What Can I Buy for $1.25?

November 19, 2004 4:47 AM

I've only got a $1.25 in my pocket. It's 4 o'clock in the afternoon. I walk into my local Quick-E Mart convenience store. I'm looking for maximum stomach fufillment to tide me over until dinner.What's the best buy for my measly change?
posted by jeremias to Food & Drink (21 answers total)

If you're cool with drinking water from a water fountain, you can usually find a bag of trail mix for around a buck. Some sugar, salt, and protein should help you get through.
posted by shawnj at 5:18 AM on November 19, 2004

I have no idea what the prices are like in your Quick-E Mart store, but in terms of filling your stomach, I suggest you buy some oatcakes and a banana. Instant sugar rush from the banana, then a slower release of energy from the oatcakes. And fibre. Lots of fibre makes you feel fuller, as well as helping with, um, the other part of the process.
posted by talitha_kumi at 5:19 AM on November 19, 2004

If your dinner isn't a fancy sit-down affair, and you have a strong gut, go for the 99 cent burrito.

If you want something more mainstream, try a bag of chips from a more local company, such as Uncle Ray's or Tom's Potato Chips (50-60 cents). Top that off with a bottle of Big Red or RC cola, if you're lucky, it'll run 59 cents as well. Also check for the latest "promo" drink, like Surge or Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper. Often 2/$1.

Stay away from the beef jerky. You can't afford that, and it's the same pressed cow parts that's in the fridge-burgers, and you get a lot more of that for a dollar.
posted by Saydur at 5:22 AM on November 19, 2004

In terms of raw caloric content, it's hard to beat a King Sized Snickers. Last time I checked, those things were $1 and packed about 600 calories.
posted by saladin at 5:52 AM on November 19, 2004

Fudge rounds. Two of them should be a buck or less. There should be enough sugar in those things to perk you up, plus they have the added plus of making you nausous enough that you won't think about eating for a few hours.

One summer as an undergrad, I had a job shelving books in a science library. Pay was low, lifting bound journals was high, and rent was always due. Fudge rounds were the dinner of champions!
posted by robocop is bleeding at 6:11 AM on November 19, 2004

Kinda-similar AskMe
posted by mrgavins at 6:25 AM on November 19, 2004

Ramin Noodles are always quite cheap, and a pack or two of those would certainly take care of hunger (if you can prepare it).

Microwave popcorn can usually be found in a single package for around a dollar in vending machines, and a single bag would be pretty filling without having a lot of calories (if you got the low butter variety).
posted by inthe80s at 6:26 AM on November 19, 2004

Is it a 7/11 kind of place? Soft pretzels. Or, one hot dog, with half a pound of free toppings, like chili and cheese, on it.
posted by iconomy at 6:46 AM on November 19, 2004

Just get a 40 oz. malt liquor. Food will just wreck your buzz.
posted by spilon at 6:55 AM on November 19, 2004

If there is a pizza counter, that's pretty nice. Ready-made pizza is usually hot and filling and more or less under $2.
posted by keijo at 8:02 AM on November 19, 2004

Go exercise. It's an appetite suppressant.
posted by gramcracker at 8:07 AM on November 19, 2004

Nuts are very filling and usually not too expensive for the off brands.

appetite suppressant

... Also, there's some cold medicines or diet pills that will probably give you the same effect if you don't want to excercise.
posted by milovoo at 8:10 AM on November 19, 2004

A cheese stick and some peanut M&Ms. The chocolate on the M&Ms will give you some instant pep and the protein will give you long lasting energy and keep you from feeling hungry. Don't go for a quick fix- going just on a sugar high will also give you a sugar crash. Protein is the most bang for you buck, she says, as she grabs some cheese.
posted by wallaby at 8:15 AM on November 19, 2004

Gotta agree with the Snickers. It's got some protein, some carbs, and some fat, and a whole lotta calories. It's probably the most filling candy bar in the store.

Of course, it ain't healthy in the slightest, but if you've only got a buck and a quarter and you want to be filled up, it's probably your best bet.
posted by kindall at 8:16 AM on November 19, 2004

Two Words: Steel Reserve.
posted by Otis at 8:44 AM on November 19, 2004

Beef Jerky, if it can be had for that much. It's lean protein. I like turkey jerky myself.
posted by jonah at 8:54 AM on November 19, 2004

SuperAmerica has cheap hot dogs.

Personally, I'd just go to Taco Bell and get a Bean Burrito Especial. Those things are awesome (and cheap).

Barring that, yeah, Steel Reserve.
posted by neckro23 at 9:01 AM on November 19, 2004

If it happens to have microwavable bakes potatoes, go for that. I remember reading an article about the 'satiety index' and it basically said that 250 calories worth of baked potato would fill you up more than 250 calories of anything else the measured. Makes sense to me, i guess.
posted by Kololo at 9:19 AM on November 19, 2004

I'd ditto neckro23 and say that, unless you're really out of the way of everything, fast food's probably your best option. I can't think of a convenience store I've been to (in a city, anyway) that didn't have a fast food chain within a couple blocks.

They all have a 'dollar or less' menu these days; what you can get there is probably more filling (and maybe even better for you) than anything you pick up at a 7-11.
posted by Yelling At Nothing at 4:52 PM on November 19, 2004

If you have cooking oil (or an air popper) back at home, I say a bag of regular popcorn (not the microwave kind), which costs just about $1.25, and should make at least 7 gallons popped. You certainly won't run out before dinner.
posted by obloquy at 5:10 PM on November 19, 2004

Either sunflower seeds / peanuts (you can sometimes find 2/$1.00 deals on non-name brands) or the king-size Snickers, though the nuts will fill you up more (but the Snickers taaaastes so goooood...)
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 5:15 PM on November 19, 2004