Ask Lemmy

I braise a whole bag of onions and use it the base for a big pot of Turkish-ish red lentil soup. This then gets portioned into 10 or so meals and frozen so it lasts till i have money again.

West African peanut stew but you'd need a place to get a huge bag of berebere spice.

Kraft Mac n cheese. You can add all sorts of stuff to it to make it stretch and be somewhat healthier. Frozen riced cauliflower, onions, beans, hot dogs, whatever.

Suddenly salad works well this way too. Add tomato, carrot, bell pepper, etc.

I used to do the same with instant ramen but the sodium level in it is way too high for me to eat anymore.

10 minute farro from Trader Joe's. $2 a bag.

https://traderjoesrants.com/2022/04/20/trader-joes-10-minute-farro-whole-grain/

Basmati rice, margarine, salt, pepper

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.

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

Hotdog

Taters

A can of lentils. Straight from the can with a spoon.

I often fry whatever vegetables I can find and add a fried egg.

Rice and buckwheat are very cheap (and vegan if you're of that persuasion). If you cook buckwheat, you can add a few tiny bits of sausage in there and you've got a very filling meal.

Oatmeal is great because you buy it in huge bags that last long and you can eat it for breakfast, lunch or dinner. If the budget is not that bad you cook it with milk. If it is you cook it with water (this is called gruel, medieval peasant food). If you're making gruel add a bit of salt to make it more palatable.

An old classic is of course ramen, but the ramen bricks can be made much more filling if you boil them in a pot with a sausage or two (this requires you to have sausage).

If you live in certain tropical areas you can harvest some edible fruits from unfenced land and use this to enrich your diet.

Eating a couple extra hours of sleep for breakfast instead of food is a dubiously healthy but certainly effective way to save some money on weekends.

A pro tip is if your drawer is not very clean your onions will start to sprout and take root. I didn't have to buy onions for about half a year at one point because I just kept cutting off a bit and it kept growing back. I didn't water them or anything, they just did that in my dark dingy cupboard.

While chicken from Walmart (or Costco) about $5 and it becomes 4-8 meals.

Air pop popcorn. Buy popcorn by the huge bags, so I only buy every few years.

Rice is cheap. Bread is cheap. Pancakes. Bananas (it’s like $1 for the week)

Also check out your local food bank, lots of free stuff to fill the kitchen, then you just have to buy a few staples that are missing from the food bank items. (The one near me doesn’t have milk, eggs, meat, etc. but they have plenty of vegetables and fruit and some snacks) also a monthly box filled with canned foods.

Pot of beans with chicken meat in it. A rotisserie chicken is pretty cheap. You can also do a lot with meat, rice, and gravy or sauce. Asian recipes do a lot of delicious things with a little, too.

Oatmeal. Lentils. Beans and rice. Pasta.

Here is my list of cheap foods I tend to keep on hand for making inexpensive meals.

Non perishable: Rice, Beans (black, chick pea, and lentils), dry mixed beans, bulk flour, bulk sugar, cans of tomato paste, cans of diced tomato, dried red chills, dry noodles, (like soba noodles or ramen noodles,) cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, vegetable oil, white vinegar. (I don't really eat traditional pasta, but that is also a cheap, non perishable.)

perishables: Onions, garlic, cilantro, carrots, Asian cabbage like nappa cabbage, green onions, green bell peppers, corn, potatoes, ginger root, soy sauce, ketchup, mayo, mustard, worcestershire sauce, oyster sauce, yeast, bananas, tomatoes, cucumbers, seasonal squashes, seasonable fruit.

More expensive optional perishables: Block of store brand cheddar and mozzarella cheese, eggs, butter, condensed milk, sweetened condensed milk, plain yogurt

spices: Salt, pepper, paprika, chill powder, oregano, basil, cumin, coriander, garam masala, tumeric

With that list of ingredients I can make these things: Fresh breads including naan, sandwhich bread, flour totillas, banana bread. Cheese pizza, vegetarian Chinese dumplings with dumpling sauce, felafel, channa masala (a chick pea curry I eat with rice and naan), black bean burgers, black bean chilli, spiced lentils, Dahl (a type of lentil soup), Raita which is a condiment made with yogurt, spices, and veggies, Vegetable yakisoba, cheap ramen enhanced with egg, corn, carrot and green onion, home made brownies, tomato soup, cheesy baked potato, mashed potato, home made caramel to serve with brownies, or fruit, or mixed into yogurt with fruit. With the seasonal squashes I can make a squash bisque using butternut squash, or veggie soup using the mixed dried beans with the squash and other veggies.

When it comes to spices, I find that they are cheaper in my local asian grocery than the standard grocery store. When it comes to ketchup, mustard, and mayo, I get that for free just by asking at fast food joints, or grabbing them when they are freely offered in fast food joints.

The other thing that keeps the cost of the foods I eat low, is the fact that I am making it all from scratch. You can see that I am primarily cooking vegetarian, because meat is really fucking expensive. PM me if you would like the recipe for anything I mentioned.

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.