The actual cost of batch baking waffles

As we work on our grocery budget,  I wanted to explain how I calculate our costs. For this recipe, I started out with the hypothesis that waffles could be an economical food item, especially when batch baked and frozen. Here is how our experiment went. (Someone please let me know if my math is wrong)

Betty Crocker recipe X4  from this cookbook.

Items used and cost (bulk items can be purchased cheaper, but I used the regular Kroger prices as a baseline for this experiment, figuring most people could get these items at these prices at most any time.)

8 eggs: $2.99 for 30 = 10c per egg = $.80

8 cups flour:  $1.99 for 5 lbs = approx. 3.33 cups per lb. according to this chef . giving me a cost of 12c per cup = $.84

7 cups milk: $2.99 per gal. = (1 gal. = 16 cups) = 18.6c per cup = $1.31

2 cups veg. oil: $2.99 for 48oz. = 6cups = 49c per cup = $.98

4 Tbsp sugar: $2.99 for 5lb = using the Domino sugar conversion chart, I get 1lb = 2 cups, so 5lbs =10cups; 1cup = 16Tbsp, so 5lb = 10cups = 160 Tbsp. giving me a cost of 2c per Tbsp. so $.08

16 tsp. baking powder: 79c for 10oz. (My 10oz. container says it contains 59 tsps.) = about 1.3c per tsp. = $.21

1 tsp. salt: $1 for 26oz. I used the conversion table at this site  which says 1oz of table salt = 4.98 tsp. (I used 5tsp per oz for easier calculations) 26oz = 130 tsp., so about 8/10 of a cent per tsp. rounded up to 1c for this recipe.

When I add up all of the ingredients in my 4X recipe, I get a total cost of $4.23. This made 44 waffles for an approx. cost of 10cents per waffle. This frugal mom  has Eggo waffles (which are smaller and less filling than the ones we just made) listed as a "deal" at $3.89 for 8, so approx. 49c per waffle. 

Time is always a factor. We spent about 2 hours making these. Twenty minutes was spent preparing and mixing the batter and we cooked four at a time in about 5 minutes. During this time, while the waffle iron did the work, I looked up prices and calculated our costs, took some pictures, helped kids with their schoolwork, nursed the baby and wrote this blog. We ate them for lunch and we will freeze the rest.

Now, waffles don't make a complete meal, so additional costs might include, butter, syrup, fruit, scrambled eggs, sausage, etc. We ate 11 of the waffles that we made, so $1.10 for the meal, plus butter and syrup and half of a $1 cantaloupe that I cut into bite size squares, so another $.50. I estimate this lunch cost us about $2; but would cost more if we added in a protein. But, we don't need protein with every meal, and we will have meat with our dinner.