pasta or carrots? please help

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Replies

  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    edited February 2018
    stanmann571 wrote: »
    Unless lentils and rice make me sick.... And not being in that situation today, but having been in the neighborhood growing up. IF you gotta eat you gotta eat. Ramen, hot dogs, and canned green beans/frozen broccoli isn't fancy, but it's relatively filling and close enough to complete macros. High sodium, but water is free. When you gotta eat you gotta eat if that means being honest enough to ask/beg for help.... do what you need, and hold your head high.

    Yep, completely agree. Ramen was a staple for me when times where tight in college. Add some protein and some vegetables and it's a pretty good meal.

    [edited by mods]
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    I have been poor and learned to like beans and lentils. They are staple foods of many cultures and are versatile.
    http://www.lentils.org/recipes-cooking/recipes/

    Seek out assistance from your government or local organizations.
    I would let your family or friends know your situation even if you have already borrowed money. I would be happy to feed someone at least 1 meal a day or give them food we don't need. People helped me when I needed help and I understand it is hard to ask. If you feel bad about it offer to cook for them too, do chores or errands in exchange. People are always complaining they don't have enough time to do things.
  • DanniB423
    DanniB423 Posts: 777 Member
    edited February 2018
    I would try to find some eggs. They keep me fuller longer. I can’t imagine not having 1-2 people in my life that would spot me a few dollars or even pick me up a few things. I am sorry you are in this situation. Definitely hit up a food bank for whatever you can. Can you receive PayPal from the US? I don’t know much about that. But I’d like to help you out.
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
    I would lean towards rice & beans/lentils as a staple food if incredibly broke. Add some canned or frozen veg (nothing wrong with canned vegetables) and/or eggs and/or chopped store brand hot dogs if money allows.
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
    peanut butter goes pretty far too (usually cheap store brand options available) and will supply some protein. And white bread to have it with for sandwiches should be cheap.

    Oats are also good for the money.
  • mortuseon_
    mortuseon_ Posts: 257 Member
    A potentially useful resource for you, OP: https://cookingonabootstrap.com/

    Hoping you can get out of this situation soon!
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,943 Member
    edited February 2018
    TO: you are in the UK. Are you near Aldi or Lidl? The former is preferable as they tend to be a bit cheaper. You can buy lots of cheap food there.
    a fairly big bag of carrots: 25p
    the cheapest 6 eggs are about: 60p
    a cheap container of cereals/oats: 50p
    500g of the cheapest pasta: 30p
    400gr of tinned tomatoes: 25p I think (might be 40p)
    3 tins of tuna or anchovies are around 80p
    cheapest fullfat milk is way below 1p
    they often have other vegetables for around 50p. take some of those as well.

    If you don't have Aldi or Lidl nearby then go to your closest big supermarket. THe cheapest products are usually at the bottom of the shelves.

    Eat the cereals with milk for breakfast, the full fat will keep you full for longer. Cook a big pot of pasta with the tinned tomatoes (you can also get some with spices) carrots, tuna or anchovie and the rest of the vegetables. You should be able to eat of this twice a day and stretch it for a whole week. Plus cooking this will not need a lot of electricity. Eat carrots whenever you feel hungry inbetween.

    Yirara, a sheep that mainly shops at Aldi and Lidl, and spends about £80 on groceries per month.

  • WorkerDrone83
    WorkerDrone83 Posts: 3,195 Member
    I vote for pasta. And now I'm off to google how many carrots you have to eat before you start to turn orange.
  • SpanishFusion
    SpanishFusion Posts: 261 Member
    apullum wrote: »
    I'd personally spend the money on dried beans and rice. Soak your beans overnight before cooking to shorten the cooking time, and let them simmer on a weekend or in the evening when you're home. If you happen to have a slow cooker, it will be even easier to cook the beans. Make a big batch that you can keep in the fridge or freezer and munch on all week.

    If I had money left over after buying the beans and rice, I would spend it on either canned or frozen veggies, which are often cheaper than fresh and won't spoil, or the cheapest fresh veggies you can get.

    This isn't a perfectly well-balanced diet by any means, but it's more nutritionally balanced than surviving on just pasta, carrots, or apples.

    I second this.
  • saragd012
    saragd012 Posts: 693 Member
    I've been in this situation when I was younger, and I can attest to rice and beans. Dry beans are less convenient but they are super cheap. I recommend looking around for discount markets, for example, where I live those little whole-in-the-wall Latin markets or Asian markets are much cheaper than chain stores, and they are more likely to have produce that they deeply mark down when it's starting to bruise or over-ripen. I would make a soup with whatever vegetables that were marked down along with beans (and maybe rice or even pasta if we had it) for a filling meal for myself and my roommates.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,943 Member
    edited February 2018
    saragd012 wrote: »
    I've been in this situation when I was younger, and I can attest to rice and beans. Dry beans are less convenient but they are super cheap. I recommend looking around for discount markets, for example, where I live those little whole-in-the-wall Latin markets or Asian markets are much cheaper than chain stores, and they are more likely to have produce that they deeply mark down when it's starting to bruise or over-ripen. I would make a soup with whatever vegetables that were marked down along with beans (and maybe rice or even pasta if we had it) for a filling meal for myself and my roommates.

    Those things are unfortunately not quite as cheap in the UK. Pasta is cheaper, as is fresh kind of seasonal veggies such as carrots at the moment, onions, whatever is on offer. You can get 500gr of pasta for about 25 pence, but 1kg of rice will set you back at least a pound, if not more. Also, beans are not that cheap either. Your 5 pounds won't last long if you decide to live on rice and beans.
  • Momepro
    Momepro Posts: 1,509 Member
    edited February 2018
    Seconding the people who are saying enough food is more important than not enough "healthyish" food.
    Also, if you have any around you, try the dollar stores, or discount groceries. You can buy some really cheap canned veggies, and staples there, and those will really help stretch out the pasta and beans. And rice is also really cheap, and goes a long ways, especially mixed with beans.
    If you are REALLY low, try talking to a late shift grocery manager, they might be able to get you a decent discount on stuff thats about to expire at the end of the night.
  • Cbean08
    Cbean08 Posts: 1,092 Member
    While you are looking for a job, see if a McDonalds or a fast food place is hiring. While you're waiting for a better position, you'll at least have access to food. Most restaurants feed their employees a meal for free during their shift.
  • melissa6771
    melissa6771 Posts: 894 Member
    I vote for rice and beans also. Tastes so good and it's filling while being cheap. I agree with the other poster. I would like to help too. Is there any way for us to do this?
  • melissa6771
    melissa6771 Posts: 894 Member
    @AmNestor I'm curious how your situation is going? What did you buy and did you find some help at the food bank? Please give us an update. I've been thinking about you.
  • mlinci
    mlinci Posts: 402 Member
    Hi OP,
    I hope your situation will improve soon, and that you got some help from the food bank.
    Other things you could buy very cheaply:
    - most uk supermarkets will greatly reduce some stock that's about to expire, usually in the early evening. My local Tesco will sometimes sell large loaves of bread for 3p
    - Porridge oats are really cheap, though you'd need something to go with them for flavour (sugar?)
    - lentils are full of protein, and much easier to cook than beans, if you are cooking from scratch. Have you got access to a cooker?

    Wishing you best of luck in dealing with this!
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    edited March 2018
    I mean treating it just as an objective question, would it be better to eat food that has low nutrition or starve to death on 300 cal a day I guess I'd say it'd be better to eat food that has low nutrition.

    Now in terms of a practical answer I would say you need to seek help in the form of assistance to make sure you can get enough food to support at least yourself. You shouldn't be starving in a developed nation. With that assistance you should still, of course, choose budget options but you should be able to get rice, beans for caloric bulk and carb/protein and some veg for the nutrition.
  • HoneyBadger302
    HoneyBadger302 Posts: 2,070 Member
    Been there, done that, and I'll add to the rice and beans group.

    They go a long ways, and fill you up for not a lot of $$. Not hard to add some flavor in, too.

    You can get pasta for some variety here n there. Check out the frozen and canned veggie sales, or see if your local farmer's market has a "seconds" bin you could choose from.
  • Mandy72M
    Mandy72M Posts: 20 Member
    Make veg soup very filling and cost effective .

  • Sp1tfire
    Sp1tfire Posts: 1,120 Member
    lentil soup, beans, pasta would be a decent combo for awhile
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    Thank you so much for the update! So happy to hear that things are looking better already.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Great news!
  • L1zardQueen
    L1zardQueen Posts: 8,753 Member
    Yay!
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