What meals do you cook when very low on money?
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Rice and beans is the staple pretty much everywhere else.
Don't buy ultra processed Mac and cheese or frozen pizza. It's nutritionally bad for you, and won't keep you full for long.
Start with rice and beans and canned sauce. Cheap, easy, and good for you.
You can obviously add chicken/tofu/protein, or try to start making sauces yourself. But always keep the rice and beans as a base. Every meal you eat, rice and beans. They're cheap as hell and close to what we evolved to eat.
the answer is always either rice and beans or potato.
I'm a fan of Cuban rice and beans. I can't make it all that well but it's good enough and my version is palatable. Dirt in the hole!
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Dry pinto beans are cheap (and flavorless). You just need to soak them in water before cooking.
Rice is a carb and nutritionally void, but it will fill you up and keep the cravings away.
A better path is to shift your entire diet away from carbs and toward nutritionally dense, unprocessed foods. But, this takes time, and you probably don't want to start that when you're low on money.
I've been eating a mostly plant-based keto diet for 15 years now. I can easily go two days on just water and be fine, no cravings. The best way to save money on food is to not eat at all. So, rather than eat crappy food just to feel full and stave off carb cravings, eat less food, but more nutritionally dense food. You'll save money and still be healthy.
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I used to live off of dollar boxes of pasta from Walmart. It got me through a lot of college. A little butter will up the calories and give you some other nutrients but you'll still need meat or something at some point
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I started eating a lot of chickpeas recently. Buy them dried, boil them for a couple minutes them let them soak in the water for a few hours. Then either roast them in the oven or if I'm lazy, toss them in the microwave for like 5 minutes, then add some seasoning. I snack on them between meals, or also toss them into things like soup or curry.
Also if you want a different take on ramen, boil them until they are al dente, drain the water and then stir fry with some cheap veggies or whatever.
wrote last edited by [email protected]There is this curry spice blend that comes in a small green carboard box (fits in your hand) that I find at a local indian groacery store. Its specifically made for chickpea curry. Anyway dump a bunch of this shit and a little salt on your chickpeas before roasting. Its genuinely so goddamn good I eat it every other day atleast. I'll see if I can't find the name
Found it
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produce is unbeatable
When available.
Every supermarket I ever went to had a vegetable aisle and potato sacks for a few €. Variety in produce may be low, but that's what a Turkish supermarket is for.
Granted, I never lived in an American BestBuy town, so this might be a cultural thing. But produce being unavailable or even just being out of one's way seems insane to me. You sure that normal where you live?
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Falafel: dried chickpeas with garlic & parsley fried in oil. Very high calorie/cost, because the chickpeas are basically oil sponges, and it's hard to beat vegetable oil on calories/cost. $1.50 for 1000 calories.
Kimchi fried rice: Kimchi, rice, couple of fried eggs for protein. $2.10 for 1000 calories. Make your own kimchi even cheaper.
Chili noodles: cheap, store-brand spaghetti with chili oil-soy sauce dressing. Don't sub ramen for pasta - that stuff's expensive. $2.50/1000 cal. Make your own chili oil for extra savings.
God I fucking love falafel
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I'm really enjoying you second guessing all the decisions I made when I was poor! Not only was I struggling, but apparently did it completely wrong!
There are always people like that in these threads. Lemmy, Reddit, same thing. "Dirt broke and need to eat? Buy some kitchenware! It's quite cheap if you have the money for it!" Don't let them get to you!
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Every supermarket I ever went to had a vegetable aisle and potato sacks for a few €. Variety in produce may be low, but that's what a Turkish supermarket is for.
Granted, I never lived in an American BestBuy town, so this might be a cultural thing. But produce being unavailable or even just being out of one's way seems insane to me. You sure that normal where you live?
No, I just made it up because everyone actually has the exact same life experience as you do.
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There are always people like that in these threads. Lemmy, Reddit, same thing. "Dirt broke and need to eat? Buy some kitchenware! It's quite cheap if you have the money for it!" Don't let them get to you!
Lol, in the long run it is totally worth having even the basics and being able to make food from scratch but when I was poor I was also working two jobs so didn't have a lot of extra time for making food that took more than a few minutes.
Being poor is really expensive!
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Seems like I need to educate myself on lentils and dry beans. Any EASY recipes welcome!
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Lol, in the long run it is totally worth having even the basics and being able to make food from scratch but when I was poor I was also working two jobs so didn't have a lot of extra time for making food that took more than a few minutes.
Being poor is really expensive!
"Anyone who has ever struggled with poverty knows how extremely expensive it is to be poor." James Baldwin
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No, I just made it up because everyone actually has the exact same life experience as you do.
Well, same back to you. I never doubted you having that experience, but I asked if it's normal.
Your own source says it's only 12.8% of the US living in such areas. So it's safe to assume that OP would also be interested in the cheaper recipes that involve mostly produce. Your life experience isn't universal either.
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I'm really enjoying you second guessing all the decisions I made when I was poor! Not only was I struggling, but apparently did it completely wrong!
No, I'm second guessing the advice you're passing on now. Just because you were young and didn't know better doesn't mean you should teach other people to do the same things. Get over yourself.
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There are always people like that in these threads. Lemmy, Reddit, same thing. "Dirt broke and need to eat? Buy some kitchenware! It's quite cheap if you have the money for it!" Don't let them get to you!
wrote last edited by [email protected]Well considering I'm speaking from the experience of my own poverty, I might actually know what I'm talking about. I'm not saying go out and buy a $200 pot set. But you can get a $5 pot from a second hand store or garage sale, or these days something like Facebook marketplace that didn't even exist when I was going through this, and you'll make that up by not buying the garbage that the other person suggested. Your money will stretch a hell of a lot farther that way. Or you know, just dismiss me and other people because that person is insecure.
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Try to get sardine, kale, and beets.
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Cheese roll ups. Rice balls.
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No, I'm second guessing the advice you're passing on now. Just because you were young and didn't know better doesn't mean you should teach other people to do the same things. Get over yourself.
I'm not giving advice.
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I'm not giving advice.
Now you're just being disingenuous, not only about the obvious nature of this thread but the obvious nature of your answer.
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Seems like I need to educate myself on lentils and dry beans. Any EASY recipes welcome!
I cook beans and rice regardless of how its going. Nothing can beat that. And you can add anything you want, which makes beans really flexible.
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I thought at least 24 hours was the requirement
