We tried Neri Miranda's suggested P1,000 weekly 'palengke list'—here's what happened

Is Neri Miranda’s P1,000 weekly meal plan attainable? We brought her palengke list to a public market and a grocery store to find out. 

On Sept. 10, actress-turned-entrepreneur Neri Naig-Miranda shared a now-deleted Facebook post featuring her sample weekly meal plan on a P1,000 budget.  

"Eto na ang Neri's (sample) Weekly Meal Plan. Para sa mga nanay na mamamalengke bukas pagkatapos ihatid ang mga bata sa school, eto na, pakiprint na po eto, kumpleto pati palengke list," she wrote in her post.

"Nagtry akong magbudget ng P1,000 for a week. Kung may sukli pa yan, pwede pangdagdag merienda o baon ng mga bata," she added.

In the meal plan, Neri shared a long list of ingredients and the dishes you can make out of them per day. Dinners were meanwhile allotted for leftovers.

The post quickly went viral. While some regarded it as helpful, most comments pointed out how “unrealistic” the meal plan is.

"Ang unrealistic naman to, manok at baboy pa lang magkano na. Ilang serving ba tong meal plan for you to have a leftover?" A social media user commented.

"[S]abay-sabay daw tyong managinip ng gising sa 1k weekly plan niya kasi sa wais na misis lahat ng imposible ay posible," another social media user wrote. 

To test out this plan, PhilSTAR L!fe went to a public market and a grocery store to find out and compare prices.  

Public Market

We first shopped at Centennial Mini Market in Cabuyao City, Laguna. Like a usual consumer, we opted to canvass in different stalls to compare and find the cheapest prices. "Tawad skills" were also necessary, especially if you have a budget of only P1,000 for the whole week. 

Below is the breakdown of the actual prices of the goods listed on Neri's meal plan which we pegged to be good for two people for this study.

Protein

• Eggs – 3 pcs. for P27 
• Pork – 2 liempo for P223 (350 kg each)
• Ground pork – P115 (half kilo)
• Chicken – P123 (half kilo) 
• Corned beef – P57 (1 can)
• Corned tuna - P37 (1 can)
• Bangus – P200 (1 piece; originally P208) 
• Tilapia – P70 (1 piece for fish Escabeche) 
• Tuyo  - 6 pcs. for P20

Vegetables 

• Tomatoes – 3 pieces for P23 
• Onions – 4 pieces for P23 
• Monggo – P20 (1 pack)
• Garlic – 2 pieces for P13 
• Eggplant – 3 pieces for P28 
• Potato – P28  (1 pc.)
• Carrots – P18 (1 pc.)
• Sayote – P23 (1 pc.)
• Bell pepper – P24 (1 pc.)
• For sinigang: radish - P11 (1 pc.), gabi - P11 (1 pc.), water spinach - P12 (1 pc.), okra - P5 for 3 pcs.

Grains/Starches 

• Malagkit na Bigas – P17 (¼ kilo) 
• Bread – P79 (1 loaf)
• Oatmeal – Unavailable 

Others

• Tomato sauce – P13 (1 pc.)
• Cocoa powder – P5 (1 pc.)
• Sinigang mix — P16 (1 pc.)
• Sugar —P23 (¼ kilo for champorado)

Total: P1,264

All in all, our purchases cost P1,264, which is P200 greater than Neri's proposed P1,000 budget.

We also opted for brands with cheap prices and packages in smaller amounts to fit the celebrity mom's sample budget which is intended to last for a week. 

Grocery store

Knowing that not all have access to or are used to shopping in public markets, L!fe tried the same experiment in a nearby grocery store.

Here is the official receipt from the shop:

We tried to be as “madiskarte” to try to fit in the budget despite the wide gap in prices by finding (digging) in carts the cheapest pack of onions, potatoes, okra, and other vegetables needed. But unlike in public markets, we cannot buy eggs in pieces, so we had no choice but to buy it in a dozen.  

For the chicken, we weren’t able to buy it in half like what we did in the public market because there weren’t any that were readily available, and there was an additional charge for a special cut, so opted to buy one that is relatively small.  

Opt for indoor farming, says Neri

After receiving backlash for her P1,000 palengke list, Neri defended herself in the comments section of her post, saying that she already has some of the ingredients in her "edible garden" at home. She encouraged others to create their own, noting that "maraming paraan sa taong madiskarte."

Days later, on Sept. 15, Neri announced that she is giving away vegetable seeds to encourage people to plant their own vegetables and save more on their ingredients.

"Dali, mamimigay ako ng mga seeds! Para mabawasan ang stress ng mga nagba-budget sa bahay... Sharing is caring. Sharing good vibes at sharing blessings.

Neri noted that she'll be sending the seeds to the first 50 people who'll comment on her post.

While there are some vegetables that you can plant in small spaces like chili leaves, water spinach, tomatoes, onions, or even carrots and potatoes, they will only save you more or less a hundred pesos on your weekly expenses.

Not only that, it is also important to acknowledge that not everyone has the luxury to do this task, especially if you have children to look out for every now and then.

So how feasible is Neri's budget meal plan, really?

Since the prices of ingredients may vary in each city and province, some may deem the celebrity's palengke list as workable. If you live in a part of the city that is far from the direct suppliers, expect a higher price tag, though. So, where you choose to buy is a significant factor in creating your weekly plan.

Neri’s suggested P1,000 worth of weekly meal plan sure comes from good intentions, but in this economy, such a budget is really not worth that much.  

“Imposible ‘yan, [parang] hindi ka puwedeng kumain nang masarap,” a palengke vendor told this writer as she was shopping for the goods.

In July, the National Nutrition Council (NNC) said in a statement that an estimated family of five would need to have P1,212.65 for a daily budget to have a healthy and balanced meal. So a P1,000 budget may work for one or two persons, but not for a usual family setup.