Food and happiness

[brgregmack]

I’ve lost too much weight over the last couple weeks due to stress and multiple schedule changes at work. I’m very poor and need to carch up on the calories, but I love sharing what little I have with my gielfriend, who has less of an income than I do right now. What should I do???

 

[BlueEyedLady]

I’m glad that you and your girlfriend share food. Times are really tough right now and it’s great that you are looking out for her. Don’t stop doing that.

As for how to get more calories on a budget? I have tons of ideas! Living on a tight budget is kind of my thing.

-Go to discount stores like Dollar General, Aldi, etc.
-Buy dry and canned goods that won’t go bad. Raman, boxed mac 'n cheese, anything with potatoes, pasta, beans, rice, etc. are all high in calories and cost very little. (Dry beans and rice are extremely cheap).
-If things are really that tight look into food pantries, soup kitchens, and food stamps.
-COUPONS! (And although I don’t know how to do it, you could look into super couponing.)
-Don’t be afraid to ask friends and family for help with food. If you’re losing weight because you don’t have much to eat, they’ll want to keep you safe and healthy.

Be aware though that the cheapest foods are also the worst for you, so this is not a good long-term solution. You can’t stay healthy if you consistently deny your body the nutrients that it needs. However, you can get by on these things until you can get a higher paying or a second job, which is sounds like you desperately need to look into.

 

[Della]

I’ve lost too much weight over the last couple weeks due to stress and multiple schedule changes at work. I’m very poor and need to carch up on the calories, but I love sharing what little I have with my gielfriend, who has less of an income than I do right now. What should I do???

Is there a food shelf in your area? Try that. Call Catholic Charities for help or your parish/diocese. There is no need for you or your girl friend to go hungry when there are many organizations who are willing to help you. Don’t be proud. Ask for help. At some point in your life you will be able to pass on the good that was done to you, in one way or another. :yup:

 

[brgregmack]

I’m on food stamps and I work full time, but because I will exceed the poverty level by less than 200 dollars (I hate that they go by gross income) I will only have one more month. My mom is helping me out a bit, and I jump on it every time she makes a costco run. I also buy bulk at winco. It’s mainly that I feel like I don’t have enough time to cook and I don’t have the capacity to make big baches that will last me the week for dinner at work. One thing is that I would like some ideas for more filling breakfasts.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I recall reading that there is almost no meal cheaper and better than a McDonald’s double cheeseburger from the Value Meal menu. Costs $1.00. Has 400 calories.

I understand you don’t want to live on McDonalds double cheeseburgers, but if you’re buying pretty inexpensive food anyway (one poster has pointed out some inexpensive stuff already) spending $2.00 additional/day for you and your girlfriend for an 'extra" isn’t the worst thing in the world to do.

But I’ll add that those smallish low-end potatoes one sees in the store are incredibly cheap, and you can make gravy (beaucoup calories) out of almost any kind of fat. Not discouraging buying more balanced stuff, but if getting some pounds back on is desired, one could hardly do it more effectively than frying out a smallish bit of cheap sausage, then making a whole lot of gravy out of it and the grease, mashing up a bunch of those cheap potatoes and chowing down. (Good on rice, too)

If you wash those cheap potatoes well and cut off parts where maybe they were nicked in harvest, and then boil them peel and all before mashing, you’ll improve the nutrient content.

And powdered milk is cheap for making gravy; a lot cheaper than whole milk, and there’s not a lot of difference in the taste.

I personally like “red-eye” gravy. You use some bits of fatty ham, which is pretty cheap. Chop it up and fry it, use the grease for gravy and put a bit of coffee in it as you make it.

You eat that one meal every other day or so, and I will guarantee both you and your girlfriend will gain weight.

And yes sir, I would share my food with the girlfriend. No question about it. Back when my wife and I were dating and when we were first married and as poor as church mice, we really enjoyed finding super-inexpensive food. It was kind of an adventure for us, and I think it drew us closer together than we would have otherwise been.

Quick story:

Early in our marriage we found ourselves with $10 with which to buy a week’s groceries for us and our two little girls. We really worked at it, and arrived, triumphantly, at the checkout counter, really proud of ourselves.

But right ahead of us in line was this young, honest-to-goodness cowboy. He had more food than we did, and it cost him less than we spent.

 

[brgregmack]

She has a milk allergy, so I use almond milk as a substitute for mashed potatoes.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I’m on food stamps and I work full time, but because I will exceed the poverty level by less than 200 dollars (I hate that they go by gross income) I will only have one more month. My mom is helping me out a bit, and I jump on it every time she makes a costco run. I also buy bulk at winco. It’s mainly that I feel like I don’t have enough time to cook and I don’t have the capacity to make big baches that will last me the week for dinner at work. One thing is that I would like some ideas for more filling breakfasts.

There’s nothing on earth more filling in the morning than a cake donut. Well, I’ll take that back. If you have some gravy from the night before and put it generously on two pieces of ordinary toast, that will keep you full all morning.

But if one wants some nutrition with it () one could put a couple of fried eggs on top of the gravy. Eggs are really, really cheap, especially the “smalls”. If you don’t want to fry the eggs, I have many times microwaved them in a coffee cup. They turn out pretty well and plop cleanly out of the cup, but you have to watch them closely so they don’t overcook.

And there’s no better carried lunch on earth than a scrambled egg sandwich with three eggs, especially if you put a few flecks of bacon in it or even a cut-up hot dog.

I’m not poor now, but I sure grew up poor, and I like all that inexpensive stuff. I really do.

 

[brgregmack]

Yet I feel like I’ve been eating things like kale and bell peppers and pasta w/ balsamic and olive oil for so long that anything too fatty just makes me feel sick and slows me down. Like about a month ago I got lazy late at night and I got a marie calllender’s pot pie and I had to throw it away because even the smell of it made me so sick. I wasted 3 bucks. I think I need quantity of better stuff to get the calories… and beer is too expensive

 

[Iheartcoffee]

You can find some red beans and rice recipes online. It’s cheap, easy, and any time I take it to work people are jealous.

When you get the chance to come along on a Costco run, eat the samples! I have gotten full off the samples there on a Saturday. Also, the samples may inspire some recipe ideas.

 

[UbiCaritas]

Yet I feel like I’ve been eating things like kale and bell peppers and pasta w/ balsamic and olive oil for so long that anything too fatty just makes me feel sick and slows me down. Like about a month ago I got lazy late at night and I got a marie calllender’s pot pie and I had to throw it away because even the smell of it made me so sick. I wasted 3 bucks. I think I need quantity of better stuff to get the calories… and beer is too expensive

I do understand this. I suggest (as other posters have) looking into recipes that involve a lot of legumes (beans) and rice, ditto vegetables. Buy vegetables only if they’re a good deal. Frozen vegetables are just as good as fresh in terms of quality and nutrients, and are usually a lot cheaper.

I was a perpetually broke college student–was on my own, worked three jobs while going to school. I also tried to eat as healthily as possible, though it wasn’t always that healthily. Eggs are good. Soups are excellent, but only if they’re vegetable-based rather than meat-based. (I.e., beef stew is pretty expensive because of the beef, but black bean soup, for example, is ridiculously cheap to make–think a dollar or two for a whole pot.) You can use just a strip or two of bacon to flavor an entire pot of bean soup, if you want; it will add a very small amount of fat per serving (20-30 calories or so), but will also add a huge amount of flavor. Also, potato-based soups made with evaporated or powdered milk are cheap and extremely filling.

Can you make your own bread? I did, and really enjoyed it. Plus, for the cost of a sack of flour ($2-$3 or so), some yeast ($5ish, depending on where you get it and if it’s on sale) and a little salt and olive oil (pennies) you can make a couple of dozen loaves of bread. That bread will be very tasty, too, and won’t have all the HFCS and sugar that the cheap store-bought loaves will. A chunk of bread with a bowl of hot soup…can’t beat that, especially in the winter! You can also use the bread to make egg sandwiches, as another poster suggested.

I’m sure you already do this, but buy fruit based on season.

When at Costco, get staples if possible: flour, sugar, peanut butter, powdered milk, beans, rice, olive oil and the like. These are the kind of things that keep for a very long time and which can be used (peanut butter aside, but it has lots of protein) to make a large number of different kinds of food.

Here’s a very quick and healthy recipe for tomato soup:

1 large (28 ounce) can tomatoes
32 ounces of either chicken or vegetable broth, low sodium, OR 24 ounces of water
1 bunch green onions
1 TB olive oil

Chop the onions, and sauté them in the oil in a soup pot until soft. Add the tomatoes and broth or water. Puree with an immersion or regular blender or food processor. Add a little salt and pepper to taste. If you have some, a half-teaspoon of dried basil tastes great in this! Simmer for 20-30 minutes or so, and it’s done! It’s great as is, or you can add a little milk (reconstituted powdered is fine) to make a creamy tomato soup, or a spoon of sour cream, or a little shredded cheese if you have it.

 

[Stillsosola]

I have had to feed a family of 6 on less than 5 dollars a day american and here are my cheap staples
oatmeal keeps you full all day
rice a versatile go to
any kind of dried beans protein
can tomatoes
noodles to make noodle soup my favorite is moderna they cost like 45 cents in the US on the spanish foods aisle
and chicken feet, hearts, livers and the neck to flavor soups and the livers cook up nicely in green chile sauce the feet add loads of calcium to foods
eggs
and powdered milk 4 kids drinking milk is expensive
tortillas niacin, calcium and iron if you buy corn ones
lentils protein and can be made like a soup 1 pack yeilds days worth of food for just 2 people
go to save alot! My husband and I exclusively shopped there when we lived in the states sure wish there was a sav alot here
with these you can build many delicious meals try googling depression ere recipes as well and mexican recipes for ideas also dont discount wild foods like mushrooms and certain flowers are good to eat try googling edible weeds and wild foods for a reference guide

 

[moon1234]

Don’t chase cheap calories. You are doing it right by eating the healthy greens. Buying McDonalds might pack on calories, but it is NOT a healthy meal for your body.

Black beans
Pinto Beans
Potatoes
Tomatoes
Eggs
Cheapest whole wheat bread
Butter
Lean Meat when it is available.

USE COUPONS!!! When my wife and I were under 25 with three kids we used coupons A LOT. She could buy $300 of food and only pay $25 after the coupons. Watch the dumpsters on Late Sunday/Early Monday around the groceries. They throw out the Sunday papers with the coupon inserts. Don’t need 100 $5 off one razor, sell them on e-mail for $1 each. Use that money to buy meat coupons from e-bay that come off liquor bottles. Use that coupon on lean meat that is on sale.

Save money and buy a 1/4 to 1/2 beef when you can. The cost per lb on conventional beef will be close to or under $1/lb. You will get a few steaks and other normally expensive cuts for the price of burger.

Honestly potatoes are of the most nutrient dense veggies out there and they are filling. DO NOT remove the skin. That is where most of the nutrients are located. Plant a garden next year. Potatoes usually return 8 to 1 or more lbs. Meaning you plant one 1lb and get 8 or more lbs at the end of the season. Many potatoes will keep 6 months or more in a cool basement. We eat at LEAST 5lbs with many meals. Home made gravy from the previous days discount rotisserie chicken tastes really good, costs almost nothing and will pack on GOOD calories.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Yet I feel like I’ve been eating things like kale and bell peppers and pasta w/ balsamic and olive oil for so long that anything too fatty just makes me feel sick and slows me down.

I understand. Do you understand that you have acclimated your body to subsisting on relatively expensive stuff?

 

[BlueEyedLady]

I understand. Do you understand that you have acclimated your body to subsisting on relatively expensive stuff?

That’s one of the biggest problems that faces the poor. The cheapest food is the worst for you, and the pricier stuff is what your body actually needs to function. There is no getting your body “acclimated” to a high fat, high cholesterol, high sodium, low nutrient diet.

That’s why poor people are so often overweight and suffer from far more illnesses and have more health problems than their wealthier counterparts.

That’s why I highly encourage him and his girlfriend to get second jobs. High calorie junk will get him by for a little while, but eventually he will start getting sick.

 

[Ridgerunner]

That’s one of the biggest problems that faces the poor. The cheapest food is the worst for you, and the pricier stuff is what your body actually needs to function. There is no getting your body “acclimated” to a high fat, high cholesterol, high sodium, low nutrient diet.

That’s why poor people are so often overweight and suffer from far more illnesses and have more health problems than their wealthier counterparts.

That’s why I highly encourage him and his girlfriend to get second jobs. High calorie junk will get him by for a little while, but eventually he will start getting sick.

If I did not know so many people who have lived long and vigorous lives on “unhealthy” food, I would be inclined to agree with you.

I recently read, for example, that researchers have recently concluded (in connection with the widespread prescription of statins) that the only people who really benefit from lowering cholesterol are those who have already had a heart attack or stroke. High cholesteral levels, even LDL, don’t necessarily mean a person will be healthier by lowering them. So, now they’re trying to “turn the QE2 around” and are discouraging the use of statins in all but that one target group.

Medical researchers are not even in agreement any more that high consumption of fats is necessarily bad for a person, in the absence of any objective indicator in that person that it is. I do believe most condemn the consumption of trans fats, but fat consumption is actually encouraged by many, depending on what kind of fat it is.

Some poor people have diets high in (expensive, trans fat laden) junk food. Some don’t. Some are obese because of overeating. Some are not. Some are of a reasonable BMI despite high fat diets. Some aren’t. Some who eat the Med diet are healthy, and some are not. Some people are physically active, and burn up calories. Some don’t. Some have high metabolic rates and burn up calories even if they’re not physically active, and some don’t. Some ethnic groups are adversely affected by some foods, while others are not.

Lots of cheap foods are, by anyone’s measure, healthy enough. Some are not. Some expensive foods are regarded as healthy and some aren’t.

 

[BlueEyedLady]

If I did not know so many people who have lived long and vigorous lives on “unhealthy” food, I would be inclined to agree with you.

I recently read, for example, that researchers have recently concluded (in connection with the widespread prescription of statins) that the only people who really benefit from lowering cholesterol are those who have already had a heart attack or stroke. High cholesteral levels, even LDL, don’t necessarily mean a person will be healthier by lowering them. So, now they’re trying to “turn the QE2 around” and are discouraging the use of statins in all but that one target group.

Medical researchers are not even in agreement any more that high consumption of fats is necessarily bad for a person, in the absence of any objective indicator in that person that it is. I do believe most condemn the consumption of trans fats, but fat consumption is actually encouraged by many, depending on what kind of fat it is.

Some poor people have diets high in (expensive, trans fat laden) junk food. Some don’t. Some are obese because of overeating. Some are not. Some are of a reasonable BMI despite high fat diets. Some aren’t. Some who eat the Med diet are healthy, and some are not. Some people are physically active, and burn up calories. Some don’t. Some have high metabolic rates and burn up calories even if they’re not physically active, and some don’t. Some ethnic groups are adversely affected by some foods, while others are not.

Lots of cheap foods are, by anyone’s measure, healthy enough. Some are not. Some expensive foods are regarded as healthy and some aren’t.

I’m not just talking about the presence of too much fat/cholesterol/etc. I’m also talking about the lack of fresh fruits and vegetables, and the health problems that can cause.

Living off of cheap, low quality, highly processed, animal based foods, while simultaneously failing to incorporate produce will lead to vitamin deficiencies. Don’t believe me? Do it for a little while and then have a full panel blood test.

 

[Mrs_Sally]

I understand. Do you understand that you have acclimated your body to subsisting on relatively expensive stuff?

Kale is not expensive and it is very good for you. Keeping eating the kale but with beans (fava, navy, lentils, lima) and a bit of apple cider vinegar instead of balsamic.

Bell peppers can be expensive, but often go on sale and keep well in the fridge. Onions are also cheap and with peppers add alot of flavor to bean or egg dishes.

If the OP doesn’t have time to cook, a crockpot is a great investment. Mom may have an old one she’d give him. Beans cook very well in a crock pot as does real long grain rice. With onions, peppers, a bit of chicken or inexpensive beef cut, a great dinner can be waiting at the end of the day, with plenty of left overs for lunch.

For better breakfasts, chop up a bunch of those veggies ahead of time. A quick saute with a bit of susage or bacon for fat, maybe some of that kale or spinach and a few eggs scambled in makes a great long lasting breakfast.

If you prefer cereal, scramble and egg into your oatmeal as it cooks. Real, old-fashioned oatmeal is inexpensive, can be bought in bulk and cooks quickly enough - simmer it while you get dressed.

 

[Della]

If your job doesn’t support you, you need a better job. For that you need more than a high school education–if that’s all you have. Go back to school, even trade school, so that you can earn a proper wage and not have to live subsistence. Education is what is needed not just a better diet. See if you qualify for scholarships or grants. Perhaps you mother could help you with school costs. Only you can get yourself out of the hole you’re in, so get up, and get on it for your own good and for any future family you might have one day.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I’m not just talking about the presence of too much fat/cholesterol/etc. I’m also talking about the lack of fresh fruits and vegetables, and the health problems that can cause.

Living off of cheap, low quality, highly processed, animal based foods, while simultaneously failing to incorporate produce will lead to vitamin deficiencies. Don’t believe me? Do it for a little while and then have a full panel blood test.

I would certainly not discourage anyone from eating fruits and vegetables, though the much cheaper canned and somewhat cheaper frozen varieties serve just as well for many things. And, among fruits and vegetables, there are some that are much less expensive than others.

Even so, many of the earth’s peoples go long periods without either, and enjoy good health. If that were not the case, Europeans and north Asians would not exist because their ancestors would have died out. A particularly interesting take on this can be found in Solzhenitsyn’s “Gulag” series. Diets that we all think would kill a person, mostly don’t.

“Cheap”, “low quality”, “highly processed” and “animal based” are not coextensive. The second is a judgment, not a description. “Highly processed” is not, in itself, a meaningful term. Many animal based products are quite nutritious.

I eat what I want to eat, just to clear the record, and my blood panels are, and have always been, just fine. My doctor, who is considerably younger than I am says I’m in better shape than he is. Since I raise my own beef (grass fed…and I am definitely a believer in that) my meat consumption is almost certainly higher than that of most.

I will agree with some of what you are saying implicitly, at least. I do not like junk food, and almost never eat it. I do buy those cheap little potatoes and my wife cooks them, skin and all. I like those cheap little juice oranges from Texas, and eat a lot of them, in season. I eat wild fruits in season as much as I can. They’re everywhere if one knows where to look. Oh, and did you know that poke greens are highly nutritious, pervasive during the warm seasons, and they’re free? (Don’t eat the berries, though.) I’ll confess I hate ramps and won’t eat them.

But trying to be more serious, potatoes are good for you. Brown rice is good for you. Whole wheat is good for you unless you’re gluten intolerant. Eggs are good for you. Beans are good for you. All are cheap. Canned vegetables are good for you, and cheap. Lots of greens are good for you and cheap. Lots of fruits are good for you and cheap. You don’t have to eat boutique foods that cost a lot in order to “eat healthy”.

 

[brgregmack]

Bulk at winco is very cheap. Red peppers vary in price but are sometimes as low as 78cents each and greeen peppers stay around that. I get rotini pasta and long grain brown rice which are currently .84/lb each. Bulk spices are also a great deal there as is bunch kale and spinach. As for my job, I guess I’ve made it out to be worse than it really is. I make 9/hr with up to 2.50/hr incentive pay. My main problem is that I have finally learned that head accounting doesn’t work. I barely avoided overdrafting due to rent with my first paycheck. I’m just looking for more ways to live below my means and start saving up more and get to the point where I can invest primarily for income rather than growth at this early of a point. I’m also looking into the best way for me to get a degree in accounting to up my income to a more comfortable level.