The Eating on a Budget Thread

mkopec

mkopec

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a_skeleton_02 said:
Lost over 40lbs in the last four months and saved hundreds of dollars by eating this for lunch and dinner most days.



Warning will make you shit.
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I understand this is "diet" food but why not sautee the onion, bell pepper, celery and then garlic in a bit of olive oil to draw out the sugars and layer the flavors first? then add the tomato and water + cabbage. This shit is sacrilege to any good cook.
 
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Fifey

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Kiroy said:
So is that this thread is now? How to eat on a budget if i live in the inner city ghettos (which still have a shit ton of oppurtunity for growing)

My mistake, got confused with all the fancy grocery store talk.
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Well, if you actually read the post I made and you replied too, you would realize I was reaffirming a point Khane made but you're the one that said growing tomatoes was free and easy.

Lanx Lanx There's way better options out here, this is just a spot I stopped at while on the way home today and loosely in the neighborhood, it's the mexican store so usually has the best avocados.
 
Chukzombi

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Kiroy said:
So is that this thread is now? How to eat on a budget if i live in the inner city ghettos (which still have a shit ton of oppurtunity for growing)

My mistake, got confused with all the fancy grocery store talk.
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You are wrong, its only eating on a budget if you get bent over at Trader Joes and Whole Foods. Farmer markets and discount supermarkets are for losers. get it right.
 
TJT

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AladainAF said:
lol its like going to a chinese restraunt and having the "special" off-menu items that are only in chinese. I asked my wife what that shit was she said "It's the shit no American would ever eat". LOL.
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The big offender there is the nice roasted spices and sauce mixes for mapo tofu and stuff. Some of them are really really good but often have the completely wrong photo on the front for some reason (lol china) which has given me several unpleasant surprises! I was skeptical about pre-made stuff until the chinese I work with explained that it is very convenient and delicious as having all the ingredients for a hot pot variety you want on hand is not common. Or if they're a south Chinese and want northern Chinese stuff at any time.
 
Foler

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BoozeCube said:
HEB blows dick, Publix shits in their mouths, and twice on weekends.

gettyimages-910263376.jpg
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Publix for lyfe nikka!
 
Khane

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Chukzombi said:
You are wrong, its only eating on a budget if you get bent over at Trader Joes and Whole Foods. Farmer markets and discount supermarkets are for losers. get it right.
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Stop being insincere chuk. Stop and Shop is a normal, everyday supermarket and you live in the Northeast. Farmer's Markets are only open for about 4-6 months of the year... you know, during the harvest seasons. I have a sneaking suspicion some of the people arguing that it's super cheap and easy to eat on a budget are budgeting a lot more money than what is in the spirit of this thread.

This conversation is getting off track anyway. The only point I was trying to make was that it can become quite easy for lower income families to resort to processed or pre-packaged foods because it can, in fact be cheaper depending on where you live. Which is a shame.
 
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A

a_skeleton_05

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Khane said:
Stop being insincere chuk. Stop and Shop is a normal, everyday supermarket and you live in the Northeast. Farmer's Markets are only open for about 4-6 months of the year... you know, during the harvest seasons. I have a sneaking suspicion some of the people arguing that it's super cheap and easy to eat on a budget are budgeting a lot more money than what is in the spirit of this thread.

This conversation is getting off track anyway. The only point I was trying to make was that it can become quite easy for lower income families to resort to processed or pre-packaged foods because it can, in fact be cheaper depending on where you live. Which is a shame.
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Yeah. Normal price here for a bunch of broccoli like what was posted previously is $4. Whole frozen pizzas go on sale for the same price. There's no question which is going to be chosen for a family on a tight budget and without the time/knowledge to go super deep into budget food.
 
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Locnar

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mkopec said:
I understand this is "diet" food but why not sautee the onion, bell pepper, celery and then garlic in a bit of olive oil to draw out the sugars and layer the flavors first? then add the tomato and water + cabbage. This shit is sacrilege to any good cook.
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I agree, even when making big pots of lentil or bean soups, i'd always sautee a lot of the ingredients and add it to the nearly finished boiled lentils. Tastes way better.
 
ZyyzYzzy

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Khane said:
Stop being insincere chuk. Stop and Shop is a normal, everyday supermarket and you live in the Northeast. Farmer's Markets are only open for about 4-6 months of the year... you know, during the harvest seasons. I have a sneaking suspicion some of the people arguing that it's super cheap and easy to eat on a budget are budgeting a lot more money than what is in the spirit of this thread.

This conversation is getting off track anyway. The only point I was trying to make was that it can become quite easy for lower income families to resort to processed or pre-packaged foods because it can, in fact be cheaper depending on where you live. Which is a shame.
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I always found Stop and Shop to be the worst for produce in CT. Big Y was much better. Do they even exist anymore?
 
Aldarion

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This discussion of produce quality at specific grocery seems like an irrelevant tangent.

Yes, at any grocery store, sometimes a particular item looks shitty (like the tomatoes posted earlier) or a particular item is too expensive that week. So you don't get those items that week. Or you go to another grocery store.

Shopping on a budget means you dont buy all your groceries at one store, and you sacrifice what you wanted to buy that week for whats available at a good price that week. That part is just as important as all the beans and rice advice in the world.
mkopec said:
I understand this is "diet" food but why not sautee the onion, bell pepper, celery and then garlic in a bit of olive oil to draw out the sugars and layer the flavors first? then add the tomato and water + cabbage. This shit is sacrilege to any good cook.
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+1, so often complaints about the difficulty or expense of eating healthy or cheap come down to "I dont know how to do basic shit like chop or saute onions, or add salt + pepper"
 
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iannis

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And that's why I like eggs. You have to try to fuck them up, and you can safely experiment remaining confident the result will still be edible. You don't have to wait an hour to see if it worked, either.
 
Chukzombi

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Khane said:
Stop being insincere chuk. Stop and Shop is a normal, everyday supermarket and you live in the Northeast. Farmer's Markets are only open for about 4-6 months of the year... you know, during the harvest seasons. I have a sneaking suspicion some of the people arguing that it's super cheap and easy to eat on a budget are budgeting a lot more money than what is in the spirit of this thread.

This conversation is getting off track anyway. The only point I was trying to make was that it can become quite easy for lower income families to resort to processed or pre-packaged foods because it can, in fact be cheaper depending on where you live. Which is a shame.
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I'm being sincere. Trader Joe and whole foods are on the opposite spectrum of eating on a budget. Stop and shop isn't a discount supermarket. It's good sales at times, but Aldi, Superfresh or the ethnic supermarkets kick their asses. I shop at shop rite for most foods, but I will still hit up Aldi and other stores if there is a sale on something I need. It's still way more cost effective than eating out.
 
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Fifey

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Aldarion said:
This discussion of produce quality at specific grocery seems like an irrelevant tangent.

Yes, at any grocery store, sometimes a particular item looks shitty (like the tomatoes posted earlier) or a particular item is too expensive that week. So you don't get those items that week. Or you go to another grocery store.

Shopping on a budget means you dont buy all your groceries at one store, and you sacrifice what you wanted to buy that week for whats available at a good price that week. That part is just as important as all the beans and rice advice in the world.
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I fully agree, I was actually in the stpre cause I was making some gnocchi that night and wanted something green on the side, ended up not getting anything cause Im not paying 3 bucks for shitty broccoli and asparagus was 5 bucks/Lb. I just moved to like a 90%black/impoverished neighborhood and pretty much have to leave it to get good produce and thats what khane was saying. I coukd get a peach and a crown of broccoli for 5 bucks or a family sized stouffers lasagna.

Id say eating cheap also means knowing what you can eat as a routine, like I personally hate soups as a meal and will always feel hungry or want a snack after. Beans, rice,avocados, hot sauce and tortilla and I am full and happy every day.
 
Khane

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ZyyzYzzy said:
I always found Stop and Shop to be the worst for produce in CT. Big Y was much better. Do they even exist anymore?
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They do, closest one is over 15 minutes away and their produce is equally as shit.

I've thought about this more and think a lot of it has to do with bad faith business practice, if you'll allow me to be a conspiracy theorist for a moment. I live in what is essentially a "basic white bitch" mecca. So what you see in all these supermarkets is haggard, sometimes rotten produce next to the much more appealing and far fresher looking "organic" produce. Shit looks like it came off the same farm and the same trucks to me, but it's twice the price. Every single one of my friend's wives is one of those "Only Organic for MY family!" types and I imagine that's true for half this entire state, which allows pricing to become absurd like that.

I had forgotten about Aldi but there is one tucked away behind another shopping center near my house that I always forget about because of its location. I'm gonna go check them out this week in fact. But the Price Chopper's and Shop Rite's around here are even worse for produce than the Stop n Shop and Big Y's. They are also disgusting inside (dirty floors, sticky check out lane belts, etc).
 
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Fogel

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Guess location is everything. The Shoprites in South Jersey aren't anything special but they at least have decent produce at decent prices. Very rare to see broccoli over 2 dollars a pound and it usually has good shelf life.
 
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Lanx

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Khane said:
They do, closest one is over 15 minutes away and their produce is equally as shit.

I've thought about this more and think a lot of it has to do with bad faith business practice, if you'll allow me to be a conspiracy theorist for a moment. I live in what is essentially a "basic white bitch" mecca. So what you see in all these supermarkets is haggard, sometimes rotten produce next to the much more appealing and far fresher looking "organic" produce. Shit looks like it came off the same farm and the same trucks to me, but it's twice the price. Every single one of my friend's wives is one of those "Only Organic for MY family!" types and I imagine that's true for half this entire state, which allows pricing to become absurd like that.

I had forgotten about Aldi but there is one tucked away behind another shopping center near my house that I always forget about because of its location. I'm gonna go check them out this week in fact. But the Price Chopper's and Shop Rite's around here are even worse for produce than the Stop n Shop and Big Y's. They are also disgusting inside (dirty floors, sticky check out lane belts, etc).
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jfc, can you go and shop in the regular white ppl areas? look i understand white trash/black neighborhoods, have worse off grocery stores, cuz who wants to stock some eggs and neo some bullets at the same time.

But the "other side of town" is usually what? 10 minutes away? can't you just drive to like the stop n shop in the middle class white ppl areas?
 
Fogel

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You want him to jeopardize his street cred for some greens?
 
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Chukzombi

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Lanx said:
jfc, can you go and shop in the regular white ppl areas? look i understand white trash/black neighborhoods, have worse off grocery stores, cuz who wants to stock some eggs and neo some bullets at the same time.

But the "other side of town" is usually what? 10 minutes away? can't you just drive to like the stop n shop in the middle class white ppl areas?
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Come on, nobody shoots up grocery stores. not talking about bodegas or 7-11s where the scratchoffs and Phillie Blunts get sold. im talking about strictly food stores. nobody does that.
 
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