Friends,

I have decided to live the month of July spending just two dollars a
day on food. Other than vague notions of pasta, rice, beans, and
raman, I have little idea what I'm gonna eat.

That being said, there are a few things I have in mind:

*Eggs - fried, scrambled, and boiled.
*Potatoes - fried, baked
*Pasta - 1 can diced tomatoes, 1 can tomato sauce, garlic, onions,
herbs, 1lb pasta
*Tuna salad
*Home baked bread - loaves, rolls, cornbread, pita, soda crackers

That's pretty much the list I've come up with. I really need some help
coming up with more menu items.

Checking prices at the supermarket, I've come up with a list of some
food stuffs I can afford:

*Veggies - potatoes, carrots, onions (not much else looks affordable
on my self imposed budget)
*Fruit - bananas, melons (also, lemons and oranges from trees in the
yard, though I don't think many, if any, oranges will be available)
*Grains, beans, pasta - rice, beans (red, garbanzo, pinto), peas,
lentils, barley, pasta
*Meat - Not much looks particularly affordable. I may be able to
squeeze some chicken in, maybe even some ground beef, and I plan on
splurging on a pound of bacon.
*Dairy - no milk, cheese, or butter. But margarine is surprisingly
cheap. Eggs, or course.

I have an ample supply of herbs, spices, oils, vinegar, soy sauce, and
some rather esoteric condiments (fish sauce, black bean and garlic
sauce, hoisin sauce, oyster sauce).

Anyways, your help is greatly appreciated.

What other food items to you think I can add to the list?

What interesting menu items would you recommend?

thanks,

b.
misanthropia dot com

wrote in
ups.com:

> Friends,
>
> I have decided to live the month of July spending just two
> dollars a day on food.
> *Eggs - fried, scrambled, and boiled.
> *Potatoes - fried, baked
> *Pasta - 1 can diced tomatoes, 1 can tomato sauce, garlic,
> onions, herbs, 1lb pasta
> *Tuna salad
> *Home baked bread - loaves, rolls, cornbread, pita, soda
> crackers

> *Veggies - potatoes, carrots, onions (not much else looks
> affordable on my self imposed budget)
> *Fruit - bananas, melons (also, lemons and oranges from trees
> in the yard, though I don't think many, if any, oranges will
> be available) *Grains, beans, pasta - rice, beans (red,
> garbanzo, pinto), peas, lentils, barley, pasta
> *Meat - Not much looks particularly affordable. I may be able
> to squeeze some chicken in, maybe even some ground beef, and I
> plan on splurging on a pound of bacon.
> *Dairy - no milk, cheese, or butter. But margarine is
> surprisingly cheap. Eggs, or course.
>
> What other food items to you think I can add to the list?
>
> What interesting menu items would you recommend?
>
> thanks,
>
> b.
> misanthropia dot com

Peanut butter.

said...

> That's pretty much the list I've come up with. I really need some help
> coming up with more menu items.


The 4th of July at your house sounds like a real downer, if you celebrate it.

Bulk purchase everything and clip lots of coupons. Not that I could do it
successfully myself!

Good luck,

Andy

wrote:
> Friends,
>
> I have decided to live the month of July spending just two dollars a
> day on food. Other than vague notions of pasta, rice, beans, and
> raman, I have little idea what I'm gonna eat.
>
> That being said, there are a few things I have in mind:
>
> *Eggs - fried, scrambled, and boiled.
> *Potatoes - fried, baked
> *Pasta - 1 can diced tomatoes, 1 can tomato sauce, garlic, onions,
> herbs, 1lb pasta
> *Tuna salad
> *Home baked bread - loaves, rolls, cornbread, pita, soda crackers
>
> That's pretty much the list I've come up with. I really need some help
> coming up with more menu items.
>

We're always on a really tight budget, so I've learned some tricks to get us
by when we're in a serious pinch.

1. Homemade soups. For instance, bean soup is probably one of the cheapest.
It may cost more than $2.00 initially, but you get a week's worth and you
can always freeze some.
2. Frozen, non-breaded, fish filets - I get mine at a place called
Sav-a-Lot. For about $3.50 I get 5 frozen pollock fillets. Yes, it comes
to about $.70 a fillet, which is about 65% of your daily allowance, but if
you eat ramen for lunch ($.15), 2 eggs for breakfast ($.40) that allows you
about $.75 cents of veggies to go with the fish for dinner. And, if you
haven't finished all the ramen (I never do), you can stir-fry the veggies
and place them on the bed of left-over ramen.
3. Buy off-brand canned goods at surplus stores like Dollar General. The
sell-by-date is usually expired, but that's not important for canned goods.
Spaghetti sauce can be had for under $1.00 and again, you can get at least
3 - 4 meals out of a jar. These kind of places are also good for cheap,
dried pasta.
4. You mentioned rice. Fried rice is cheap and it's a great way to use up
any veggies. I make a batch and it lasts me all week. What I don't end up
eating (because I can never eat it all), I end up feeding to my pet rats.
They love it, too!
5. It's summer - think tuna salad. Go to the Dollar store to get your
tuna, pasta, mayo and whatever else you want to add. That's another one
that lasts me a week.
6. Casseroles. Filling, cheap and they go a long way. A casserole can be
as simple as frozen broccoli and mushroom soup (or broccoli cheese soup),
baked, with breadcrumbs on the top. Again, if you go to the Dollar store,
you can get frozen broccoli and canned mushroom soup for cheap.

I could write a book on this and to all the foodies out there, yes, I know
most of this is processed food. I like to eat as fresh and healthy as I
can, but sometimes you have to cut corners.

Anyway, I hope this helped!

kili

Andy wrote:
> said...
>
>> That's pretty much the list I've come up with. I really need some
>> help coming up with more menu items.
>
>
> The 4th of July at your house sounds like a real downer, if you
> celebrate it.
>
> Bulk purchase everything and clip lots of coupons. Not that I could
> do it successfully myself!
>
> Good luck,
>
> Andy

You *can* do it successfully, but unfortunately, you eat a lot of canned
goods and pasta. Not something you can do right now.

kili

wrote:
> Friends,
>
> I have decided to live the month of July spending just two dollars a
> day on food. Other than vague notions of pasta, rice, beans, and
> raman, I have little idea what I'm gonna eat.


I'm surprised you say you can only squeeze in chicken. I find chicken
to be uniformly cheap and available. We could live in different parts
of the world.


For fresh produce: cabbage, potatoes, sweet potatoes, the winter
squashes that are on the shelves all summer. Zucchini should be coming
down in price soon, and a little after that, you should be able to find
melons for not much money.


For other vegetables: canned for the least expensive, then frozen after
that.


Milk, while the price is going up, is still a nutritional bargain.


--Lia

kilikini said...

> Andy wrote:
>> said...
>>
>>> That's pretty much the list I've come up with. I really need some
>>> help coming up with more menu items.
>>
>>
>> The 4th of July at your house sounds like a real downer, if you
>> celebrate it.
>>
>> Bulk purchase everything and clip lots of coupons. Not that I could
>> do it successfully myself!
>>
>> Good luck,
>>
>> Andy
>
> You *can* do it successfully, but unfortunately, you eat a lot of canned
> goods and pasta. Not something you can do right now.
>
> kili


I'm already about sick and tired of my vegelaya! Even as easy as it is to
make, overdoing a good thing gets old quick. Same thing happened with
gumbo. I'm a little reluctant when it comes to freezing stuff, in favor of
breakfast, lunch and dinner of leftovers.

Andy

mcbrag wrote:
>
> I have decided to live the month of July spending just two dollars a
> day on food. Other than vague notions of pasta, rice, beans, and
> raman, I have little idea what I'm gonna eat.
>
> That being said, there are a few things I have in mind:
>
> *Eggs - fried, scrambled, and boiled.
> *Potatoes - fried, baked
> *Pasta - 1 can diced tomatoes, 1 can tomato sauce, garlic, onions,
> herbs, 1lb pasta
> *Tuna salad
> *Home baked bread - loaves, rolls, cornbread, pita, soda crackers
>
> That's pretty much the list I've come up with. I really need some help
> coming up with more menu items.
>
> Checking prices at the supermarket, I've come up with a list of some
> food stuffs I can afford:
>
> *Veggies - potatoes, carrots, onions (not much else looks affordable
> on my self imposed budget)
> *Fruit - bananas, melons (also, lemons and oranges from trees in the
> yard, though I don't think many, if any, oranges will be available)
> *Grains, beans, pasta - rice, beans (red, garbanzo, pinto), peas,
> lentils, barley, pasta
> *Meat - Not much looks particularly affordable. I may be able to
> squeeze some chicken in, maybe even some ground beef, and I plan on
> splurging on a pound of bacon.
> *Dairy - no milk, cheese, or butter. But margarine is surprisingly
> cheap. Eggs, or course.
>
> I have an ample supply of herbs, spices, oils, vinegar, soy sauce, and
> some rather esoteric condiments (fish sauce, black bean and garlic
> sauce, hoisin sauce, oyster sauce).
>
> Anyways, your help is greatly appreciated.
>
> What other food items to you think I can add to the list?
>
> What interesting menu items would you recommend?

You should be able to squeeze a lot of chicken in... 5-7 lb roasting
chickens are almost always on sale at some stupidmarket for less than
80 cts/lb... one large chicken will supply at least six portions..
and the carcass enough stock to greatly enhance a few portions of your
ramen.

If you live near water (ocean, river, lake, stream, etc.) you can
catch fish. A walk along the roadside near woods and fields should
produce plenty of berries in July. There are also lots of wild greens
that not only are very edible but also very tasty... check the
library, many survival books have been written that identify edible
plants. Had you thought of your experiment as little as two months
ago you could have with just $2 worth of seeds planted a vegetable
garden that all through July (and beyond) would have enabled you to
eat better than a king.

And remember, tube steak is your friend! hehe

A can of baked beans, a handful of macaroni, a couple sliced tube
steak and a little water and you have big bowl of nutritious and
filling soup.

Sheldon

Sheldon wrote:
Had you thought of your experiment as little as two months
> ago you could have with just $2 worth of seeds planted a vegetable
> garden that all through July (and beyond) would have enabled you to
> eat better than a king.


I thought of suggesting a garden, but, while the seeds are inexpensive,
the place to plant them can run up a pretty penny.


I love putting in a garden each year. Mostly we concentrate on
vegetables, but we put a few flowers in too. We start with seedlings
from the garden center. Where I live, some people start with seeds, but
we decided we were better off with seedlings from the garden center.
That's more expensive but yields more reliable results. As we were
paying, I realized that the snap dragons were being taxed while the
green bean seeds, tomato, eggplant, celeriac, parsley, basil, and pepper
plants, weren't. That makes sense since, in a supermarket, vegetables
wouldn't be taxed while cut flowers would be. Still, it got me thinking
about planting a garden as a way of saving money.


I'm sure we're not the smartest gardeners in the world, but even so, we
spend plenty on that fresh produce. We invest in dirt, peat, manure,
tomato cages, sprinklers, hoses, shovels, and, this last year, a clever
rototiller from a garage sale which made the labor part of it go faster.
I'm not counting the work since that's mostly fun and meditation. The
yield is not guaranteed. If we do get a good crop, we get it when the
prices are least at the supermarket. I mean, I've had good luck with
fresh green beans, but they don't cost much when they're in season anyway.


For the original poster-- If you do decide to go the garden route, you
still have time to plant green beans, and they're a pretty sure thing.
If you don't have a dedicated garden plot, you'll need plastic tubs
filled with dirt, a place to put them (a balcony that gets sun or a
walkway or porch). Look at the packet of seeds and get the bush variety
as opposed to the pole variety. That way you won't need to build a
trellis for them to climb on. If you do decide on the pole variety,
they'll grow up pretty much anything so some wooden stakes stuck in the
buckets tied together with string should do fine.


--Lia

Michael "Dog3" Lonergan wrote:
> "kilikini" > dropped this turd
> : in rec.food.cooking
>
>>
>> I could write a book on this and to all the foodies out there, yes, I
>> know most of this is processed food. I like to eat as fresh and
>> healthy as I can, but sometimes you have to cut corners.
>>
>> Anyway, I hope this helped!
>>
>> kili
>
> Why don't you write a book? Say, the month of August go on a $2 a day
> budget and really stick to it. No fudging and journal everything.
> Viola... you got a book.
>
> Michael

That's something to think about, isn't it? Not too bad of an idea! I could
easily do it, though, because I only eat once a day. :~)

kili

On Jun 28, 7:22 am, wrote:
> Friends,
>
> I have decided to live the month of July spending just two dollars a
> day on food. Other than vague notions of pasta, rice, beans, and
> raman, I have little idea what I'm gonna eat.
>
> That being said, there are a few things I have in mind:
>
> *Eggs - fried, scrambled, and boiled.
> *Potatoes - fried, baked
> *Pasta - 1 can diced tomatoes, 1 can tomato sauce, garlic, onions,
> herbs, 1lb pasta
> *Tuna salad
> *Home baked bread - loaves, rolls, cornbread, pita, soda crackers
>
> That's pretty much the list I've come up with. I really need some help
> coming up with more menu items.
>
> Checking prices at the supermarket, I've come up with a list of some
> food stuffs I can afford:
>
> *Veggies - potatoes, carrots, onions (not much else looks affordable
> on my self imposed budget)
> *Fruit - bananas, melons (also, lemons and oranges from trees in the
> yard, though I don't think many, if any, oranges will be available)
> *Grains, beans, pasta - rice, beans (red, garbanzo, pinto), peas,
> lentils, barley, pasta
> *Meat - Not much looks particularly affordable. I may be able to
> squeeze some chicken in, maybe even some ground beef, and I plan on
> splurging on a pound of bacon.
> *Dairy - no milk, cheese, or butter. But margarine is surprisingly
> cheap. Eggs, or course.
>

If I were doing a month, I'd probably be as close to vegan as I could.
It looks like you are including meat, but probably just the tuna would
suffice. Splurge on some type of milk, be in powdered or fresh to add
some protein. I'd give up margarine, period, forever. If you feel you
need something on your bread, use a little peanut butter or jelly. I
would 'splurge' on milk for extra protein. You are lucky that it is
vegetable season, cabbage goes a long way; make fresh soup (as another
poster suggested). If you feel hungry, eat loads of it, and add some
red beans and a little pasta.

Myself, I could eat any combination of beans and grains 4-5 x a week,
but my husband can't get by hardly a day without meat. I think a lot
of it depends on your own body's needs. Listen to what you need while
you are on this diet. Some days I feel hungry all day, others I feel
full; there's your own reason for this.
Dee Dee

On Thu, 28 Jun 2007 04:22:52 -0700, wrote:

>Friends,
>
>I have decided to live the month of July spending just two dollars a
>day on food. Other than vague notions of pasta, rice, beans, and
>raman, I have little idea what I'm gonna eat.
>
>That being said, there are a few things I have in mind:
>
>*Eggs - fried, scrambled, and boiled.
>*Potatoes - fried, baked
>*Pasta - 1 can diced tomatoes, 1 can tomato sauce, garlic, onions,
>herbs, 1lb pasta
>*Tuna salad
>*Home baked bread - loaves, rolls, cornbread, pita, soda crackers
>
>That's pretty much the list I've come up with. I really need some help
>coming up with more menu items.
>
>Checking prices at the supermarket, I've come up with a list of some
>food stuffs I can afford:
>
>*Veggies - potatoes, carrots, onions (not much else looks affordable
>on my self imposed budget)
>*Fruit - bananas, melons (also, lemons and oranges from trees in the
>yard, though I don't think many, if any, oranges will be available)
>*Grains, beans, pasta - rice, beans (red, garbanzo, pinto), peas,
>lentils, barley, pasta
>*Meat - Not much looks particularly affordable. I may be able to
>squeeze some chicken in, maybe even some ground beef, and I plan on
>splurging on a pound of bacon.
>*Dairy - no milk, cheese, or butter. But margarine is surprisingly
>cheap. Eggs, or course.
>
>I have an ample supply of herbs, spices, oils, vinegar, soy sauce, and
>some rather esoteric condiments (fish sauce, black bean and garlic
>sauce, hoisin sauce, oyster sauce).
>
>Anyways, your help is greatly appreciated.
>
>What other food items to you think I can add to the list?
>
>What interesting menu items would you recommend?
>
>thanks,
>
>b.
>misanthropia dot com


The big secret to carrying out this idea is careful planning and use
of leftovers, preferably in a different form. The other is to buy
things that are on sale each week. Read the circulars from each store
and plan meals from that. Canned and frozen vegetables are a good
deal. Some stores mark down vegetables, meats and dairy products that
are almost at their expiration date. If you can use them immediately
they can be very good bargains.

The other thing to think about is proper nutrition. If this is just a
"do it for the heck of it " I doubt that you will end up
mal-nourished. But if you are planning on doing it longer term you
had better think carefully about where the minerals and vitamins are
coming from.
--
Susan N.

"Moral indignation is in most cases two percent moral,
48 percent indignation, and 50 percent envy."
Vittorio De Sica, Italian movie director (1901-1974)

In article . com>,
wrote:

> What other food items to you think I can add to the list?
>
> What interesting menu items would you recommend?

Cheap chicken.

At an average of $.79 per lb. one chicken can easily feed me for 3 days
with sides.

Beans
Rice
Corn Tortillas
Ramen noodles
Other pastas
--
Peace, Om

Remove _ to validate e-mails.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a bitch" -- Jack Nicholson

> wrote in message
ups.com...
> Friends,
>
> I have decided to live the month of July spending just two dollars a
> day on food. Other than vague notions of pasta, rice, beans, and
> raman, I have little idea what I'm gonna eat.
>
> That being said, there are a few things I have in mind:
>
> *Eggs - fried, scrambled, and boiled.
> *Potatoes - fried, baked
> *Pasta - 1 can diced tomatoes, 1 can tomato sauce, garlic, onions,
> herbs, 1lb pasta
> *Tuna salad
> *Home baked bread - loaves, rolls, cornbread, pita, soda crackers
>
> That's pretty much the list I've come up with. I really need some help
> coming up with more menu items.
>
> Checking prices at the supermarket, I've come up with a list of some
> food stuffs I can afford:
>
> *Veggies - potatoes, carrots, onions (not much else looks affordable
> on my self imposed budget)
> *Fruit - bananas, melons (also, lemons and oranges from trees in the
> yard, though I don't think many, if any, oranges will be available)
> *Grains, beans, pasta - rice, beans (red, garbanzo, pinto), peas,
> lentils, barley, pasta
> *Meat - Not much looks particularly affordable. I may be able to
> squeeze some chicken in, maybe even some ground beef, and I plan on
> splurging on a pound of bacon.
> *Dairy - no milk, cheese, or butter. But margarine is surprisingly
> cheap. Eggs, or course.
>
> I have an ample supply of herbs, spices, oils, vinegar, soy sauce, and
> some rather esoteric condiments (fish sauce, black bean and garlic
> sauce, hoisin sauce, oyster sauce).
>
> Anyways, your help is greatly appreciated.
>
> What other food items to you think I can add to the list?
>
> What interesting menu items would you recommend?
>
> thanks,
>
> b.
> misanthropia dot com

Get familiar with your local markets and what they do with food that is
getting too ripe to sell or too close to the expiration date. Markets in my
area discount these heavily. If you just buy the veggies and fruit you will
use that day or buy meat and freeze what you don't use you can save quite a
bit of money.

Jon

Julia Altshuler wrote:
> Sheldon wrote:
>
> Had you thought of your experiment as little as two months
>
> > ago you could have with just $2 worth of seeds planted a vegetable
> > garden that all through July (and beyond) would have enabled you to
> > eat better than a king.
>
> I thought of suggesting a garden, but, while the seeds are inexpensive,
> the place to plant them can run up a pretty penny.

Assuming a piece of sunny ground is already available then nothing
other than labor needs to be invested. And most people can find a
suitable piece of ground somewhere even if they don't have their own
(really don't need a lot of space, veggies can be planted amongst
foundation shrubbery, in utility company right of ways, even in large
cites there are community gardens where one can sign up on a first
come first serve basis... they're almost always free. And quite a
crop can be harvested from planters... many nurserys will give away
those cheap plastic pots that sapling trees are grown in for free...
at most any construction sites one can get all the free 5 gallon used
contractors buckets they can carry for the asking... you don't need
tony planters from the Front Gate catalog to grow veggies. Yes, one
can get really fancy schmancy with gardening but if all one wants is
basic vegetables to feed one person no money is involved, and for such
a small amount not even much labor... we're talking like about 30-40
sq ft of ground, not a farm.

On Jun 28, 5:51 am, Sheldon > wrote:
> mcbrag wrote:
>
> > I have decided to live the month of July spending just two dollars a
> > day on food. Other than vague notions of pasta, rice, beans, and
> > raman, I have little idea what I'm gonna eat.
>

>
> You should be able to squeeze a lot of chicken in... 5-7 lb roasting
> chickens are almost always on sale at some stupidmarket for less than
> 80 cts/lb... one large chicken will supply at least six portions..
> and the carcass enough stock to greatly enhance a few portions of your
> ramen.

Now that you mention it, I have seen whole chickens on sale once at my
local Stater Bros for .64 per pound. That's been a while, though. My
estimations were based on prices I've seen over the last couple weeks
of shopping.

Oh, and I'm a big guy...a whole chicken is more like 4 meals, not 6.
Two meals when I'm not on a budget

(minus the stock afterwords, of course)

>
> If you live near water (ocean, river, lake, stream, etc.) you can
> catch fish. A walk along the roadside near woods and fields should
> produce plenty of berries in July. There are also lots of wild greens
> that not only are very edible but also very tasty... check the
> library, many survival books have been written that identify edible
> plants. Had you thought of your experiment as little as two months
> ago you could have with just $2 worth of seeds planted a vegetable
> garden that all through July (and beyond) would have enabled you to
> eat better than a king.

Actually, I did start a garden, but I got a rather late start this
year - last week of May if memory serves.

Anyways, it looks like I'll probably have some green beans the second
half of the month, and maybe even some swiss chard and spinach. I've
already had one harvest of radishes.

>
> And remember, tube steak is your friend! hehe
>

Thanks for the offer, Sheldon, but I gag easily

Seriously though, hot dogs have never done it for me. One of my goals
is to eat as healthily as possible. I can do better than hot dogs.

> A can of baked beans, a handful of macaroni, a couple sliced tube
> steak and a little water and you have big bowl of nutritious and
> filling soup.
>
> Sheldon

Thank you, Sheldon, that was very helpful.

b.

On Jun 28, 7:57 am, Omelet > wrote:
> In article . com>,
>
> wrote:
> > What other food items to you think I can add to the list?
>
> > What interesting menu items would you recommend?
>
> Cheap chicken.
>
> At an average of $.79 per lb. one chicken can easily feed me for 3 days
> with sides.
>

I have seen whole chickens on the cheap on sale at the local market,
but not the last few forrays through. I figure any meat has got to be
$1 per pound or less to be feasible. I'd be willing to go a little
higher on chicken simply because I can get so much out of it.

> Beans
> Rice
> Corn Tortillas
> Ramen noodles
> Other pastas

Ah, tortillas. Great idea! thanks.

b.

> --
> Peace, Om
>
> Remove _ to validate e-mails.
>
> "My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a bitch" -- Jack Nicholson

On Jun 28, 8:40 am, "Zeppo" > wrote:
> > wrote in message
>
> ups.com...
>
>
>
> > Friends,
>
> > I have decided to live the month of July spending just two dollars a
> > day on food. Other than vague notions of pasta, rice, beans, and
> > raman, I have little idea what I'm gonna eat.

>
> > Anyways, your help is greatly appreciated.
>
> > What other food items to you think I can add to the list?
>
> > What interesting menu items would you recommend?
>
> > thanks,
>
> > b.
> > misanthropia dot com
>
> Get familiar with your local markets and what they do with food that is
> getting too ripe to sell or too close to the expiration date. Markets in my
> area discount these heavily. If you just buy the veggies and fruit you will
> use that day or buy meat and freeze what you don't use you can save quite a
> bit of money.

I've been told that Asian super markets have great prices on fish and
produce. I live smack in the middle of Little Koreatnam and am
surrounded by such markets, I've just been too self conscious to go in
one

I'll try to put aside my discomort and check one out.

b.

>
> Jon

On Jun 28, 3:22 am, wrote:

> Anyways, your help is greatly appreciated.
>
> What other food items to you think I can add to the list?
>
> What interesting menu items would you recommend?
>
> thanks,
>
> b.
> misanthropia dot com

I know you've already mentioned eggs, but I'm going to repeat. I can
get large eggs at a local kind-of ethnic market for about .79/doz
(U.S.), and jumbo are a little over a dollar/doz. That sure seems
like cheap protein to me. It might not help your cholesterol, but it
sure seems cheaper than beef. Fried eggs over a bed of your home-
grown chard or spinach with a little salsa or cheese on top is a great
meal. Omelets can take a multitude of left-over fillings. Hard
boiled can be chopped up and put in soups or ramen. Or you can do an
egg drop style.

Also, if you cook your meat, any meat, and then cut it into little
pieces, half inch or smaller, and mix it with your veggies and rice or
soup or whatever, you'll be surprised how far you can stretch the most
expensive part of your meal. If you just get a small piece of meat in
most mouthfuls, you trick yourself into thinking you ate a big chunk
of meat.

And buy in bulk if you can. I buy my bulk oatmeal from the local co-
op for about .65/pound versus probably $2/pound in a cardboard tube at
the supermarket.

If this is a long term plan, and you have a lot of room in a garden,
I'd go for winter squash such as sugar pumpkins or butternut squash.
They're not cheap in the store and they can last forever. Well, for
many months anyway. If you don't have much room, herbs are a good
thing because they're expensive in the store and they can dress-up
inexpensive things and make them taste expensive.

HTH,

Ken

kilikini wrote:
> wrote:
>> Friends,
>>
>> I have decided to live the month of July spending just two dollars a
>> day on food. Other than vague notions of pasta, rice, beans, and
>> raman, I have little idea what I'm gonna eat.
>>
>> That being said, there are a few things I have in mind:
>>
>> *Eggs - fried, scrambled, and boiled.
>> *Potatoes - fried, baked
>> *Pasta - 1 can diced tomatoes, 1 can tomato sauce, garlic, onions,
>> herbs, 1lb pasta
>> *Tuna salad
>> *Home baked bread - loaves, rolls, cornbread, pita, soda crackers
>>
>> That's pretty much the list I've come up with. I really need some
>> help coming up with more menu items.
>>
>
> We're always on a really tight budget, so I've learned some tricks to
> get us by when we're in a serious pinch.
>
> 1. Homemade soups. For instance, bean soup is probably one of the
> cheapest. It may cost more than $2.00 initially, but you get a week's
> worth and you can always freeze some.
> 2. Frozen, non-breaded, fish filets - I get mine at a place called
> Sav-a-Lot. For about $3.50 I get 5 frozen pollock fillets. Yes, it
> comes to about $.70 a fillet, which is about 65% of your daily
> allowance, but if you eat ramen for lunch ($.15), 2 eggs for
> breakfast ($.40) that allows you about $.75 cents of veggies to go
> with the fish for dinner. And, if you haven't finished all the ramen
> (I never do), you can stir-fry the veggies and place them on the bed
> of left-over ramen.
> 3. Buy off-brand canned goods at surplus stores like Dollar General.
> The sell-by-date is usually expired, but that's not important for
> canned goods. Spaghetti sauce can be had for under $1.00 and again,
> you can get at least 3 - 4 meals out of a jar. These kind of places
> are also good for cheap, dried pasta.
> 4. You mentioned rice. Fried rice is cheap and it's a great way to
> use up any veggies. I make a batch and it lasts me all week. What I
> don't end up eating (because I can never eat it all), I end up
> feeding to my pet rats. They love it, too!
> 5. It's summer - think tuna salad. Go to the Dollar store to get
> your tuna, pasta, mayo and whatever else you want to add. That's
> another one that lasts me a week.
> 6. Casseroles. Filling, cheap and they go a long way. A casserole
> can be as simple as frozen broccoli and mushroom soup (or broccoli
> cheese soup), baked, with breadcrumbs on the top. Again, if you go
> to the Dollar store, you can get frozen broccoli and canned mushroom
> soup for cheap.
>
> I could write a book on this and to all the foodies out there, yes, I
> know most of this is processed food. I like to eat as fresh and
> healthy as I can, but sometimes you have to cut corners.
>
> Anyway, I hope this helped!


Wow kili, you really know your stuff!! You could write a book yaknow???

In article .com>,
wrote:

> > Cheap chicken.
> >
> > At an average of $.79 per lb. one chicken can easily feed me for 3 days
> > with sides.
> >
>
> I have seen whole chickens on the cheap on sale at the local market,
> but not the last few forrays through. I figure any meat has got to be
> $1 per pound or less to be feasible. I'd be willing to go a little
> higher on chicken simply because I can get so much out of it.
>
> > Beans
> > Rice
> > Corn Tortillas
> > Ramen noodles
> > Other pastas
>
> Ah, tortillas. Great idea! thanks.
>
> b.

Glad to be of help. ;-)

If whole chicken is expensive where you are, look for the hindquarters.
They fluctuate here in price, but can often be found for $.49 to $.69
per lb. in 10 lb. bags.

Don't underestimate fresh produce! A lot of it is coming into season
right now making it cheaper than meat and of great health benefit. I'm
of the belief that you need meat in your diet, but fresh veggies are
good for both flavor and nutrition.

I got Roma tomatoes yesterday for $.89 per lb. and summer squash is even
lower.

Celery and lettuce is good and I paid $.49 per HEAD for cabbages!
--
Peace, Om

Remove _ to validate e-mails.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a bitch" -- Jack Nicholson

I run a food pantry, so I'm always on the lookout for bargains. If I go
to my market (Shaw's) early in the morning I can find meats greatly
reduced. Last week I bought 30 1 pound packages of bacon at 49 cents a
pound. They were originally $3.49 but each had a $3 off sticker. I put
them in the freezer immediately. Bacon is a treat for my clients. I
also always find $2 off stickers on the Healthy Choice cold cuts that
are usually $2.79 each, and with the stickers, I get cube steak for 69
cents or 79 cents each. Yesterday I bought 1 pound blocks of cheddar
for 99 cents each. My store also sells "ends" of meat and cheese for
next to nothing.

My friends always say they never find bargains like this, but I usually
just take them by the hand and show them where the store places the
marked down items. The bargains are usually out there, you just have to
know where to look.

Actually, Shaw's is the most expensive store in my area, but they have
great mark downs and it enables me to provide a lot more food to my
clients besides the typical canned goods. We also supply milk, eggs,
cheese, margarine, cold cuts, and cleaning products to each family that
comes in.

If things are truly meager for you right now, maybe you should find a
local food pantry for help. You would need to show ID and proof of
financial need. You don't need to be totally destitute to qualify for
aid, just willing to ask for help. My food pantry doesn't pre-bag
anything, our clients can shop for whatever they want, less waste that
way.

Denise in NH

On Jun 28, 12:50 pm, wrote:
> On Jun 28, 8:40 am, "Zeppo" > wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > > wrote in message
>
> oups.com...
>
> > > Friends,
>
> > > I have decided to live the month of July spending just two dollars a
> > > day on food. Other than vague notions of pasta, rice, beans, and
> > > raman, I have little idea what I'm gonna eat.
>
> > > Anyways, your help is greatly appreciated.
>
> > > What other food items to you think I can add to the list?
>
> > > What interesting menu items would you recommend?
>
> > > thanks,
>
> > > b.
> > > misanthropia dot com
>
> > Get familiar with your local markets and what they do with food that is
> > getting too ripe to sell or too close to the expiration date. Markets in my
> > area discount these heavily. If you just buy the veggies and fruit you will
> > use that day or buy meat and freeze what you don't use you can save quite a
> > bit of money.
>
> I've been told that Asian super markets have great prices on fish and
> produce. I live smack in the middle of Little Koreatnam and am
> surrounded by such markets, I've just been too self conscious to go in
> one
>
> I'll try to put aside my discomort and check one out.
>
> b.

Yes, put it aside. Everytime I go to any ethnic market, when I ask a
customer what they will be doing with an ingredient they are picking
up, I get a quite pleasant lesson in cooking that ingredient. This
goes for ANY ethnic person I've ever approached.

Funny thing, one of the last times I did this I was in a big Asian/
Hispanic supermarket of which there are a few around here in
Virginia. The woman I was talking to entered her husband and mother
into the discussion. When I went to the next store on my list of
places to go, there they were, at an Indian store. (They were Indian,
they said, but I would not have known it from the previous discussion/
store event.)

Dee Dee

Ophelia wrote:
> kilikini wrote:
>> wrote:
>>> Friends,
>>>
>>> I have decided to live the month of July spending just two dollars a
>>> day on food. Other than vague notions of pasta, rice, beans, and
>>> raman, I have little idea what I'm gonna eat.
>>>
>>> That being said, there are a few things I have in mind:
>>>
>>> *Eggs - fried, scrambled, and boiled.
>>> *Potatoes - fried, baked
>>> *Pasta - 1 can diced tomatoes, 1 can tomato sauce, garlic, onions,
>>> herbs, 1lb pasta
>>> *Tuna salad
>>> *Home baked bread - loaves, rolls, cornbread, pita, soda crackers
>>>
>>> That's pretty much the list I've come up with. I really need some
>>> help coming up with more menu items.
>>>
>>
>> We're always on a really tight budget, so I've learned some tricks to
>> get us by when we're in a serious pinch.
>>
>> 1. Homemade soups. For instance, bean soup is probably one of the
>> cheapest. It may cost more than $2.00 initially, but you get a week's
>> worth and you can always freeze some.
>> 2. Frozen, non-breaded, fish filets - I get mine at a place called
>> Sav-a-Lot. For about $3.50 I get 5 frozen pollock fillets. Yes, it
>> comes to about $.70 a fillet, which is about 65% of your daily
>> allowance, but if you eat ramen for lunch ($.15), 2 eggs for
>> breakfast ($.40) that allows you about $.75 cents of veggies to go
>> with the fish for dinner. And, if you haven't finished all the ramen
>> (I never do), you can stir-fry the veggies and place them on the bed
>> of left-over ramen.
>> 3. Buy off-brand canned goods at surplus stores like Dollar General.
>> The sell-by-date is usually expired, but that's not important for
>> canned goods. Spaghetti sauce can be had for under $1.00 and again,
>> you can get at least 3 - 4 meals out of a jar. These kind of places
>> are also good for cheap, dried pasta.
>> 4. You mentioned rice. Fried rice is cheap and it's a great way to
>> use up any veggies. I make a batch and it lasts me all week. What I
>> don't end up eating (because I can never eat it all), I end up
>> feeding to my pet rats. They love it, too!
>> 5. It's summer - think tuna salad. Go to the Dollar store to get
>> your tuna, pasta, mayo and whatever else you want to add. That's
>> another one that lasts me a week.
>> 6. Casseroles. Filling, cheap and they go a long way. A casserole
>> can be as simple as frozen broccoli and mushroom soup (or broccoli
>> cheese soup), baked, with breadcrumbs on the top. Again, if you go
>> to the Dollar store, you can get frozen broccoli and canned mushroom
>> soup for cheap.
>>
>> I could write a book on this and to all the foodies out there, yes, I
>> know most of this is processed food. I like to eat as fresh and
>> healthy as I can, but sometimes you have to cut corners.
>>
>> Anyway, I hope this helped!
>
>
> Wow kili, you really know your stuff!! You could write a book
> yaknow???

LOL, I've been poor for WAY too long, I think! :~)

kili

> I've been told that Asian super markets have great prices on fish and
> produce. I live smack in the middle of Little Koreatnam and am
> surrounded by such markets, I've just been too self conscious to go in
> one
>
> I'll try to put aside my discomort and check one out.
>
> b.
>
>
>
>
>
> > Jon- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
I was recently turned on to a great Asian grocery store. They seem to
have much better meats and produce, and lots of stuff I have no idea
about! Check one out!

wrote:
> Friends,
>
> I have decided to live the month of July spending just two dollars a
> day on food. Other than vague notions of pasta, rice, beans, and
> raman, I have little idea what I'm gonna eat.
>
> That being said, there are a few things I have in mind:
>
> *Eggs - fried, scrambled, and boiled.
> *Potatoes - fried, baked
> *Pasta - 1 can diced tomatoes, 1 can tomato sauce, garlic, onions,
> herbs, 1lb pasta
> *Tuna salad
> *Home baked bread - loaves, rolls, cornbread, pita, soda crackers
>
> That's pretty much the list I've come up with. I really need some help
> coming up with more menu items.
>
> Checking prices at the supermarket, I've come up with a list of some
> food stuffs I can afford:
>
> *Veggies - potatoes, carrots, onions (not much else looks affordable
> on my self imposed budget)
> *Fruit - bananas, melons (also, lemons and oranges from trees in the
> yard, though I don't think many, if any, oranges will be available)
> *Grains, beans, pasta - rice, beans (red, garbanzo, pinto), peas,
> lentils, barley, pasta
> *Meat - Not much looks particularly affordable. I may be able to
> squeeze some chicken in, maybe even some ground beef, and I plan on
> splurging on a pound of bacon.
> *Dairy - no milk, cheese, or butter. But margarine is surprisingly
> cheap. Eggs, or course.
>
> I have an ample supply of herbs, spices, oils, vinegar, soy sauce, and
> some rather esoteric condiments (fish sauce, black bean and garlic
> sauce, hoisin sauce, oyster sauce).

While you will probably get bored from eating leftovers, beans and rice
in their myriad combinations are going to be your cheapest good protein.
When cooked in their multi-ethnic splendor with added vegetables,
onions, garlic, tomatoes, eggplant, they're good food. Served with
cornbread, darn, I'd come over to eat. Can't think of anything to use
fish sauce with!

In summer with farmer's markets and all, I should think you could get
vegetables, and lucky you to have a yard full of citrus!

Where I live a housewife will often use a single tomato from a can and
keep the rest. In season a fresh one takes its place. Cooked pasta,
with 3 ounces of tuna, a few frozen peas thrown in with the pasta at the
end of cooking, and a single diced tomato-- cannot tell you how many
times I've been served that. It isn't a favorite, but it's good and
very cheap.

I understand the yen for bacon, but I should think nutrition would come
first.

Portion control will play a part, too. I salute your effort, really.
More people should get acquainted with how hard life is for a lot of
people.

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

Michael "Dog3" Lonergan wrote:
> "kilikini" > dropped this turd
> : in rec.food.cooking
>
>>
>> I could write a book on this and to all the foodies out there, yes, I
>> know most of this is processed food. I like to eat as fresh and
>> healthy as I can, but sometimes you have to cut corners.
>>
>> Anyway, I hope this helped!
>>
>> kili
>
> Why don't you write a book? Say, the month of August go on a $2 a day
> budget and really stick to it. No fudging and journal everything.
> Viola... you got a book.
>
> Michael

I'm toying around with the idea of writing a book involving "on the road
food". Many times when we travel we don't stay in a place with a kitchen
but a mini-fridge and microwave are a must. We take along a small portable
grill, a hot plate and basic cooking utensils. I've come up with some
pretty creative meals considering the limited cooking facilities

Jill

kilikini wrote:
>> Wow kili, you really know your stuff!! You could write a book
>> yaknow???
>
> LOL, I've been poor for WAY too long, I think! :~)

Time for you to think about it!!!

Heck I would buy it))

jmcquown wrote:
>> Michael "Dog3" Lonergan wrote:
>>> "kilikini" > dropped this turd
>>> : in rec.food.cooking
>>>
>>>>
>>>> I could write a book on this and to all the foodies out there,
>>>> yes, I know most of this is processed food. I like to eat as
>>>> fresh and healthy as I can, but sometimes you have to cut corners.
>>>>
>>>> Anyway, I hope this helped!
>>>>
>>>> kili
>>>
>>> Why don't you write a book? Say, the month of August go on a $2 a
>>> day budget and really stick to it. No fudging and journal
>>> everything. Viola... you got a book.
>>>
>>> Michael
>>
>> I'm toying around with the idea of writing a book involving "on the
>> road food". Many times when we travel we don't stay in a place with
>> a kitchen but a mini-fridge and microwave are a must. We take along
>> a small portable grill, a hot plate and basic cooking utensils.
>> I've come up with some pretty creative meals considering the limited
>> cooking facilities
>>

That is how we are eating for the next 8 weeks. Few plugs and 1 microwave.
Very little counter space. We do have a full size fridge though. Keeps the
grey cells awake in the heat. :-) I brought an electic fry pan, a
quesedilla maker, a panini grill, an electric kettle and an electric can
opener and 2 Betty Crocker hot pots. The other night I had the fry pan going
on the little bit of counter space I had, the rice cooker on the little
table, and a hot pot on the bathroom shelf all going.

Debbie

>> Jill

--�

Debbie

(Email account is valid but one I do not check. To email use above
name dot neill at sympatico dot ca)

Staples and labor.

Get a bag of flour and bake your own bread, noodles,
biscuits, etc. Rice is almost free, too. Ignore the
Atkins cultists. Starches are good for you if you eat
protein and fiber.

Eat the least expensive protein you can find.
Probably deep-discount whole chicken. Look for
reduced-for-quick-sale items. The local Fry's (Kroger)
has chicken on buy-one-get-one-free, and at least one of
the offerings (probably the legs or the whole fryers) is
$1.49/lb, so that's .75/lb right there. The only thing
is a bone-in chicken is only 60-70% meat.

Depending on where you are, some fresh veggies work out to
dirt cheap and filling. It's corn season, so the local
Safeway has 10 ears for $2. Half an ear is plenty for a
meal with meat and a starch.

Check out your local markets' websites. They all have
online copies of their weekly sale flyers. That will
help you target your excursions. I scan them every week
for deals on canned sodas. I never pay more than $3 per
12-pack (25 cents per can). It's a matter of principle.

--Blair

> wrote:
>I've been told that Asian super markets have great prices on fish and
>produce. I live smack in the middle of Little Koreatnam and am
>surrounded by such markets, I've just been too self conscious to go in
>one

You've been missing out.

>I'll try to put aside my discomort and check one out.

You're going to become a junkie!

--Blair

merryb > wrote:
>I was recently turned on to a great Asian grocery store. They seem to
>have much better meats and produce, and lots of stuff I have no idea
>about! Check one out!

The best:

http://bestof.phoenixnewtimes.com/be...p?award=196950

This is where I get eye round for under $3/lb. Fresh,
whole trout for $2.99/lb. Shrimp-flavored chips.
Huge shallots for under $2/lb. Sliced, frozen lamb leg
meat (for making lamb cheesesteaks, of course). Bok choi,
Kai choi, and a few other choices of chois. 30? 50? kinds
of tofu. String beans as long as your arm. Grapefruit
the size of your head. Mint leaves by the handful.
Sprouts by the barrel. Baby bananas, burro bananas,
banana bananas. ***Durian***. Roast duck. Anything in
the fish (or meat?) case cleaned and fried while you wait.
Live blue crabs. Live dungies. Live catfish and tilapia
and lobsters.

--Blair
"(drools and plans)"

On Thu, 28 Jun 2007 09:50:56 -0700, wrote:

snippady doo daw
>
>I've been told that Asian super markets have great prices on fish and
>produce. I live smack in the middle of Little Koreatnam and am
>surrounded by such markets, I've just been too self conscious to go in
>one
>
>I'll try to put aside my discomort and check one out.
>
>b.

I hope you try them out, their produce is waaay cheaper than the
regular supermarkets.
I have always had pleasant experiences in ethnic grocery stores.
It has been my experience that people are genuinely happy to help.
Watch out though, your shopping trip will take longer because you will
strike up some interesting conversations with some interesting people.
I think I need to try and eat on two dollars a day also. I haven't
been real good about putting away money for the New Mexico cookin'

Good Luck.

Koko

Ken > wrote:
>On Jun 28, 3:22 am, wrote:
>
>> Anyways, your help is greatly appreciated.
>>
>> What other food items to you think I can add to the list?
>>
>> What interesting menu items would you recommend?
>>
>> thanks,
>>
>> b.
>> misanthropia dot com
>
>I know you've already mentioned eggs, but I'm going to repeat. I can
>get large eggs at a local kind-of ethnic market for about .79/doz
>(U.S.), and jumbo are a little over a dollar/doz. That sure seems
>like cheap protein to me. It might not help your cholesterol, but it

You can eat cholesterol if you're exercising consistently.
Cholesterol is consumed by muscular activity. That's why it
exists.

>sure seems cheaper than beef.

Let's do a little math with some help from calorieking.com:

protein/carb/fat content:

1 large egg, 1.8 oz, 6.3/0.6/5.3
eye round, 1.8 oz, 15/ 0 /2.1
chicken breast, 1.8 oz, 16/ 0 /1.8
chicken leg, 1.8 oz, 13.8/ 0 /4.3

The chicken is boneless, which isn't the cheapest option.
But let's assume you can get 50% meat from a chicken,
so the meat itself is more like $1.50/lb. Average the
white and dark meat (no skin) to get about 15g/1.8oz.

A pound of eye round is $2.99 on sale.
A pound of whole chicken is $.75 on sale.
A dozen large eggs (12*1.8=21.6 oz edible) is $.79 on sale,
or 58 cents/lb.

Using the formula

(price per pound)*(pounds per item)/(Pgrams per item) = (price per Pgram)

A gram of egg protein costs $0.58*(1.8/16)/6.3 = 1.0 cents.
A gram of chicken protein is $1.50*(1.8/16)/15 = 1.1 cents.
A gram of eye-round protein is $2.99*(1.8/16)/15 = 2.2 cents.

The price of chicken protein is way less than I was
expecting. I'll have to actually skin and bone a couple
of chickens and check on that efficiency rating. If it's
closer to 60%, chicken becomes the cheapest option even
when eggs are on sale.

>If you just get a small piece of meat in
>most mouthfuls, you trick yourself into thinking you ate a big chunk
>of meat.

And the protein is filling.

>And buy in bulk if you can. I buy my bulk oatmeal from the local co-
>op for about .65/pound versus probably $2/pound in a cardboard tube at
>the supermarket.

Yup. Probably the cheapest way to get flour for bread, too.

--Blair

On Thu, 28 Jun 2007 20:30:08 -0700, Koko wrote:


>I think I need to try and eat on two dollars a day also. I haven't
>been real good about putting away money for the New Mexico cookin'
>
>Good Luck.
>
>Koko

That might be an interesting challenge, for anyone that wants to go
along with it... After I get back to NM this Sunday, I will be able
to see what I can do to meet the challenge....

Can we pool all the money together for the week, and buy stuff out of
that, for the week? I would think it would be easier to stretch the
money that way....

I am trying to save money for same cook-in.... Need to finally buy me
a smoker, and some other gadgets that I have been lusting after.

Christine

Giusi > wrote:
>While you will probably get bored from eating leftovers, beans and rice
>in their myriad combinations are going to be your cheapest good protein.

Here's the thing about beans:

While they have 20-30% protein by weight when dry, nobody
eats dried beans. When cooked, they weigh twice as much.
Which means they are now 10-15% protein. Lean beef and
chicken come in at 30% or more.

On the other hand, beans cost about 30-80 cents a pound
in quantity:

http://www.usaemergencysupply.com/fo...&mincategory=3

Chicken, after you bone it, is about $1.50/lb, so beans
need to cost 75 cents/lb or less to be cost-efficient
for protein if they're high-protein beans, and 50 cents
or less if they're low-protein beans.

I'd say they pretty much trade off, on average.

Beans also bring their own carbohydrates. Twice as much
as the protein. Which means that dietarily you don't need
(or want) the rice.

I think I'd have an easier time eating chicken and rice
every day than beans alone.

> When cooked in their multi-ethnic splendor with added vegetables,
>onions, garlic, tomatoes, eggplant, they're good food. Served with
>cornbread, darn, I'd come over to eat. Can't think of anything to use
>fish sauce with!

Fish-sauce beans-a-roonie!

> Portion control will play a part, too. I salute your effort, really.
> More people should get acquainted with how hard life is for a lot of
>people.

Eating the proper amount will save a lot of money.

Most people eat 100% more than they should.

--Blair

In article > ,
Blair P. Houghton > wrote:

> Giusi > wrote:
> >While you will probably get bored from eating leftovers, beans and rice
> >in their myriad combinations are going to be your cheapest good protein.
>
> Here's the thing about beans:
>
> While they have 20-30% protein by weight when dry, nobody
> eats dried beans. When cooked, they weigh twice as much.
> Which means they are now 10-15% protein. Lean beef and
> chicken come in at 30% or more.
>
> On the other hand, beans cost about 30-80 cents a pound
> in quantity:
>
> http://www.usaemergencysupply.com/fo...ory=1&mincateg
> ory=3
>
> Chicken, after you bone it, is about $1.50/lb, so beans
> need to cost 75 cents/lb or less to be cost-efficient
> for protein if they're high-protein beans, and 50 cents
> or less if they're low-protein beans.

That US$.75 is for cooked beans, though. The cite above is for dried
beans.


> I'd say they pretty much trade off, on average.
>
> Beans also bring their own carbohydrates. Twice as much
> as the protein. Which means that dietarily you don't need
> (or want) the rice.

Uncooked white rice is 7% protein and 80% carbs. Beans are 21% protein
and 62% carbs. So, for people who need protein but not so much rice,
then you are correct.


> I think I'd have an easier time eating chicken and rice
> every day than beans alone.


Eating anything every day isn't healthy, and besides, I wouldn't like
it. Still, for a meatless meal, beans and rice have complementary
proteins. Eating only beans, or eating only rice, as the sole source of
protein will lead to protein deficiency.

On Jun 28, 11:24 am, Giusi > wrote:
> wrote:
> > Friends,
>
> > I have decided to live the month of July spending just two dollars a
> > day on food. Other than vague notions of pasta, rice, beans, and
> > raman, I have little idea what I'm gonna eat.
>
>
> While you will probably get bored from eating leftovers, beans and rice
> in their myriad combinations are going to be your cheapest good protein.
> When cooked in their multi-ethnic splendor with added vegetables,
> onions, garlic, tomatoes, eggplant, they're good food. Served with
> cornbread, darn, I'd come over to eat. Can't think of anything to use
> fish sauce with!
>
> In summer with farmer's markets and all, I should think you could get
> vegetables, and lucky you to have a yard full of citrus!

I live in a very old neighborhood in Orange County, Ca. I think it was
the law when they built the houses that every yard had to have at
least one citrus tree. JK, but it does seem that every house in the
older neighborhoods has an orange tree. And during orange season,
there are more oranges than leaves on them. The lemons seem to produce
(quite prolifically) all year round. I'll be drinking lots of lemonade
in July

>
> Where I live a housewife will often use a single tomato from a can and
> keep the rest. In season a fresh one takes its place. Cooked pasta,

Tomatoes are by far my favorite fruit. I picked up the habit of a
canned tomatoe with my eggs for breakfast on a trip to the UK. The
Welsh certainly can put out a good breakfast.

> with 3 ounces of tuna, a few frozen peas thrown in with the pasta at the
> end of cooking, and a single diced tomato-- cannot tell you how many
> times I've been served that. It isn't a favorite, but it's good and
> very cheap.
>
> I understand the yen for bacon, but I should think nutrition would come
> first.

My main motivation for the bacon is the drippings. Gramma used to keep
a coffee cup of bacon fat next to the stove and put a dab into just
about everything. I figure much of the beans and rice stuff will be a
bit bland. Browning some onions in bacon fat should flavor it up a
bit. And I can't think of anything that wouldn't be made better by a
spoonful or two of crumbled bacon.

>
> Portion control will play a part, too. I salute your effort, really.

I expect this to be my biggest hurdle. I'm a big guy (230lb) and am
used to big portions. Half a chicken with mashed potatoes, creamed
spinach, and a biscuit is dinner to me (God bless Boston Market).

> More people should get acquainted with how hard life is for a lot of
> people.

Check this out: http://tinyurl.com/23xtt3
Not necessarily expressing how hard life is for some, but interesting
none the less.

>
> --
> Posted via a free Usenet account fromhttp://www.teranews.com

wrote:
> On Jun 28, 11:24 am, Giusi > wrote:
>> wrote:

>
> My main motivation for the bacon is the drippings. Gramma used to keep
> a coffee cup of bacon fat next to the stove and put a dab into just
> about everything. I figure much of the beans and rice stuff will be a
> bit bland. Browning some onions in bacon fat should flavor it up a
> bit. And I can't think of anything that wouldn't be made better by a
> spoonful or two of crumbled bacon.

I understand the feeling, but don't participate in the general
bacon-adding thing! Here it is great olive oil. We search for and then
liberally season with the one that suits us best.

I'd probably vary flavors by using/not using garlic and onion, various
herbs and spices, maybe even the fish sauce. I am not a big fan of
leftovers, but this 2 buck challenge would mean they'd figure large.
I am a meat lover, especially chicken, but I find myself not eating much
of it lately. Price hasn't affected the habit so much as a lack of
interest, but meat is much more expensive here. Bargain chicken costs
about US$2.50 a pound. When I see something on sale, I buy and freeze
it, especially if it isn't usually on the counters, like veal breast or
pork tenderloin or spring lamb called abacchio, which is tiny and mild.

>
>> Portion control will play a part, too. I salute your effort, really.
>
> I expect this to be my biggest hurdle. I'm a big guy (230lb) and am
> used to big portions. Half a chicken with mashed potatoes, creamed
> spinach, and a biscuit is dinner to me (God bless Boston Market).

You should probably weigh things to get an idea of what you need rather
than what you can pack in! After shopping, I often divide meats into
100 g packets.
>
>> More people should get acquainted with how hard life is for a lot of
>> people.
>
> Check this out: http://tinyurl.com/23xtt3
> Not necessarily expressing how hard life is for some, but interesting
> none the less.

That's fascinating! The Italians are very untypical of the ones I know,
but with three little kids and a very young mother maybe that explains
some of their favorites. The amount of bread rings true, though. I
think I am the only one I know hereabouts who buys and eats hotdogs once
in a while with sauerkraut just for old times sake. The USians really
had a lot of snack foods. The Arabs seemed to favor fresh fruit. The
level of affluence was all over the place and I wouldn't take, for
example, the Polish family as typical, since I know so many Poles who
have to come here to make money to send home. They sure don't have US
styled built-in cupboards and prepared foods would be out of the
question. Interesting quantities demonstrated, too.

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

wrote:
>
> Check this out: http://tinyurl.com/23xtt3
> Not necessarily expressing how hard life is for some, but interesting
> none the less.
>

Wow, that was a fascinating link! Thanks for sharing. It's amazing how
little some people live on.

kili