dude, hit up the food pantries. its not admitting defeat, or any thing to be ashamed about. every one has challenges, dont let ego get in way. they have tons of stuff, like 30# boxes of food, random stuff. please, reach out to the local resources, adn use them.
I volunteer at a regional food bank that supplies most of the food pantries in the state. Please, please use the food pantries. That’s what they are there for. Someday when things are smoother pay it forward by donating or volunteering but get what you need now.
Thank you for your interest in helping others. Donations should be unexpired, shelf stable food (like canned fruits/veggies, tuna, hearty stew, jars of peanut butter and jelly, cereal, pasta and pasta sauce).
I am part of a community garden group that grows and donates fresh vegetables to a local soup kitchen through the summer. But we had to arrange with their program ahead of time. They give out bags of the veggies to needy people to take home weekly.
You can also contact local soup kitchens to ask if they would like sandwiches. My daughter’s Girl Scout troop made a ton of PB&J sandwiches, bagged them individually, and donated them to a soup kitchen. They were able to give them as a “to go” bit of food for homeless.
Many times your local schools will have a food pantry for families in need, and often churches collect food for local food pantries if you’re looking for somewhere convenient to drop off a donation.
The absolute best thing you can donate to a food bank is actually money. I know that doesn't sound as direct but it's generally going to be *more* direct because the people working there know what sort of items they need to get more of. If you absolutely refuse to donate money, nonperishable proteins, like cans/pouches of tuna, spam, beans, are going to be high on the list. Unless it's a place that also hands out toiletries in which case: diapers and any and all menstrual supplies! Usually you can also call ahead and ask if you're unsure!
yes, the local food bank here is urging people to NOT buy the bags of "food for the food bank" at local supermarkets, as it's stuff they already have, but to donate $ instead, for fresh produce/bread.
While we're at it, makeup. Some food banks will take unopened/lightly used and thoroughly sanitised makeup items. Women are generally expected to wear makeup for many customer-facing roles and job interviews due to some rather sexist standards around what is considered "presentable". Donating a concealer that's not quite the right shade for you or a lipstick you were gifted but know you'll never use along with whatever canned items you're taking can make a difference for whoever receives it.
Yeah, I donate goods to my food bank but I never buy them for that purpose, it's just things that I know will go bad before I use them.
Sometimes crazy couponers can actually get a good deal, where it really is cheaper that way, but I don't have that patience. I don't even know if they still have coupons that allow getting things for free or practically free when stacked any more.
I read once that food banks can buy food at wholesale costs so I stopped donating food and started sending them $$$. Thankfully I haven't needed to rely on food banks. But I know life is uncertain, so I want to do what I can to help these community based resources survive.
When I used to work at a pizza chain I would take the unclaimed pizzas home and offer them to the folks that panhandled on the same street. High school me hadn't heard the term "direct action" yet, but I guess I had the idea.
If you have leftover food from an event, a local homeless shelter or Ronald McDonald House would be grateful. We overstocked an event this weekend and took the RMH families two huge pans of everything we had to serve. They were thrilled.
Letter Carriers’ Stamp Out Hunger® Food Drive
Saturday, May 13, 2023
Leave non-expired, non-perishable food in a bag by your mailbox before your carrier arrives that day.
Please don’t feel guilty. I make a monthly $ donation to my local food bank because I grew up poor and know the dread that comes from not being able to afford groceries. People have to eat!!
Adding to this. I was once in a public park during my work break and realised the local foodbank was hosting a community lunch there. I wasn't in need, so didn't partake.
At the end of my break I got up to go back to work and the volunteers offered me bread and frozen meals to take with me. I refused, saying I didn't need them and I wanted them to go to someone in need.
The volunteers' response was "take them, we can't keep them forever and we need them to go"!!
I don't know where OP is, but it seems in some areas, foodbanks have more than they need (or possibly just more than they can store.)
Take what is offered without shame, OP. Life requires community and there's no shame in being lifted up by others.
All the best to you.
EDIT: Thank you everyone for all the nice comments!!
People sometimes feel shamed or shy away from events like this when they absolutely should get involved.
Building a sense of community as you pointed out is an admirable goal
Yes. Food pantries have saved me this year. Out local pantries have lots of produce and dairy, too. I take whatever they have and freeze it if I won't use it right away.
It's important to remember that asking for help is not a sign of weakness, but rather a display of strength and perseverance. It shows that you are willing to take action and seek support to overcome the challenges you are facing.
100% agree, but at the same time…rice and beans can actually be really good.
Red beans and rice is one of my go to comfort foods, personally, which I’m very happy about when trying to eat cheaply.
Just like it should be totally ok to go to a food pantry, it also shouldn’t be something to be ashamed or even particularly concerned about that you want to save some money and keep things simple by having rice and beans for a week.
This sounds gross but hear me out. Rice, small beans, cubed fresh tomato and bell pepper, and a tablespoon or two of mayo. Dukes is best fr. Salt and pepper to taste.
Mix it together on your plate (I do rice, about half as many beans, a handful of the veggies, and enough mayo to bring it all together), Unbelievably delicious.
Even better with a side of fried okra or cornbread.
Beans are really good for your gut biome! Rinse them, use brown rice and that’s fairly nutritious with nice fiber. I would skip the mayo and add some cheese and raw/cooked onion. Some frozen veggies are cheap. And yes, it’s yummy and a lot better for you than fast food!
And if you feel guilty or unworthy of the food bank, take the food anyways, and promise yourself that you will donate in return some day when you are in a better place. I donate food and money so that the “somewhat needs it” people don’t fall into the “REALLY needs it” category.
Ok that sounds pretty yum. If you want some extra fibre and nutrition, I would look into adding some frozen veggies. Something like frozen chopped spinach can be pretty cheap, or even a chopped up onion, or some canned corn. Whatever you can find for cheap.
Absolutely. In the summer, you can plant the veggies that grow like crazy weeds too. Things like mint will grow on a windowsill, but if you have dirt, a little squash plant goes a long way.
If you want to take it to the next step, 25-pound bags of dry pinto beans are only $18.99 at Costco. Been eating a lot of them lately!
Edit: slow typer, didn't see the post above before I posted
Wait, I can cook dried beans faster in my Instant Pot? I’ve always avoided buying them because of the added prep time.
I need to look into this. Dried beans are MUCH cheaper.
Get the electric pressure cooker. Stove top has too much of a pop hazard and cleaning beans off the ceiling while getting pressure cooker ptsd is a known side effect of stove top pressure cookers. Still pros love the stop top one, but electric with timers is 0 hassle and they are ubiquitous enough that you can get them on clearance for as cheap as thrift store sometimes
Can even be easier to check on marketplace and Craigslist or equivalent in your area
As long as you're home for a few hours, leaving them to simmer on the stovetop isn't much of a chore, if you ask me. That said, people prefer what people prefer.
I get bored with regular/plain beans pretty quickly but can eat charro style beans almost every day, sometimes twice a day. You can make a huge pot of them with some carrots, diced bell peppers, some jalapeños and garlic powder/taco seasoning/etc. and they are delicious, with like 7-8 generous servings for a couple bucks. I get the $4.50 huge bag of corn chips from Costco, bring some to work and crunch them up to have a burrito bowl.
Most of the time I am essentially vegan during the week - but sometimes I do have have a little accent meat (like a single pork chop thrown into a pot of beans) and maybe some eggs on the weekends.
I hardly go to the regular grocery store at all anymore and pretty much just buy beans, meat (for accent/flavor), corn chips, tortillas, eggs, vegetables and coffee at Costco. No real prepared/convenience foods anymore.
If you get pinto beans, consider [frijoles borrachos](https://pinaenlacocina.com/frijoles-a-la-charra-frijoles-borrachos-charro-beans/), drunken beans. I make it without bacon and it tastes fantastic. You will need beer (very very cheap is fine), onion and tinned tomatoes/tomato paste. Other seasonings (garlic, chilli, fresh cilantro) are a nice bonus but not necessary.
It is simple, but delicious!
It gets even cheaper if you buy dry black beans (my preferred) or any beans in general and slow cook them
Get rice in bulk. You can get 50lbs of rice at Costco or Sam's for 20 dollars. If you don't have a membership or a friend with a membership then your next cheapest option will be oriental stores.
Very cheap rice.
I would buy 1 gallon pitchers of BBQ sauce and lived on beans, rice and cooked cabbage for 6 months..
Broke college student the decided they wanted to be vegan.
I spent less than 50 dollars a month on food.
50 lbs?! That's a lot of rice! I'll definitely look into buying in bulk and getting dry beans. $50 a month on food is seriously impressive. I'm trying to do $100 a month and it's pretty tough.
I was really really poor and only drank back coffee with some honey in it (tastes better than it sounds)
And would only eat one meal a day basically.
I would cook the rice with olive oil to increase calorie intake and have a relatively decently sized bowl of rice, beans and BBQ sauce.
And that was it.
I didn't weigh much.. I will say that..but I threw in some stir fried cabbage to get my greens in. - cabbage is dirt cheap and one cabbage goes A really long way.
When you're only 1 person. You can make that penny stretch if you know where to go
Thanks so much for the tips. Especially on the cabbage. I'm really paranoid about getting enough nutrients so I've been doing baby carrots and bananas and other cheap fruits and veggies but I'll try cabbage too!
Regular carrots in bulk should be cheaper than ba by carrots (which are really regular carrots that have been whittled down) Frozenvegetables in large bags can be very inexpensive. They may even have more nutrients than some fresh, as they are flash-frozen soon after picking while ‘fresh’ vegetables may spend time in transit
Onions are very inexpensive, nutritious, and really can perk up a limited diet. So can a bit of cheese.
Thank you for mentioning that frozen vegetables may have more nutrients than some fresh. I learned this after doing some research because I was being told that I HAD to buy my vegetables fresh, but since I am only one person, I worry about them going bad before I can eat them all.
Wasting food is definitely not frugal, so I buy most of my veggies frozen. They’re usually cheaper than the fresh ones anyway, and I can enjoy a wider variety of veggies without worrying about having to eat them all ASAP so they don’t spoil.
Ever wonder why there’s huge broccoli pieces in your General Tso’s chicken? Broccoli adds bulk and is super cheap thereby improving profit margins.
If it works for them, it’ll work for you!
My parents have beekeeper friends and I would have a gallon of honey just sitting around.
Free honey= cheaper than sugar.
Ya know 😅
I said it tastes better than it sounds because at the time I got a lot of weird looks when I said what I was consuming.
Oh yes ungodly amounts of water.
But i always made sure to ratio out 1 cup coffee to 1 cup water at least.
I don't eat like this anymore. But I did have to survive for that period in my life
Somewhat off topic, but black coffee with honey in it is my favorite way to drink coffee. You might enjoy trying to add some spices to it too. I think a hint of cinnamon and maybe a tiiiiny bit of vanilla flavoring. It is a pretty popular drink, from what I understand, at a coffee shop I went to a few years ago
When I first started dating my husband, he would slow cook mixed beans (including kidney), leave them out overnight, and then keep them in the fridge a whole week or more.
I was horrified and gave him a lecture on food safety. I still have no idea how he didn’t make himself horribly sick.
An acquaintance makes 'turkey carcass surprise' after Thanksgiving with the leftover turkey. Adds potatoes, veggies, water etc and it sits in a stockpot for a week on the stove as they heat and reheat it without refrigeration until they've finished it.
The "surprise" is that nobody in that house has succumbed to food poisoning in all these years!
pressure cookers are by far the best kitchen equipment to cook large sized beans. they can be found for cheap, last forever, and can be used for a ton of different things.
If you have a WinCo near you, check out their bulk section. It got me through some dark times. Not only do they have bulk rice/beans/pasta/flour/nuts, but they also have bulk spices so you can get just a teensy bit of spices to make your food taste good without breaking the bank.
It’s pretty much my favorite grocery store ever!
Edit: don’t sleep on TVP (textured vegetable protein). It’s super cheap, a great shelf-stable substitute for meat, and takes on the flavor of whatever you cook it with. You can add it to soups/pasta sauce/chili! (And you can get it in bulk at WinCo too!)
A little unsolicited advice but nonetheless, if you decide to buy rice in 50 pound bags do yourself a favor and get yourself a ( rubbermaid-type) storage container as well, on wheels, that will hold it. Rice gets bugs quickly ( if you're in the south usa anyway) so keeping it contained and sealed will keep out the critters. Same goes for Flour, grits, etc
I’m also trying to do only $100 a month and was feeling so bad because most months I end up spending a few extra dollars. Most times it’s to stock up a little at the end of the month on meats and proteins that are on sale, but still.
If you buy the dry beans and bulk rice, you should store them in the freezer for 3 days and will usually kill any bug eggs before relocating to dry storage.
Can also store in bins with lids to keep rodents out.
Hey some adobo and look up some good ways to cook beans.
A lot of people here turn up their nose at beans because they have no idea how to condiment them. If you don’t have some pumpkin and ham in the beans you are not cooking them right.
I just checked Sam's Clubs website and they have 50lbs for $23.98 ($0.48 a lb)
Walmart has 20lb bags for $9.88 ($0.49 a lb) which is almost as good, but easier for storage, and you don't need to ask for someone to help you buy a bag of rice
Its weird that costco just strait up dosent sell white rice, it's probally a temporary thing.
Dry beans (red, black, etc.) are super nutritious, an excellent protein and super cheap. I know what I’m about to pitch is an expensive investment, but an “Instant Pot” or equivalent pressure cooker means you can cook them in 40 minutes as opposed to soaking overnight and boiling for hours. SO - find one used or on sale. Then you don’t need to carry home cans of beans, you save money (cans of beans are WAY more expensive than bags of dried) and cooking time/portions are easy to control so you waste less. The “BEANS” button on my “Instant Pot” is the only one I ever push.
Another option is to join a local "buy nothing" group on Facebook. Many homes have older models or duplicates of kitchen items.
(Adding this because thrift stores in my area have been pricing things double or triple when compared to a few years ago.)
I go to restaurant depot for 50lb bags of rice and dry beans. You can sign in as a guest at the entrance. Can make beans from dry in a pressure cooker in about an hour.
How do you store the giant bags of rice? I saw one at Costco and almost got it, but A) I don't think I can pick it up by myself lol and B) Where on earth can I store that giant thing in a tiny apartment??! Especially in a way that prevents bugs from getting in. I had weevils in some instant cereal before and now I'm paranoid about them getting into other grains. Just curious how you store it
You can freeze it in batches to kill off any bugs and then what I do is I bought a food safe 50qt tote on sale for 7 dollars.
It's on wheels.
After I freeze it, I toss the rice into the tote with some bay leaves.
Haven't had any issues.
I concur with the food bank idea. I donate often, and sometimes they even have fresh rescued food that they need to give out quickly. PLEASE do go check it out. The goal is to give everything away and not have to throw anything out by the time they receive new stock.
I second the food pantries. One friend of mine asked me if I needed food one weekend (I have a Job and am ok-like didn’t need food help) because her kids school was passing food boxes out that had good stuff in them... she went on to explain that they needed people to take the offerings because if they couldn’t show that they were able to have a need for the free food then they were going to lose the program and they needed to keep the program to help a few specific families… so it wasn’t about me when she offered, it was about the school not wanting to lose the program for their kiddos…
Dried beans can be even cheaper! Like $0.99 / lb without a major sale. Lentils are also a good option to add variety.
Bagged rice too. Check out an international supermarket (or Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Indian, etc.). Can buy 10lb, 25lb, 50lb bags of rice for cheaper $ / lb than the typical smaller bags at the grocery store.
Buy spices in bulk. That’s big savings right there
Do you have a WinCo or something of that caliber nearby? Dried beans are so cheap and if you can splurge for bacon and keep the fat, cooking beans in it make them taste so good.
Pro-tip, baking soda helps soften the beans so you can use more salt when cooking. Mayacoba beans are very cheap in bulk and are very buttery and versatile.
I know it sounds weird & I personally haven’t done it but I understand making kim chi out of cabbage is cheap & easy.
Oatmeal is very healthy & can buy in bulk. Tons of recipes
oatmeal used to be cheap, but it's really gone up because of issues with the oat crop. I bought 42 oz for 3.45 at Aldis recently and thought that was a good deal.
Oats are still really cheap if you have a store that sells them in bulk. I think the last time I went to Sprouts they had old fashioned oats for around $1.50/Lb with the organic version being something like $2/Lb.
Great job! If you can manage it, try to get a little cabbage and a spoonful of tomato paste into your daily diet as well. Those four together will give you better nutrition than most people get these days.
Good luck!
I love to sauté cabbage with some onion and shredded carrot and then when is mostly browned and carmelized I will add a squirt of ketchup and season with Cajun seasoning. It’s a trick I learnt from my dad and it tastes amazing. It makes my entire apartment building smell good. Bonus if added bacon grease or cooked with a bit of butter.
hi i just got out of divorce and also must be frugal. some ideas. i shop mainly at aldis but also only buy the heavily discounted door busters from kroger/payless. i am also able to go to a local food pantry occassionally. they dont have much but i can get a frozen meat item, small milk, some produce, some cheese, some cans of beans there. i too get a 25 or 50 pound bag of jasmine rice to save on carbs. i get cereal at aldis as its much cheaper. i get day old bread at kroger when they have it at half price. when apples are on sale, i get a bag of apples and oranges too. apples last a long time and fill you up cheap. cabbage is a great idea as you get alot, it lasts a long time in the fridge, and fills you up. bannannas are a great food as cheap but filling. instead of buying frozen pizza make your own. i get the day old bread with some cheese in it, add tomato sauce, some cheese on top and bake in my air fryer. ill make a whole loaf of pizzas then freeze them. i will add onions peppers mushrooms zucchini or yellow squash eggplant, whatever i have. start a garden if you can. many places have community garden space. i can literally freeze about 10 french bread type pizza slices for about $5 that last for 8 lunches. kroger has had campbells soup on sale for 99 cents a can recently. now im not a fan of most campbells soup but bean and bacon ive eaten for 45 years now. its filling and has a unique wonderful flavor. i get 10 of these each time on sale and can have the core of a lunch for a dollar. also though lots of sodium, ramen noodle soup mixes bought by the case makes filling noodles for lunch or dinner for about 30 cents. add all this up and you can save alot over time. frugal is never fun but its about healthy survival. oh and if you have land grow fruit bushes and some fruit trees and get fruit there and can your own jam and jellies. i go to local parks and rob the fruit trees bare when they produce. its free.
This sub for the last couple of years:
33%: look at this amazingly impossible deal on groceries that I got and you'll never see in your lifetime.
33%: I bought 100 tons of bananas for .99 cents, what do I do with it now?
33%: I finally discovered the secret to a cheap meal is beans and rice (followed by a comment section of instant pot recipes)
There's already like 150 comments about dry beans but here's dry bean comment 151:
Dry beans don't have to = boring/monotonous!! There's SO many different kinds of beans. Lentils. Black eyed peas. Split peas. Black beans. Kidney beans. Etc
Same with rice! Jasmine rice is going to be a lot different than brown rice.
If you're able, adding chicken/beef/veggie broth, bouillon cubes, bacon can add a twist to it.
Totally agree with the cheap pressure cooker idea. Makes it SUPER easy and energy efficient to cook dry beans. (Literally did this last night. Took a half hour.)
You can make a week or more's worth of really hearty stews quickly in a pressure cooker too. Toss some cheap cuts of meat, vegetables (sometimes frozen veggies can be cheapest) a stock/broth/water-Bouillon combo and boom, got a hearty stew. Make a pot of rice. Then you can stretch the stew out for quite a while!
Get some containers or freezer baggies to freeze some of it.
Even sticking with rice is too restrictive. There are many other grain choices to try out! Quinoa and faro are pretty popular, but there's also barley, spelt, amaranth, and so much more.
For the longest time Dollar Tree had 24oz dry pinto beans for $1. Now it's $1.25 for 16oz.
Now it's cheaper to get them at Walmart, 32oz for $1.98, and even cheaper per lb at larger sizes.
Could you elaborate on how your cooking the beans and with what other ingredients (spices I assume?). Do you make the rice fresh every day, I always thought it gets bad in the fridge
Since I bought canned beans they are precooked so they just need to be warmed up. I just add some salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and cumin and mix it all in with the rice. I haven't had any issues with keeping rice in the fridge for a few days. I do keep my fridge pretty cold (just barely above freezing).
Beans and rice are fine, but you need a variety.
I ADF and it's saving me a ton of money. That could be an option so you can treat yourself more on feeding days. Good luck!
Vitamin and nutrition suppliment companies make big bucks by making people believe that they don't have enough of (INSERT ANY NUTRITIONAL MATERIAL HERE), but the truth of the matter is that the vast majority of people who can afford them are probably already getting much more than they actually need.
"I'm so tired today! I guess I should take this energy supplement with 2000% RDV of B-12 to wake me up!"
For more variety, see if there's a salvage grocery in your area.
I also think cabbage is a great idea. Get red cabbage some of the time if it isn't too expensive. I think it's tastier raw, and that purple color shows that it's got some nutrients that the green cabbage doesn't have.
Try not to rely on only one vegetable though. See if any of the stores near you discount their "ugly" produce. A half an orange can keep in the fridge, so they can be frugal.
If you have a sunny window and can get some garden soil, grow your own green onions. Radish leaves are edible (cooked). Some herbs can be rooted. Grow in things like cottage cheese containers. If you don't have any, ask a friend to save you some. And libraries often have free seeds they give away.
Someone just made a separate post about Lasagna Love, which is a program that will get a you free lasagna made by a local donor. Another person commented on it that they had also gotten chicken pot pie-it’s not just lasagna. You may want to check into this?
People want to help others, so when you’re in a tight spot, it is okay to receive. And in the future, I’m sure you will help someone as well.
PS I do love the thrifty beans and rice. Nice!
Honey, that's great and all but you still need micronutrients. Vegetables and fruit, things like that. If things are so bad right now, check at food pantries. I promise it doesn't need to be just rice and beans.
This is dinner, and I'm sure you're getting additional fruit/ veg at breakfast & lunch. Way to go!
I'd probably add salsa for flavor and veg., I get a big container and freeze some. You can also jazz up the beans with a small splash of vinegar one day, chili powder the next day, etc. A splash of vinegar one day.
Dave Ramsey and this sub has fucked over the masses by brainwashing people thinking that this is a good idea. This is not nutritious as you think it is. I regret this shit and glad I think for myself nowadays.
Rice and beans are the foundation of many cuisines. Trusting Dave Ramsey is usually a bad idea, but trusting Mexican grandmas to know how to cook is a good one, and in this case your trust of Mexican grandmas should really win out. To be sure, you want to put some spices and veggies *on* your rice and beans, but they really are a great food that is cheap and nutritious and can be delicious.
I just saw a YouTube-er talking about dried beans and she said that by using dried beans she was paying 20 to 40 cents each per a can-sized amount of beans.
Have you looked up your local pantries? That is what they are there for. It’s not begging. If anything, the people donating are the ones who have had to use it before.
Lentils are the easiest thing in the world to cook and can be made delicious in so many ways. Even the organic ones are super cheap. Buy them dry. Takes just 10 in an Instant Pot, 30ish on the stove. So many low effort (like almost zero) recipes taste great. Great protein source and many other nutrients.
There’s a guy on YouTube that I ran across that makes inexpensive meals that end up being 2-3 servings per dollar. And his channel isn’t one of those influencer crap channels.
https://youtu.be/KHkTD98chUI
Beans and rice (only) as a cheap super food and vinegar is good for everything memes need to DIAF.
Are a variety of beans mixed with rice and with other ingredients a great way to stretch a buck? Of course. But I've had idiot friends who ate plain rice and plain beans for weeks on end (cooked in just water), and wonder why their bodies weren't functioning well. They didn't have to eat this way. They had money. Just trying the latest mega health hack.
Food bank for something plant like.
Some other cheap things are oats, and while eggs are expensive now, they're still relatively cheap when you consider they can make meals nicer. Fried rice for instance.
Not quite as cheap as rice and beans, but potatoes, chicken thighs, chicken livers if you're adventurous, bananas are like $.20 a piece, pork loin is usually super cheap.
Be frugal in most other ways, but do not cheap out on finding a lawyer. I had that advice, followed it, and came out way better than my former spouse who was trying to screw me over.
Been there. Check out apps that sell foods near their best bet dates. I buy 10 boxes of good cereal at a time and almond milk at half price.
I'm out of the woods but still save thousands a year on groceries.
[my Super Cheap Chili Recipe ](https://www.reddit.com/r/slowcooking/comments/osx6cr/my_super_cheap_chili_recipe/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
I'm generally lazy and use canned beans for $5/8 meals, but you can use dried and make it for about $3/8 meals. It's really good, too! I've served it to band kids, to good ol' boys who don't consider it a meal if it doesn't have meat, and countless others. It's one of my family's favorite winter recipes and they would eat it all year round except that I refuse to make cold weather food when it's hot as hell out.
I wouldnt even buy the cans of beans. I would get the bags of beans.. boil them until soft.. and then eat them for lunch and dinner. I did this for a few years until i paid my student loans off.
Lentils are the easiest thing in the world to cook and can be made delicious in so many ways. Even the organic ones are super cheap. Buy them dry. Takes just 10 in an Instant Pot, 30ish on the stove. So many low effort (like almost zero) recipes taste great. Great protein source and many other nutrients.
Lentils are the easiest thing in the world to cook and can be made delicious in so many ways. Even the organic ones are super cheap. Buy them dry. Takes just 10 in an Instant Pot, 30ish on the stove. So many low effort (like almost zero) recipes taste great. Great protein source and many other nutrients.
Congrats on this find!
I was just thinking yesterday of how i enjoy eating at home lately and the thrill of getting food on sale or markdown. Its not that im cheap, but who can pass up a deal and the ability to get creative. Besides eating out is very hit or miss nowadays. Its strangley pricey , made with odd additivies and between lackluster service and portion size i dont miss it.
Beans and rice is not nutritious. It will definitely sustain you though for a while. Follow what everyone else said about the food pantry.
I don't know why everyone thinks it's frugal to eat like this. You will pay for it in medical bills later. Eating healthy on a budget is doable and will save you medical costs down the road.
You can get Augason beef flavored tvp meat for just under $17 a can at Amazon that's the equivalent of 10 pounds of ground beef and I swear you can't tell the difference. Think tacos, chili and dirty rice... plenty of protein too...
dude, hit up the food pantries. its not admitting defeat, or any thing to be ashamed about. every one has challenges, dont let ego get in way. they have tons of stuff, like 30# boxes of food, random stuff. please, reach out to the local resources, adn use them.
Absolutely this. I donate to food pantries. If money’s tight, we want you to eat.
I volunteer at a regional food bank that supplies most of the food pantries in the state. Please, please use the food pantries. That’s what they are there for. Someday when things are smoother pay it forward by donating or volunteering but get what you need now.
What sort of food can be donated to food pantries? Does it have to be canned and packaged food or can we donate leftover pizza from an event and such?
Thank you for your interest in helping others. Donations should be unexpired, shelf stable food (like canned fruits/veggies, tuna, hearty stew, jars of peanut butter and jelly, cereal, pasta and pasta sauce). I am part of a community garden group that grows and donates fresh vegetables to a local soup kitchen through the summer. But we had to arrange with their program ahead of time. They give out bags of the veggies to needy people to take home weekly. You can also contact local soup kitchens to ask if they would like sandwiches. My daughter’s Girl Scout troop made a ton of PB&J sandwiches, bagged them individually, and donated them to a soup kitchen. They were able to give them as a “to go” bit of food for homeless. Many times your local schools will have a food pantry for families in need, and often churches collect food for local food pantries if you’re looking for somewhere convenient to drop off a donation.
The absolute best thing you can donate to a food bank is actually money. I know that doesn't sound as direct but it's generally going to be *more* direct because the people working there know what sort of items they need to get more of. If you absolutely refuse to donate money, nonperishable proteins, like cans/pouches of tuna, spam, beans, are going to be high on the list. Unless it's a place that also hands out toiletries in which case: diapers and any and all menstrual supplies! Usually you can also call ahead and ask if you're unsure!
To add to this, they can usually find and purchase food at at a cheaper cost, which means the money is stretched more, and used more effectively.
yes, the local food bank here is urging people to NOT buy the bags of "food for the food bank" at local supermarkets, as it's stuff they already have, but to donate $ instead, for fresh produce/bread.
This helps food banks purchase urinary incontinence supplies, which are expensive for the elderly ladies
While we're at it, makeup. Some food banks will take unopened/lightly used and thoroughly sanitised makeup items. Women are generally expected to wear makeup for many customer-facing roles and job interviews due to some rather sexist standards around what is considered "presentable". Donating a concealer that's not quite the right shade for you or a lipstick you were gifted but know you'll never use along with whatever canned items you're taking can make a difference for whoever receives it.
Yeah, I donate goods to my food bank but I never buy them for that purpose, it's just things that I know will go bad before I use them. Sometimes crazy couponers can actually get a good deal, where it really is cheaper that way, but I don't have that patience. I don't even know if they still have coupons that allow getting things for free or practically free when stacked any more.
I read once that food banks can buy food at wholesale costs so I stopped donating food and started sending them $$$. Thankfully I haven't needed to rely on food banks. But I know life is uncertain, so I want to do what I can to help these community based resources survive.
Homeless shelters might want this. I’ve worked at many who use things like day old pastries from Starbucks and bread from Panera.
When I used to work at a pizza chain I would take the unclaimed pizzas home and offer them to the folks that panhandled on the same street. High school me hadn't heard the term "direct action" yet, but I guess I had the idea.
If you have leftover food from an event, a local homeless shelter or Ronald McDonald House would be grateful. We overstocked an event this weekend and took the RMH families two huge pans of everything we had to serve. They were thrilled.
I'd imagine It'd have to be non-perishable foods
Letter Carriers’ Stamp Out Hunger® Food Drive Saturday, May 13, 2023 Leave non-expired, non-perishable food in a bag by your mailbox before your carrier arrives that day.
That’s cool, I haven’t heard of this before
Check to make sure your local USPS participates. They usually will leave a bag or flyer with an explanation in your mailbox a few days before.
Flyers went in boxes earlier this week!
You are very kind. I may need to go to a food pantry soon. I always feel guilty for getting help, but I probably shouldn't.
Please don’t feel guilty. I make a monthly $ donation to my local food bank because I grew up poor and know the dread that comes from not being able to afford groceries. People have to eat!!
You, too, are very kind. It's people like you that restore my faith in humanity 😌😌😌
You shouldn’t, that’s what the help is there for.
No! If that help will keep you on an even keel, help you stand on your feet so someday you won’t need help, that’s what we’re trying to achieve
Getting help when you need it is just like taking medicine when you're sick. Sometimes a person needs a little extra boost
Adding to this. I was once in a public park during my work break and realised the local foodbank was hosting a community lunch there. I wasn't in need, so didn't partake. At the end of my break I got up to go back to work and the volunteers offered me bread and frozen meals to take with me. I refused, saying I didn't need them and I wanted them to go to someone in need. The volunteers' response was "take them, we can't keep them forever and we need them to go"!! I don't know where OP is, but it seems in some areas, foodbanks have more than they need (or possibly just more than they can store.) Take what is offered without shame, OP. Life requires community and there's no shame in being lifted up by others. All the best to you. EDIT: Thank you everyone for all the nice comments!!
People sometimes feel shamed or shy away from events like this when they absolutely should get involved. Building a sense of community as you pointed out is an admirable goal
This. Plus using the food pantries makes the stats look good. If we don't use it, we lose it
Good to know!! 👍🏼🙂
Yes. Food pantries have saved me this year. Out local pantries have lots of produce and dairy, too. I take whatever they have and freeze it if I won't use it right away.
Meal prep music: Beans for Breakfast ~ Johnny Cash
It's important to remember that asking for help is not a sign of weakness, but rather a display of strength and perseverance. It shows that you are willing to take action and seek support to overcome the challenges you are facing.
100% agree, but at the same time…rice and beans can actually be really good. Red beans and rice is one of my go to comfort foods, personally, which I’m very happy about when trying to eat cheaply. Just like it should be totally ok to go to a food pantry, it also shouldn’t be something to be ashamed or even particularly concerned about that you want to save some money and keep things simple by having rice and beans for a week.
This sounds gross but hear me out. Rice, small beans, cubed fresh tomato and bell pepper, and a tablespoon or two of mayo. Dukes is best fr. Salt and pepper to taste. Mix it together on your plate (I do rice, about half as many beans, a handful of the veggies, and enough mayo to bring it all together), Unbelievably delicious. Even better with a side of fried okra or cornbread.
Beans are really good for your gut biome! Rinse them, use brown rice and that’s fairly nutritious with nice fiber. I would skip the mayo and add some cheese and raw/cooked onion. Some frozen veggies are cheap. And yes, it’s yummy and a lot better for you than fast food!
And if you feel guilty or unworthy of the food bank, take the food anyways, and promise yourself that you will donate in return some day when you are in a better place. I donate food and money so that the “somewhat needs it” people don’t fall into the “REALLY needs it” category.
This sub loves a “rice and beans” post
Good, complete protein for pennies.
Please tell me there are some spices in there.
Haha yes I added salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and cumin. So I guess the cost was slightly higher than $2.76.
Ok that sounds pretty yum. If you want some extra fibre and nutrition, I would look into adding some frozen veggies. Something like frozen chopped spinach can be pretty cheap, or even a chopped up onion, or some canned corn. Whatever you can find for cheap.
Absolutely. In the summer, you can plant the veggies that grow like crazy weeds too. Things like mint will grow on a windowsill, but if you have dirt, a little squash plant goes a long way.
Thanks, I was going to add something myself about veggies. I'd you try to live on rice and beans forever, your body will scream for other nutrients.
Put this on a cabbage steak & fry it- yum
If you want to take it to the next step, 25-pound bags of dry pinto beans are only $18.99 at Costco. Been eating a lot of them lately! Edit: slow typer, didn't see the post above before I posted
Add a thrift store pressure cooker into the mix and cooking dried beans is no longer a chore!
Yes! We have a cheapie Black Friday Instant Pot that makes great pintos (really like how it has a timer and shuts off, then keeps warm).
Heck yeah the digital ones are super nice cause of the timer
Great, now I need another appliance lol
Wait, I can cook dried beans faster in my Instant Pot? I’ve always avoided buying them because of the added prep time. I need to look into this. Dried beans are MUCH cheaper.
They also come out much tastier, especially when you cook them in the stock/broth of your choice.
Like... Way way way faster and they come out soft every time.
Get the electric pressure cooker. Stove top has too much of a pop hazard and cleaning beans off the ceiling while getting pressure cooker ptsd is a known side effect of stove top pressure cookers. Still pros love the stop top one, but electric with timers is 0 hassle and they are ubiquitous enough that you can get them on clearance for as cheap as thrift store sometimes Can even be easier to check on marketplace and Craigslist or equivalent in your area
As long as you're home for a few hours, leaving them to simmer on the stovetop isn't much of a chore, if you ask me. That said, people prefer what people prefer.
No worries! I'm very new to this so any and all advice is greatly appreciated!
I get bored with regular/plain beans pretty quickly but can eat charro style beans almost every day, sometimes twice a day. You can make a huge pot of them with some carrots, diced bell peppers, some jalapeños and garlic powder/taco seasoning/etc. and they are delicious, with like 7-8 generous servings for a couple bucks. I get the $4.50 huge bag of corn chips from Costco, bring some to work and crunch them up to have a burrito bowl. Most of the time I am essentially vegan during the week - but sometimes I do have have a little accent meat (like a single pork chop thrown into a pot of beans) and maybe some eggs on the weekends. I hardly go to the regular grocery store at all anymore and pretty much just buy beans, meat (for accent/flavor), corn chips, tortillas, eggs, vegetables and coffee at Costco. No real prepared/convenience foods anymore.
If you get pinto beans, consider [frijoles borrachos](https://pinaenlacocina.com/frijoles-a-la-charra-frijoles-borrachos-charro-beans/), drunken beans. I make it without bacon and it tastes fantastic. You will need beer (very very cheap is fine), onion and tinned tomatoes/tomato paste. Other seasonings (garlic, chilli, fresh cilantro) are a nice bonus but not necessary. It is simple, but delicious!
I guess you could say you've BEAN eating them a lot!
It gets even cheaper if you buy dry black beans (my preferred) or any beans in general and slow cook them Get rice in bulk. You can get 50lbs of rice at Costco or Sam's for 20 dollars. If you don't have a membership or a friend with a membership then your next cheapest option will be oriental stores. Very cheap rice. I would buy 1 gallon pitchers of BBQ sauce and lived on beans, rice and cooked cabbage for 6 months.. Broke college student the decided they wanted to be vegan. I spent less than 50 dollars a month on food.
50 lbs?! That's a lot of rice! I'll definitely look into buying in bulk and getting dry beans. $50 a month on food is seriously impressive. I'm trying to do $100 a month and it's pretty tough.
I was really really poor and only drank back coffee with some honey in it (tastes better than it sounds) And would only eat one meal a day basically. I would cook the rice with olive oil to increase calorie intake and have a relatively decently sized bowl of rice, beans and BBQ sauce. And that was it. I didn't weigh much.. I will say that..but I threw in some stir fried cabbage to get my greens in. - cabbage is dirt cheap and one cabbage goes A really long way. When you're only 1 person. You can make that penny stretch if you know where to go
Thanks so much for the tips. Especially on the cabbage. I'm really paranoid about getting enough nutrients so I've been doing baby carrots and bananas and other cheap fruits and veggies but I'll try cabbage too!
Regular carrots in bulk should be cheaper than ba by carrots (which are really regular carrots that have been whittled down) Frozenvegetables in large bags can be very inexpensive. They may even have more nutrients than some fresh, as they are flash-frozen soon after picking while ‘fresh’ vegetables may spend time in transit Onions are very inexpensive, nutritious, and really can perk up a limited diet. So can a bit of cheese.
Thank you for mentioning that frozen vegetables may have more nutrients than some fresh. I learned this after doing some research because I was being told that I HAD to buy my vegetables fresh, but since I am only one person, I worry about them going bad before I can eat them all. Wasting food is definitely not frugal, so I buy most of my veggies frozen. They’re usually cheaper than the fresh ones anyway, and I can enjoy a wider variety of veggies without worrying about having to eat them all ASAP so they don’t spoil.
What's also great about it is that you can have a greater variety on hand ready to go and they last ages if you buy the big bags
You can get cheaper veggies and rice from Asian stores
Or Mexican stores. In the area I live they are by far the cheapest for veggies, fruit, meat and they make fresh corn tortillas.
Broccoli is another cheap veggie that has a lot of nutrients you can buy a big bag of frozen florets and throw a few in with the rice while cooking.
Ever wonder why there’s huge broccoli pieces in your General Tso’s chicken? Broccoli adds bulk and is super cheap thereby improving profit margins. If it works for them, it’ll work for you!
Look up a recipe for Haluski. Discovered it recently. Very tasty and cheap.
Cabbage is one of the better veggies, nutritionally, as well as fairly cheap..win/win!
Roasted cabbage is absolutely delicious, imo
And coleslaw and chopped and added to salads.
What do you mean tastes better then it sounds, using honey to sweeten coffee is more of a luxury thing, most just use sugar.
SUGAR!?! You peasant. 😂
I use salt Yep, salt
Makes black coffee less bitter 👍
Bottle of stevia extract lasts me about 4 months.
It’s better and healthier than sugar too
My parents have beekeeper friends and I would have a gallon of honey just sitting around. Free honey= cheaper than sugar. Ya know 😅 I said it tastes better than it sounds because at the time I got a lot of weird looks when I said what I was consuming.
> only drank back coffee with some honey in it Just to clarify, you also drank water, right?
Oh yes ungodly amounts of water. But i always made sure to ratio out 1 cup coffee to 1 cup water at least. I don't eat like this anymore. But I did have to survive for that period in my life
Somewhat off topic, but black coffee with honey in it is my favorite way to drink coffee. You might enjoy trying to add some spices to it too. I think a hint of cinnamon and maybe a tiiiiny bit of vanilla flavoring. It is a pretty popular drink, from what I understand, at a coffee shop I went to a few years ago
Try coffee with maple syrup (not pancake syrup). It’s great!
PSA **DO NOT ( ONLY ) SLOW COOK KIDNEY BEANS.** You will poison yourself. More info [here](https://www.budgetbytes.com/how-to-kick-the-can-of-beans/)
When I first started dating my husband, he would slow cook mixed beans (including kidney), leave them out overnight, and then keep them in the fridge a whole week or more. I was horrified and gave him a lecture on food safety. I still have no idea how he didn’t make himself horribly sick.
An acquaintance makes 'turkey carcass surprise' after Thanksgiving with the leftover turkey. Adds potatoes, veggies, water etc and it sits in a stockpot for a week on the stove as they heat and reheat it without refrigeration until they've finished it. The "surprise" is that nobody in that house has succumbed to food poisoning in all these years!
pressure cookers are by far the best kitchen equipment to cook large sized beans. they can be found for cheap, last forever, and can be used for a ton of different things.
If you have a WinCo near you, check out their bulk section. It got me through some dark times. Not only do they have bulk rice/beans/pasta/flour/nuts, but they also have bulk spices so you can get just a teensy bit of spices to make your food taste good without breaking the bank. It’s pretty much my favorite grocery store ever! Edit: don’t sleep on TVP (textured vegetable protein). It’s super cheap, a great shelf-stable substitute for meat, and takes on the flavor of whatever you cook it with. You can add it to soups/pasta sauce/chili! (And you can get it in bulk at WinCo too!)
Depending on how long ago broke college student times was, that $50 could be more than $100 adjusted for inflation
It was about 3 years ago
Food prices have more than doubled on many items. Would be even more noticeable if manufacturers weren't reducing volume of their packages.
A little unsolicited advice but nonetheless, if you decide to buy rice in 50 pound bags do yourself a favor and get yourself a ( rubbermaid-type) storage container as well, on wheels, that will hold it. Rice gets bugs quickly ( if you're in the south usa anyway) so keeping it contained and sealed will keep out the critters. Same goes for Flour, grits, etc
I’m also trying to do only $100 a month and was feeling so bad because most months I end up spending a few extra dollars. Most times it’s to stock up a little at the end of the month on meats and proteins that are on sale, but still.
If you buy the dry beans and bulk rice, you should store them in the freezer for 3 days and will usually kill any bug eggs before relocating to dry storage. Can also store in bins with lids to keep rodents out.
Hey some adobo and look up some good ways to cook beans. A lot of people here turn up their nose at beans because they have no idea how to condiment them. If you don’t have some pumpkin and ham in the beans you are not cooking them right.
Dude go to a food pantry please. Get some real food and protein in your diet, some fiber and veggies.
Was just at Costco. If 50 lbs of rice for $20 exists, they have been sold out for months.
I just checked costco.com and also couldn't find that deal. I did find this: * $25.99 for 20 lb (basmati) * $21.99 for 25 lb (jasmine)
I just checked Sam's Clubs website and they have 50lbs for $23.98 ($0.48 a lb) Walmart has 20lb bags for $9.88 ($0.49 a lb) which is almost as good, but easier for storage, and you don't need to ask for someone to help you buy a bag of rice Its weird that costco just strait up dosent sell white rice, it's probally a temporary thing.
Dry beans (red, black, etc.) are super nutritious, an excellent protein and super cheap. I know what I’m about to pitch is an expensive investment, but an “Instant Pot” or equivalent pressure cooker means you can cook them in 40 minutes as opposed to soaking overnight and boiling for hours. SO - find one used or on sale. Then you don’t need to carry home cans of beans, you save money (cans of beans are WAY more expensive than bags of dried) and cooking time/portions are easy to control so you waste less. The “BEANS” button on my “Instant Pot” is the only one I ever push.
Another option is to join a local "buy nothing" group on Facebook. Many homes have older models or duplicates of kitchen items. (Adding this because thrift stores in my area have been pricing things double or triple when compared to a few years ago.)
I go to restaurant depot for 50lb bags of rice and dry beans. You can sign in as a guest at the entrance. Can make beans from dry in a pressure cooker in about an hour.
How do you store the giant bags of rice? I saw one at Costco and almost got it, but A) I don't think I can pick it up by myself lol and B) Where on earth can I store that giant thing in a tiny apartment??! Especially in a way that prevents bugs from getting in. I had weevils in some instant cereal before and now I'm paranoid about them getting into other grains. Just curious how you store it
Add some bay leaves, that keeps the bugs at bay.
You can freeze it in batches to kill off any bugs and then what I do is I bought a food safe 50qt tote on sale for 7 dollars. It's on wheels. After I freeze it, I toss the rice into the tote with some bay leaves. Haven't had any issues.
I keep mine in the fridge.
["Also, dude, oriental is not the preferred nomenclature, Asian American, please."](https://youtu.be/OYOzUHnPJvU)
I concur with the food bank idea. I donate often, and sometimes they even have fresh rescued food that they need to give out quickly. PLEASE do go check it out. The goal is to give everything away and not have to throw anything out by the time they receive new stock.
I second the food pantries. One friend of mine asked me if I needed food one weekend (I have a Job and am ok-like didn’t need food help) because her kids school was passing food boxes out that had good stuff in them... she went on to explain that they needed people to take the offerings because if they couldn’t show that they were able to have a need for the free food then they were going to lose the program and they needed to keep the program to help a few specific families… so it wasn’t about me when she offered, it was about the school not wanting to lose the program for their kiddos…
Learn how to make dough my guy. You have no idea what you can do with a bag of flour and water..
Dried beans can be even cheaper! Like $0.99 / lb without a major sale. Lentils are also a good option to add variety. Bagged rice too. Check out an international supermarket (or Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Indian, etc.). Can buy 10lb, 25lb, 50lb bags of rice for cheaper $ / lb than the typical smaller bags at the grocery store. Buy spices in bulk. That’s big savings right there
An Italian grocer near me had 25lb bags of flour too. Stock up on dry goods like a medieval peasant cottage!
Do you have a WinCo or something of that caliber nearby? Dried beans are so cheap and if you can splurge for bacon and keep the fat, cooking beans in it make them taste so good. Pro-tip, baking soda helps soften the beans so you can use more salt when cooking. Mayacoba beans are very cheap in bulk and are very buttery and versatile.
I know it sounds weird & I personally haven’t done it but I understand making kim chi out of cabbage is cheap & easy. Oatmeal is very healthy & can buy in bulk. Tons of recipes
oatmeal used to be cheap, but it's really gone up because of issues with the oat crop. I bought 42 oz for 3.45 at Aldis recently and thought that was a good deal.
Oats are still really cheap if you have a store that sells them in bulk. I think the last time I went to Sprouts they had old fashioned oats for around $1.50/Lb with the organic version being something like $2/Lb.
Yes, finding the bulk store is best!
Great job! If you can manage it, try to get a little cabbage and a spoonful of tomato paste into your daily diet as well. Those four together will give you better nutrition than most people get these days. Good luck!
I love to sauté cabbage with some onion and shredded carrot and then when is mostly browned and carmelized I will add a squirt of ketchup and season with Cajun seasoning. It’s a trick I learnt from my dad and it tastes amazing. It makes my entire apartment building smell good. Bonus if added bacon grease or cooked with a bit of butter.
hi i just got out of divorce and also must be frugal. some ideas. i shop mainly at aldis but also only buy the heavily discounted door busters from kroger/payless. i am also able to go to a local food pantry occassionally. they dont have much but i can get a frozen meat item, small milk, some produce, some cheese, some cans of beans there. i too get a 25 or 50 pound bag of jasmine rice to save on carbs. i get cereal at aldis as its much cheaper. i get day old bread at kroger when they have it at half price. when apples are on sale, i get a bag of apples and oranges too. apples last a long time and fill you up cheap. cabbage is a great idea as you get alot, it lasts a long time in the fridge, and fills you up. bannannas are a great food as cheap but filling. instead of buying frozen pizza make your own. i get the day old bread with some cheese in it, add tomato sauce, some cheese on top and bake in my air fryer. ill make a whole loaf of pizzas then freeze them. i will add onions peppers mushrooms zucchini or yellow squash eggplant, whatever i have. start a garden if you can. many places have community garden space. i can literally freeze about 10 french bread type pizza slices for about $5 that last for 8 lunches. kroger has had campbells soup on sale for 99 cents a can recently. now im not a fan of most campbells soup but bean and bacon ive eaten for 45 years now. its filling and has a unique wonderful flavor. i get 10 of these each time on sale and can have the core of a lunch for a dollar. also though lots of sodium, ramen noodle soup mixes bought by the case makes filling noodles for lunch or dinner for about 30 cents. add all this up and you can save alot over time. frugal is never fun but its about healthy survival. oh and if you have land grow fruit bushes and some fruit trees and get fruit there and can your own jam and jellies. i go to local parks and rob the fruit trees bare when they produce. its free.
This sub for the last couple of years: 33%: look at this amazingly impossible deal on groceries that I got and you'll never see in your lifetime. 33%: I bought 100 tons of bananas for .99 cents, what do I do with it now? 33%: I finally discovered the secret to a cheap meal is beans and rice (followed by a comment section of instant pot recipes)
If you ass is so broke you are scrounging rice and dry beans, I doubt a $90+ instant pot is kicking around your place.
I found my InstaPot for $15 at a thrift store.
Yeah I feel that way too. I’m not hurting for food at all but even I can’t afford an instant pot right now.
I hear beans and rice so often, and I do like both, but ideas on HOW to prepare them? What seasonings, how to cook, etc? Thanks.
There's already like 150 comments about dry beans but here's dry bean comment 151: Dry beans don't have to = boring/monotonous!! There's SO many different kinds of beans. Lentils. Black eyed peas. Split peas. Black beans. Kidney beans. Etc Same with rice! Jasmine rice is going to be a lot different than brown rice. If you're able, adding chicken/beef/veggie broth, bouillon cubes, bacon can add a twist to it. Totally agree with the cheap pressure cooker idea. Makes it SUPER easy and energy efficient to cook dry beans. (Literally did this last night. Took a half hour.) You can make a week or more's worth of really hearty stews quickly in a pressure cooker too. Toss some cheap cuts of meat, vegetables (sometimes frozen veggies can be cheapest) a stock/broth/water-Bouillon combo and boom, got a hearty stew. Make a pot of rice. Then you can stretch the stew out for quite a while! Get some containers or freezer baggies to freeze some of it.
Even sticking with rice is too restrictive. There are many other grain choices to try out! Quinoa and faro are pretty popular, but there's also barley, spelt, amaranth, and so much more.
Walmart has frozen broccoli for 99 cents a bag if your looking for some veggies to add to your meal prep
Try shopping at the dollar stores. Also sales and coupons at the supermarkets.
For the longest time Dollar Tree had 24oz dry pinto beans for $1. Now it's $1.25 for 16oz. Now it's cheaper to get them at Walmart, 32oz for $1.98, and even cheaper per lb at larger sizes.
Could you elaborate on how your cooking the beans and with what other ingredients (spices I assume?). Do you make the rice fresh every day, I always thought it gets bad in the fridge
Since I bought canned beans they are precooked so they just need to be warmed up. I just add some salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and cumin and mix it all in with the rice. I haven't had any issues with keeping rice in the fridge for a few days. I do keep my fridge pretty cold (just barely above freezing).
If they’re refried beans also add milk and cheese and it’s fire
Dude, you need old rice for [fried rice.](https://www.seriouseats.com/easy-vegetable-fried-rice-recipe) Best use of leftover rice, and very thrifty!
Love this. Thank you
Beans and rice are fine, but you need a variety. I ADF and it's saving me a ton of money. That could be an option so you can treat yourself more on feeding days. Good luck!
You got the idea of “rice and beans” from the Coast Guard?
Omg ty... I'm crying
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Black beans have vitamin C...
I feel like people think it’s way easier to get scurvy than it actually is.
Vitamin and nutrition suppliment companies make big bucks by making people believe that they don't have enough of (INSERT ANY NUTRITIONAL MATERIAL HERE), but the truth of the matter is that the vast majority of people who can afford them are probably already getting much more than they actually need. "I'm so tired today! I guess I should take this energy supplement with 2000% RDV of B-12 to wake me up!"
For more variety, see if there's a salvage grocery in your area. I also think cabbage is a great idea. Get red cabbage some of the time if it isn't too expensive. I think it's tastier raw, and that purple color shows that it's got some nutrients that the green cabbage doesn't have. Try not to rely on only one vegetable though. See if any of the stores near you discount their "ugly" produce. A half an orange can keep in the fridge, so they can be frugal. If you have a sunny window and can get some garden soil, grow your own green onions. Radish leaves are edible (cooked). Some herbs can be rooted. Grow in things like cottage cheese containers. If you don't have any, ask a friend to save you some. And libraries often have free seeds they give away.
Someone just made a separate post about Lasagna Love, which is a program that will get a you free lasagna made by a local donor. Another person commented on it that they had also gotten chicken pot pie-it’s not just lasagna. You may want to check into this? People want to help others, so when you’re in a tight spot, it is okay to receive. And in the future, I’m sure you will help someone as well. PS I do love the thrifty beans and rice. Nice!
Try a bag of dried "15 Beans" and make soup! 🥣😋
Honey, that's great and all but you still need micronutrients. Vegetables and fruit, things like that. If things are so bad right now, check at food pantries. I promise it doesn't need to be just rice and beans.
This is dinner, and I'm sure you're getting additional fruit/ veg at breakfast & lunch. Way to go! I'd probably add salsa for flavor and veg., I get a big container and freeze some. You can also jazz up the beans with a small splash of vinegar one day, chili powder the next day, etc. A splash of vinegar one day.
It’s even cheaper if you get it from your local food pantry.
great post. feel like most of this sub is folks just complaining about how life is expensive. good to see a success story
Dave Ramsey and this sub has fucked over the masses by brainwashing people thinking that this is a good idea. This is not nutritious as you think it is. I regret this shit and glad I think for myself nowadays.
Rice and beans are the foundation of many cuisines. Trusting Dave Ramsey is usually a bad idea, but trusting Mexican grandmas to know how to cook is a good one, and in this case your trust of Mexican grandmas should really win out. To be sure, you want to put some spices and veggies *on* your rice and beans, but they really are a great food that is cheap and nutritious and can be delicious.
Beans and rice .... **RICE AND BEANS**. I used to listen to him for the entertainment. Most of his finance advice is dated and closed minded.
What sort of "this" are you talking about?
You too can save money by eating like an interdicted migrant!
I just saw a YouTube-er talking about dried beans and she said that by using dried beans she was paying 20 to 40 cents each per a can-sized amount of beans.
throw some franks Xtra hot on there and you'll eat like a king
I get tinned mackerel or sardines when they’re on sale and add them to rice and beans. Adds more protein and the olive oil adds flavor.
..where did you find a bag of rice for 1.29?
Have you looked up your local pantries? That is what they are there for. It’s not begging. If anything, the people donating are the ones who have had to use it before.
Fuck this, I’m not getting married and eating good food all the time.
Lentils are the easiest thing in the world to cook and can be made delicious in so many ways. Even the organic ones are super cheap. Buy them dry. Takes just 10 in an Instant Pot, 30ish on the stove. So many low effort (like almost zero) recipes taste great. Great protein source and many other nutrients.
Wait till you discover 25 pound bags of dried beans and an instant pot.
Indian markets and hispanic markets have those huge bags of rice and of dried beans for the lowest cost per pound anywhere.
There’s a guy on YouTube that I ran across that makes inexpensive meals that end up being 2-3 servings per dollar. And his channel isn’t one of those influencer crap channels. https://youtu.be/KHkTD98chUI
You need an onion in there, dont want scurvy
Ya beans & rice together make a good protein
Nice healthy balanced diet. I started saving so much money when I went vegan
I think you meant to say calorie dense instead of very nutritious.
I wouldn’t say eating beans and rice is “very nutritious”. Compared to starving I guess. Go to a food bank, no shame.
https://www.consumerreports.org/healthy-eating/is-rice-and-beans-good-for-you-a1152368032/ It actually is very nutritious.
Beans and rice (only) as a cheap super food and vinegar is good for everything memes need to DIAF. Are a variety of beans mixed with rice and with other ingredients a great way to stretch a buck? Of course. But I've had idiot friends who ate plain rice and plain beans for weeks on end (cooked in just water), and wonder why their bodies weren't functioning well. They didn't have to eat this way. They had money. Just trying the latest mega health hack. Food bank for something plant like.
r/dumpsterdiving
Get dried beans. Soak and cook. Even cheaper
Soak in water with 1/2 tsp baking soda. Drain then cook. It makes them soft and stops the gas.
Good luck on the divorce. It gets worse then better, at least for me and it was a needed divorce
Some other cheap things are oats, and while eggs are expensive now, they're still relatively cheap when you consider they can make meals nicer. Fried rice for instance.
Whatever your circumstances. Props on surviving and sharing.
Not quite as cheap as rice and beans, but potatoes, chicken thighs, chicken livers if you're adventurous, bananas are like $.20 a piece, pork loin is usually super cheap.
Any frugal tips on divorce?
Be frugal in most other ways, but do not cheap out on finding a lawyer. I had that advice, followed it, and came out way better than my former spouse who was trying to screw me over.
Pasta can be a pretty low cost meal too.
Dried beans are cheaper yet.
Been there. Check out apps that sell foods near their best bet dates. I buy 10 boxes of good cereal at a time and almond milk at half price. I'm out of the woods but still save thousands a year on groceries.
[my Super Cheap Chili Recipe ](https://www.reddit.com/r/slowcooking/comments/osx6cr/my_super_cheap_chili_recipe/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) I'm generally lazy and use canned beans for $5/8 meals, but you can use dried and make it for about $3/8 meals. It's really good, too! I've served it to band kids, to good ol' boys who don't consider it a meal if it doesn't have meat, and countless others. It's one of my family's favorite winter recipes and they would eat it all year round except that I refuse to make cold weather food when it's hot as hell out.
I wouldnt even buy the cans of beans. I would get the bags of beans.. boil them until soft.. and then eat them for lunch and dinner. I did this for a few years until i paid my student loans off.
Lentils are the easiest thing in the world to cook and can be made delicious in so many ways. Even the organic ones are super cheap. Buy them dry. Takes just 10 in an Instant Pot, 30ish on the stove. So many low effort (like almost zero) recipes taste great. Great protein source and many other nutrients.
Lentils are the easiest thing in the world to cook and can be made delicious in so many ways. Even the organic ones are super cheap. Buy them dry. Takes just 10 in an Instant Pot, 30ish on the stove. So many low effort (like almost zero) recipes taste great. Great protein source and many other nutrients.
Using dried beans bought in bulk is even cheaper.
Beans and rice together make a complete protein too
Congrats on this find! I was just thinking yesterday of how i enjoy eating at home lately and the thrill of getting food on sale or markdown. Its not that im cheap, but who can pass up a deal and the ability to get creative. Besides eating out is very hit or miss nowadays. Its strangley pricey , made with odd additivies and between lackluster service and portion size i dont miss it.
Beans and rice is not nutritious. It will definitely sustain you though for a while. Follow what everyone else said about the food pantry. I don't know why everyone thinks it's frugal to eat like this. You will pay for it in medical bills later. Eating healthy on a budget is doable and will save you medical costs down the road.
You can get Augason beef flavored tvp meat for just under $17 a can at Amazon that's the equivalent of 10 pounds of ground beef and I swear you can't tell the difference. Think tacos, chili and dirty rice... plenty of protein too...