Cooking is too expensive

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Brave AI Answer:

Buying food on low money​

Based on the provided search results, here are some effective ways to buy food on a low budget:
  1. Plan your meals and snacks: Plan ahead to avoid impulse purchases and reduce food waste. Make a list and stick to it.
  2. Shop at discount stores: Stores like Aldi, Lidl, and Costco offer affordable prices on staples like pasta, rice, and canned goods.
  3. Buy in bulk: Focus on non-perishable items like pasta, rice, and canned goods, and consider buying in bulk to save money.
  4. Shop the clearance section: Regularly check the clearance section of your local grocery stores for discounted prices on items.
  5. Use coupons and apps: Take advantage of coupons, apps, and promotions to reduce your grocery bill.
  6. Buy in season: Purchase produce in season to get better prices and quality.
  7. Cook from scratch: Prepare meals from scratch using affordable ingredients like beans, lentils, and oats.
  8. Use affordable protein sources: Incorporate affordable protein sources like eggs, canned tuna, and beans into your meals.
  9. Shop at local farmers’ markets: Many farmers’ markets offer affordable prices on fresh produce, especially for those who buy in bulk.
  10. Avoid processed and premium brands: Opt for store-brand or generic alternatives to reduce costs.
Specific Food Items to Consider
  1. Oats: A 4-pound bag of oats can cost as little as $5 and provide a week’s worth of breakfasts.
  2. Rice: A 20-pound bag of rice can cost around $15 and provide a month’s worth of meals.
  3. Canned goods: Canned fruits, vegetables, and meats are affordable and can be used in a variety of recipes.
  4. Beans: A pound of dried beans can cost around $1 and provide a week’s worth of protein-rich meals.
  5. Eggs: A dozen eggs can cost around $1.50 and provide a week’s worth of breakfasts and snacks.
  6. Frozen vegetables: Frozen vegetables are often cheaper than fresh and can be just as nutritious.
  7. Apples: Apples are a affordable and nutritious fruit option, with a 5-pound bag costing around $10.
Additional Tips
  1. Shop with cash: Paying with cash can help you stick to your budget and avoid impulse purchases.
  2. Avoid shopping when hungry: Shopping for groceries on a full stomach can help you avoid impulse purchases and stick to your list.
  3. Cook in bulk: Cooking large batches of food can help reduce food waste and save time during the week.
  4. Use leftovers: Plan meals that use leftovers to reduce food waste and save money.
By implementing these strategies and focusing on affordable food items, you can buy food on a low budget and still maintain a healthy and balanced diet.

I also recommend the budget playlist from Life Of Boris, its educational and funny sometimes.

 
I made a simple chicken and rice recipe that came out to $1.30 a serving for 8 servings. Beans and rice, and cooking from scratch. Figure out which stores offer coupons and you can usually get discounts on gas as well.
 
If you have a Costco near you it may be worth it to sign up for a membership. The gas savings alone can pay for your membership and all the food is way cheaper in bulk. And for everything you can't bulk-buy go to a low-cost grocery store like Aldi. They'll have everything you need to eat healthy for a lower price than pretty much any other grocery store. The trade-off is everything is their brand, but I've never had an issue with anything they sell.

If you can't afford to buy in bulk from a big warehouse just getting everything at a place like Aldi will still do a lot for you.

Oh an I almost forgot, this website is great for cheap easy to cook meals and a lot of the stuff can be cooked and stored as leftovers so you can get multiple days out of one meal.
 
Lentils are packed full of nutrients an and dirt cheap. A pound of then is like a dollar and can easily make 6 meals, more depending on what you put in the pot with them
 
herefortheactualthreads said:
Oats: A 4-pound bag of oats can cost as little as $5 and provide a week’s worth of breakfasts.
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That's a bald faced LIE! Oats are so expensive they have become rich-mans food. They've gone up close to 300% in the last couple years and there's no sign they'll ever come back down. The demand is so high that Big-Oat can charge whatever it wants. Do not develop a taste for god's fiberest grain or you will eat yourself out of house and home. Think of your children, it's too late for me.

Seriously, oatmeal is very good but also very fucking expensive. It makes up probably the third largest single portion of my average grocery expenditures. Stick to dry beans and rice.
 
There is actually an infinite food exploit that was never patched out.
1. Buy a bag of beans. They're cheap.
2. Plant the beans.
3. Harvest the beans from the plants. You now have 10x-20x as many beans.
4. Repeat ad infinitum.
 
oldTireWater said:
That's a bald faced LIE! Oats are so expensive they have become rich-mans food. They've gone up close to 300% in the last couple years and there's no sign they'll ever come back down. The demand is so high that Big-Oat can charge whatever it wants. Do not develop a taste for god's fiberest grain or you will eat yourself out of house and home. Think of your children, it's too late for me.
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Depends on where you live, but some people are getting generic oatmeal for less than $1/lb to this day (a little less than Quaker equivalent):

It's a great source of protein and fiber, and can be used in baked goods. I'm going to try an experiment with oat flour soon.

Anyone making dried beans should use an electric pressure cooker. Which could fit well with a cheap lifestyle if you are using that to saute in a small space instead of a stove.
 
Agreeably4263 said:
Lentils are packed full of nutrients an and dirt cheap. A pound of then is like a dollar and can easily make 6 meals, more depending on what you put in the pot with them
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Here is a good lentil soup recipe, especially for a novice cook. To improve on that recipe, put a little olive oil in the bottom of the soup pot and sautee your onions before you brown the meat

oldTireWater said:
Seriously, oatmeal is very good but also very fucking expensive.
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Sadly oatmeal can now make you infertile :(
 
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Dude, it is expensive. I eat a lot of frozen vegetables, chicken and beans. I use tobasco to season, and right now some jap bbq sauce. other than that, frozen veggies are pretty cheap. I buy meat in bulk at costco, Its always been pretty good.
 
oldTireWater said:
That's a bald faced LIE! Oats are so expensive they have become rich-mans food. They've gone up close to 300% in the last couple years and there's no sign they'll ever come back down. The demand is so high that Big-Oat can charge whatever it wants. Do not develop a taste for god's fiberest grain or you will eat yourself out of house and home. Think of your children, it's too late for me.

Seriously, oatmeal is very good but also very fucking expensive. It makes up probably the third largest single portion of my average grocery expenditures. Stick to dry beans and rice.
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Where I am oats are still dirt cheap. Maybe it's just an issue in america?
 

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Do you have skills you could barter? Depending on where you live, there are large communities that are happy to barter meat, fruits , vegetables, breads, preserves and other homemade goods. I have an over abundance of eggs, fruit and vegetables so I always offer those freely to people willing to come out and pick them themselves. Harvest season you can’t leave someone’s house without being loaded with more squash, tomatoes and zucchini than you could possibly eat.
 
Angry Shoes said:
If you have a Costco near you it may be worth it to sign up for a membership
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disagree, if you are just cooking for yourself buying in bulk does not have any cost savings. Also shopping at Costco is a considerable time commitment.

Aldi is the most cost effective store to get groceries from. They are now basically everywhere in America. You won't find the typical brand name products but the quality of things like produce is always good, and it's even cheaper than places like Walmart which have lower quality produce. If you don't live near one then Walmart is the second best option.

For recipes the best place to find them is YouTube. Just searching for "meals under (x) dollar amount" or "budget meals" and you will find dozens of videos with recipes. You can also look into doing meal prep which is just creating pre-planned/portioned meals ahead of time and putting them in something like a pryex container.

herefortheactualthreads said:
Shop with cash: Paying with cash can help you stick to your budget and avoid impulse purchases.
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This one is good. It allows you to budget easier. If you go to the store with only $40 in two 20 dollar bills you are less likely to buy things you don't need
Agreeably4263 said:
Lentils are packed full of nutrients an and dirt cheap. A pound of then is like a dollar and can easily make 6 meals, more depending on what you put in the pot with them
Click to expand...
lentils are incredibly difficult to prepare and cook with. especially for someone who is new to cooking. unless you are in destitute poverty and have traded away your EBT for fent and tranq I advise against this.
 
777Flux said:
lentils are incredibly difficult to prepare and cook
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How hard is it to get a pot of lentils boiling and then put in on low and cover for an hour? Prep is entirely optional, a good idea obviously but it doesn't change the taste in my experience, wash then if you feel like, soak them for awhile if you want to cut down on the cook time.
 
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