Eating cheap

Yeah I forgot that Spaghetti is cheap

Toast, that's not a bad idea. Get some wheat bread for $2, cook it in a pan two slices at a time

What about tortillas + something else? Whole bunch of dishes you can make with tortillas, trust me...I know

With canned stuff, meat doesn't have to be expensive. Those sardines are a bit salty but it's nothing that can't be leeched out before eating.

Gigaton Chode said:

I think one of the big ways of eating cheap is either omitting meat or extending it as much as you possibly can, and chicken is like the absolute best with doing that. By yourself, you could deconstruct the entire thing and get full meal out of each breast, then two or three using the legs, wings, and thighs. Roasting is the absolute best when you want something that requires very little effort that gives a great meal(when I roast, I like to make a spread with fresh crushed garlic, kosher salt, black pepper, onion powder, paprika, butter, and olive oil. I rub that all over the chicken so that when it roasts, it has the absolute best crunchy skin. I also put the chicken on a bed of chopped carrots and onions, then put a few potatoes cut in half around it too, typically covering those potatoes with my garlic-butter spread too), I live with too other people and we can get a pretty decent meal out of roast chicken, then I'll save it over night and then on the next day, I'll pick off it's meat for a chicken soup.

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see i wish i could do stuff like that in this house. but since my girl and i are living with her parents when i cook i have to cook for them too, and they're very traditional irish folks. if there's no potatoes with a meal they wont eat it, if there's anything other than just salt and pepper on their roast chicken they complain. and they like the skin a bit chewy and not crunchy with that snap to it. so in short cooking for them is a difficult process of breaking my urge to be creative with all i've learned in kitchens and classes, and trying to give food flavor, while still keeping its plainness for them. only time they ever step outside of their norm is when they order the odd indian take away. also i'm cuban, and after all the cooking my ma taught me growing up having to cook plain jane everything well its a little soul crushing.

though i agree with you on the soup thing. a few tomatoes, some chicken stock, cream, crushed garlic, sliced onion, roasted red bell pepper, and a big pot to boil it all down in wont cost you an arm and a leg. throw in a pinch of basil, some rosemary, salt, cracked black pepper, paprika, thyme, and a pinch of sugar, and whip out the kitchen aid immersion blender to make it a proper smooth soup and you've got a tomato soup that will make about a week of lunches. one thing i do like about living here though is the seafood. lobsters are cheap, scallops are cheap, monk fish, octopus, crab, its all cheap and fresh caught every morning. you head down to one of the many fish markets and you can stock up on anything you need. this weekend i paid about 30 euro for a pound of scallops, a kilo of lobster, half a kilo of crab meat, and a pound of white bait (little anchovy type fish), i might go back there and pick up the makings of a paella next week. but for now i'm just glad with the big haul of fish i got for next to nothing. with as cheap as the fish is here i could put together a big pot of gumbo or chowder, an etoufe, anything, and it'd last me a good while on leftovers alone.

so in short another suggestion for cheap eating: move close to the coast.

Takumaji said:

Couscous looks like rice but AFAIK it's some sort of soaked wheat.

Not very fond of it tbh.

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Broback said:

Neither am I.

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I guess it depends on how it's prepared. The last time I made it I used fresh chicken stock for liquids, made a huge difference in taste compared to using other liquids. The feel of the grain feels like cream of wheat like bigger cubes of it like the difference between table salt and hawaiian salt in size. Might be a bad comparison since most of you probably never seen hawaiian salt.

Xian Xi said:

I guess it depends on how it's prepared. The last time I made it I used fresh chicken stock for liquids, made a huge difference in taste compared to using other liquids. The feel of the grain feels like cream of wheat like bigger cubes of it like the difference between table salt and hawaiian salt in size. Might be a bad comparison since most of you probably never seen hawaiian salt.

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I've had freshly prepared Couscous and liked it to some extend but really hate the instant stuff, gives you a grainy mouthfeel even if you let it soak for hours. Guess Couscous is one of those dishes that look simple on the first look but require some experience to get it right, similar to Italian Risotto. One mistake and you'll end up with a mortar-like rice mud that will turn your stomach upside down.

carl weathers on eating cheap

John Terry said:

see i wish i could do stuff like that in this house. but since my girl and i are living with her parents when i cook i have to cook for them too, and they're very traditional irish folks. if there's no potatoes with a meal they wont eat it

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I know the feeling, Everyone i know have at least 2 big bags of potato's in there kitchen lol, but this thread is really good, cause i must admit i spend about 80euro a week on food

AppleiDog said:

I know the feeling, Everyone i know have at least 2 big bags of potato's in there kitchen lol, but this thread is really good, cause i must admit i spend about 80euro a week on food

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there's a fish market in finglas called taste of the sea, its cheaper than any fish shop i've been to, and there's always some type of fish on special offer. if you're a seafood guy, give em a look. as for meats though i've got a decent rapport with the butcher's in ongar and they cut us a decent deal from time to time. i remember at christmas i got a whole turkey, spiced beef, three pounds of sausage meat, 6 pounds of mince, and loads of black and white pudding for about 80 euro. they're good for a deal from time to time, get in good with a butcher near you it'll help.

Thanks for the tip, This thread is also making me very very hungry

The best way to eat cheaply is to date an anorexic on WiC.

http://www.fox5sandiego.com/videobeta/?watchId=dae7a717-9744-4741-b857-5d153b6a97c0

Eating on a dollar a day.

Takumaji said:

I've had freshly prepared Couscous and liked it to some extend but really hate the instant stuff, gives you a grainy mouthfeel even if you let it soak for hours. Guess Couscous is one of those dishes that look simple on the first look but require some experience to get it right, similar to Italian Risotto. One mistake and you'll end up with a mortar-like rice mud that will turn your stomach upside down.

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The biggest mistake with Risotto is when people try to be creative and add things to it that defy the meaning of Risotto. I once saw on a menu, pomegranate risotto. I even asked how the pomegranate was incorporated and they said it was more of a topping with whole pomegranates, yuck.

Yue said:

What about tortillas + something else? Whole bunch of dishes you can make with tortillas, trust me...I know

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The tortilla is unnecessary. Just cook a pot of beans, some rice, add some chopped cilantro and a jalapeno to the rice with a little olive oil, and some chopped spinach, and put it in a bowl, topped with cholula and mango hot sauce.

Meal.

PB & J and home made pizza, And if I eat out I bring my own soda.

50 packs of ramen for $8. Not the best or healthiest thing, but its cheap. 99c store can be your friend at times.

I personally like to cook things from scratch, depending on what you make, it can be really cheap, or very expensive. I make a pot of rice and pop it in the fridge, use it for a few days-a week depending on how much I make. I also make some random stuff to go with it some seasoned ground beef, chicken (half a breast) with some random vegetables and or bread. Then I put on my hot pink apron with Bobaks pic on it and bake some brownies

Agent Sands said:

The tortilla is unnecessary. Just cook a pot of beans, some rice, add some chopped cilantro and a jalapeno to the rice with a little olive oil, and some chopped spinach, and put it in a bowl, topped with cholula and mango hot sauce.

Meal.

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Oh...ever heard of flautas, enchiladas, tacos, tacos dorados, tacos suaves, chilaquiles, quesadillas, burritos, etc. Tortillas are a staple in Mexico for a reason: you can do lots of stuff with it! And don't tell me a lot of people in Mexico don't eat cheap. I mean to say you can eat cheap with a bit of variety with them.

Though I like the meal you came up with lol.

Xian Xi said:

The biggest mistake with Risotto is when people try to be creative and add things to it that defy the meaning of Risotto. I once saw on a menu, pomegranate risotto. I even asked how the pomegranate was incorporated and they said it was more of a topping with whole pomegranates, yuck.

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Ugh, pomegranate Risotto... that's not creativity, that's grasping for strawls. I dislike some of the current food trends, like stuffing chocolate in everything. Ah well, the food snobs will gulp it down anyway and it will make them feel really cool and state-of-the-art and whatnot.

Yue said:

Oh...ever heard of flautas, enchiladas, tacos, tacos dorados, tacos suaves, chilaquiles, quesadillas, burritos, etc. Tortillas are a staple in Mexico for a reason: you can do lots of stuff with it! And don't tell me a lot of people in Mexico don't eat cheap. I mean to say you can eat cheap with a bit of variety with them.

Though I like the meal you came up with lol.

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Of course I know about the versatility of tortillas, and I have been eating enough flautas and burritos to be mistakenly deported to Mexico. But over the past month I have been trying to cut out the unnecessary parts of my meals, and I figure tortilla is definitely there. I only use tortillas if I am packing a lunch and don't want to bring a container. If I am at home, I can put everything from my burrito in a bowl without the tortilla.

Agent Sands said:

Of course I know about the versatility of tortillas, and I have been eating enough flautas and burritos to be mistakenly deported to Mexico. But over the past month I have been trying to cut out the unnecessary parts of my meals, and I figure tortilla is definitely there. I only use tortillas if I am packing a lunch and don't want to bring a container. If I am at home, I can put everything from my burrito in a bowl without the tortilla.

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Totally agree.

But we're talking about eating cheap, and a whole bunch of stuff can be eaten by itself, without the bread, tortillas or whatever.

Tortillas are cheap but we can eat well enough without them.

Middle ground reached? =)

They have fat free hotdogs now

Bought some. They're not nearly as bad as veggie dogs

Yue said:

Totally agree.

But we're talking about eating cheap, and a whole bunch of stuff can be eaten by itself, without the bread, tortillas or whatever.

Tortillas are cheap but we can eat well enough without them.

Middle ground reached? =)

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I hate to be contrarian here, but have you noticed that once you go beyond flour tortillas, the prices almost double? Whole wheat tortillas should not cost more, but they do. Probably go for dirt cheap in Mexico though, since they don't have the same marketing there as here.

Lately, my roomate and I have been cutting down on food costs. We will go to our local cheaper version of a corner market and find some good food for cheap prices. We would get a pack of 8 big chicken drums for $2.30 and do half BBQ style/Hot Wing style, or a fresh 12oz pork tenderloin for $5 cooked on the grill. Just use side items to fill you up. You don't have to eat close to 1lb of meat every meal. I also make am Indian curry beef dish with stew meat, Patak's curry paste, broth, potatoes, carrots, onions, garbanzo beans, tomato puree and can tomatoes, then serve it over rice. I cook it kinda like a low liquid stew, lol. It will last for 3 days as left overs and I don't get tired of it.

When we buy a good quality steak, we just get one big 22oz ribeye for $12 and cut it in half after we cook it. It really saves when you cook for more than one person. We just throw our money together and make a meal. I rarely eat out these days and hate spending the money along with driving to these places constantly. I occasionally will hit up Taco Bell for some fresco tacos late at night due to no choice other than the drug store.

Eating cheap is effortless. Eating heathly will break you.

Clessy said:

Eating cheap is effortless. Eating heathly will break you.

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It's easy to eat healthy. Past few months I have changed my eating habits. Dropped meat and all animal products. I get most of my protein from quinoa and nuts. My intake of green vegetables has skyrocketed. I was only able to run 2 miles max at a time, and now I am running 5 to 6 miles every other day without breaks. And all through this, my grocery costs have dropped.

The problem as I see it is time. People who work 40 hours a week or take a full class load will not want to spend time cooking for themselves or preparing their food. When you're buying a finished product, often the ingredients would be things that you don't want.