Coming up with my SUPER TIGHT BUDGET MEAL PLAN for the next two weeks.

[conuly]

Beans feature prominently. But don't worry! It isn't all beans! We're also having lentils!

It's good for our budget and our health. Plus, bonus, it's good for the earth.

*************************

Mega Millions jackpot climbs to $1.6 billion. It's now the largest US lottery jackpot ever. (Fucking a. At this point I wonder if you could still come out ahead by simply buying up all possible combinations.)

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Comments

[angelofthenorth]

Have you come across https://cookingonabootstrap.com ?

[conuly]

No, though I've encountered Budget Bytes. Am I going to have to convert all those recipes there?

[angelofthenorth]

it's in grammes, if that's what you mean...

Jack, who writes the site, tends to use standard sized tins for beans etc. They cost all the meals, and show how it's possible to get by on about £15 a week for food - not easily but reasonably well. It doesn't work for us, as Huw doesn't eat beans or mushrooms though he likes lentils.

But they provide great recipe inspiration, and show how cheaper ingredients can be subbed in for more expensive ones.

[conuly]

Yes, they seem to be operating under the bizarre assumption that carrots are cheaper than sweet potatoes.

[angelofthenorth]

Well, they are here for the same volume of orange sweetish stuff

[conuly]

They're a staple crop!

[ratcreature]

Fun fact, in Germany sweet potatoes aren't even taxed like food. Their VAT is the standard 19% while carrots just as regular potatoes are taxed at the reduced 7% (German reduced VAT rules can be somewhat Byzantine, but I have no idea what prompted this oddity.) They are also much more expensive than carrots, costing more than twice as much per kilo. Even organic carrots are cheaper than regular sweet potatoes. Probably because most sweet potatoes are imported from the US while carrots grow locally or are imported from the Netherlands or somewhere nearby. They are not a staple food here at all. I have never even eaten one until well into adulthood.

[conuly]

Well, if you like 'em they're a hell of a lot easier to grow than carrots, as the nieces learned to their dismay one summer.

[ratcreature]

As I live in a small apartment without even a balcony, I'm unfortunately not well positioned to grow any food stuff.

[conuly]

Bummer.

[monanotlisa]

Different countries, different staples...

I'm really in favor of pushing sensible units of measurement, i.e. the metric system, but I do not think a British site on cheap meal-making suffices for your (or any cash-strapped US-American's) needs -- the foundation is not similar enough on several levels.

[fred_mouse]

I'd expect to pay $3 for 2 kg of potatoes, and $5-8 for 1 kg of orange sweet potatoes depending on size, so seems reasonable to me.

[movingfinger]

Jack's recipes are generally good! Also, I am grateful for the reminder that sardines (1) are a good thing and (2) can be done much more deliciously than the way my dad ate them (open tin, put sardine on toast, eat).

[siderea]

Are those prices reasonable to expect in the UK?

I just ran some through a currency converter and, really? You can reliably get a 400g tin of chickpeas for US$0.50??

A good sale here in Boston, MA is US$0.75. Right now, they're typically (cheap brands) US$1.

[angelofthenorth]

Pretty much.

[movingfinger]

Gosh. Best price for canned where I am is usually $1 (there's generally a special at this time of year, too, when I stock up). Usually around $1.59 for organic, maybe $1.29 for non-organic. I haven't seen 75¢ beans in a long time.

[conuly]

I think you can get them that cheap at the dollar store, and it probably rounds up to about that price if you get the ENORMOUS can.

Me, I just buy dried.

[kengr]

Police With Military Experience More Likely to Shoot

Like, duh.

Basic training is *designed* to break recruits natural resistance to shooting at other people.

That was the result of studies showing how few troops actually fired their weapons during engagements in WWII and earlier.

[conuly]

Yup. I wonder if we can untrain them, though.

[kengr]

The link:
Trump administration asks high court to halt climate change case

goes to:
USC agrees to $215 million settlement in California gynecologist case

[conuly]

Shoot, that's not the right link at all! Hold on.

[conuly]

Try this: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-climate/trump-administration-asks-high-court-to-halt-climate-change-case-idUSKCN1MS2KF

[foliedemars]

I immensely relate to your budget meal planning. I can't eat beans, peas, and legumes anymore, so it's ramen noodle central over here. Hang in there.

[conuly]

I can't even with ramen noodles.

Edit: To clarify, this is a personal issue. When I was a kid, my dad discovered ramen noodles and bought a ton of it, so we ate a lot and a lot of it. And then one day I went to make myself some soup and a roach crawled out (!) and even though it's not like I hadn't known our apartment was infested that was the last straw.

[foliedemars]

I'm a roach phobic, so my reaction would be the same. Unfortunately I live on the Alabama bayou, so there's little escape from the evil bastards.

[monanotlisa]

Ya, this right there.

I'm in favor of people re-thinking food preparation, and meat in particular, but the next person who smiles at me and tells me to "just eat beans!" will get their head dunked into the nearest toilet bowl. Legumes are not an everyday solution for everybody -- I like their taste and they don't cause a systemic reaction, but they still cause abdominal distress. And there's really only so much additional pain on top of my daily minimum of 3/10 that I want to endure.

[foliedemars]

I totally understand. When people auto-suggest "rice and beans!" it makes me want to scream. I'm not supposed to eat rice, and I can't eat beans at all. They are NOT a long-term solution, even for the average person.

[conuly]

Many societies subsist on rice and beans. They're a long term solution for *most* people who don't have medical/health reasons for not eating those foods. A bit bland.

Course, if you're in one of those societies and can't tolerate rice and/or beans, you're utterly screwed.

[conuly]

That really sucks :(

[spikethemuffin]

I have $10.92 to last me until my first paycheck in one month. Thank gru for foraging skills and slow-cooker brown rice!

[8hyenas]

Do you have bean recipes? Or just, a pot of beans? My recent favorite is a sort of bean stir-fry with sundried tomatoes and lots of onions and garlic. And lentils with sweet potatoes.

[conuly]

Lots of recipes and spices.

[flikkeren]

Good luck with your meal planning. Beans are definitely a staple in this household. I prefer them to lentils although lentils are growing on me too.

[conuly]

Split peas are the best of both worlds! Cook as fast as lentils (no soaking), taste less lentil-y.

[flikkeren]

I do love split pea soup. I use an Instant Pot to cook beans so I never do the soaking time anymore--I love my Instant Pot and totally recommend it, we use it almost every day.

[zesty_pinto]

Beans and lentils FTW!

I use lentils often in my rice mixes.

I imagine you have your own plans, but quesadillas and pulled pork? Very easy cheap meals, imo.

[zesty_pinto]

I find Tex mex to be very painless in general in terms of making up recipes, depending on how you use the materials as long as you have salsa (cheap!), stewed beans (cheap!), some sort of grilled protein (potentially cheap if you get healthy about it!), and carbs (cheap!). Depending on what you add can make a difference in how you serve it, imo.

Edit: also adding all this because I was planning on posting all this yesterday but my attention was distracted.