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.

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

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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.