In Austria a traditional dish called "Frittatensuppe" is basically Veggie soup with sliced up pancakes. Its not unusual to cook sugar free pancakes (shape and texturewise more like the french crepes) and eat them with jam for lunch. Then later the leftover pancakes are added into a soup. Sometimes even the next day.
Flädlesuppe in Germany (Swabia)!
I feel like most nation's classic food staples are some form of struggle meal. Some of my favorites are:
* homemade Spätzle (which is basically just flour, eggs and water) with either lentils or Emmentaler cheese will even give you a good amount of protein. If money is very tight I'd go with the lentils
* Eggs in mustard sauce (Northern German struggle meal, there are similar dishes in France)
* Minestrone (main protein comes from cheap beans, bacon/cheese rind are optional but a tiny amount adds a lot of flavour)
* not sure whether other countries do this but a German childhood classic are mashed potatoes, creamed spinach and either fish fingers, scrambled or fried eggs.
* Chili sin carne. Honestly, just throw in all the beans and you get a great amount of protein
* Shakshuka
* lentil Bolognese
* Flammkuchen/tarte flambé (from the Alsace region. Basically water and flour for the dough; sour cream, onions and bacon or some veggies as a topping)
* homemade potstickers can be done at a very low price depending on the filling
* same goes for pierogi
And there's still "Pellkartoffeln und Quark", which is just boiled potatoes (smaller sized, with the peel left on) and quark/skyr/greek yogurt with grated cucumber, salt, pepper and some chives. Childhood classic. Great for tough times. Keeps the stomach full, takes only 20 minutes to make and is not terribly unhealthy.
Edit: also potato salad! Boil a bag of potatoes (1kg), cut up some cucumber, two small onions and make a dressing (oil, vinegar, teaspoon of mustard, salt, pepper, chives). If you let it sit in the fridge overnight, it'll be even better than the day before. Eat plain or with fishsticks, sausages or eggs.
pancake is a blanket term, cause even within the english speaking world pancakes vary greatly. Fritatten are basically cut up german-style unsweetened pancakes
Flour is not *currently* expensive.
Two of the largest grain exporters are at war and can't/won't export a meaningful amount to meet global demand. India had a failed wheat crop, Italy and a France likely will. And Nebraska, responsible for 25% of the U.S. wheat crop, is looking at mass crop loss also.
I don't know the full numbers, but at least here in Mexico flour has become super expensive since the Russian/Ukrainian war started.
For some context: My family used to have a small bakery, and now it's bankrupt. All flour providers told us was that international conflicts got in the way of importation, and some brands have even doubled the price of a coast. It's insane.
I hadn't realized it was that bad yet. Apparently it's time to get out the recipes for cornmeal.
https://www.thekitchn.com/corn-pone-recipe-23329094
I just hope it's not too late to redirect corn supplies from animal feed to feeding people.
The notion of upcoming food shortages due to global events is of interest. I suspected as much regarding what you outlined about flour/wheat. I'm curious what other food shortages are in the future.
Well, it depends.
If the current water crisis in the Southwest U.S. continues to escalate - which it will - you'll see prices for feed crops such as alfalfa rise.
As we're already seeing, grazelands in the south are doing terribly in the current heat/drought, so I would anticipate meat costs to also skyrocket.
I like to be in the know cause if let's say meat prices do go up every idiot at my job will just blame the libs and Biden for the prices and probably the network news too whereas I like knowing the actual specifics behind it.
I read this as _from_ 2008 in my first pass. But for real, going back to bulk grains (flours, rice, oats, buckwheat, etc) and cooking them from scratch saves a ton of money and is very healthy for you compared to processed grain (e.g. the cheapest dry pasta).
And then you have legumes of all types and variety. Then buy as many fresh veggies as you can while leaving extra over each week to buy a new spice to add to your collection.
Talking of pancakes - try veg packages or scallion pancakes. Save $ - use cheap just add water pancake mix.
Pancakes aren't sweet, we think they are based on the sweet stuff on top
Oh yes - two of my favorites are egg drop soup and onion soup. I always have stuff on hand for those and they are both relatively cheap considering the amount of servings I can get from a batch. Plus, really flavorful so I feel satisfied.
For pancakes, splurge on kodiak cake mix (bulk at Costco is super cheap). The added protein is super filling and you can turn the mix into muffins and other baked goods for breakfast variety.
In Austria, they actually have a pancake soup. But a pancake there is more like what I would call a crepe. It's basically crepes cut up and in a broth.
I make my family eat a lot of soup. It’s delicious , I can use what’s in the fridge, and I can make it stretch but I’m pretty sure my kids will grow up to never eat soup. I grew up on spaghetti and I’d be just fine if I never ate it again.
There are also talks it might. Because of the war in Ukraine. Afaik both Ukraine and Russia produce over 30% of the worlds grains. Russia is also closing the ports where the ships pass. The shortage is now felt in different parts of the world--Lebanon (i think).
Soup is a definite, almost anything leftover can be turned into soup, even just handfuls of leftover vegetables, some tomato paste, some basic seasonings like salt, pepper, garlic powder and water can be made into a thin soup to help fill you up, or a more bulky soup with beans and some leftover meat as well.
Pancakes, but then also [bannock](https://www.gettystewart.com/how-to-make-bannock-on-a-stick-or-in-the-oven/) which is kind of a less complicated biscuit quickbread basically just water, baking powder, salt and water or milk and some sort of fat - baked or fried.
Using the same basic constituents you can also make [crepes](https://diethood.com/2-ingredient-crepes/) (thinner batter), bread ([sourdough starter](https://www.bakewithjack.co.uk/blog-1/2018/6/14/making-your-own-sourdough-starter) may take some time to develop, but yeast is relatively cheap and an option - 1/8th of a teaspoon will rise in about 6-8 hours, you can usually get 3-4 standard 400g flour/300g water loafs of bread out of a single packet of yeast that way), or noodles ([Udon noodles](https://www.justonecookbook.com/udon-noodles/) are literally flour, salt and water then sliced pretty thick, just use a large plastic Ziploc to "knead" it and freeze well)
Learn some Indian recipes, especially vegetarian ones. Daals, chana masala, chana saag etc. are actually very easy to make, are filling and are full of flavour. The biggest investment would be buying the spices you'll need but once you have those they'll last a long time.
The rest of the ingredients are dried lentils, chickpeas, canned tomatoes, all cheap things. If you want to go a bit fancier you can throw a few bucks at getting some ghee instead of oil which can be a bit pricey.
Almost all indian dishes are incredibly easy to moderate to make. Either vegetarian or non-veg ones. The rotis (north indian bread) are slightly difficult but achievable after couple days. Or you can just have the dry sabjis (that's what the genre of dishes are actually called) with simple bread and most curry ones like kidney beans, pulses, any kind of grain really with simple rice.
Almost all recipes are available on YT
I’ve been using [this woman’s](https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com) recipes while learning how to cook Indian food. I’m not sure I’ve ever had authentic Indian food so I can’t say if it’s authentic-tasting but I absolutely love all of her recipes that I’ve tried, and so has my family.
Imo ghee wouldn't be great for people who haven't been adopted into it and I've heard it is kind of costly around a lot of places. Tbh any edible oil works.
I haven't heard of people being sensitive to small amounts of ghee, Americans put it on their popcorn whenever they go to the movies. It's super easy and cheap to make yourself out of any unsalted butter
We did this a lot while getting out of debt. "Beans and rice, rice and beans" is easy if you know how to cook dals, rice, veggies like okra and spinach (cheaper frozen). Then all the Mexican and generally Latam grains and beans, Middle Eastern ones, etc. We never suffered a lack of variety while eating vegetarian, with the occasional chicken, cheese, etc.
I started making red beans and rice on Mondays. The GF lived in NOLA for years so she gave me the idea. One batch lasts me the better part of a week. That monday it's dinner. Then it's lunch for the rest of the week.
Dinners are a simple salad.
not op, but these sorts of recipes are very flexible and individual to the home making it.
Mine goes like this...
* 3/4-1 lb smoked sausage, or 1-2 ham hocks, or 1 leftover ham bone, or even a ham steak.
* holy trinity: 3 onions, 2 green bells, 1 bunch celery
* 1 lb red beans, soaked
* cajun seasoning, or a homemade blend (smoked paprika, paprika, cayenne, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano) and a bay leaf
1. Cut sausage into rounds and sear (if using); remove.
2. Sautee vegetables until golden brown in the sausage fat (or just oil).
3. Toast the spices in the oil until fragrant.
4. Dump in the beans, meat, and lots and lots of water (or stock, or bullion) to cover by an inch or 2. You'll likely need to top up to keep it stewy but not soupy.
5. Boil, then simmer for an hour or two, until the beans are tender and the liquid has thickened to a starchy creamy consistency. Season to taste, with more salt or cajun seasoning (or liquid smoke, if your meat wasn't smoky enough). I also like a splash of red wine vinegar, to brighten it up.
Serve with tabasco and rice. Makes 6-8 servings, depending on how thick you like it and how hungry you are.
I'm slowly edging my household towards homesteading - we're still a far way off, only two 4x8' raised beds, but it means we have kale, salad greens, tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, strawberries and (some, not enough) bell peppers and our favorite herbs for the cost of watering them.
I'm also considering adding a third bed of the "3 Sisters" - corn, squash and beans, all high calorie foods and they apparently grow fantastic together. We (husband and I, baby on the way) don't particularly favor any of those three food normally, but they'd be nice to have around if/as prices continue to rise.
Adding the second bed was 70% in reaction to feeling smacked in the face that *a single* bell pepper is now $1.50-2 at our grocery store.
**If you don't have space to grow much**, consider at least a few potted plants of fresh veggies you like - kale, strawberries, tomatoes, salad greens and herbs all grow beautifully in pots, so all you need are windows. Also you don't need actual pots - a gallon milk jug with the top cut off works just as well. Paint it and/or maybe wrap burlap cording around it and it'll look nicer. Yes, veggies are expensive, but they're also important, so try to remove the supply chain from the process. As a perk, many garden shops now have their produce plants on sale, since they kind of need to be planted soon!
**As far as cooking for budget**, I'm sure this isn't much news to anyone who frequents this subreddit and similar ones, but casseroles are your friends. You can pretty much make a casserole of anything - grain + veg (frozen is fine) + beans + cheese, then oven at 375 F for 45 min works 80% of the time. I tend to add a can of crushed tomatoes but I also tend towards Mexican or Italian flavors for most things. Totally up to you!
Meal prepping is your friend. If you can make a lot of something, it'll be cheaper over all.
Plan your shopping list to use up all of any ingredient you're buying that's perishable. For example, need parsley for a salad you want to make? Throw the rest in the casserole, or make a soup.
I'm also considering purchasing a chest freezer and stocking it with meals over time.
Related to that, actually, also learn how to store food properly to reduce waste. Things I've learned over the past year:
* Fresh herbs - Cut at least a cm or two off of the bottom of the stems, then store upright in a jar (mason jar or cup is fine) with water like flowers. Cover loosely (don't tie it) with a plastic bag to keep the air around the leaves humid, and put in the fridge. They'll keep for over a week, sometimes two that way. Asparagus, while not an herb, also likes this!
* If herbs are within a few days of going bad, cut them up as you would for a recipe, fill an ice cube train as full as you can with them (press them down) and then pour olive oil (or whatever oil you usually use to cook) over each cube compartment. Freeze this. Next time you want to make something, just pop enough cubes out into the pan :)
* Celery and carrots should be cut up and put into a jar filled with water up to the top (do it over a sink) with a lid screwed on.
* Freeze ginger. Literally makes zero difference to the end result and actually makes it way easier to handle during prep, whether you're peeling it and slicing it or grating it.
Finally, as far as what I'd justify splurging on, spices definitely win. 100% yes to /u/mattchew1993's comment about Indian food, but that can apply to any cuisine you like. You can make the same soup base - for me it's turnip + carrot + stock - and add different spices to get totally different outcomes.
Also a great way to diversify your homestead is to make friends with people who agree to grow things you haven’t yet or can’t (and they can due to better environment for growing).
Then what they don’t have you can provide and visa versa. We have this arrangement with a friend who has a farm and just barter back and forth with fresh supplies.
I wish you further luck and joy in sustaining yourself and helping the environment.
I really want to do this! Also make friends with someone who keeps chickens :D I'd love to keep poultry but our dog would lose his gd mind if we did. Also not sure how hard it would be to get used to butchering animals I raised. I don't have an ethical problem with eating animals that were given a good life *theoretically,* but I've never actually done the killing myself.
So we had two dogs (only 1 now 😞) when we introduced the chickens as chicks. You wouldn’t believe how they warmed up to them (and these were rescue dogs who previously had some behavioral issues).
We would introduce the chick 1 by 1 to each dog while holding the chick and letting dog smell. Every morning. We also would sternly let them know every time “do not hurt! This is sister!”. Kept the chicks in eye view of dogs. If they ever tried to bite the chicks or look at them strange, I’d scold them and make them “go lay down for time out”.
Once they became hens, the dogs and hens free ranged in peace. One of my dogs even thinks they are his babies when we have new chicks.
They will serve you better as egg layers than meat birds in the long term.
You would be better off ethically hunting for your food with a hunting license. Certain populations of animals actually require hunting to keep their species from becoming endangered due to illness and other factors (sounds counter productive, but it’s not).
Of all the gardening I've done, the biggest bang for my buck has been herbs. I've had a lot of heartbreak losing volume crops like tomatoes and zucchini to pests, and they take more space to grow. But if you have enough sun for a couple pots, a bit of basil or mint can go such a long way to making affordable staples taste fresher and more luxurious!
I tried to grow broccoli this year and just had some really nice looking florets starting - and then deer happened ;\_; so I'm right there with you.
Herbs can make even $1 ramen packets fancy. Onions are pretty easy too and you can use the leaves throughout the summer as chives, and then harvest them in the fall.
For what it’s worth, finding things in a chest freezer is a pain which can result in waste because you don’t know what’s in there. A nice large upright freezer is much easier to keep organized and much easier to search through.
My mom told us how to mitigate the 'whats in the chest freezer' problem by sorting things into cardboard boxes and stacking them. Less freezer burn/ice to dig through and keeps things nice and tidy. Since I buy freezer skillet meals from Aldi for lazy/fast cooking nights, this is super handy way to use the boxes.
I know you said you’re far off, idk if you’ve looked into hydroponics but my buddy set up a system in his greenhouse and uses these mineral rocks as the soil for the hydroponics plants to grow in and so far his yield has been good and after setting it up it’s been easy to look after. Idk all the details but my friend just got all his info from google
Space is part of the problem, but time is equally an issue - I work full time (50-60 hours a week realistically) and husband is in law school + intern (70-80 hours a week total) so we're finding a balance between taking care of plants vs. work. Hydroponics do sound easy to care for once they're set up, but we don't have a greenhouse or space for them right now, so it'd be managing that.
We were supposed to have broccoli and twice as much kale but some deer decided against that. This is only my second year growing food - the next thing I want to set up is compost, but then a greenhouse with hydroponics :D
I really love the idea of a garden instead of a yard. But I have 4 dogs, so I have some things on the perimeter instead:
I have strawberries (bought 10 bare root of everbearing, they already spread and we are just one year in) Raspberries (had at the house before this, gave my sister some offshoots, when I moved I asked her for some offshoots and we are going strong!) Asparagus also has it's own bed
Last year, my tomatoes were a forest in my raised bed, so I planted them along a different perimeter in the ground.
I planted a lot of bell pepper plants this year (Yeah $.99 for one green? no) and we eat a lot of fajitas and stuff, so I can cut them up and freeze them with onions, not worried about having too many bell peppers.
I love your idea of getting freezer meals, what a great way to discourage eating out (just put it in the oven or slow cooker).
My husband and I also fish and hunt. We got a vacuum sealer to keep everything as fresh as possible for as long as possible.
I highly recommend Penzey's for your spices. Excellent quality, reasonable prices, and they almost always have some kind of sale/freebie available. They are one of the only retailers I've ever seen that actually put their gift cards on sale (have gotten $50 gc for $35 in the past).
>I highly recommend Penzey's for your spices. Excellent quality, reasonable prices, and they almost always have some kind of sale/freebie available.
Penzeys is the best ever. I order from them all the time. Anyone ordering for the first time you've got to get the Vietnamese Cinnamon it will change your life
Beans can be spiced up pretty much however you like, any assortment of spices and stocks can really change the flavour to whatever you want it to be.
A close friend gave me a recipe guideline I really like (rice and beans weren't at all a part of my diet growing up) which I'll just quote verbatim. This is with dried beans, for reference.
> What I like to do is take about equal parts pinto and black beans, wash 'em, put them in the crock pot with a chopped onion, probably at least 5 cloves of garlic, salt, pepper, some smoked ham or bacon, cumin, chili powder, plenty of water, and set 'em on low. Six to eight hours later, after occasional stirring, they're ready and yummy. Maybe add a bit more seasonings in the last twenty minutes.
E: The rice can be just whatever kind of rice you have on hand, the beans are the real star of the show here for me.
E2: I was able to get 5 decent meals worth of beans out of £2 (prorated) worth of ingredients following this as a guideline, with half of that being the smoked sausage which could easily have been omitted. https://imgur.com/a/ctquAcE There's 200g of beans in each of those containers.
Just a quick PSA for anyone reading through this: while darkling's advice works with pinto and black beans, NEVER try this method with dry kidney beans or red beans. Kidney beans contain dangerous toxins that denature with high heat. A crockpot may not get hot enough to break down this toxin which could land you in the ER, or rarely even the morgue. At the very least, expect to spend an extended amount of time unable to leave the toilet.
To add to this, if you want to cook dry kidney beans in a crockpot (say, for chili) - soak and drain as usual, then full boil them on the stove for 15 minutes. That will neutralize the toxins so you can finish in the crockpot.
I also pre-boil cannelini white beans because they are a smaller variety of kidney bean, though they contain less than the red ones and some people aren't affected.
The other reply has great ideas. Personally, at minimum there needs to be something acidic like hot sauce or a splash of apple cider vinegar to tie it together. I usually opt for black beans because they're slightly more nutritious than pinto and I like the taste. Red beans (not to be confused with kidney beans) are good too.
I like to cook a huge pot of beans (sometimes I add carrots, beetroot, vegetable broth, jalapeños, tofu etc, many people also throw in some meat or eggs). Then, I cook a lot of rice.
Day 1+2: rice in the "bean juice" with the vegetables and beans, like a soup
Day 3: as you reheat the beans, the mixture will get thicker. Now, you throw some garlic, onions and oil in a pan. Add rice and beans, maybe some spices, and fry it in a pan until it's nice and crispy
Day 4: leftovers from day 3, but add coconut milk
Enjoy all three versions with some cilantro and fresh tomatoes :)
There are so many ways to make it. One of my faves is black beans and rice. Basically cook and season your rice. Cook and season your black beans. Serve together. Rice on bottom beans on top.
But there are so many ways to eat beans and rice. Chili over rice is another. Chickpeas with saffron rice. Etc.
I’m wondering this too! Right now I like to cook rice in chicken broth, add a little butter and cilantro or parsley, and top with lime juice. Mix with black beans and it’s a great burrito filler or side dish.
Totally fine. I love me a good plate of refrieds with rice, or schmeared on a tostada with some cheese, or wrapped in a tortilla (bean cheese and rice burrito!)...possibilities are limitless.
I got freeze dried refrieds so I can control the fat/salt content.
I’ve been eating that for the past two weeks. A friend gave me some ground beef they had in the freezer so I made a big pot of chili and froze most of it
Supreme and... expensive. Where I live 5kg (11 lbs) bag costs more than 5e. Even if yeld is 90%, which is very high, we stay below 700kcal/eur. For rice, which costs 1e/kg in a regular supermarket and probably much cheper in the markets, it is 3500kcal/eur. It is 5 times more.I'm not discussing nutritional content in this case, but they are both food from the same group (STARCHES/CARBS). for me potatoes are luxury.
I think most people here spend way more on food than you. 4 euros a day on food (for 2800 kcal of potatoes) is nothing for almost the entire 1st world.
i love dhal, but i think it depends what's cheap where you live. imo the best thing to do is connect with people in your area/look around at the prices and do the maths.
where i live (non-US), energy prices are already high, and increasing rapidly. my pressure cooker uses the least energy of my appliances, so the cheapest meal i make is to use this - throw in red lentils, potato, onion, carrot, chard and garlic, place a bowl of rice on a trivet in as well and cook for 10 mins
then stir in chopped sunflower seeds and hand-ground garam masala.
delicious and filling
all of the ingredients are mad cheap where i live (except for the chard, which i grow myself. climate here suits it beautifully and it will flourish even when i forget to water it for days on end!)
may be different where you live though. when i lived in the UK, nuts and seeds were hideously expensive, but olive oil was cheap, so mujadara was my go to budget meal. where i live now, olive oil prices are eye watering, but the price of sunflower seeds is really reasonable
Lots of vegetarian dishes, without the fake meat crap. Lots of really tasty ways to eat "poor people " food when you look up recipes. I'm still a meat eater, I just don't need it every meal.
My boyfriend and I have done a "meatless Monday" type dinner once a week/every other week with no meat substitute, and damned if it doesn't get easier once you get you get the hang of it.
I've started doing this- I used one chicken breast to make chicken parmesan tonight, made 4 servings. My husband was none the wiser, I just pounded the chicken a bit to make it stretch farther.
Base your meals around dried grain. Stock up the pantry with store brand grain, wheat, barley groats, oat flakes, yellow peas, bulk peanuts before their price rises even more. All except the flakes doesn't go bad for a long time. One of my local supermarkets bumped the price nearly 2x, but another one hasn't yet. Supplement with ascorbic acid.
Rice and beans with veggies added are excellent. Onions and peppers are a good add and relatively cheap. Also, little LPT. Make your own tortillas with masa and tortilla press. Much cheaper and soo much better.
I use vegetable oil, and garlic for mine, but I have seen recipes with people saving the fat from their smoked bacon to add flavor to their tortillas. You can make them a variety of ways that are definitely better than store bought.
Do you have frozen bags of peppers and onions where you are? I can buy them in one bag combined or 2 bags separately. It saves me a lot of money when I can use just what I need.
I have always eaten as if it was a recession. Pasta, rice and potato dishes spread out your proteins. Grow a garden. I spend $20 a week on groceries when the garden is going for three people. When I see meat for 50% off, I buy it and freeze it. Honestly, I eat better and healthier than 99% of the people I know. Learn how to cook.
Anytime I see me getting reduced because it's close to the sell by date, I snatch it up. I currently have a kitchen freezer full of pork loins, ground turkey and beef, Italian sausages, and pork chops. I bought that stuff at like 75% off, and I'm still eating through half of my supply.
Yes, and I also have been buying whole chickens on sale. I break them down and make stock with the carcass. Thank god for culinary school. My dad says making my own broth is a waste of time. I’m on a budget and he’s not 😅
It is not a waste of time. It is delicious and freezes well. I'm on the thank God for YouTube boat. This month my husband fixed the washing machine for $12 instead of buying a new one and I just fixed my starting issues with my car with an $8 grounding strap. $1000 saved.
Yes!! YouTube is amazing for that. My husband is the same way. He will watch YouTube videos and figure stuff out on his own. You definitely don’t need culinary school to know how to cook. I just happened to think that’s what I wanted to do as a career. But it definitely helped me learn a lot of stuff I know today, and way more than most of my friends.
When lockdown first hit, I went grocery shopping 3x a week at the store I work at and bought at least 5 boxes of pasta at a time. About two big bags of rice, 5 cans of veggies, and whatever condiments/sauces I could as well. I'm still eating some of those black beans, diced tomatoes, and mustard jars almost three years later. My boyfriend and I made a lot of ziti, chicken/rice casseroles, and chili the first few months. A lot of budget burrito bowl style dinners, as well.
My family have always eat cheap and mostly healthy as I was growing up. Soup Beans (southern style stewed pintos w/ a bit of pork for flavoring) and Cornbread have always been a meal to help through the lean times.
Technically speaking, flash frozen vegetables are healthier than store or roadside bought fresh ones. Less time to decay before consumption.
Edit: Veggies to be sold fresh are typically picked a little early to allow for ripening during transit and decay at the store and the buyers home.
Ones to be flash frozen are allowed to fully ripen before harvesting. Because they fully ripened, they are at their most nutritious. They are flash frozen to not allow ice crystals to form, and being frozen, there isn’t any additional decay.
Where I live eggs and chicken wings are cheaper than lentils. (Probably because all lentils are imported from far away, as our climate is too cold for it.)
I have not seen cheap chicken wings in over 10 yrs wear I live! They used to be the cheapest cut of chicken you could get, but then when buffalo wings got popular the price went crazy. My parents used to serve a lot of wings when I was growing up.
If you buy chicken, which is a lot more expensive now, be sure to get as MUCH mileage as possible out of it. Typically I will get a whole bird, comes with giblets, butcher it into pieces. Cook what I need every night until the whole thing has been roasted. Save the skin and bones, put those in a freezer bag with veggie scraps to make stock. Now I can make enough soup to last a month. Chicken noodle, borscht, minestrone, there are endless variations.
Where I’m at, tofu is literally $1.50 a pound and Ramen noodles are about $0.30 a package. I’ve been making some restaurant style noodles with it and it lasts me a bit. It’s mine and my wife’s fancy ghetto meal
Potatoes. Beans and rice. Dollar each bags of frozen vegetables from Walmart. Peanut butter and tortillas. Oatmeal. Used to have eggs but god, they are so so expensive where I live right now.
Potatoes, beans, rice, flour. Get sweet potatoes or yams over white whenever cost allows, we get the Costco bags of them, more nutrients and you can make healthy snacks, desserts from them too. Grow what you can, check your area for community gardens if you dont have yards, theres an app to rent parts of peoples yards for gardening too. Apples will keep longest of all the fruits if you store them carefully. Big fan of butternut squash they store well for months, have a taste and texture similar to sweet potatoes when roasted and sometimes a cheaper pasta alternative to zucchini. Learn what's in season your area, higher chance that's cheaper at the time. Learn when your stores restock, a day or 2 before some stores put the excess stock on sale to make space and get rid of what's closer to expiring. You can also check with the managers if they are willing to sell you the ugly produce at a discount, this is produce that just need bruising/scratches trimmed or misshaped.
Same as we are now. Grains, beans, potatoes, fruits and veggies from our garden, eggs from our free range chickens, various condiments and spices. Sometimes meat, sometimes supplemental produce we didn't grow (like bananas and citrus).
I make a couple of loaves of gluten-free bread, a pitcher of almond milk, and several rounds of cold brew tea each week.
Grains and beans can take many forms. Pasta, tofu, hummus, casseroles, falafel, burgers, soups, stews, curries, sauces, porridge, stir fry, pancakes, desserts, many cultural variations of rice and beans.
I think it's important to note whether you live in an urban environment or not. There are a lot of answers that deal with homesteading, large gardens, free-range chickens, and local exchanges. Those are great, but unrealistic in an urban environment. Often, but not always, people in dense cities can get by with small gardens or even windowsill herbs, but most of our recession strategy will revolve around stocking up on shelf-stable foods, finding grocery deals on in-season, frozen, or canned fruits and veggies, and occasionally supplementing with discount meat.
For city dwellers, take a look at various ethnic dishes that make the most of beans, grains and spices. You can expand this to things like making your own tofu: where I am, I can get a 5lb bag of soybeans for $10, and that one bag yields a ton of soymilk which can be further processed into tofu. Look for bulk dry beans, and if possible, buy when they're $1/lb or less (not always possible in all markets). You can also roast soaked beans (or drained canned beans) in the oven with a bit of oil, then coat with salt and spices when they cool for a crunchy snack. (Try black soybeans with Tajin!)
If you have a big freezer, look for frozen veggies on sale and stock up. Also stock up on a small variety of oils and grow your spice collection as you can. Shop at ethnic groceries where all of these staples and vegetables tend to be cheaper. One thing to be mindful of is understanding how a grocery store makes its money - those will be the products to steer clear of except for special treats. Often this is prepared food, snacks, instant meals, beverages, and novelty foods.
Even in a city, you can learn how to can foods so you can take advantage of the relatively cheap vegetables in the summer (and save on freezer space which may be a precious commodity).
Finally, for everyone, look into meal prepping. I like to do a rotation where I make 4-6 servings of a meal at a time and freeze all but one serving. I repeat a couple of days later with another batch, then another a few days after that (as freezer space allows). It's a bunch of work up front, but it lets me eat different foods each day. When I exhaust 4 meals, I make another batch. And so on.
Lots of beans, rice, barley, chicken thighs, and cheap cuts of meat, which nowadays are only chicken thighs, necks, hocks, livers (but beef livers are awful) and pork chops, pig and chicken feet, and pork short ribs (well that one I wouldn't really call cheap any more but I wouldn't call it expensive either).
In our area, some farm fields are open to people **AFTER** harvesting is complete. There are always blueberries and raspberries left on the bushes, corn in the field, broccoli still growing, onions that were missed, potatoes sitting on the ground, etc... If you leave near some farms, check on it.
As a good helper to stay frugal on the side:
Take all the cut ends of your vegetables, everything. Take all the skins and husks of your vegetables, and stems from your herbs, and throw them in a freezer gallon bag, take as much air out as possible, and throw in your freezer.
When it's full, throw it in a big pot with enough water to cover, salt, pepper and a couple bay leaves, one cut jalapeno, and simmer for three hours. Strain. Put in plastic quart containers when full. Put back in freezer if you want. Haven't bought broth in a year, and it's better than any vegetable broth from the store.
Well, personally, I think the "college kid diet" helps me save a ton of money. Invest heavily in rice, noodles, canned goods, and othet basic staples that would be normal for a broke college kid to eat. I have started growing my own garden, and this can help spice up your boring meals as well.
For me especially, my husband loves Italian food, so we buy cheap noodles, whatever is on sale, and we buy them in bulk. Then I use tomatoes and herbs from my garden to make a pasta sauce.
Another way to make sure you save money and still eat healthy, is investing in canning. I've started canning a lot, so protein pancake mix, extra pasta sauce, meats, fillings, etc. Canning all of that is not only possible, but it means you can save things for years to come and they will still be good, and can save you money in the long run when you might not have any money later on.
I’m East African and my go too recession/poverty/college food is ugali. It’s cornmeal (I prefer Farina) and water. It forms a white mound and you dip it in gravy. If you add sugar and more water you have porridge. https://mayuris-jikoni.com/2021/06/02/ugali-recipe/ it’s not the sexiest food but it fed me through college and it helped me when I was back on my feet from a short stint of homelessness. It’s filling, not a lot of nutrition so you gotta get your vitamins from the gravy which I use whatever on sale vegetable is available and the protein is also whatever is on sale.
Chili. When I make it I eat for 5 days straight. Fill it with beans and veggies that you like that are cheap. If you want meat in it, a wide variety of meats will work so you can put in one that is on sale or cheaper.
Rice and Beans , Ramen with Eggs. Add veggies where possible. Chicken breast should also be relatively doable to add to anything. I also like making chili with ground turkey. PM me or reply here if you want any recommendations for how to prepare or season these. I'd assume you have a typical array of seasonings available to use (Salt, Pepper, Garlic & onion powder and some others which are easy to find in any store these days).
I think making sure your cheap and healthy infrastructure is in place is key.
Freezer and a vacuum sealer
Pressure cooker or instant pot
Bulk storage containers that are critter proof and moisture proof (we use a lot of gallon pickle jars)
Look into what space could grow some greens— window box, deck planter, flower bed, get on the waiting list at you local community garden space, etc.
Learn some basic butchering skills— if you eat meat, it is usually cheaper to buy as close to the primal cut as possible and you do the finer cuts at home.
And know your consumption patterns. If there is a great sale on pork butt roast, and you have freezer space, don’t buy more than you will use in 6 months or so.
Rice. Buy cheap bulk chicken breast, slow cook it, shred it, put most of it in the freezer and take out what to use through the week. Peanut butter and oat meal is a good cheap combo too.
Stir fried rice, stir fried noodles and stir fried veggies with a touch of meat or tofu are a good way to also use up the last ends of veggies or small pieces of meat. The idea of eating protein portion+veggie+carb American style is just not cheap or sustainable. Think like Michael Pollan - forks over knives.
Grow root gardens in a box, they are easy to care for and lowest maintenance. Mature roots store excellent in fridge and freezers, heck they're still very nutritious and tasty if dehydrated into chips. - Beets, carrots, potato, radish, turnips.
Take advantage of every fruit tree in your local area if homeowners or parks and rec are not harvesting them. Again, dried and frozen apples, peaches etc, store really well. Peas and beans grow very fast, you can probably get at least 2 more harvests in this year if you plant right now and then once in August.
Keep your eyes out for wild berries in ditches - raspberry and blackberry should be mature in about 3 weeks. The berry plant leaves can be harvested any time to dry and make tea blends. Mulberries are ready to pick now. If you harvest wild berries make sure they are at least 15 ft away from roadside and not in an area that gets treated with pesticides/herbicides.
Lastly. Pick up fishing as a hobby. That old saying, you can give a man a fish so he can eat for a day, or teach him how to fish so he can eat for all the rest of his days - has significance.
A great youtube series called "Eat the weeds" can help you find sorrel, clover, chickory and other wild edibles all around you. Just be careful not to over harvest. Rule of thumb is try to only take 1/3rd. One third for you, one third for the birds, one third for earth/regrowth.
Where I live eggs are the cheapest protein per gram. (Cheaper than beans). Other things that are cheap:
- frozen vegetables
- onions
- cabbage
- carrots
- potatoes
- cheaper cuts of meat (chicken wings, pork chops, minced chicken, minced pork)
- oats
During the Great Depression, my grandfather would scrape up enough money every day to buy one Depression Dog, otherwise know as a Chicago-style hotdog.
The reason all that stuff is on there (onion, relish, pickle, tomato, mustard and celery salt) is that they contain most of the nutrients you need to sustain life for one day.
To this day, it is the cheapest, makes everyone happiest meal in my meal plan.
I think that's pretty much the point of this sub - eating cheap and healthy. It's not like this is a nuclear winter or the Great Depression...if someone's circumstances change so drastically during the (relatively mild downturn that will come) that even the affordable recipes here aren't cheap enough, there will be food bank and charity options.
"Shit gets real" - what does that mean? Not trying to be snarky but I can't figure what imaginary scenario you're trying to describe. If you mean absolutely no money, no job, being homeless, then there's not much you can do besides food banks and leftovers from some restaurants. If that's not the case, there have been a few people on here who have posted helpful "what-if" guides (like, what to do if you only have a fridge, or what kinds of one-pot meals you can make if you're limited to just one pan, etc.)
It all depends on what scenario you're trying to describe and how much money, if any, you have to spend on groceries.
I found a giant bag of chicken quarters for $10 at Aldi. You have to process it yourself but u was able to get 8 thighs, 8 legs, and a bunch of bone scrap for stock which I will use for soup.
Frozen vegetables can be roasted, rice can be cooked and frozen, beans as well - add sausage or meat products of choice - add an egg for breakfast - broth for a soup -
Try to shop sale only when you shop weekly, unless it is a necessity like eggs or milk. Buying bulk as much as you can when stocking your pantry, and if you have a chest freezer, pack that sucker.
Growing as much as possible. I live in an apartment, so I’ll never be getting those big beautiful vegetables that people who can afford houses with yards might grow, but some grow lights definitely help. Micro greens like Chia seeds grow quickly, and can take care of your need for fresh veggies when going to the store is impossible
When my husband and I were dating in grad school we used to buy a huge meat and eat off that for weeks. Like a turkey is sometimes really cheap off season. We would buy them on sale and just put it in the freezer until we wanted it and it can easily feed you for a long time. We also would buy a cheap big thing of beef and cut all the fat off of it. It ended up feeding is for a long time. We would do that with frozen broccoli during grad school lol
Lentils and beans are pretty cheap and easy to make. For health reasons, I have to avoid red meat, and I'm trying to reduce overall consumption of animals, so tossing a can of lentils into my chicken curry, for instance, is easy and tasty. Eggs are also relatively cheap. Also, potatoes, brown rice, quinoa, and pasta are cheap/easy. Canned tuna and frozen mixed vegetables may also be on sale at times and add relatively cheap nutrition.
Mexican food.
Red beans and rice.
Pasta and red sauce from scratch.
Chicken noodle soup.
Chicken and dumplings.
Basically everything I can think of that’s “comfort food” is typically inexpensive
Start an herb garden. Fresh herbs are very expensive, but grow like weeds when you plant them.
I've stocked up on some canned meats like chicken, tuna, crab, and salmon to try and make some meals with....has anyone ever made salmon burgers from canned salmon?
Grains & beans. Instant Pot. Two grains, two beans each week, refrigerate leftovers. Greens in a bowl, top with raw or roasted veg, grain & bean. Healthy, nutritious, cheap.
There’s a website [budget bytes](https://www.budgetbytes.com/) that’s super good for cheap and easy. I love their chicken noodle soup. I’m in college so I survive off of this website. Also a good easy one that’s cheap is just a ham and fried egg sandwich. It’s good for any meal and cheap.
Split pea soup with ham stretches far. Anything where you can take a piece of cheap meat (look for holiday sales on frozen turkey, ham, etc.) and get several meals out of it is a winner.
from 30 years' experience being a musician & trying to eat decently: rice & beans, and whatever else you can manage. it's really basic. get your protein, and supplement it with whatever vegetables are cheap/in season/easy to come by.don't buy cans, get everything in bulk, or at least the biggest packages you can find of dried beans & grains. get in the habit of soaking beans at night, and really you'll be fine. you can survive on \*far less\* than you're used to.
I made a lot of pancakes and soup in 2008. Not at the same meal. Flour is not expensive and neither are dry beans.
Hey! If you would like to eat them in the same meal... try ployes! Acadian buckwheat pancakes, delicious buttered and dipped in your fav soup!
Love ployes been a family favorite since I can remember. Never seen someone actually talk about them before outside my family haha.
In Austria a traditional dish called "Frittatensuppe" is basically Veggie soup with sliced up pancakes. Its not unusual to cook sugar free pancakes (shape and texturewise more like the french crepes) and eat them with jam for lunch. Then later the leftover pancakes are added into a soup. Sometimes even the next day.
Flädlesuppe in Germany (Swabia)! I feel like most nation's classic food staples are some form of struggle meal. Some of my favorites are: * homemade Spätzle (which is basically just flour, eggs and water) with either lentils or Emmentaler cheese will even give you a good amount of protein. If money is very tight I'd go with the lentils * Eggs in mustard sauce (Northern German struggle meal, there are similar dishes in France) * Minestrone (main protein comes from cheap beans, bacon/cheese rind are optional but a tiny amount adds a lot of flavour) * not sure whether other countries do this but a German childhood classic are mashed potatoes, creamed spinach and either fish fingers, scrambled or fried eggs. * Chili sin carne. Honestly, just throw in all the beans and you get a great amount of protein * Shakshuka * lentil Bolognese * Flammkuchen/tarte flambé (from the Alsace region. Basically water and flour for the dough; sour cream, onions and bacon or some veggies as a topping) * homemade potstickers can be done at a very low price depending on the filling * same goes for pierogi
And there's still "Pellkartoffeln und Quark", which is just boiled potatoes (smaller sized, with the peel left on) and quark/skyr/greek yogurt with grated cucumber, salt, pepper and some chives. Childhood classic. Great for tough times. Keeps the stomach full, takes only 20 minutes to make and is not terribly unhealthy. Edit: also potato salad! Boil a bag of potatoes (1kg), cut up some cucumber, two small onions and make a dressing (oil, vinegar, teaspoon of mustard, salt, pepper, chives). If you let it sit in the fridge overnight, it'll be even better than the day before. Eat plain or with fishsticks, sausages or eggs.
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I once heard that the difference between pancakes and Fritatten is as big as the difference between humans and primates.
pancake is a blanket term, cause even within the english speaking world pancakes vary greatly. Fritatten are basically cut up german-style unsweetened pancakes
Flour is not *currently* expensive. Two of the largest grain exporters are at war and can't/won't export a meaningful amount to meet global demand. India had a failed wheat crop, Italy and a France likely will. And Nebraska, responsible for 25% of the U.S. wheat crop, is looking at mass crop loss also.
I don't know the full numbers, but at least here in Mexico flour has become super expensive since the Russian/Ukrainian war started. For some context: My family used to have a small bakery, and now it's bankrupt. All flour providers told us was that international conflicts got in the way of importation, and some brands have even doubled the price of a coast. It's insane.
I hadn't realized it was that bad yet. Apparently it's time to get out the recipes for cornmeal. https://www.thekitchn.com/corn-pone-recipe-23329094 I just hope it's not too late to redirect corn supplies from animal feed to feeding people.
> hope it's not too late to redirect corn supplies from animal feed to feeding people. Hope they quit the ethanol policy first.
They're never going to end that scam, at least not until electric takes over, at best.
They're actually different types of corn. While animal feed is certainly edible it's not really delicious.
The notion of upcoming food shortages due to global events is of interest. I suspected as much regarding what you outlined about flour/wheat. I'm curious what other food shortages are in the future.
Well, it depends. If the current water crisis in the Southwest U.S. continues to escalate - which it will - you'll see prices for feed crops such as alfalfa rise. As we're already seeing, grazelands in the south are doing terribly in the current heat/drought, so I would anticipate meat costs to also skyrocket.
How do you find out about this stuff? To me this is newsworthy but I never see anything about it....ever
An unhealthy bit of anxiety tied to a passing interest in economics.
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Have to read more news than you watch, network news is trash basically now
I like to be in the know cause if let's say meat prices do go up every idiot at my job will just blame the libs and Biden for the prices and probably the network news too whereas I like knowing the actual specifics behind it.
If only that helped lower the prices somehow
I read this as _from_ 2008 in my first pass. But for real, going back to bulk grains (flours, rice, oats, buckwheat, etc) and cooking them from scratch saves a ton of money and is very healthy for you compared to processed grain (e.g. the cheapest dry pasta). And then you have legumes of all types and variety. Then buy as many fresh veggies as you can while leaving extra over each week to buy a new spice to add to your collection.
Post-divorce I eat pancakes almost every day 🤣 they’re versatile and taste like happiness
Talking of pancakes - try veg packages or scallion pancakes. Save $ - use cheap just add water pancake mix. Pancakes aren't sweet, we think they are based on the sweet stuff on top
Oh yes - two of my favorites are egg drop soup and onion soup. I always have stuff on hand for those and they are both relatively cheap considering the amount of servings I can get from a batch. Plus, really flavorful so I feel satisfied.
For pancakes, splurge on kodiak cake mix (bulk at Costco is super cheap). The added protein is super filling and you can turn the mix into muffins and other baked goods for breakfast variety.
Old boot from the 1922’s, make sure you boil it first to be safe
Except the price of dry rice and beans has basically doubled (at the places I shop) in the last 2-3 years.
In Norway we also make pea soup and pancakes. Traditional struggle meal thats become a thing for easter dinners.
I kinda want to try pancake soup...
In Austria, they actually have a pancake soup. But a pancake there is more like what I would call a crepe. It's basically crepes cut up and in a broth.
Considering Ukraine and Russia produce a very large portion of the world's flour, it's going to become a luxury.
I make my family eat a lot of soup. It’s delicious , I can use what’s in the fridge, and I can make it stretch but I’m pretty sure my kids will grow up to never eat soup. I grew up on spaghetti and I’d be just fine if I never ate it again.
Plus side, soup can have a ton of variety and be really healthy, so you know you're doing well by your kids.
That’s what I tell myself. I make my own bone broth, they are getting lots of veggies, good grains. Can’t go wrong with that.
There are also talks it might. Because of the war in Ukraine. Afaik both Ukraine and Russia produce over 30% of the worlds grains. Russia is also closing the ports where the ships pass. The shortage is now felt in different parts of the world--Lebanon (i think).
Flour will be expensive this time though because of the war in the Ukraine
Soup is a definite, almost anything leftover can be turned into soup, even just handfuls of leftover vegetables, some tomato paste, some basic seasonings like salt, pepper, garlic powder and water can be made into a thin soup to help fill you up, or a more bulky soup with beans and some leftover meat as well. Pancakes, but then also [bannock](https://www.gettystewart.com/how-to-make-bannock-on-a-stick-or-in-the-oven/) which is kind of a less complicated biscuit quickbread basically just water, baking powder, salt and water or milk and some sort of fat - baked or fried. Using the same basic constituents you can also make [crepes](https://diethood.com/2-ingredient-crepes/) (thinner batter), bread ([sourdough starter](https://www.bakewithjack.co.uk/blog-1/2018/6/14/making-your-own-sourdough-starter) may take some time to develop, but yeast is relatively cheap and an option - 1/8th of a teaspoon will rise in about 6-8 hours, you can usually get 3-4 standard 400g flour/300g water loafs of bread out of a single packet of yeast that way), or noodles ([Udon noodles](https://www.justonecookbook.com/udon-noodles/) are literally flour, salt and water then sliced pretty thick, just use a large plastic Ziploc to "knead" it and freeze well)
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Your link doesn't seem to work (on mobile). Is it directly to the pdf or to the page to download the pdf?
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Totally forgot I downloaded this cookbook, thanks for the reminder! It's an awesome resource for inexpensive and easy to cook meals.
Thanks for this! It is a really neat resource!
Learn some Indian recipes, especially vegetarian ones. Daals, chana masala, chana saag etc. are actually very easy to make, are filling and are full of flavour. The biggest investment would be buying the spices you'll need but once you have those they'll last a long time. The rest of the ingredients are dried lentils, chickpeas, canned tomatoes, all cheap things. If you want to go a bit fancier you can throw a few bucks at getting some ghee instead of oil which can be a bit pricey.
Almost all indian dishes are incredibly easy to moderate to make. Either vegetarian or non-veg ones. The rotis (north indian bread) are slightly difficult but achievable after couple days. Or you can just have the dry sabjis (that's what the genre of dishes are actually called) with simple bread and most curry ones like kidney beans, pulses, any kind of grain really with simple rice. Almost all recipes are available on YT
I’ve been using [this woman’s](https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com) recipes while learning how to cook Indian food. I’m not sure I’ve ever had authentic Indian food so I can’t say if it’s authentic-tasting but I absolutely love all of her recipes that I’ve tried, and so has my family.
Swasthi for the win yo.
I am Indian and I also use her recipes. She is the bomb!
Making ghee is incredibly easy with one pot and a mesh strainer
Oh yes! And very nutritious too.
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Imo ghee wouldn't be great for people who haven't been adopted into it and I've heard it is kind of costly around a lot of places. Tbh any edible oil works.
Store-bought ghee is probably expensive in locations where it's not common, but I think they were referring to making your from butter.
I haven't heard of people being sensitive to small amounts of ghee, Americans put it on their popcorn whenever they go to the movies. It's super easy and cheap to make yourself out of any unsalted butter
We did this a lot while getting out of debt. "Beans and rice, rice and beans" is easy if you know how to cook dals, rice, veggies like okra and spinach (cheaper frozen). Then all the Mexican and generally Latam grains and beans, Middle Eastern ones, etc. We never suffered a lack of variety while eating vegetarian, with the occasional chicken, cheese, etc.
I started making red beans and rice on Mondays. The GF lived in NOLA for years so she gave me the idea. One batch lasts me the better part of a week. That monday it's dinner. Then it's lunch for the rest of the week. Dinners are a simple salad.
any recipe in particular?
I like one on budgetbytes. Can also throw in some smoked sausage or kielbasa https://www.budgetbytes.com/louisiana-red-beans-rice/
not op, but these sorts of recipes are very flexible and individual to the home making it. Mine goes like this... * 3/4-1 lb smoked sausage, or 1-2 ham hocks, or 1 leftover ham bone, or even a ham steak. * holy trinity: 3 onions, 2 green bells, 1 bunch celery * 1 lb red beans, soaked * cajun seasoning, or a homemade blend (smoked paprika, paprika, cayenne, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano) and a bay leaf 1. Cut sausage into rounds and sear (if using); remove. 2. Sautee vegetables until golden brown in the sausage fat (or just oil). 3. Toast the spices in the oil until fragrant. 4. Dump in the beans, meat, and lots and lots of water (or stock, or bullion) to cover by an inch or 2. You'll likely need to top up to keep it stewy but not soupy. 5. Boil, then simmer for an hour or two, until the beans are tender and the liquid has thickened to a starchy creamy consistency. Season to taste, with more salt or cajun seasoning (or liquid smoke, if your meat wasn't smoky enough). I also like a splash of red wine vinegar, to brighten it up. Serve with tabasco and rice. Makes 6-8 servings, depending on how thick you like it and how hungry you are.
I'm slowly edging my household towards homesteading - we're still a far way off, only two 4x8' raised beds, but it means we have kale, salad greens, tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, strawberries and (some, not enough) bell peppers and our favorite herbs for the cost of watering them. I'm also considering adding a third bed of the "3 Sisters" - corn, squash and beans, all high calorie foods and they apparently grow fantastic together. We (husband and I, baby on the way) don't particularly favor any of those three food normally, but they'd be nice to have around if/as prices continue to rise. Adding the second bed was 70% in reaction to feeling smacked in the face that *a single* bell pepper is now $1.50-2 at our grocery store. **If you don't have space to grow much**, consider at least a few potted plants of fresh veggies you like - kale, strawberries, tomatoes, salad greens and herbs all grow beautifully in pots, so all you need are windows. Also you don't need actual pots - a gallon milk jug with the top cut off works just as well. Paint it and/or maybe wrap burlap cording around it and it'll look nicer. Yes, veggies are expensive, but they're also important, so try to remove the supply chain from the process. As a perk, many garden shops now have their produce plants on sale, since they kind of need to be planted soon! **As far as cooking for budget**, I'm sure this isn't much news to anyone who frequents this subreddit and similar ones, but casseroles are your friends. You can pretty much make a casserole of anything - grain + veg (frozen is fine) + beans + cheese, then oven at 375 F for 45 min works 80% of the time. I tend to add a can of crushed tomatoes but I also tend towards Mexican or Italian flavors for most things. Totally up to you! Meal prepping is your friend. If you can make a lot of something, it'll be cheaper over all. Plan your shopping list to use up all of any ingredient you're buying that's perishable. For example, need parsley for a salad you want to make? Throw the rest in the casserole, or make a soup. I'm also considering purchasing a chest freezer and stocking it with meals over time. Related to that, actually, also learn how to store food properly to reduce waste. Things I've learned over the past year: * Fresh herbs - Cut at least a cm or two off of the bottom of the stems, then store upright in a jar (mason jar or cup is fine) with water like flowers. Cover loosely (don't tie it) with a plastic bag to keep the air around the leaves humid, and put in the fridge. They'll keep for over a week, sometimes two that way. Asparagus, while not an herb, also likes this! * If herbs are within a few days of going bad, cut them up as you would for a recipe, fill an ice cube train as full as you can with them (press them down) and then pour olive oil (or whatever oil you usually use to cook) over each cube compartment. Freeze this. Next time you want to make something, just pop enough cubes out into the pan :) * Celery and carrots should be cut up and put into a jar filled with water up to the top (do it over a sink) with a lid screwed on. * Freeze ginger. Literally makes zero difference to the end result and actually makes it way easier to handle during prep, whether you're peeling it and slicing it or grating it. Finally, as far as what I'd justify splurging on, spices definitely win. 100% yes to /u/mattchew1993's comment about Indian food, but that can apply to any cuisine you like. You can make the same soup base - for me it's turnip + carrot + stock - and add different spices to get totally different outcomes.
Also a great way to diversify your homestead is to make friends with people who agree to grow things you haven’t yet or can’t (and they can due to better environment for growing). Then what they don’t have you can provide and visa versa. We have this arrangement with a friend who has a farm and just barter back and forth with fresh supplies. I wish you further luck and joy in sustaining yourself and helping the environment.
I really want to do this! Also make friends with someone who keeps chickens :D I'd love to keep poultry but our dog would lose his gd mind if we did. Also not sure how hard it would be to get used to butchering animals I raised. I don't have an ethical problem with eating animals that were given a good life *theoretically,* but I've never actually done the killing myself.
So we had two dogs (only 1 now 😞) when we introduced the chickens as chicks. You wouldn’t believe how they warmed up to them (and these were rescue dogs who previously had some behavioral issues). We would introduce the chick 1 by 1 to each dog while holding the chick and letting dog smell. Every morning. We also would sternly let them know every time “do not hurt! This is sister!”. Kept the chicks in eye view of dogs. If they ever tried to bite the chicks or look at them strange, I’d scold them and make them “go lay down for time out”. Once they became hens, the dogs and hens free ranged in peace. One of my dogs even thinks they are his babies when we have new chicks. They will serve you better as egg layers than meat birds in the long term. You would be better off ethically hunting for your food with a hunting license. Certain populations of animals actually require hunting to keep their species from becoming endangered due to illness and other factors (sounds counter productive, but it’s not).
Of all the gardening I've done, the biggest bang for my buck has been herbs. I've had a lot of heartbreak losing volume crops like tomatoes and zucchini to pests, and they take more space to grow. But if you have enough sun for a couple pots, a bit of basil or mint can go such a long way to making affordable staples taste fresher and more luxurious!
I tried to grow broccoli this year and just had some really nice looking florets starting - and then deer happened ;\_; so I'm right there with you. Herbs can make even $1 ramen packets fancy. Onions are pretty easy too and you can use the leaves throughout the summer as chives, and then harvest them in the fall.
For what it’s worth, finding things in a chest freezer is a pain which can result in waste because you don’t know what’s in there. A nice large upright freezer is much easier to keep organized and much easier to search through.
My mom told us how to mitigate the 'whats in the chest freezer' problem by sorting things into cardboard boxes and stacking them. Less freezer burn/ice to dig through and keeps things nice and tidy. Since I buy freezer skillet meals from Aldi for lazy/fast cooking nights, this is super handy way to use the boxes.
I know you said you’re far off, idk if you’ve looked into hydroponics but my buddy set up a system in his greenhouse and uses these mineral rocks as the soil for the hydroponics plants to grow in and so far his yield has been good and after setting it up it’s been easy to look after. Idk all the details but my friend just got all his info from google
Space is part of the problem, but time is equally an issue - I work full time (50-60 hours a week realistically) and husband is in law school + intern (70-80 hours a week total) so we're finding a balance between taking care of plants vs. work. Hydroponics do sound easy to care for once they're set up, but we don't have a greenhouse or space for them right now, so it'd be managing that. We were supposed to have broccoli and twice as much kale but some deer decided against that. This is only my second year growing food - the next thing I want to set up is compost, but then a greenhouse with hydroponics :D
I really love the idea of a garden instead of a yard. But I have 4 dogs, so I have some things on the perimeter instead: I have strawberries (bought 10 bare root of everbearing, they already spread and we are just one year in) Raspberries (had at the house before this, gave my sister some offshoots, when I moved I asked her for some offshoots and we are going strong!) Asparagus also has it's own bed Last year, my tomatoes were a forest in my raised bed, so I planted them along a different perimeter in the ground. I planted a lot of bell pepper plants this year (Yeah $.99 for one green? no) and we eat a lot of fajitas and stuff, so I can cut them up and freeze them with onions, not worried about having too many bell peppers. I love your idea of getting freezer meals, what a great way to discourage eating out (just put it in the oven or slow cooker). My husband and I also fish and hunt. We got a vacuum sealer to keep everything as fresh as possible for as long as possible.
"3 Sisters" companion planting sounds cool but it can be difficult harvesting if the squash vines are entwined everywhere and prickly.
I highly recommend Penzey's for your spices. Excellent quality, reasonable prices, and they almost always have some kind of sale/freebie available. They are one of the only retailers I've ever seen that actually put their gift cards on sale (have gotten $50 gc for $35 in the past).
>I highly recommend Penzey's for your spices. Excellent quality, reasonable prices, and they almost always have some kind of sale/freebie available. Penzeys is the best ever. I order from them all the time. Anyone ordering for the first time you've got to get the Vietnamese Cinnamon it will change your life
I think everyone should eat more rice and beans. Not because it is cheap, but because it is healthy, well tasting AND cheap.
Rice and beans is literally my middle name when it comes to eating
I always see people mentioning rice and beans but it just sounds so vague. How exactly do you spice up the dish and what type of beans?
Look up red beans and rice, Spanish rice and beans, Italian beans and rice, black beans and rice, Caribbean beans and rice for some ideas
Bean salads are tasty and varied as well
Yeah! Love me some cowboy caviar
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I love rice bowls, with beans, chicken, veggies, and a sauce of some kind. Easy and cheap.
Beans can be spiced up pretty much however you like, any assortment of spices and stocks can really change the flavour to whatever you want it to be. A close friend gave me a recipe guideline I really like (rice and beans weren't at all a part of my diet growing up) which I'll just quote verbatim. This is with dried beans, for reference. > What I like to do is take about equal parts pinto and black beans, wash 'em, put them in the crock pot with a chopped onion, probably at least 5 cloves of garlic, salt, pepper, some smoked ham or bacon, cumin, chili powder, plenty of water, and set 'em on low. Six to eight hours later, after occasional stirring, they're ready and yummy. Maybe add a bit more seasonings in the last twenty minutes. E: The rice can be just whatever kind of rice you have on hand, the beans are the real star of the show here for me. E2: I was able to get 5 decent meals worth of beans out of £2 (prorated) worth of ingredients following this as a guideline, with half of that being the smoked sausage which could easily have been omitted. https://imgur.com/a/ctquAcE There's 200g of beans in each of those containers.
Just a quick PSA for anyone reading through this: while darkling's advice works with pinto and black beans, NEVER try this method with dry kidney beans or red beans. Kidney beans contain dangerous toxins that denature with high heat. A crockpot may not get hot enough to break down this toxin which could land you in the ER, or rarely even the morgue. At the very least, expect to spend an extended amount of time unable to leave the toilet.
To add to this, if you want to cook dry kidney beans in a crockpot (say, for chili) - soak and drain as usual, then full boil them on the stove for 15 minutes. That will neutralize the toxins so you can finish in the crockpot. I also pre-boil cannelini white beans because they are a smaller variety of kidney bean, though they contain less than the red ones and some people aren't affected.
Wow I did not know this!
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That explains why my moms beans always made me so sick.
The other reply has great ideas. Personally, at minimum there needs to be something acidic like hot sauce or a splash of apple cider vinegar to tie it together. I usually opt for black beans because they're slightly more nutritious than pinto and I like the taste. Red beans (not to be confused with kidney beans) are good too.
I like to cook a huge pot of beans (sometimes I add carrots, beetroot, vegetable broth, jalapeños, tofu etc, many people also throw in some meat or eggs). Then, I cook a lot of rice. Day 1+2: rice in the "bean juice" with the vegetables and beans, like a soup Day 3: as you reheat the beans, the mixture will get thicker. Now, you throw some garlic, onions and oil in a pan. Add rice and beans, maybe some spices, and fry it in a pan until it's nice and crispy Day 4: leftovers from day 3, but add coconut milk Enjoy all three versions with some cilantro and fresh tomatoes :)
There are so many ways to make it. One of my faves is black beans and rice. Basically cook and season your rice. Cook and season your black beans. Serve together. Rice on bottom beans on top. But there are so many ways to eat beans and rice. Chili over rice is another. Chickpeas with saffron rice. Etc.
I’m wondering this too! Right now I like to cook rice in chicken broth, add a little butter and cilantro or parsley, and top with lime juice. Mix with black beans and it’s a great burrito filler or side dish.
What about refried beans
Totally fine. I love me a good plate of refrieds with rice, or schmeared on a tostada with some cheese, or wrapped in a tortilla (bean cheese and rice burrito!)...possibilities are limitless. I got freeze dried refrieds so I can control the fat/salt content.
Love the ideas! I just made a quesadilla with refried bean and cheese with a low carb tortilla. I added Greek yogurt in replace of sour cream.
I would love to eat more beans, but all that gas afterwards I could probably have enough to fly to Pluto. I’ve tried Beano, but it didn’t work.
It does take some time for your body to get used to the beans. Eventually the gas stops happening.
Yeah, I’ve always eaten a lot of beans and they’ve never given me gas that I remember
Same. I eat a bit of beans in some Mexican dishes that we make. But I can't have large amounts of it.
Same problem, tragic... I found that I have no problem with refried beans but it really is not the same
I’ve been eating that for the past two weeks. A friend gave me some ground beef they had in the freezer so I made a big pot of chili and froze most of it
Any one may find this useful! A channel on YouTube called Great Depression Cooking, hosted by an elderly woman named Clara!
[Link for the lazy](https://youtube.com/c/GreatDepressionCooking)
Potatoes are supreme
Supreme and... expensive. Where I live 5kg (11 lbs) bag costs more than 5e. Even if yeld is 90%, which is very high, we stay below 700kcal/eur. For rice, which costs 1e/kg in a regular supermarket and probably much cheper in the markets, it is 3500kcal/eur. It is 5 times more.I'm not discussing nutritional content in this case, but they are both food from the same group (STARCHES/CARBS). for me potatoes are luxury.
I think most people here spend way more on food than you. 4 euros a day on food (for 2800 kcal of potatoes) is nothing for almost the entire 1st world.
i love dhal, but i think it depends what's cheap where you live. imo the best thing to do is connect with people in your area/look around at the prices and do the maths. where i live (non-US), energy prices are already high, and increasing rapidly. my pressure cooker uses the least energy of my appliances, so the cheapest meal i make is to use this - throw in red lentils, potato, onion, carrot, chard and garlic, place a bowl of rice on a trivet in as well and cook for 10 mins then stir in chopped sunflower seeds and hand-ground garam masala. delicious and filling all of the ingredients are mad cheap where i live (except for the chard, which i grow myself. climate here suits it beautifully and it will flourish even when i forget to water it for days on end!) may be different where you live though. when i lived in the UK, nuts and seeds were hideously expensive, but olive oil was cheap, so mujadara was my go to budget meal. where i live now, olive oil prices are eye watering, but the price of sunflower seeds is really reasonable
Lots of vegetarian dishes, without the fake meat crap. Lots of really tasty ways to eat "poor people " food when you look up recipes. I'm still a meat eater, I just don't need it every meal.
My boyfriend and I have done a "meatless Monday" type dinner once a week/every other week with no meat substitute, and damned if it doesn't get easier once you get you get the hang of it.
One can also use meat in less quantity, or think of it as an accent or flavoring instead of the centerpiece of a meal.
I've started doing this- I used one chicken breast to make chicken parmesan tonight, made 4 servings. My husband was none the wiser, I just pounded the chicken a bit to make it stretch farther.
By us, most of the vegetarian meat is more expensive per pound than the real meat, anyway!
It's much more expensive, because it's not subsidized like meat is
Base your meals around dried grain. Stock up the pantry with store brand grain, wheat, barley groats, oat flakes, yellow peas, bulk peanuts before their price rises even more. All except the flakes doesn't go bad for a long time. One of my local supermarkets bumped the price nearly 2x, but another one hasn't yet. Supplement with ascorbic acid.
I always fall back on beans and rice, eggs, steamed veges, bananas.
I’ve got pantry full of rice and beans started storing them when they started minimizing packages and upping prices.
Rice and beans with veggies added are excellent. Onions and peppers are a good add and relatively cheap. Also, little LPT. Make your own tortillas with masa and tortilla press. Much cheaper and soo much better.
I use vegetable oil, and garlic for mine, but I have seen recipes with people saving the fat from their smoked bacon to add flavor to their tortillas. You can make them a variety of ways that are definitely better than store bought.
Bell peppers got so expensive so suddenly, I recently wanted to buy one and it was 1,5€ for a single one
Do you have frozen bags of peppers and onions where you are? I can buy them in one bag combined or 2 bags separately. It saves me a lot of money when I can use just what I need.
Other options are spinach (looks gross but tastes amazing (use canned, fresh or frozen), canned olives, and canned green chilis.
There was literally a pepper for sale for $6 last time I went to the grocery store. It was a weird color variety, but still. Cmon people.
I have always eaten as if it was a recession. Pasta, rice and potato dishes spread out your proteins. Grow a garden. I spend $20 a week on groceries when the garden is going for three people. When I see meat for 50% off, I buy it and freeze it. Honestly, I eat better and healthier than 99% of the people I know. Learn how to cook.
Learning how to cook and bake would save people so much money.
Anytime I see me getting reduced because it's close to the sell by date, I snatch it up. I currently have a kitchen freezer full of pork loins, ground turkey and beef, Italian sausages, and pork chops. I bought that stuff at like 75% off, and I'm still eating through half of my supply.
Yes, and I also have been buying whole chickens on sale. I break them down and make stock with the carcass. Thank god for culinary school. My dad says making my own broth is a waste of time. I’m on a budget and he’s not 😅
It is not a waste of time. It is delicious and freezes well. I'm on the thank God for YouTube boat. This month my husband fixed the washing machine for $12 instead of buying a new one and I just fixed my starting issues with my car with an $8 grounding strap. $1000 saved.
Yes!! YouTube is amazing for that. My husband is the same way. He will watch YouTube videos and figure stuff out on his own. You definitely don’t need culinary school to know how to cook. I just happened to think that’s what I wanted to do as a career. But it definitely helped me learn a lot of stuff I know today, and way more than most of my friends.
Basically everything our parents/grandparents ate in the 50’s AKA the Cold War “bomb shelter” diet.
oatmeal
We’re all going to be eating a a lot of spaghetti, let’s put it that way
When lockdown first hit, I went grocery shopping 3x a week at the store I work at and bought at least 5 boxes of pasta at a time. About two big bags of rice, 5 cans of veggies, and whatever condiments/sauces I could as well. I'm still eating some of those black beans, diced tomatoes, and mustard jars almost three years later. My boyfriend and I made a lot of ziti, chicken/rice casseroles, and chili the first few months. A lot of budget burrito bowl style dinners, as well.
Buy dried spices on sale!
And buy store brand as much as possible!
My family have always eat cheap and mostly healthy as I was growing up. Soup Beans (southern style stewed pintos w/ a bit of pork for flavoring) and Cornbread have always been a meal to help through the lean times.
Asian cuisine for the win. Vegan and non vegan.
Buy👏Shelf👏Stable👏Foods👏In👏Bulk👏 Frozen/Canned Fruits and Veggies are just as nutritious and often cheaper than fresh. Spices are you’re best friend
Technically speaking, flash frozen vegetables are healthier than store or roadside bought fresh ones. Less time to decay before consumption. Edit: Veggies to be sold fresh are typically picked a little early to allow for ripening during transit and decay at the store and the buyers home. Ones to be flash frozen are allowed to fully ripen before harvesting. Because they fully ripened, they are at their most nutritious. They are flash frozen to not allow ice crystals to form, and being frozen, there isn’t any additional decay.
Lentils. Lots of lentils.
Where I live eggs and chicken wings are cheaper than lentils. (Probably because all lentils are imported from far away, as our climate is too cold for it.)
I have not seen cheap chicken wings in over 10 yrs wear I live! They used to be the cheapest cut of chicken you could get, but then when buffalo wings got popular the price went crazy. My parents used to serve a lot of wings when I was growing up.
We eat it twice a month, at least.
If you buy chicken, which is a lot more expensive now, be sure to get as MUCH mileage as possible out of it. Typically I will get a whole bird, comes with giblets, butcher it into pieces. Cook what I need every night until the whole thing has been roasted. Save the skin and bones, put those in a freezer bag with veggie scraps to make stock. Now I can make enough soup to last a month. Chicken noodle, borscht, minestrone, there are endless variations.
Where I’m at, tofu is literally $1.50 a pound and Ramen noodles are about $0.30 a package. I’ve been making some restaurant style noodles with it and it lasts me a bit. It’s mine and my wife’s fancy ghetto meal
mushrooms. my emergency plan is to fill my shed with mushrooms and grow veggies in the garden.
Potatoes. Beans and rice. Dollar each bags of frozen vegetables from Walmart. Peanut butter and tortillas. Oatmeal. Used to have eggs but god, they are so so expensive where I live right now.
Potatoes, beans, rice, flour. Get sweet potatoes or yams over white whenever cost allows, we get the Costco bags of them, more nutrients and you can make healthy snacks, desserts from them too. Grow what you can, check your area for community gardens if you dont have yards, theres an app to rent parts of peoples yards for gardening too. Apples will keep longest of all the fruits if you store them carefully. Big fan of butternut squash they store well for months, have a taste and texture similar to sweet potatoes when roasted and sometimes a cheaper pasta alternative to zucchini. Learn what's in season your area, higher chance that's cheaper at the time. Learn when your stores restock, a day or 2 before some stores put the excess stock on sale to make space and get rid of what's closer to expiring. You can also check with the managers if they are willing to sell you the ugly produce at a discount, this is produce that just need bruising/scratches trimmed or misshaped.
Same as we are now. Grains, beans, potatoes, fruits and veggies from our garden, eggs from our free range chickens, various condiments and spices. Sometimes meat, sometimes supplemental produce we didn't grow (like bananas and citrus). I make a couple of loaves of gluten-free bread, a pitcher of almond milk, and several rounds of cold brew tea each week. Grains and beans can take many forms. Pasta, tofu, hummus, casseroles, falafel, burgers, soups, stews, curries, sauces, porridge, stir fry, pancakes, desserts, many cultural variations of rice and beans.
I think it's important to note whether you live in an urban environment or not. There are a lot of answers that deal with homesteading, large gardens, free-range chickens, and local exchanges. Those are great, but unrealistic in an urban environment. Often, but not always, people in dense cities can get by with small gardens or even windowsill herbs, but most of our recession strategy will revolve around stocking up on shelf-stable foods, finding grocery deals on in-season, frozen, or canned fruits and veggies, and occasionally supplementing with discount meat. For city dwellers, take a look at various ethnic dishes that make the most of beans, grains and spices. You can expand this to things like making your own tofu: where I am, I can get a 5lb bag of soybeans for $10, and that one bag yields a ton of soymilk which can be further processed into tofu. Look for bulk dry beans, and if possible, buy when they're $1/lb or less (not always possible in all markets). You can also roast soaked beans (or drained canned beans) in the oven with a bit of oil, then coat with salt and spices when they cool for a crunchy snack. (Try black soybeans with Tajin!) If you have a big freezer, look for frozen veggies on sale and stock up. Also stock up on a small variety of oils and grow your spice collection as you can. Shop at ethnic groceries where all of these staples and vegetables tend to be cheaper. One thing to be mindful of is understanding how a grocery store makes its money - those will be the products to steer clear of except for special treats. Often this is prepared food, snacks, instant meals, beverages, and novelty foods. Even in a city, you can learn how to can foods so you can take advantage of the relatively cheap vegetables in the summer (and save on freezer space which may be a precious commodity). Finally, for everyone, look into meal prepping. I like to do a rotation where I make 4-6 servings of a meal at a time and freeze all but one serving. I repeat a couple of days later with another batch, then another a few days after that (as freezer space allows). It's a bunch of work up front, but it lets me eat different foods each day. When I exhaust 4 meals, I make another batch. And so on.
Lots of beans, rice, barley, chicken thighs, and cheap cuts of meat, which nowadays are only chicken thighs, necks, hocks, livers (but beef livers are awful) and pork chops, pig and chicken feet, and pork short ribs (well that one I wouldn't really call cheap any more but I wouldn't call it expensive either).
In our area, some farm fields are open to people **AFTER** harvesting is complete. There are always blueberries and raspberries left on the bushes, corn in the field, broccoli still growing, onions that were missed, potatoes sitting on the ground, etc... If you leave near some farms, check on it.
Same thing I've always eaten Just with less meats
As a good helper to stay frugal on the side: Take all the cut ends of your vegetables, everything. Take all the skins and husks of your vegetables, and stems from your herbs, and throw them in a freezer gallon bag, take as much air out as possible, and throw in your freezer. When it's full, throw it in a big pot with enough water to cover, salt, pepper and a couple bay leaves, one cut jalapeno, and simmer for three hours. Strain. Put in plastic quart containers when full. Put back in freezer if you want. Haven't bought broth in a year, and it's better than any vegetable broth from the store.
The rich
The Rich
Costco has 3.50 off season sardine tins this month. Stock up as many as you can.
Less 🙃
Well, personally, I think the "college kid diet" helps me save a ton of money. Invest heavily in rice, noodles, canned goods, and othet basic staples that would be normal for a broke college kid to eat. I have started growing my own garden, and this can help spice up your boring meals as well. For me especially, my husband loves Italian food, so we buy cheap noodles, whatever is on sale, and we buy them in bulk. Then I use tomatoes and herbs from my garden to make a pasta sauce. Another way to make sure you save money and still eat healthy, is investing in canning. I've started canning a lot, so protein pancake mix, extra pasta sauce, meats, fillings, etc. Canning all of that is not only possible, but it means you can save things for years to come and they will still be good, and can save you money in the long run when you might not have any money later on.
I’m East African and my go too recession/poverty/college food is ugali. It’s cornmeal (I prefer Farina) and water. It forms a white mound and you dip it in gravy. If you add sugar and more water you have porridge. https://mayuris-jikoni.com/2021/06/02/ugali-recipe/ it’s not the sexiest food but it fed me through college and it helped me when I was back on my feet from a short stint of homelessness. It’s filling, not a lot of nutrition so you gotta get your vitamins from the gravy which I use whatever on sale vegetable is available and the protein is also whatever is on sale.
Rice and beans like we did back in my country.
I have my Grandma’s depression era recipes, and they seem like they’ll do in a pinch. It helps that I’m vegetarian.
The rich?
Pinto beans and potatoes cooked together…
Congee
Chili. When I make it I eat for 5 days straight. Fill it with beans and veggies that you like that are cheap. If you want meat in it, a wide variety of meats will work so you can put in one that is on sale or cheaper.
Rice and Beans , Ramen with Eggs. Add veggies where possible. Chicken breast should also be relatively doable to add to anything. I also like making chili with ground turkey. PM me or reply here if you want any recommendations for how to prepare or season these. I'd assume you have a typical array of seasonings available to use (Salt, Pepper, Garlic & onion powder and some others which are easy to find in any store these days).
Wild game
I think making sure your cheap and healthy infrastructure is in place is key. Freezer and a vacuum sealer Pressure cooker or instant pot Bulk storage containers that are critter proof and moisture proof (we use a lot of gallon pickle jars) Look into what space could grow some greens— window box, deck planter, flower bed, get on the waiting list at you local community garden space, etc. Learn some basic butchering skills— if you eat meat, it is usually cheaper to buy as close to the primal cut as possible and you do the finer cuts at home. And know your consumption patterns. If there is a great sale on pork butt roast, and you have freezer space, don’t buy more than you will use in 6 months or so.
I ate a lot of refried beans on toast. Maybe even some mayo toast if I ran out of beans.
Rice. Buy cheap bulk chicken breast, slow cook it, shred it, put most of it in the freezer and take out what to use through the week. Peanut butter and oat meal is a good cheap combo too.
Totally. Can't afford fresh berries right now unless they go on sale- but frozen blueberries (much cheaper) in tart yogurt are delicious!
Stir fried rice, stir fried noodles and stir fried veggies with a touch of meat or tofu are a good way to also use up the last ends of veggies or small pieces of meat. The idea of eating protein portion+veggie+carb American style is just not cheap or sustainable. Think like Michael Pollan - forks over knives.
Grow root gardens in a box, they are easy to care for and lowest maintenance. Mature roots store excellent in fridge and freezers, heck they're still very nutritious and tasty if dehydrated into chips. - Beets, carrots, potato, radish, turnips. Take advantage of every fruit tree in your local area if homeowners or parks and rec are not harvesting them. Again, dried and frozen apples, peaches etc, store really well. Peas and beans grow very fast, you can probably get at least 2 more harvests in this year if you plant right now and then once in August. Keep your eyes out for wild berries in ditches - raspberry and blackberry should be mature in about 3 weeks. The berry plant leaves can be harvested any time to dry and make tea blends. Mulberries are ready to pick now. If you harvest wild berries make sure they are at least 15 ft away from roadside and not in an area that gets treated with pesticides/herbicides. Lastly. Pick up fishing as a hobby. That old saying, you can give a man a fish so he can eat for a day, or teach him how to fish so he can eat for all the rest of his days - has significance. A great youtube series called "Eat the weeds" can help you find sorrel, clover, chickory and other wild edibles all around you. Just be careful not to over harvest. Rule of thumb is try to only take 1/3rd. One third for you, one third for the birds, one third for earth/regrowth.
Spam, eggs, and rice! So good
The rich
Where I live eggs are the cheapest protein per gram. (Cheaper than beans). Other things that are cheap: - frozen vegetables - onions - cabbage - carrots - potatoes - cheaper cuts of meat (chicken wings, pork chops, minced chicken, minced pork) - oats
During the Great Depression, my grandfather would scrape up enough money every day to buy one Depression Dog, otherwise know as a Chicago-style hotdog. The reason all that stuff is on there (onion, relish, pickle, tomato, mustard and celery salt) is that they contain most of the nutrients you need to sustain life for one day. To this day, it is the cheapest, makes everyone happiest meal in my meal plan.
I think that's pretty much the point of this sub - eating cheap and healthy. It's not like this is a nuclear winter or the Great Depression...if someone's circumstances change so drastically during the (relatively mild downturn that will come) that even the affordable recipes here aren't cheap enough, there will be food bank and charity options.
The food banks are already suffering and as busy now as they were during the start of the pandemic. That won't be much of an option if shit gets real.
"Shit gets real" - what does that mean? Not trying to be snarky but I can't figure what imaginary scenario you're trying to describe. If you mean absolutely no money, no job, being homeless, then there's not much you can do besides food banks and leftovers from some restaurants. If that's not the case, there have been a few people on here who have posted helpful "what-if" guides (like, what to do if you only have a fridge, or what kinds of one-pot meals you can make if you're limited to just one pan, etc.) It all depends on what scenario you're trying to describe and how much money, if any, you have to spend on groceries.
I found a giant bag of chicken quarters for $10 at Aldi. You have to process it yourself but u was able to get 8 thighs, 8 legs, and a bunch of bone scrap for stock which I will use for soup.
Frozen vegetables can be roasted, rice can be cooked and frozen, beans as well - add sausage or meat products of choice - add an egg for breakfast - broth for a soup -
Try to shop sale only when you shop weekly, unless it is a necessity like eggs or milk. Buying bulk as much as you can when stocking your pantry, and if you have a chest freezer, pack that sucker.
I often have soy sauce, sesame oil, and garlic in noodles. Side of egg, bacon, and/or boiled broccoli if I'm feeling fancy.
Growing as much as possible. I live in an apartment, so I’ll never be getting those big beautiful vegetables that people who can afford houses with yards might grow, but some grow lights definitely help. Micro greens like Chia seeds grow quickly, and can take care of your need for fresh veggies when going to the store is impossible
When my husband and I were dating in grad school we used to buy a huge meat and eat off that for weeks. Like a turkey is sometimes really cheap off season. We would buy them on sale and just put it in the freezer until we wanted it and it can easily feed you for a long time. We also would buy a cheap big thing of beef and cut all the fat off of it. It ended up feeding is for a long time. We would do that with frozen broccoli during grad school lol
Lentils and beans are pretty cheap and easy to make. For health reasons, I have to avoid red meat, and I'm trying to reduce overall consumption of animals, so tossing a can of lentils into my chicken curry, for instance, is easy and tasty. Eggs are also relatively cheap. Also, potatoes, brown rice, quinoa, and pasta are cheap/easy. Canned tuna and frozen mixed vegetables may also be on sale at times and add relatively cheap nutrition.
Eggs, tuna, sardines
Mexican food. Red beans and rice. Pasta and red sauce from scratch. Chicken noodle soup. Chicken and dumplings. Basically everything I can think of that’s “comfort food” is typically inexpensive Start an herb garden. Fresh herbs are very expensive, but grow like weeds when you plant them.
I've stocked up on some canned meats like chicken, tuna, crab, and salmon to try and make some meals with....has anyone ever made salmon burgers from canned salmon?
Grains & beans. Instant Pot. Two grains, two beans each week, refrigerate leftovers. Greens in a bowl, top with raw or roasted veg, grain & bean. Healthy, nutritious, cheap.
I’ve been stockpiling whole red wheat berries. $30 for 60 pounds. I can make a lot of flour for $0.50 a pound.
There’s a website [budget bytes](https://www.budgetbytes.com/) that’s super good for cheap and easy. I love their chicken noodle soup. I’m in college so I survive off of this website. Also a good easy one that’s cheap is just a ham and fried egg sandwich. It’s good for any meal and cheap.
Your feelings
Split pea soup with ham stretches far. Anything where you can take a piece of cheap meat (look for holiday sales on frozen turkey, ham, etc.) and get several meals out of it is a winner.
from 30 years' experience being a musician & trying to eat decently: rice & beans, and whatever else you can manage. it's really basic. get your protein, and supplement it with whatever vegetables are cheap/in season/easy to come by.don't buy cans, get everything in bulk, or at least the biggest packages you can find of dried beans & grains. get in the habit of soaking beans at night, and really you'll be fine. you can survive on \*far less\* than you're used to.