What meals do you cook when very low on money?
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I just found a great cheap meal that's tasty, healthy, easy to cook, and ridiculously cheap. I thought I'd share it as so many people have shared theirs.
I bought a bag of dried peas, added to cups of cold water, bring to boil, then simmer for 10 minutes. You now have a pan full of peas to use any way you wish. I decided to make a pea soup. So I added a bunch of stuff I had in my kitchen already: garlic, sugar, ginger powder, a dollop of margarine to make it taste not so watery, and cornflour to thicken it a tiny bit. It cost almost nothing to make, and I'll get 3 small meals out of it (all accompanied with bread). I might try a similar thing with lentils, to build my confidence cooking with them.
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I just found a great cheap meal that's tasty, healthy, easy to cook, and ridiculously cheap. I thought I'd share it as so many people have shared theirs.
I bought a bag of dried peas, added to cups of cold water, bring to boil, then simmer for 10 minutes. You now have a pan full of peas to use any way you wish. I decided to make a pea soup. So I added a bunch of stuff I had in my kitchen already: garlic, sugar, ginger powder, a dollop of margarine to make it taste not so watery, and cornflour to thicken it a tiny bit. It cost almost nothing to make, and I'll get 3 small meals out of it (all accompanied with bread). I might try a similar thing with lentils, to build my confidence cooking with them.
So I added a bunch of stuff I had in my kitchen already:
In a lot of discussions about cheap food, that phrase is often replied with "man, I wish I had anything lying around in the kitchen already"
But seriously, investing even a little bit in spices whenever you happen to have the money does go a long way! Having decent access to salt and pepper does wonders, and I guarantee it's all up from there. I'm always wondering, like, "am I brave enough to check if this stuff tastes good with hot sauce? Guess today is the day we'll finally find out!"
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I keep a bunch of macaroni in the cupboard as the last resort. I tend to get potatoes, maybe some mayonnaise to go with it, and whatever special I can get on the cheap (e.g. sausages). Lots of squinting at the current deals!
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So I added a bunch of stuff I had in my kitchen already:
In a lot of discussions about cheap food, that phrase is often replied with "man, I wish I had anything lying around in the kitchen already"
But seriously, investing even a little bit in spices whenever you happen to have the money does go a long way! Having decent access to salt and pepper does wonders, and I guarantee it's all up from there. I'm always wondering, like, "am I brave enough to check if this stuff tastes good with hot sauce? Guess today is the day we'll finally find out!"
Yeah whenever I have a less crushing pay period, I make an effort to buy some long-term ingredients. It adds up if you keep doing it.
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I keep a bunch of macaroni in the cupboard as the last resort. I tend to get potatoes, maybe some mayonnaise to go with it, and whatever special I can get on the cheap (e.g. sausages). Lots of squinting at the current deals!
Rice and flour (for fritters) are my default back-ups in case the poo REALLY hits the fan. I chose those because I really dislike cooking them, so I can resist the urge to use them up when other food is available.
Mayonnaise is very expensive here for some reason, but this week I managed to find a cheap(ish) one. Needless to say, I have been enjoying my mayo meals so far this week!
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Life of Boris has a funny (and actually useful) series on budget cooking if you're into that. Great watch imo
Haha CH33KI BΠ―33KI haha! He inspired me to binge on butterbrot with doctor's sausage and mayonnaise. Teaches poor people how to not starve, AND entertains them too. Thanks for the recommendation!
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TIL, thanks
In general, when looking for ingenuous "hacks" in food, start with the originating culture. Thousands of years of poor people making the process more efficient, reliable, and just plain better? Sign me up.
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Update:
I cooked a batch of lentils, just to show myself I could, and experimented with adding spices etc. I ended up spraying them with mayonnaise and eating them semi-cold. Not great, not terrible.
So today I was a little bit more ambitious: I made rice (a little slooshy but it's the best rice I've ever cooked!), cooked some lentils and used them as a meat substitute for spaghetti bolognaise (with rice being the substitute for pasta). To the lentils I added frozen vegetables with fried onion, garlic and a can of tomatoes. I need to fine-tune the recipe a bit, but it tastes pretty good! This bowl I'm eating now is filling me up very quickly, and I still have a lot for tomorrow.
Here's a photo of what I'm eating now. It doesn't look great, but I'm just happy it turned out edible!
Thanks for all the suggestions and well-wishes!
