Low income food ideas

elphie754
elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi everyone. I know I’ve asked rhisnon the past, but I’m looking for so low income food/meal ideas. Right now my jaw is still wired shut for another 3 weeks) so I guess I’m more so looking for cheap shake ideas .

Because of allergies, it has to be gluten free, wheat, barley and oat (even gf oat) free and red dye #40 free.

Thanks in advance!

Replies

  • Strudders67
    Strudders67 Posts: 989 Member
    I can;t help with shakes but could you make vegetable soup or chicken-carcass soup? At least that might give you some variety and nutrients. Once blended, it would be very fine and watery.
  • durhammfp
    durhammfp Posts: 494 Member
    Don't know about shakes, but in general this is a pretty good resource:

    https://www.reddit.com/r/EatCheapAndHealthy/
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
    Thank you both. Blending soup does sound pretty tasty right about now.
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
    DancingMoosie wrote: »
    When I had horrible sores on my tongue, I would cook onion and any low acid veggies (celery, zucchini/yellow squash/calabasas, maybe carrot) and then puree them with canned chickpeas.

    That actually sounds really good-did It taste as yummy as it sounds? Will definitely try this one.
  • Luke_rabbit
    Luke_rabbit Posts: 1,031 Member
    Just a quick "hi" to another red#40 allergy sufferer. It's sure a hassle, isn't it? That stuff is in so many things, especially medication!

    My other weird one is stevia, which is now showing up in so many products. (More of an intolerance, but I still gotta avoid it.)

    Since you didn't mention soybeans as an issue, tofu is pretty inexpensive and a great way to add protein to a smoothie (along with beans).
  • schmanciepants
    schmanciepants Posts: 62 Member
    Blended frozen bananas make a great smoothie base...or are just delicious alone. You can add cocoa powder and peanut butter, fruit, protein powder....lots of possibilities
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
    bold_rabbit wrote: »
    Just a quick "hi" to another red#40 allergy sufferer. It's sure a hassle, isn't it? That stuff is in so many things, especially medication!

    My other weird one is stevia, which is now showing up in so many products. (More of an intolerance, but I still gotta avoid it.)

    Since you didn't mention soybeans as an issue, tofu is pretty inexpensive and a great way to add protein to a smoothie (along with beans).

    It really is a pain in the backside. I have such severe allergies and I would take Benadryl when I’d start having an attack, just to get worse and end up in the hospital. I was like what the (insert whatever expletive you’d like)?!? Well, turns out pink Benadryl has red dye #40 in it. Like why would you put a common allergy in an anti allergy medication?!? So I use the dye free version-well cvs dye free diphenhydramine (so much cheaper. I get 200 tablets for 20 dollars vs 24 liquid caps of Benadryl at 26.99). My doctor also prescribed injectable Benadryl which has been an absolute lifesaver.

    I personally hate stevia. I know some people swear by it, but it leaves a really nasty after taste in my mouth and tastes chemically to me. Then again, everything has a different taste to me right now. I sustained a pretty severe head injury along with the broken jaw. One of the weird thingsbit causing is a change in smell and taste. Doctors aren’t sure if that will be permanent or not (yippee for me lol). If it is permanent-will like lose a lot of weight very quickly because a lot of things taste and smell weird (like shaved beef to me smells like wet dog-obviously can’t try it but assuming it would taste that way as well; a lot of other stuff smells like cat food or burnt even when it’s not).

    Soy is definitely not an issue. I kind of forgot that tofu exists some we almost never buy it, but will look for it when we go shopping later.
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
    schmanciepants wrote: »
    Blended frozen bananas make a great smoothie base...or are just delicious alone. You can add cocoa powder and peanut butter, fruit, protein powder....lots of possibilities

    Tried bananas and it just didn’t taste good at all. Tasted like I was drinking artificial banana flavor. I’ve never really liked bananas so that’s likely why.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,956 Member
    You might want to look at Jack Monroe's recipe site. Before she became a cookbook writer she was a single parent living on benefits (welfare in the UK).

    https://cookingonabootstrap.com/category/recipes-food/

    There is a BBC show called Eat Well for Less that you can look up on YouTube. It's main themes are:

    1. Eat vegetarian once a week.
    2. Try to find supermarket brands you like to replace premium brands.
    3. Don't buy anything processed, including pre-washed salads, grated cheeses, ready made pasta sauces.
    4. Cook from scratch.
  • Bluetail6
    Bluetail6 Posts: 2,984 Member
    acpgee wrote: »
    You might want to look at Jack Monroe's recipe site. Before she became a cookbook writer she was a single parent living on benefits (welfare in the UK).

    https://cookingonabootstrap.com/category/recipes-food/

    There is a BBC show called Eat Well for Less that you can look up on YouTube. It's main themes are:

    1. Eat vegetarian once a week.
    2. Try to find supermarket brands you like to replace premium brands.
    3. Don't buy anything processed, including pre-washed salads, grated cheeses, ready made pasta sauces.
    4. Cook from scratch.

    Some of the recipes on the website look divine!! Also, those ideas from the YouTube site are something we could all incorporate regardless of economic status. Thank you.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    I thought you might not want to fuss too much so looked up "pantry" soups - there might be a few options here that you can make from what you already have around, and then puree.

    https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/packages/cooking-from-the-pantry/meal-worthy-soups--from-the-pantry--
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    I thought you might not want to fuss too much so looked up "pantry" soups - there might be a few options here that you can make from what you already have around, and then puree.

    https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/packages/cooking-from-the-pantry/meal-worthy-soups--from-the-pantry--

    Great thank you. And yeah, when I have pain killers in me, whatever is the easiest is usually my go to right now.
    acpgee wrote: »
    You might want to look at Jack Monroe's recipe site. Before she became a cookbook writer she was a single parent living on benefits (welfare in the UK).

    https://cookingonabootstrap.com/category/recipes-food/

    There is a BBC show called Eat Well for Less that you can look up on YouTube. It's main themes are:

    1. Eat vegetarian once a week.
    2. Try to find supermarket brands you like to replace premium brands.
    3. Don't buy anything processed, including pre-washed salads, grated cheeses, ready made pasta sauces.
    4. Cook from scratch.

    Some of these look awesome!

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