nick burns

Less than an hour works for me.

I know your take on canned goods, but canned pintos (and other beans) cook a lot faster than dried, and for the sake of convenience the quality difference is tolerable. For me, anyway.

I stick with dried lentils, though. I don't think I've ever even seen them canned come to think of it.

KrisPistofferson

Taco Bell. I'm lazy, and they have plenty of decent stuff, vegetarian or not.

DXchulo

My bag says 20 minutes.

DXchulo

I forgot all about this thread for a while. I've started making my own granola to take on rides with me. I just mix oats and syrup and bake it for a while. Quick, cheap, and easy. I should throw some nuts in there, but I still have some beef jerky that I made a while ago to use for protein. I could eat some modified granola for breakfast, but I can't say goodbye to my beloved shredded wheat.

The biggest trick for me is buying things that actually make me feel full. I'll go back to the Raman noodles thing- they're extremely cheap, but they do nothing for me. You have to be careful with this on cereal as well. Corn flakes seem cheap as crap, but I'd have to eat 2 times as much corn flakes as I would shredded wheat, so in the end they aren't really cheaper. The most cost effective way to get full for me is to eat lots of beans. I don't know what it is about beans, but they fill me up. This can also go for meat. A pound of ham fills me up more than a pound of chicken. A pound of beef fills me up, but for whatever reason I'm not a big beef fan. I'm not overly worried about the evils of red meat; it just doesn't taste as good as chicken, turkey, or ham to me. I do love a lot of ground beef in spaghetti, though.

I miss cheese. I love cheese, but it's damn expensive.

red house

Oats and raisins and a touch of olive oil + milk & brwn sugar for the morning...pasta and pesto and those little mackrel kipper snacks shaped like sardine tins for supper: ~ 4 dollars...Having a girlfriend that will cook something, -anything, for you..-priceless

gauk

The trick to filling up on ramen is cheap vegetables and cutting it with pasta. One part ramen, one part pasta makes a good base for a meal. I usually throw in fresh carrot, ginger, garlic, onion, and if I have any, celery. Oh and you'll need nuts for some protein. If you've got some spare cash, go with chicken or hot dogs, otherwise lentils work great.
Try baking your own bread - it's time-intesive but very cheap.

Dewbert

favorite cheap (& reduced carb) fast food (I drink free water with all of these meals):
small cup of Wendy's chili= $1
mcdonald's side salad add grilled chicken breast = $2
taco bell 3 tacos (hold the shells, put the meat, lettuce, cheese all in 1 bowl) = $2.50
go any grocery store and get an apple and a sm package of dried beef = $2

Dewbert

Aw MAN!!!! Who let the Sleestack in!?!?!?!?!? They gave me nightmares when I was a kid and now I'm SURE I won't sleep tonight!!!

Dirty, rotten sleestacks!

FXjohn

At least youre thinking some....

Why not get a bunch of tuna on sale instead of the "dried beef" though...it's not ALL about cost.
Check out ww.foodsaver.com also

Santaria

Ezekiel cereal (200 calories per 1/2 cup)
Ezekiel bread
Lintels
Black beans w/cheese
Salad (lettuce, spinach, carriots, cucumber, shreaded cheese w/ blue cheese dressing).
Banana shake (banana x2, milk and 1/2 cup of soy ice cream)

moabrider

Sanitas Corn Chips (0 trans fats) and bean dip
Bran cereal w/ soymilk, banana
Salad with chili from Wendy's

LOTS of H2o and electrolyte additive!

Ebbtide

Get some free food:

https://www.toledofoodbank.org/

Seriously.

Dewbert

For me, it's about the convenience...carrying a can opener and eating tuna in the car (I'm on the road a lot) is a problem...besides....ever spill tuna juice on you before a meeting?

I do keep cans of tuna in my desk at work though....very healthy and cheap lunch.

Just noticed your location. Where's Crooked Lake?

TheDTrain

YOU GUYS ARE CHEAP ASSES!

You need to learn to eat well and live well. Spurge on food, it keeps you alive and healthy!

Well, maybe I'm 16 and I live with my chinese family who LOVES good food. We must spend like 10 dollars a day on food, plenty of steak, chicken, and FISH! Fish is the cornerstone food of any chinese family. Our race will literally die out in weeks if there were no fish in the world. lol.

Plus a big family dinner each friday with usually one very expensive dish, ie lobster, crab, shrimp, frog (so not gross), clams, etc.

kuan

OK D, from one Chinaman to another, you're right. But as an ex starving student, even $6/day is pretty good.

Here's my contribution:

Pasta with olive oil and garlic, fresh grated parmesan, fresh cracked pepper. One you buy the olive oil it's pretty cheap.

Learn to bake your own bread if you can. You can bake it right on a baking stone if you have one, or if you don't, even an old beat up pan will work. A block of fresh yeast will last for months in the fridge. All you need is salt and flour.

kuan

It doesn't take long for brown lentils, about a half hour I'd say. There are other kinds as well. Hit the Indian grocer for different types.

Eatadonut

Being a cheap ass is a lot like being broke. You don't have to splurge on food to stay nourished, you just have to know what cheap stuff is worth buying.

Zee

Sometime you should try rice mixed with lentils. You just cook them separately (because lentils take longer), then just mix them together. It's pretty good! You can also try a thin pasta like angel hair; instead of cooking it in water, cook it in a little oil in a skillet just until the pasta turns brown, then toss it into the rice. It's a Mediterranean recipe, and it's good

You can also make rice, then in a skillet cook some hamburger, onions, green pepper, fresh mushrooms (put those in last, just before you finish; otherwise they shrink and produce water), beans if you like, and of course your favorite spices. I like to use basil, Itlian spices, oregano, turmeric (the yellow spice) and salt. Then when it's done toss in the rice, and serve with warm pita bread (the flat kind is what we eat, about 75 cents for a loaf of 10 pieces, if you go to the right store).


Here's a few more with pita bread, something we eat allllll the time (you can cook one or all of these, whatever you like):

Slice an eggplant thin and put the slices in a bowl of cold, salted water. This takes out the bitterness. Drain well, then fry on med-high flame with a little salt until each side is brown. Drain on paper towels - they soak up oil.

Slice or roughly chop a potato, and fry till soft and/or brown, with salt and spices if you like. If you want less oil you could probably boil them for a little while instead. Remember, most of the vitamins are in the skin.

Slice a beefsteak tomato, OR Roma tomatoes (they're cheaper, and have lots of flavor) and fry the slices; salt and turmeric make them perfect.

Take any and all of these (you can eat them together, that's good, too) and wrap in a piece of torn-off warm pita bread. Yummm!!

(Okay, it's a little higher in fat with the oil, but it is GOOD and it is CHEAP)

And by the way, a word to the wise: NEVER refrigerate your tomatoes, unless you think they might be on the verge. When you refrigerate them they "die," they lose most of their flavor and nutrients. Keep them loose in a bowl on the counter, you won't regret it!

FXjohn

Don't forget to shop chicken pieces on sale...it goes good with rice, healthier than burger...can be very cheap. Whole chickens...wings and drums, or whole cut up chicken can be the cheapest.
But skinless, boneless breasts are on sale once in awhile.
I could easily eat all week for ten dollars on chicken legs and rice. The dark meat can be kinda gross...but in fried rice with some soy sauce it's pretty good especially if precooked.
Here's another great way to save money over time. Buy in bulk and get a vacuum sealer...they used to be on on infomericals...for big bucks...now you can get emf for 35 bucks. Vacuum seal stuff on sale and freeze...it keeps tuff really fresh too, believe me.

here's the link on the side of mine: www.foodsaver.com

Zee

Yep, we eat alot of chicken. I'm pretty sure it's cheaper by the pound if you buy the whole chicken, though (we buy ours at a butcher shop in Dearborn, MI because it meets our religious requirements for butchering, so I don't know what it sells for elsewhere), and you get the benefit of having the bones for chicken stock, which can be used for soup and/or flavoring for alot of other meals. They really aren't that hard to clean; it's worth the extra time.

FXjohn

Yopu live in Goshen and drive to Dearborn for meat...LOL...doesn't sound too thrifty.
I guess you get your burger there too, "magic meat"

Zee

No, it's not thrifty to drive that far lol... but we only go about four times a year, and stock the freezer. We get our choice of cuts of beef and lamb (ground, stew, ribs, etc.); and of course we get chicken, whole or any cuts we like, at $20 for 25 pounds. While we're there we also buy our religious books, Middle-Eastern foods we can't get here (like the pita bread), and while we're at the New Yasmeen Bakery for the bread we get some REAL Baklava (actually pronounced "baqlawa," it originated in the M.E.). They also have great clothing stores (for me hehe) and import stores, and of course we can't make the trip witout finishing up at our favorite spot to get food for the ride home - Arab Kebab! *drooool*

FXjohn

Hmmm, where is Arab Kebab? I go to Detroit a few times per year.
Sounds like you have a deep freeze, a sign of a true spendthrift. You might really like the vacuum sealer.
When I worked in Pontiac a Jordanian guy used to bring in some stuff cooked on grape leaves like a fajita that was really tasty.

Zee

Yep, we have a 7 1/2 cubic foot chest freezer. I don't think it's ever been quite full though!! LOL... We do buy alot of the pita bread at once, too, about 20 packages, so that takes up some space.

If you take Schaffer north into Dearborn, and turn left on Warren, it's just a couple of blocks west on the right. It's on a corner and has a tiny parking lot in back. The sign over the back door says Iraqi Kebab, but the one on the front says Arab Kebab. It's not expensive at ALL, and you get the works - warm pita bread wrapped in plastic, 2-3 big hunks of kebab per person, plus lots of veggies to pile on - roasted tomatoes (blackened, yummm), lettuce, onions, chopped tomatoes (cold), pickled beets if you want. If you go there once you'll have to go every time!!! hehehe

(I MapQuest-ed it; there it's listed as Iraqi New Kebab. Anyway, here 'tis: https://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp...ddle%20Eastern ) I seem to recall it being between Schaffer and the railroad tracks, but that's the only kebab place on Warren in Dearborn that I could find using MapQuest.

Don't forget to stop at New Yasmeen Bakery by the railroad tracks, too; they have the best pita bread, baqlawa and other sweets in town, and you can get a really good (and cheap) meal there, too! When my mother goes up with me (instead of hubby), we each eat for $5-10, and they give you ALOT of food (it's done cafeteria-style; you can see the food, and they dish it up for you).

deadly downtube

eat better veggies.. bok choy is the most nutritious vegetable in the universe, and after a light steaming it tastes great. throw in some broccoli, kale, and cabbage! what have carrots ever done for a person?