Cheap Eating

[DominoKett]

What is some cheap food you guys and like that would be good for someong who's living on their own or with other broke people

[Nox (ADVANCED)]

Do u have a fridge ,stove, oven, microwave or freezer??

[Th0r]

Well if you were in the UK I could tell you a whole bunch of places that sell cheap food. You could get a job somewhere that sells food like a grocery store or gas station. They will often let good employees who are down on their luck take some food and drink free...

I mean like Nox said, when you live with these people how and where will you live with them?

Because that really does narrow your options about what cheap food is available to you...

If you are going with these people soon I would stock up on cheap food whilst you have cash...

[odin_dax]

I guess cheap is a relative term. I'm going to assume you mean home cooking and food that will last more than one meal. There are many stores that sell bulk, so start there. At any rate, here are a few specifics I can think of off the top of my head...

Pasta
Hot dogs
Noodles
Rice
Eggs
Frozen foods (veggies, fries, pizzas*)
*these are usually on sale where I live, but otherwise they're kinda expensive
Chicken breast
Bread
Canned fruits and veggies*
*also usually on sale where I live, but typically less than $1 a can when not.

Just watch for deals as well. Coupons helps, so do grocery store clubs like the Safeway card. I wouldn't pay for a CostPlus card (if you know what that store is), so find someone to borrow it from.

[headcase]

Find some students and ask them what they do. Some of my friends come up with genius ideas.

For example, here and the UK there's a store called Tescos which isn't a cheap store, but has it's own "Tesco Brand" foods, which are. So he gets everything there. If he's getting spagetti (a staple Student foodstuffs), he needs sauce. However, "Tesco Brand" baked beans are cheaper than any of the actual sauces, so he mixes the spagetti with the baked beans. Genius...

[odin_dax]

Find some students and ask them what they do. Some of my friends come up with genius ideas.

For example, here and the UK there's a store called Tescos which isn't a cheap store, but has it's own "Tesco Brand" foods, which are. So he gets everything there. If he's getting spagetti (a staple Student foodstuffs), he needs sauce. However, "Tesco Brand" baked beans are cheaper than any of the actual sauces, so he mixes the spagetti with the baked beans. Genius...

In times of trouble, ketchup works well as a substitute for pasta sauce. :dance:

[odin_dax]

Also, going to fast food restaurants and taking some of their free utensils, straws, napkins and condiments is also a way to cut corners.

If there are chain buffet restaurants, like Sizzler around, you might try to sneak your way in there too.

There are cheap pizza places. It'll definitely add up, but once in awhile it's okay to splurge. Domino's has a 5-5-5 deal, for example. Pizza can last over a few days, and can be used as lunch and/or breakfast.

[Th0r]

Odin, you mentioned Tomato Ketchup and I eat the stuff with pretty much everything...

I just love it.

Headcase, you mentioned Tesco's. The best thing about Tescos is you can buy a lot of stuff really cheap in bulk. Same applies in the UK for a store called Iceland, which is where I buy all my food when I head into the city...

And I hear they are working on expanding Tesco's into the USA, the first stores are being built in California, more specifically Los Angeles.

Also on Pizza for breakfast, there is NOTHING like it.

[Nemesix]

1 word...raman :)

[Nox (ADVANCED)]

Soy/wostashire(sp?)(cant remember which one) sauce on pasta/2min noodles with butter is beautiful!

Th0r is on the right track!! Pizza for breaky!

[odin_dax]

Th0r is on the right track!! Pizza for breaky!

Credit where due, man.

[headcase]

Pizza for breakfast? Eugh, remind me of my college days. Wait, I mean this morning.

By the by, I've seen people steal stupid amounts of food from Tescos. Just pocket some stuff on your normal shopping route and pay for the rest. It got two of the buddies through the summer :). Although I know you don't have to be told to steal things to save money...

Still, have a read through DizziE's text on eating for free. Good info in there too.

[Th0r]

Soy/wostashire(sp?)(cant remember which one) sauce on pasta/2min noodles with butter is beautiful!

Th0r is on the right track!! Pizza for breaky!

I would believe it is Soy [SP?] and for the record Nox its Worcestershire Sauce. Although personally I hate the sauce on my Pasta and Noodles. Pot Noodles are fantastic... Not taste wise...

By the by, I've seen people steal stupid amounts of food from Tesco's. Just pocket some stuff on your normal shopping route and pay for the rest. It got two of the buddies through the summer :). Although I know you don't have to be told to steal things to save money...

Anyone can steal from Tesco's. Because the security is complete shit. Same goes for Sainsbury's...

Argh, fun summers days, years gone by...

By the way headcase, do they have Sainsbury's in Ireland?

[Nox (ADVANCED)]

I would believe it is Soy [SP?] and for the record Nox its Worcestershire Sauce. Although personally I hate the sauce on my Pasta and Noodles. Pot Noodles are fantastic... Not taste wise...


Thankyou i havnt had it in years. Spell check wouldn't work for me on that one lol.

WHAT IS POT NOODLES?? i keep thinking 2min noodles with weed in it.

[headcase]

http://images.google.ie/imgres?imgurl=http://www.thefoodhall.es/images/POTNOODLE_spice.JPG&imgrefurl=http://www.thefoodhall.es/product_info.php%3Fproducts_id%3D1790%26language%3 Des&h=243&w=191&sz=15&hl=en&start=17&tbnid=Qq55nlLCQgIq8M:&tbnh=110&tbnw=86&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpot%2Bnoodle%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa %3DG

Noodles that come in pots. They're useful because they don't need bowls, you can just pour the boiling water into the pot, so you can bring it to school/work etc.

There aren't any Sainsburys in Ireland as far as I know.

[Th0r]

Pot Noodles is this powder in a pot. The powder is boiled and in doing so creates noodles and chicken and such. Individually they are pretty expensive, but like all things in bulk they are bloody cheap...

As a kid when I went camping regularly me and my dad would buy them. They aren't particularly nice, but they make good for a cheap, quick meal...

Damn you Headcase. You beat me to it.

[headcase]

It's not a powder, it's normal noodles that go soft in boiling water. It's the flavour comes as a powder. There's dehydrated veg there too.

[Nemesix]

MRE's or meals ready to eat ->what the army eats... those are amazing, highly nutricious and delicious. there are special chemicals inside some of the food so like with the chili, all you do is add water to it, and it will instantly heat up :)

[Nox (ADVANCED)]

Ahh ok. They just noodles around here. I know what u mean though Styrofoam cup with them in it add boiling water and let sit 2-5mins.

[DominoKett]

wow haha this thread really blew up overnight. well anyways thanks for all the suggestions guys and headcase could you please post a link to the dizzie thread you were reffering to about free food

[davey_crockshit]

here in the PNW, we have the grocery outlet. all kinds of canned stuff and boxed things they couldn't sell at real stores for some reason or another. trying new items is a risk, and an adventure.........

the cheese section fuckin' rules. i'm scared to try the meat, though.......

there's big lots too. same concept only it isnt just food. lots of cheap crap but a bunch of it is usable too.

then there's the local bent can store. its a major step down from the above. now we're playing for higher stakes. giant jar of mincemeat for two bucks? was it made in this decade? is the country it was made in still a country anymore? wow! look at all the cool candles! you can (and i have) burn them for heat if you have to. candy bars that have been through a fire. just wipe the soot off and you're good to go!

one of the best things about this place was that someone could live very well on very little money here. there is quite a bit of high dollar clothing down at the thrift store with very little wear on it. spendy bikes arent so spendy when you get them out of the paper. lots of rich people around, and they like their stuff brand new. better pickings for rats like me.

[Nox (ADVANCED)]

Might be able to answer for headcase plus some more.

Free Food. (http://forum.rorta.net/showthread.php?t=472)
Dumpster Diving (http://forum.rorta.net/showthread.php?t=35) Not wat you are looking for but might help for items turned to cash
Freebies (http://forum.rorta.net/showthread.php?t=296) Again not what you are looking for but might help?
DiZ's site (http://www.dizzy.ws/)

[davey_crockshit]

get a crock pot, or whatever they call them over where you are, a rice cooker, and a good toaster oven. with the above equipment, even a ten thumbed failure like me can come up with something edible for dinner.

one issue i have found is that many times, you can only get ingredients in amounts too large for you to use by yourself. it takes a certain amount of discipline to keep the leftovers from piling up. roommates can help in this regard, just as long as they take their turns buying and cooking the food.

[DominoKett]

thanks for the links, though im not quite desperate enough to begin dumpster diving haha. do any RORTA members not work and just eat cheap and get the little money needed to get by from simple scams and crimes

[Nox (ADVANCED)]

Nope, honest living here.

[headcase]

I don't work, just eat cheap and get the money I need from mommy and daddy.





(Not really. I work for my disposable income.)

[_JT_]

Speaking from experience - I have been ridiculously poor several times in the past - one of the best ways to eat well for cheap is to hunt down reduced items at supermarkets at the end of their trading day, and augment those supplies with the cheapest economy raw ingredients you can find. I am not ashamed to admit that once or twice I even helped myself to "expired" produce from the bins and am certainly no worse for the experience.

Your kitchen should ALWAYS contain a good supply of canned and dried vegetables, beans, rice, pasta and other things that can bulk out food and add nutritional value. Make sure you have dried herbs and spices as and when you can afford them - they help make cheap food more palatable! Cooking in bulk and freezing what you can't eat immediately is a great way to save money - just use common sense when freezing and reheating certain foods.

[iceniner]

One word: Potatoes. They're just about the cheapest food there is and they are high calorie. You can prepare them in anything from a microwave to a hotpot.

In bulk they are so cheap that you could probably feed yourself for a year on a hundred dollars worth.

[Jinx]

Ya can add to the potatoes aswell. Vegetables, Cheese, Tuna (Chilli Tuna tastes great inside a baked spud) and potato bake is pretty good also.

[.VX]

Make your own bread. It's cheaper and tastes much better. Grow your own food and buy some chickens if you can be fucked.

Also there's this thing called Indo Mie brand Mi Goreng which is really cheap. Most students in Aus live off the stuff. It's delicious also.

[DoctaD]

Instant noodles? You can get 'em here for 7p from Sainsburys.

~ 12c (AU)
~ 11c (US)

[.VX]

7p's closer to 20c by pre-recession standards, and 15c by today's standards. You could also do what I do and partially live off of friend's parents. That is, I eat at friends' (who live with their parents still, obviously) houses.

[_JT_]

Make your own bread. It's cheaper and tastes much better. Grow your own food and buy some chickens if you can be fucked.

Also there's this thing called Indo Mie brand Mi Goreng which is really cheap. Most students in Aus live off the stuff. It's delicious also.


Making your own bread is a great suggestion! Although, be prepared for a couple of fail-loaves when you first start out. It took me a couple of tries to get it right. It's something I rarely do these days due to time constraints but VX is right - it's cheaper and there's nothing like the taste of your own freshly baked bread.

[.VX]

Yeah, good bread is too expensive usually and supermarket bread is horrible and sugary.

Just to sum up some cheap meals that I eat a lot; Noodles (Mi Goreng specifically), Condensed Tomato soup (maybe the other flavours are good too, I wouldn't know. For this I usually add just over half as much water as the tin says to, and stir in some diced garlic (1/4 a teaspoon per tin) and some herbs, then eat it with home made bread), Potatoes (bake them for a couple of hours, then add butter, cheese, corn and a dollop of sour cream, or you could roast them with various other things and then pour gravy over the lot, or you could boil them and then add butter and oregano, or you could slice them into wedges and bake them with paprika, or you could do just about anything you wanted with them, to be honest.), Rice (you can buy it in bulk and do heaps with it), Stew (is good because you can make a lot of it at a time, so it'll last awhile, and you can add bread to it, which'll fill you up faster) and seasonal fruits and vegetables which I buy (that is, my mother usually) from a local market by the crate/box. You'll have to find some cheap meat or some meat substitutes because eating just what I've written doesn't make you feel to great after awhile.

There's honestly pages I could write on this from coming from a poor (not so much anymore, but up until about a year ago) family and currently living with friends most of the time while not having a job.

[hustler]

Five Guys Burgers and Fries gives out free peanuts while you wait. I took a whole backpack full once, and it was completely legal. Nothing is cheaper than free. ;-)

Potatoes.

Wisdom.

Step 1) Grab a potato.
Step 2) Stab the shit out of it with a fork.
Step 3) Put it in the microwave for 6 minutes.
Step 4) Eat.

[iceniner]

eating just what I've written doesn't make you feel to great after awhile.

Except possibly for stew you mentioned nothing that contains any protein whatsoever. Your body needs meat.

Ground beef is very cheap.

Peanut butter is also a very cheap source of protein, in bulk. Get the most natural kind you can without lots of added canola oil and shit like that.

[.VX]

Yeah, I mentioned that you need meat or somethng meat-like.

[lcnostra]

If you're looking to eat cheap, the best place you could possibly be situated is close to a college town. If you know people attending, you're all set. If not, it's still not that tricky to get fed. Look for group meetings providing refreshments, sneak into dining halls (it's really easy), or just steal food from crowded cafes. Sometimes they put pre-wrapped sandwiches out for the taking. When there's a long line, nobody even bothers to check...that's if they even notice. Now's the perfect time of year for it, too. One could probably eat for a week off the food that would fit in a winter jacket.

Another idea is to raid delivery cars when they're making stops and going in buildings. More techniques like this can be found in Dizzie's guide, which I'm sure is available somewhere on this site. If you really can't find it, I will upload it. Finally, grocery stores have some of the lowest security of any retail establishments. When I was reading Evasion (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evasion_%28book%29) a while back, they talked about simply filling up a cart and pushing it out the back of the store. If you're not that ballsy, you can always shoplift food. The possibilities are practically endless.

[XnbX]

I don't know if this is everywhere but where I live IKEA is always stuffed with students in the morning. The food is good and if you're a IKEA-family member it's even cheaper and some things are even free.

[Th0r]

You can get unlimited drinks for 50P here in Ikea in the UK. The food is also alright and dirt cheap.

[Eulux]

delis usually sell the end pieces of their meat packaged together for a good cheap price...buy small fryer chickens, they're cheaper than cut precut...and frequently go on sale...sausages are great. smoke them and they'll last quite some time. I usually smoke 50+ pounds at a time...boudin...fuck. cheap food is easy man.

[crazy white guy]

there are a thousand ways to prepare potatoes and many don't require much other ingredients

grate them with a fine cheese grater then fry with eggs and salt to make potatoe pancakes. They are wonderful with baked beans, sour cream ect. They easily make a whole meal with just them and a side.

baked potatoes in aluminum foil. Cut it in half and serve with bacon and sour cream, butter and a little bit of salt and pepper.

Mashed potatoes. Grate cheese over them and serve with baked beans or steamed veggies or whatever else.

French fries/poutine. They can be a side or a whole meal. Make gravy with condensed gravy type stuff (different name everywhere you buy it) grate cheese over the fries and por hot gravy over. Serve when its warm.

Quartered/baked potatoes: nice as a side. You can spice them with anything you like, they can be made to suit most any meal.

Sweet potatoes can be prepared in all of the same ways.

We have "square soup" here. It's been mentioned here. Its like ramen. You buy a large package and the per-meal cost works out to less than 0.50$.

No name baked beans are nutritious, taste great, can be eaten at any meal. They take little time to prepare, and not many people have a dislike of them. Its actually surprising how easily you can impress a girl with a breakfast of an omlette with fresh veggies with half toasts and baked beans.

[iceniner]

I've started eating vegan. I'm going to do raw vegan whenever possible, and I figure if I do raw vegan, my "cheating" will likely come from eating cooked vegetables and otherwise healthy food. I've recently had the unpleasant experience of feeling stuffed but still having the shakes from hunger.

[odin_dax]

I've started eating vegan. I'm going to do raw vegan whenever possible, and I figure if I do raw vegan, my "cheating" will likely come from eating cooked vegetables and otherwise healthy food. I've recently had the unpleasant experience of feeling stuffed but still having the shakes from hunger.

Why would you choose to live a vegan lifestyle? Milk? Eggs?

Some nutrients are only released in vegetables skins when you cook them, or great increase the benefits.

[iceniner]

At this point mainly weight loss. I understand that raw vegan is a very effective way to lose weight.

I'm not a real big fan of eggs but milk is to me like heroin is to junkies. I would mainline the shit if I wasn't too busy drowning myself in it. I think it's one of the reasons I've had trouble losing weight even though I exercise fiendishly. I'm only a few pants sizes up from where I want to be but even still.

[XnbX]

If you drink allot of milk and want to loose weight, you could try milk that contains a lower percentage of fat.

[iceniner]

Yeah, but that's fucking awful. I would rather drink nice cold water than skim milk.

I'm not too concerned about mostly-raw vegan for a couple of months. I won't be able to stick to it solid anyway so it's more of an "aim high" thing.

[Th0r]

Personally I prefer skimmed Milk to all other forms of Milk. I guess it's a personal thing.

[s480]

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