Three Meals, Four People, $10 : Cooking By the Numbers

The objective of a strict budget is to economize without lessening the amount of food served. So, while our hypothetical family of four undergoes some financial belt-tightening, they should still be able to leave the table satisfied and nourished.

It pays to study newspaper advertisements, where the best supermarket bargains of the week are to be found. After pinpointing a few good deals on which to base the day’s menu, prepare a shopping list. Then adhere to it; no expensive spur-of-the-moment purchases. Another cost-cutting device is to buy store-labeled products rather than their national brand counterparts. And remember that produce is always a good value (even at this time of year, when produce prices are at their highest).

This menu is designed with children’s fickle eating habits in mind. It relies on popular dishes: Breakfast is just cereal and bananas, and lunch is soup, sandwiches and a fresh vegetable.

Dinner is the most ambitious meal. Canned juices, often a bargain, make agreeable drinks. A 46-ounce can of tomato juice was on sale for only 89 cents. To embellish the drink, serve the juice with salt, pepper and a lemon wedge. Tossed green salad makes a safe second course. Pasta with broccoli, garlic, butter and olive oil can be served as a separate course or as a side dish for the chicken. Italian pasta was on sale for 59 cents a pound. Health concerns dictate baking chicken but you can disguise it as fried, in order to fool the kids, by coating the pieces in bread crumbs. Again, a special on chicken had legs and thighs--cuts popular with children--at 59 cents a pound.

The time and effort in planning this menu paid off handsomely: 17.11 pounds of food were purchased for $9.98 or 58 cents per pound. Plus, there was enough chicken and pasta for leftovers.

Puzo Menu

BREAKFAST

Sliced bananas with puffed rice cereal

Toast

Coffee or tea

LUNCH

Chicken noodle soup

Carrot sticks

DINNER

Tomato juice

Tossed green salad with vinaigrette dressing

Pasta with broccoli and garlic

Oven-fried, baked or fried chicken

SNACK

Tangerines

Walnuts

SHOPPING LIST

Purchased at Vons in South Pasadena

4 bananas at 3 pounds for $1: .66 Alf’s Natural Nutrition Puffed Brown Rice Cereal: .87 Country Hearth Oat Bran ‘N Fiber Bread: .99 2 (6.1-ounce) cans Starkist chunk light tuna: $1 1-pound head butter lettuce: .49 2 (10.5-ounce) cans Vons Condensed Chicken Noodle Soup: .92 .58 pound carrots at .39 per pound: .23 1 pound Sidari Rigatoni: .59 1.1 pounds broccoli at .69 per pound: .76 3.25 pounds chicken legs and thighs at .59 per pound: $1.92 1 (46-ounce) can Vons Tomato Juice: .89 .75 pound (4) Sun World tangerines at .50 per pound: .38 .45 pound walnuts at $1.29 per pound: .58 Vons Club Discount: -.30 TOTAL: $9.98 Staples: margarine or butter, coffee, tea, milk, mayonnaise, olive oil, vinegar, seasonings, fresh garlic, flour