/ck/ - Food & Cooking

[Anonymous No.7480997]

Been living on my own for almost 2 months now. I feel like I'm not making my grocery money stretch enough. I've got $100 a month to spend on groceries for 2 people, which usually means $50 every two weeks. We've been going around town to different stores but are still going over budget.

Anyone got any tips on saving money at your generic supermarket? Before you ask, no we don't buy soda or sweets or pre-cooked shit.

[Anonymous No.7481009]

>>7480997
Buy in bulk, buy when things are on sale, eat cheaper foods.

[Anonymous No.7481018]

>>7480997
Go find an Asian supermarket or ethnic supermarket. So much cheaper.

[Anonymous No.7481063]

>>7481009
My gf is convinced that buying in bulk is just a meme for rich people. How do I persuade her otherwise?

[Anonymous No.7481077]

There aren't any "tips", you have to make a meal plan. The plan has to answer questions:
- How healthy does the diet need to be?
- How convenient does it need to be?
- How tasty and diverse?

And then the specifics:
- How many calories do we need?
- How much protein/carbs/fat/fiber do we need?

This leads to creating a plan for the proportion of food categories in the diet according to cost and nutrition, for example:
- How many calories from cheap staples: flour, sugar, oil, local staples (corn, rice, buckwheat, potatoes, legumes, plantains depending on location in the world)
- How much of animal products and animal protein?
- Weight of vegetables/fruit per day (vegetables and fruit tend to supply very few calories so they should be considered on a per-weight basis, especially because they are comparatively expensive)

Apparently you have $1.70 per day per person. I don't know US prices, but I assume that for that sort of money you need to restrict vegetables, fruits and animal products significantly. Go for whatever is cheapest in these categories (carrots, potatoes, apples or whatever). A diverse, healthy diet is out of the question. Legumes may be a good option to get some fiber and protein in. I mean at that point you might as well go medieval and just do wheat gruel everyday.

[Anonymous No.7481079]

>>7481063
Bulk purchases cost more up front but save money in the long run since you end up paying less per pound/ounce/whatever. If she doesn't understand how math works, I don't know what to tell you.

[Anonymous No.7481109]

>>7481063
>>7481079
If she can't into math you have two options. If she is gorgeous and fucks like a goddess, you should keep her because at least she makes it up for her stupidity. Now if she is ugly or refuses to swallow, you are wasting precious time and groceries on her.

[Anonymous No.7481235]

>>7480997
I'd build my meal around carbohydrates. Pasta, rice, etc... and choose the protein and veggies to work around it.

Also, I'd stew a lot of chicken thighs and have breakfast for supper.

[Anonymous No.7482949]

Go for dried beans instead of canned (you pay per weight for both but you're also paying for water with canned, this applies to all canned food).
8lb black bean 7.50$
10lb rice: 6$
Get frozen veg, stuff on sale, cheapest vegetables/etc fresh (potato, carrot, apple, onion), buy spices from foreign markets cheap but be careful about getting them in bulk because spices eventually go bad.
Get the cheapest cuts of meat, meat that's on sale, buy it in moderate bulk (5lb, then separate it and put the rest in the freezer), make soups, get second choice cut, and cut down on your portions for meat since it's pretty expensive regardless.
Try to grow your own food - although this is a long term thing, since you'd have to start and only get rewarded for it later. Onion, potato, garlic, spices, carrot, are all easily grown.
Try to scout out your local foreign markets for cheaper produce, as well.

[Anonymous No.7482951]

>>7482949
Also tomato. Homegrown tomato can be grown on balconies and such easily and the rewards for it are great. Fresh grown tomato is fucking delicious - get a heritage breed like indigo rose, you won't regret it.

[Anonymous No.7482977]

If you can handle leftovers then make larger meals instead of trying to cook for 2 each day.
Beef stew
Potato soup
Beans/rice
Pulled pork
Spaghetti


All of these things make 8-10 cups of food except maybe the spaghetti sauce. They freeze well and hold up well for a few days. Make a few of these each week so that u can have some variety but it's totally enough food.

Potato and beef stew can feed 2 at least 3 meals each. 10# bag of potatoes will make a lot of soup and plenty of baked potatoes. If you do it right a baked potato can be a full meal in itself. Chicken leg quarters are on sale at my local store for 29c pound. Less than $3 for 10# chicken.
Shop dem sales

[Anonymous No.7482981]

Get a pressure cooker, cook whole grains and soaked legumes/dry lentils with pan in pot method. Get a sack of brown rice from azn grocer. California's supposedly has less arsenic than southern U.S. or Thailand.

You're going to need at least $100 each to eat okay but still sub-optimally. $200 would be better. Apply for food assistance. Don't be a prideful dumbass. Most businesses rely on government assistance in one way or another.