/poor/ general

[Anonymous No.7436458]

Alright /ck/ I'm pretty poor and tired of fast food. I need some poor people recipes and ideas for food I can make myself.

Pic related, red beans and rice.

[Anonymous No.7436464]

Soups, stews, casseroles, pasta, chili.

[Anonymous No.7436466]

here you go

[Anonymous No.7436471]

>>7436466
That looks disgusting.

[Anonymous No.7436474]

>>7436471

do you want the recipe?

[Anonymous No.7436479]

>>7436474
No thanks

[Anonymous No.7436480]

Buy catfish

[Anonymous No.7436490]

Brown rice.
Pinto or black beans.
Chicken thighs (boneless/skinless or do it yourself).

Quick soak beans by boiling for one minute and leaving them covered in the hot water for an hour.
Cook rice and soaked beans. Add spice.
Cook chicken. Don't care how.
Combine however the fuck you want.

wa la

[Anonymous No.7436492]

>>7436480
>buy

pleb

[Anonymous No.7436497]

>>7436458
If you were really poor, there wouldn't be sausage in that dish.

[Anonymous No.7436500]

Go to a supermarket or farmer's market and find out which vegetables are cheapest in your area.

[Anonymous No.7436501]

>>7436474
kek'd
>>7436458
you got sausage in there too if my sight is good

[Anonymous No.7436503]

>>7436480
Next time I go to the store I'll look at the prices. Do you have a recipe?

>>7436497
>>7436501
That isn't my picture. I planned to substitute sausage for hot dogs anyway.

[Anonymous No.7436508]

>>7436458
a 5 lb sack of potatoes and a 3 lb sack of onions costs me less than 3 dollars

hope you like has browns

[Anonymous No.7436509]

>>7436490
You can get decent fish for cheaper than chicken thighs

[Anonymous No.7436517]

>>7436509
What "decent" fish are you getting for under a dollar per pound?

[Anonymous No.7436526]

>>7436503
It's very versatile, you can pan fry it with garlic and butter, you can put it in foil and cook it in the oven, you can cut it up and put it into a curry or a laksa.


I pretty much only cook fish, sometimes I'll get beef mince to make chilli con carne. Here are some of the things I've made (obviously tweaked them a bit to make them tastier because I have stuff in the cupboard to use)

http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/9459/fish+laksa

http://allrecipes.com.au/recipe/1849/mediterranean-baked-fish.aspx

(Used substitutions for this but it's essentially the same thing)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCkmDvHE9jM

[Anonymous No.7436528]

>>7436508
I love hashbrowns.

What does /ck/ think of ramen?

[Anonymous No.7436532]

>>7436517
>Implying I'm American

[Anonymous No.7436540]

>>7436528
potatoes are more calorically dense but any diet that costs less than a dollar a day is good in my book

[Anonymous No.7436550]

>>7436526
Thanks for links bud. I think I'll add catfish to my diet.

[Anonymous No.7436553]

>>7436550
Buy the vietnamese kind it's really cheap.

[Anonymous No.7436558]

>>7436474
top jej

[Anonymous No.7436588]

[WARNING‼ Incoming tl;dr. WARNI(...) No.7436617]

Basic advice is this: learn to shop then learn to cook and everything will follow.

For example, my dinner tonight was cheesy broccoli rice.
Let's calcumuhlate the cost, shall we?

Butter, 1tbsp
>1lb of butter costs $2.49, there are 32tbsp in a lb of butter, so about 8¢
Rice, 3oz raw (cooks up into a cup of rice)
>20lb sack of rice is $7.99, so about 8¢
Onion, chopped, half of one large
>3lbs of onion costs $1.49, a large one weighs about a half pound, so a quarter pound of onion costs about 12¢
Broccoli, a quarter pound
>1lb costs 99¢, so about 25¢
Cheese, 1oz
>$3.99/lb, so 25¢
Stock cube, half of one large
>$1.49 for a pack of six, so 13¢
Milk, 1 cup
>skim is $2.89 a gallon, so 18¢
That's $1.09 for a meal-sized portion of the stuff or two side-dish sized portions.

If I had it as side dish portions, I could have served it with chicken drumsticks, which are 39¢/lb around here right now, so under 20¢ per serving which would actually /lower/ the cost of the meal per plate down to 75¢ a pop. Adding a bit of somethin'-somethin' to liven up the chicken might cost about 5¢ per serving. A complete meal, carb, veg and meat for the low, low price of 80¢ per plate. Shit, let's add a second veg because why the fuck not: cabbage is 50¢/lb normal price (17¢/lb starting next week because St. Patrick's day) and a quarter pound is enough for a serving. Slice up a quarter pound and sauté it in a pan with a chopped up slice of bacon and a little salt and you've got a second veg dish with an added cost of only 35¢ for a grand total of $1.15 for the meal. Well fuck me, you don't like cabbage? That's okay. Spinach is 99¢/lb. Prepare it with butter and onion and the total cost of the meal increases by only 10¢! Oh, you don't like the idea of eating two greens in one meal. Okay. I gotcha. Butter-braised carrots with caraway, then. If you do that, the meal will only be $1.16 (brocc rice, chicken, carrot).

Can't beat that.

[Anonymous No.7436640]

>>7436617
This is pretty damn helpful. Screencapped for future use

[Anonymous No.7436645]

http://www.budgetbytes.com/

[Anonymous No.7436670]

>>7436645
stop beth

[Anonymous No.7436699]

>>7436617
Nice, that's encouraging. How long did it take you to get good at shopping on a budget?

[Anonymous No.7436757]

>>7436640
And you're welcome to it.

I eat like a poor person, but I'm just frugal as all fuck.
Other cheap eats:

>Frittata
When eggs are on sale for under $2/dz large, I nab some. A half dozen eggs plus a quarter pound of cheese makes one frittata, enough for 4-5 servings, I'd say. Add a little bacon, a salad and some toast, grits or homefries and you've got yourself a meal. The frittata will set you back about $2 if you use bacon grease as your cooking fat which translates to under 50¢ per serving. Bacon costs $3.49/lb when it's on sale, so I stock up and freeze it. That's around 44¢ per serving. A salad with dressing could cost as litlte as 40¢ to make and a lets go with homefries as your carb: that's only 25¢. Grand total of $1.59.

>pasta and beans
Save-a-Lot in my area sells this Mexican brand of pasta for 25¢ per 200g/7oz package which is 57¢/lb. Combining that with some dried lentils or beans and I could have a nutritionally complete meal for under 50¢ per serving.

At Asian markets, ground pork is $1.19/lb around here for the lean stuff and 89¢/lb for fatty. Lean ground pork is great for making sausages. With a few spices and fixings, the price is under than $1.50/lb. A quarter pound of homemade sausage with some mashed potato, sautéed sauerkraut, eggy peas and a bit of mustard would set you back only about $1.57.

Farmed US catfish fillet is $1.99/lb and frying up a meal of it with collards, fries and corn on the cob can cost you as little as $1.40.

But of all things, chicken is the supreme leader of cheap eats. Two whole chickens cost under $10, provide 18 servings of meat, a half cup or so of cooking fat, 2 snack-size servings of crispy chicken rinds and bones enough for a quart of stock. For ten-fucking-dollars!

[Anonymous No.7436768]

>>7436699
That's the thing. I don't shop on a budget. I can afford to spend more. I just don't. Fuck me, I'm cheap.
And I've kind of always been good at it, I guess. It's really a matter of opening your eyes to prices, shopping sales and using your freezer when appropriate.

[Anonymous No.7436934]

>>7436458
I'l help you out anon
the first thing to realize is that 60% of the world is poor, so affordable food comes in many cuisine types

the first thing is to identify the cheapest sources of the nutrients and carbs you need, lots of food is cheap for a reason; because it's got no nutritional value

common candidates include:

vegetables, esp "scratch and dent" often sold at certain times in supermarkets
dried legumes
dried rice
second cuts of meat (preparing which is a lost art, just ask the buther)
rice noodles
curry pastes (NOT simmer sauces)
tinned vegetables (look for value not volume, remember you are paying for water as well)

then look at what you can grow easily
fruit trees, herbs (esp bay which is a very hardy little tree)

here is one example
1. make a stock out of vegetables and chicken knecks, wings, or a whole carcass
2. use that stock, rice, and some pumpkin to make a really really good risotto
lots of nutrition, little salt, sugar or fat, can be made in bulk

make a tomato base sauce out of whatever form of tomato is cheapest, onion garlic and minimal spice (to keep it versatile)
super easy and cheap, add vegetables and make rattatoi, add mince and make spagetti, make some kind of chilli, taco mix, just have it with pasta
cooks in bulk, freezes well, cheap base for vegetables or meat

learn to love soup
make it in bulk, add pasta or beans for more carbs, pea and ham after christmas when ham hocks are super cheap; freeze for year round soup
minestrone is great for cheap cuts of lamb

knowledge is power when shopping
if you know how to cook something other people throw away, you can snag some really cheap food
make pate with just onion and chicken liver and herbs
takes all of ten minutes, great for toast in the morning

eggs are your friend, usually the cheapest source of protein
add boiled egg to salad, have eggs for breakfast, make meringues with just egg and sugar, make creme brule with the yolk
drop a whisked egg into a chinese soup

[Anonymous No.7436942]

>>7436503
>That isn't my picture. I planned to substitute sausage for hot dogs anyway.

If you're not on it, apply for EBT. its wy easy to get and that almost 200 extra dollars.

[Anonymous No.7436957]

indian food. do this >>7435871 minus the prawns and salmon, substitute with any kind of meat, or some potatoes maybe. anything tastes nice when covered in indian spices.

[Anonymous No.7437002]

>>7436458
porkchops are probably like 2~3 bucks a pound so that's super cheap for whatever.

[Anonymous No.7437032]

There are a lot of recipes which basically come down to: throw whatever's in the fridge in a pot / pan and cook it all together. Then all you need is a vehicle for the food like rice for million rice dishes, soup broth for million soups, tortillas, etc. A bag of mixed frozen veggies and some kind of chopped meat is perfect if you don't have anything in the fridge already. Make like 4 portions, put them in containers and bring to work/school. Things like sauce and seasoning go a LONG way with this stuff so be generous.

[Anonymous No.7437319]

>>7437032
started making my own tortias the other week, never going back

[Anonymous No.7437406]

Britfag edition

- Iceland oven fries
- 1/2 can of baked beans
- top with a fried egg


- 16 x Richmond Sausages
- 4 x tins of beans, different types
- 4 cloves garlic
- splash of hot sauce

Bake in oven for 75 mins

Less than a pound per serving

[Anonymous No.7437418]

>>7436466
So eat corn and hot dog, vomit it onto a bun the next day, eat it and then continue the cycle the next day?

Clever idea. Great way to recycle one meal.

[Anonymous No.7437422]

>>7436768
>make a stock out of vegetables and chicken knecks, wings, or a whole carcass
Sounds great!
I'll just fire up the food cannon, strap on my vegetable helmet, and fire myself into stock land, where chicken stock grows on chicken trees.

I really hope that is pasta, because that's a lot of typing for useless info.

[Anonymous No.7437445]

>it's another "college kids whose parents pay for their educations pretend they're poor when in reality they're just too lazy to move their entitled arses" thread

[Anonymous No.7437457]

>>7437445
Really, it's another useless thread for cockbooks that are out there specifically targeting that audience.
I don't have a problem with college students.
I live in a college town, so they eat the food I make.
"poor" doesn't even fall into it; it's "simple".
But then you have to know all of the person's likes and hates.

Saying "beans and rice" is useless if OP hates beans and rice.

[Anonymous No.7437462]

>>7437406

Weak.

Rice, Spring greens, Frozen Whitefish.

About 50p per serving.

[Anonymous No.7437469]

Grow your own tomatoes for tomato sauce. Add ground beef or ground chicken (whatever is cheapest) and add sauce to pasta. Add some cream if you got the cash, wirth every drop

[Anonymous No.7437474]

>>7437457
>>7437445

I mean, we're not all american. My parents earn about £22k/$30k a year and my dad just got cancer so that's gonna drop pretty quickly. I lost my job at the end of last year and I'm yet to find a replacement despite applying to what feels like over 200. Got a trial shift at a bar tomorrow though, so things are looking up.

[Anonymous No.7437526]

>>7437462

> dat low fibre
>dat lack of sauce

5.5/10 on flavour
10/10 on price

[Anonymous No.7437533]

500g lentils
1 x tin chopped tomatoes
250g cooking bacon (diced)
1 x stock cube

Make soup, nigga

[Anonymous No.7437535]

My sister's friend is coming over for the weekend. We're financially fucked this month due to several reasons, so I need to make something really cheap (but something I'm not ashamed to serve) in bulk so there's enough for 4. She can't eat spicy food, so curry and chili are out. What do I do?

[Anonymous No.7437538]

>>7437535
Paella

[Anonymous No.7437543]

>>7437535
Spaghetti Carbonara

[Anonymous No.7437562]

>>7437535
risotto

[Anonymous No.7437598]

>>7437535
>She can't eat spicy food, so curry and chili are out. What do I do?
Stop letting her be a palate infant.

[Anonymous No.7437605]

>>7437598
I'll try all kinds of food but I just can't handle spicy things. Some people just can't eat spicy stuff

[Anonymous No.7437627]

>>7436458

[Anonymous No.7437650]

>>7437526

Brown rice makes up for the fibre. Sauce is for kings and billionaires.

[Anonymous No.7437699]

n̶e̶v̶e̶r̶

[Anonymous No.7437787]

>>7437605
Look up the concept of exposure and then shut up.

[Anonymous No.7437793]

A tip for self service check outs: onions are the cheapest fresh produce (that you select yourself on the screen) in the supermarket. You know what I'm saying

[Anonymous No.7437802]

>>7437627
>recommending you haggle at a grocery store

whoever wrote this is autistic

[Anonymous No.7437811]

>>7437802
depends on the type of grocery you go to

[Anonymous No.7437827]

>>7437627
Same guy as this

[Anonymous No.7437833]

>>7437538
>>7437543
>>7437562

Thanks for the ideas everyone. Since posting, I got a few hundred euros on my bank account, thus unfucking our finances for the month. I thought about it long and hard, but I'll go with this anon's suggestion
>>7437598
and stick with the chili & curry plan. Bought some bread, sour cream and yoghurt just in case so she doesn't die or something.

[Anonymous No.7437841]

>>7437793

Pretty sure bananas are cheaper senpai

[Anonymous No.7437842]

College Ramen (Somewhat Healthy)

Cooking Materials
Cheap, nonstick wok.
Small pot to boil water
Strainer
Wooden Spoon or Spatula

Ingredients
Chicken
- for budget... the frozen bag of chicken breast is the best buy. Fresh always taste better though.
Bag of frozen stirfry veggies
-Every store has their own brand in the frozen aisle
Cooking Oil
-Just use a bit of canola oil. The nonstick pan will do most of the work.
Pack of Ramen Noodles
-Keep the noodles, throw the salt pack away...
Sauce
-soy sauce, siracha, chilipaste, anything like that
Spices
Red Chili Flakes, Garlic
Cooking instructions
-Start boiling water
-Defrost the chicken and thinly slice it against the grain.
-Heat up wok on almost the highest heat. 9/10 temp if you have choices like that
-Put in oil
-Stur fry chicken
-Put in frozen veggies
-Stir fry chicken and veggies
-Put noodles into your pot of boiling water
**Here is when you want to add any sauce or spice to your stir fry if you like. I always did sriracha, chilipaste, garlic powder, and soy sauce***
-Drain noodles
-Turn off the heat to the Wok.
-Drop noodles into the Wok and toss it for a bit

Done.

Once you get comfortable with a wok... you can make all kinds of stuff. Generally food you like going in makes good food coming out.

[Anonymous No.7437844]

>>7437827

Get this Reddit crap outta here

[Anonymous No.7437952]

Ronzoni Healthy Harvest Ancient Grains. It's just a bit more expensive than ramen noodles, but it's way healthier.

[Anonymous No.7437975]

>>7437627
...after seeing this
someone should start "durrrr ck sticky" about now.

[Anonymous No.7437979]

>>7437842
>nonstick wok

that's about as silly as a perforated condom.

[Anonymous No.7437982]

>>7436458

Borscht

[Anonymous No.7438008]

>>7436503
dont bother, buy smoked hamhocks or pigtails from the local meat department of your deli instead. It's as cheap as hotdogs, goes further and tastes miles better

This is coming from someone from Baton Rouge, La

[Anonymous No.7438357]

Meatloaf's pretty cheap.
My recipe:
2lbs of 80/20 beef = $4.98
12tbsp of cornstarch = 14¢
1¼tbsp of beef stock powder = 18¢
2.5tbsp of dried onion = 16¢
______________________________________
$5.46 ÷ 8 servings ≈ 69¢ per serving

Make some garlic mashed potatoes (30¢ of taters + $1.89 of cultured cream + 10¢ of garlic + 10¢ of parsley = $2.39 ÷ 4 servings ≈ 60¢), use the fat that renders out of the meatloaf plus a little flour (2¢), beef stock powder (14¢) and water to make a gravy (16¢ for 2 cups which is 6-8 servings at >3¢ each) and sauté some spinach (99¢/lb + 4tbsp/32¢ of butter and half a large/14¢ of onion is $1.45 for a whole pan ÷ 4 servings ≈ 37¢ per serving).
Complete meal for $1.69 per plate.

>inb4 people freak out about using cornstarch instead of breadcrumbs
Try it! I actually prefer it that way now, but if you wanna use breadcrumbs, you can do that instead for about the same price. I tried it one day because I have a friend who was complaining that ever since her coeliac diagnosis, she misses meatloaf a lot, so I made her one with cornstarch and we both loved it.

Recently, she's also been diagnosed with an allergy to many corn products, including starch and corn syrup, making many manufactured foods unsuitable, including GF foods, for her as well but I haven't gotten around to trying to make a meatloaf with another starch just yet.

She currently subsists on grass and ice cubes, I think.

[Anonymous No.7438367]

>>7438357
Rice is the best way to soak up a meat loaf in my experience.
Stopped using crackers and bread after I made the mistake of putting some stale crackers in it rendering the meatloaf completely inedible, the dogs wouldn't even eat it.

[Anonymous No.7438378]

>>7438367
>rice
Par-cooked, cooked all the way or cooked, cooled and slightly dried?

>Catpcha: select all food
>three plates of food
>one tray of a Subway sandwich and a soda
>select the food, but not the sandwich
>VERIFIED
Subway sandwiches are not food.

[Anonymous No.7438765]

>>7436617
>cheesy broccoli rice

Nice cheap concoction but what the fuck is that kind of combination?

[Anonymous No.7438777]

>>7437422
This is stupid. You can get stock from almost any meat dish. Buy cheap meat in stock, marinate and bake. Collect the residual juice and use that as a stock base.
If you are even cheaper, save all the bones and unused vegetable pieces. You've got yourself a stock base.

[Anonymous No.7438882]

If you're poor why not get a based masterrace STEM degree? I eat like a king now.

[Anonymous No.7438885]

>>7437827
If you're trying to go cheap, reuse the beef grease instead of using extra oil.

[Anonymous No.7438889]

>>7438765
It's pretty common throughout North America, South America, Italy, France, Spain, Germany and Switzerland. Likely elsewhere, too. The cheese changes place to place, but they're all pretty good. And it's nothing new, either. As long as people have been eating broccoli, rice and cheese, they've been combining the three into single, delicious meals.

It's really, really common. You really couldn't find a meal much more plebeian than cheesy broccoli rice.

[Anonymous No.7438909]

>>7438889

I'm 37. I've lived in Germany, Denmark, and 4 different states in the US. I've never heard of this dish until now.

Broccoli and cheese is a thing in the US, but I've never heard of adding rice to it. Methinks this is not as common as you suggest it is.

[Anonymous No.7438935]

>>7438909
Methinks you've not lived anywhere other than mumsy's cellar, kiddo, as a quick googling would confirm just how common a dish it is. So common, in fact, that there are several dinner kits and ready meals devoted to it.

[Anonymous No.7438943]

>>7438935

Not at all. I eat out frequently and I travel a lot on business. Is it some kind of poverty food or something?

>>dinner kits and ready meals
shit dish confirmed

[Anonymous No.7438946]

>>7437422
You are trying to be funny but I don't get it. His/her post specifically said to MAKE a stock out of chicken parts and vegetables. What don't you get?

[Anonymous No.7438961]

>>7438943

....well, yeah. this is a /poor/ thread.

[Anonymous No.7438963]

>>7438943
> Is it some kind of poverty food or something?
>/poor/ general

Apply yourself

[Anonymous No.7438970]

>>7438961
>>7438935
>>7438889
>>7436617

Cheesy broccoli rice really isn't the ubiquitous dish you are making it out to be. Nice meme though; if you play your cards right it could be the new "cut an egg into four quarters and season it".

[Anonymous No.7438977]

>>7438909
>muh brukkohlay

Kill yourself, my man

[Anonymous No.7439008]

>>7436458
I don't have a particular recipe to share, but I have made several recipes that make giant servings.

Have rice, pasta, or potatoes ready for everything. Cheap carbs, filling. The nutritional value of those items is your choosing. Grocery store brand Mac and cheese isn't bad either for a quick side.

Whole chickens and dark meat are typically the cheapest, but always buy in the huge value pack when you can and freeze portions.

Consider ground (or not, depending on the dish) turkey, chicken, or pork in place of beef - chicken and pork are usually pretty cheap.

If you chop foods into smaller bites, thinner slices, tinier crumbles, it can make a lot of individual ingredients seem to stretch further. Supplement with lots of cheap veggies.

Buy a cheap white and a cheap red wine. You can find a cheap drinking wine in a bigger bottle for less money than actual cooking wine - less sodium that way too.


I have made huge meals in a pot that last for 6+ very hearty servings (or maybe double in moderate to small servings) alongside some rice or potato. The whole pot usually costs around $20 to throw together ad that's using white meat chicken ad not doing all the cheapest things. I realize that isn't as cheap as some of the suggestions on here but... It works well for me. 1 Can Rotel, 1 bag frozen corn, 1 Can black beans, 1 Can regular Diced tomatoes, 1 Can Tomato Sauce, a fresh tomato Diced, a couple green peppers Diced, some chicken, and lots of Mexican spices/seasoning - pretty good.

[Anonymous No.7439010]

>>7438943
Nah. I think you've just never left your hometown of Dzyarmoyadutz in the People's Democratic Republic of Western East Elbonia where people subsist exclusively on refuse from developed countries.
I'm amazed what your countrymen can do with just a turnip. Kudos to getting internet access on one.

[Anonymous No.7439050]

Beans and cornbread. Objectively the best poorfag food.

[Anonymous No.7439343]

>>7438970
based Julia

[Anonymous No.7439364]

>>7436458
5 dollar rotisserie chicken is like 4 meals worth of protein

also boil the carcass for stock

beat that senpaitachi

[Anonymous No.7439377]

>>7437844
don't be mad at me for pointing out it was the same guy

[Anonymous No.7439382]

>>7436458
How poor are we talking?
Are you smart and resourceful poor or dumb fuck paycheck to paycheck poor?
What kitchen resources and how much cooking skill do you have?

[Anonymous No.7439392]

>>7439382
>smart and resourceful poor

[Anonymous No.7439444]

Going vegan is pretty cheap. I live with 3 of them so I barely cook with meat/eggs/dairy anymore and my grocery bills have plummeted.

[Anonymous No.7439493]

Im poorasf too op.

[Anonymous No.7439502]

>>7439493
Mashed potatoes, bell pepper, Chicken.

[Anonymous No.7439511]

>>7439502
Arepa, and a weird "hogao"

[Anonymous No.7439513]

>>7439502

>Can afford bell peppers
>Poor

Get the fuck out of here.

[Anonymous No.7439518]

>>7439513
They are cheap here un Colombia.

[Anonymous No.7439521]

>>7439513
>bell peppers are expensive

Get the fuck out of here.

[Anonymous No.7439530]

>>7439511
Some brigadeiros

[Anonymous No.7439533]

>>7439521
not that guy, and I normally don't really pay attention to produce, but I was always a little weirded out by the fact that you can buy a 5 pound sack of onions for like a buck or two, but bell peppers are like $2 or $3 each (can't recall). I mean we're getting into endive territory here which I think is about $3 per endive, where I live

[Anonymous No.7439541]

>>7439502
I'm so hungry for mashed potatoes right now. Is that parsley?

[Anonymous No.7439553]

>>7439541
Yes :D

[Anonymous No.7439554]

>>7439521
Not him, but in some stores in my area, they're sold for $1.49/ea for green ones, $1.99 for red or yellow, which is a fucking retarded way to do it and retarded price to sell them for. And these aren't organic or anything special, either.
Other places, they're sold by weight at $2.49/lb or so, sometimes as high as $3.99/lb meaning that two bell peppers can cost you $3.
Even in the bargain section of the grocery store, where the manager sets up $1 grab bags, bags with peppers are never less than $2.50. It's the oddest thing. They cost more than boneless, skinless tits!

Considering how easy they are to grow, I can't understand why they would ever be more than $1.49/lb or so.

>>7436458
Dinner tonight was corn chowder.
16¢ for 2tbsp of butter
12¢ for half an onion
4¢ for 2tbsp of flour
25¢ for a large stock cube
38¢ for 2 cups of skim milk
22¢ for a quarter/lb of corn kernels
10¢ for a potato
3¢ for some parsley and pepper
______________________________________
$1.30 for the meal.

And yes: that's a meal. It's over a pound of food. That's a pretty huge portion. You don't eat more than a pound of food in one go, do you?

[Anonymous No.7439558]

>>7439511
>Arepa
Is that any different than a papusa?

[Anonymous No.7439559]

RICE
AND
LEGUMES
Soft legumes like split peas and lentils are almost impossible to fuck up

[Anonymous No.7439560]

>>7439553
c:

[Anonymous No.7439567]

>>7439554
There's only about 400 calories in a pound of corn chowder.

[Anonymous No.7439597]

>>7439567
That's simply not true.

2tbsp of butter = 200 calories
half an onion = 45 calories
2tbsp of flour = 64 calories
a large stock cube = 20 calories
2 cups of skim milk = 180 calories
a quarter/lb of corn kernels = 86 calories
a potato = 70 calories
______________________________________
665 calories for the meal.

That's enough, I'd think. Unless you're a fatty or very active. Are you a fatty?

[Anonymous No.7439603]

>>7439567
depends on how it's made
cream and bacon could annihilate that figure pretty quickly

[Anonymous No.7439614]

>>7439597
Oh, when you said over a pound you really meant it. I didn't even read your recipe, just the milk is pretty much a pound.

[Anonymous No.7439638]

>>7439603
You know, I like bacon quite a lot but I'm just not a fan of it in chowders so I never add it to one. Thinking about it now, though, I'd bet bacon dumplings would go well with a chowder if I used them in place of potato.
I was considering making cheese dumplings to go with it tonight but didn't wanna go through the extra work just then. Adding them would have doubled the calories, though.

[Anonymous No.7439654]

>>7439554
Red and yellow are much more susceptible to cracking and spoilage, but I agree the prices where you are are ridiculous. Green peppers out here are cheap. Red are still very expensive, but I love them and indulge sometimes.

[Anonymous No.7439666]

>>7439638
I like it with bacon, but yeah, the calories pile up fast. If you like ham more, fry up some ham and add it instead. Leaner, especially if you trim it well first, sometimes cheaper, and you get good flavor, better flavor and much cheaper if you toss in some smoked ham hocks instead of full chunks of ham.

[Anonymous No.7439696]

>>7439558
Dont even know what papusa is.

[Anonymous No.7439705]

Pasta Putanesca is pretty easy to make


Yellow onion
Tomato (diced in sauce)
Garlic
Salt
Thyme
Oregano
Caper
Anchovy
Pasta, I like penne
olive oil

Cook one large onion, one clove garlic and herbs with 2T Olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat until sweated and translucent then add tomato, caper, minced anchovy (1 can), 1 T capers and salt to taste, then cook until tomatoes are just stewed through (maybe 4 minutes)

Meanwhile boil until al dente and strain 2 cups of pasta, then stir into sauce once finished

It's supposed to be very salty and briney


Costs me $3.25 per batch and my wife and I get 3-4 meals out of a batch and we're plebs that buy ingredients one at a time instead of bags of onions.

[Anonymous No.7439719]

>>7439521
>>7439533
>>7439554

Thanks for the vindication anons

>>7439518

Jealous Colombro, I'd have a red one with every meal if I could. When I'm low on cash and budgeting they can literally double the price per portion of a meal though. I'd grow them myself but England is a cunt for weather.

[Anonymous No.7439720]

>>7438943
This particular example is full of sodium, which is to be expected. They make a pretty good /poor/ dinner since they cost $1, taste okay, and don't need a lot of time, effort, nor knowledge to prepare. Goes great with a goblet of milk.

[Anonymous No.7439728]

>>7439530
Pan made pizzas

[Anonymous No.7439737]

>>7439728
That looks like the kind of shit I used to make when I was in college living in borderline poverty because I pissed away most of my money on weed and alcohol.

[Anonymous No.7439760]

>>7439554
There's a place by me that sells a lot of pre-diced and frozen fruit/veg. And it's all quality shit bought from local farmers. Bell peppers are maybe $1 or $2 per lb. Obviously not appropriate if you like salad, but definitely worth it if you cook in any sort of volume. Check around your smaller more local sort of groceries, many have stuff like this.

Also, bell peppers draw worms and slugs and fungus and shit almost as badly as tomatoes. They grow really easily in hot moist climates, but you gotta keep on them with the insecticide and fungicide.

[Anonymous No.7439863]

>>7439737
Imma poor fucker.

[Anonymous No.7440012]

>>7436528
I hate instant ramen, the shit literally made me throw up its too fucking salty.

Home made ACTUAL ramen is another story if done well and not in gutter oil or some other shit.

[Anonymous No.7440242]

>>7436532
delete this
also chicken thighs are cheap as fuck

[Anonymous No.7440260]

>tfw grew up upper middle class but ate like a poor person because mother was lazy/boring/low cooking ability

hell, i live at home after college cause the place is extremely expensive and i'm a loser and she made meatballs and rice for dinner. literally aidells meatballs cooked with some bell pepper and served over plain white rice.

we eat like poverty stricken destitutes

[Anonymous No.7440269]

>>7440260
How is meatballs on rice poor? That sounds pretty nice.

[Anonymous No.7440271]

eatthismuch.com

[Anonymous No.7440924]

>>7440269
Likely because it was some low-quality brand. I don't know what "aidells" could imply besides that.

[Anonymous No.7441979]

I had pasta with lima beans for lunch, but sorts of beans are fine in this dish. It's nutritious and super cheap to make, too.

garlic, 2 cloves
beans, most sorts, cooked plain, and their liquid, leftover, 1 cup
>from a can is fine, but cooking yourself from dry is much cheaper; most european or south american beans are fine done this way
tomato juice, 1 cup
water, 1 cup
celery leaves, a handful
>or a heavy pinch if using dry
olive oil, 1tbsp
salt, as needed
>or cheat and use stock powder
pasta, 75g
>any small shape is fine, but i like to break up long pasta, such as linguine, and use that
boiling water from a kettle, if/as necessary
additional salt, to season

Smash the garlic flat then put it and all the other ingredients except the pasta into a pot and set to high heat.
When boiling, add the pasta and boil until the pasta is cooked through, topping off with a little boiling water from the kettle, if needed, whenever too much evaporates out too quickly.

Adjust salt if/as necessary.
You can garnish with chopped, raw onion if you want.

If you use dry beans and stock powder, it costs under 70c. If you use salt only, it's under 60c.

[Anonymous No.7441984]

Hamburger & onions cooked into a pancake.

Just one & your good for the day.

[Anonymous No.7442003]

RICE AND CHICKEN AND ONIONS AND MUSHROOMS
buy chicken quarters, as much at a time as you can
buy big ass bags of rice
onions are cheap
mushrooms aren't, but i can't live with out them. i think cubes fucked me up but me and mushrooms are inseparable now.
debone the chicken
save the fat, save the bones
make chicken stock, dice the meat, portion and freeze
get good at cooking onions and mushrooms, put that shit in your pilaf
use the chicken skin and fat as your cooking fat, nacre the rice, cook your onions and chicken in the fat too
there you go, you can fuck with spices if you wanna splurge, definitely add greens of your choice in there when they're cheap. i like broccoli. carrots and celery are usually cheap too.

if you can work with that, you can cook poor forever. change the rice for potatoes when you get bored, get a different protein (pork is cheap as hell in this country), splurge on peppers, do what you got to do man. think like a third world citizen: everyone has chicken, everyone has rice or potatoes. how you go about flavoring the two of those is up to regional variation, so do you man.

[Anonymous No.7442421]

>>7436490
Throw some cheese in there too. So good and cheep.

[Anonymous No.7442631]

>>7437445
So what just let the college kids learn to cook

[Anonymous No.7442666]

>>7437445
>parents pay for their educations
>pretend
>entitled
I'm a college student who isn't described by any of the above and I know I'm not alone. So I kind of resent your implications there. You live on between fifty and seventy-five dollars a month. And that's not just for food. That's all incidental expenditures and food. Get fucked man.

[Anonymous No.7442704]

>>7442666
nice trips, satan

also his comeback is going to be "hurr enjoy paying for ur student loans for the rest of ur life college is a scam"

[Anonymous No.7442706]

>>7442666
In my day, unless you lived off campus, university forced students to buy meal plans. I don't remember how much it was, but it was pretty affordable. Has that changed or do you live off-campus? And if you live off-campus, why would you choose that when campus living is much, much cheaper?

[Anonymous No.7442715]

>>7442706
at my school the meal plans were punishingly expensive and it's gotten worse

[Anonymous No.7442716]

>>7442706
>campus living is much, much cheaper?
Are you retarded?

[Anonymous No.7442782]

>>7442715
Yeah? As said, I don't remember how much it was for me. I do, however, recall doing the maths comparing living in the dorms and being forced to use the meal plan to living off-campus and fending for myself. Short of living with one's parents (not an option for me as mine lived on a different continent to where I went to school), living on campus was by far the cheapest option.

>>7442716
What gave it away?

[Anonymous No.7442813]

This is a spreadsheet I made for what I eat most of the week.

Friday's I usually do spaghetti and meatballs for dinner.

[Anonymous No.7442820]

>>7439530
Are you Brazilian?

[Anonymous No.7442843]

>>7442813
>all dem animal-derived foods
Seems a bit much.
I eat double the carbs, four to five times the veg, a quarter the meat, about the same amount of dairy and just a little more fruit than you do. Also, about 400 kcal less than you.
Are you trying to bulk? I don't know much of anything about exercising, but from what I've gathered, people who are bulking restrict carbs and veg and overdo it on the meat, have I got that right?

[Anonymous No.7442872]

>>7442843
I'm not necessarily "bulking", but I still go to the gym 4-5 times a week for usually 1.5-2 hours a day.

[Anonymous No.7442992]

>>7442872
I pedal a bunch. That's the only exercise I do nowadays.
I have two pedal machines, one under my work desk and the other at the foot of my couch, the two places I find myself spending the most time. That way, I've no excuse from keeping myself trim.

I used to work out a bunch when I was at university, but it was more so I could eat like a fatty without ever becoming a fatty. Looking good was just a fortunate side effect of that.

>>7436458
I cooked up a corn and leek risotto for dinner because I left a quarter bag of frozen corn out on my counter overnight and found it this morning.
I think the meal, even with the expensive-ass import cheese I used in it, cost me like $1.50. Eating on the cheap is not hard at all.

[Anonymous No.7443181]

>>7442706
Sorry for the late response. I did the math, and it turned out that living on campus would be more expensive than living off. And that was owed largely to the mandatory meal plan. Anyway, I don't complain about my circumstances. I just don't like it when people are all lumped together like that. Like everybody has to be a trust fund kiddy according to some people.

>>7442715
>meal plans were punishingly expensive
This.

>>7442716
It wasn't in my case, but I imagine it can be for some people. There's also just the convenience of living on campus and not having to factor transportation into the decision making process.

[Anonymous No.7443194]

buy a slingshot and enjoy all the free delicious pigeons and eurasian dove you can eat

[Anonymous No.7443298]

>>7443194
Wouldn't trust city pigeons.

[Anonymous No.7443337]

>>7443181
I just looked up some current US national averages on rent, food and other pertinent costs.
$2 per meal × 3 meals per day × 366 days per year (one extra because reasons) ÷ 12 months per year = $183 per month on food.
Current US average is $900 on rent.
Current US average is $250 on utilities.
If you own a car, current US average is $250 on fuel per month + $900 ÷ 12 months = $75/month auto insurance. If you don't, the average monthly cost for public trans is $130.

That's $5852 per term if you bus it to school.

If your dorm fees + meal plan < $5852 per term, it's worth it. Otherwise, it's not. Looking up the largest university in my area, the combined cheapest dorm fee + unlimited meal plan is $5540, less than the cost of living alone. However, if you've got a flatmate, living off campus is far, far cheaper at $4052 per term.
I'm actually surprised at how much more dorms and meal plans cost now than when I went to school ten years ago.

Keep on truckin', Anon. I'll help you with more cheap and tasty recipes when I can.

I'm making cheeseburger fried rice tomorrow or the day after and that costs about $1.61 per serving, if you're interested in the recipe, it's similar to Japanese tacorice except that its major components are fried together rather than just layed one on top of the other and everything is stirred up before eating.

[Anonymous No.7443358]

>>7443337
>If you don't, the average monthly cost for public trans is $130.
Only shithole flyover cities have students pay for public transit.

[Anonymous No.7443401]

>>7443358
lolno

[Anonymous No.7443415]

>>7443401
lolyes

[Anonymous No.7443444]

>>7443415
>>7443358
>new york city, boston, los angeles, san francisco and philadelphia are all flyover
lol

[Anonymous No.7443480]

>>7443337
Thanks for the information, anon. I do really appreciate it. Like I said, living off campus is cheaper than living on campus. Even after things like transportation are accounted for.

[Anonymous No.7443531]

>>7443444
Flyover detected

[Anonymous No.7443579]

>>7439705
Do you drain the anchovies or cook it with the water?

[Anonymous No.7444851]

>>7443337
>current US average is $250 on fuel per month
What the fuck?

I drive a manual trans '05 Civic EX coupe and only have to put about $30 in it per month, if that.

And I commute from way out in the 'burbs to downtown Houston.

That being said, gas is like $1.40 a gallon right now.

[Anonymous No.7444906]

>>7444851
Say you have a 25 mile commute. That's about average right now. That's 50 miles per day × 5 days per week × 50 weeks per year (assuming two weeks vacation) at 10¢ per mile (diving current average price per gallon by current average fuel economy) ÷ 12 months = $104 monthly just getting to and from work. Add in all the other driving you likely do if you live out in the sticks as you claim, and it's quite easy to see how it can add up.

Now, we also can prove that what you're claiming to spend is impossibly low. As said, the current national average commute is 25 miles each way or about a half hour. You say your commute is extremely long. Let's assume your extremely long commute is 38 miles for ease of calculation as this matches an 05 Civic EX coupe's fuel economy of 38mpg hwy. At $1.40 per gallon, you're spending $2.80 per day driving to and from work. $2.80 × 5 days per week × 50 working weeks per year ÷ 12 months = $59, just about literally double what you claim. And, again, if you live in the boonies, it's impossible that you're not driving to X, Y and Z place when you want or need to do literally anything else outside of going to and from work. If I want a beer and have none in my house, I walk across the street, literally 10 yards away, and get a case. If you want one, you've gotta get in your car and spend about a buck or two in gas to get there and back (because cars use more fuel to start up than they do to maintain near-constant speed, which is why hwy mpg is always higher than city mpg).

[Anonymous No.7444995]

>>7444906
My commute is exactly 17 miles there, 17 miles back.

After looking at my transaction history, I spend approximately $28 dollars per month for gas.

I didn't say my commute is 'extremely long', but it is likely about the same as the national average.

After confirming that the local Kroger gas station is $1.28 per gallon, that gives 21.875 gallons per month with this budget of $28, giving a little more wiggle room with my estimation of $30.

34 miles per work day, 680 commuting miles per month, divided by 21.875 gallons is approximately 31 miles per gallon based on my budget of $28.

My commute is mostly on a highway with a 4-cylinder engine driven responsibly.

Your assumptions put the cost significantly higher than what I actually pay.

My first-thought estimations weren't perfect, but they are about right.

I rarely drive anywhere other than work, outside of a nearby grocery store.

TL;DR:
Commuting is cheap, even from a significant distance away.

[Anonymous No.7445014]

>>7444995
>17 miles, which is considerably less than the national average, is "way out in the burbs"
lol
also
>not going anywhere but work and home
>having no friends or social life
can you tell me how to make irish stew?

[Anonymous No.7445017]

>>7445014
>can you tell me how to make irish stew?
Yeah, actually.

[Anonymous No.7445278]

So I bought bone in split chicken breasts. I've never deboned a chicken breast before.

How do I do it? Is it easy? Can I just do it in batch pretty quicky, pop them all into a freezer bag, and call it? They were about half the price of boneless per lb

[Anonymous No.7445291]

>>7445278
Why de-bone them at all?

[Anonymous No.7445300]

>>7445291
Well I guess I can just leave the bone in, but I was thinking about things when I go to make curries for instance.

What do you make with bone in chicken?

[Anonymous No.7445307]

>>7445300
I season it and roast it.

[Anonymous No.7445335]

>>7445307
I might try that. Then you can just eat it with your fingers and pick around the bone, right?

Forgive me, I never ate chicken with bones growing up since I was a tendies fag, so I'm a tad autistic when it comes to this.

[Anonymous No.7445342]

>>7445335
Yes, or just slice the meat off with a knife like a civilized human being.

[Anonymous No.7445381]

>>7442003

Are you me?
Following this allows only reqs $10 a week in groceries.

[Anonymous No.7445407]

>>7445278
>So I bought bone in split chicken breasts. I've never deboned a chicken breast before.
Cool.

>How do I do it? Is it easy?
It's easier from whole, unsplit breast, but still not too difficult with split. I'm not sure I can adequately explain in words, but I'll try: just sliced down near where the breastplate is/would be and carefully shimmy the knife downward towards the opposite edge and along the ribs. If all else fails, look at it being done on YT.

>Can I just do it in batch pretty quicky, pop them all into a freezer bag, and call it?
That's what I do. Just learn to store it properly. Protip: freezer bags are actually pretty shit for that. I use fold over (not zip top) sandwich baggies. I put a quarter pound/100g of meat into one, roll it up and shut and be done with it. They can hold nearly a pound of meat, but I do it this way because 100g is an adequate portion size, IMO.
Storing them in flimsy sandwich baggies, I've actually had meat in the freezer that I forgot about for three years (I know because I date my stuff) that was actually better than stuff I've put in typical freezer bags for only six months! So I no longer do the freezer bag silliness at all and just use 99¢-per-150 sandwich baggies.

>They were about half the price of boneless per lb
That's typical.

[Anonymous No.7445413]

>>7436466
Lol corn dogs

[Anonymous No.7445424]

>>7445342
>>7445407
Okay. I will be sure to do both of those things. I do love roasting chicken breasts. Maybe I'll pop the other two into the freezer and I'll debone the other one tonight while I use up the rest of this boigah in my fridge. Gonna make a curry tomorrow night.

Cheers, anons.

[Anonymous No.7445432]

>>7436466
What's that thick goop surrounding the sweetcorn?

[Anonymous No.7445453]

>>7445381
>>7442003
>grew up on this
mom would just use cream of mushroom soup tho, and had a way of adding it all together with frozen chicken breasts, rice, and frozen corn and peas so it cooked in 30 minutes in a skillet


sauces and spices are really what makes SE asian food so good, and it's easy to make hot pepper sauce and put it on a protein over rice
>save all your red pepper packets from pizza
>soak in water for a few hours
>Heat oil and a dash of salt in a small sauce pan or wok.
>Add the peppers and let them sizzle for a few minutes, stirring frequently.
>Once the peppers have begun releasing their juices and fragrance, lower the heat and add garlic
>if you don't feel like you're being peppersprayed it's not right yet
>After a few minutes add vinegar (don’t overdo it!) and cover
>simmer for 10-20 minutes, stirring occasionally
until peppers turn dark red
>Let cool and store in an air tight glass container
>add to everything
>especially rice omelettes

other than that, find the discount bin in your local groceries meat department, and don't be afraid to get weird or fatty cuts of meat for cheap
>fatty meats
>cut into strips, add to wok
>keep grease, add veggies and maybe add cooked noodles to fry
>you can even use cheap veggies like carrots onions and potatoes
>add chinese five spice
>stir-fridays are a go

[Anonymous No.7446603]

>>7442820
No, i'm Colombian, but my grandma is br.

[Anonymous No.7447358]

Capitalism has invaded every aspect of my daily life and rather than oppose it perhaps I shall succumb to its seducing tendrils and continue to revolutionize my mind on a smaller, more covert scale;
I never thought McDonalds would invade my desire and passion for physical beauty, yet here we are.
It's with a sad smile that I look through these pictures as the pleasure derived contrasts and conflicts with the suppressed, yet distinctly burning thought that perhaps, given the chance to exist in a world without advertising, given the chance to survive on food that I put my soul into, rather than food that consumes my soul, I would be a happier human being.
Yet ultimately that is a suppressed thought it must be suppressed because as I have been taught there is no alternative.
So I take my sad smile and I force it into a wide grin, and I turn to my friend, meeting his empty gaze and through a mouthful of hamburger, I tell him that I'm lovin' it.

[Anonymous No.7447363]

>>7436617
tl;dr

[Anonymous No.7447424]

>>7436588
This. Also, carrots are incredibly cheap (where I live at least)

[Anonymous No.7447613]

>>7436458
Try Googleing "slavic food". Our food is usualy realy cheap and tasti. (Tačke, Popara, čorbast pasulj...)

[Anonymous No.7447621]

>search avocado
>0 results

You plebs

[Anonymous No.7447651]

Red beans, rice, chicken breast (or fish) and salad. I eat it almost everyday because, is really cheap here.

[Anonymous No.7447704]

>>7438357
My fucking nigger, I do this all the time and it doesn't cost shit. I usually have tons left over too.

[Anonymous No.7447728]

>>7436458
Any good recipes?

>Also what sausage should I use to replace the andouille with? I've been using kabana.

[Anonymous No.7447734]

>>7436458
learn how to make bread. even soda bread can be made for dirt cheap and tastes pretty good if you do it right

[Anonymous No.7447735]

>>7436617
where are you getting a pound of butter for $2.49
actually where are you getting any of this

[Anonymous No.7447741]

>>7438357
>Recently, she's also been diagnosed with an allergy to many corn products, including starch and corn syrup, making many manufactured foods unsuitable, including GF foods

Celiac AND corn allergy? This is natural selection at work, man. Let her die.

[Anonymous No.7447751]

>>7447735
Walgreens just had a sale on butter for $2.49. This week coming up, Aldi will have it for that same price. When name brand butter goes on sale, usually for $2.99/lb, I can get it even cheaper than $2.49 with coupons. I figured $2.49 would be a common price known to anyone living in the US who is cheap/frugal or actually poor.

>>7447363
Yeah. Well. Your mom.

>>7447704
Fucking right. Meatloaf gets a bad rap in America and this shit needs to stop. It's only as bad as the cook making it. I fucking love me some meatloaf.

>>7447424
5lb bags at normal supermarkets for $2.99.
49¢/lb for baby carrots at Aldi next week.
I eat a lot of carrots because they taste good. I posted a guide for carrot pilaf at >>7446421

[Anonymous No.7447759]

>>7447741
She can't have kids anyway. I don't remember why, but it has something to do with her uterus being wonky or something.
We met when she worked as the children's librarian at the library I worked at. She's now a preschool teacher. She loves children and it's a shame that she'll never have any of her own.

[Anonymous No.7448288]

>>7437533
my lentil soup nigg

[Anonymous No.7448750]

Holy shit, this thread makes me so sad. In New Zealand there is no such thing as cheap protein. We have to import bulk beans and such by sea, and meat is so expensive I generally just don't eat it.

I grow my own veggies and that's basically how I survive. I get paid well above minimum wage and work at least a 40 hour week in a professional job as a technician, and I struggle to pay the bills.
Farmers markets are ok, but they still charge excessive prices - I grew up in the UK and we paid way less for just about everything.

[Anonymous No.7448802]

>>7448750

Not even eggs or canned tuna and sardines??

[Anonymous No.7448838]

>>7448750
>WAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!
>WAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!
>protein's expensive in kiwiland!!!
The fuck are you on about, nigger?
I can't even say that you're some jafa poofter afraid to go into Pak'nSave because they had that whole gay pride shit in October.

Mussels for $3.49/kg? That's $1.08USD/lb. Cheap as shit.
And lamb chops for $7.49/kg ($2.32USD/lb)? Shit me, you must be real poor if you can't afford lamb in Lambland.

[Anonymous No.7448841]

>>7448750

Don't you guys have a shit ton of sheep there? What's to stop you from having mutton or lamb?

[Anonymous No.7449279]

Weekly I buy
>milk
>eggs
>noodles
>ice cream
>stuff for pancakes

and then replenish whatever I need to spice up the noodles and eggs

My budget is 25/week, was thinking of going more in this direction this week:
>tortillas (already have beans/rice)
>sausages
>buns
>soup
>bagguette
>bagels/cream cheese
do you have any other suggestions for what I should buy? I usually have to make compromises whatever I get

[Anonymous No.7449361]

[Anonymous No.7449756]

Do what I do OP. Buy a small red snapper, rainbow trout or flathead (larger mackerels can work too but can be on the expensive side). Gut and fillet the fish, keep the two fillets for dinner (steam, bake or dredge in flour & pan fry) two nights. Toss the head and bones unless you're a chink cunt in which case you can probably make a gross fish soup out of it. Buy half a kilo of mince, your choice of meat, and 4 capsicums. That's dinner another two nights as you can stuff the capsicums with meat and herbs and do them in the oven, two per night is more than filling. The end of the week just cook some lentils, onion, stock and spices down until they are mashable, enjoy some lentil stew.

[Anonymous No.7450707]

>>7436458
Retried beans and rice tastes amazing and is fast.

[Anonymous No.7450741]

>>7449279
Avocado

[Anonymous No.7450748]

>>7436458
5 dollar chili
2 cans of pinto beans
2 cans of kidney beans
2 10 oz cans of diced tomatoes and chiles (great value brand)
1 pablano chile pepper
4 cloves of garlic
2 teaspoons of chili powder
2 teaspoons of cumin
Salt

Assuming you have the spices and garlic it's 5 dollars for everything else.

Oh also get your beans from the canned veg section of Walmart all of the Hannover fans are like 88 cents or less meanwhile the Goya in the actually beans section is at least 1 dollar per can

[Anonymous No.7450775]

>>7436528
>instant ramen is like 40 cents a pack for me
Life is suffering

[Anonymous No.7450817]

>>7450775
Instant Ramen is 10 cents a pack here

[Anonymous No.7450837]

>>7437598

Nobody actually likes spicy food. There's a reason why it's spicy, our tongues/bodies don't like it and want to avoid it.

[Anonymous No.7450848]

>>7450748
This makes me sad. It's just spicy baked beans. At least chop an onion in there or something.

[Anonymous No.7450856]

>>7450748
>$5 chili
>no meat
Friend, for $5, you could have had some meat in there if you used dried beans instead of canned. Just 3oz of dry beans cooks up into 8oz cooked.
Also, there's no way in fuck six cans of food cost under $5. 14oz cans of beans are typically 88¢, so that's $3.52 just for the kidneys and pintos and those cans of diced tomatoes with green chilies cost 68¢ each, so you're already at $4.88. Plus the cost of the poblano ($1/ea). And the spices and garlic that you conveniently left out. This is more like a $6 chili. And no meat! Why?

dried beans, half pound (go to Save-a-Lot and get the 2lb bags of mixed kidney and pinto beans; they cost $1.89), less than 48¢
water, 1 quart, plus extra to help soften the onions
ground beef, 1½lbs (3lb chubs of fatty beef are sold at Save-a-Lot for $4.99, and you're only using half of it; the rest can be frozen), less than $2.49
onion, chopped, 1 medium/medium large (3lbs of onion is routinely $1.49 throughout the country and a large onion weighs about a half pound), about 25¢
garlic, minced, 6 cloves (a five head sleeve costs 99¢ in Asian grocery stores and an average head of garlic has about twenty cloves), about 6¢
chili powder, 6tbsp (Aldi sells 4oz canisters for 99¢ and 1tbsp is a quarter ounce), less than 38¢
cumin, 3tbsp (same price for a 3oz canister at Aldi), less than 25¢
tomato juice, 4 cups (99¢ for 64oz at Aldi), less than 50¢
stock cube, 2 large (sold in packs of six for 89¢ at Save-a-Lot for Maggi brand), less than 30¢
______________________________________
$4.71
If you wanna add some dried chilies of your own or other spices to that basic set-up, by all means. Or cheat by adding a roux (!). It may still be under $5 and still have meat.
This makes about six servings, by the way, so under 84¢ per. Pair with some rice (11¢ per serving) and a spinach salad (24¢ for the leaves and homemade vinaigrette) and you've got a complete meal for under a buck and a quarter.

[Anonymous No.7450872]

>>7438008
This. Also bacon ends. Cured and smoked pork products can add a metric shit ton of flavor for very low cost, and give your dishes some meat textures.

I use hamhocks in bean dishes, and the bacon ends in potato soups, and split pea soup.

Buy a few bullion options, and you can make almost anything tasty. Stock of course trumps bullion for flavor. Make sure you're saving your veggie scraps and chicken carcasses to make some.

Really,the secret to frugality is that you save money by sacrificing time. You need to be making decisions as to how much money a task will save you, and how that translates into dollars per hour. Making my own stock for instance takes about 15 minutes of actual labor. (simmer and reduction time doesn't count, as you can do other shit while it happens) I will yield 5 quarts for that effort, spending maybe 50 cents in ingredients, as most of it is "waste" from other meals. So 10 cents a quart. A similar quality stock from a grocery store is about 3 dollars a quart. So, 15 dollars - 50 cents = 14.50. Now I multiply that by 4 to get the value of the time spent. 58 dollars. That's easily a valuable use of my time.

I picked up all kinds of shit like this from:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Complete-Tightwad-Gazette-Dacyczyn/dp/0375752250

It's turned out to have been a really good investment. I certainly don't try to do everything the book recommends, as some of it is just ridiculous, but it at least got me into the right mindset for living cheaply. It's definitely helped me find money for renovations on the old farm house I've been restoring.

[Anonymous No.7450881]

>>7450837

Fucking top quality bait son

[Anonymous No.7450882]

>>7436458
>potato
>raw milk
That has all you need brah

[Anonymous No.7450887]

>>7437802

4 days late but I work in produce and customers will try to haggle with me because we can say anything is past its prime and put a custom price on it. I can take a bag of oranges that usually retails for $5.99 CAD and make it cost $1.49 instead.

If you complain enough or hell even damage the produce yourself you'll probably get a better price on it.

I don't usually give a fuck though. If anyone asks I just give them the lowest price to get them out of my face.

In other departments, complaining to managers might get you somewhere but I feel it's more effort than its worth.

[Anonymous No.7451886]

Cut 2 white onions in half, cover in butter or vegetable spread, sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic, cook in microwave for 5 minutes. Throw some cheese of choice on top and cook for another 30 seconds.

Or do this with 1 onion, then add refried beans, rice, etc.

[Anonymous No.7451891]

>>7451886

>being able to afford butter

what's it like living up there on nob hill, friend?

[Anonymous No.7451919]

>>7451891
I can see my house from up here.

[Anonymous No.7452118]

>>7451891

>not stealing butter packets by the fistful every time you're out at a restaurant that someone else is paying for

It's like you're not even poor

Thank you based mom and girlfriend with access to a meal plan

[Anonymous No.7452139]

>>7451891
Butter, like all concentrated fats, is very cheap per calorie.
The onion, garlic and pepper are the expensive parts in that recipe, not the fucking butter which is concentrated energy.

[Anonymous No.7452140]

Eat one meal a day
Supplement diet and ignore hunger by drinking 10-dollar box wine or vodka purchased with 20-dollar mail-in rebate.

[Anonymous No.7452144]

>>7452118
You're a disappointment.