Organic Straus Family nonfatmilk in glass bottles (with an extra bottle charge that is refunded when you bring it back) . . . around $4.49 per half-gallon plus the $1.25 CRV. (Whole Foods)

Odwalla fresh-squeezed orange juice at $7.99 for 64 oz. — though occasionally that size will go on sale for $6.99. (Safeway)

Cabot Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese for $5.99 per lb. (Trader Joe’s)

One loaf of three-seed whole grain bread from Vital Vittles for $5.39. (Safeway)

The cheaper stuff is far, far inferior on taste. (And often less healthful as well.)

Also, wouldn’t it get boring eating the same thing every day for a year? It’s not like either or these places has much of variety. I don’t mind eating the same food I cooked for more than one day – I don’t have time to cook every day, and certain dishes take too much time for me to be worth it to eat for only one day. Also, having grown up in the Soviet Union, I am used to not having much variety. But I don’t believe I could handle Mc Donald or Burger King fare forever.

I find that eating out is very much an American thing. I believe most of us immigrants prefer to eat at home and view eating out more like a special occasion.

I don’t even consider it a frugal choice, although I do consider the cost of a single restaurant meal a waste of money. I buy ingredients that I like, I can buy expensive fruit occasionally, I cook what I like. I can spend money on things I like, even things that other people may find wasteful, but for me eating out is a special occasion. It must be cultural differences I guess.

Anyway, I believe frugal means “wise use of resources”. It is not being cheap. With that said, we LOVE good quality food. We do not compromise except when we are in a situation where food is served to us at a function, we are on the road, out of convenience…etc. Not everything we buy is organic but most are natural, whole foods. We are especially particular about staples such as rice, milk, eggs, yogurt, sugar, honey, cereal. We do not eat much meat.

I agree – the company is what matters, not the food. Although, good food is nice. A typical dinner we make for friends would consist of: Mixed Green Salad, Wild Salmon or a Chicken Dish, Wild Rice or Potato Dish, and Flan. The salmon is expensive but when we combine with the cheap salad, rice, and flan, it’s a good balance. Sometimes, just salad and pasta with homemade sauce. Simple meals can be very tasty. We generally do not serve “processed” food. We avoid anything artificial, with high fructose corn syrup, msg, etc.

Wow, I am looking forward to a great summer of eating with friends

…and if you must have mac and cheese (we do sometimes), go for “Annie’s” brand. They are side by side with Kraft at Costco for about the same price.

A sandwich doesn’t need to require any “cooking”, only Bread, veggies, meat, cheese, salt, pepper… they are quick, nutritious, tasty and cheap. Served hot or cold, a sandwich can easily be “Dinner” and can be prepared in the home at any time without special skills or labor.

Not as tasty as fresh(to me) but still nutritious and thrifty – and useful for soups and stews- are frozen vegetables. It seems there is always some brand on sale at my supermarkets- including their own brand-which is not necessarily so cheap at the regular price.

and did I post this already? Domino’s and Burger king, yuck!

Are you joking? It might be easy, but as you said it is not economical and certainly not simple by any stretch. I’m impressed that you could prepare with such ease things that I would only order in an expensive restaurant and the vast majority of the US would never have in their life. It reminds me of the disconnect felt by many with Obama’s arugula comment during the campaign.

So many commenting seem to have missed the spirit of the article, which is the nostalgia for the simple days of ramen and mac and cheese when you are young and poor and how companionship matters more than food sometimes. This is a good piece for those struggling in a recession, who perhaps can’t afford that expensive appetizer anymore. Sadly, I don’t think most of those people are reading this blog.

In the long run, even if your bill is higher, the healthy foods are more worthwhile. Your work productivity and energy levels will be much higher. Not to mention your future medical bills being lower.

Spend the extra money on good, healthy food. Cut costs elsewhere.

I’ve been sick with a cold this week, too tired to cook, so we had Kraft mac & cheese and green peas – always cheers me up. Now if I just had a glass of Hi-C!

Recently I tried a braised lamb shanks recipe we got from a winery. It was great, but I think the appetizer was enjoyed even more – and all it was, was endive leaves with a schmear of soft goat cheese and a slice of smoked duck breast. Easy. Though, come to think of it, not that cheap!

My husband and I are extremely frugal and have a TIGHT budget (no cable TV? Our friends are horrified!) but other than sticking to simple ingredients, cooking at home, and growing some of our own veggies, we don’t “sacrifice” much in the way of food.

Our grocery budget is $400/month just for the two of us (granted, this includes personal care items, cleaning stuff, paper products, and dog food too). So yeah, I’m not a fan of “frugal eating” if you can afford anything more than that. Nothing beats good produce and from-scratch meals.

But there’s nothing wrong with inexpensive/simple meals either, and it’s a great way to get together with friends. Usually when we have dinner parties we do it semi-potluck style (I make the entree and everyone else brings sides/salad/dessert/whatever). Low stress for everyone and we can focus on each other.

I’m a big fan of Rachael Ray’s show ’30 Minute Meals’. I learned how to turn out delicious, 3 course meals in about 30-40 minutes (she’s a faster chopper than I am!) Cooking a dinner party doesn’t have to be time consuming – it helps to know which recipes you can turn out fast! Practicing on yourself helps too!

For a large number of guests, I prefer a ‘tapas bar’ style with lots of small bites rather than a formal dinner where we sit at a table. Allows people to wander around and mingles. You can get most of the tapas snacks from an olive bar at the local supermarket, cheese and crackers that take no time to prepare, then pan fry some chorizo bites in a pan for a hot meat. Easy! You can spend more time snacking and mingling!

I hosted a dinner party once with my former BF, and it was a disaster. All my attention was on cooking and I couldn’t enjoy our friends; not only that, but the dinner didn’t turn out too well and that was quite awkward. My friend C, on the other hand, can turn out delicious meals without ever appearing to DO anything – we never miss a moment of her company – and the conversation is always stimulating too.

We were on a strict $60/week food/household expense diet for 8 months and found we ate a lot more starches than we usually do. Starches are cheaper than either meat or fruits/vegs.

Good and healthy food is important to me and some weeks I spend more than others. I prefer to save in other areas in my life and not skimp on food and nutrition.

When I friends over, I also have a lot of fun preparing good meals without breaking the bank. Having friends bring the main course for me to prepare (salmon, etc) is a big help at times.

When the conversation is good, the food doesn’t matter.