Hey, it's Jared Pullen with the Bullwork. Last week, our managing out of their Sam Stein heard about the new diet the USDA Secretary was talking about.

He asked me to give it a try, and I agreed. The rules were simple. Eat for three days on a total budget of $27.

In other words, $3 a meal. So as a reminder, or in case you were lucky to miss it, this all started after the White House laid out

its new food guideline. They said, eat more full-fat dairy, more butter, red meat, and stay away from

sugar. And then USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins did an interview with News Nation, and in the interview,

the news anchor asked her, how does cost factor into it? Are we actually asking Americans,

especially those who are living on the margins,

are we asking them to spend more on their diet?

And the answer to that is no.

We've run over a thousand simulations.

It can cost around $3 a meal for a piece of chicken, a piece of broccoli,

you know, corn tortilla, and one other thing. Several members of Congress pushed back, arguing that the idea of a well-rounded

nutritious meal costing just $3 is out of touch with reality.

Was it?

I was going to find out.

I wrote a list, and I drove down to the Aldi food market where I knew I would be able to

stretch my dollars as far as possible.

Here's what I was able to buy.

Five pounds of chicken breast for $12.85.

Canola oil cooking spray for $2.29.

Long grain white rice for $1.99.

A salt-free seasoning mix for $1.95.

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