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"Eating can be an expensive proposition. But as you may have heard, you have to eat food in order to live. To resolve the tension between wanting to eat and not wanting to spend money, you could take the easy way out and go all ramen all the time. But you&amp;#039;re better than that. You&amp;#039;re a grown woman and you can make real dinners for yourself. Doing it on the cheap takes some planning, but it&amp;#039;s totally do-able. \u2028The first area to examine when you&amp;#039;re trying to reduce your grocery bill is protein. Meat can be pretty expensive, especially if you&amp;#039;re worried about quality. The easiest way to reduce the amount you pay for meat is to eat less. You can easily replace it with vegetable proteins like beans or tofu, or cheaper animal proteins like eggs and cheese. When you do buy meat, you can save a serious chunk of change by buying whole chickens (instead of parts) or focusing on less expensive cuts that work well in stews and braises. \u2028In the produce aisle, buying in bulk is you friend. The 12-ounce container of spinach is twice as large as the 6-ounce one, but doesn&amp;#039;t cost twice as much. The same goes for fruits and vegetables that come in three, five, or ten-pound bags. It&amp;#039;s usually cheaper to buy a five-pound bag of potatoes than it is to buy five pounds of loose potatoes. \u2028In the rest of the grocery store, you can buy in bulk as well, especially when it comes to staples like rice and beans. It&amp;#039;s also good to build up a supply of spices and special ingredients like fancy vinegars and hot sauces. Even a humble dish like fried eggs can be an event with a kick of sriracha. \u2028With these tips in mind, here&amp;#039;s a sample menu that allows you to cook dinner for two people for five nights for less than $50 (based on approximate grocery prices in Philadelphia \u2014 your town may vary a little). Bear in mind this list assumes you have some basic things like olive oil and soy sauce, but once you&amp;#039;re stocked with these items they&amp;#039;ll last weeks and shouldn&amp;#039;t affect your bottom line too much. \u2028Grocery List \u20284-pound whole organic chicken, $11  2 heads garlic, $1  1 bunch thyme, $1.50  1/2 pound organic butter, $2.50  1/2 pound Yukon gold potatoes, $1  1/2 pound spinach, $2  1 package soba noodles, $3.50  1 head broccoli, $1.50  1 dozen organic eggs, $4  1 yellow onion, $1  1 bunch kale, $3  2 bell peppers, $3  1 can whole tomatoes, $2.30  2 cans crushed tomatoes, $4.60  1 loaf crusty bread, $1.50  1 pound dry white beans, $2  1 pound dry red beans, $2  1 can tomato paste, $1 1 package pasta shells, $1.50 Total: $49.90 Night 1: Shakshuka with a Kale Salad  Shakshuka is an easy but wonderfully cozy Israeli dish of eggs poached in tomato sauce. While that&amp;#039;s cooking, finely chop half your kale and toss with minced garlic, olive oil, and vinegar. Cut the bread and use it to mop up the delicious sauce.  \u2028\u2028Get the recipe for shakshuka on  Jew Hungry. \u2028Night 2: Roast Chicken and Potatoes With Spinach Salad  Make the second night a special one by making a simple but sophisticated roast chicken. Since you have the oven on anyway, make roast potatoes by rinsing them, chopping them in half, tossing them with olive oil and salt and putting them in a roasting dish in the oven while the chicken cooks. It should take 30 - 35 minutes. When it&amp;#039;s close to dinnertime, chop half the spinach, and toss with oil and a vinegar like balsamic or white wine and salt. When it&amp;#039;s time to serve, have the chicken breasts and set the thighs, legs, and wings aside for tomorrow. \u2028Get the recipe for simple roast chicken on  Brooklyn Supper. \u2028Night 3: Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry Over Noodles \u2028  Since you went all-out last night, take it easy tonight with a simple stir fry. Pull the meat from the leftover chicken and chop it. Cut the head of broccoli into small florets and mince a head of garlic. Throw it all into a well-oiled wok or large frying pan, flavor with soy sauce, and cook until the broccoli is tender. Serve over soba noodles. After dinner, soak the dried beans for the next two night&amp;#039;s meals. Photo Credit: Getty Images \u2028Night 4: White Bean and Kale Hash  On the fourth night you&amp;#039;ll use the remainder of your kale and some your white beans to make this wonderfully satisfying white bean and kale hash. \u2028\u2028Get the recipe for white bean and kale hash on  Beard and Bonnet. \u2028Night 5: Pasta Fagioli  Night five, you&amp;#039;ve made it! Use the a mix of red and white beans and canned tomatoes to make this rustic Italian soup with pasta. With the money you saved, buy a nice bottle of Sangiovese wine to serve it with. You deserve to splurge a little. \u2028Get the recipe for pasta fagioli on  Little Ferraro Kitchen. Elizabeth Stark is a food writer with a passion for seasonal food, great desserts, and inadvisable wine pairings. Read more on her blog,  Brooklyn Supper.  Follow Elizabeth on  Twitter,  Pinterest, and  Facebook. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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