Somewhat Misleading

I picked up the book The $7 A Meal Quick & Easy Cookbook this year. I wanted to see how accurate it is. Today, I'll be making Tilapia Fillets w/Spinach. I had to get all but 4 items from the store (nutmeg, butter, salt & pepper). The receipt totaled $30.43. Let's break it down:

10 oz spinach: $1.29
3 shallots (10 in the pack at 3.49): $1.05
1/3 cup broth (4c/$3.50): $0.29
1 lb tilapia (2 lb/$9.99): $5.00
1/2 c buttermilk (1 pint/$1.29): $0.32
2 eggs (18/$3.39): $0.37
Hot sauce (150 mL/$3.49): $0.12
2 Tbsp romano/parm cheese (5 oz/$3.99): $0.40

Total: $8.84 Plus the ingredients I have on hand, so figure $9. I'll make rice on the side (5 lb bag of brown rice runs about $4-5, so it's another $0.40)

And, the recipe only serves 4, which should be fine for the children & me, but, if Ben's here, we'd need more & TJ is starting to have quite an appetite. During his growth spurts, he can eat 2 or more servings.

So, the book prices are not far off, even though my local store is pricy. The real savings come when the ingredients don't have to be purchased for each meal. I'll have to play with more recipes in here. There are plenty that serve 6, as well.