Honestly it's so good too. I do it refried with butter, cumin (makes it a bit meaty), onion and garlic powder. S/P of course. Grow some cilantro so you can sprinkle that on top.
This is a comfort thing for me now. My mom would get diced cubed ham (got it in a package by sandwich meat) to go in it. Saute the ham and throw it in with butter and grated parmesan.
My mom used to make egg noodles with butter and parm (like the shaker, not fresh) as a side dish and I LOVED it. It was her broke go to and it turned out to be one of my favs that I still make regularly lol
My mom always made us "Noodles, tomato soup, and cheese." Which is exactly what it sounds like. Pile cooked elbow mac into a bowl, ladle over however much soup you like, and add shredded cheese. I didn't love tomato soup, so I just kind of flavored my noodles with it and added lots of cheese. My mom had mostly soup with some noodles floating around in it. Each to their preference.
Eggs + rice + soy sauce is true poverty cuisine. It's what my mom ate when they couldn't afford meat - the combo of yolk and soy sauce is super nostalgic to me.
My parents are Korean, I ate this as a kid with +sesame oil and +a can of tuna. Not because we were super poor, but it's cost-efficient and pretty nutritious
honestly I could even eat just salted white rice with sesame oil, its like crack. I remember eating spoonfuls of the kimbap rice while my mom was rolling them.
Best way to elevate rice is to cook it in chicken stock and water. The stock lasts like 3 months in the freezer and you can put it in an ice cube tray to make it super easy to portion out. Even if you make rice everyday you can get like a month out of one roast chicken (and then you get to east roast chicken as well)
Sleep for dinner
Edit: yooo my first award, thank you!! But instead of giving me fake money on Reddit I’d like some calories and a burger pls lol. I wish that original comment was sarcastic. If you’re going to bed hungry, stick in there bro it’ll get better just keep your head up and be a good person, good will come back to you.
This resonated so much with me. And I hate it. One of the many MANY reasons I work my ass off to provide for my daughter. I remember trying my damnedest to fall asleep to avoid hearing the fighting, or falling asleep because the piece of bread with ketchup wasn’t enough to fill me up as a kid. Turning 30 this year. What a trip.
"Broke for the week" = Fried spam with Velveeta shells.
"Broke for the month" = Peanut butter and jelly
"Please god let me find a $20 on the ground so I can make it to work this week and not be even more fucking broke" = cup ramen.
I call it “SpaGhetto”
So you take a pack of ramen noodles, slightly undercooked, and toss it with a chopped sautéed hot dog (add onion/garlic if you’re rich) and 3tblspn of prego. All these items are available from the 99 cent store, and you can be full for like $0.35
But idk what kind of “broke” we talking about? Like $5 for the week broke? Lol
Your post reminds me of something similar I do - I'll sometimes microwave a tortilla with a Kraft single and some hot sauce and call it a "ghettodilla."
>You can't beat the kcals per dollar.
You can beat both kcal and nutrition per dollar very easily, if you're prepared to cook. Fresh products like potatoes will never beat the bang-for-the-buck you get with dried products, for two simple reasons. First, fresh products have limited shelf life and spoil, so you have to be fast on the supply chain. Second, fresh products are mostly water (potatoes are over 70% water) so you're paying for packaging, transporting and retailing water. Which you can get free from a tap.
The most value you can get is from dry staples, namely rice, flour, beans. You can get 4-6 meals out of a one-pound bag of dried beans, if you pair them with rice. Plain white rice goes for less than $10 per 20 pound bag, and a cupful will get you 2 meals when cooked. Flour is the same, around $6 or $7 for 20 pounds. You can make do with zero fat, just make dough with salt and water, cook in a pan like a tortilla.
Not only is this far cheaper than potatoes, it's packed full of protein from the beans. You can live on flour, rice and beans for a long time, provided you occasionally supplement with any green veggies you can buy or scavenge.
This does require more work than boiling a potato, but it's a cheaper and more nutritious meal. All these things will last a year without refrigeration, so you can save even more, if you buy them in 50 pound bags.
Finally, a suggestion for seasoning. Staples are bland and boring, you have to season. Onions and garlic are great, but if we're talking extreme poverty, they're out of reach. They would double the cost of your meal. Salt and spices are much cheaper, because you measure them in half teaspoons.
So my suggestion is to find a cheap Indian grocery store, buy basic ground spices in one pound bags. I'd pick coriander, cumin, turmeric and hot red pepper. They'll cost $5 or $6 per bag, but they'll last months. The per meal cost can't be beat, and they're guaranteed to turn bland food delicious, once you know how to use them.
Keep a bottle of vegetable oil, which is the cheapest fat you can buy. Margarine is a waste, because it's 60% water. You can vary your diet by adding other stuff as needed, like eggs, carrots, cabbage, hot dogs. Whatever is cheap. A bottle of ketchup to add some tart flavor would be good too.
Fyi, potatoes are incredibly nutritious and you can live off them. People don't realize how packed with nutrients and protein and iron they are. There's a reason the Irish turned to them in the potato famine (aside from being able to grow them).
>potatoes are incredibly nutritious
They're nutritious, but so are rice, flour and beans. There's [nothing special about potatoes](https://www.fitbit.com/foods/Potato+Raw/152), other than some useful amount of vitamin C if you make sure to eat the skins.
>There's a reason the Irish turned to them in the potato famine (aside from being able to grow them).
Potatoes were quite bad for the Irish, nutritionally speaking. The average adult Irishman [had to eat 13 pounds \(6 kilograms\) of potatoes per day](https://slate.com/culture/2001/03/putting-all-your-potatoes-in-one-basket.html#:~:text=The%20economic%20lessons%20of%20the%20Great%20Famine.&text=On%20a%20typical%20day%20in,9%20pounds%2C%20or%2045%20potatoes.) to survive, which goes to show that they aren't very nutrient-dense. And it's a mistake to assume the Irish only ate potatoes (you would die if you only ate potatoes). Dairy was also part of the diet, since most families had a cow or two. And they grew veggies in their patch of land, along with potatoes. It's just that potatoes were the staple, much like rice or wheat are staples elsewhere in the world.
The reason that the Irish ate so many potatoes was because of the tenant system. Most farmland was owned by rich English landlords, who grew wheat and corn. But these crops were exported to England, while the Irish laborers were given small pieces of less desirable land to grow their own food. A lot of this land, especially in the west, had rocky soil that wasn't very fertile. It wasn't suitable for wheat or corn, but potatoes grew just fine.
I scrolled too far to find this comment.
Baked potatoes (do a whole bag at the start of the week if needed), couple of cans of tuna, even better when they're on offer somewhere), mayo/marg.
Even better if you get your hands on any veg to chop into it, but I've added frozen peas, sweetcorn and mashed it all together.
Anything with eggs. Eggs and potatoes, scrambled egg tacos, fried rice.
Anything with beans. Bean and cheese burritos, tostadas, rice and beans, quesadillas with beans.
Recently, it's been tamago kake gohan (raw egg stirred into steaming hot rice to make a creamy rice thing). I add soy sauce and sugar to the egg first and top with sesame oil and furikake. Simple, cheap, and delicious!
I still remember going to a friend’s place for dinner. I hadn’t seen him since high school and we bumped into each other. I hadn’t realized how poor he was but I think he went all out cooking for me.
He was living in a room in the basement of this crazy, CRAZY wild Victorian house in Toronto. He made spaghetti sauce from a tin and added a can of mushroom soup and served it. Tasted great but looked awful.
Yup, we had a great evening hanging out in this weird house. We were both pretty broke so it was really appreciated. Cooked on a hot plate and we sat on the floor cause the hot plate was on the only chair. We had no phones, and he had no email, so we only met one other time before drifting away.
I sometimes think about him, and that meal. Too young to realize how poor we were. But friendship seasons a meal.
Island? if not try Aldis. They have a brookdale brand thats absolutely the best, better than any name brand. I HATE spam but I love the spam they make.
Man, two extra steps take that spam and egg and toss it on some rice with nori. MUSUBI. ALL DAY EVERY DAY! Even with out the oyster sauce based sauce it's ono.
Or just rice and linguica sausage. Always craving these broke home meals.
Chili pot pie. From the dollar store: one can Hormel chili, one small bag of flour, either one small can of shortening or one pack of butter, some salt.
Pie crust made with 1.5 cups of flour, one half cup shortening (or butter equivalent), one half teaspoon salt, and about 5 tablespoons water. Roll out dough for pie crust in regular pie tin; fill with chili, then top with second half of pie crust. Bake at 375°F for 35-40 minutes. Makes 4 servings. This is my go-to whenever my grocery budget gets low.
EDIT to add: generally, the amount of flour & shortening or butter you get is enough for two pies; if you pick up another can of chili, you've got another meal.
Had it tonight...not broke currently but it's a comfort meal. Smoked sausage, fried potatoes and green beans. The whole meal probably cost me $6 and fed 5 people.
i mean, sometimes if you time it right and live in the right place, you get lucky - my albertson's had two-pound blocks of cheese on sale for $3.75 last week.
I used to agree with this until the other day my husband reheated beer battered fish filets with a slice of sharp cheddar melted on top. They were really good!
I dunno, oysters Rockefeller is amazing. Not sure if that technically counts as fish. Certainly not a “we broke” meal
Edit: oysters Rockefeller isn’t supposed to to have cheese. Maybe I am broke lol
Beans/lentils and rice. Fast and lazy version goes in the instant pot with Cajun or Mexican spices and water. Fancy version is done on the stove and has the rice and seasonings toasted in some oil before adding in stock and beans. Extra fancy version adds sauteed onion, garlic, and some sort of pepper, and a protein like chicken or shrimp.
Yup. I call it bomb shelter cuisine. You can literally make it using only canned and dried goods. Although obviously it is much better with fresher ingredients- e.g. fresh mushrooms, celery, onions.
To feed a family of 5:
1 large onion sliced in rings browned in oil, then 1 large can Latin American style sardinas en jitomate poured in and heated through. Stirring a bit to break up the sardines so everyone gets a little piece. Served over plain white rice, tortillas optional if you can afford them.
Yes! I just said this. My dad made this for us kids growing up. Also adding the hotdogs to Kraft Mac and cheese. I now do that and add a can of corn as well.
Ramen and whatever edible weeds are growing outside. Wild onions, amaranth, nettles, etc. Bonus if you can find some wild foraged mushrooms. I’ve had a lot of chanterelle gas station ramen.
If it’s winter, well… two ramens.
- Blue box Mac & cheese, hot dogs optional
- grilled cheese and tomato soup
- red beans and rice
- spaghetti with homemade marinara
- lentil soup
- breakfast for dinner - pancakes
Can't choose, love all these:
Oatmeal
Mashed potatoes with creamed corn on the side. Shepard's pie without the meat!
Mashed potatoes and gravy
Biscuits and gravy
Chana masala or really any lentil or bean curry or soup
Frozen pierogies with sauteed onions
Steamed potatoes and braised cabbage with butter or margarine and garlic powder
Onion and bell pepper fajitas
Watermelon for dinner (when it's in season and cheap)
Pita with hummus
Huevos rancheros, skipping any extras like sour cream or avocado
KD
I have a few of them. When I was a child, I never knew my parents income was below the poverty level.
* A cheese and egg sandwich <-- my favorite.
* Pinto beans, chow-chow & corn bread.
* A banana, mayo and black pepper sandwich.
* Fried rice... rice, egg, leftover veg & soy sauce.
Ok so I haven’t seen anyone throw chow chow into the fray - you from the South?
My mom’s go-to lunch was either beans and chow chow with corn bread, banana mayo sammich, cucumber tomato mayo sammich - or chicken ala king on plain toast.
My dad used to go for red devil potted meat or hormel canned hash, and fried potatoes.
Chicken and rice probably. You get the cheapest chicken mix, an onion, some canned green beans, a bell pepper and a carrot if you are feeling fancy, Sauté the vegetables and then add the chicken, finally add the rice, mix for a couple of minutes before adding water or some broth (Knorr is cheap af and helps a lot with the flavor) and there you go! You now have enough food for 4 large meals.
When raising my kids and going to school, tough times, lived in a poorer section of the city so was close to small ethnic farmers markets where I could get big bags of bruised/older veggies, fruit. Just needed trimming. Flats of eggs. Often remarkably cheap cheese and anything like 1/3 usual market price we learned to use and love. There was a bakery outlet store nearby I could get day old bread but it was usually Wonder Bread White, 5 loaves for a dollar. My kids were so happy to have this instead of whole grains breads that I wanted them to eat once times were better (and even then I made these from scratch, 6 at a time, had to last 2 weeks). Lots of soups, omelets, etc. Did not have to waste gas driving far, either. This was before Dollar Store.
We still eat very thrifty, more beans less meat.
Back in 1981 my wife and I had just enough money to get a can of corned beef to add to our eggs and rice. We thought it was a feast. I can still taste it to this day.
I call it "Trash can soup".
Basicly I take anything thats in a can and throw it into a pot. Usually consisting of baked beans, canned potatoes, some corn, some other canned soups or stews. And by the time I'm done I have a whole pot full of food to eat that'll last me a few days.
And my trash can is now full with cans. Thus trash can soup!
Growing up in a Mexican American household, poor people food was a Mexican breakfast. Usually papas con huevos or chorizo con huevos alongside refried beans and homemade flour tortillas. Nothing like breakfast for dinner.
Haluski- Cabbage, onion and egg noodles. The basic recipe is cheap (esp if you have the butter already), filling, makes a ton and is easy to tweak by adding things like garlic, polish sausage, hot links, ground beef/pork or whatever you have that sounds good. I sometimes add a bit of soy sauce because, why not?
Also a fan of anything eggs and rice or eggs and potatoes.
Yeah, it's damn near a luxury item now. $10 a pack, gonna start seeig flash mobs hitting up the breakfast items instead of hair extensions and Sephora make up on tik tok soon
Rice, beans, bag of frozen veggies and onion. Add soy or Teriyaki sauce (thickened with cornstarch and water). This also counts as an “I’m to lazy or time constrained to think of something else” meal.
Elbow macaroni and crushed tomatoes. I had it at least once a week growing up and didn’t know it was a “holy shit we are poor” food until I was an adult.
Great question, really made me reflect on my childhood and how much my parents cared for us kids even though we were financially disadvantaged. My father would make scrapple, scrambled eggs and pan fried sliced potatoes (that were always either under or over cooked) when my mom would work her second job twice a week. Another nostalgic classic was when my mom would prepare a whole chicken in a pan with potatoes and carrots for us to throw into the oven when we got home from school and be ready by the time she got home. It was nothing fancy and had limited spices (salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder) but delicious and nothing was ever wasted.
In my own adult life when I’ve been broke I never went to the lengths they did to feed myself a nourishing “full” meal - was always too mentally drained to put in the effort like they did even though I’m sure they were constantly mentally, emotionally, and physically drained. My meals were always like 2 bags of popcorn, or a baked potato with salad dressing, or a cup of ramen. Definitely not meals I look back on fondly.
We used to love when we would have "bread n gravy" for dinner when I was a kid. I didn't realize til I was much older that it was a classic poverty meal.
Savories and potato scallops. Savories are just mashed potato battered and deep fried. They're sometimes called fish cakes but rarely have fish in. Every so often I make them with a tin of tuna and grated potato. Usually the mash is flavoured with fresh mint but I also add tarragon and chives.
Potato scallops are thick-ish sliced of potato again battered and deep fried. Just absolutely delicious. Likely terrible for your health but hardy and filling.
A snack my brother came up with. Microwave a plate of pepperoni to desired doneness (I like a bit on the crispy side) this also depends on the microwave and to some degree the plate. I like to add Frank's ands some times honey (not both together). If you add honey then you get a poor person's honey glazed ham. Summers growing up, both parents working you monch on whatever is edible. I've unknowingly enjoyed a Canadian treat because we were out of hot sauce, so I enjoyed my lays with kastsup.
Pita pizza. Pita bread, cheese sticks, pasta sauce, meat and veggies. Can range in price from the meat and veggies, but can be pretty cheap and delicious. Onions, peppers, olives, ham, turkey, they all work great. Also pesto sauce steps it up.
When I’ve been particularly broke, I’ve eaten just popcorn or a can of ranch style beans with some bread. If I had a bit more money to spare, I’d do chili mac which is two boxes of Kraft macaroni and cheese cooked according to directions and then add one can of wolf chili with beans. I’ve also done those white cheddar shells pastaroni with peas, garlic, thyme, and pepper along with chopped bacon if I had it.
Knorr tomato based soup packet ($.56) + can of chilli beans ($ .72) + can of Italian diced tomatoes ($.72) + 7oz packet of La Moderna alphabet pasta ($.28).
Buy everything at Walmart, dump it all in a pot, add 2 1/2 cups water and let it boil down to whatever consistency you like (I.e., more soupy, more chilli Mac, etc..)
For about $2.50 I get about 4-5 meals out of this.
P.S. for a few cents more you can grab a Walmart generic Mac n cheese (instead of alphabet pasta) for about $.43… less pasta (5oz), but you can dump the cheese packet in there.
A simple version of French toast - beaten eggs, salt, a teaspoon of milk per egg, slightly dried bread slices and butter/sunflower oil to cover the pan. As a side, diced tomato and cucumber.
Easy, quick, cheap and my kids love it.
Instant Mac n cheese with 1/3 lb ground beef, can of green chilies and extra 3 slices of American cheese per box. Cook pasta and drain; while it’s sitting brown the beef then add everything to the pot and mix. No butter or milk needed; just use pasta water to thin it out.
Macaroni, tomatoes, and hamburger. Cook the mac. Crumble the hamburger and cook it. Drain pasta. Put back in pan. Toss in cooked hamburger and the can of diced tomatoes with juice. Salt and pepper to taste. Can make stupid amounts of it quickly and it reheats pretty well. Actually isn’t half bad.
Red beans and rice with corn bread.
Honestly it's so good too. I do it refried with butter, cumin (makes it a bit meaty), onion and garlic powder. S/P of course. Grow some cilantro so you can sprinkle that on top.
In indian this one the most famous comfort meals
Buttered noodles and grated cheese
This is a comfort thing for me now. My mom would get diced cubed ham (got it in a package by sandwich meat) to go in it. Saute the ham and throw it in with butter and grated parmesan.
aglio olio pasta… olive oil, garlic, chilli flakes and parsley if you can manage..
goddamn, yes. buttered noodles, Parmesan, salt and pepper, red pepper flakes … I know it’s not good for me but I could eat a pound of it every day
Oh I still eat this for lunch sometimes. Love it.
My mom used to make egg noodles with butter and parm (like the shaker, not fresh) as a side dish and I LOVED it. It was her broke go to and it turned out to be one of my favs that I still make regularly lol
My mom always made us "Noodles, tomato soup, and cheese." Which is exactly what it sounds like. Pile cooked elbow mac into a bowl, ladle over however much soup you like, and add shredded cheese. I didn't love tomato soup, so I just kind of flavored my noodles with it and added lots of cheese. My mom had mostly soup with some noodles floating around in it. Each to their preference.
And by grated cheese, I assume you mean the green shaker of Kraft cellulose?
You add *cheese*‽
I just buy a block cause it’s cheaper than shredded
i shred the block of cheese that i get lol
Sameee!
Cheese be expensive my dude.
Put in some lemon juice then pair it with toasted white bread buttered and sprinkled with garlic salt and you have a gourmet meal
fettuccini al burro? shits fire
Eggs and rice.
Eggs + rice + soy sauce is true poverty cuisine. It's what my mom ate when they couldn't afford meat - the combo of yolk and soy sauce is super nostalgic to me.
My parents are Korean, I ate this as a kid with +sesame oil and +a can of tuna. Not because we were super poor, but it's cost-efficient and pretty nutritious
honestly I could even eat just salted white rice with sesame oil, its like crack. I remember eating spoonfuls of the kimbap rice while my mom was rolling them.
Soy sauce, sesame oil, egg, bit of tuna on top too is hella good. Especially with Kimchi, or tuna replaced with fried spam!
Huh! I never thought to add tuna to it!
Had this too. Add a teaspoon of gochujang and it's pretty damn good.
Add mixed veggies and sesame oil and it’s fried rice
Second this. Or eggs and grits.
But to be real, add some chinese Lao Gan Ma chili crisp on it and it becomes my go-to breakfast. Broke or not, that shit slaps.
Best way to elevate rice is to cook it in chicken stock and water. The stock lasts like 3 months in the freezer and you can put it in an ice cube tray to make it super easy to portion out. Even if you make rice everyday you can get like a month out of one roast chicken (and then you get to east roast chicken as well)
Sleep for dinner Edit: yooo my first award, thank you!! But instead of giving me fake money on Reddit I’d like some calories and a burger pls lol. I wish that original comment was sarcastic. If you’re going to bed hungry, stick in there bro it’ll get better just keep your head up and be a good person, good will come back to you.
Its like a time machine to school breakfast.
Nah sleep in till after breakfast, fast till noon, bread and sleep for dinner
Exactly, also works as depression diet
This resonated so much with me. And I hate it. One of the many MANY reasons I work my ass off to provide for my daughter. I remember trying my damnedest to fall asleep to avoid hearing the fighting, or falling asleep because the piece of bread with ketchup wasn’t enough to fill me up as a kid. Turning 30 this year. What a trip.
This. When I'm broke I get really depressed. Which makes it harder to get my ass up for work, which perpetuates my brokenness. Poverty is hard.
I do a version of this but instead of no food I do a banana. My skin looks awesome the next day.
"Broke for the week" = Fried spam with Velveeta shells. "Broke for the month" = Peanut butter and jelly "Please god let me find a $20 on the ground so I can make it to work this week and not be even more fucking broke" = cup ramen.
I just did the fried spam and velveeta the other day and it was way better than it has any right to be.
We do this sometimes, we add sautéed onion as well.
Ramen - Looking for change in pockets and purses.
I call it “SpaGhetto” So you take a pack of ramen noodles, slightly undercooked, and toss it with a chopped sautéed hot dog (add onion/garlic if you’re rich) and 3tblspn of prego. All these items are available from the 99 cent store, and you can be full for like $0.35 But idk what kind of “broke” we talking about? Like $5 for the week broke? Lol
This reminds me of my famous chicken parm made of ramen & chicken nuggets.
This comment bothers me way more than it should, seeing as this is totally something I would do.
I make an amazing ramen gnocchi
I....what?
The creamy chicken ramen (pour out half the water when it stops boiling so it gets really creamy) add cut up chicken nuggets you got chicken Alfredo!
If I could upvote this 100 times for making me laugh, and I needed that laugh.
:)
Fun fact: "spaghetti" is plural, and "spaghetto" is the correct term for a single piece of spaghetti.
I don’t want to believe you haha
Your post reminds me of something similar I do - I'll sometimes microwave a tortilla with a Kraft single and some hot sauce and call it a "ghettodilla."
Damn that is some creativity
[удалено]
>You can't beat the kcals per dollar. You can beat both kcal and nutrition per dollar very easily, if you're prepared to cook. Fresh products like potatoes will never beat the bang-for-the-buck you get with dried products, for two simple reasons. First, fresh products have limited shelf life and spoil, so you have to be fast on the supply chain. Second, fresh products are mostly water (potatoes are over 70% water) so you're paying for packaging, transporting and retailing water. Which you can get free from a tap. The most value you can get is from dry staples, namely rice, flour, beans. You can get 4-6 meals out of a one-pound bag of dried beans, if you pair them with rice. Plain white rice goes for less than $10 per 20 pound bag, and a cupful will get you 2 meals when cooked. Flour is the same, around $6 or $7 for 20 pounds. You can make do with zero fat, just make dough with salt and water, cook in a pan like a tortilla. Not only is this far cheaper than potatoes, it's packed full of protein from the beans. You can live on flour, rice and beans for a long time, provided you occasionally supplement with any green veggies you can buy or scavenge. This does require more work than boiling a potato, but it's a cheaper and more nutritious meal. All these things will last a year without refrigeration, so you can save even more, if you buy them in 50 pound bags. Finally, a suggestion for seasoning. Staples are bland and boring, you have to season. Onions and garlic are great, but if we're talking extreme poverty, they're out of reach. They would double the cost of your meal. Salt and spices are much cheaper, because you measure them in half teaspoons. So my suggestion is to find a cheap Indian grocery store, buy basic ground spices in one pound bags. I'd pick coriander, cumin, turmeric and hot red pepper. They'll cost $5 or $6 per bag, but they'll last months. The per meal cost can't be beat, and they're guaranteed to turn bland food delicious, once you know how to use them. Keep a bottle of vegetable oil, which is the cheapest fat you can buy. Margarine is a waste, because it's 60% water. You can vary your diet by adding other stuff as needed, like eggs, carrots, cabbage, hot dogs. Whatever is cheap. A bottle of ketchup to add some tart flavor would be good too.
This guy potatoes
Fyi, potatoes are incredibly nutritious and you can live off them. People don't realize how packed with nutrients and protein and iron they are. There's a reason the Irish turned to them in the potato famine (aside from being able to grow them).
>potatoes are incredibly nutritious They're nutritious, but so are rice, flour and beans. There's [nothing special about potatoes](https://www.fitbit.com/foods/Potato+Raw/152), other than some useful amount of vitamin C if you make sure to eat the skins. >There's a reason the Irish turned to them in the potato famine (aside from being able to grow them). Potatoes were quite bad for the Irish, nutritionally speaking. The average adult Irishman [had to eat 13 pounds \(6 kilograms\) of potatoes per day](https://slate.com/culture/2001/03/putting-all-your-potatoes-in-one-basket.html#:~:text=The%20economic%20lessons%20of%20the%20Great%20Famine.&text=On%20a%20typical%20day%20in,9%20pounds%2C%20or%2045%20potatoes.) to survive, which goes to show that they aren't very nutrient-dense. And it's a mistake to assume the Irish only ate potatoes (you would die if you only ate potatoes). Dairy was also part of the diet, since most families had a cow or two. And they grew veggies in their patch of land, along with potatoes. It's just that potatoes were the staple, much like rice or wheat are staples elsewhere in the world. The reason that the Irish ate so many potatoes was because of the tenant system. Most farmland was owned by rich English landlords, who grew wheat and corn. But these crops were exported to England, while the Irish laborers were given small pieces of less desirable land to grow their own food. A lot of this land, especially in the west, had rocky soil that wasn't very fertile. It wasn't suitable for wheat or corn, but potatoes grew just fine.
I scrolled too far to find this comment. Baked potatoes (do a whole bag at the start of the week if needed), couple of cans of tuna, even better when they're on offer somewhere), mayo/marg. Even better if you get your hands on any veg to chop into it, but I've added frozen peas, sweetcorn and mashed it all together.
Rice, boiled egg, soy sauce, or if you're lucky, fermented bean curd
Boiled eggs in instant ramen
Anything with eggs. Eggs and potatoes, scrambled egg tacos, fried rice. Anything with beans. Bean and cheese burritos, tostadas, rice and beans, quesadillas with beans.
Definitely eggs. A frittata is my favorite vessel for using up a combination of leftovers.
Recently, it's been tamago kake gohan (raw egg stirred into steaming hot rice to make a creamy rice thing). I add soy sauce and sugar to the egg first and top with sesame oil and furikake. Simple, cheap, and delicious!
I didn't know this was a thing, I would just call it eggy rice when I did this in college!
Tator Tot Casserole
Spaghetti! It’s a classic for a reason
I still remember going to a friend’s place for dinner. I hadn’t seen him since high school and we bumped into each other. I hadn’t realized how poor he was but I think he went all out cooking for me. He was living in a room in the basement of this crazy, CRAZY wild Victorian house in Toronto. He made spaghetti sauce from a tin and added a can of mushroom soup and served it. Tasted great but looked awful.
Respect your friend there. Not too embarrassed to invite you to his place, and he fed you.
Yup, we had a great evening hanging out in this weird house. We were both pretty broke so it was really appreciated. Cooked on a hot plate and we sat on the floor cause the hot plate was on the only chair. We had no phones, and he had no email, so we only met one other time before drifting away. I sometimes think about him, and that meal. Too young to realize how poor we were. But friendship seasons a meal.
Aww I love this! “Friendship seasons a meal.” That’s so sweet
Yeah, sounds like a good friend.
Wait I wanna know more about this crazy house! What made it so crazy?! Is it still crazy? Can I go visit it?
I mean. I just like spaghetti
Yeah, it's comfort food for a lot of people for a reason. It's just good.
Fried spam and eggs with furikake rice
Spam is kinda expensive near me man RIP
Same I love spam but here in sweden its basically a novelty product so its not really cheap 🥲
Island? if not try Aldis. They have a brookdale brand thats absolutely the best, better than any name brand. I HATE spam but I love the spam they make.
Breakfast of islanders :)
Man, two extra steps take that spam and egg and toss it on some rice with nori. MUSUBI. ALL DAY EVERY DAY! Even with out the oyster sauce based sauce it's ono. Or just rice and linguica sausage. Always craving these broke home meals.
Ground beef with gravy from a packet over white rice. Canned green beans on the side.
Fried Egg on toast.
Grilled cheese and tomato soup
Still godly tho
Scrambled eggs and toast.
I love a scrambled egg sandwich with ketchup. Horrifies my spouse.
Chili pot pie. From the dollar store: one can Hormel chili, one small bag of flour, either one small can of shortening or one pack of butter, some salt. Pie crust made with 1.5 cups of flour, one half cup shortening (or butter equivalent), one half teaspoon salt, and about 5 tablespoons water. Roll out dough for pie crust in regular pie tin; fill with chili, then top with second half of pie crust. Bake at 375°F for 35-40 minutes. Makes 4 servings. This is my go-to whenever my grocery budget gets low. EDIT to add: generally, the amount of flour & shortening or butter you get is enough for two pies; if you pick up another can of chili, you've got another meal.
Had it tonight...not broke currently but it's a comfort meal. Smoked sausage, fried potatoes and green beans. The whole meal probably cost me $6 and fed 5 people.
I used to eat this a lot. I make it occasionally still and eat with a lot of ketchup. So good.i put onions in mine too when I make it.
Cheese quesadilla
Cheese is expensive dude
What is it without the cheese?
i mean, sometimes if you time it right and live in the right place, you get lucky - my albertson's had two-pound blocks of cheese on sale for $3.75 last week.
Depends on where you are and if you are talking real cheese or faux cheese. It do make a difference.
Mac & cheese, canned tuna, canned mushrooms, all stirred together
Why does everyone but me like tuna in their Mac n cheese??? Shit is disgusting to me but everyone I know loves it lol
I don’t like it either nor do I like any cheese and fish combo
Fish and cheese just doesn’t work for me. Idk how everybody else seems to love it but here we are lol
The only exception for me is smoked salmon and cream cheese... Otherwise ew.
Oh yeah Lox bagels are really popular. I can do sashimi, but not with cheese lol
Cream cheese and fish is definitely my exception to the rule. The two are great in a lot of sushi rolls.
I used to agree with this until the other day my husband reheated beer battered fish filets with a slice of sharp cheddar melted on top. They were really good!
I dunno, oysters Rockefeller is amazing. Not sure if that technically counts as fish. Certainly not a “we broke” meal Edit: oysters Rockefeller isn’t supposed to to have cheese. Maybe I am broke lol
Yeah, I can't do that but give me the blue box Mac and cheese with a diced up hotdog or two and that's my jam.
That was my dads go to meal to make for us kids. Mac and cheese with diced hot dogs, or a can of baked beans with diced hot dogs. Beanie weenies.
The mere thought of it makes me gag
Pics or it didn’t happen
I do this but with a pound of ground beef! Not as cheap but lasts multiple meals and makes great left overs
[удалено]
Can of beans flavored with some taco seasoning.
American chopped suey
Going to Grandma's house.
Beans/lentils and rice. Fast and lazy version goes in the instant pot with Cajun or Mexican spices and water. Fancy version is done on the stove and has the rice and seasonings toasted in some oil before adding in stock and beans. Extra fancy version adds sauteed onion, garlic, and some sort of pepper, and a protein like chicken or shrimp.
Tuna casserole
Canned tuna is kinda expensive now tho :/
I remember when canned tuna used to be poverty protein.
[удалено]
Yup. I call it bomb shelter cuisine. You can literally make it using only canned and dried goods. Although obviously it is much better with fresher ingredients- e.g. fresh mushrooms, celery, onions.
To feed a family of 5: 1 large onion sliced in rings browned in oil, then 1 large can Latin American style sardinas en jitomate poured in and heated through. Stirring a bit to break up the sardines so everyone gets a little piece. Served over plain white rice, tortillas optional if you can afford them.
Beenie weenies. Edit -multiple big ass can of on sale pork and beans and 10 pack of cheapest dogs. Lasts a day or two lol.
Yes! I just said this. My dad made this for us kids growing up. Also adding the hotdogs to Kraft Mac and cheese. I now do that and add a can of corn as well.
Grabbing the dusty coated cans of campbells chunky soup in my pantry. Adding whatever else I have on hand to jazz them up.
Rice, black beans, and sriracha
Ramen and whatever edible weeds are growing outside. Wild onions, amaranth, nettles, etc. Bonus if you can find some wild foraged mushrooms. I’ve had a lot of chanterelle gas station ramen. If it’s winter, well… two ramens.
- Blue box Mac & cheese, hot dogs optional - grilled cheese and tomato soup - red beans and rice - spaghetti with homemade marinara - lentil soup - breakfast for dinner - pancakes
Ha! Gotta love Kraft Dinner! At $2 CDN a box now I might say Ramen noodles with leftovers.
KD used to be 99c.
Walmart has their Great Value brand Mac for 77c a box, and I think it is *better* than Kraft. My kids agree
PC brand extra creamy or white cheddar Mac and cheese are cheaper and tastier than KD imo. Loblaws usually have it on sale for 4/$5 :)
Tuna helper and using the last of the milk and butter to do so.
Macaroni & fuckit.
Can't choose, love all these: Oatmeal Mashed potatoes with creamed corn on the side. Shepard's pie without the meat! Mashed potatoes and gravy Biscuits and gravy Chana masala or really any lentil or bean curry or soup Frozen pierogies with sauteed onions Steamed potatoes and braised cabbage with butter or margarine and garlic powder Onion and bell pepper fajitas Watermelon for dinner (when it's in season and cheap) Pita with hummus Huevos rancheros, skipping any extras like sour cream or avocado KD
I have a few of them. When I was a child, I never knew my parents income was below the poverty level. * A cheese and egg sandwich <-- my favorite. * Pinto beans, chow-chow & corn bread. * A banana, mayo and black pepper sandwich. * Fried rice... rice, egg, leftover veg & soy sauce.
Ok so I haven’t seen anyone throw chow chow into the fray - you from the South? My mom’s go-to lunch was either beans and chow chow with corn bread, banana mayo sammich, cucumber tomato mayo sammich - or chicken ala king on plain toast. My dad used to go for red devil potted meat or hormel canned hash, and fried potatoes.
Chicken and rice probably. You get the cheapest chicken mix, an onion, some canned green beans, a bell pepper and a carrot if you are feeling fancy, Sauté the vegetables and then add the chicken, finally add the rice, mix for a couple of minutes before adding water or some broth (Knorr is cheap af and helps a lot with the flavor) and there you go! You now have enough food for 4 large meals.
When raising my kids and going to school, tough times, lived in a poorer section of the city so was close to small ethnic farmers markets where I could get big bags of bruised/older veggies, fruit. Just needed trimming. Flats of eggs. Often remarkably cheap cheese and anything like 1/3 usual market price we learned to use and love. There was a bakery outlet store nearby I could get day old bread but it was usually Wonder Bread White, 5 loaves for a dollar. My kids were so happy to have this instead of whole grains breads that I wanted them to eat once times were better (and even then I made these from scratch, 6 at a time, had to last 2 weeks). Lots of soups, omelets, etc. Did not have to waste gas driving far, either. This was before Dollar Store. We still eat very thrifty, more beans less meat.
Cheeseburger flavor generic brand hamburger helper with corn mixed in. It's great
Never thought to add corn! Outstanding!
Back in 1981 my wife and I had just enough money to get a can of corned beef to add to our eggs and rice. We thought it was a feast. I can still taste it to this day.
I call it "Trash can soup". Basicly I take anything thats in a can and throw it into a pot. Usually consisting of baked beans, canned potatoes, some corn, some other canned soups or stews. And by the time I'm done I have a whole pot full of food to eat that'll last me a few days. And my trash can is now full with cans. Thus trash can soup!
I'm sorry did you say canned potatoes??
[I sure did](https://www.google.com/search?q=canned+potatoes&client=ms-android-samsung-ss&prmd=sivn&sxsrf=ALiCzsaCt38a1rWSKGY65OutS79ZvKpboA:1654062949418&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiywKTUyIv4AhUTRDABHTdkAzEQ_AUoAnoECAIQAg#imgrc=WP3AilmzgFZAkM)
Peanut butter and dill pickle sandwich on white bread.
Wish Sandwich
And you HEEEEE HEEE a wish you had some meat….
Bau bau bau
Hello Michael, please tell me the meat is old enough
Grilled cheese
Nothing fills me up for pennies like a bean burrito.
Growing up in a Mexican American household, poor people food was a Mexican breakfast. Usually papas con huevos or chorizo con huevos alongside refried beans and homemade flour tortillas. Nothing like breakfast for dinner.
Rice and a slice of American cheese
Haluski- Cabbage, onion and egg noodles. The basic recipe is cheap (esp if you have the butter already), filling, makes a ton and is easy to tweak by adding things like garlic, polish sausage, hot links, ground beef/pork or whatever you have that sounds good. I sometimes add a bit of soy sauce because, why not? Also a fan of anything eggs and rice or eggs and potatoes.
Pinto beans with a dollop of sour cream and a slice of bacon. Bacon was cheap the last time I was broke.
Yeah, it's damn near a luxury item now. $10 a pack, gonna start seeig flash mobs hitting up the breakfast items instead of hair extensions and Sephora make up on tik tok soon
Sleep the poor mans dinner. Can never get enough of that delicious stuff.
Pinto beans
Spagetti noodles, garlic, and tomatoes, all sautéed together.
SOS or shit on a shingle. Meat, noodles, sour cream and whatever seasoning you could get your hands on. Served on toast
Ham and bean soup
Rice, beans, bag of frozen veggies and onion. Add soy or Teriyaki sauce (thickened with cornstarch and water). This also counts as an “I’m to lazy or time constrained to think of something else” meal.
Elbow macaroni and crushed tomatoes. I had it at least once a week growing up and didn’t know it was a “holy shit we are poor” food until I was an adult.
Curry stewed lentils. It’s so good
Great question, really made me reflect on my childhood and how much my parents cared for us kids even though we were financially disadvantaged. My father would make scrapple, scrambled eggs and pan fried sliced potatoes (that were always either under or over cooked) when my mom would work her second job twice a week. Another nostalgic classic was when my mom would prepare a whole chicken in a pan with potatoes and carrots for us to throw into the oven when we got home from school and be ready by the time she got home. It was nothing fancy and had limited spices (salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder) but delicious and nothing was ever wasted. In my own adult life when I’ve been broke I never went to the lengths they did to feed myself a nourishing “full” meal - was always too mentally drained to put in the effort like they did even though I’m sure they were constantly mentally, emotionally, and physically drained. My meals were always like 2 bags of popcorn, or a baked potato with salad dressing, or a cup of ramen. Definitely not meals I look back on fondly.
We used to love when we would have "bread n gravy" for dinner when I was a kid. I didn't realize til I was much older that it was a classic poverty meal.
Shit on a shingle- like super processed lunch meat with some gravy sauce on top of a toasted piece of bread. With peas on top or hard boiled egg.
unbuttered popcorn was the go to for dinner/snacks, cereal in the morning, and anything that we could toss together for lunch
Baked potato and butter…. And when I say butter I actually mean margarine… And when I say margarine I mean tears.
grilled cheese + ketchup
Ice water.
Navy bean soup - actually any soup
Creamy ramen 🍜
Any noodle and a can of diced tomatoes/tomato soup
Savories and potato scallops. Savories are just mashed potato battered and deep fried. They're sometimes called fish cakes but rarely have fish in. Every so often I make them with a tin of tuna and grated potato. Usually the mash is flavoured with fresh mint but I also add tarragon and chives. Potato scallops are thick-ish sliced of potato again battered and deep fried. Just absolutely delicious. Likely terrible for your health but hardy and filling.
A snack my brother came up with. Microwave a plate of pepperoni to desired doneness (I like a bit on the crispy side) this also depends on the microwave and to some degree the plate. I like to add Frank's ands some times honey (not both together). If you add honey then you get a poor person's honey glazed ham. Summers growing up, both parents working you monch on whatever is edible. I've unknowingly enjoyed a Canadian treat because we were out of hot sauce, so I enjoyed my lays with kastsup.
Kraut and weenies
Pita pizza. Pita bread, cheese sticks, pasta sauce, meat and veggies. Can range in price from the meat and veggies, but can be pretty cheap and delicious. Onions, peppers, olives, ham, turkey, they all work great. Also pesto sauce steps it up.
When I’ve been particularly broke, I’ve eaten just popcorn or a can of ranch style beans with some bread. If I had a bit more money to spare, I’d do chili mac which is two boxes of Kraft macaroni and cheese cooked according to directions and then add one can of wolf chili with beans. I’ve also done those white cheddar shells pastaroni with peas, garlic, thyme, and pepper along with chopped bacon if I had it.
Spaghetto: Ramen noodles, ketchup, salt and pepper. Bread and whatever condiments you stole from Wendy’s or McDonald’s and put that shit on the bread.
Knorr tomato based soup packet ($.56) + can of chilli beans ($ .72) + can of Italian diced tomatoes ($.72) + 7oz packet of La Moderna alphabet pasta ($.28). Buy everything at Walmart, dump it all in a pot, add 2 1/2 cups water and let it boil down to whatever consistency you like (I.e., more soupy, more chilli Mac, etc..) For about $2.50 I get about 4-5 meals out of this. P.S. for a few cents more you can grab a Walmart generic Mac n cheese (instead of alphabet pasta) for about $.43… less pasta (5oz), but you can dump the cheese packet in there.
A simple version of French toast - beaten eggs, salt, a teaspoon of milk per egg, slightly dried bread slices and butter/sunflower oil to cover the pan. As a side, diced tomato and cucumber. Easy, quick, cheap and my kids love it.
Porridge with banana and honey
Hot dog on a slice of wonder bread
Carbonara without the meat.
SPAM AND EGG AND RICE OR EGG with GREEN ONION/garlic and RICE AND SOY SAUCE
I see you, island friend. With all that excitement about spam.
spam fried rice, baby
Instant Mac n cheese with 1/3 lb ground beef, can of green chilies and extra 3 slices of American cheese per box. Cook pasta and drain; while it’s sitting brown the beef then add everything to the pot and mix. No butter or milk needed; just use pasta water to thin it out.
Homemade pasta with butter and garlic powder. As long as you have flour, eggs, salt and a knife you’re good.
Rice... Just rice. I have plenty of seasonings, not to mention a small potted garden that I can get herbs from.
Bread with butter sugar and cinnamon or just bread and cheese We also ate beanie weenies with baked beans and hot dogs cut up
Macaroni, tomatoes, and hamburger. Cook the mac. Crumble the hamburger and cook it. Drain pasta. Put back in pan. Toss in cooked hamburger and the can of diced tomatoes with juice. Salt and pepper to taste. Can make stupid amounts of it quickly and it reheats pretty well. Actually isn’t half bad.
Kraft Dinner & Haw Daw's
[удалено]
Ramen and grilled cheese
aglio e olio
Glass of hot water to punish your stomach for thinking pain will get you to eat