Inexpensive Foods

[networker 0]

I just got laid off from one of my part time jobs which meansthat now,I have to survive on working 24 hours a week from my other job. Anyway.I've ben eating really cheaply.Lot's of pasta and rice.Lotsof canned vegatables and fruits.Does anybody know inexpensive ways of eating at home?I'll eat in a restaurant the odd time,but not much lately.Also,are canned vegetables and canned fruit still that nutriscious?

[Echo_of_thunder 1]

I just got laid off from one of my part time jobs which meansthat now,I have to survive on working 24 hours a week from my other job.

Anyway.I've ben eating really cheaply.Lot's of pasta and rice.Lots
of canned vegatables and fruits.
Does anybody know inexpensive ways of eating at home?
I'll eat in a restaurant the odd time,but not much lately.
Also,are canned vegetables and canned fruit still that nutriscious?

Oh been there myself.
Being a single person there are many ways of doing this. some may not sound so cheap but they will save you in the long run.

1 Buy your items in bulk. ( that is if you have the room to put it )

2 Cook and freeze your food for a later day.

3 use coupons. Watch your news paper for add with a coupon. this will save you a lot

4 some restaurants frown on this but ask if you can have a doggy bag. freeze what you don't eat for the next day.

5 always accept an invite out to lunch or dinner.

[Tramposch 1]

Eating pasta and rice isn't a bad thing. If you exercise a fair amount, that is actually very good for you. Many Asian countries base their meals off of pasta and rice, it is a great food. You can easily add some meat or vegetables to it to make it even healthier.I would try not to get canned fruits and vegetables, but if you have to, it is better than nothing. They lose a fair amount of nutrition during the canning process, and even more while sitting. You could always by V8 Fusion, which gives you your vegetable and fruit servings very tastily, but that might end up being a bit more expensive, I haven't done the math.But the easiest way is to buy in bulk. You usually end up saving quite a bit of money in the long run.

[jlhaslip 4]

For saving money while I cook, one thing I do is buy a can or jar of Pasta sauce then add a can of crushed tomatoes with some Italian spices all together into a larger pot and simmer it down until it thickens up to about the same as the original sauce and the tomatoes acquire the sauce flavour. Then after dinner, I freeze the leftover sauce into ziploc bags in one meal sizes. Saves time on cooking the next meal as well. Microwave the sauce.Crushed Tomatoes are cheaper than the sauce and this doubles the volume of the sauce with very little difference in taste. saving money in the process.

[Echo_of_thunder 1]

For saving money while I cook, one thing I do is buy a can or jar of Pasta sauce then add a can of crushed tomatoes with some Italian spices all together into a larger pot and simmer it down until it thickens up to about the same as the original sauce and the tomatoes acquire the sauce flavour. Then after dinner, I freeze the leftover sauce into ziploc bags in one meal sizes. Saves time on cooking the next meal as well. Microwave the sauce.
Crushed Tomatoes are cheaper than the sauce and this doubles the volume of the sauce with very little difference in taste. saving money in the process.

adding a jar of sala is good too. puts a little fire into it too.

[Tramposch 1]

adding a jar of sala is good too. puts a little fire into it too.

That's a great idea. I am going to try that.

[y4nzi 0]

Salsa added into pasta sauce? sounds interesting, will try it. Back to the main question, canned vegetables are definitely not as good for you as fresh, you could also try frozen vegetables, they're better for you than canned (although I'm not sure how everything compares in price)Pasta and rice are good cheap carb options and they fill you up.I definitely agree with the buy in bulk and freeze. Even with loaves of bread, I tend to buy in bulk and keep them in the fridge so they last longer, same with meat and so on when I'm in a pinch. (No they don't taste as good, but in the end there's got to be a little trade off between saving money and really nice food)

[Echo_of_thunder 1]

Pace works the best. I would always cook up my sauce and add it along with my meat. maybe chop up some bell pepers ( red and Green ) and some mush rooms. add it all together then let it all sit in the fredge overnite to mix in well. The hotter the Sala the better

[nyy26 0]

Vegetables are cheap. you can make salads, use them as sides and add them to pasta dishes. Soups are good too. Depending on your climate you can grow your own and can or freeze them. Anyone can grow tomatoes. Buy in bulk and on sale. Bargain shop, always compare prices to other stores.

[kagerioshu 0]

Canned vegetables are actually still very nutritious, but the key to getting that nutrition out of them is using the juices they sit in. When being prepared, they're often cooked in the water they come in, and this causes the vitamins and minerals and such to seep out into the can. Sitting on a shelf for awhile contributes to this as well. When making rice or a soup and using canned vegetables, try cooking with the water that comes with the can.Basically, I'm in the same boat as you, and in order to survive, you gotta do what you can. However, it's easy to eat healthy and spend little. In all reality, junk food is actually quite expensive for what you get in terms of volume. Nutrition-wise, it's just throwing money away.If you have them in your area, try looking for a bagel shop that offers yesterday's bagels for half-off. Homemade bagels or shop bagels are infinitely better than the kind you can buy prepackaged at a store. They're made from better ingredients, and are generally wholesome. Even with the discounted old bagels, all you have to do is soak them or toast them as they are to get something delicious and healthy for you. bagels are a great source of fiber and protein, besides whatever else is mixed into them to create different varieties.

[contactskn 2]

I just got laid off from one of my part time jobs which meansthat now,I have to survive on working 24 hours a week from my other job.

Anyway.I've ben eating really cheaply.Lot's of pasta and rice.Lots
of canned vegatables and fruits.
Does anybody know inexpensive ways of eating at home?
I'll eat in a restaurant the odd time,but not much lately.
Also,are canned vegetables and canned fruit still that nutriscious?

In comparision to a restaurant you can always cook good, nutritious and cheap food out at your home. So prefer cooking your food at your home. Try to make bread and have it with some cereals cooked well and add some fruits and vegetables in your diet so that it will become good, tasty and nutritious. If you would like some recipies of indian foods then you can through my topics they include some.  

[Parubilla 0]

When I don't have money to buy food, that's what I do, I'll eat lot's of pasta and grains, for example, beans or lentils or chickpeas are protein so they can replace any meat, and they are cheap as well and taste good. And I don't know if it's a good solution but my doctor recommended to me because I was getting too skinny, is buy ensure, but not the one that comes ready to drink(that one is really expensive), but the one in powder it's not that cheap but it's affordable and last a long time and it gives you all of the nutrients you need to be healthy, of course it's a complement, it's not like you can only drink that and not eat anything, but anyways it can be prepared with water or milk and it will help you to be healthy, with energy, even if you don't eat the same amount of food you used to.

[networker 0]

All these replies are really helpfull.What's funny is that a lot of people I know have had colds this winter whenI haven't. Maybe it's because off all the pasta I've been eating.All that Vitamin C. I'll have to check into this ensure vitamin drink. I looked intomulti vitamins in the drug store and I thought they were rather expensive.What's probably very ironic is that eating cheaply is the most nutrisciousway to eat.It seems to work that way for me.

[Teina 0]

Do you live in a city that has a Chinatown? Usually the Chinese markets will have fresh foods at cheaper prices than grocery stores. You just have to be careful what you're buying, and doublecheck if it's fresh.Also, if you're really REALLY desperate (which I doubt most people in North America are), grocery store dumpsters are usually full of individually packed items that are only a day past date, and still edible. It's actually pretty clean, from my experience. (Yeah, my family WAS that desperate once, hah!) You might get in trouble if caught, but I don't think it's an arrestible offence. It's stuff they're tossing out, anyway.

[Tramposch 1]

Another place to check out for cheap foods are ethnic markets. There is a store chain around me called El Ray that sells super cheaper Mexican food ingredients. They also have a reasonably priced Mexican restaurant within that sells outstanding food.