help me live low budget low effort style

Ununhexium

Ununhexium

I closed my eyes and I slipped away...
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hey gang

as of recent i am in a position where i need to handle my own lunch and dinner because im working an internship that required me to relocate for the summer. while i could eat out / get food from the company cafeteria every day that adds up pretty quickly and im out here tryna ball on a budget so i can pay for shit like beer or student loans. i am also currently living in another familys home and i feel awkward using a lot of pots and pans and stuff in their kitchen because idk and also the more dishes i use the more i have to wash. in addition, i have very limited fridge space. with that being said, lets talk about what ive done so far

lunch:
  • peanut butter and jelly - ive made this a couple of times and its good and all but i like to prep lunch the night before because doing it in the morning cuts into my ability to sleep in
  • hummus - recently i have started cutting up a red bell pepper the night before and having that along with a piece of pita and some hummus for lunch. i am willing to branch out into other brands and varieties, but i have found that the sabra olive tapenade hummus is very good. i started this because i figured with all the garbage i eat for dinner i should try to get some vegetables or whatever in
dinner
  • grilled cheese - pretty standard fare, ive actually been meaning to try it with mayonnaise instead of butter as the fat on the outside of the bread (i dont have a butter dish so i keep my butter in the fridge making it hard to spread) and i dont know if its because of that or if its arnold bread thats too thick but i cant get it as melty as i would like in the middle
  • chicken patties - ive been making frozen chicken patties in a toaster oven and toasting the bun as well and then topping with mayo and barbecue sauce (sweet baby rays hickory and brown sugar)
so thats what ive been eating so far for an unfortunately long period of time, and i am open to suggestions to help me eat more varied / healthy stuff.

stuff im intending to try
  • sabra roasted pine nut hummus
  • sabra caramelized onion hummus

so yeah any suggestions or ideas would be appreciated
 
rice and beans is a complete protein, add some veggies to get some micronutrients in there (preferably including some sort of brassica, which are rich in them) and you have a complete meal.

wheat/rice-based carbs + legumes == complete* protein

*humans require a range of amino acids. some proteins don't give you all of them. e.g. wheat gluten is rich in all the essential amino acids but is missing lysine, which pulses have an excess of. and coversely, pulses are rich in all but methionine, which rice/wheat have an excess of
 
I would recommend meal prepping. I have a love hate relationship with meal prepping as itself. On one hand I love meal prepping because I know when my next meal will be but it seems like a lot of work at the time due to cooking everything and putting them in containers. I also hate it because you have to eat the same thing for each meal. Once you finish it though it feels great and you ask yourself why you don't do it more often. Then you do it more often and you're like "Fuck, this blows donkey dong." I don't have the patience for it or the culinary creativity but its generally low effort and easy to do.

If you're living on a budget just load up on uncle bens rice and make a sandwich. That's like the easiest thing. When I used to meal prep I would cook rice and some Salmon fillets and stagger the salmon fillets for Tuesday and Thursdays where the low effort shit would be MWF. Avocado toast was my breakfast option but I fucking hate preparing Avocado shit because Avocados are so annoying.

Another thing I used to do was just buy big heads of lettuce and munch on them throughout the day. It gets tiring though eating lettuce all the time. I used to sit on the couch with a head of lettuce and tear off pieces of it and munch on it as I watched Netflix. Fake crab is another cost effective option. It's calorie count is good and it keeps you full. The issue with that is it makes me ill if I eat a lot of it. The smell and taste is cumbersome after like 5 pieces in one sitting.

Canned Beans are another great option. I usually eat them raw with hot sauce in a bowl and just have at it. If I feel fancy I sprinkle cheese on it and throw it in the microwave for a minute or so. I hope this helps. As a college student I'm always trying to find ways to eat healthy in the cheapest way possible. If you have an Aldi's nearby I would recommend going there for food. Everything there is cheaper than and more effective than a $2 whore.
 
BP said:
Another thing I used to do was just buy big heads of lettuce and munch on them throughout the day. It gets tiring though eating lettuce all the time. I used to sit on the couch with a head of lettuce and tear off pieces of it and munch on it as I watched Netflix. Fake crab is another cost effective option. It's calorie count is good and it keeps you full. The issue with that is it makes me ill if I eat a lot of it. The smell and taste is cumbersome after like 5 pieces in one sitting.
Click to expand...

quintessential BP posting
 
Ununhexium said:
hey gang

as of recent i am in a position where i need to handle my own lunch and dinner because im working an internship that required me to relocate for the summer. while i could eat out / get food from the company cafeteria every day that adds up pretty quickly and im out here tryna ball on a budget so i can pay for shit like beer or student loans. i am also currently living in another familys home and i feel awkward using a lot of pots and pans and stuff in their kitchen because idk and also the more dishes i use the more i have to wash. in addition, i have very limited fridge space. with that being said, lets talk about what ive done so far

lunch:
  • peanut butter and jelly - ive made this a couple of times and its good and all but i like to prep lunch the night before because doing it in the morning cuts into my ability to sleep in
  • hummus - recently i have started cutting up a red bell pepper the night before and having that along with a piece of pita and some hummus for lunch. i am willing to branch out into other brands and varieties, but i have found that the sabra olive tapenade hummus is very good. i started this because i figured with all the garbage i eat for dinner i should try to get some vegetables or whatever in
dinner
  • grilled cheese - pretty standard fare, ive actually been meaning to try it with mayonnaise instead of butter as the fat on the outside of the bread (i dont have a butter dish so i keep my butter in the fridge making it hard to spread) and i dont know if its because of that or if its arnold bread thats too thick but i cant get it as melty as i would like in the middle
  • chicken patties - ive been making frozen chicken patties in a toaster oven and toasting the bun as well and then topping with mayo and barbecue sauce (sweet baby rays hickory and brown sugar)
so thats what ive been eating so far for an unfortunately long period of time, and i am open to suggestions to help me eat more varied / healthy stuff.

stuff im intending to try
  • sabra roasted pine nut hummus
  • sabra caramelized onion hummus

so yeah any suggestions or ideas would be appreciated
Click to expand...

spend less on candles
 
getting a grilled cheese melty in the middle is easiest with a pretty low heat and putting a lid on it, the steam is what melts it and low heat makes sure the bread won't burn before it gets there

i've been making my own hummus recently and it's been a lot cheaper + a lot better than getting the storebought stuff all the time and takes about ~20 minutes. I wouldn't recommend this if you don't have access to a stick blender though

shakshuka is something i've made a lot. definitely not something you need to follow an exact recipe for, and can be done pretty easily in one pot. eggs + tomato puree + peppers / onions + any white cheese is good enough to make a healthy meal and definitely enough for leftovers.

as said above, you can do approximately a million things with chicken beans and rice on hand, and frozen vegetables are super nice
 
qsns said:
getting a grilled cheese melty in the middle is easiest with a pretty low heat and putting a lid on it, the steam is what melts it and low heat makes sure the bread won't burn before it gets there
Click to expand...

echoing this. lower the heat and flip several times. it'll ensure that the cheese gets melty on the inside and the bread doesn't burn. also i've recently been doing mayo on the bread + butter in the pan when I make grilled cheese and it's been a pleasant find.

one thing i do is meal prep portions of meals that i can use and adapt in different ways over the course of a week. if you cook a batch of chicken on one day, you can alter what you eat it with so that it doesn't become as cumbersome. i'll have it with rice and beans one day, in a pita with fresh veggies and feta another day, with some pasta tossed in garlic and oil the next. that way you only have to focus on cooking a smaller accompaniment each time you want something new, rather than a whole ass meal
 
BP said:
Another thing I used to do was just buy big heads of lettuce and munch on them throughout the day. It gets tiring though eating lettuce all the time. I used to sit on the couch with a head of lettuce and tear off pieces of it and munch on it as I watched Netflix. Fake crab is another cost effective option. It's calorie count is good and it keeps you full. The issue with that is it makes me ill if I eat a lot of it. The smell and taste is cumbersome after like 5 pieces in one sitting.
Click to expand...
I do something similar with cheese, and often will just cut a big piece and just Nom It
 
my dear BP, I also always keep a combination of bell pepper, onion, mushrooms, spring mix, tortillas, and avocados around, because they’re always an easy-to-cook go-to base for something quick to eat that includes a fair number of veggies and energy for the brain, good fats, etc. also frozen broccoli/mixed vegetables will never steer you wrong because you dump them in a pan and go.

edit: I just realized Ununhex girls is the OP of this thread, but I don’t feel like taking responsibility and editing this post, so I won’t.
 
Not sure what shit is like where you live but ask around super markets and small stores a lot of places will sell you shit for really cheap at the end of the day even if they don't have signs saying so. I work at a grilled chicken place and we borderline give shit away at the end of the day if people ask politely and they're good customers

A very tentative recommend but dumpster diving is way safer and easier than people make it out to be. Channel your inner ibis. I'm finnicky about raw things but the amount of cans and non-perishable snacks you can find is fucking insane

If you really wanna mooch off of society check foyers of random important buildings and uni campuses. Even if you can't get food there's usually enough free tea, sugar, and condiments to last you forever

If you ever feel scummy remember that you've paid tuition fees for an institution that your tax dollars will ultimately keep afloat. Fuck 'em take all their sugar sachets
 
Rugi said:
If you ever feel scummy remember that you've paid tuition fees for an institution that your tax dollars will ultimately keep afloat. Fuck 'em take all their sugar sachets
Click to expand...
Live off of all the free food they'll give you
 
bag of pasta + 2 cans of beans + 2 cans of diced tomatoes + an onion, a carrot, some garlic and some italian herbs costs like $5 total, really healthy, and makes enough pasta for like 5 meals if ur willing to spend an hour or so cooking
 
Sometimes the best dinner is to just be hungry. If you really want to splurge you can have ice cubes and tap water.
 
i found it cool that assuming youd like to expirement with more healthy options, you can try varied forms of vegetables in an avocado-pesto oriented grilled cheese with bell peppers and tomatoes. fwiw you can also expirement with spinach in your sandwiches, i slap that into all of my sandwiches as a nutrient loaded and low-fat choice 99% of the time with vegetable oil.

rice and beans is the sentient being in the food chain for quick dinners as well, p easy to mix with sriracha / grilled chicken and is a great choice in wraps. usually ill cook a mix of both for a quick 4-person meal with store-bought lentils, and occasionally make vegetable wraps for lunch with various meats / chicken (i dont eat meat, so i usually mix chicken into these recipes). you can find a lot of these on the internet so you've got it made
 
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