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Due to a combination of inflation, supply-chain disruptions, and tariffs on certain foreign imports, food prices have steadily risen since 2020.
In the US, for example, food prices — which includes both food at home (groceries) and restaurant orders — increased 2.2% from February 2023 to February 2024, and the previous one-year period saw a spike of 9.5%.
So when Reddit user WhatIsThisWhereAmI made a post on the platform's forum 'Cooking,' asking people what's their preferred budget meal, they immediately got plenty of answers. Here are some of the most upvoted ones.
Image credits: WhatIsThisWhereAmI
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Keep your house stocked with potatoes, onions, rice, beans, and canned tomatoes. Add whatever vegetables and/or meat is on sale to your weekly trip. With those 5 items you can have a variety of meals and they are perfect staples for whatever you are able to add.
Keep your scraps in a plastic bag in the freezer and use it to make stock. Just don’t add scraps from broccoli, cabbage, potatoes, or cruciferous vegetables as it’ll make your stock bitter.
You can seriously save every part of your onion, carrots, celery, etc to use for stock.
nancy 1 year ago
As a student, i went for weeks having a baked potato for dinner (and ramen for lunch).
Astro 1 year ago
I recently discovered shakshuka - poached eggs cooked in tomato sauce with seasonings :) add a piece of toast or two to dip/scoop with and it’s a surprisingly cheap and tasty meal!
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David 1 year ago
So... basically - SOUP. The "NEW" poverty food is soup. I'm guessing most of this thread is going to be about basic foods that are not at all new. We might even hear from Mexican / Hispanic people saying beans and rice make affordable filler foods. /S
Astro 1 year ago
This article is not about foods that are “new.” It’s about foods that are now cheaper than they used to be. Back in the day I was told cereal and milk was the cheapest breakfast, now eggs are actually cheaper than that. So eggs are the “new poverty food.” Make sense? Hope that helps. 😊
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Kathy Richardson 1 year ago
These have been staples my entire life, not just when money was tight.
MushroomHead22 1 year ago
this has always been the poverty food. its not something new in 2024.
columbokateUK 1 year ago
And tastes so much better than shop bought stock. (I always add a clove of garlic to mine too).
RELATED:
#2
People talk about rice and beans a lot , but no one talks about other legumes. Chickpeas and all kinds of lentils are incredibly cheap if bought dry. Buying in bulk from an ethnic store makes them even cheaper.
David 1 year ago
Lentils are high in fiber and protein, which makes you feel full and nutritious, and just mix them in all sorts of stews
Astro 1 year ago
I’ve started pureeing a can of chickpeas into a lot of my soups, stews and sauces :) like spaghetti sauce! Adds extra protein, texture and flavour if you make sure all the flavours go together! Actually even making a pasta sauce out of puréed chickpeas, homemade stock and seasonings can be really good :) I’ve had times where I have nothing but a can of chickpeas and some noodles, my spice cupboard and an onion in the house and I’ve still made a very yummy pasta
Load More Replies... TheAmericanAmerican 1 year ago
Awwww yea! I've been eating 1 can of Chickpeas + 1 can of kidney beans with a simple homemade dressing for lunch at work for over a year now! Less than 2 bucks per meal with the added benefits of LOTS of protein and fiber has me feeling great!
Kira Okah 1 year ago
I know how people react to "wash your rice", but I am going to be just as serious here - if you are buying dried chickpeas and lentils, before soaking them you must wash these too.
Salty_Sasquatch 1 year ago
Absolutely. Double check them as you slowly drain them. I've found 2 stones (granted in about 30 years of cooking with lentils) that were approximately the same size as the lentils.
Load More Replies... Astro 1 year ago
I like to keep homemade hummus on hand for sandwiches and dipping veggies in :) cucumber and hummus is one of my favourite snacks, except cucumbers are now like $3.49 each in my part of the world.
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Ephemera Image 1 year ago (edited)
I use dry beans, chickpeas, rice and cheap veg all the time. Sweet potatoes are great, and highly nutritious.I make soups, curries and chilis and freeze. Add pasta, dirt cheap and delicious. I find most of the prepared food rather tasteless.
Salty_Sasquatch 1 year ago
Not to mention more expensive in both sodium additives and money!
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Lady Miss Pie 1 year ago
I make a lentil stew with vegetables that is so good and hearty and it’s SO good for you. It lasts a long time and freezes well.
We got in touch with WhatIsThisWhereAmI and the Redditor agreed to tell us more about the viral discussion that they've started.
"As mentioned in my post, I had run across someone else's post asking about people's favorite childhood poverty meals, and I realized a ton of the things mentioned there are no longer cheap," WhatIsThisWhereAmI explained to Bored Panda.
"I myself have been surprised in the last several years by some of these changes, and I was curious how the shopping habits of people with strict budgets may have changed in response."
#3
I've been negative on the bank account for a week and been surviving on a 10 pound bag of potatoes, air fried with some spices, and some onions and garlic I have laying around. Payday coming soon, though.
Salty_Sasquatch 1 year ago
Potatoes are pretty good in the nutrition department. Just missing some protein, which you can get with beans or eggs or milk.
Anna Drever 1 year ago
There’s still some protein in spuds but yes some beans couldn’t hurt. 🙂
Load More Replies... Elvira394 1 year ago
I am a total carnivore, 5th Gen Montanan...but honestly I think that poverty cooking is best vegetarian. Maybe not fresh rosemary and sparkling grapes...but legumes, potatoes, and no - meat protiens are much better and maybe safer when prepped/stretched out. I will eat some fried potatoes any day, before I dare eat a dish with meat I've tried to make last over a week. Or a peice of meat I kept frozen over a month. Meat just doesn't even taste good all freezer burnt and rubbery.
Cindy Brick 1 year ago
Good for you, for hanging in there! I once survived for a week on canned green beans, for the same reason.
Robin Roper 1 year ago
Wash the potatoes well and eat the skin - lost of nutrition if often just tossed away
#4
I don't intend to speak for others, but Red Lentil curry + home made naan is the most food you can make for the least amount of money. It's like $3 to make a weeks worth of food.
Deta Rossiter 1 year ago
the lentils i have tried from dried, and they always come out tough after cooking them
Carol Culhane 1 year ago
Start with red lentils, they're the most forgiving and don't need soaking. Try this if you like the taste of Indian food https://thehappyfoodie.co.uk/recipes/masoor-dal/
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Tvin 1 year ago
Naan is surprisingly simple to do. All you really need is a pan and an empty bottle (if you don't have a rolling pin.)
Load More Replies...After going through the replies, the Redditor said "there were definitely a few themes [that were mentioned more than others], namely cheap, bulk-packaged, dried foundational items for your pantry."
"Beans & lentils were the most popular suggestion for getting your protein, and rice was by far the top suggestion for getting your carbs, followed by potatoes (which people correctly noted is an almost nutritionally complete item on its own). Buying whole chicken and spreading it across several meals seems to be a popular hack as well."
According to WhatIsThisWhereAmIMany, most people mentioned eating less meat as a matter of budget rather than preference or health. "There was also a lot of talk about how you might as well eat fresh food since packaged foods are so much more expensive these days. And of course, shopping deals and markdowns, but also at foreign grocery stores which are often cheaper."
#5
I love potatoes and eggs. Eggs got stupid expensive for a bit but they’re back down again. You can get a bag of potatoes and a dozen eggs for like 5-6$ or even less if you shop right. Toss some potatoes in a pan and fry them up or even just boil or bake them and then take a couple eggs on the side or on top. You can get fancy and make an omelet or add a little cheese but even just basic eggs n’ taters is yum and very filling.
Salty_Sasquatch 1 year ago
Especially hash browns with over easy eggs on top, yummmm.
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Jo Davies 1 year ago
Both of these products have tripled in price in the past 5 years, where i live. They are becoming a luxury, especially eggs which are often restricted in how many a customer can buy. For those going through similar, look at buying beans and corn products. Pasta is cheap to make from scratch. Chicken here by us is currently cheaper than eggs, get your protein there.
#6
The new poverty food is cooking 90%+ of your food. People out there be eating rice and beans during the week and then blowing the budget eating fast casual/fast food on the weekends. Fast food ain't cheap anymore!
Libstak 1 year ago
Unless it's a roast chicken. By the time you buy a raw chicken, clean it, buy the mix of seasoning for it, roast it using up gas or electricity for 50 minutes it turns out you could have just grabbed one already done for the same or cheaper, weird.
Adrian 1 year ago
Grocery store roast chicken is often a loss leader, they're just using it to get you into the store. It can be a very good deal.
Load More Replies... Robin Roper 1 year ago
My DIL can't have gluten, egg, dairy, apple, honey, pineapple, mango, papaya, and can only have limited legumes - yes all these are food allergy tested so this isn't a fad. If I didn't cook 99% of what we ate, she would starve. Prepackaged and manufactured foods are full of ingredients that would make her very sick. Now that eating out is super expensive, I'm sort of glad we have an excuse.
R Dennis 1 year ago
For the price of a fast food meal, I can make a gourmet equivalent at home. $30 for a bucket of chicken... or $6 for a whole chicken, $4 for 5lbs of potatoes, $5 for Better Than Bouillon, $6 for butter and heavy cream, $3 for carrots, $3 for a baguette. Then use the roasted carcass for stock.
The good thing, according to the author of this post, is that "even someone with little-to-no skill can follow an easy recipe in a slow cooker or instant pot, or throw some red beans and rice together.
"The real problem for most people seems to be time poverty. When you're working long hours and are tired at the end of the day, convenience food, however expensive it might be, is hard for people to avoid," they added.
Also, coming up with the ultimate poverty meal cookbook is quite difficult because grocery prices do not move uniformly. As one rises, the other one can drop, and then vice versa.
#7
If you go to the budget cooking subs, it’s rice and beans. Everyone reply is the same, rice and beans and a food bank.
Deta Rossiter 1 year ago
i went over to a whole food plant-based diet. yes it is more work somedays, but the savings, and the weight loss, is a real eye openeer
Astro 1 year ago
Same! I’m a flexitarian, which means I only eat meat a few times a week. Most days are veggie days. The savings and weight loss are very noticeable :) and I can still have a steak or chicken wings when I really crave them. It’s such a flexible diet style, I recommend it to anyone who’s vegetarian-curious but isn’t sure if they can commit to quitting meat.
Load More Replies... Ephemera Image 1 year ago
Not true, there are so many foods that you can make cheaply. It's getting over the mentality that every single meal has to have meat that's the problem, I think. We eat way too much food for what our bodies need. We aren't athletes in training, we're sitting at a desk all day.
Sean Sean 1 year ago
Unfortunately the food banks where I live have an income restriction, you can't make more than $1200/month to use them.
ILoveMySon 1 year ago
Oh no! Many churches in the USA have non restricted food banks. Perhaps you could check that out if you are in the States.
Load More Replies... #8
Cabbage! I made a quickle with some last night, it lasts a few days in the fridge and get better and brinier with each day. I also make seared "steaks" of cabbage that get so tasty when you almost burn them, give them a flip and then I pour over a miso/honey/crushed red pepper sauce with a lid, low heat until the reduction basically glazes it. Idk I guess I really felt for the cabbage man in ATLA.
Randy Sanders 1 year ago
Make kraut from that cabbage. Easy to do, and fermented foods are great for your gut.
Auntriarch 1 year ago
And the liquid can be used in dressing for other vegetables
Load More Replies... Suck it Trebek 1 year ago
Cabbage is a staple for me. I use that instead of lettuce to make my salads.
"There are ways to cook cheap healthy meals with minimal prep time, but I think there's also a mental fatigue that prevents people from tackling the learning curve to figure out what those meals are and how to cook them," WhatIsThisWhereAmI said.
"Tired people just keep plugging away doing what they know, even if they can't always afford to, and folks on tight budgets are much more likely to be suffering from this kind of fatigue. I think researching healthy recipes made with cheap ingredients and planning your shopping ahead of time are the best remedies to this. It's just getting past that barrier."
#9
Chicken thighs are still pretty cheap and full of protein. Frozen veggies are almost always on sale somewhere. The beans and rice move is always a classic.
Papa 1 year ago
The thigh is my favorite part of the chicken anyway. Breast meat is often dry.
R Dennis 1 year ago
Much like wings, oxtail, and greens people will catch on to how good they are and it will become expensive.
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Suck it Trebek 1 year ago
I once went to an ethnic grocer. I am not s******g you; they had put the chicken quarters in garbage bags and sold the bags for 39 cents a pound. Bought 3 bag and filled up my freezer.
#10
There is a Korean grocer near me with tubs of tofu in the refrigerated section. $1 for a small, $1.50 for a large. The large is enough for me, my wife, and our 2 year-old with some leftovers. I'll bread it for noodles/stir fry, saute it as a tofu scramble, throw it into a chili or other stew...
It's a very versatile protein, and I always wonder what other families do with the blocks.
Altogether, I think "Americana" poverty foods like cereal, Kraft mac and cheese, and baloney have gone up in price because they don't sell as well... it was competitively priced because of profit in volume. Instead, ethnic foods from Latin American and East Asian immigrant populations have become more widely known.
wellsfamily 1 year ago
Fried tofu cut into cubes and made into mapo tofu, meat substituted with mung beans. perfect vegetarian food on top of rice. though im really not a vegetarian in no shape or form.
Astro 1 year ago
Or “scramble” it like eggs with veggies and seasonings 😊 very tasty and hard to tell the difference!
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parmadillo 1 year ago
Freeze and then defrost it to get the water out more easily. Cut into slices (I prefer triangles) and deep fry on a low temperature. Blot with paper towels, then dip in Thai chili sauce with crushed peanuts and chopped cilantro.
Ephemera Image 1 year ago
I love fried tofu. My problem is I've never learned the secret to cooking it so it's tasty. And it is, in restaurants. Not when I do it, sadly 😒
arthbach 1 year ago
Take the tofu out of the wrapping, and drain the excess water. Then press the tofu in the fridge for a few hours. Cut into chunks, Next, add in some flavour. I typically use garlic granules, turmeric, cumin, some soy sauce and curry powder. Allow the flavours to permeate the tofu.
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Tiffany Marie 1 year ago (edited)
It's a $1.79 at Trader Joe's in California for tofu. I eat mostly tofu and eggs. I also have a bulk bag of chia seeds on hand. When I have extra money I'll buy 0%milk fat Greek Yogurt also. My fun treat is blended almond milk, banana, a few walnuts and flax seed with ice. Sometimes honey.
Barbara Turner 1 year ago
Sauce little slabs of tofu with soy oil and water, add 1 tblspn soy sauce. Use slotted spoon or spatula to place tofu in a bowl. Top with butter. Yummy.
#11
I think the key is avoiding processed food in general. It used to be dirt cheap to just eat cereal and kraft mac and cheese, but I am appalled at how expensive that stuff has gotten.
Scratch cooking is the key to food savings.
And my poverty food will always be the good ol' rice and beans. I eat at least 1 meal of day of rice and beans in various permutations: channa masala, red beans and rice, mujadara, gallo pinto, Jamaican rice and peas, collard greens and black eyed peas, even tofu counts in my book. The possibilities are endless.
JNo3277 1 year ago
Kelloggs boycott starts April 1st. Our response to the ceo saying Let Them Eat Cereal for dinner.
Robert Beveridge 1 year ago
Who tf can afford brand name cereal any more? Even the malt-o-meal bagged cereals are over five bucks per where i live now. Kellogg's is off the charts. By the pound, beef might actually be cheaper...
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#12
Rice is cheap, onions are cheap, eggs are reasonable. =Egg fried rice. Add garlic or meat/poultry if you can find a deal.
Salty_Sasquatch 1 year ago
...I did see a post on Facebook last year, a picture of a carton of eggs with a caption 'will trade for a 2023 Ram truck.
#13
Costco/Sams rotisserie chicken! Add it to rice.
Daniel Atkins 1 year ago
Often a grocery store will reduce the price of them just before closing or will have them in the refrigerator the next morning if they don't sell in the evening.
Thomas Gilfoyle 1 year ago
I will always cruise past the meat bins looking for ""manager's specials"- half price goodies like artisanal sausage for $2/lb yesterday.
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M O'Connell 1 year ago
Forget the membership stores. An ordinary grocery store rotisserie chicken can produce a fair number of meals for $7.
Claudia Stieble 1 year ago
if you are done eating, keep the bones in the freezer. After 2 or 3 times eating rotisserie chicken you can use the bones to make a good chicken broth. Take onions (don't peel them) cut them in half roast them in a pot until it is almost black, add carrots a bit of celery (the bulb) the chicken bones and let it roast for a bit, fill the pot with cold water add parsley, bring it to a boil and let it simmer for one or two hours (If you can find chicken thighs put them in the pot to roast them before you fill in the water). During the cooking time remove the yellowish, brownish foam. After it is done, strain the broth, use a cloth to catch all "crumbs", season to taste with salt, pepper, paprika. pick the meat from the thighs and cut it into small bits. I freeze the broth and a bit of chicken meat in portion sized bags . It is great if you need something quick in the evening just add some Ramen noodles and some frozen peas and you have a good dish.
Robin Roper 1 year ago
Or go to a food place at the mall or strip center right before closing - you can get a ton of food for next to nothing.
Jane No Dough 1 year ago
I'm NOT willing to pay any company membership fees or a subscription for the "privilege" of buying necessities from them.
#14
I think this is a great question.
I think my personal answer is a vegetarian burrito bowl or tacos. Rice, black beans (from a bag of dried beans), and salsa. Can put in tortillas. Sauteed onions and/or bell pepper, tomatoes, lettuce or cabbage, a little cheese and sour cream are all optional if you've got extra money to burn, lol.
#15
I wouldn’t say new, but buttered egg noodles look like they’re becoming a trendy again. the real ones never slept on them tho.
Charley128 1 year ago
Egg noodles and gravy with a few frozen peas thrown in is tasty. You can also use undiluted cream of chicken soup. Or substitute rice for the noodles.
Bouche and Audi and Shyla, Oh My! 1 year ago
*sleeps on the egg noodles* I don't know. I think a box is more comfy.
Almost sunny 1 year ago
I was thinking of hokkien noodles, with soy sauce and chilli, frozen vegies.
#16
I've resurrected a long lost staple from my childhood - Pizza Bread. Take a few slices of cheap bread, slather some ragu, top with mozzarella, bake, and viola pizza bread.
Charley128 1 year ago
Store brand english muffins are great for this. Less soggy, more crunch.
Peri 1 year ago (edited)
Flour tortillas work too! Use a little oil and stick them in the oven for a little bit to start to cook, take it out, top with pizza toppings amd bake again. It's good for using up ones that have gotten a little stale.
Load More Replies... columbokateUK 1 year ago
Pizza dough and pasta are so easy to make fresh too, and once you have the flour, it'll be alot cheaper than buying it in the shops.Tastes better too 😋
Salty_Sasquatch 1 year ago
Toast that bread first. You can top with catsup, then sprinkle with garlic powder and oregano. Put cheese on top of that and if you have a toaster oven broil it enough to melt the cheese. Pizza toast!
Jeannie Boudreau 1 year ago
I just remembered that we used to have pizza grilled cheese like this when I was a kid - same as above, just two slices of bread and grilled. Delicious!
#17
Porridge for breakfast, rice and beans for dinner, a third meal would be bourgeois excess.
Miliukov Oleksandr 1 year ago
kiwi and coconut, almonds and hazelnut ... who's bourgeois here?
Rahul Pawa 1 year ago
Pictures are added by the BP writer and don't always match well with the text.
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#18
Same things that have always been: pasta, rice, potatoes, beans, eggs, vegetables, whole chickens, pork shoulder. Buying the right whole foods and doing some prep work to get the most out of them is still the cheapest way to eat.
Lyn Starsblood (she/her) 1 year ago
We do a lot of batch cooking at home— just grab and go when in a rush
#19
Mine was a whole uncooked chicken. I’d cook it in a slow cooker and then pull it apart. The liquid is then a broth to make soups. You can buy tortillas from A Mexican grocer for dirt cheap (like 20 for $1). A few veggies or a whole purple cabbage. You can keep yourself fed real well for roughly $30 a week or less.
Jen M 1 year ago (edited)
Also called collagen chicken broth. Asian cuisine famous for great skin! Just the whole chicken, spring onion and sea salt. Take out the bones, skin and skim the fat. Yummy.
Salty_Sasquatch 1 year ago
That fat is very good for flavoring rice or potatoes.
Load More Replies... Jo Davies 1 year ago
We are kindered souls! I am doing one tomorrow to feed 4 people a meal, combined with both bargin veg and that from my garden. Will probably get some chicken for a couple of small chicken and veg pies, and then rhe wonderful boiling up of the carcass, all ready to add a few mushrooms for a lovely soup.
ynyrhydref56 1 year ago
I've started boiling a whole chicken. Keep the liquid for stock to make soup (with veg and lentils), shred the meat to use in other meals (or return to the broth for soup).
#20
In my city you can get 1kg of frozen pierogies for like 3 dollars. Dip them in sweet Thai sauce or Greek yogurt. Easy cheap filling meal.
A. Starhawk Hunt 1 year ago
The only problem with most of these dishes is that they are very high in carbs, in pursuit of filling and protein. As a diabetic, carbs must be watched. A serving of mashed potatoes for a diabetic fits in the palm of my hand. If anyone is familiar with Rocket Apples (they are very small), one of those has enough carbs to be a full meal. It's surely not a meal you will be full after eating!
Robert Beveridge 1 year ago
I have just recently discovered Thai sweet chili sauce and can confirm, it goes on everything
#21
Chickpeas with any dressing.
Tiffany Marie 1 year ago (edited)
I fry them up with veggies and top it on a baked potato with olive oil drizzle. I buy them dry and cook also freeze after cooking.
Amanda Fondaumiere 1 year ago
You can roast them to snack too. Kitchn has a good recipe for it,oh that and an orzo chickpea dish.
Load More Replies... #22
Pork Loin is still pretty cheap. I got one that I'm sure I can make at least 4-5 meals for three people for $14.
#23
Gardening is the new cheap food. Sorry if you don’t have space. You’d be surprised what you can get from a balcony or window though! Also chicken feet for bone broth. Organ meats are pretty cheap too.
Papa 1 year ago
You have to be careful about growing your own, if you're doing it to save money. It's very easy to get carried away and spend more money on the gardening than the produce would cost in the store.
David 1 year ago
True, but the relaxing nature of gardening can factor in as basically free therapy / a boost to your mental health. But growing from seeds is much cheaper than purchasing everything as starts.
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Mary Beheler 1 year ago
It cost money, sometimes lots of money, to grow a garden, too. If you have a SNAP EBT card, you can buy food seeds and plants with that, at stores that accept the cards. Example: Menards has plants, seeds, and groceries, but does not take EBT cards. Walmart does.
ILoveMySon 1 year ago
Place green onions in a glass container with water covering the white parts. They will continue to sprout.
Tropical Tarot 1 year ago
Dollar Tree has stacking planters so you can get 4 for 5 bucks. Each one can hold 3 plants. Great for herbs.
Salty_Sasquatch 1 year ago
You can plant tomatoes in a bucket (think the $5 bucket from Home Depot for size (or potatoes even! just add more dirt when you get some flowers, check Youtube).
Robert Beveridge 1 year ago
Now have a place with an outside bed, gonna try herbs this year--another thing where prices have gone nuts for the fresh stuff.
#24
Marcella Hazan’s red sauce is relatively inexpensive…. Can of tomatoes, butter, salt, onion cut in half simmered on low 45 minutes or so. Noodles are cheap.
Ace 1 year ago
Plus or minuses - you don't need expensive butter, just a little oil which is only needed to fry up the _chopped_ onions to get max sweetness and flavour out of them; a little garlic if you like, some dried oregano or whatever herbs you've got hidden in the back of your cupboard.
Anony Mouse 1 year ago
That's a different recipe. Marcella's is specific.
Load More Replies... Astro 1 year ago
Don’t get too hung up on the stock photos lol, BP doesn’t always find the most accurate images
Load More Replies... #25
It’s not new, but Cajun rice and gravy has been always a pretty cheap food in South Louisiana. Get a cheap fatty cut of beef and seasoning it with salt, black pepper, and cayenne. Sear the beef on all sides. Pull the beef out the pot and add your Trinity. Once the veggies are lightly browned, around 5 to 10 minutes, add beef back along with a Bayleaf, Cajun seasoning, and whatever other herbs you want to add, add enough water to cover everything. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to simmer, simmer for 4 to 6 hours, adding water as needed to keep things covered. It’s done whenever the beef is falling apart. Put it over rice, add hot sauce.
Gringa Fabulosa 1 year ago
"Cheap, fatty cut of beef" doesn't exist any more. Even stew beef is $9 a pound.
David 1 year ago
A couple of months ago I was going to buy some bones for bone broth. I was surprised to find the beef bones cost more per pound than some of the cheaper meat I could buy.
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Anony Mouse 1 year ago
Chuck roast on sale is $4.99/lb. right now. Off sale it's $8+ pre pound. There is not "cheap" cut of beef anymore.
I’ll have a treble thanks. 1 year ago
4-6 hours! Maybe in a slow cooker or a wood burner in winter, imagine the amount of energy used. Still, nice recipe do it similar myself but not with electric!
Kit Springs 1 year ago
Pressure cooker is your friend! Much faster to cook until tender. And as a matter of fact, I do use a wood stove and storm downed wood to cook in winter.. :-)
Load More Replies... cerinamroth 1 year ago
I always thought mirepoix was celery, onion and carrot!
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#26
Pork is the best value meat out there right now after chicken. People overlook pork chops in particular. I got 5 lbs of amazing pork chops for $10 the other day at Costco. Made 3 dinner meals for my fam of 6 with them. Lentils are great too.
#27
That has generally been the case of “poverty foods.” Meat in the west only became the main focus of a dish because of factory farming. Everywhere else it’s almost treated like a condiment to veggies. Your cow was almost priceless so you wouldn’t butcher it until it stopped producing milk. Which you valued so much you’d try to preserve it by fermenting. So the poverty food is the poverty food. Trying to extend the shelf life/ or package of meats. Eating more veggies forward.
Astro 1 year ago
This! It’s interesting when you start cooking with the idea that meat is for flavour rather than the star ingredient. Makes you think about food a little differently :)
A. Starhawk Hunt 1 year ago
If I can taste it, I want to chew it. I'll eat plenty of veggies, but "Meat flavored" food usually won't cut it.
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Cindy Hamilton 1 year ago
Meat has always been an important part of the American diet. Of course, it used to be game obtained by hunting or trapping.
#28
Ramen?
Yogurt is usually on sale.
Tiffany Marie 1 year ago (edited)
0% milkfat 0% sugar Greek Yogurt. Usually $6. I buy this when I can. The protein is high and good calcium. Lower calories and filling. Eat it with a banana and a few walnuts. I buy 3lbs of walnuts for $8. They last me forever because I actually do the serving size or just under. It'll last a few months. All you need is a few in 1 day.
ian kimmerly 1 year ago
The little pots of presweetened yogurt are expensive. Add some jam to a portion of Greek yogurt in a small tupperware container. Better, skip the sweets and go for onion soup mix or taco seasoning or canned drained tomatoes and canned beans. Savoury yogurt for grownup tastebuds.
Load More Replies... #29
I don’t understand why people can’t learn to share. I have one person (me) to feed on a six figure income. I love Costco but I tend to get bored of the food before it goes bad. If a friend wants to share, I would happily go to Costco split a bulk pack of whatever.
Kraneia The Dancing Dryad 1 year ago (edited)
Well, for starters, if you're by yourself you probably are wasting money on a bulk store membership. Secondly, if a lot of what you've buying is going bad before you can use it, you don't know how to put stuff up for later properly. Get a vacuum sealer and divide stuff up and freeze it. Finally, find hungry friends to share food with, and chances are you'll find folks to split the cost with.
Whitefox 1 year ago
For us, the gasoline savings with costco is enough to justify the membership. We do shop for somethings there, but the gas savings can add up if you commute,
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Rahul Pawa 1 year ago
That's why I don't bother with Costco. I don't want to spend money on buying food that is going to go bad before I can finish it. Sometimes I prefer to get the smaller package even if the price per ounce is higher. My reasons would be if the larger package is likely to spoil before I eat it all, or if I don't have space to store the larger package. Occasionally the price per ounce is cheaper on the smaller package or the difference is insignificant so it just makes sense to buy the smaller one.
Tropical Tarot 1 year ago (edited)
We split a Sam's club membership with my mom and my sister. It's closer than Costco for us and you can often get a discount on your first year.
Mary Beheler 1 year ago
Once upon a time, I had more money than time. I had a neighbor who had time, and little money. I made her a deal. I'd buy the fixings, if she would make a batch of pizzas for the both of us. I forget the split, but I think it was 1 pizza for her, 2 for me. My freezer was well-stocked with pizza.
#30
Popcorn. Like a bag of kernels, popped in your microwave in a paper bag, with nothing else. Popcorn kernels are cheap and 3 Tbsp of popcorn kernels makes you feel like you at a big meal, all for about 120 calories if you’re counting.
Libstak 1 year ago
OK, this is the advice of someone with anorexic tendencies, I do not endorse this, it is not a nutritional meal by any standard.
Display_Name 1 year ago
Which is better? Having sleep for dinner or having popcorn for dinner?
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Samael Burton 1 year ago
Popcorn for dinner instead of sleep when I was too poor to buy much food and too depressed to cook even beans and rice was much better than just eating sleep for dinner. Popcorn left to cool with sugar sprinkled on it is a pretty good cereal sub for breakfast too. And honestly using Popcorn with whatever spices you have/butter or oil is a great bulk up to a lean dinner or lunch. Poverty/struggle meals man - you do what you can.
Captain Kyra 1 year ago
I put melted peanut butter on popcorn for a treat, it's very like caramel popcorn and feels decadent
Hey! 1 year ago
If you need to add some protein to your popcorn, sprinkle some Engevita yeast over it. Engevita is a primary inactive yeast of the genus Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, entirely free from Candida Albicans yeast. Ingredients. Dried inactive yeast (99%), Thiamine (B1), Riboflavin (B2), Niacin (B3), Pantothenic Acid (B5), Pyridoxine (B6), Biotin (B7), Folic Acid (B9), Cyanocobalamin (B12), Zin Sulfate. Source: Google
Cindy Brick 1 year ago
Popcorn eaten in a glass of milk is even better. A little more nutritious, and very filling. This was a popular food during the Depression -- my mom remembers it as the standard supper on Sunday nights.
Trista JW 1 year ago
If milk wasn't extremely expensive, it would work. Plus, lactose intolerance is a thing for many people. But it isn't a horrible idea!
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#31
For me it's just buying everything that's marked down b/c it's about to bad. I've gotten 2 lbs of chicken for $2 at Target & Mariano's. Jewel does a lot of BOGO free on fresh pre-sliced veggies, meat, prepared dinners, & random deli items like hummus or salsa.
I also keep an eye on food apps - you pretty much have to use the app to get decent prices. Frozen breakfast sandwiches are insanely expensive now, so I either make breakfast tacos for the week or I use the Dunkin app for discounts. Fast food places often have great deals but only if you use the app.
My fave cheap meal is just whole wheat pasta with a protein and frozen veggies on the side. I add butter and Parmesan cheese & whatever spices I'm feeling. Grilled cheese is still cheap, eggs aren't bad although I miss buying higher quality ones, and I love chickpea salad sandwiches for lunch.
Tiffany Marie 1 year ago (edited)
I look at Instacart stores before I go shopping. They have stores up that have in store prices so I look up sales. I make a list of on sale produce or whatever and even try new things. For $20 I get a lot of food. I also Google on freezing things. I like produce most. 89cent cabbage last week. 50 cent cucumbers. I got 6 giant apples for $2.
Thomas Gilfoyle 1 year ago
I found a pineapple that was just going soft for a buck; it turns out it was totally ripe, and I was able to eat almost all of it. my mouth screamed for a day, though....
cerinamroth 1 year ago
If you have a market near you selling fruit and veg, go just before they close. You can get plenty of fresh fruit and veg for next to nothing.
#32
15 minute potatoes- 8 minutes in the microwave, cover in oil, butter, or margarine and seasoning, and then cook in the air fryer for 7 minutes. Cut open and add anything, chili, sour cream, butter, bacon, up to you!
M O'Connell 1 year ago
You must have a very wimpy microwave if potatoes can spend 8 minutes in there without detonating.
Lyoness 1 year ago
Poke em with a fork a bunch of times before you nuke and they never explode.
Load More Replies... #33
1 minute noodles.
2 minute noodles are for the bourgeoisie.
Nadia Montera 1 year ago
I buy 3 minutes noodles from Korean stores. I guess I am a member of the Royal family. lol
Astro 1 year ago
…..Is it a trendy hipster attraction thing? I’ve seen it used for most of my 31 years of life, usually in a joking way.
Load More Replies... Francois 1 year ago
Instant noodles are incredible bad for you. High in carbs and salt and low in nutrients. Avoid.
Trista JW 1 year ago
They're cheap and that's what matters. Do not avoid. I eat them when I am broke.
Load More Replies... What do you think ?
Lorrie Rothstein 1 year ago
So many posts about getting food at Costco. It's a 60$ membership fee. If groceries are too expensive why waste 60$ on the fee?
Tiffany Marie 1 year ago (edited)
I actually had to sell what I could on Facebook Marketplace to get a Costco membership because of "cat litter." The savings paid for the membership itself asap. I have 3 cats. Had them 11 years. I fell on hard times. I'm still struggling but now I also use my membership for deals. You get good bang for your buck sometimes. Plus the $5 rotisserie chicken is huge and lasts me 4 days between 2 people and 3 cats. I'm someone who can only afford about $60 to $120 in groceries a month for 2 people. Sometimes less but sometimes there's extra so I buy the bulk 3lbs of walnuts for $8 and use them sparingly. We buy the $10 pizza from the food court as our luxury treat and I freeze the slices to prolong it. Gives us days of pizza for $10. They have good sales on food too sometimes. Which lasts me. I see poor people dropping $25 out to eat. Can get a membership and just buy the $5 chicken or $10 pizza. I go on a weekday before closing, less people. I think people save on gas also. I just got a jumbo 30 pack of tortillas for a few bucks. I froze half of it. Using it for bean burritos. They also have 5 dozen eggs for $11.99. Im sure Walmart has good prices but like I said I need to buy the cat litter from Costco. It's about $11 for 35lbs of cat litter. The smell isn't bad either. It's liveable if the boxes are well taken care of. Plus very little litter dust. Prior I was buying Chewy cat litter 40lbs for $20. Now I think it's $18 for 35lbs. I need 40lbs weekly of cat litter. Chewy cat litter monthly $108 vs Costco monthly at $70. Plus Chewys is terrible with litter dust. After 2 months of litter I start the savings for 10 months on the membership. Not sure if there's cheaper cat litter that doesn't smell bad within a day or two.
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Marcos Valencia 1 year ago
Knowing as many ingredients as possible and learning how to cook them. That's the way. Healthier, cheaper when you need it to be cheap, and more inspiring.
Jo Davies 1 year ago
I have a pretty good veggie garden and try to use everything but i am still learning. While i use things like spinach roots and carrot tops, i found out i still have a lot to learn. 2 people taught me just last week that pumpkin and sweet potato leaves are absolutely delicious! And an old school Italian cooking book taunting me that tomato leaves add taste and nutrition to dishesn
Della 1 year ago
Also learned to can with hot water canner from good will store, new in package.
Load More Replies... David 1 year ago
This thread is full of common sense stuff that millions (billions) of people have known for ages. Buy staples, emphasis on affordable fillers like beans / rice / potatoes, cook them yourself. For most Americans this USED to be normal everyday life. When I was a kid, having many of your meals prepared by restaurants and delivered by Door Dash / Uber would have seemed insane.
Whitefox 1 year ago
I'd just like to suggest people take a closer look at their bulk bins at stores like WInco. I buy most of my seasonings for pennies, pasta, gravy mix, muffin mix, flours of all variety, beans, Rice, Soup mixes can all be had for way cheaper than the name brand stuff.
majandess 1 year ago
WinCo isn't close to me, but I can't live without it! We go on a pilgrimage every month or so to get necessities.
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Lomion 1 year ago
I don't get it - all the food mentioned in this post is just, you know, regular food. Potatoes, chickpeas, rice, onions, carrots, uncooked chiken... all of these are basic ingredients. The way you cook them is what can make your dish "poverty food" or "fancy restourant dish". I still don't get the point of this entire post. It looks like "poverty food" is just homemade. Ridiculous.
lenka 1 year ago
Spoken like someone with privilege. You call them "basic ingredients". When you are poor they are the ONLY ingredients. I have been in a position where I there was no choice. 2 minute noodles or mashed potatoes or plain boiled rice and cabbage for months on end. That is poverty food1. On weeks when there was a little extra cash add some fruit, frozen vegetables or bones from the butcher to make soup. Meat was out of the question. These days, I still eat those things, but you are right, now they are ingredients - not the whole meal. I have choice and I can add a variety of vegetables, condiments, sauces, herbs and spices, nice bread, meat or tofu, I can add egg and vegetables and sauce. "Poverty food" is the bare minimum and cheapest way to feed yourself because you have no other choice.
Load More Replies...
Guess Undheit 1 year ago
Cook in bulk, two or three days worth of food at once. You might eat the same food 4-6 meals in a row, but if you have enough recipes you won't eat it again for a month.
ProcrastinationStation 1 year ago
I think all the advice posted above is very US-centric. It's like Americans forgot how to cook and now they slowly re-learn that basic skill? Beause a lot of advise boils down to "prepare your food yourself". For me you would save more in the long run if you keep yourself healthy, so, don't compose meals like "take some carbs and add some more carbs to it. Et voila you have a meal". This on the contrary might be very EU-centric advice, but many vegetables and fruits are cheap when there is a season for it- eat seasonally and make your own preserves.
JayWantsACat 1 year ago
One thing that isn't the MOST filling but allows for a variety of tastes and is cheap is congee/rice porridge. For me, it turns 1/2 cup of rice into a whole meal. I can make it with Chinese, Japanese, Mexican, etc. flavors and add protein if I feel like it. I made pho-flavored congee using the powdered soup, spices, and herbs I already have on hand. You can even just use a pack of instant noodle seasoning if you're sick of eating the noodles. Also, I do not like oatmeal but it's cheap and filling do I've started eating that for breakfast. Otherwise I'm usually eating rice with a fried egg or sometimes meat to make things stretch.
Lorrie Rothstein 1 year ago
So many posts about getting food at Costco. It's a 60$ membership fee. If groceries are too expensive why waste 60$ on the fee?
Tiffany Marie 1 year ago (edited)
I actually had to sell what I could on Facebook Marketplace to get a Costco membership because of "cat litter." The savings paid for the membership itself asap. I have 3 cats. Had them 11 years. I fell on hard times. I'm still struggling but now I also use my membership for deals. You get good bang for your buck sometimes. Plus the $5 rotisserie chicken is huge and lasts me 4 days between 2 people and 3 cats. I'm someone who can only afford about $60 to $120 in groceries a month for 2 people. Sometimes less but sometimes there's extra so I buy the bulk 3lbs of walnuts for $8 and use them sparingly. We buy the $10 pizza from the food court as our luxury treat and I freeze the slices to prolong it. Gives us days of pizza for $10. They have good sales on food too sometimes. Which lasts me. I see poor people dropping $25 out to eat. Can get a membership and just buy the $5 chicken or $10 pizza. I go on a weekday before closing, less people. I think people save on gas also. I just got a jumbo 30 pack of tortillas for a few bucks. I froze half of it. Using it for bean burritos. They also have 5 dozen eggs for $11.99. Im sure Walmart has good prices but like I said I need to buy the cat litter from Costco. It's about $11 for 35lbs of cat litter. The smell isn't bad either. It's liveable if the boxes are well taken care of. Plus very little litter dust. Prior I was buying Chewy cat litter 40lbs for $20. Now I think it's $18 for 35lbs. I need 40lbs weekly of cat litter. Chewy cat litter monthly $108 vs Costco monthly at $70. Plus Chewys is terrible with litter dust. After 2 months of litter I start the savings for 10 months on the membership. Not sure if there's cheaper cat litter that doesn't smell bad within a day or two.
Load More Replies... Marcos Valencia 1 year ago
Knowing as many ingredients as possible and learning how to cook them. That's the way. Healthier, cheaper when you need it to be cheap, and more inspiring.
Jo Davies 1 year ago
I have a pretty good veggie garden and try to use everything but i am still learning. While i use things like spinach roots and carrot tops, i found out i still have a lot to learn. 2 people taught me just last week that pumpkin and sweet potato leaves are absolutely delicious! And an old school Italian cooking book taunting me that tomato leaves add taste and nutrition to dishesn
Della 1 year ago
Also learned to can with hot water canner from good will store, new in package.
Load More Replies... David 1 year ago
This thread is full of common sense stuff that millions (billions) of people have known for ages. Buy staples, emphasis on affordable fillers like beans / rice / potatoes, cook them yourself. For most Americans this USED to be normal everyday life. When I was a kid, having many of your meals prepared by restaurants and delivered by Door Dash / Uber would have seemed insane.
Whitefox 1 year ago
I'd just like to suggest people take a closer look at their bulk bins at stores like WInco. I buy most of my seasonings for pennies, pasta, gravy mix, muffin mix, flours of all variety, beans, Rice, Soup mixes can all be had for way cheaper than the name brand stuff.
majandess 1 year ago
WinCo isn't close to me, but I can't live without it! We go on a pilgrimage every month or so to get necessities.
Load More Replies... Lomion 1 year ago
I don't get it - all the food mentioned in this post is just, you know, regular food. Potatoes, chickpeas, rice, onions, carrots, uncooked chiken... all of these are basic ingredients. The way you cook them is what can make your dish "poverty food" or "fancy restourant dish". I still don't get the point of this entire post. It looks like "poverty food" is just homemade. Ridiculous.
lenka 1 year ago
Spoken like someone with privilege. You call them "basic ingredients". When you are poor they are the ONLY ingredients. I have been in a position where I there was no choice. 2 minute noodles or mashed potatoes or plain boiled rice and cabbage for months on end. That is poverty food1. On weeks when there was a little extra cash add some fruit, frozen vegetables or bones from the butcher to make soup. Meat was out of the question. These days, I still eat those things, but you are right, now they are ingredients - not the whole meal. I have choice and I can add a variety of vegetables, condiments, sauces, herbs and spices, nice bread, meat or tofu, I can add egg and vegetables and sauce. "Poverty food" is the bare minimum and cheapest way to feed yourself because you have no other choice.
Load More Replies... Guess Undheit 1 year ago
Cook in bulk, two or three days worth of food at once. You might eat the same food 4-6 meals in a row, but if you have enough recipes you won't eat it again for a month.
ProcrastinationStation 1 year ago
I think all the advice posted above is very US-centric. It's like Americans forgot how to cook and now they slowly re-learn that basic skill? Beause a lot of advise boils down to "prepare your food yourself". For me you would save more in the long run if you keep yourself healthy, so, don't compose meals like "take some carbs and add some more carbs to it. Et voila you have a meal". This on the contrary might be very EU-centric advice, but many vegetables and fruits are cheap when there is a season for it- eat seasonally and make your own preserves.
JayWantsACat 1 year ago
One thing that isn't the MOST filling but allows for a variety of tastes and is cheap is congee/rice porridge. For me, it turns 1/2 cup of rice into a whole meal. I can make it with Chinese, Japanese, Mexican, etc. flavors and add protein if I feel like it. I made pho-flavored congee using the powdered soup, spices, and herbs I already have on hand. You can even just use a pack of instant noodle seasoning if you're sick of eating the noodles. Also, I do not like oatmeal but it's cheap and filling do I've started eating that for breakfast. Otherwise I'm usually eating rice with a fried egg or sometimes meat to make things stretch.
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