[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by OutOfTheCube

This is ridiculous. You honestly couldn't think of a cheaper diet than McDonalds?

How about this -

Breakfast: Box of cereal ($5) + Carton of milk ($6) = $11 for a week's worth of breakfast.

Lunch: Loaf of bread ($3) + 5 apples ($6) + 200g sandwich meat ($6) = $14 for a week's worth of lunch

Dinner: Bag of potatoes ($7) + bag of carrots ($4) + package of 5 chicken breasts ($15) = $26 for a week's worth of dinner

That's $51 for one person in a week, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It's not terribly exciting and not amazingly healthy but it's far cheaper and far more healthy than a fast food diet.

I was just going to address this, thanks.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20373171

Fam Med. 2010 Apr;42(4):280-4.
Cost of eating: whole foods versus convenience foods in a low-income model.

McDermott AJ, Stephens MB.
Author information

• Department of Family Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA. andrew.j.mcdermott@gmail.com

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:

Financial limitations in low-income populations, those at highest risk for poor health outcomes, may preclude adherence to recommended dietary guidelines. We examine the financial burden of shopping for foods to meet national dietary recommendations in a supermarket compared to eating primarily in a fast-food restaurant.
METHODS:

Using a single-parent, low-income model, we obtained whole food costs (healthy) from local supermarkets and from fast-food outlets (convenient). Using cost per calorie as a metric for comparison, we used estimated single-parent, low-income living expenses to determine the relative costs of meeting national dietary guidelines.
RESULTS:

Average food costs for healthy and convenience diets accounted for 18% and 37% of income, respectively. Dairy products and vegetables accounted for the largest cost percentages of diet costs (36% and 28%, respectively). The cost per calorie of a convenience diet was 24% higher than the healthy diet. Both models resulted in net financial loss over the course of a year for a single-parent, low-income family.
CONCLUSIONS:

Food costs represent a significant proportion of annual income. Diets based heavily on foods from convenient sources are less healthy and more expensive than a well-planned menu from budget foods available from large supermarket chains