I pack food, so I spend give myself a budget of $50 / month for eating out. (That's is for home and the road.) Most months I am easily under that amount.

My wife and I (no kids) shop at Aldi and can get through a month on around $275. We buy what we want at Aldi. We could spend less if all we ate was ramen noodles. (If I was single I bet I could get by on $100-150 and eating healthy.)

Aldi's food is good, and is at least 40% cheaper than a main stream grocery store. She really didn't want to shop there at first, so I made a deal with her. We'll try Aldi products, if she doesn't like it, we'll get that item at Kroger or Giant Eagle. I'd say 90% of their stuff is as good as the brand names you find in Kroger. You do have to check the fresh fruit and vegetables closely though.

Aldi is the dominant grocery store in Germany, so what we perceive as "generic" they perceive brand name.