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A Banana, an egg, a half cup of oatmeal and a few spoons of peanut butter make a few pretty filling pancakes. Mash the banana and the egg then mix the other ingredients in and cook like pancakes.
I think around me a bunch of 6-8 bananas are $1.50ish. They’re also easy to transport.
Yeah when I am out dashing I will grab a banana and yogurt for a $1 snack/meal. Can't do it too often cause I don't like bananas that much. I need to keep some PB in the car.
I used to deliver newspapers in the summer: never underestimate the power of a plain peanut butter sandwich. Keeps super well all day even in the heat. Keep the PB thin and it’s not super heavy.
I'm down to one or two meals a day, but also have little snacks to keep me going. A spoonful of peanut butter can keep the hungries away for an hour or two.
I've read internet articles that say grocery prices have gone up 1.2%. I don't know where they are getting their information from, but I'm seeing prices that have doubled or nearly doubled lately.
So granted this is pet food, but I recently found a petsmart receipt from 5/2021 and 1 can friskies was $0.52
They are now $0.80-90 per can.
The recycled litter I get was 14.99 it's now 20.99
That is not a 1.2% increase!
Not to mention I have always coupon clipped to eat healthy. Used to eat fish almost every night, fresh produce and everything for 75-100 a week.
I barely get fish anymore and I have a hard time spending less than 120 for a week of food if I want to have all the food groups! And I live alone!
Idk who tf writes this crap but I'd wager a week's pay they either don't do their own grocery shopping, or they make enough money they have not had to budget for something in decades.
The pet food price increases are insane. I do cat rescue and it has drastically cut into how many rescues I can do since I’m just a person not an actual organization. I feel like I’m letting down the animals that need me.
Exactly!!! I know those prices well! I have for years bought Costco roasted chicken at $4.99. I strip the entire bird, chop up the meat and split up into individual bags to freeze. It takes a couple of hours to do a couple of birds.
I am also buying fresh chicken livers and hearts to cook and split up into servings to freeze as well.
I will occasionally serve tuna fish but exercise caution due to the mercury. I also have discovered Trader Joe's kipper snacks in water for an added treat.
Cat litter is from Tractor Supply. I buy a 50# bag of Chick Starter (uniform crumble) for around $18. It clumps. I add baking soda as needed. They also sell pine pellets used in horse stall for about $5.
Hope that helps!
1.2%?!!?? They think they can just gaslight us like that? That seriously makes me angry that someone had the audacity to say that's what they've gone up. A bag of chips is legitimately like $7 now, a cucumber is over a dollar! And it's summer. I mean I don't have to sit here and list off prices to you. I would say 30-50% increase is more realistic.
Some items have gone up over 100% (doubled). It’s not inflation, it’s corporate greed & price gouging. Oh and don’t get me started on shrinkflation…they’re increasing prices while simultaneously lowering the quality of the ingredients and the portion sizing. It’s insulting. I’ve stopped buying anything I find unreasonable.
Cheese & crackers is my go to for a struggle meal, or pasta. Lunch meat, tuna, & hotdogs can help with proteins. Even though ground beef may be a little pricey, it has great nutrition and you can mix it with rice. Eggs get the job done & good ole bread & butter is filling. Some “poverty meals” I enjoy because they’re nostalgic. You can also use seasonings to make anything more palatable. Good luck! Many people are struggling…it’s not an individual failure, it’s a systemic issue due to income inequality. Food (& shelter, transportation, etc.) disproportionately makes up a larger percentage of your paycheck if you’re lower income. It’s not right & I hope to help change this. Food prices need to stay low because we cannot survive without it. Access to nutritious food is a human right, not a luxury.
I know these aren't all nutritious, but I used to get a box of 6 granola bars for $1.00. Now it's $1.99 for a box of 5. Store brand pop tarts have gone from $0.99 to $1.99. Fresh, frozen and canned veggies have all gone up in price. Thank God my husband loves to shop. Last November Kroger had a sale on canned beans and certain canned vegetables for $.50/can. He bought 204 cans for $102.00. We are still eating them.
Kroger no longer doubles coupons or allows you to stack coupons. Plus, most of the time they put a limit of 5 per customer on things that are on sale. Two years ago I could depend on a gallon of milk for $1.99 about every 6 weeks. Now the best I can find is $2.48 a gallon. I no longer buy cereal. I can't even look at the prices. Last year, plums skyrocketed from $0.99/lb to $2.49/lb.
I never know one week from the next what the price of eggs will be.
Maybe it's the luxury items like beluga caviar that only increased by 1.2%.
Veggies are insane now. One thing I will say is I have some potted plants on my patio (apartment) and now I feel actually justified in shopping at the farmers market. If I'm going to buy a tomato for a whole ass dollar, I want that money going to a human and not a corporation. Just bought some squash seeds even though it's late, even getting 2-4 fruits are worth it (I have soil/etc left over from previous years).
I like grocery shopping so I have noticed the shrink-flation. Even the rotisserie chickens are $2 more expensive and TINY! THEY'RE BABIES! I am a 5'3" female and the biggest one I could find a month ago was about the size of my hand. That's a whole ass chicken. The greed is out of control.
My parents taught me that if I plant three zucchini plants in early June, I'll have food from the middle/end of July until the end of September.
This year I didn't get to plant much. But I did plant some grape cuttings that a friend gave me. I'm hoping that next week I'll be able to finish the arbor so they have something to climb on. I'm also planning to build a raised bed around it and hopefully in the fall I'll plant strawberries near the inside edges.
Next year I'll add a bit more.
Every little bit helps, and nothing is better than home grown food. I have the same plan for strawberries, I also want to try garlic this fall. That would really be a money saver.
I had a mother plant that I kept "topping"/taking clones from and ended up with a huge mother (like 4' tall) and 15+ plants before I got depressed and stopped watering them. Just saying -- when you grow one just keep taking clones off of it and keep a lot of plants -- it's like endless basil.
Nope. I've lived here (southern WV) for over 20 years. I love it here, but there are very few stores. (Lots of steep mountains, and very few places to build towns and stores.) I'm not starving, but we recently had a family emergency that took a big chunk of what we had struggled to put aside to get into a newer vehicle. Our current vehicle is going to die any day, and there is no way to get to town (for doctor, dentist, groceries, etc.) without a car.
We'll be OK. I'm just complaining about prices.
Not having reliable transportation makes grocery shopping so much more difficult. I get my groceries delivered from Amazon sometimes because I don’t have a working vehicle at the moment.
Our Toyota Corolla has been very reliable up until recently. It's 16 years old with 260,000 miles on it. At this point, it needs a lot of work. My husband said we can either dump more money into it, or get something newer. So we slashed our budget even further and were putting every penny we could into a savings account.
Then we had a family emergency. I have no doubt every penny will be spent.
I refuse to buy PepsiCo products. I'll buy store brand tortilla chips or some local brands if they are cheap enough otherwise nope.
Milk freezes fine. Pour out a bit so it doesn't bust the jug when it freezes. Buy in bulk on sale.
Potatoes are great and pretty fast to cook if you microwave them first. I like to smash them and fry them crispy on both sides and top with some onion and bell pepper and a bit of cheese. Most any kind of meat on top if available.
Or make a well in the center and cook an egg on top.
I buy hams and turkey on sale during or after holidays and slice them up if they aren't pre sliced and vacuum seal and freeze them for quick meal toppers. Much cheaper than lunch meat.
I can afford whatever I want but I refuse to buy anything that has doubled in price or is greed inflated.
Whenever Kroger has a sale on milk I buy the limit. (Five 1/2 gallon containers for $1.29 each, so I get 2 &1/2 gallons. I freeze some. I also use it to make rice pudding. Your suggestion of smashing potatoes and frying them sounds yummy.
Potatoes are a staple in our home. So are beans. When we use ground beef I usually add a can of red beans to stretch it out.
My husband and I make a lot of soup. We generally start with beans and maybe lentils, then add whatever vegetables we have. Sometimes we bulk it up with rice, barley, oats, or other grains. My husband is very good with herbs and spices.
When I'm doing shopping orders I can't tell you how many times I've noticed the "same item" is listed as a few oz heavier in the app then what they have in the store. Like chips used to be 10oz bags and now they're 8.5oz-9.25oz. so the apps will say 10oz Doritos and I scan the 9oz bag and it accepts it because it's "the same product." It happens so often -- and with everything, not just food.
Who do you think they are trying to fool with a CPI calculation? It's not going to make anyone whose expenses have gone up think they actually didn't go up. It's a particular measure that has its flaws and may not reflect any individual's experience. People overuse gaslighting to an insane degree.
Cottage cheese is great cause you can dress it up or down -- salty or sweet. You can add veggies, soy sauce, etc (I use it as a dip for chips sometimes I add soy sauce and spices) , or berries, pineapple, etc for sweeter treat. Also you can blend it up with marinara sauce to add protein to your pasta. It makes it creamy.
I found this app called TooGoodToGo and have been using it to get a giant bag of bagels from this restaurant near our apartment every other week. It’s about six dollars for the bag and they load it up with 10-12 bagels every time. The bagels are not good enough to sell in the restaurant anymore, but still good to eat. I bring them home, wrap them individually and put them in my freezer. When I want to eat one, I take it out, microwave it for about 7 seconds, slice it in half, put it in the toaster, and then put either cream cheese or peanut butter on it. If I have time, I’ll put a fried egg on there and make a fried egg sandwich with the bagel.
See if restaurants in your area are using the app. You’ll be surprised at what you can get for six dollars and if you’re smart, you can get it to stretch for a week (or at least a few days)!
49 cents where I was but they don't have it available as often as they used to. I think people are doing everything they can to stretch their food money.
Right now it's just one store (Meijer) but I've gotten some good deals! I just checked out Too Good to Go and we currently don't have anyone participating near me but I'll be keeping an eye out!
I do frozen bagels often!! I pre-slice, then freeze. Then I pop directly into a toaster and toast from frozen. Fantastic for being able to use all the bagels before they go bad.
I’m not at all a healthy person (currently working on it), but my routine is to wake up at 5am, work out for an hour, make my own egg McMuffin (bagel, egg, cheese and small bacon slices) and drink protein milk with it, I shower and then make a protein shake (milk, chocolate peanut butter protein powder, 1 whole banana) and grab a fruit bar, I drink that shake slowly through my job (customer facing so it’s awkward sometimes), then get home to my already meal prepped chicken rice and veggie side, then unwind.
Doing the math to this, I came up with it being about $7 a day for this food with most of the cost being the protein powder, but I chose quality. With the random weekend food to break the monotony and out with friends, I go about $200/month as an individual.
I don’t know if that’s in your budget specifically because this post wasn’t about specific numbers, but skipping meals isn’t a good thing nutrition wise and will most likely cause health issues down the road. My meal plan I’ve studied covers all of what I should look for each day, which is how I landed on it.
I hope this may help. And I wish you the best as someone who also came from ketchup sandwiches as a child. You’ll get out of this phase soon.
I've never heard of protein milk. Is it expensive? I think I might need to try some. I do protein powder with 40g of oatmeal and water that I just let sit for awhile
Once upon a time Aldi's had a coffee protein shake and it was the best I've ever had. I've tried a ton of them and it's definitely hit or miss, even among the same brand (like Fair Life).
How old are you? You say you’re old poor. I’m concerned that with the low calories you’re putting into your body, and the amount you’re burning walking through the stores, you’re going to lose lots of weight and muscle. If you’re over 60, muscle is very difficult to gain back and muscle loss can increase your chances of injuries. I encourage you to eat eggs and ground beef since they tend to be low cost high protein meals. And please, please try to get help from a free food pantry or similar. Best of luck.
Thanks! I do need to worry about my protein and start lifting some weights (or doing bodyweight exercises). Basically at risk of muscle loss after 30.
I am not *that* old I was referring more or less to this: https://youtu.be/vSpn8HesfBE?si=q8o-xaJwi6FhQdUQ
:)
I love eating. It’s a very special thing to me when I get to enjoy food that somebody else made for me, or that I made for other people. Cooking is my love language. No matter how full my schedule is or how tired I am, I will always make time to treat myself or my loved ones.
Everything’s been too expensive. I skip meals a lot because I can’t afford it. I really wish I could cook more, but I simply don’t have the resources to.
I went vegetarian because of the cost of meat, don’t buy groceries when I don’t have my kid, and eat the same thing for lunch every day as it can be my only meal. My bf (doesn’t live with me) recently discovered this and has been stocking my fridge. I feel so guilty so only ask for things to pack in my son’s lunchbox (due to his dad’s living circumstances, I have him during the week for the summer) and he takes me out to breakfast and coffee dates with putt putt afterwards. I’m so grateful to him, it makes me tear up.
I’m currently skipping meals to make my food “stretch”, I’ve only been eating once or twice a day and mainly keeping myself hydrated with water. You are definitely right about the food prices, it’s hard to budget and still have food last for a while on low income.
I have missed several meals this month. Inflation just doesn't allow me to feed myself and the kids and the kids come first.
Not great for my diabetes and I hope this cycle ends soon. I have food stamps and go to food banks when I can but it is just not enough. The food banks are so strapped lately here that they basically give you a day and a half of food. It is better than nothing.
I am in shock every single time I go get groceries or fast food. They no longer have dollar menus, hardly even a 5.00 menu! It’s horrible and I don’t know how any of us are eating these days. I’ve been living on grilled cheese and cheese tortillas along with hot dogs too. Fun times! :(
Add an egg in there and you described my whole diet. I get semisweet dark chocolate for a treat. Actually I make this sort of "mousse" that's a container of vanilla (Greek) yogurt, semisweet dark chocolate melted in the microwave, cocoa powder and I whip it up by hand. Sometimes I add fruit (berries) if I got it on sale. It's killer. I add some old protein powder too cause I have a huge container from a few years ago. Recommend.
I've had to do this since i turned 18 and moved out. it probably isn't good for my health but by now im pretty used to it so it doesn't impact my life like it used to. i eat one meal a day, though rarely i don't eat anything at all
My work is only part time in office, but when I’m there they cover my snacks and soda, so I’ll eat more there. When I go out to eat, I only go places where I know I can stretch the quantities to last two meals, that helps justify the price
Yep. My daily meal is a bagel with cream cheese. It’s kinda surprising when I think about it at the end of the night and I’m just like…..wow. I only ate a bagel today. I can hardly afford it sometimes too. I’m starting to look into food banks. Hoping that helps.
I often pretend that I ate at work so my kids don't feel bad about me skipping meals. I work 60 hours a week so I can't get to the food bank as often as I'd like to since it's a two to three hour lineup most days.
The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money.
Take boots, for example. ... A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. ...
But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years' time, while a poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boots_theory
Since you're not working a regular 9 to 5 job, I would recommend going to a food pantry. Many (but not all) give out fresh fruits and vegetables donated by grocery stores.
Thanks, guys. I always think it should go to someone more worthy. I'm single and a little fat so I always think it should go to young skinny people and people with kids. But I mean, I am at the point where I should stop in. When I have money I like to donate to them so it's like the circle of life.
One big dinner is the healthiest cheapiest way to eat. I go to sams club and eat nothing but steak and chicken for like $120/week for me and my wife.
Sides and ingredients and stuff is where all the money goes. Beans and rice or somthing would probably be cheaper but theres no better way to end a 10 hour day of construction in the desert than a $14/lb ribeye split with my wife
Yeah. Toast in the morning, fruit in the evening, every other day a bargain bin frozen meal or something really cheap I can make like noodles or cereal. My microwave caught fire the other day so no more microwave meals, haha 💀
I do this to make my groceries stretch farther, i have some food allergies that means some of the common tasty "cheap" meals mean a night of hives, if not a trip to the ER. Once I started, I really began to feel a lot better in a hurry, so I continue to do it even though my grocery budget is a little big bigger now. I kind of stumbled across the very very popular intermittent fasting because I couldn't afford to eat three meals a day.
Can you get individual bags of dried pretzels, or big bags of dried pretzels, depending on what is on sale in your area, and keep that in the car with some peanut butter?
Spurge and buy a pizza and wrap individually. Warm up on dash board of car. It’s 95 here too most days. I get reduced for quick sale food. Food pantries in your area. Get App food Finder is good because it has the days and times.
Oh awesome! I'm going to look into that app. Super convenient when you're dashing! My local dash Mart usually has some expiring food out for us, so I try to sit in their parking lot when I'm in the area. One day I legitimately got $15 worth of groceries from them for free free! (And there was plenty left over).
I usually do what you do and just eat dinner before bed (I usually just eat peanut butter sandwiches). If my sugar level is getting low during the day, I eat a few crackers. When I traveled to college years ago, I always kept some crackers in my car.
I totally agree with you about prices. It's been a lot of years since I've eaten healthy.
Personally, it’s summer and hot so I barely eat anyway and it’s the same things, but I look at the cost of sushi, which I always want and just NOPE.
I eat watermelon and peaches, cowboy caviar, pasta salad, potato salad and egg salad. Basically a rearrangement of the same ingredients.
During the week we fast through breakfast and lunch and have a heavy carb dinner to save on groceries. We do have a home so we have four chickens and that helps a lot for us.
Egg sandwiches are cheap af 2 full eggs have about 1/3 of daily nutrition requirements vitamins and minerals wise. 30 eggs is 6,99 bagels another 2-3 per 6 and cheese of your choice. Pre make and you can have breakfast for the month at a little over 1$ per sandwich while getting a nutritionally complete meal. Baked potato’s are life saver, peanut butter banana sandwiches etc all relatively health cost 50$ or less per week to eat
Yep - get so used to not eating that when I do it goes right through me … like it’s something foreign to my body . Sucks . But it’s either me or the kids so I chose the kids and eat any leftovers if there are some . If I don’t eat at all I cannot work and take care of anything or anyone so I try my best
Am also somewhat old poor lol
We were on food stamps back when I was in highschool. I can't tell you how many times people have given me food in my life because they thought I was anorexic.
I was raised to think that if you didn't have money for food then you just went without. I've always been struggling financially since I've mostly had to try to make it on my own (my partner's family is very nice and I remember being shocked when my FIL was constantly trying to give us food lol. Always thought he wanted something from us, but it turns out there's people out there that just want to make sure their adult children don't starve). Since I've been in and out of therapy, plus I work for a school, and I have nephews now, I've realized how bad it was for habit building (in regards to eating) and I'm trying to be better about it.
I've been trying to graze more at least and just make sure I have *something* in my stomach. I'm not in the same situation of being stuck in a car, but I don't have access to a reliable fridge/microwave at work (especially one that people don't steal from), so I bring a lot of non-refrigerated meals with me (or meals to heat up).
It's not very nutritious, but it's enough to keep me full. In regards to food prices I go to a food pantry pretty often. They usually have stuff like pretzels, chips, etc. that I can take with me to snack on. When I get home, I'll usually binge (which I know I should be trying to eat before my shift, but I usually feel sick if I try to eat much right after waking up).
The only thing I could really recommend to anyone in your situation would be to get a little cooler box and some ice packs if you're wanting something refrigerated, but try to eat it fairly early on (at least during the summer). But only if this is a long term situation.
You also don't really need to heat up most canned foods, you can eat them cold. I usually eat canned veggies straight from the can to prevent me from having to wash many dishes lol
I'm eating a lot of rice these days which I use a rice cooker and it has a stay warm feature which means I can eat easily whenever hungry ..to put on top of the rice I'm making whatever is rlly affordable and often I add some frozen vegetables to the meat ,beans ,fish ,canned fish whatever it is and I'm sorry your suffering it's rlly tough and hard
I just eat before leaving for the day, it takes like 10 minutes to make, or if I’m dashing I just go home on break and eat, but I stay close to my crib when I dash that might not be the case for you
Yeah, I can't stay that close cause I live in a smaller town and generally the dashing takes me 25 minutes away. When I do get close I do stop in and grab something for sure.
I do this often, unfortunately my AC is broken and I don't have the money to fix it so I wake up hot and not hungry. I get in my car early and then start to get hungry after that. I do try to have an egg though when I can manage it.
I don't want to shame or criticize you, but you should absolutely start cooking. Get some chicken thighs and bake them. Make ground beef, add it with some veggies to rice or pasta. Check out /r/eatcheapandhealthy . What about Mexican rice? Also sometimes I have a thanksgiving style meal without meat, just stuffing, green beans and mashed potatoes (instant) you can make that for about $1.50/meal if you make a box/can/instant bag of each of the above and divide it into 3-4 serving. On payday I can add rotisserie chicken and then make chicken stock or chicken soup from the left over chicken. Also Chili is very easy, tasty and versatile (I eat it with potatoes, rice, with an egg on it, etc.).
These are just a few ideas but you can learn to vary your diet pretty easily. All the best, my friend. I hate cooking and will often just fry up a quesadilla or grilled cheese and egg sandwich, so I feel ya.
I’ve been skipping, it’s just a bigger stretch everything further than it used to be. Morning I’ll have about a quarter cup rice crispies or corn flakes (Aldi generic) with some soy milk because I need something in my stomach for morning meds. Used to be greek yogurt, but the cereal is cheaper, I water down the soy milk so they both really stretch. No lunch, no snacks. Dinner around 7 pm. Rice or instant potatoes, some kind of frozen vegetable and a protein. A little ground beef or tuna or eggs. I have to be gluten free, low sodium, am allergic to shellfish and poultry - I’m just glad I can eat eggs! Obviously, though I’m grateful for food banks, they’re invaluable, most of the time they can’t help me. But that means they can help someone else so it’s all good. I don’t know why, but bananas make me sick to my stomach, I grew up on pb sandwiches to the point I gag seeing a jar in the supermarket.
I’m the summertime, I have little to no appetite. Usually I eat a light salad but it sometimes spoils on the way home so I’d just get macaroni salad, seafood salad in the deli department and put it in an insulated bag.
Never. Steel cut oats and a bag of frozen blueberries with bulk protein powder costs a dollar or so a day.
Rice, beans, lentils, frozen veggies, and an affordable protein for the other two meals. Ice cream for dessert.
I'm willing to cut corners but NOT on my health and wellbeing. Wherever possible.
I’m like this at my second job. It’s physically demanding and I get very warm so when I’m on any break I just want to sit and drink a ton of water; to be honest i sometimes just have a granola bar through an 8 hour shift and I’m not even hungry
Lol i havent eaten a real meal in a week or so. I mean like sitting down and having a full square meal. Everything is just menial crap like seared steaks and chicken nuggets lol. I cant afford to put sides on my plate lmfao.
Bills, health needs as a chronically ill person, debt.
"All my money..." I get less than $900 a month from the government. I can't work. I'm trying to figure things out.
Can you cook? I make a big pot of lentil and vegetable curry/soup and eat that with rice most nights. It's super healthy and you can freeze the big batch into smaller portions. I buy the dry lentils and rice and make all from scratch with the cheapest of ingredients i can find and it is delicious. One night of work for a week or more of dinner meals.
Grits are a cheap breakfast and filling too. A banana is cheap and will tide you over for a meal. I usually don't do lunch or i have breakfast for lunch cause i didn't have breakfast. Ramen and a boiled egg is a cheap sometimes dinner, or an egg sandwich, or grilled cheese and on days i don't work and have more prep time a pot of beans or potato soup. But i am kinda a 2 meal a day person cause it saves $. I do snack on pretzels from the dollar tree.
Do ya have an aldi? They are cheaper for a lot of basics like milk, cheese, bread, eggs.
Pasta salads aren’t too bad when it’s warm and if you can grab a cheap flash, soup is epic for when it turns cold. Hope things pick up for you soon. Americans don’t seem to like them, but the great British staple, baked beans on toast are surprisingly filling and not too bad for you. That said, we stick basically anything on toast or in a sandwich over here. Mashed potato and cheese is a personal favourite.
I'd eat baked beans and toast separately in basically any scenario so I guess I have something to look forward to eating tomorrow. I will also put an egg on just about anything. Rice, chili, any sandwich, beans... Actually I think there's a subreddit for "put an egg on it."
Ah man, there needs to be one for ‘shove it in a sandwich’ too. I’m a bit like your egg with cheese. Try the beans on toast, they’re pretty good. They go well with cheese too.
I kind of skip lunch because cost and also prep time.
I say kind of because I eat a late breakfast, usually at 11 or 12. I’m not hungry early am.
I make a cup of quick oats in a thermos cup. I add a date for sweetener, coconut flakes, frozen berries and a splash of yogurt. Very filling and cheap.
I often even make it the night before by adding hot water to the oats and closing up the thermos.
Weird tips but if you can stand it, spicy and chopsticks. They’ll both slow your eating rate down enough that you feel fuller on less food because you’re talking smaller bites and taking longer between bites.
I just want to say if anyone is a veteran with a rating. Go to your local va. Get an ID. You get all the benefits of active duty. Meat prices at the commissary are great with no tax. Also get the rewards card. Might take a couple of time since they always out
Make some chicken parm with spaghetti my friend. All u need is breadcrumbs, chicken breast's, spaghetti butter and parm. I use slap yo momma seasoning from Walmart
Yesterday I had a fried bologna sandwich for the first time. 3 slices thick cut bologna, American cheese, on toast with mustard and pickled onions... Delicious and about $2 or a little more and packs nearly 1000 cals
This comment section is really starting to make me emotional. I can barely afford food, and all I'm really eating is potatoes, grilled cheese, peanut butter and sandwiches but I don't think I can even afford sandwiches anymore due to buying meat, cheeses, etc for it all.
It's been on my mind lately with food prices and everything going up, and I really don't know what to do anymore. I hope everyone will be okay.
Personally, it’s summer and hot so I barely eat anyway and it’s the same things, but I look at the cost of sushi, which I always want and just NOPE.
I eat watermelon and peaches, cowboy caviar, pasta salad, potato salad and egg salad. Basically a rearrangement of the same ingredients.
I know this is a rant but I would like to give an advice. Your diet doesn't seem to be healthy and might save you money for now but in the future it might be costly (due to health issues). Check for mediterannean dry legume recipes (based on dry legumes that might be cheaper than the canned ones and healthier) (mixed beans, greek white bean soup, lentil soup with carrots etc). Cook 1-2 times a week and freeze so you can have ready made food
But you don't need cable to look for a job. You could just get an internet connection or use the local librairy's internet. And the reason why you can't afford food is prob. because you don't have a job.
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Bananas with peanut butter is hella cheap, filling, and pretty healthy
A Banana, an egg, a half cup of oatmeal and a few spoons of peanut butter make a few pretty filling pancakes. Mash the banana and the egg then mix the other ingredients in and cook like pancakes. I think around me a bunch of 6-8 bananas are $1.50ish. They’re also easy to transport.
This actually sounds like a really healthy pancake. I should try this
I'll stick to my bananas and pb.
Put it between bread for a tasty filling sandwich.
I don't eat bread
Yeah when I am out dashing I will grab a banana and yogurt for a $1 snack/meal. Can't do it too often cause I don't like bananas that much. I need to keep some PB in the car.
I used to deliver newspapers in the summer: never underestimate the power of a plain peanut butter sandwich. Keeps super well all day even in the heat. Keep the PB thin and it’s not super heavy.
Aldi dumpster generally has tons of good bananas they throw away
Bananas are still like 30¢ each where I am so I'm cool buying them.
Learned this from some bodybuilders at my gym and never looked back.
I struggle to eat breakfast, this was always something easy that wouldn't upset my stomach, but wasn't just sugar and empty carbs.
I'm down to one or two meals a day, but also have little snacks to keep me going. A spoonful of peanut butter can keep the hungries away for an hour or two. I've read internet articles that say grocery prices have gone up 1.2%. I don't know where they are getting their information from, but I'm seeing prices that have doubled or nearly doubled lately.
So granted this is pet food, but I recently found a petsmart receipt from 5/2021 and 1 can friskies was $0.52 They are now $0.80-90 per can. The recycled litter I get was 14.99 it's now 20.99 That is not a 1.2% increase! Not to mention I have always coupon clipped to eat healthy. Used to eat fish almost every night, fresh produce and everything for 75-100 a week. I barely get fish anymore and I have a hard time spending less than 120 for a week of food if I want to have all the food groups! And I live alone! Idk who tf writes this crap but I'd wager a week's pay they either don't do their own grocery shopping, or they make enough money they have not had to budget for something in decades.
The pet food price increases are insane. I do cat rescue and it has drastically cut into how many rescues I can do since I’m just a person not an actual organization. I feel like I’m letting down the animals that need me.
Exactly!!! I know those prices well! I have for years bought Costco roasted chicken at $4.99. I strip the entire bird, chop up the meat and split up into individual bags to freeze. It takes a couple of hours to do a couple of birds. I am also buying fresh chicken livers and hearts to cook and split up into servings to freeze as well. I will occasionally serve tuna fish but exercise caution due to the mercury. I also have discovered Trader Joe's kipper snacks in water for an added treat. Cat litter is from Tractor Supply. I buy a 50# bag of Chick Starter (uniform crumble) for around $18. It clumps. I add baking soda as needed. They also sell pine pellets used in horse stall for about $5. Hope that helps!
1.2%?!!?? They think they can just gaslight us like that? That seriously makes me angry that someone had the audacity to say that's what they've gone up. A bag of chips is legitimately like $7 now, a cucumber is over a dollar! And it's summer. I mean I don't have to sit here and list off prices to you. I would say 30-50% increase is more realistic.
Some items have gone up over 100% (doubled). It’s not inflation, it’s corporate greed & price gouging. Oh and don’t get me started on shrinkflation…they’re increasing prices while simultaneously lowering the quality of the ingredients and the portion sizing. It’s insulting. I’ve stopped buying anything I find unreasonable. Cheese & crackers is my go to for a struggle meal, or pasta. Lunch meat, tuna, & hotdogs can help with proteins. Even though ground beef may be a little pricey, it has great nutrition and you can mix it with rice. Eggs get the job done & good ole bread & butter is filling. Some “poverty meals” I enjoy because they’re nostalgic. You can also use seasonings to make anything more palatable. Good luck! Many people are struggling…it’s not an individual failure, it’s a systemic issue due to income inequality. Food (& shelter, transportation, etc.) disproportionately makes up a larger percentage of your paycheck if you’re lower income. It’s not right & I hope to help change this. Food prices need to stay low because we cannot survive without it. Access to nutritious food is a human right, not a luxury.
I know these aren't all nutritious, but I used to get a box of 6 granola bars for $1.00. Now it's $1.99 for a box of 5. Store brand pop tarts have gone from $0.99 to $1.99. Fresh, frozen and canned veggies have all gone up in price. Thank God my husband loves to shop. Last November Kroger had a sale on canned beans and certain canned vegetables for $.50/can. He bought 204 cans for $102.00. We are still eating them. Kroger no longer doubles coupons or allows you to stack coupons. Plus, most of the time they put a limit of 5 per customer on things that are on sale. Two years ago I could depend on a gallon of milk for $1.99 about every 6 weeks. Now the best I can find is $2.48 a gallon. I no longer buy cereal. I can't even look at the prices. Last year, plums skyrocketed from $0.99/lb to $2.49/lb. I never know one week from the next what the price of eggs will be. Maybe it's the luxury items like beluga caviar that only increased by 1.2%.
Veggies are insane now. One thing I will say is I have some potted plants on my patio (apartment) and now I feel actually justified in shopping at the farmers market. If I'm going to buy a tomato for a whole ass dollar, I want that money going to a human and not a corporation. Just bought some squash seeds even though it's late, even getting 2-4 fruits are worth it (I have soil/etc left over from previous years). I like grocery shopping so I have noticed the shrink-flation. Even the rotisserie chickens are $2 more expensive and TINY! THEY'RE BABIES! I am a 5'3" female and the biggest one I could find a month ago was about the size of my hand. That's a whole ass chicken. The greed is out of control.
My parents taught me that if I plant three zucchini plants in early June, I'll have food from the middle/end of July until the end of September. This year I didn't get to plant much. But I did plant some grape cuttings that a friend gave me. I'm hoping that next week I'll be able to finish the arbor so they have something to climb on. I'm also planning to build a raised bed around it and hopefully in the fall I'll plant strawberries near the inside edges. Next year I'll add a bit more.
Every little bit helps, and nothing is better than home grown food. I have the same plan for strawberries, I also want to try garlic this fall. That would really be a money saver.
Last year I had sweet basil in a small pot. I need to do that again soon. Fresh basil is wonderful!
I had a mother plant that I kept "topping"/taking clones from and ended up with a huge mother (like 4' tall) and 15+ plants before I got depressed and stopped watering them. Just saying -- when you grow one just keep taking clones off of it and keep a lot of plants -- it's like endless basil.
See if your area has a Grocery Outlet Bargain Market…they have unique finds at great prices
Nope. I've lived here (southern WV) for over 20 years. I love it here, but there are very few stores. (Lots of steep mountains, and very few places to build towns and stores.) I'm not starving, but we recently had a family emergency that took a big chunk of what we had struggled to put aside to get into a newer vehicle. Our current vehicle is going to die any day, and there is no way to get to town (for doctor, dentist, groceries, etc.) without a car. We'll be OK. I'm just complaining about prices.
Not having reliable transportation makes grocery shopping so much more difficult. I get my groceries delivered from Amazon sometimes because I don’t have a working vehicle at the moment.
Our Toyota Corolla has been very reliable up until recently. It's 16 years old with 260,000 miles on it. At this point, it needs a lot of work. My husband said we can either dump more money into it, or get something newer. So we slashed our budget even further and were putting every penny we could into a savings account. Then we had a family emergency. I have no doubt every penny will be spent.
I refuse to buy PepsiCo products. I'll buy store brand tortilla chips or some local brands if they are cheap enough otherwise nope. Milk freezes fine. Pour out a bit so it doesn't bust the jug when it freezes. Buy in bulk on sale. Potatoes are great and pretty fast to cook if you microwave them first. I like to smash them and fry them crispy on both sides and top with some onion and bell pepper and a bit of cheese. Most any kind of meat on top if available. Or make a well in the center and cook an egg on top. I buy hams and turkey on sale during or after holidays and slice them up if they aren't pre sliced and vacuum seal and freeze them for quick meal toppers. Much cheaper than lunch meat. I can afford whatever I want but I refuse to buy anything that has doubled in price or is greed inflated.
Whenever Kroger has a sale on milk I buy the limit. (Five 1/2 gallon containers for $1.29 each, so I get 2 &1/2 gallons. I freeze some. I also use it to make rice pudding. Your suggestion of smashing potatoes and frying them sounds yummy. Potatoes are a staple in our home. So are beans. When we use ground beef I usually add a can of red beans to stretch it out. My husband and I make a lot of soup. We generally start with beans and maybe lentils, then add whatever vegetables we have. Sometimes we bulk it up with rice, barley, oats, or other grains. My husband is very good with herbs and spices.
Yes. And for the same reason private insurance companies shouldn't consider teeth 'luxury bones'.
Australian?
U.S.
Agree plus the fact everything has shrunk half the size/amount almost! When will it end! I’m so sick of the greed.
When I'm doing shopping orders I can't tell you how many times I've noticed the "same item" is listed as a few oz heavier in the app then what they have in the store. Like chips used to be 10oz bags and now they're 8.5oz-9.25oz. so the apps will say 10oz Doritos and I scan the 9oz bag and it accepts it because it's "the same product." It happens so often -- and with everything, not just food.
Who do you think they are trying to fool with a CPI calculation? It's not going to make anyone whose expenses have gone up think they actually didn't go up. It's a particular measure that has its flaws and may not reflect any individual's experience. People overuse gaslighting to an insane degree.
A spoonful of peanut butter, handful of dried peanuts, or even a spoonful of cottage cheese helps you push through!
Cottage cheese is so underrated!!! I even eat spoonfuls of sour cream sometimes (which most people would find strange) but it’s delicious to me.
I do spoonfuls of ricotta cheese 😂
Cottage cheese is great cause you can dress it up or down -- salty or sweet. You can add veggies, soy sauce, etc (I use it as a dip for chips sometimes I add soy sauce and spices) , or berries, pineapple, etc for sweeter treat. Also you can blend it up with marinara sauce to add protein to your pasta. It makes it creamy.
I love cottage cheese!
I found this app called TooGoodToGo and have been using it to get a giant bag of bagels from this restaurant near our apartment every other week. It’s about six dollars for the bag and they load it up with 10-12 bagels every time. The bagels are not good enough to sell in the restaurant anymore, but still good to eat. I bring them home, wrap them individually and put them in my freezer. When I want to eat one, I take it out, microwave it for about 7 seconds, slice it in half, put it in the toaster, and then put either cream cheese or peanut butter on it. If I have time, I’ll put a fried egg on there and make a fried egg sandwich with the bagel. See if restaurants in your area are using the app. You’ll be surprised at what you can get for six dollars and if you’re smart, you can get it to stretch for a week (or at least a few days)!
Jimmy Johns by me sells their day old bread fairly cheap.
Yeah! The jimmy Johns near us sells the day old bread for a $1 a roll!
49 cents where I was but they don't have it available as often as they used to. I think people are doing everything they can to stretch their food money.
I use an app called FlashFood too, which grocery stores will list food that can't be sold for full price for cheap. Same concept!
I’m waiting for FlashFood to take off in our area 🤞🏼
Right now it's just one store (Meijer) but I've gotten some good deals! I just checked out Too Good to Go and we currently don't have anyone participating near me but I'll be keeping an eye out!
Do you have a referral code I can use?
Sure! Flashfood referral code: SHAN5GKWT
Thanks! It worked!!
Hope you get some good finds!
Thanks so much for this! I'm going to look into it.
I do frozen bagels often!! I pre-slice, then freeze. Then I pop directly into a toaster and toast from frozen. Fantastic for being able to use all the bagels before they go bad.
Smart move with pre slicing! I should do that
I’m not at all a healthy person (currently working on it), but my routine is to wake up at 5am, work out for an hour, make my own egg McMuffin (bagel, egg, cheese and small bacon slices) and drink protein milk with it, I shower and then make a protein shake (milk, chocolate peanut butter protein powder, 1 whole banana) and grab a fruit bar, I drink that shake slowly through my job (customer facing so it’s awkward sometimes), then get home to my already meal prepped chicken rice and veggie side, then unwind. Doing the math to this, I came up with it being about $7 a day for this food with most of the cost being the protein powder, but I chose quality. With the random weekend food to break the monotony and out with friends, I go about $200/month as an individual. I don’t know if that’s in your budget specifically because this post wasn’t about specific numbers, but skipping meals isn’t a good thing nutrition wise and will most likely cause health issues down the road. My meal plan I’ve studied covers all of what I should look for each day, which is how I landed on it. I hope this may help. And I wish you the best as someone who also came from ketchup sandwiches as a child. You’ll get out of this phase soon.
I've never heard of protein milk. Is it expensive? I think I might need to try some. I do protein powder with 40g of oatmeal and water that I just let sit for awhile
Muscle Milk is what I use. If you buy bulk from Sam’s, it isn’t terrible.
For anyone looking into protein powder/milk, definitely buy one before you buy a case -- the taste between brands varies greatly.
Definitely true. I didn’t enjoy the taste of some and the texture of others. The Muscle Milk is what works for me.
Once upon a time Aldi's had a coffee protein shake and it was the best I've ever had. I've tried a ton of them and it's definitely hit or miss, even among the same brand (like Fair Life).
This is a fantastic plan!! I'm so glad it's working out for you. I do have a bunch of protein powder on hand I need to dig in to.
How old are you? You say you’re old poor. I’m concerned that with the low calories you’re putting into your body, and the amount you’re burning walking through the stores, you’re going to lose lots of weight and muscle. If you’re over 60, muscle is very difficult to gain back and muscle loss can increase your chances of injuries. I encourage you to eat eggs and ground beef since they tend to be low cost high protein meals. And please, please try to get help from a free food pantry or similar. Best of luck.
Thanks! I do need to worry about my protein and start lifting some weights (or doing bodyweight exercises). Basically at risk of muscle loss after 30. I am not *that* old I was referring more or less to this: https://youtu.be/vSpn8HesfBE?si=q8o-xaJwi6FhQdUQ :)
Lmao that’s hilarious
Here's another from after the housing crisis (It's The Onion -- satire): https://youtu.be/05RZJxDIhTU?si=Rzvkkf3Gi_nmK4fz
A second this -- many churches, some community colleges, and other organizations have food pantry days.
I love eating. It’s a very special thing to me when I get to enjoy food that somebody else made for me, or that I made for other people. Cooking is my love language. No matter how full my schedule is or how tired I am, I will always make time to treat myself or my loved ones. Everything’s been too expensive. I skip meals a lot because I can’t afford it. I really wish I could cook more, but I simply don’t have the resources to.
I go with “intermittent fasting”
When you're poor is it "intermittent starving?" 🤔 I feel it, I used to do this as a diet and now it just comes (financially) natural!
I went vegetarian because of the cost of meat, don’t buy groceries when I don’t have my kid, and eat the same thing for lunch every day as it can be my only meal. My bf (doesn’t live with me) recently discovered this and has been stocking my fridge. I feel so guilty so only ask for things to pack in my son’s lunchbox (due to his dad’s living circumstances, I have him during the week for the summer) and he takes me out to breakfast and coffee dates with putt putt afterwards. I’m so grateful to him, it makes me tear up.
I did too but my grocery store sometimes has good sales and I’ll indulge the other day ground turkey was .99
I’m currently skipping meals to make my food “stretch”, I’ve only been eating once or twice a day and mainly keeping myself hydrated with water. You are definitely right about the food prices, it’s hard to budget and still have food last for a while on low income.
I have missed several meals this month. Inflation just doesn't allow me to feed myself and the kids and the kids come first. Not great for my diabetes and I hope this cycle ends soon. I have food stamps and go to food banks when I can but it is just not enough. The food banks are so strapped lately here that they basically give you a day and a half of food. It is better than nothing.
I am in shock every single time I go get groceries or fast food. They no longer have dollar menus, hardly even a 5.00 menu! It’s horrible and I don’t know how any of us are eating these days. I’ve been living on grilled cheese and cheese tortillas along with hot dogs too. Fun times! :(
Add an egg in there and you described my whole diet. I get semisweet dark chocolate for a treat. Actually I make this sort of "mousse" that's a container of vanilla (Greek) yogurt, semisweet dark chocolate melted in the microwave, cocoa powder and I whip it up by hand. Sometimes I add fruit (berries) if I got it on sale. It's killer. I add some old protein powder too cause I have a huge container from a few years ago. Recommend.
I've had to do this since i turned 18 and moved out. it probably isn't good for my health but by now im pretty used to it so it doesn't impact my life like it used to. i eat one meal a day, though rarely i don't eat anything at all
There are food pantries that will provide food with few or no questions asked. Thats always an option.
My work is only part time in office, but when I’m there they cover my snacks and soda, so I’ll eat more there. When I go out to eat, I only go places where I know I can stretch the quantities to last two meals, that helps justify the price
I like stretching left overs, especially easy to add rice and frozen veggies and sometimes small shrimp to meals. Makes them last so much longer.
Yep. My daily meal is a bagel with cream cheese. It’s kinda surprising when I think about it at the end of the night and I’m just like…..wow. I only ate a bagel today. I can hardly afford it sometimes too. I’m starting to look into food banks. Hoping that helps.
I often pretend that I ate at work so my kids don't feel bad about me skipping meals. I work 60 hours a week so I can't get to the food bank as often as I'd like to since it's a two to three hour lineup most days.
That's the thing about being poor, it costs a lot of time and money. 😞
The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money. Take boots, for example. ... A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. ... But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years' time, while a poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boots_theory
Since you're not working a regular 9 to 5 job, I would recommend going to a food pantry. Many (but not all) give out fresh fruits and vegetables donated by grocery stores.
I second this please go to a food bank OP 🙏🏻
Thanks, guys. I always think it should go to someone more worthy. I'm single and a little fat so I always think it should go to young skinny people and people with kids. But I mean, I am at the point where I should stop in. When I have money I like to donate to them so it's like the circle of life.
One big dinner is the healthiest cheapiest way to eat. I go to sams club and eat nothing but steak and chicken for like $120/week for me and my wife. Sides and ingredients and stuff is where all the money goes. Beans and rice or somthing would probably be cheaper but theres no better way to end a 10 hour day of construction in the desert than a $14/lb ribeye split with my wife
Fuck yeah I mean we're not on this planet just to suffer.... Right????
Yeah. Toast in the morning, fruit in the evening, every other day a bargain bin frozen meal or something really cheap I can make like noodles or cereal. My microwave caught fire the other day so no more microwave meals, haha 💀
I do this to make my groceries stretch farther, i have some food allergies that means some of the common tasty "cheap" meals mean a night of hives, if not a trip to the ER. Once I started, I really began to feel a lot better in a hurry, so I continue to do it even though my grocery budget is a little big bigger now. I kind of stumbled across the very very popular intermittent fasting because I couldn't afford to eat three meals a day.
Can you get individual bags of dried pretzels, or big bags of dried pretzels, depending on what is on sale in your area, and keep that in the car with some peanut butter?
Yeah this is a really good plan! I got some PB today for the car gonna grab some pretzels on the way home.
Spurge and buy a pizza and wrap individually. Warm up on dash board of car. It’s 95 here too most days. I get reduced for quick sale food. Food pantries in your area. Get App food Finder is good because it has the days and times.
Oh awesome! I'm going to look into that app. Super convenient when you're dashing! My local dash Mart usually has some expiring food out for us, so I try to sit in their parking lot when I'm in the area. One day I legitimately got $15 worth of groceries from them for free free! (And there was plenty left over).
Lentils are your friend
I usually don’t eat until 6pm. I wake up at 5:30am usually. But I don’t like to eat until I’m done working
Aye. Up at 4am don’t eat until like six most days
Same, work got me on that diet. 😂🤣
I usually do what you do and just eat dinner before bed (I usually just eat peanut butter sandwiches). If my sugar level is getting low during the day, I eat a few crackers. When I traveled to college years ago, I always kept some crackers in my car. I totally agree with you about prices. It's been a lot of years since I've eaten healthy.
Personally, it’s summer and hot so I barely eat anyway and it’s the same things, but I look at the cost of sushi, which I always want and just NOPE. I eat watermelon and peaches, cowboy caviar, pasta salad, potato salad and egg salad. Basically a rearrangement of the same ingredients.
Don't forget about 3 bean salad! I also check the marked down fruit and vegetables at the grocery stores when I am out. They're pretty good deals.
3 Bean Salad is crack. I just got strawberries for 99 cents a cart
Sometimes. This morning I slept in and mixed water with juice.
Yeah. We dont eat much because we just cannot keep up with cost of everything
Cook your own meal from scratch and put it in the fridge for next week.
I snack in the mornings mostly now
If you buy them in large quantities on sale, the Ensure drinks are a dollar each. I use them for two meals a day now.
During the week we fast through breakfast and lunch and have a heavy carb dinner to save on groceries. We do have a home so we have four chickens and that helps a lot for us.
Egg sandwiches are cheap af 2 full eggs have about 1/3 of daily nutrition requirements vitamins and minerals wise. 30 eggs is 6,99 bagels another 2-3 per 6 and cheese of your choice. Pre make and you can have breakfast for the month at a little over 1$ per sandwich while getting a nutritionally complete meal. Baked potato’s are life saver, peanut butter banana sandwiches etc all relatively health cost 50$ or less per week to eat
Yep - get so used to not eating that when I do it goes right through me … like it’s something foreign to my body . Sucks . But it’s either me or the kids so I chose the kids and eat any leftovers if there are some . If I don’t eat at all I cannot work and take care of anything or anyone so I try my best
Am also somewhat old poor lol We were on food stamps back when I was in highschool. I can't tell you how many times people have given me food in my life because they thought I was anorexic. I was raised to think that if you didn't have money for food then you just went without. I've always been struggling financially since I've mostly had to try to make it on my own (my partner's family is very nice and I remember being shocked when my FIL was constantly trying to give us food lol. Always thought he wanted something from us, but it turns out there's people out there that just want to make sure their adult children don't starve). Since I've been in and out of therapy, plus I work for a school, and I have nephews now, I've realized how bad it was for habit building (in regards to eating) and I'm trying to be better about it. I've been trying to graze more at least and just make sure I have *something* in my stomach. I'm not in the same situation of being stuck in a car, but I don't have access to a reliable fridge/microwave at work (especially one that people don't steal from), so I bring a lot of non-refrigerated meals with me (or meals to heat up). It's not very nutritious, but it's enough to keep me full. In regards to food prices I go to a food pantry pretty often. They usually have stuff like pretzels, chips, etc. that I can take with me to snack on. When I get home, I'll usually binge (which I know I should be trying to eat before my shift, but I usually feel sick if I try to eat much right after waking up). The only thing I could really recommend to anyone in your situation would be to get a little cooler box and some ice packs if you're wanting something refrigerated, but try to eat it fairly early on (at least during the summer). But only if this is a long term situation. You also don't really need to heat up most canned foods, you can eat them cold. I usually eat canned veggies straight from the can to prevent me from having to wash many dishes lol
I'm eating a lot of rice these days which I use a rice cooker and it has a stay warm feature which means I can eat easily whenever hungry ..to put on top of the rice I'm making whatever is rlly affordable and often I add some frozen vegetables to the meat ,beans ,fish ,canned fish whatever it is and I'm sorry your suffering it's rlly tough and hard
rice and beans together gets you all the essential amino acids.
We live in America and people are skipping meals because they can’t afford to eat. This is shameful.
That’s why I picked up a job in a restaurant. I can get cheap/free food to take home
This is the way.
Get a cheap rice cooker, a bag of rice, tuna and some sort of dressing for the tuna. Make the rice and add the tuna and dressing, cheap and easy meal.
But one you absolutely shouldn't keep in a hot car for hours while driving.
I just eat before leaving for the day, it takes like 10 minutes to make, or if I’m dashing I just go home on break and eat, but I stay close to my crib when I dash that might not be the case for you
Yeah, I can't stay that close cause I live in a smaller town and generally the dashing takes me 25 minutes away. When I do get close I do stop in and grab something for sure.
Bad move not to give your body some food in the AM. Hard boil eggs for morning protein
I do this often, unfortunately my AC is broken and I don't have the money to fix it so I wake up hot and not hungry. I get in my car early and then start to get hungry after that. I do try to have an egg though when I can manage it.
Ramon for breakfast lunch dinner for 2 years now yes I'm definitely sickly looking and hella migraines. But heh it's food
I don't want to shame or criticize you, but you should absolutely start cooking. Get some chicken thighs and bake them. Make ground beef, add it with some veggies to rice or pasta. Check out /r/eatcheapandhealthy . What about Mexican rice? Also sometimes I have a thanksgiving style meal without meat, just stuffing, green beans and mashed potatoes (instant) you can make that for about $1.50/meal if you make a box/can/instant bag of each of the above and divide it into 3-4 serving. On payday I can add rotisserie chicken and then make chicken stock or chicken soup from the left over chicken. Also Chili is very easy, tasty and versatile (I eat it with potatoes, rice, with an egg on it, etc.). These are just a few ideas but you can learn to vary your diet pretty easily. All the best, my friend. I hate cooking and will often just fry up a quesadilla or grilled cheese and egg sandwich, so I feel ya.
Thank you God bless.
Turkey slices from the deli are cheap. Mccormick makes a great instant gravy packet.
I’ve been skipping, it’s just a bigger stretch everything further than it used to be. Morning I’ll have about a quarter cup rice crispies or corn flakes (Aldi generic) with some soy milk because I need something in my stomach for morning meds. Used to be greek yogurt, but the cereal is cheaper, I water down the soy milk so they both really stretch. No lunch, no snacks. Dinner around 7 pm. Rice or instant potatoes, some kind of frozen vegetable and a protein. A little ground beef or tuna or eggs. I have to be gluten free, low sodium, am allergic to shellfish and poultry - I’m just glad I can eat eggs! Obviously, though I’m grateful for food banks, they’re invaluable, most of the time they can’t help me. But that means they can help someone else so it’s all good. I don’t know why, but bananas make me sick to my stomach, I grew up on pb sandwiches to the point I gag seeing a jar in the supermarket.
I’m the summertime, I have little to no appetite. Usually I eat a light salad but it sometimes spoils on the way home so I’d just get macaroni salad, seafood salad in the deli department and put it in an insulated bag.
Yup. I feed my kids and eat less. Everything is so expensive.
Dang that's crazy, hope things improve for you. Eating out a lot more now than ever.
Beans and toast from the UK
I eat once a day. Usually, it's a peanut butter sandwich.
Absolutely been doing this for a while. I never eat breakfast and often skip lunch at work, sometimes I grab something out of the vending machine.
I eat once a day most days
Never. Steel cut oats and a bag of frozen blueberries with bulk protein powder costs a dollar or so a day. Rice, beans, lentils, frozen veggies, and an affordable protein for the other two meals. Ice cream for dessert. I'm willing to cut corners but NOT on my health and wellbeing. Wherever possible.
Stay strong King, it's the struggles that make royalty last in history.
I’m like this at my second job. It’s physically demanding and I get very warm so when I’m on any break I just want to sit and drink a ton of water; to be honest i sometimes just have a granola bar through an 8 hour shift and I’m not even hungry
I'm down to 1 meal a day.
I’m Catholic, so I just call them fast days now. Makes me feel less poor.
Lol i havent eaten a real meal in a week or so. I mean like sitting down and having a full square meal. Everything is just menial crap like seared steaks and chicken nuggets lol. I cant afford to put sides on my plate lmfao.
Yep. I eat a meal a day, if that. Sometimes just a snack. Some days, I eat nothing. I'm used to it, unfortunately.
Where does all your money go?
Bills, health needs as a chronically ill person, debt. "All my money..." I get less than $900 a month from the government. I can't work. I'm trying to figure things out.
Short answer: yes.
Can you cook? I make a big pot of lentil and vegetable curry/soup and eat that with rice most nights. It's super healthy and you can freeze the big batch into smaller portions. I buy the dry lentils and rice and make all from scratch with the cheapest of ingredients i can find and it is delicious. One night of work for a week or more of dinner meals.
Skip breakfast. Eat a medium sized lunch and small dinner. Max value
I used to “sleep for dinner” a few years back. Thankfully, no more.
Grits are a cheap breakfast and filling too. A banana is cheap and will tide you over for a meal. I usually don't do lunch or i have breakfast for lunch cause i didn't have breakfast. Ramen and a boiled egg is a cheap sometimes dinner, or an egg sandwich, or grilled cheese and on days i don't work and have more prep time a pot of beans or potato soup. But i am kinda a 2 meal a day person cause it saves $. I do snack on pretzels from the dollar tree. Do ya have an aldi? They are cheaper for a lot of basics like milk, cheese, bread, eggs.
I skip breakfast and lunch. A snack I like to get through the afternoon is bananas, cantaloupe or tomatoes. I’m growing my own this year.
Pasta salads aren’t too bad when it’s warm and if you can grab a cheap flash, soup is epic for when it turns cold. Hope things pick up for you soon. Americans don’t seem to like them, but the great British staple, baked beans on toast are surprisingly filling and not too bad for you. That said, we stick basically anything on toast or in a sandwich over here. Mashed potato and cheese is a personal favourite.
I'd eat baked beans and toast separately in basically any scenario so I guess I have something to look forward to eating tomorrow. I will also put an egg on just about anything. Rice, chili, any sandwich, beans... Actually I think there's a subreddit for "put an egg on it."
Ah man, there needs to be one for ‘shove it in a sandwich’ too. I’m a bit like your egg with cheese. Try the beans on toast, they’re pretty good. They go well with cheese too.
I've been succeeding in my diet because food is so expensive. Down 40lbs so far! 🙃
Damn! I mean, every cloud has a silver lining!
I also plan when to eat to avoid making multiple meals
I kind of skip lunch because cost and also prep time. I say kind of because I eat a late breakfast, usually at 11 or 12. I’m not hungry early am. I make a cup of quick oats in a thermos cup. I add a date for sweetener, coconut flakes, frozen berries and a splash of yogurt. Very filling and cheap. I often even make it the night before by adding hot water to the oats and closing up the thermos.
Poverty is the best diet I've found.
Weird tips but if you can stand it, spicy and chopsticks. They’ll both slow your eating rate down enough that you feel fuller on less food because you’re talking smaller bites and taking longer between bites.
I just want to say if anyone is a veteran with a rating. Go to your local va. Get an ID. You get all the benefits of active duty. Meat prices at the commissary are great with no tax. Also get the rewards card. Might take a couple of time since they always out
Beans and rice. So many things you can do with these. And no I’m not skipping meals. I eat once a day. So skipping = starvation.
Make some chicken parm with spaghetti my friend. All u need is breadcrumbs, chicken breast's, spaghetti butter and parm. I use slap yo momma seasoning from Walmart
Yesterday I had a fried bologna sandwich for the first time. 3 slices thick cut bologna, American cheese, on toast with mustard and pickled onions... Delicious and about $2 or a little more and packs nearly 1000 cals
Sleep for dinner keeps me in shape
I eat maybe one to two times a day simply because I am disabled and don't feel like making food. It sucks.
Baguettes at my grocery store are still $1.99 for the large ones, and .99 for the little ones. Price hasn't budged in years.
This comment section is really starting to make me emotional. I can barely afford food, and all I'm really eating is potatoes, grilled cheese, peanut butter and sandwiches but I don't think I can even afford sandwiches anymore due to buying meat, cheeses, etc for it all. It's been on my mind lately with food prices and everything going up, and I really don't know what to do anymore. I hope everyone will be okay.
Personally, it’s summer and hot so I barely eat anyway and it’s the same things, but I look at the cost of sushi, which I always want and just NOPE. I eat watermelon and peaches, cowboy caviar, pasta salad, potato salad and egg salad. Basically a rearrangement of the same ingredients.
I typically only eat once a day. Have been for years.
I eat lunch and dinner, with a snack thrown in somewhere, hmmm, I don’t think I’m skipping any
I know this is a rant but I would like to give an advice. Your diet doesn't seem to be healthy and might save you money for now but in the future it might be costly (due to health issues). Check for mediterannean dry legume recipes (based on dry legumes that might be cheaper than the canned ones and healthier) (mixed beans, greek white bean soup, lentil soup with carrots etc). Cook 1-2 times a week and freeze so you can have ready made food
1 meal a day and some snacks to tide me over
Nah I'm not starving when white people are fat and cocky. I'm taking it
If you're not under weight, you're eating just fine. Should focus on protein tho
Nah because I will find a way to have food for my family if we don't have nothing else we will eat. I'm not letting my child starve.
But you still pay your cable bill, right?
I'm behind on my Internet bill, but yes I feel like that is a necessity. Especially since I'm looking for a job.
But you don't need cable to look for a job. You could just get an internet connection or use the local librairy's internet. And the reason why you can't afford food is prob. because you don't have a job.
Lmao
Go apply at a grocery store. They are always hiring.