“Can’t Eat Healthy”: SA Shopper React to R100 Grocery List That Feeds Family for a Week
- The South African shared a three-ingredient grocery list that costs R100 and produces 21 servings of supper
- The meal combines rice, lentils and butternut, and nutritionists say it covers roughly 25% of daily nutrient requirements per plate
- South Africans had mixed feelings about whether R100 could realistically stretch that far at current food prices
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A R100 note does not go as far as it used to, but one food hack doing the rounds on social media is challenging that idea.
The South African published a post on Facebook on 12 August 2026 claiming that three basic ingredients, bought for under R100, can produce 21 servings of supper, enough to feed one or two people for an entire week.
The grocery list is straightforward: a 500g bag of whole lentils at R28, a butternut pocket at R40, and a 2kg bag of rice at R32, bringing the total to R100.
The meal that stretches your rand
The idea behind the combination is simple. Fill a bowl with 50% rice, 25% lentils and 25% butternut, and you have a filling plate that is cheap to prepare and repeatable across seven nights. Families with more mouths to feed may need to add a second bag of lentils, but the core list remains affordable.
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According to a report, the meal is not just budget-friendly; it also holds up nutritionally. A 350g serving covers roughly 25% of the daily fibre requirement and delivers meaningful amounts of vitamin A. Data from ScienceDirect supports the health case for lentils, noting their benefits for digestion and gut health, while butternut has been linked to helping manage cholesterol levels.
For anyone wanting to add protein beyond lentils, chicken soup packs are available at Pick n Pay and Shoprite for around R55 per kilogram, and pork at most supermarkets for roughly R60 per kilogram.
See the original Facebook post that started the conversation here.
Mzansi Reacts to the R100 Challenge
The post sparked a lively debate about food prices, with many South Africans questioning whether the list was realistic depending on where you shop.
@Nicola Savage said:
“Depending on where you can buy for R100.”
@John Clements joked:
“R100, so 6 Chappies and a can of Coke?”
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Source: Briefly News
