I find potatoes fast to prepare, so i often go for them and because it's most popular in my area/market. I'd consider/buy Rice of like 2Kgs which can take me at least four meals. Bananas are also a good take-away's whenever I by-bass by the market/street.. One banana goes for $0.05, this amount never makes me think twice. It's high in fiber, carbohydrates, sugars and calories. I'm I the only one who gets full after 3 intakes of bananas??
I have quite a few "go to" cheap meal solutions for when we are low on cash. I like to buy Cream of Wheat for breakfast and serve that with toast. I also will buy hotdogs and buns, which coasts around $3 when they are on sale. Tuna is another good lunch item and I can feed the whole family tuna sandwiches for less than $3. I will sometimes buy salads that are on managers special and spend about $5 for the whole family. The trick is to buy cheap foods that are also healthy.
Eggs are cheap, easy, and can be made a lot of different ways. Tortillas too, and they are filling. You can stuff them with nearly anything to make a meal (even eggs, ha ha). As for stuff that is easy to store, I'm not so sure, other than the items you mentioned. Canned foods don't have to be refrigerated until after they've been opened. Some of them are cheap but not all. I'd recommend hitting the Dollar Tree. They have a decent selection of cheap food that's easy to prepare, and if you're going to use it right away, it will be fine. They have frozen sandwiches that you can nuke. They also have lots of snacks, and not all of it is junk food. They also have nuts and things like that.
When running out of money, we have lots of foods to buy for a cheaper price. There is no problem in our place. For a cup of rice and a vegetable (laswa as we fall it in our dialect), our more than enough to satisfy our hunger for such a very low cost of a meal. People especially the poor one are comfortable with such kind of a meal for a day.
There's a fast food burger station here called Rice in a Box, which serves... you guessed it, Rice in a Box. Rice is a staple here in my country so it's not uncommon to find most meals served with rice here. Rice in a box is fairly simple, they simply mix a few ingredients with the fried rice, cook in like one of those Chinese chow fans, and voila it's a pleasure to the taste buds. What really drives me crazy is the box though, for some reason it looks more appealing than a plate.
My income is pretty low but I still manage to eat healthily. Vegetables are cheap and if I am really skint I would make a soup. I also make stews and casseroles and portion them off and freeze them in the freezer. That way I can make the meat go further. Then I can eat them when I want to by just heating them up in the microwave. If I am really brassic then it's just plain bread and jam. In the summer I eat cheese or cold meat with salad. It is all cheap and healthy.
I dont throw away the skin of potatoes. It free food packed with nutrients. You can either fry it and turn it into chips or you can bake it in the open. The skin of the potato is safe to eat. People just need to wash it thoroughly.
Maizeneck is tin cheapest food go my jurisdiction. When short of food, I mix it with water and boil to an even and thick paste as desired. A handful is enough for several filling cups of porridge with some fat tossed in. A packet of glucose afterwards will complete the meal by providing immediate energy. This is a survival mode neck which is dirt cheap and I really relish it at any time of the day.
@littlewitch66 same here, I don't remember if I was so low on cash but if that was the situation I would probably start eating once or reduce my diet/items. I am not a foodie anyways so I hope I will survive for long enough with my limited options. But what I feel is that one doesn't have to eat costly but healthy to remain alive.
Shopping at Aldi can really help too. They have a variety of foods that are much cheaper than national brands, and they even have some deals on brand name products. The one I go to usually has really good deals on produce too, and their produce tends to be of better quality than what is found in some of the grocery stores and supermarkets around here. The only thing near here that beats them in terms of freshness is the farmer's market of farm stands. The eggs and milk are always significantly cheaper as well. They have expanded their meat department too.
I go for a tuna or grilled cheese sandwich. However, I also rely on soup. You can buy a ready to make like Lipton's or you can make one without spending too much. Although soup isn't an every day alternative. If it's hot a good old sandwich works. Good thing we always have a less expensive alternative.
I will recommend you to not go restaurants they are extremely expensive and could cost you heavily at that time. As all other members, i will also suggest you to buys some bread buns, eggs or jam bottles for your breakfast. Egg and vegetables are good you can have them in dinner with bread or you can try some food from outside not from the restaurants but can try street food if you know some with good quality of food then why not.
Well, many time if we don't have to eat more then we just go for milk, bread and butter. The whole things cost may be around 1$ and yes we can all full our tummy for time being. This is good for cost wise too and also if we don't have to eat full dish for some reason. It is kind of snack but we can have it for one time food too.
@naruto100 You reminded me of the story of a princes who said innocently- why don't people eat cake and pastry if they have no money to eat bread? If people have enough money to drink milk, eat butter and bread then they can eat normal food at lesser price
Canned and pouched foods are what I usually buy when I'm on a budget. Corned beef can be really cheap, also sardines. Canned tuna, not so much. I wonder why they cost alot more than corned beef. Egg and vegetables are also good foods to eat if you're on a budget.
Ha ha.. That's why I said its not about money, I talked about when we don't have to eat full menu. Then bread can serve good. Don't you think it can save money too? I mean bread and butter can be purchased under 1$ and around 4 to 5 people can easily eat from it. Well, I think its still cheap than going for those restaurants and full menu. Lol
@naruto100 If I ever faced that situation I would either go for "Paw Bhaji" or "Bada Paw" (sorry guys, these are Indian street foods) which are available for 30-40 cents and you can count on them for a full meal. I have so many other things available in this range that will cost me less than 50 cents and good for 6 hours.
I use maize meal porridge as a cheap alternative done when I am broke. A handful of flour can make several cups with some margarine tossed in. Its quite filling. Alternatively, a stiff maize meal paste mixed with fat or margarine and seasoned with salt is an excellent alternative and goes along well with vegetable or animal soup.
@Ray1 Well, you are correct on this thing. There are so many local items available which are cheap and surely tasty than only bread butter. Bu thing is that my dad just don't like such outside food. He is okay with full menu at restaurant but other things they just avoid. So if we are together I have to take care of his taste first. But yes otherwise too many tasty options are there. Lol
@remnant Corn meal is a staple in many households (especially in the country). It's very affordable and easy to work with. It can even be bought in bulk in many places, for even greater savings. My grandmother always had cornmeal on hand, and would often whip up a pan of cornbread to have in place of her regular meals. It's quite dense, so it is very filling. She ate a lot of it growing up, so it was a comfort food for her. Even better that it was a cheap and satisfying replacement for a meal. With butter or homemade jam for breakfast, with broth or beans for lunch or supper. She would even have it for her dessert sometimes, with milk over it and maybe honey or fruit.
