Cheap Eats - shopping tips and head space

[Guest guest]

In case you haven't discovered them, quite often ethnic markets will carry

veggie items cheaper than at the major chains. There is a Korean market in

North Atlanta that sells Goya dried black beans, pinto beans, Roman beans and

others for about $2.00 for a 5 pound bag. I also can get a 25 pound bag of

sticky rice (different than regular rice) for about $5 there. Buy staples in

bulk when you can, it is a great deal cheaper. I store my beans in plastic

freezer bags in one pound sizes. I do that with the rice as well, but one cup

measures. These baggies I keep in air tight plastic storage containers that I

stack out of the way, marked with what is inside.

 

At our Wal Mart Super Center one can buy a name brand of bay leaves in a jar for

close to $3.00. Skip that. Go to their ethnic foods (Mexican) section. You

can get spices and herbs in cellophane bags marked a LOT lower. (I paid .69

cents for a cellophane bag of bay leaves with the same weight as the expensive

in the jar ). Sam's Club (if you have a membership or can get a friend to buy

for you) has large things of spices and herbs along with big bags of rice, etc.

If you have access to empty baby food jars, store small amounts of your spices

in them and store the rest in air tight containers in a cool, dry place.

 

When my late father was with the USDA, he discovered that so called third world

diets are often smarter than ours and STILL were considered balanced despite

being vegan. He was particularly impressed with the fact that necessary amino

acids were in these vegan foods. Since he was with the USDA back when the

attitude was " Meat and MORE meat is best for you, " he didn't pursue this. I

wish he had. I miss him and my mother terribly. He also died of colon cancer

before his 70th birthday. She died of a stroke caused by uncontrolled diabetes.

He did not smoke, drank in moderation and exercised and jogged daily. When I was

growing up meat was the main food at every meal. Lots and lots of meat dripping

with fat. I used to crave vegetables so badly I would cook them while Mother

was preparing the slab of flesh for the evening meal.

 

The point is, explore ethnic foods. Hummus and pita make an awesome lunch or

dinner and it is cheap to make. Pinto or black beans on corn tortillas with

veggies are filling and inexpensive. Pasta with tomato based sauce and lots of

veggies is also cheap and filling. The college student's meal basic of Ramen

noodles can be turned into a better meal for several by making several packages

of ramen noodles with half the water, mixed with the seasoning and topped with

creamed vegetables. (Creamed refers to method, not actual cream. You can use

milk, evaportated milk, canned milk, soy or rice milk.)

 

Find bread stores that sell out of date (not really, but..) breads. I can get 4

loaves of honey whole wheat bread that is still in date for $2.00. Ask the

clerks, they'll steer you to the freshest breads, cookies, muffins, etc.

 

It is insane to me, but fresh fruits and veggies are often way more expensive

than canned. Go fresh when you can, but keep track of sales of canned goods.

One of our local markets just had canned veggies and fruits of a certain brand

for 3 cans for a buck. Go for sales like that when you can BUT if you are going

to have to spend $5.00 in gas to get to a store where you'll only save under

that amount, it isn't worth it. Some stores have two of their own brands, a

premium and other. Our Winn Dixie has two store brands: Thrifty Maid (cheaper)

and Prestige (premium). The green beans in the cheaper store brand were

mis-sized but tasted as good as the premium store brand.

 

Read the files. You'll find that the same basic bean (pinto, black, etc) can be

turned into pretty much any cuisine. Cheap eats do not need to be inferior or

gastronomically boring. What sounds better, " We're having spicy black bean

curry over jasmine rice for dinner followed by peach sorbet, " or " Its just beans

and rice tonight and some canned peaches. "

 

Ditch the carry out/delivery meals. There is absolutely nothing that they offer

that you cannot cook at home a LOT cheaper. Yes, I realize many/most of you

work. Make this your second job. If you have only one day a week, use it to

cook the beans you'll need during the week. Chop, cut up,clean your veggies and

freeze or bag in the proper place in the fridge. Plan meals ahead. It is

easier to come home knowing that you are making bean tacos and pull the

ingredients from the fridge, reheating the beans, etc, than to stand in the

kitchen tired to death of work and having to come home and make dinner. If I

can do it while attending college full time, doing my teaching internship and

tutoring in the math lab WHEN I WAS 45 AND PHYSICALLY CHALLENGED, YOU can do it

as well. Cook intentional leftovers and store in serving (or family) sized

portions in the freezer. This is a huge help when you are just too tired to

cook. My dear husband is still eating meals I froze months

ago. Tonight he is having a veggie pot pie with pear crumble.

 

You CAN do this. We have this incredible asset () and there are

countless recipes online.

 

Hope this helps, I'll post more cheap eats and ask everyone else out there to

post them as well.

 

Love to all, Jeanne in GA