Poverty Meals

Hot dogs and beans.

Lentils and rice. I just had a mess of them this evening (with smoked sausage).

One box of parmesan couscous a day when I was extremely broke in my early 20s. I don't know how I didn't die of malnutrition.

OP, turn the hotplate off before retiring to your cot.

OP, that's a good staple diet. But to work off those carbs, you'll need to get out in the fields and pick lettuce or tomatoes.

Which more of us will be doing in the next 4 years.

Cuisine povere, if you please.

My hippy mom used to make falafel sandwiches instead of burgers because the powdered falafel mix and pita bread was cheaper than ground beef. We were allowed to put whatever we wanted on it (vegetables-wise, we had a garden). This was in mid 80s.

Another "poverty" meal was also bean burritos, again with the "add whatever you want" option for vegetables in the burrito. And of course, there was the old standard tuna casserole (hers was actually good, she made her own white sauce - no canned cream of mushroom soup for her).

We were pretty poor and my parents were also those people who liked to provide for themselves as much as possible, so we also had chickens for eggs and a goat for milk, plus the aforementioned garden (it was very big).

Pancakes

Is that you, Barbara?

The great thing about beans is they fill you up, good. No hunger pangs until it’s time for the next meal.

It's true, Ethan/ R10. I really love beans and sometimes will crave them.

When I do, I know it's because my body is in need of more protein.

Ramen with a boiled egg, onion, (in better times when eggs weren't expensive) and bottled bacon bits

Baked franks n beans with onions

Bean and cheese burritos

Baked polska kielbasa in the oven with bbq sauce, paired with white steamed rice and cooked frozen broccoli

Kraft dinner with cut up sauteed tomatoes on it

I've read on DL that lentils are cheap and full of nutrients

Popcorn.

"I'm adding some pico de gallo for color and heat."

I usually add battery acid for that.

[quote]I'm making pinto beans and cornbread tomorrow night

Hionestly, it takes only a little more effort to make that into a better meal.

You could make a meatless version of a bean stew or cassoulet.

There are few things better than navy beans and cornbread to me. I bought 3 big ham bones at the meat market a month ago. I'm going to cook a big pot of beans with one of them this week.

My mother made a concoction she called "Chicken Far East." I loved it....even after I found out it's what she made when money was tight. Most of the ingredients are shelf-stable, so I have it all on hand all the time, just in case.

1 large can chicken breast

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 cup chopped celery (large pieces)

2-3 tbs white vinegar

Black pepper to taste

Butter

Melt butter in skillet then add celery. When celery is soft, add chicken. Heat through. Add soup and then vinegar. Simmer.

Serve over chow mein noodles noodles or toast.

I buy all of the canned ingredients in multiples whenever they go on sale.

All I really have to buy is the celery (around two bucks) and the noodles (the store brand is normally pretty cheap for a big bag)

I eat it with some frozen broccoli on the side.

It ain't fancy, but it's cheap. Sometimes, I'll add some canned water chestnuts if I have some.

I used to do a cheap stir fryed rice version with cut up hot dogs, eggs, green onion, garlic and rice. Was surpsingly tasty if you fried lots of garlic and green onions in the oil first.

Also you can't beat any combination of eggs and potatoes. A potato omelet, or fried eggs over a piñe of fries. The perfect comfort food.

So called "peasant food" has always been the best tasting food. And it's amazing how many foods today that are considered high end dishes were peasant dishes many years ago.

I'm making a batch of hush puppies tonight to accompany my broiled salmon.

Louisiana red beans and rice. Delicious, nutritious, and freezes well so you can make a big batch.

Most pasta dishes are pretty inexpensive. My mother made pasta with zucchini, onion, eggs, and cheese. It's fricking delicious. I make it now, and my children do too.

Then there's what I called "bean water" when I was younger. This was a lunch but I've made it for dinner. Soak overnight and cook canneloni beans or Great Northern beans. Break up Italian bread or biscotti (not the cookie) or friselle in a bowl. Throw in a clove of garlic. Top with the beans and the bean liquid to hydrate the stale bread. Top with chopped parsley and mix. Salt to taste (if the bean water doesn't have enough). It's delicious. I made it one night for my Texas born-and-bred partner. He was skeptical but declared that it was amazing something so simple and inexpensive could taste so good and satisfying.

Also, corn meal mush (polenta) topped with a simple tomato sauce and cheese.

I've been tired and lazy the last several days, so I haven't been shopping. My go to for quick and easy....veggie patties and frozen peas, or refried beans, instant microwave Spanish rice, tortillas, and a little cheese.

r15 - you know, sometimes simplicity (such as beans and cornbread) is good enough without adding more to it. Especially if well-seasoned.

God, being poor sounds awful.

I’ll be making red beans and rice at some point. I don’t like “poor food” but I’m poor.

Fried rice can be filling as well...rice, scrambled egg, peas, carrots and any other veggies of your choice and seasoning. If you have some leftover chicken or ham on hand, add that in as well.

If you can do passable crepes , pizza dough, and pastry for pot pies and quiches, you'll have dishes you can serve friends.

r28 I'm going to opine that most people can't and won't do crepes nor dough for any type of bread or pastry. These days, baking is something of an interest or hobby, rather than a skill most people possess.

I have been cooking and baking all my life (over 40 years) and sometimes, even my pizza or cinnamon roll dough turns out shitty.

Sand casserole.

What is a plentiful source of protein? Can someone help me find it, preferably in liquid form?

Clara posted many Great Depression recipes videos on YouTube, then she died.

They have simple ingredients but seem like they'd be tasty. It got her family through the Depression.

Julia Child did a whole show on lentils, explaining how very nutritious they are (and cheap). They don't take long to prepare.

I love lentils. I have a few bags in the pantry and need to work them into warmer-weather meals.

I like to cook and am well-equipped. I do pastry with a food processor, pizza dough with a bread machine and crepes with a crepe maker. If this doesn't appeal to you, that's fine.

Lentil salad is wonderful for the warmer months.

For some reason I'm very intimidated by the thought of making bread, though supposedly it is pretty easy to make. Making your own bread and pasta seem like good ways to economize.

A cup of dust with two pebbles.

Pasta is 2. a boc.

^^^^That's the cheap shit that tastes like crap.

Made this. Used spinach. It was VERY good

Bread machine pizza dough. Very easy to find machines on craigslist.

R26, I just made a pot of red beans and rice yesterday. Added some smoked sausage and made some cornbread with it.

So filling and tastes great! That $10 meal will feed me four times. (It would be cheaper without the sausage, but I wanted some meat)

Some of the best meals I ever made were when I was in school, broke, and threw together whatever I had in the fridge and cabinet.

I don’t eat meat

There is a contributor on TicToc called Pantry Girl who shows cooking with items from a food pantry that I find mesmerizing. Not sure I would make most of her dishes but she has a definite poor people food vibe.

couldn't find her

Wow, you people live like KINGS!

I always loved fried eggs & potatoes (with onions) when I was a kid. I'd eat it now if I wasn't too lazy to cook.

I normally don’t, r45. But I had a craving and some smoked sausage that was made locally by people I know, so I threw it in the pot.

You can always go meatless.

local smoked sausage! Aren't you lucky :)

Creamed chipped beef on toast.

As a child the only meal I dreaded more than this was salmon patties.

R52 - I never had creamed chipped beef on toast until I was in my 30s. The company I worked for had a cafeteria that would serve it sometimes. I really liked it. But my ex-wife made salmon patties once. Ugh. That's when I took over almost all the cooking.

i eat beef

pizza, Steve! ^^

I add a can of rotel or a can of tomatoes to my pinto beans. Cumin as well, and I add jalapeños if I have my garden growing.

Andouille sausage is best, if you add meat.

Wasn't there a website where you could input the ingredients you had on hand and it would provide a list of recipes you could make with those ingredients?

r57 I think I tried finding something like that a couple years ago and was unsuccessful (or got bored trying to find it).

Pasta & butter.

Supercook will help you find recipes with ingredients you have on hand. They have an app too.

Cool, thanks r60!

R59, haluski is almost that

R62 - that's how I make it. I make it a side dish, but it serves as a starch and a vegetable.

Clara's haluski costs only $1 a meal. Why reinvent the haluski?

I will get ground chicken and make tacos and stuff with it. I think it taste better than ground turkey and is actually cheaper.

American Goulash - 1 pound of ground beef, a can of tomatoes and a box of macaroni. You could throw in some chopped onion if you had one. We didn't put cheese in ours and it was surprising to look for this recipe as an adult and how many recipes talked about putting cheese. We had it just plain out of the pot.

We were a family of seven and this made a big pot of food and the pasta was pretty filling.

I eat dry spaghetti

Have you bought chipped beef recently? It is expensive as hell.

it lasts forever

Dirty rice with beans, onion, garlic, celery and green pepper, with thyme and plenty of cayenne.

Bag of spilt peas in a crock pot....add smoked meat if u are fancy....

Wear earrings to spice it all up a bit

OK. A skillet with high sides. Olive oil, fresh Spinach, a can of cannellini beans drained and rinsed, cherry tomatoes sliced in half, two large cloves of garlic finely chopped. First you gently saute' the spinach in the heated olive oil, add the garlic, the cherry tomatoes and finally the cannellini beans. Heat it evenly. Sprinkle a mix of Parmesan and Romano grated cheese to taste. The whole thing takes about 5-10 minutes and it is delicious.

That sounds good, r73. I might try that recipe!

I didn’t like split pea soup until I saw a recipe that added a Parmesan rind to the simmering. Made it more tasty, IMO.

r62: Haluski usually includes sausage. Halushka (the Hungarian version) has diced ham. You also can make it bacon and tempeh. It's pretty bland without adding some garlic, carraway seeds or dill.

We always had Spam w/ mac&cheese and baked beans with brown bread (the one in a can) as standbys.

We would get to go to McDonald’s on special occasions where I was allowed to get a regular hamburger. Not a cheeseburger because it was “cheaper to add the cheese slice at home”. I still love plain ol hamburgers from McD to this day!

Brown bead in a can seems like one of the penultimate poverty foods, along with Spam.

Or one of those whole chickens stuffed in a can (!)

Joe's Special.

Ground beef, cooked chopped frozen spinach, onions, garlic, eggs, grated parmesan cheese.

^the San Francisco treat!

My parents reminisce about when they were newly weds with literally not a stick of furniture except a bedroom set and a second hand sofa. A friend loaned them a card table and some folding chairs for the kitchen. Their "luxury" purchase was a canned ham from Denmark. Apparently this was a big deal.

Scrambled eggs with peas are so good too.

R79 where's the poverty in that meal though?

They were all poor, from what I could tell.

Nuts and beans

I hope OP knows how to actually cook pinto beans, because acting like that is poor food is giving off dumb ass vibes

Macaroni and canned tomatoes. A dish all the way back from the Depression.

I always stock up on sale items and always did. It is like a thing for me and has been for a long time. Except for a two years in grad school, I never was really that poor. And I'm not cheap, people have commented how generous I am with my money and time.

I'll buy family packs of pork chops, chicken breasts and thighs (the best part of a chicken) when they are sale to wrap separately and freeze. I wish I had a garden. I'd love to grow things, though people I work with bring my in a lot of produce from theirs.

R47 Here she is

Derby girls in another life!

I used to get cans of black beans, would blend it with a little bit of veg or chicken stock and I'd pour it over those cooked, cheap packets of saffron rice. It was as cheap as ramen and I could control the sodium.

i make do

Costco's rotisserie chicken is not ideal but it is a bargain that can be stretched for several meals and used to make stock. Oatmeal is an easy, filling breakfast. Trader Joe's pizza dough makes inexpensive pizza and calzones. Tomato soup, navy bean soup, split pea soup and onion soup are very economical and minestrone soup is excellent for using up what's in your refrigerator. For dinner, try chili, pasta, omelets, risotto, hash, stew and so on.

The classic military creamed beef is now made with ground beef and has been for decades. It’s delicious. I had the recipe from the Chow cookbook. A history of military cooking and rations.

Dog chow

Beans give me the farts.

Colon cancer will give you worse, R96

This Instapot "dump & go" recipe is stupidly easy & economical, and very hearty & tasty.

The first time I made it, I didn't have any corn (or beer), but I had an onion & a red bell pepper sitting around. I diced & sautéed them before adding everything else, and it was great! I recommend adding an onion & bell pepper (and a jalapeno, if you like heat) in addition to the corn. I don't bother with the beer. I've made it with & without, never noticed a difference.

As written.....using boneless breasts/thighs, store-bought chicken stock , a store-bought "taco seasoning" packet (i.e. Old El Paso), "Jarlic" -- and adding my recommended onion, bell pepper & jalapeno -- this recipe costs about $1.45-1.50 per serving.

However, if one uses bone-in thighs (removing the skin prior to cooking & deboning afterward as you shred the meat)....the per-serving price drops about 25 cents. Homemade stock/broth and "taco seasoning" (chili powder, cumin, paprika in your pantry) drop the per-serving price even further. And if you toss in another can of beans, stretch it to a couple more servings.....now, you're really talking,

Argh. The recipe link:

Chili is cheap

Yes r100. And if you want it meatless just mash up some of the beans.

Lissen. You get some black beans, or pintos, and heat them with seasonings as if you're making chili, then gets some tostadas, and some cheese, and then get cherry tomatoes and onions and garlic for a salsa, and make a layered nacho type dish.

Kraft box mac and cheese and adding tuna to it

Why has no one mentioned Velveeta????Huh? Did they stop making it? Because that's how we made our Mac and Cheese at Granny's house for Thanksgiving.

A little gold leaf makes any poverty meal feel special

All fake food filled with artificial colors and chemicals

Ramen is a poor person's best friend...

Chili also has the advantage of freezing well. It's the same amount of effort to make a huge batch rather than a small batch and freeze it in individual portions.

When we were students, my roommate and I would start with a huge pot of spaghetti sauce that ended up as chili a few days later.

A can of soup, a couple of slices of buttered toast, maybe with a couple of pieces of cheese, and/or a green salad.

Or an omelette and some salad.

Sardine sandwich.

Healthline on beans:

The nutritional quality of legumes is hampered by certain compounds. Raw legumes contain antinutrients, which can interfere with digestion and the absorption of other nutrients.

Phytic acid, or phytate, is an antioxidant found in all edible plant seeds, including legumes. It impairs the absorption of iron, zinc, and calcium from the same meal and may increase the risk of mineral deficiencies in people who rely on legumes or other high-phytate foods as a dietary staple.

However, this is only relevant when meat intake is low and high-phytate foods regularly make up a large part of meals — which is common in developing countries

People who regularly eat meat are not at risk of mineral deficiencies caused by phytic acid.

...So for beans not to affect you negatively, you need to eat meat.

Personally I avoide beans because they give me bloating.

I put broccoli in my Mac and cheese

Beans give me the gassies.

you wanna talk gases???Get you a head of cabbage. First get some olive oil and chop up some onions and garlic, (Lots of onions) and then add a chopped up/shredded head of cabbage, add some water, then add one large white potato cut in chunks. cover loosely and simmer for about 15 - 20 minutes, and then towards the finish, add a can of white beans. It's delicious. Especially with chunks of kielbasa sausage in it too. You can eat it for two three days. But you have not ever experienced gas like the gas generated by this dish.

Too bad my car doesn't run on methane, r116!

R116 After you get the olive oil, what do you do with it?

Chili Mac. Wonderful.

Crickets

Crickets

Shit on a shingle.

Are beans cheap, filling, and full of nutrients?

Bon Appetit has a rice cooker risotto that you can throw rotisserie chicken into. Sub onions for shallots. Shallots are 3/1.00 at my grocery.

Let's try that link again

Cheeseburger Hamburger Helper. I have it probably once a year but I still love it.

I read that sardines are supposed to be very healthy but it's in cans, aren't cans lined with toxic shit?

I love a little leftover chili on a baked potato. I make my own sloppy joes from scratch, and leftovers are great on baked potatoes, too.

Chicken thighs are cheap and yum. NYT used to have many recipes.

I was a finicky kid and my mom a bad cook, but her red beans were a favorite of my childhood. I guess she just cooked up red beans with a ham hock, served with (on good days) cornbread from a mix, but usually white bread. Good white trash meal.

My poverty meal when I'm feeling parsimonious: whichever kind of cabbage is currently cheapest, cooked in beef stock with some potatoes and smoked tofu.

Polenta and sausage or mushrooms

r130, doesn't sound bad

Beans are good source of protein and fiber. But they are carb heavy and will fatten you up nicely.

After soaking my Pintos overnight, I cook them in chicken broth, with garlic, onions, and bacon fat. Nothing better than a nice bowl of Pintos topped with chopped onions, and cherry tomatoes. I eat them with corn bread.

I'm not a bean lover--I do like chickpeas in a salad, sometimes, or with tomato sauce.

An inexpensive meal could be canned chickpeas, and a can of Contadina tomato sauce (it's as good as the inexpensive jarred brands, and a lot cheaper. Add some grated cheese. Or do the same thing with spaghetti or shells. (I can't eat tomato sauce, usually, at this point--gives me reflux.)

The people next door had beans and rice a lot, they had five kids but also were quite cheap about feeding the kids, they would go away on vacations by themselves, stuff like that.

One thing I do a lot is make beef stew, with carrots, a potato, other veggies handy. I don't use broth, if you deglaze the pan you browned the meat in, it works fine for liquid. You can do it with chicken, too, but then you might need broth. It may not seem very cheap, but since it lasts for about 4 meals, it ends up being cheap.

Toasted tomato sandwich

I got a rotisserie chicken, a couple bags of frozen mixed vegetables, maybe three or four packs of chicken gravy, and a can of frozen Grands biscuits. Made myself chicken pot pie .Total cost was about $10-$11 dollars and I got three or four meals out of it.

I love beans and chicken

A couple tacos from Taco Bell

Baked cheese burger mac can feed an army for under $10.

Not in my house but do enjoy it.

Fried rice with egg and any meat you have left over.

Mac and cheese. Ok for kids, they seem to love it.

I'm horrible at frying rice.

I like roast my rice in a 450 degree oven on a sheet pan in a single layer, this way I don't have to bother folding the rice. One rotisserie chicken and a sheet pan of rice with feed me for a week.

If I have eggs I can do a lot: fried egg sandwich, omelet, scrambled eggs with cheese, etc.

...French Toast

nope, no eggs

Egg roll in a bowl

r142 didn't even make it 27 responses before they had to add something that had already been added very early on at r27

If you're really broke, go to a food bank.

Baked potatoes. I always keep a bag of broccoli in my freezer, I add cheese and broccoli to the potato and microwave it a few minutes. Fast and inexpensive.

Most of the crap listed here gives you Gastritis of the Bowels!

After I threw up from a rotisserie chicken I never got one again. If you get one, get one just ag=fter they take it off the rack, at least. Some of them lie around out on that warming table where you pick them up, god knows how long.

It's not hard to buy a chicken and stick it in the oven and cook it, yourself, btw. Tastes much better, too.

I was molested while doing my Meals on Wheels route.

I bake my own chicken

I choke mine.

r151, go back to MAGA,

My favorite poverty meal is a can of creamed-style corn with Velveeta (or government cheese) melted in.

Sometimes I crumble a crisp bacon rasher into my ""Corn Cheddar Chowder".

I get the runs just reading these concoctions.

That's not a MAGA sentiment. A lot of people who qualify for food banks wont go because of pride. There's no need for that. Everyone finds themselves in rough circumstances at one time or another. Peace.

R156 I forgot to put on my glasses and I thought you said I bake my own Children. I found it interesting...

r159 corn and CHEESE? wtf...

I eat my own food

you know, people who are having financial difficulties and struggling sometimes make poor choices when food shopping. Processed foods, convenience foods, fast foods, are all bad. If we confine ourselves to meals that might include beans or fresh vegetables and fruit, and whole grains along with some chicken and fish and do more cooking at home I think it would help.

R163 it is delicious.

it seems about as wrong as having corn with spaghetti.

Corn with spaghetti or pizza is popular in the UK.

Corn??? When the fuck did I eat corn?????

Roasted vegetables. some kind of animal fat.

steamed vegetables - okive oil.

my freezer filled with meat bought on sale.

R170 I spritz my vegetables with olive oil before I roast them. they're delicious. The one time I use animal fat is with Pintos. I simmer them slowly in a chicken broth, and then add bacon fat. OMG so good.

Right now for a snack/late meal I am eating some Stove Top Stuffing. they had the boxes on sale last week and they were cheap.

I eat potatoes and pasta

Corn beef hash with an egg and hot sauce.

EST time:

When I came out to my parents as a teenager they did not take it the best-- my father said he didn't know if he could forgive me as his only male offspring; my mother was adamant it was a phase.

This was in the summer of 2001, and they insisted I go and live with my grandmother down the road, who at that time would have been around 80 years of age. She saved me, and taught me that love has many forms be it agape, storge, or pragma.

It wasn't easy. She lived through the Depression so our breakfast was mini-wheats or rice crispies, with sugar on top the luxury. For supper we had cheese and crackers, and then a dinner that was usually either rice and butter, rice and beans, or a thin piece of pork chop questionable beef pounded down into a thin patty, smothered with gravy, with (you guessed it) beans & rice. Sunday dinner.

The joy was in the variety of beans. Black-eyed, Lima, pinto, etc. The menu was redundant but nostalgia tells me we still made it delicious.

I'm so grateful for her life-lessons.

^^Still farting.

R175, that’s lovely.

R175 triggered a memory for me. Mid-1970s, I would have been 8 or 9. I was sitting in my grandmother’s apartment, watching her crumble leftover cornbread into a glass of buttermilk. I was grossed out over the smell of the buttermilk, and seeing her eat it with a spoon, like it was the best snack ever. I can’t remember if she had her dentures in while she smacked.

My mom told me it was a Depression-era dish.

Totally

I should add that my grandmother wasn't in poverty, and if anything she was the most wealthy out of our extended Southern family after inheriting her sister's massive amount of ExxonMobil stock (who herself invested when it was still Standard Oil of NJ). She would take vacations out of the bumfuck South well into her nineties. Still, I imagine that if someone like her survived the Great Depression and multiple catastrophic hurricanes where property and loved ones were lost, a Spartan palate is almost comforting. While it gave me an appreciation for finer dining (beans again?!), it also taught me not to be ashamed to eat cheap for sustenance.

In the 2008 recession I started to make a Cajun/Mexican street corn maque choux: when sweet corn is on sale I'd get a bunch, grill and dekernel them, mix in a red or orange bell pepper, mayonnaise, chili powder, and any kind of crumbling cheese (cheap Kraft parmesean works if you can't get cotija). Filling, somewhat nutritious, and can be froze for a couple months.

During the depression even First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, a rich cunt, ate poverty meals in solidarity.

Almost every vegetable, from broccoli to frozen peas to frozen corn to carrots to canned tomatoes and pumpkin, can be turned into a pureed soup if you have a blender. The standard ingredients are chicken stock, milk, onion and other seasonings available for purchase at Aldi or Dollar Tree. Add grated cheese to the broccoli soup for better flavor.

Lentil stew....always filling, always yummy. You just add carrots and potatoes and a boullion cube and you're good to go, though if you can splurge slightly on some type of chorizo or smoked sausage, even better.

White Castle

shit sandwich

Curds & whey

^somebody already said White Castle. .

We never had anything less than pancakes Barbara.

Tuna helper

Chef boyardee pizza kit

Savory oatmeal risotto

Tina's frozen burritos... they are 59 cents regular price and you can get them cheaper when they are on sale. I add some cheese and hot sauce to them and they are pretty good.

I like Tina's frozen burritos as well! Cheap protein.

When I first went out on my own, I ate a lot of spaghetti. Filling and it tasted good.

This black bean quesadilla yields 10 servings for 10.

One poverty meal I refuse to make is salmon with a hefty plop of spinach. Especially if it becomes crowned with prosciutto (in reality bacon).

If you know, you know.

Mock apple pie.

Some of these "recipes" actually made me nauseated, reading them.

TVP Marinara sauce and elbow macaroni.

Baked potato and Amy's organic chili.

Pig snouts

Pig Snouts in Space

The week before holidays is a good time to stock up on staples. Many are on sale.

Cabbage soup

If you can afford it and like to cook, bring soup, stews and baked goods over to friends who are having financial difficulties.

Catfish nuggets

Tombstone frozen pizza with ranch dressing

Janet Jackson casserole

R204 Please don't.

I think R208 is right. Mail them a gift card anonymously.

Sorry. I do it all the time with friends who are sick, underemployed and live alone and they appreciate it. I don't force it on them and I ask what they want. Sharing is good. We waste far too much food in this country.

Nothing beats the old-school Ramen noodles in a cup. Just two minutes in the microwave and about one minute to cool off and then you have yourself a nice snack in-between larger meals. No, it's not the best for your blood pressure, and there's way too much sodium in those cups, but most poverty meals are bad for you. Being healthy is a luxury in this country.

R210 I'll be honest with you. Anyone who ever cooked food or baked something and brought it to me, at a time such as a personal loss, like a death--I made a show of being grateful, then threw it out. If they asked me about it later, I said something polite.

For one thing, people can be eating gluten free, sugar free, fat free, salt free, etc. They can also have food sensitivities or allergies. Beyond that, I don't think people enjoy being treated like a charity case. If they're having financial difficulties to the point that they can't afford food, maybe the best thing would be to offer them a loan.

A chicken pie, stew, or cake is really not going to help that much. It's more of a gesture, and in that way, it's fine, but don't think you're really doing someone a big favor.

R210 Forgot to mention: a lot of people don't want to eat other people's cooking. Eating one's own cooking, or restaurant cooking, is different from eating reheated stew another person made. Would you want to do that? That's the question you should put to yourself.

Making something cupcakes or an apple pie or something like that as a friendly gesture is more acceptable, if you have to be suzy homemaker.

R212, you sound monstrous

Probably one of the soulless people who eats merely to absorb nutrients, R214. He should just have a spoonful of fertilizer each day.

I understand that you dislike small gifts of food. Not everybody does. I use organic ingredients, cook from scratch and take preferences and sensitivities into account, never force food on anyone. One friend is financially comfortable and has stage four cancer. She jokes about this being her meals on wheels. The other friend is underemployed and prone to opportunistic illnesses. Both would be insulted by gift cards but enjoy fresh minestrone and homemade scones or onion soup with a baguette and gruyere and fresh fruit salad. I do this every two weeks.

I'm sorry you know people who give others disgusting church lady food. I would never.

As a country, we in the US overbuy and waste too much food.

Obviously, this is not a widespread social remedy for hunger. I give cash gifts monthly to our local Food Bank.

I let them eat cake

R216 You have posted twice about cooking for friends and have mentioned overbuying and wasting food. Both times, I don't understand the connection between cooking for needy friends, and the point about how we buy too much food and waste it.

Do you mean since you overbuy, if you have extra food you cook it for your friends? Just trying to understand what you're saying. Since the two points don't seem to be related otherwise.

You talked about making fancy gourmet meals for friends, by the way, and this thread is about poverty food, meaning: cheap food that people make for themselves when they want to save money. I don't really see how what you brought up relates to the subject of the thread, which is not about preparing nice meals for friends in dire straits. It's more about recipes that don't cost much.

(I wasn't trying to suggest that what you do isn't nice.)

R 212, have a nice day.

^Sure, you too. Can we now get back to talking about poverty meals?

My dad said in the Depression, he and his dad at white rice with milk and sugar on it for supper.

*ate

Tuna and pasta with baked beans- cooked not baked

Cereal bowl

R224 Mixed togther?

Eat it!

Carroll's Hamburgers--15 cents.

There’s poor food and then there’s white trash food. Stretching your food budget with vegetables from your own garden is poor food but anything with a hot dog or canned item is the latter.

Why Lentils And Rice Are Scientifically Delicious Together | What’s Eating Dan

I take a can of black beans and reheat them with some chicken broth, diced tomatoes, onions, garlic, cumin and parsley. Mash them and serve them with rice. That’s dinner.

Somebody tell those people (of all races) eating hot dogs at the ball park that they're all white trash.

R230, so are corn and beans

R232, you’re missing the point, no one eats a hotdog at a pro baseball game for sustenance. .

Do y’all get the runs all the time from the shit you eat?

No. . .

R234 Of course people eat a hot dog at a ball park for sustenance. It's often lunch at an afternoon game.

A thread about poverty meals is probably not the place to judge people by what they eat, btw.

Popcorn.

A banana with peanut butter or other nut/seed butter.

[quote]Poverty Meals

I eat a cock for $10 under the Chouteau bridge and then walk over to the White Castle on Vandeventer where I can get 8 sliders if I use the change in my pocket for tax. I drink water with them from the hose in the yard three houses down because they're still paying for water even though the moved two years ago. Thank fucking God. Then I get a cot in St. Cronin's basement if someone left the window unlocked.

R228 I love you

Tuna is still pretty cheap. Love a grilled tuna melt.

Can of chicken soup with some rice. Add saffron if times are a little better. Add a bit of chicken meat if times are a lot better.

Seriously, though, the old soup-n-rice trick was relatively cheap and could be pretty tasty.

I loved grilled daal

When I was like 18 -19 I remember eating Stove Top Stuffing sandwiches and Alphagetti sandwiches. I am fortunate to be where I am today.

Lentils and peas

Canned Hormel chili! You’ll he shittin and farting in no time!

Hash and eggs

Scrapple

Isn't it hard to choke down those little tiles?

R212 just say “it was too rich for me” or “it made my asshole feel like the inside of an old car cigarette lighter” (if it was spicy).

it's hard

Please, OP. May I have some more?

Please, can i have Samosa!

Get hot water at the automat and add catchup, salt and pepper to it, for free "soup."

I read a book called Austerity Britain a few years ago (about post-WWII Britain). A letter was quoted where a young woman wrote that one day they ate very well, having a meal of canned sardines, lettuce, tomato, and packaged white bread and margerine.

SUBURBAN GUMBO

In a giant pot:

—One large package hamburger meat (drain the grease, but you may want to leave a little because you’re poor and need sustenance)

—1 diced large yellow onion

—several large russet potatoes diced large pieces

—minced garlic to taste

—2 cans dark kidney beans

—1 can black beans

—1 can black eyed peas

—1 can corn

—2 cans diced tomatoes

—1 package frozen spinach

—Add spices as you like. Remember the canned items often have salt already

Drain all cans except the tomatoes. Some people like to add peas, fresh chopped carrots, bell pepper or even okra.

Make another pot of rice and serve it over that each time. Or cheap cornbread from a box mix! Yes the spinach can get grey and soft with subsequent servings but it’s fine. Yes you’re eating some potatoes over rice but it’s fine. Delicious slop that’s pretty nutritious.

I used to make this all the time in the 90s when I lived alone in my 20s. Many of the canned and frozen items were about 50 cents a can. The potatoes and carrots were dirt cheap. Will last for a week and you’ll eat well!

Cheeseburger macaroni hamburger helper with a can of peas mixed in

[quote] I used to make this all the time in the 90s when I lived alone in my 20s. Many of the canned and frozen items were about 50 cents a can. The potatoes and carrots were dirt cheap.

You're talking @ 25 to 35 years ago.

You’re talking @ me?

Poverty meal?

I don't understand the concept.

Easy fish tacos: Fish sticks + Cole slaw mix + Ranch dressing rolled up in a tortilla.

Cole slaw mix is pretty cheap, cheaper than the bagged salads. I stir fry it when I want fried rice.

I eat it

R262 I never thought of that. Thanks for the tip. Next time I want fried rice I will use a bag of cole slaw mix.

Skeet

make an egg roll in a bowl

Cole slaw mix is vastly underrated.

I eat it every day

I am out of vegetables

Cole slaw mix is what killed Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa.

No, rats did

So many of you bitches really hate your tops. I'm sure they avoid sex after half these meals.