Healthy Eating on a Low Budget

Dec 22 15:17 UTC 1996

Hi all!  Those of you who know me, know that I am currently operating on a
very low budget and will continue to do so for the next five years.  This is
also the first time in my life I've had to take care of my own meals and have
been having problems in general.  I never had to learn to cook while growing
up and in college, had meal plan to keep me happy.  So now I am faced with
the what to do for food dilemma.  I'd like to be able to stay on a healthy
diet and not live off of cheap fast food, but I also have limited time and
cooking skills.  So does anyone have any suggestions as to what I can do for
meals?  Any advice is greatly appreciated!

response 2 of 43:

Dec 24 23:18 UTC 1996

Spaghetti.  Rice and beans (there are some variations on that which are cheap,
nutritious, good-tasting, and need minimal attention while cooking, although
the cooking process may well take a while).  Invest in a copy of Betty Crocker
for ideas and a broad overview of cooking basics.  Look for "campus kitchen
survival guide" type cookbooks.  In Ann Arbor, you can generally find a good
variety of cookbooks at super-cheap prices at the Friends of the Public
Library book sales.  If your town has sales like that, this may well be worth
looking for.

response 4 of 43:

Dec 29 10:32 UTC 1996

  I'll third the Betty suggestion.  I also agree with Valerie's
rice & bean, and spaghetti suggestions.  $3 in rice, beans, and
an onion can feed you for a week!  (Though it gets boring :-).
Also, a $3 jar of Ragu and a $1.50 box of pasta makes several
meals, and you can toss in whatever fresh veggies you have.  I
cook single helpings of pasta, but you can also cook a bunch at
a time, mixed w/the sauce, for easy reheating...good for a busy
schedule.  Sandwiches are also cheap and nutritional depending
on the bread and what you put on them...a $2 loaf can make ten
sandwiches...cheese & veggies or peanut butter and jelly are
fairly economical.  Other food bargains (in my opinion): eggs
(cooked however you like), potatoes (same), Ramen noodles, rice
(packaged instant rice mixes are pricier, but still cheap for
the amount of food).  Cheap fruits and veggies vary in price by
season, though bags of non-fancy apples usually seem like a good
deal.
 
  Vitamin/mineral supplements can also save money while keeping
you healthy.  For example, if you can't afford to drink milk
regularly, but need more calcium in your diet, take calcium
supplements and drink water :-).
 
  In general, preparing food like the above saves a lot over
ordering pizzas, going to fast food joints, and buying frozen
dinners.  You can fix a decent meal for $0.50-$1, while those
other options are more like $2-$6.  Even Taco Bell meals can
add up!

response 6 of 43:

Dec 30 05:53 UTC 1996

I've never made granola myself, but I once had a roommate who did it.  The
whole house smelled wonderful.  I think it was the smell from the kitchen that
got me to finally try granola for the first time.  Her granola was wonderful
stuff.

response 8 of 43:

Jan 2 07:32 UTC 1997

I beg to differ with the Betty Crocker crowd.  Joy of Cooking, in any edition
has far more information that lets you really learn to cook, and learn to
improvise.  Especially the chapters The Foods We Eat, and The Foods We Heat.
Reading it will tell you all you need to know about when you *must* sift the
flour, or measure it exactly and when the recipe really means "spoon some
flour into a half-cup measure, and toss it in".
  
As for cooking rice and beans, the Diet For a Small Planet books are great
for tasty combinations.  The author disagrees with herself now, about the
precise combination she suggested in the first edition.  Turns out that you
get the protein advantage just by eating things in the same day or so. 
  
If you are interested in low-fat, low-cost, try the MacDougall cookbooks. 
Almost vegan in their selection of foods, but extremely healthy and relatively
inexpensive vegetables, rice, beans, bread, etc.  

response 10 of 43:

Jan 2 20:09 UTC 1997

When I was getting started cooking, I found Joy Of Cooking was very
overwhelming, because it is so encyclopaedic.  Betty was about my speed,
because she had recipes for everything I wanted to cook, and the instructions
were pretty straightforward.  In Joy Of Cooking, if I went to look up how to
cook a wombat, each of the three wombat recipes would point me toward four
other related topics I ought to read about, each of which would point me to
four other places, ad infinitum.  I like Joy Of Cooking a lot as a reference
book, but think it's a bit overwhelming for a beginning cook to try to cook
from.

response 12 of 43:

Jan 3 13:21 UTC 1997

(good, even)

response 14 of 43:

Jan 3 16:38 UTC 1997

Yes, accompanied by an admonition that you'll ruin everything if you use
canned wombat instead.

response 16 of 43:

Jan 3 20:05 UTC 1997

There is an amazing amount of saturated fat in the shredded coconut, too. 
And wheat germ has a lot of fat (although a better kind).  

response 18 of 43:

Jan 4 00:24 UTC 1997

Catriona -- I'm under the impression that wheat germ varies a lot in its fat
content.  I'm not sure I have my wheat germs straight here, but I'm under the
impression that the toasted kind has tons o' fat, while the raw kind doesn't.
At least, the Nutrition Facts information on the bin of raw wheat germ at the
co-op lists a rather low amount of fat.

response 20 of 43:

Jan 5 08:11 UTC 1997

   thanks for the recipe, scott. next time i go grocery shopping i'll pick
up the ingredients and try it out. it sounds yummy.

response 22 of 43:

Feb 15 07:00 UTC 1997

homemade sausage is actually pretty inexpensive...it all depend s on the meat
you get, and you don't need anything expensive...and that way, you can make
it as lean as you want!

also, the big bags of frozen tater tots.  :)

response 24 of 43:

Feb 15 18:39 UTC 1997

Tater tots do, but amazingly Ore-Ida frozen french fries dont.  (I think it
was Ore-Ida)  Anyway, check french fry labels, some brands don't have any
added fat.