/ck/ - Food & Cooking

[Anonymous No.12854045]

What are some cheap healthy foods that I should get with food stamps? I already added brown rice and beans to my shopping list. I have $194 to spend for the month.

Maybe suggest some cheap protein hacks?

[Anonymous No.12854072]

>>12854045
Buy whole chickens, look for big cheap packs of thighs, and look for discounted meat at whatever stores you go to. Just because the sell by is tomorrow doesn't mean you can't make a good meal out of it tonight. Eggs are fine but don't overdo them. Peanut butter is decent but watch the calories.

[Anonymous No.12854085]

>>12854045
Dry lentils and lima beans if you have a pressure cooker.

[Anonymous No.12854088]

>>12854072
I've learned to buy sale meat and then freeze it for when I need it.

[Anonymous No.12854090]

>>12854045
Do you have any cheap Mexican or other ethnic markets near you that take EBT? I can literally feed 2 people like royalty for $30/week at pic related by sticking to sale/in season items plus other stuff that's generally always inexpensive and also by staying away from processed/prepackaged stuff. So no soda/juice, chips/snacks, cereal, frozen meals, etc. If the portions of meat, fish, cheese, and whatever else are too large from the fridge then I can ask each counter to portion me out the size I need, which also slashes costs tremendously. I don't need $4 worth of cojita or whatever mexican cheese. I just want like $0.50 cents worth sometimes.

[Anonymous No.12854127]

>>12854090
There's an H-mart near me. Does that count?

[Anonymous No.12854142]

>>12854127
If they have good prices, yes. The asian market near me isn't really great on pricing. The Sprouts near me has better prices on fresh stuff than that asian place mostly only on fresh stuff. Their packaged/processed stuff can be ridiculously expensive depending on the item. But some of it compares well with other grocery stores.

[Anonymous No.12854145]

>>12854045
>food stamps

[Anonymous No.12854147]

>>12854045
For how many people?

[Anonymous No.12854191]

>>12854147
one
>>12854142
The prices there are alright, but I go to the local Stop n Shop since their prices are always good.

[Anonymous No.12854200]

>>12854127
Also to answer your original question, definitely do the brown rice and beans plus other things like lentils and split peas. You can pack in some nutrients and flavor by adding in small amounts of cheap cuts of meat and veggies such as spinach, broccoli, carrots, peas, mushrooms, green beans, squash, yams, potatoes, any cheap tubers and root vegetables you can find, onion, garlic, etc. It really depends on food prices in your area and how many people you need to feed, because ~$200/month for food is plenty to feed one person well typically in the US. Yes, you will need to be conscious about prices, sales, what's in season (thus cheaper and better tasting), and not over indulging in unnecessary things like ice cream, soda, snacks, premade shit, or whatever else. Fresh bakery bread at Walmart is $1.00 for a fairly large loaf and ones it's too stale and tough to use normally then you can turn it into croutons, bread crumbs, stuffing, or bread pudding.
>>12854191
Stop n Shop is pretty good. Do you have Big Y near you? They have good prices and sales and give away their Big Y coins constantly that you can turn back in for all kinds of stuff. My family used to save them for pizza night. I actually did find myself shopping at Stop n Shop more often than Big Y when I was living in CT, but they both have their merits.

[Anonymous No.12854217]

Rice
Lentils
Black Beans
Pinto Beans
Flour
Adobo
Oil
Any and all veggies you like

You're good for the week. Make some rice or flat bread for filler, beans and adobo or lentils for protein, and then cook up your veggies.

You're welcome.

[Anonymous No.12854230]

>>12854045
KYS welfare queen

[Anonymous No.12854261]

>>12854090
How cheap is 2.69 for a pound of shrimps in the US?
I'm a kraut and here such shellfish sells easily for twice or thrice that amount.

[Anonymous No.12854277]

im in the same boat as you, op

i just got out of a year long rehab and just getting back on my feet. i went to the food bank (im a canada fag) today and pretty much stocked up on the stuff you mentioned

for $13 a lb i picked up some protein powder at walmart and i got some discount bananas and strawberries that im gonna freeze for smoothies

[Anonymous No.12854350]

You do need to shop somewhere less expensive, overall, so your "money" goes further. Buy bulk to get better prices per pounds like those 5lb bags of frozen carrots, or 10lb bags of potatoes, 12 packs of thighs or 3lbs of hamburger, whole pork loin, 1lb block of cheddar. Alternate the purchases to use down what you need before it goes badly. Next month stock up on fall squash, whole turkey breast, etc.
Pick a poor culture of the world, and eat what they eat as their cuisine.
Oats, fruit (fresh or canned), sugar, nuts, dairy, toast from bread, jam, peanut butter, eggs, bacon or sausage, bisquick or mixes, quick bread to bake from mixes or raw ingredients, potatoes, canned corned beef hash, ham steaks. Bacon is sometimes pricey, but tubes of sausage meat is not, and cheaper sausages like BOGO kielbasa, or weird local smoked brands.
Grains for dinner and sides, veggies for dinners and sides, boxed mixes only if it's really something you couldn't easily make yourself or isn't cheaper to make yourself. Canned tomatoes like Rotel enhance basic rice, plus an onion, plus a meat, equals one pot dinner. Yellow rice the same price, then go for that, only then.

[Anonymous No.12854376]

>>12854261
>How cheap is 2.69 for a pound of shrimps in the US?
The reason depends.
It's frozen on the boat now, sometimes steamed and frozen right on the boat, so it can stay longer at sea, so days of fresh shrimp is truly over in most places.
The US imports a lot of shitty low tier Chinese and Thai fish (basa from the mekong river) and seafood like farm raised shrimp. The really cheap stuff is imported shrimp. True seafood lovers wouldn't buy that crap and worry about contamination since they are in ponds so clogged there is antibiotic usage and environmental pollution concerns..Sometimes the shrimp is adulterated with injections of gels to make them heavier *facepalm*
Wild gulf shrimp caught off the coast of LA, AL, FL is expensive, and frankly a seasonal item that is more expensive (and frozen) at other times in the year.

[Anonymous No.12854416]

>>12854261
That's really cheap. Usually it's over $6/lb even at that store. It's like $12/lb at Sprouts. I admit, I rather buy the EZ peel ones, so I get them for like $7/lb or $8/lb at regular grocery stores.