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What a coincidence. I bought beans today and I almost bought a bag of brown rice but it didn't seem worth the cost for the quantity. Now I'll give it a whirl!
The article has good suggestions but that diet is almost all grains/beans/starches, hardly any variety at all. I couldn't eat like that day in and day out. And the inclusion of protein bars is completely mind boggling.
Along with bulk rice and oatmeal, bulk dry beans/lentils, and bulk potatoes, all of which are pretty obvious, I would add:
Bananas- not my favorite fruit but they cost like 15-20 cents each
Bulk packages of eggs (5X12 dozen)- dirt cheap source of protein and last at least ~6 months in the fridge
Root vegetables- carrots, parsnips, rutabagas, turnips, radishes, etc.- really cheap, really long shelf life, and great in soups or roasted
Iceberg lettuce- 99 cents a head, which is really a ton of lettuce and lasts far longer than the already cut up kind
Cabbage- see above
Okra- really cheap and good in soups
Apples- bulk or bagged, whichever is less expensive at the time. They last a long time so it's hard to waste them
Onions- see above
Whole chickens and turkeys, especially post-Thanksgiving turkeys- cook them whole and freeze whatever you don't eat for later, use the bones for stock
Celery and cucumbers-
Blocks of cheddar cheese on sale- freezes really well, easy to grate if you want shredded cheese
Whole ham on sale- freezes well, good in breakfast food, soups, etc. a little provides a lot of flavor for beans or soups
2 lb. bags of fish (salmon, Steelhead trout, flounder, mahi mahi, etc.) from Costco or Sam's Club, not that expensive from these places
Any kind of homemade bread, rolls, biscuits, etc.
Any seasonal vegetables and fruits that are on sale
Speaking of the protein bars in the article. It also said the protein bar eaters "only" spent $400 per month on food! I don't think the authors of the article have ever been broke in their lives lol! They were doing pretty good, though, until they got to the protein bars. Although, I also find lettuce and salad greens to be expensive. I normally eat my veggies in soups. They're cheaper than greens.
Swap the protein bars for eggs.
I don't eat many potatoes because unless I'm throwing them into a soup or stew, I can't seem to eat them without tons of butter on them. Yeah, yeah I know about using oil, etc. I guess it's one of those things, a taste I grew up on. If it's a potato, it needs butter :-)
For veggies, I always am on the hunt for celery, onions, tomatoes and carrots. With those, I can make almost any meal, and/or broth. I just bought a large celery bunch at a dollar store here in Redding for 99 cents! A dollar store with produce! I was in heaven.
I have found great deals on meat at the Food Maxx here in Redding. 10 pound bag of chicken leg quarters for $7.99! You just need to haunt the meat departments on top of looking at the ads, like someone else said about checking the little corner sale bins. The 10 pound bag wasn't on their flyer. It wasn't even "on sale." They were in the freezer section. They must have gotten a random shipment or something.
And for me, add tortillas, too, for burritos. I admit, I like the white flour ones.
For rice, I make mine 1/2 and 1/2 white/brown. Cheaper, and tastier. It's my compromise.
Peanut butter isn't too fattening in small amounts and it's very filling. For me all it takes is a couple of tablespoons with an apple when I am hungry between meals and want to kill my appetite serves me well. It's healthy too. The apple alone won't do it.
One tip to point out, always compare the price of bulk or bulk bagged vegetables (such as potatoes). I've noticed some supermarkets are getting sneaky and using two price systems. If potatoes are unwashed in a bag it's x price, if they are pealed and washed in a big plastic bag it's Y price. I guess not everyone has the time to pay attention when shopping, they just see it and grab it.
I live on Social Security so I am in a perpetual state of broke. I do buy peanut butter it goes a long way. But there are all kinds. I buy the store brands on sale that don't have sugar or added oils. Rice doesn't have to be expensive, there are all different kinds and it goes really far. I have no problem with frozen veggies which, when on sale, are often less expensive than fresh and keep longer. It's just me, so it's hard to buy some fresh vegetables in amounts small enough so they don't go bad. So if I buy perishable veggies, I have to use them up quickly which means buying them more frequently so even though the cost may be low, the frequency in buying them may be high. In that case, buying frozen is more economical.
Everything I have read has said that frozen vegetables are just as nutritious as fresh, you just have to know how to cook them for them to taste good. I use a steamer.
Frozen vegetables have the same nutritional value as fresh. If you find fresh vegetables on sale for a great price, buy them and freeze them yourself.
Quote:
Originally Posted by debtmonger
If you are truly broke, how do you afford the food on this list? Food pantry?... Garbage cans??.... Theft???
When the writing is on the wall, you start eating like this to prevent yourself from becoming truly broke.
If you're truly broke, this is the least of your worries.
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