Name: Chaya Surie Margareten
Location: Ramat Beit Shemesh, Israel
Family size: 2 adults, 2 toddlers
Tell us about your family: Dinner and bedtime have to be on schedule because I live in Israel and work evenings for an American company, so I like to start on supper early and have everything ready by the time my kids come home. Because my cuties like simple food, I keep meals uncomplicated and our proteins vary between schnitzel, meatballs, burgers, and the occasional chicken bottoms, while starches are usually rice, potatoes, pasta or some form of bun or pita. Thankfully, my kids love fresh vegetables so they are on the menu often, as are roasted vegetables.
I’m also a big believer in becoming familiar with typical measurements of salt, spices, and oil for your standard dishes, so you can avoid having check the recipe repeatedly while cooking. It cuts the time and frustration in half and gives you a lot of cooking confidence!
What was your $5 dinner challenge strategy?: My strategy for the $5 dinner challenge was to mix higher priced items with less expensive ones at each meal. I typically shop for groceries in a mix of stores, picking up some items locally and stocking up every two weeks at Osher Ad. That same sense of balance had me pairing the more time-consuming mashed potatoes with Mediterranean burgers, which cook up super-fast on the grill.
$5 Dinner Challenge Verdict: Everyone enjoyed the $5 dinner challenge, and while having to check off a starch, a protein, and a vegetable for every meal did take a little extra time, I loved seeing the cost breakdown of every meal. I plan to continue keeping an eye on dinner ingredient prices and recommend swapping out ground beef for a beef/chicken blend or straight ground chicken and elevating the taste of frozen fish by using a good marinade.
Monday: Mediterranean burgers, cabbage salad, broccoli, mashed potatoes, fresh-cut veggies for the kids.
Total cost: $19.38
Cost per person: $4.85
Menu cost breakdown:
– Mediterranean burgers (a recipe from Kosher.com) – $8.43
– Cabbage salad – $3.56
– Broccoli – $3.55 (half a bag of frozen broccoli)
– Mashed potatoes – $2.74
– Fresh-cut vegetables for kids – $1.10
Tuesday: Meatballs, rice, baby corn and green bean medley.
Total cost: $17.74
Cost per person: $4.44
Menu cost breakdown:
– Meatballs – $10.62
– Rice – $2.19
– Baby corn and green bean medley – $4.93
Wednesday: Grilled tilapia, mushroom salad, pickles, leftovers.
Total cost: $18.13
Cost per person: $4.53
Menu cost breakdown:
– Grilled soft baked Italian tilapia (a recipe from Kosher.com) – $4.66
– Mushroom salad – $9.04
– Pickles – $1.69
– Leftover rice – $2.74
– Kids also ate leftover meatballs from previous night’s supper
Thursday: Schnitzel, rolls, fresh cut vegetables.
Total cost: $18.63
Cost per person $4.66
Menu Cost Breakdown:
– Schnitzel – $9.59
– Rolls $2.74
– Fresh-cut vegetables – $6.30
If you’d like to take on the Kosher.com $5 Dinner Challenge, and for your results to be featured in an article, email us at hello@kosher.com.
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