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Also, this is more of a college thing than a poverty cooking thing but... Many labs/offices have kitchens or at least a fridge and outlets. If you make friends with a prof who owned such a space, you might get away with a crock pot. Profs remember what it's like to be poor students.
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Sep 27, 2013 22:04
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Not technically aimed at those on a budget, but there are some good value chilli recipes on this blog post from MyFitnessPal. As you might expect they are pretty healthy too. I tried the Black Bean one at the top of the page and it was really good, using a cinnamon stick from my local Turkish supermarket as per the suggestions from this thread.
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Oct 11, 2013 08:29
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I feel totally insane right now. My fiance and I live off of 100/month for food. For both of us. Every month we buy, minimum, the following: 5 pieces of fruit a week A bag of grapes to freeze 2 1lb bags of dried black beans 2 1lb bags of dried pinto beans 1 small tub of sour cream--about 16 oz 1 brick of cheddar cheese--whatever is on sale 1 yellow onion 1 head of garlic Two loaves of bread, to freeze Two boxes of cereal because the fiance loves him some cereal--whatever is less than $3 One 1/2 gallon of milk 1 dozen eggs Granola bars, whatever is on sale Every other month we stock up on things that are on sale, like rice, frozen veggies, spices, and small corn tortillas (the corn ones are way more filling than the flour ones, for some reason)--sometimes pasta. We also buy veggies to cook with the week we are going to cook with them, so they don't go bad too soon. On Saturday or Sunday I make a massive batch of beans, and we just... eat a lot of tacos. Sometimes I make rice, eggs and veggies. Sometimes we'll make oven nachos. We eat a lot of grapes, apples, and bananas. I'm a pretty decent cook, so I can make leftovers feel new each night by adding eggs to the beans, or some different spices. Fiance doesn't seem to get bored with it, and I love loving tacos so who the hell cares if we eat the same thing every night? We allot $15 each to go out to dinner or lunch or whatever every month, too. That and budgeting with our two cats, we're able to set aside about $200 every month for fiance to pay off his student loans and credit card debt. It's hard because he works 12 hour days most days, but at least he's got something decent to eat when he gets home  I can't wait to be out of school and contribute more money to our household so we can have, like, different meals sometimes, but I gotta say... leftovers every night, re-fried in a pan or heated in the oven, not as bad as eating ramen all the time.The way we figured out our budget was a lot of compromising, but the big one was the leftovers. It seriously helps. We're not having to cook something new every night, so we get a break. Yeah, we're poor and we can't eat a lot of different kinds of stuff like wealthier people do. And yeah, not everyone wants to eat leftovers every night. But we're able to do it so we might as well.
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Oct 16, 2013 21:31
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Haymaker_Betty posted:I feel totally insane right now. My fiance and I live off of 100/month for food. For both of us. I wish my wife could eat like that, because I definitely can. It's a gift, really. I was going to say that doesn't seem like nearly enough food to keep two people alive, but I missed the part in the first paragraph saying you buy your veggies the week-of. I'm assuming that's a big chunk of your calories/budget, since what you have listed up top is around $30-35 (as I count it off in my head). Good job on you guys, though!
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Oct 16, 2013 22:08
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I have three boys under the age if 8. We drink a fuckload of milk. Mrs. RJ insists on buying organic milk. We can go through 15 gallons a month. Buying organic costs us ~$45 extra a month. Worth it?
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Oct 16, 2013 23:39
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Sounds like no? Apparently organic milk tastes sweeter, so perhaps be prepared for a revolt from picky children expecting their milk to taste organic.
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Oct 16, 2013 23:43
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gently caress yeah it does. Someone left some at my place after a party and that stuff was even better than whole milk, which I happened to be drinking a lot of at the time. Every once in a while I wonder if maybe I should buy some, but never do because that stuff is twice the price, which is ridiculous. But it is tasty.
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Oct 17, 2013 00:39
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the littlest prince posted:gently caress yeah it does. Someone left some at my place after a party and that stuff was even better than whole milk, which I happened to be drinking a lot of at the time. Every once in a while I wonder if maybe I should buy some, but never do because that stuff is twice the price, which is ridiculous. But it is tasty. We get whole milk and I have a small glass with dinner most nights. I don't notice a taste difference between it and generic milk, but it definitely leaves me feeling more sated after a meal. Between that and cutting out soda, I've lost a bunch of milk. Milk rules.
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Oct 17, 2013 01:07
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Ron Jeremy posted:I have three boys under the age if 8. We drink a fuckload of milk. Mrs. RJ insists on buying organic milk. We can go through 15 gallons a month. Buying organic costs us ~$45 extra a month. Worth it? At a minimum it means the milk has been tampered with as little as possible. The majority of full cream milk isn't actually full cream... Some of the fat has been removed,but the milk still meets whatever arbitrary standard the government sets for it to still be labeled full cream. Often the milk gets watered down with permeate, and different brands subject the milk to more rigorous pasteurization, which alters the flavour. If you look for milk that has no added permeate, and has a minimum fat content over 4.2g/100g you should be getting perfectly good milk.
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Oct 17, 2013 04:35
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Haymaker_Betty posted:I feel totally insane right now. M Why no leafy greens, veg like pumpkin, tomatoes, bell peppers, cukes etc? No rice or pasta? But I'm mainly posting to ask what do you do with frozen grapes? e: Condolences on only having one onion and head of garlic a week as well. That is tough, even I have a special budget for them, even if it means less eggs, beans or bread. Fo3 fucked around with this message at 14:54 on Oct 17, 2013 |
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Oct 17, 2013 14:48
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Fo3 posted:Are you feeling insane due to lack of vegetables? I know I would. Frozen grapes are a great snack, especially on a budget. Nature's candy!
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Oct 17, 2013 15:20
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The Midniter posted:Frozen grapes are a great snack, especially on a budget. Nature's candy! As a frequent eater of grapes, I am not sure I understand the freezing part either, unless I was saving them for smoothies. Do you just suck on them till they thaw in your mouth, and then eat.
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Oct 17, 2013 15:44
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niss posted:As a frequent eater of grapes, I am not sure I understand the freezing part either, unless I was saving them for smoothies. Do you just suck on them till they thaw in your mouth, and then eat. That sounds lovely actually. I should try that! Little ice cubes that turn into delicious grapes.
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Oct 17, 2013 16:06
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They're basically like mini popsicles.
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Oct 17, 2013 16:17
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The sugar in the grapes keeps them from being too hard when they're frozen. They make for a good hot weather snack.
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Oct 17, 2013 16:34
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They are dee-loving-licious in a glass of white wine - cools the wine without diluting it and you get a delicious snack at the end!
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Oct 17, 2013 16:45
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Pookah posted:They are dee-loving-licious in a glass of white wine - cools the wine without diluting it and you get a delicious snack at the end! This sounds pretty rad. In fact I think I'm gonna make some cocktail themed around this...
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Oct 17, 2013 16:46
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I never knew that. The place I living at now has 2 grapevines, and when bugs, bacteria, rust, viruses etc aren't attacking them I can occasionally get a few bunches of grapes. Some of those bunches are full of spiders though... I put some of the grapes in the drinks fridge (very cold), and heaps got frozen so I just tossed them. That's why I was interested. E: it's not that I waste energy running a fridge colder than it needs to be, just that it's a small fridge and if you need to fit large containers of stuff in there, certain spots get frozen. Grape vines are amazing things, I never cut them back or anything after last summer, and it turned into a pile dead sticks. In just one month now all those dead sticks have a pile of fresh new leaves on it again. OTOH, the fig tree did the same thing, but now it's dropping rotten figs everywhere at the rate of about 50 a day already due to drat fruit flies! Fo3 fucked around with this message at 17:37 on Oct 17, 2013 |
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Oct 17, 2013 17:32
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Fo3 posted:Are you feeling insane due to lack of vegetables? I know I would. Haha, no! We buy veggies: "We also buy veggies to cook with the week we are going to cook with them, so they don't go bad too soon." Also, yes, frozen grapes are pretty much the best thing ever. We are extremely fortunate to live in an area with a lot of access to fresh food for cheap, because we have a Farmer's Market, and lots of other stuff. We are not typical, but I thought I could at least share what we buy to give the OP and idea of what two people are capable of living off of. We are not going hungry, and both of us eat fairly healthy. We have a rule: every meal beyond breakfast has to have a protein and a veggie. Breakfast is a crapshoot because we have not perfected it yet. We also stockpile stuff, so we aren't buying a lot of spices and stuff every month or anything. My mom fed my sister and I on about... >$5 a day when she was a single mom. I would never say our situation is possible for everyone, though. We're fortunate. edit: Huxley posted:I wish my wife could eat like that, because I definitely can. It's a gift, really. You are correct, sir! Fresh vegetables are a huge part of our budget. They are the most expensive thing to get on our monthly list. More explanation of our stupid budget poo poo We also have the advantage of being functional vegetarians--meaning, we never purchase meat, but if our friend catches a fish... eh I'll eat that poo poo  Like I said, our situation is unique and my fiance and I are fortunate. (I wouldn't want anyone thinking I was assuming everyone could do this, because I am painfully aware not everyone can. I went hungry a lot as a kid.)Fiance is cool with eating whatever, so that's also a big help. Holidays are loving hard, though. That is when we definitely go over our budget. I love Halloween and Thanksgiving, and we just accept that we are going to go over $100. It's gonna happen, so we just prepare for it by not eating out for two months and using that money to buy holiday stuff. Normally we get $15/person to eat out every month, or to go to the movies or something (so $30 spending money, total), but again, poo poo happens. Birthdays, Holidays, etc. I like to think of having a budget as the same as outlining a paper: stick to your outline until something changes. Stick to the budget until there's a change in your situation, then revise your budget. It's ridiculous to expect that you can have the same budget for the entirety of your life. In the immortal words of Nathan Explosion, "We can't be hunger Nazis to our stomachs." Again, fortunate, different than a lot of people, etc, etc, etc. I also like how lazy I get to be with leftovers, so that's a bonus! don longjohns fucked around with this message at 21:20 on Oct 17, 2013 |
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Oct 17, 2013 21:12
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Haymaker_Betty posted:Haha, no! We buy veggies: "We also buy veggies to cook with the week we are going to cook with them, so they don't go bad too soon." I've found a good, cheap and filling breakfast (besides oatmeal with some honey and cinnamon) to be baking a few sweet potatoes ahead of time and having half of one of those with 2 fried eggs on it and some salt. Decent complex carbs, fat, protein, fast and tasty and very cheap. I find I can eat this every day and not get tired of it like I do with oatmeal.
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Oct 17, 2013 21:19
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Breaky posted:I've found a good, cheap and filling breakfast (besides oatmeal with some honey and cinnamon) to be baking a few sweet potatoes ahead of time and having half of one of those with 2 fried eggs on it and some salt. Decent complex carbs, fat, protein, fast and tasty and very cheap. I find I can eat this every day and not get tired of it like I do with oatmeal. Holy poo poo that sounds fantastic. See, that's my problem. I love to cook, have an awesome little recipe book, but I am not very imaginative because my budget has always been small, my whole life. I wasn't able to experience a lot of different foods growing up. For instance, I just started eating brussel sprouts in the last year. I totally am going to make this, it sounds amazing and potatoes last a good while.
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Oct 17, 2013 21:21
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Haymaker_Betty posted:Breakfast is a crapshoot because we have not perfected it yet. We also stockpile stuff, so we aren't buying a lot of spices and stuff every month or anything. My mom fed my sister and I on about... >$5 a day when she was a single mom. Giant cardboard tubs of oatmeal. Infinite things you can do to them. When our daughter outgrew frozen baby food, we kept pureeing and freezing bananas. Two banana cubes and a shake of cinnamon in prepared oatmeal is (very roughly) Bananas Foster with no added sugar.
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Oct 17, 2013 21:26
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Huxley posted:Giant cardboard tubs of oatmeal. Infinite things you can do to them. When our daughter outgrew frozen baby food, we kept pureeing and freezing bananas. Two banana cubes and a shake of cinnamon in prepared oatmeal is (very roughly) Bananas Foster with no added sugar. We did oat groats for a long time, but fiance really does not like oatmeal. One of the key things about eating on a budget is that pretty much everyone has to eat the same things, which is unfortunate and sounds kind of creepy when you tell people about it. Like, "My fiance and I are on a budget, that we designed together, and we eat all the same things." But it's really, really hard to eat on a budget with someone who is eating other stuff, because then you have to buy more things. So we've had to make a lot of compromises. Good thing we both love Mexican and Chinese food, because that is the bulk of our diet. I'm starting to wish there was a dedicated "Eating well on a budget" thread, because I would love to know what other people do.
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Oct 17, 2013 21:54
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Haymaker_Betty posted:Holy poo poo that sounds fantastic. See, that's my problem. I love to cook, have an awesome little recipe book, but I am not very imaginative because my budget has always been small, my whole life. I wasn't able to experience a lot of different foods growing up. For instance, I just started eating brussel sprouts in the last year. Awesome! I learned it from my fiancee. Another thing you can do is roast up chunks of butternut squash, just leave the seeds and rind in and roast until its softened. Then, pop out a chunk of that and microwave in a bowl, top with your eggs. Highly similar but lets you use the squash when you might get a bunch in a farmers market or on a huge sale like we get sometimes.
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Oct 17, 2013 23:09
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Haymaker_Betty posted:Holy poo poo that sounds fantastic. See, that's my problem. I love to cook, have an awesome little recipe book, but I am not very imaginative because my budget has always been small, my whole life. I wasn't able to experience a lot of different foods growing up. For instance, I just started eating brussel sprouts in the last year. Works great for lunch at work too: portable, filling and satisfies my craving for sweets. Last week I had a batch that was so sweet it was like eating a giant date. 
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Oct 18, 2013 10:33
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Haymaker_Betty posted:I'm starting to wish there was a dedicated "Eating well on a budget" thread, because I would love to know what other people do.
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Oct 18, 2013 12:27
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dino. posted:There is the vegan thread, the South Indian food thread, and the swole people thread. I started all of them, so you can bet your buttons that they're all going to lean towards "I have about $10 for groceries this week, now what" sort of situations. It always works best if you have some type of understanding of budget cooking, stock up on staples (beans, rice, sauces), spices, and things that last a long time. Pretty hard to deal with only having $10 and having an empty pantry. But if I only had $10 it would be piss easy to deal with it because I have the basics already. A bit too late to ask after the fact, I wish more people would read those kind of threads before they need it and be more prepared in case they lose their job or there's a massive bill from no where and so on. The problem with budget cooking threads is not many use them before hand, so are not prepared. By then it's often too late to help.
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Oct 18, 2013 13:13
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Fo3 posted:It always works best if you have some type of understanding of budget cooking, stock up on staples (beans, rice, sauces), spices, and things that last a long time. On the other hand, I'm pretty well stocked up on rice (well...almost, I forgot one type has gotten pretty low) and really well stocked up on spices, but this thread has helped me try to reel in my stupid excess.
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Oct 18, 2013 15:24
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It's helped me too, don't get me wrong. Most regulars have benefited from it, I never bought dried beans before this thread for example. And I got more creative with where to buy food from and get some more Chinese/Thai sauces. Before hand I always ate cheaply, but not as well. But I still used rice, cheap meat cuts, growers markets for veg beforehand anyway. It's just a lot of people say "I've got no money and all I've got in the fridge/pantry is 'X'. Suggest me 10 meals with recipes" type of stuff when they don't have the basic long life pantry items already that people need to have already when on a low budget.
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Oct 18, 2013 16:06
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Fo3 posted:It always works best if you have some type of understanding of budget cooking, stock up on staples (beans, rice, sauces), spices, and things that last a long time. I learned budget cooking from my mom. Feeding two kids is way harder than feeding to fully-grown adults. It'd just be nice to learn new stuff. I'll have to check those other threads out. I haven't been vegan for a few years, might be neat to see what's changed in terms of options.
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Oct 18, 2013 16:38
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This thread has been an amazing help for me. I have been lurking through it for a couple months and have managed to cut my grocery bill down quite a bit, and have improved the quality of food I am eating. My normal grocery bill was running around $60-$100, i have that down to around $40 now( except when i need coffee and soda ). I feel so much better about myself when mt cart is filled with fresh raw ingredients and not processed crap food. On top of that my cooking skills have improved significantly. Thanks you guys/gals so much!
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Oct 18, 2013 19:50
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jhorphear posted:This thread has been an amazing help for me. I have been lurking through it for a couple months and have managed to cut my grocery bill down quite a bit, and have improved the quality of food I am eating. My normal grocery bill was running around $60-$100, i have that down to around $40 now( except when i need coffee and soda ). I feel so much better about myself when mt cart is filled with fresh raw ingredients and not processed crap food. On top of that my cooking skills have improved significantly. Thanks you guys/gals so much! Good to hear. So what did you change? What do you think helped most in getting costs down?
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Oct 18, 2013 20:01
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jhorphear posted:This thread has been an amazing help for me. I have been lurking through it for a couple months and have managed to cut my grocery bill down quite a bit, and have improved the quality of food I am eating. My normal grocery bill was running around $60-$100, i have that down to around $40 now( except when i need coffee and soda ). I feel so much better about myself when mt cart is filled with fresh raw ingredients and not processed crap food. On top of that my cooking skills have improved significantly. Thanks you guys/gals so much! Awesome! Yes! Details! I inspired my friend to stop buying shampoo and wash her hair with a mix of baking soda and water, and vinegar and water for conditioner. I sound like a hippie.
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Oct 18, 2013 20:09
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jhorphear posted:This thread has been an amazing help for me. I have been lurking through it for a couple months and have managed to cut my grocery bill down quite a bit, and have improved the quality of food I am eating. My normal grocery bill was running around $60-$100, i have that down to around $40 now( except when i need coffee and soda ). I feel so much better about myself when mt cart is filled with fresh raw ingredients and not processed crap food. On top of that my cooking skills have improved significantly. Thanks you guys/gals so much! This is why GWS is here. Good job!
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Oct 18, 2013 20:11
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Lucy Heartfilia posted:Good to hear. So what did you change? What do you think helped most in getting costs down? The biggest changes were that I stopped buying frozen processed food, no more hot pockets, frozen pizza, and no more instant mashed potatoes. I do however buy frozen veggies. I also stopped buying lunch. I make sure to make an extra portion or two for dinner the night before and just take that for lunch the next day. This has saved me a ton of money as well. Eliminiating snack foods also helped. I still didn't give up soda, but i guess we all need a vice. I still buy frozen chicken breasts ( i know, flame away ), but i use that for maybe once a week meals at most. Most of the time i will buy the pre-roasted chickens and break those down for about 2-3 meals worth of meat. I use to buy pre-marinated pork loins and they would cost about $7-8 for a pound or so of pork. I now buy unmarinated pork loin and get about 3-4 pounds for around $10, and i make it way better with my own spices. I also eat pasta about two times a week, and this is cheap and easy. Some spaghetti with sausage and some chicken alfredo with meat from the roasted chicken make for quick meals that are not super healthy, but better than a frozen pot pie.
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Oct 18, 2013 21:34
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Costco has sacks of frozen boneless skinless chicken thighs for significantly cheaper than breasts - you can sub them out for breasts in practically everything, they're just as convenient, but have a lot more flavor.
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Oct 18, 2013 21:38
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PopeCrunch posted:Costco has sacks of frozen boneless skinless chicken thighs for significantly cheaper than breasts - you can sub them out for breasts in practically everything, they're just as convenient, but have a lot more flavor. I will look into that. I have been wanting to get a costco card for awhile ( i know costco bad, mom and pops good ). I can usually get 3 lbs of frozen breasts for about $6.
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Oct 18, 2013 21:44
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PopeCrunch posted:Costco has sacks of frozen boneless skinless chicken thighs for significantly cheaper than breasts - you can sub them out for breasts in practically everything, they're just as convenient, but have a lot more flavor. I find the bandoleer of thighs have an incredible amount of fat on them, to the point where I feel like I'm cutting more of the package away than I'd like to. Also the girlfriend doesn't like dark meat but that's besides the point. Also jhorphear, why not roast your own chickens? I find the result is way better and you can get a lot more meat for cheaper. I do grab the pre-done birds when I'm in a hurry and I can stretch it over a few days, but roasting it yourself is a bit cheaper and lets you get some really great flavors.
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Oct 18, 2013 21:45
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Dead Inside Darwin posted:I find the bandoleer of thighs have an incredible amount of fat on them, to the point where I feel like I'm cutting more of the package away than I'd like to. Also the girlfriend doesn't like dark meat but that's besides the point. I agree that roasting my own would be best. And i have been watching videos on how to break down a chicken, so i guess i am just working up to it. Does anyone have any tips on how to make a good roasted chicken?
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Oct 18, 2013 21:48
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jhorphear posted:I agree that roasting my own would be best. And i have been watching videos on how to break down a chicken, so i guess i am just working up to it. Does anyone have any tips on how to make a good roasted chicken? Brine it in a stockpot for 8-12h in the fridge (overnight is fine). Make your brine 1 tbls of salt per cup of water. Throw in a couple tbls of whole peppercorns (not mandatory). Use just enough water to cover the chicken entirely. Take out chicken, let drain, pat dry surface, to the cavity add bay leaf, thyme sprigs, rosemary, garlic, whatever (optional uses for these, mix and match as you prefer). I chop 1-2 onions, 3-4 stalks celery and 4-5 carrots and add to a dutch oven or a decent high-walled pan. Place chicken in the pan on top of veggies uncovered. Top the chicken with black pepper, paprika, small bit of salt. Preheat oven to 400F. Cook chicken uncovered 20 mins for every pound. You have a lot of flexibility here, but I've never had this come out with a bad bird. If its over / under cooked you just have to adjust the cook times / temps some as your oven might run hot or cold. Brining beforehand really helps the overall flavor and texture in my experience. Edit: I make one of these almost every other week and at the last 30 mins or so roast up a big sheet of vegetables, either broccoli, asparagus or brussel sprouts and make lunches with chicken and some of the roasted veggies.
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Oct 18, 2013 21:53
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