The "How do you survive/what do you eat?" Thread

[Teta_Bonita]

I'm trying out living on my own this summer, and I'm starting to wonder what's going to happen after my tupperware tub of banana bread runs out. The obvious choice is to stock up on Ramen, but I'll probably die of cancer or something if I eat that shit every day.

I want to balance cheapness/healthiness/easiness, but I'm clueless as to what I should buy on a budget. So tell me, helplife2.net, what does your grocery list look like?

 

[Dog--]

I lol'd.

 

[VirusType2]

brains

 

[Vegeta897]

 

[Raziaar]

When you eat cheap food you'll end up eating more of it, and you'll end up fat with a cancerous lump in your neck like me!

 

[Teta_Bonita]

fail... It didn't show up like that for me for some reason :/

But don't worry, a better picture of stacks of ramen is en route!

 

[Warped]

cereal is both cheap and good for you. stop eating chips and eat some more carbs.

 

[15357]

I hold the absolute belief that foreign Ramen sucks absolutely.


Seriously, it's disgusting. You should try Korean Ramen.

 

[Dumb Dude]

I used to buy bread, canned soup, occasional ramen, ham, and cheese every two weeks for a total of about ~$15. Lived like that for close to a year. I wouldn't say it was the healthiest thing that I only ate once a day (sometimes once every two days), but I lived and didn't spend a whole lot. Also ate out every once in a while.

 

[VirusType2]

Eating Ramen noodles is fatal.

 

[Farrowlesparrow]

I read that as beer flavour.
Oh well...

 

[Robert-]

Kraft Dinner.
Trust me, us Canadians know what's good.

 

[gFrohman]

You should try Korean Ramen.

Much better than Maruchan. And just as cheap. If you add egg, fresh veggies & meat to the soup, it makes it much more enjoyable.

Yes to Kraft Mac & Cheese. Or maybe spaghettios or some other Chef Boyardee canned stuff. Canned soups like Campbells are good and last for a long time. Pretty much anything in a can is good for long time storage (except for cheeseburger in a can :x).

 

[Robert-]

Alphaghettis and Zoodles.

or Hamtaro noodles.

 

[Raziaar]

Hamster meat in a can with rich and hearty sauce.

You can't go wrong there.

 

[Robert-]

Little hamsters, big taste!
Mmm, meaty goodness.

 

[L3N!N]

Just eat shitloads of tuna sandwiches and slurp gallons of tomato soup. Two healthy, tasty meals right there.

 

[Higlac]

Grilled cheese with deli style roast beef between two cheese slices. Supplement that with various sauces and dressings to your taste. I also enjoy making a turkey and cheddar with Italian dressing. Throw that in a toaster for much deliciousness. You can't go wrong by learning how to make a cheap delicious sandwich.

 

[Warped]

also a cheap way to stay healthy is hot tea and orange juice in the morning. I haven't had a major cold in 2 years now of doing this. milk with your cereal and stay away from chips and junk food. peanuts are also cheap and taste great...plus are packed with protein

 

[VirusType2]

The peanut butter they stock in the grocery store is filled with shit that will kill you, and make sure you get unsalted peanuts.


I made soft tacos tonight with pseudo meat. It was bang on.

Usually, the cheapest way to eat is to buy actual food and prepare it yourself.

For example, if you like potato soup, then grab a recipe for it online, buy a sack of potatoes and whatever else you like, get the biggest pot you can find, and make a huge pot of it. Store it in your fridge for quite a while.

If you buy a little can of it for $1.50 that has like a half of a potato in it, when you can make that much for like 10 cents, and it tastes so much better.

While 1.40 isn't a great deal of money, if you do this all the time, it really adds up. In just one day, if you were to eat 3 meals with this much savings, you can see where this is going.

 

[Warped]

avoid hot pockets! i love them and poptarts but you gotta avoid them

 

[mindless_moder]

if you want to try your hand at cooking , buy some boneless chicken breast or ground beef they're really easy to work/experiment with.

 

[Warped]

if you want to try your hand at cooking , buy some boneless chicken breast or ground beef they're really easy to work/experiment with.

amen to that! i was over my friends house and we tried for the first time to cook and it came out delicious. even better than store bought!

 

[sinkoman]

Safeway deli sandwiches are pretty damned good, and not too expensive either. When I used to buy them, they were something like 5-6 dollars for a nice and warm one. They can be pretty ****ing oily though :/

Best bet is to probably just stock up on sandwich meat, vegetables, and cheeses, then eat lots of sandwiches.

Cereal for breakfast

Sandwich for lunch

uh... Saimin for dinner?

On a side note, when they're around the house, I pretty much survive on oranges.

 

[VirusType2]

To make tacos, you put the ground beef or chicken in a frying pan and cook it until it's done, then poor some taco seasoning packet on the meat and poor a little water to moisten it all up.

Then put it in a taco with your favorite toppings and eat it.



If you want to grill the chicken that's even better. You may not even need the taco seasonings

Personally, I use Morningstar Farm's Crumbles instead of ground beef. - it's vegetable protein but it's very similar in taste, texture and appearance.


For toppings, I use shredded cheese (taco blend or other mix), sour cream, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, and taco sauce.


You can make soft tacos the same way. Once you've made this a couple times, you can easily make burritos and all kinds of Mexican food.



There is nothing better than home made, and you'll find that out immediately.

If you really want to become a future fat ass, you will do shit like grow your own tomatoes and dice them yourself. The fresher the toppings the better. You will be amazed at the taste difference of fresh ingredients.

 

[Dodo]

Whenever you guys talk about food it almost makes me sick, all that ****ing horrible packaged industrial junk food you americans eat, iejl. :x
(im not flaming US food, just all those pictures look horrible)

Buy real food, vegetables that come prepacked in plastic arent good, buy veggie's at a grocery store. Its the cheapiest, healthiest and most delicious way.

real food = win.

(vegetables dont grow pre-packed you know...)

-dodo

 

[DEATHMASTER]

When I'm home (like now summer break) - whatever mom makes, mostly Indian food.
During regular school semesters - subs, pizza, and junk food.

 

[VirusType2]

To make spaghetti:

You need (1)spaghetti noodles and (2)spaghetti sauce. You can make your own, but I'll just cover the stuff that comes in a jar.


1) Start a medium or large pot of boiling water. When the water has come to a boil, put the noodles in and set a timer for 10 minutes.

Protip: Grab a portion of noodles and break them in the center like breaking a stick. They fit in the pot better and are more manageable to eat.



2) Now heat up the spaghetti sauce in a microwaveable container. (avoid plastic - tomato stains it)

Protip: An easy way is to pour the proper amount of sauce on a plate, then microwave it for a few minutes at a time, stirring in between.


You want the sauce to be finished at the same time as the noodles (which take about 9-11 minutes in boiling water)

You'll want the sauce very hot, to the point it is bubbling and making exploding sounds in the microwave


3) When the timer goes off, drain the water from the noodles and put them on your plate of your hot spaghetti sauce.

ready to eat.

For toppings, I like Parmesan cheese, garlic powder and onion powder. The powders found in the spice isle and you can get the cheapest one for about $1.50

You can also have some Italian bread or even sandwich bread with your meal.

 

[The Monkey]

I rotate the following meals:

Macaronis with meatballs
Macaronis with sausages
Pea soup
Meat soup (with vegetables, of course)
Ravioli
Pyttipanna
Spring rolls with rice

Each of them costs less than 20 SEK (US$ 2.50) to make.

 

[Unfocused]

It can't be that hard to learn to cook some real food, can it? I'd probably invent cooking myself after eating ramen for a week.

 

[Danimal]

Buy some ****ing fruit.

Look at that mother****ing fruit etc.

 

[Raziaar]

If you want cheap and healthy, make sure you buy a large container of 100% old fashioned rolled oats. Learn to love them. They're incredibly good nutrition that keeps you full for a long time, and they're cheap.

Also, buy lentils. Learn to love those too, and find cheap recipes you can make with them. They are an incredibly cheap and powerful source of protein. Very few calories for the sheer bulk of food after cooked, too.

 

[G(ordon)-man]

Canned gods. They are cheap and semi-healthy. But for a longer time I'd recommend foods like potatoes, rice or macaroni. They are great foods because not only are they cheap they fill you up in no time and they last for days.

EDIT: i am aware now that canned goods say canned gods.

 

[Rico]

Depending on your budget you can go different ways. Personally I buy meat every once in a while, and freeze it. Chicken mostly (cheaper and healthier than beef) and sometimes ground beef for when I make burgers or meat sauce for my pasta. Pasta, bread, and veggies (frozen or fresh) are good. Avoid canned stuff, as it's not great for you.

Using these ingredientsyou can make dinner every night.

Examples:
-Grilled Chicken sandwich
-Grilled chicken w/ noodles and veggies (you can whip up a sauce for the pasta either from scratch or from a jar, your call)
-Chicken tenders (you can fry em with batter)
-Burgers
-Pasta w/ meat sauce
-Meatloaf
-grilled chicken salad
-stir fried chicken or beef

Etc!

 

[CyberPitz]

I'm trying out living on my own this summer, and I'm starting to wonder what's going to happen after my tupperware tub of banana bread runs out. The obvious choice is to stock up on Ramen, but I'll probably die of cancer or something if I eat that shit every day.

I want to balance cheapness/healthiness/easiness, but I'm clueless as to what I should buy on a budget. So tell me, helplife2.net, what does your grocery list look like?

That is my balance. I hardly jest. I keep two full boxes of that stuff at all times. Sometimes I'll go out to eat, but 90% of the time, it's Ramen. I'm sooo gonna die.

 

[VirusType2]

That is my balance. I hardly jest. I keep two full boxes of that stuff at all times. Sometimes I'll go out to eat, but 90% of the time, it's Ramen. I'm sooo gonna die.

slowly train yourself to use less and less seasoning.

Thats the skull and crossbones. Never eat it twice in one day man.

Seriously you are going to die prematurely if you don't get real. After eating that stuff, although delicious, I feel very ill from the overdose of sodium.

I noticed at the store that they have lower sodium variety now, so I bought a couple, but I haven't tried it yet. I expect it to taste slightly less awesome, but live through the ordeal.

 

[Rico]

Yeah, Ramen has way too much salt.

 

[Raziaar]

Even without the salt, ramen is still way unhealthy.

I mean, it is deep fried.

 

[L3N!N]

Considering you do eat Ramen every day, what exactly would happen to you? Salt overdoses?

 

[Minister]

Chilli Con Carne for the win!

Cheap and easy to make and it tastes so good.

For breakfast I go for porridge, because it is cheap and you can add whatever you want to it (honey, sugar, fruit).

Also, bacon or sausage sandwich if you've got a hangover