Eating Well on a Budget: Delicious Meals for Under $4 a Day

Tracey: We use this book weekly. There’s a good variety of recipes and everyone in my household has enjoyed them

United States on Feb 05, 2024

Amazon Customer: I like a lot of the recipes; however, if you are like me and are on a restricted diet for health issues, these recipes will cost more because of ingredient substitutes. You also have to consider the price of food has gone up since this book was written, so I think it is more than $4/day now. Overall a good book, and I think it can help those try to shop on a budget.

United States on May 21, 2023

Tommy Girl: I just received this yesterday. I was curious about this as a resource, I am currently a SAHM but my professional background is nutrition and public health. It is well done with lots of good ideas, I could definitely see recommending this book or the free PDF for inexperienced cooks or people on a tight budget. Some of the pantry items definitely would be a splurge to initially stock up (the author suggests budgeting for 2 splurge items such as olive oil, soy sauce, tahini, spices etc. to build a pantry per normal grocery shopping trip). We get a small produce box and it frequently has items I wouldn't typically buy or smaller quantities of the produce than I'd buy to make a recipe from another source and this book had lots of ideas for all the stuff sitting in my fridge I didn't have a plan for--so, this would most likely be a great resource for WIC farmer's market recipients.

I made the eggplant salad with the lone eggplant my produce box delivered and it was easy and good, I added a touch of olive oil to the tahini and lemon juice because vinaigratte typically has a little more oil than the tahini provided, I really liked it, my 10 month old loved it...

United States on Dec 17, 2020

Le Monsieur: Das Kochbuch ist einfach klasse! Die Rezepte schmecken fast alle sehr gut, sind im Handumdrehen gemacht, allesamt günstig zu beschaffen und kommen vor alle ohne irgendwelche fancy Zutaten aus; man bekommt alles beim Discounter um die Ecke. Nette Aktion am Rande: für jedes Buch das man kauft, wird noch eines an bedürftige Menschen gespendet (zumindest lt. Buch-Cover). Sehr zu empfehlen!

Germany on Oct 05, 2020

Kylie: As a beginner cook who just wants to learn how to make meals for my 1 year old son while on a (very) tight budget, I’m conflicted on choosing this cookbook as the one to learn to cook with. While I love the suggestions involving vegetables (pretty much every recipe) - why aren’t there more meat-based recipes for dinner and food in general? Honestly all of these recipes are highly vegetarian and not directed to feed picky children very well. So many recipes refer back to authors personal already made choices (i.e see this previous recipe over and over) instead of just showing different ones. I’m also disappointed the only drink suggestion is water (non realistic), and these aren’t really beginner guide instructions. I do appreciate the vegetable season buying guide, and bright, easy to read pages. However, I just can’t justify the $14 price point when cooking these kind of recipes as a single mother with limited time and resources seems more difficult than not. The good intention and overall message is there though, and is appreciated for helping lower income people learn to cook with what’s available. Maybe just not the best fit for my family.

United States on Jul 20, 2019

Anonymous: This cookbook was practically made for broke college students. Like the title implies, the recipes are delicious, healthy, and affordable. One of the coolest things about this cookbook is that the author actually provides a rough estimate of how much each recipe costs.

Even if you're not concerned about your grocery budget, this is still a great cookbook to have for its surprisingly easy recipes. When you just don't know what to make, this book is basically guaranteed to have a good recipe you probably wouldn't have thought to make, with ingredients you probably already have on hand.

I highly recommend this for people learning to cook, people on a budget, or people who are just too busy to cook. It makes eating healthy feel appealing and accesible.

Canada on Dec 28, 2018

mhep: I am so happy that I purchased this book. It makes so much sense, uses really basic ingredients to make really nice dishes. It is less a cookbook and more a "way of life" book by making you look at food a bit differently. Well worth it if you would like to start using whole foods more, less prepared foods. It resets your thinking and shows you how simple it can be.

United Kingdom on Sep 30, 2018

Big Momma: This is one of the most basic of cook books. Cheap? Not that much. Easy? Yes, I would say. Simple? No - it complicates some very simple recipes with ingredients that probably change the idea of cheap to 'well, not as expensive as it could be!'

I gave the book 5 stars because I thought it was the honest effort of someone who wants to help lower-income families to live on $4.00 per day per person. Even that would be a stretch - it would cost more than that to use these recipes to cook a week's worth of food for a family. I was flabbergasted to read the author's encouragement to buy expensive eggs (organic, free-range, etc.) Then I knew this author has never really faced poverty! Not a problem, it just limits her grasp at what is at stake here. People who are pushed to the limit of their finances are way our of the 'fresh herb, organic eggs, quinoa' lifestyle.

At one time, I would have encouraged a poor person who has to cope with the recipes in this book to simply have a window sill herb garden. Experience has shown me that herbs in a window are very difficult to grow to make economic sense. Now that I have lived in a house and I have a small plot...

United States on Aug 20, 2017

Carlos Gutiérrez Hita: Aunque es un libro pensado para aquellas personas que en USA están incluidas en el programa de protección contra la pobreza (ojo, en 2016 eran 45 millones de americanos, que no es poco) es muy útil de manejar y si vives en una zona con fácil aceso a frutas, verduras,...aún mejor. Muchas ideas para hacer cosas en general sanas y muchas de ellas poco elaboradas, por lo que no requiere demasiado tiempo. Por el precio que tiene, muy bueno. En España, por ese precio, imposible de encontrar.

Spain on Feb 25, 2017

Seamus: Great book. I'm the pastor at a church an bought this book for a few reasons:

1) Because I wanted to save money on my grocery bill.
2) Because I'm a bachelor and through years of cafeteria food at university I've essentially forgotten how to cook or do groceries. So I wanted a book that had a simple guide as to how to set up, run, and stock my kitchen with a lot of good quick recipes.
3) Because I heard Leanne Brown interviewed on the radio, loved what she was doing, and wanted to test the book before recommending it to my church to give out in the community.

This fulfills all the above criteria superbly. I should also note that there is a deal for bulk purchases for organizations like churches, food banks, etc. So you can get a reduced rate if you're handing it out to your community. Anyway, GFC goes through quickly and in just enough details sort of all the facets of keeping your kitchen and cooking for yourself. $4/Day is obviously going to depend on your locale but I feel most of the recipes are pretty affordable. Follow her guidelines and you'll be eating fairly healthily for fairly cheap. Definitely recommend.

Canada on Dec 14, 2016