terrible, boring food choices.

olivia_park1mo ago

Ugh, that food boredom is the worst... @carr.james is right about it shutting you down. I once tried to live off a giant tub of plain oatmeal and almost lost my mind until I found a forgotten packet of taco seasoning in the cupboard.