Recently, I watched an episode of Man Vs. Food.
Standing in my kitchen this morning, I wondered how a bowl of cereal would fare in a fight with a couple of pancakes. The victor gets the opportunity of a lifetime: the chance to help me balance my checkbook.
Weighing in at 10.4 oz, containing 9 serving at 1 cup each and priced around $3.50 is….Cereal.
Cereal steps into the ring, looking strong, feeling confident and ready to go.
$3.50 Divided by 9 servings is $0.39 per bowl
Can Pancakes beat a price that low?
A little scrawny, but fast and limber–Pancakes has been around the block as a breakfast staple. More than the sum of its parts, Pancakes knows it wouldn’t be here today without:
1 cup of Flour
1 tablespoon Sugar
2 teaspoons of Baking Powder
1/4 teaspoon of Salt
1 cup Milk
2 tablespoons of Vegetable Oil
This five pound bag of flour costs $3.39 and brings forth 20 cups of serious moxie. Always willing to lend a hand, Flour had no qualms putting 1 cup or $0.17 toward some delicious Pancake batter. Growing up in the same neighborhood, Sugar and flour have combined their efforts in a number of other recipes. With 180 tablespoons of power, priced at around $3.00, The tablespoon of Sugar in Pancakes costs about a half a penny and can’t be beat!
But let’s not forget about Baking Powder $0.07 ($2.00 for 10 oz. or 60 tsp with 2 going to pancakes), Salt (around $0.05), Vegetable Oil (2.68, tablespoon per serving yields 96 servings) equal $0.06, or Milk ($0.23 per cup).
Pancake Batter from this simple, but tasty team costs $0.63 and makes about three large servings of two pancakes a serving.
Pancakes is the Champ at 21 cents per serving! But wait, wait just a minute…what’s that? Milk was fighting for both sides? At least a 1/2 a cup of milk goes into a bowl of cereal or $0.12. Add that to $0.39 and this match is over.
Just don’t pour on a mountain of syrup. Use moderation.
**Feel free to check my math or let me know if you’ve seen different prices in your area. Co-workers included :)**