Poverty Food Ideas on a Renal Diet?
August 31, 2011 11:39 AM Subscribe
For the next month or two, I need to tighten up my already very small budget. I'd like ideas for easy-to-cook meals that I can make very cheaply. Complications: chronic illness, restricted diet, and an ineffective air conditioner.
I've just moved out of my mother's house (again) and moved in with friends across the state. I'm on SSI. Currently I receive just over $600 each month. While I wait for them to approve an increase to $825/mo now that I'm no longer being given free housing, I need to cut my food budget down to help pay for rent now.
I suffer from End Stage Renal Disease (kidney failure) and I'm on hemodialysis. My diet is very restricted because of it. I need to limit potassium, phosphorus, sodium, and fluid intake, and I should get a decent amount of protein. My appetite isn't the best, so the more calories, the better. It's a complicated diet to learn. If I could, I'd eat beans and rice every day, but that would be dangerous.
I only have the energy to cook one relatively large meal and one simpler meal a day, including doing the dishes. It's hot here this time of year, and our air conditioner doesn't keep the apartment cool, so I absolutely can't use the oven, and I prefer not to cook things for too long - the inefficient electric stove heats the apartment up too.
So, I'd like to hear ideas for very cheap, simple to cook meals. I don't shy away from meatless or vegan recipes - one of my roommates is a near-vegan - and I like a wide range of foods.
I've just moved out of my mother's house (again) and moved in with friends across the state. I'm on SSI. Currently I receive just over $600 each month. While I wait for them to approve an increase to $825/mo now that I'm no longer being given free housing, I need to cut my food budget down to help pay for rent now.
I suffer from End Stage Renal Disease (kidney failure) and I'm on hemodialysis. My diet is very restricted because of it. I need to limit potassium, phosphorus, sodium, and fluid intake, and I should get a decent amount of protein. My appetite isn't the best, so the more calories, the better. It's a complicated diet to learn. If I could, I'd eat beans and rice every day, but that would be dangerous.
I only have the energy to cook one relatively large meal and one simpler meal a day, including doing the dishes. It's hot here this time of year, and our air conditioner doesn't keep the apartment cool, so I absolutely can't use the oven, and I prefer not to cook things for too long - the inefficient electric stove heats the apartment up too.
So, I'd like to hear ideas for very cheap, simple to cook meals. I don't shy away from meatless or vegan recipes - one of my roommates is a near-vegan - and I like a wide range of foods.
Best answer: buy yourself a slow cooker to help ease the heat issue. You could also try an electric steamer.
Steam some of your favorite types of fish to up your protein intake
Pasta dishes sound like they'd be up your ally. You're probably stuck making your own sauces though, so maybe stick to sage and unsalted butter or pestos.
Eggs! Buy a dozen eggs, hard boil them.. pop in the fridge, eat through out the week.
Slow cook some chicken breasts or boneless thighs.
You could also use the steamer to cook your favorite veggies.
posted by royalsong at 11:46 AM on August 31, 2011 [1 favorite]
Steam some of your favorite types of fish to up your protein intake
Pasta dishes sound like they'd be up your ally. You're probably stuck making your own sauces though, so maybe stick to sage and unsalted butter or pestos.
Eggs! Buy a dozen eggs, hard boil them.. pop in the fridge, eat through out the week.
Slow cook some chicken breasts or boneless thighs.
You could also use the steamer to cook your favorite veggies.
posted by royalsong at 11:46 AM on August 31, 2011 [1 favorite]
Best answer: If you can get hold of a slow cooker they are a great way to cook without heating up the house. You can sometimes pick them up cheap at Goodwill sort of shops or Walmart or maybe all of you could go in on it together. You can then cook up some chicken for chicken salads which I like in summer, this will also cook out some of that "flavouring"liquid which has a tonne of salt in it that they like to pump the cheaper chicken with. Tinned Tuna is also packed with protein if you hunt for the low salt ones and ready to eat from the can.
If you don't want to buy special equipment you can always make stirfries. They are a bit of a pain to chop the veggies, but you can you frozen pre chopped if its easier. Fry the meat of choice (if you cut the meat really fine you can use quite cheap cuts and they only take a minute or so to cook) or tofu even ground beef works. Tip the cooked protien out, toss the veggies in the pan, cook those & throw the meat back in. If you need to avoid soy sauce because of the sodium I like to toss sweet chilli & ginger sauce through mine and you can pick that up cheap at asian grocers. If you use thin rice noodles or low mein noodles you don't even have to cook them just pour boiling water over them for a while then throw them in with the meat and veg. You can have a healthy dinner on the table with the stove on for less than 10 minutes.
Stir fry is my go to meal when I'm broke as you can get variety and eat pretty healthfully and the food tastes good so you don't feel like you are missing out too much and you can vary it based on what meat & veggies are for sale. Left overs heat up for lunch or the next nights dinner easily in the microwave too so its worth making enough for 2 meals at a time. It might be worth checking out a local asian grocers for different sauces or things like sesame oil to add. I am not sure what you can have on your diet but the Asian groceries are usually a super cheap place to buy stuff like that and they have a wide variety. If nothing else just the meat & veggies and garlic/ginger powder is cheap and yummy.
posted by wwax at 12:32 PM on August 31, 2011
If you don't want to buy special equipment you can always make stirfries. They are a bit of a pain to chop the veggies, but you can you frozen pre chopped if its easier. Fry the meat of choice (if you cut the meat really fine you can use quite cheap cuts and they only take a minute or so to cook) or tofu even ground beef works. Tip the cooked protien out, toss the veggies in the pan, cook those & throw the meat back in. If you need to avoid soy sauce because of the sodium I like to toss sweet chilli & ginger sauce through mine and you can pick that up cheap at asian grocers. If you use thin rice noodles or low mein noodles you don't even have to cook them just pour boiling water over them for a while then throw them in with the meat and veg. You can have a healthy dinner on the table with the stove on for less than 10 minutes.
Stir fry is my go to meal when I'm broke as you can get variety and eat pretty healthfully and the food tastes good so you don't feel like you are missing out too much and you can vary it based on what meat & veggies are for sale. Left overs heat up for lunch or the next nights dinner easily in the microwave too so its worth making enough for 2 meals at a time. It might be worth checking out a local asian grocers for different sauces or things like sesame oil to add. I am not sure what you can have on your diet but the Asian groceries are usually a super cheap place to buy stuff like that and they have a wide variety. If nothing else just the meat & veggies and garlic/ginger powder is cheap and yummy.
posted by wwax at 12:32 PM on August 31, 2011
Lentil stew, made with dried lentils. They are dirt cheap (around $1 for a pound of dried lentils, which will make maybe 10 servings), excellent protein source, cook relatively fast (as compared to large beans) so you should only need to have the burner on for less than an hour for a big pot, and pretty much impossible to mess up. You can Google for specific recipes, but you can also pretty much add whatever vegetables you want (root vegetables should help your budget too), as well as a bit of meat, chicken, or cheese for flavor if you wish. If you want to limit fluid, just use less liquid, so it's less of a soup and more of a stew. (If you're trying to limit sodium and cost, it would be better to use water than the stock that some recipies call for.) A bit of vinegar should be a good low-sodium flavoring.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 12:34 PM on August 31, 2011
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 12:34 PM on August 31, 2011
Slow and low will be the way to go for you, because tougher, unprocessed foods tend to be cheapest. If you don't have a slowcooker, you can test some recipes in an oven. 200 = a slowcooker's Low setting and 300 = its High. Just be sure to cover whatever you're cooking. Rice, beans, lentils will be your friends. Look forward to a lot of chilis / stews.
Another meal I make often is to roast a chicken at 400 for an hour or so. It's fast, easy, and cheap. Then I put the bones in a pot with water to cover. Add a carrot, onion, salt, and pepper. Leave this overnight in the oven at 170. You've just made stock you can use use in any kind of soup. In fact, you dice some vegetables and leftover chicken in the broth, heat it up, and you will have made chicken soup. Freeze your stock in ice-cube trays or other containers for later use.
If I were watching money carefully, I would probably make this bread recipe on a regular basis. It's not a lot of workhttp://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/081mrex.html . I would then make pizza with the dough. Pizza is cheap to order out, but pizza can be ultra-cheap to make. You can make a pie for less than $2.00 once you get the hang of it. If you can, grow your own herbs too. The seeds aren't expensive, and they'll really brighten up your meals.
Finally, there's the Hillbilly Housewilfe website. She has a menu, including shopping list, that will serve a family of 4 for $45 for a month. http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/ However, some of her recipes require some elbow grease. In general a great resource though.
And I'm very sorry about your condition. Hang in there!!!
posted by xammerboy at 1:11 PM on August 31, 2011
Another meal I make often is to roast a chicken at 400 for an hour or so. It's fast, easy, and cheap. Then I put the bones in a pot with water to cover. Add a carrot, onion, salt, and pepper. Leave this overnight in the oven at 170. You've just made stock you can use use in any kind of soup. In fact, you dice some vegetables and leftover chicken in the broth, heat it up, and you will have made chicken soup. Freeze your stock in ice-cube trays or other containers for later use.
If I were watching money carefully, I would probably make this bread recipe on a regular basis. It's not a lot of workhttp://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/081mrex.html . I would then make pizza with the dough. Pizza is cheap to order out, but pizza can be ultra-cheap to make. You can make a pie for less than $2.00 once you get the hang of it. If you can, grow your own herbs too. The seeds aren't expensive, and they'll really brighten up your meals.
Finally, there's the Hillbilly Housewilfe website. She has a menu, including shopping list, that will serve a family of 4 for $45 for a month. http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/ However, some of her recipes require some elbow grease. In general a great resource though.
And I'm very sorry about your condition. Hang in there!!!
posted by xammerboy at 1:11 PM on August 31, 2011
I eat like I'm poor pretty much all the time. One of my favorite super-poverty recipes is to make up a meatless chili in the crockpot. You could also do this on the stove, but seriously, you need a crockpot! Five bucks at the Goodwill, not much more for a new one at Target. I'm at work so these are estimates, but I usually use:
about a pound of dried beans, rinsed, sorted, and soaked in cold water overnight
add maybe 2 big cans of diced tomatoes in juice
throw in a chopped green pepper, some onion if you like, whatever
1 or 2 packets of chili seasoning mix (check for low sodium varieties)
some extra water if it's looking dry
cook on low in the crockpot for about 6-8 hours
The whole mess shouldn't set you back more than $5-10 and you can get several meals out of if. Throw in a box of macaroni noodles and voila - chili mac for days on end! You'll get sick of it before you can eat it all, trust me.
posted by jabes at 1:14 PM on August 31, 2011 [1 favorite]
about a pound of dried beans, rinsed, sorted, and soaked in cold water overnight
add maybe 2 big cans of diced tomatoes in juice
throw in a chopped green pepper, some onion if you like, whatever
1 or 2 packets of chili seasoning mix (check for low sodium varieties)
some extra water if it's looking dry
cook on low in the crockpot for about 6-8 hours
The whole mess shouldn't set you back more than $5-10 and you can get several meals out of if. Throw in a box of macaroni noodles and voila - chili mac for days on end! You'll get sick of it before you can eat it all, trust me.
posted by jabes at 1:14 PM on August 31, 2011 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: I should've been more specific about my diet. It calls for more protein than the average healthy person needs - about 70 grams of protein per day for me - but truthfully, I don't need that much and I couldn't stomach it anyway. I'll probably be eating less meat and protein than the average person. Having too much would put me over my potassium/phosphorus limits anyway.
Some of the things I have to avoid or limit:
Anyway, this is my real question. I know how to cook and eat cheaply. I haven't yet figured out how to do it with most of the cheapest ingredients off-limits to me, limited energy, and without using the oven.
I should have brought my slow cooker with me when I moved up here. I haven't used it in years. I don't know if I could stomach most braised recipes in this heat, though, and poached chicken for chicken salad is easy enough on the stove.
Got anything light? This recent comment is what got me writing this question, and that's more what I was looking for.
posted by WasabiFlux at 1:54 PM on August 31, 2011
Some of the things I have to avoid or limit:
- Beans, lentils, legumes in general
- Nuts
- Seeds
- Whole grains
- Milk
- Cheese - except for high-fat brie, feta, and cream cheese
- Processed meats
- Peanut butter
- Organ meats
- Avocados
- Potatoes or sweet potatoes
- Most root vegetables
- Tomatoes or tomato sauce/paste - limited to one small fresh tomato
- Dark greens - kale, collards, turnip greens, mature spinach, etc.
- Winter squash
- ...and a long list of other things.
Anyway, this is my real question. I know how to cook and eat cheaply. I haven't yet figured out how to do it with most of the cheapest ingredients off-limits to me, limited energy, and without using the oven.
I should have brought my slow cooker with me when I moved up here. I haven't used it in years. I don't know if I could stomach most braised recipes in this heat, though, and poached chicken for chicken salad is easy enough on the stove.
Got anything light? This recent comment is what got me writing this question, and that's more what I was looking for.
posted by WasabiFlux at 1:54 PM on August 31, 2011
Boy, that's a tough one, WasabiFlux. What about adding herbs to the cream cheese, then using it as a dip for vegetables or a spread for sandwiches? My local grocery stores often have cream cheese on sale for $1 or so a package. There's a dip that I make with goat cheese and herbs; cream cheese could easily sub. I'll try and find the recipe when I get home.
posted by WorkingMyWayHome at 3:59 PM on August 31, 2011
posted by WorkingMyWayHome at 3:59 PM on August 31, 2011
Best answer: It seems like a lot of the recipes in that thread could be put over pasta to make more of a meal. Do you have a farmer's market or fruit stand near you? If so, things like eggplant and zucchini are dirt cheap right now. They can be chopped and sauteed with herbs, then put over pasta. Make a double batch, then freeze some for later.
If you have a BBQ, small eggplants can be cooked over that, then mashed up into Baba Ganouj. That can be eaten with bread or put on pasta.
posted by WorkingMyWayHome at 4:21 PM on August 31, 2011
If you have a BBQ, small eggplants can be cooked over that, then mashed up into Baba Ganouj. That can be eaten with bread or put on pasta.
posted by WorkingMyWayHome at 4:21 PM on August 31, 2011
Best answer: I used to have a recipe for dirty rice which had, as I recall, only four ingredients, not counting salt and pepper: ground beef, onions, garlic powder & cooked rice.
I'm not having any luck finding it, unfortunately and googling has been spectacularly unhelpful. But if you're good at cooking on the fly you might want to try throwing the above ingredients together and see how it comes out.
Another thing you might like is sauteed green beans like they serve in Chinese buffet restaurants. Just sautee fresh green beans in a little oil until crisp-tender and season with garlic powder.
You might be able to figure out some sort of tuna casserole. My ultra-cheap version uses boxed macaroni & cheese, tuna, cream of mushroom soup, and canned peas or corn. Not sure what-all of those ingredients you can have, but if tuna and macaroni are ok you can probably come up with some kind of sauce for it and add whatever veggies you like.
Do you have an Aldi near you? You could save a lot of money there, for sure. They had 70/30 (high fat) ground beef in a five pound container for around $2 a pound, cream cheese is around a buck, cans of tuna are I think 59 cents, mayo is $2, eggs $1.69.
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 4:21 PM on August 31, 2011 [1 favorite]
I'm not having any luck finding it, unfortunately and googling has been spectacularly unhelpful. But if you're good at cooking on the fly you might want to try throwing the above ingredients together and see how it comes out.
Another thing you might like is sauteed green beans like they serve in Chinese buffet restaurants. Just sautee fresh green beans in a little oil until crisp-tender and season with garlic powder.
You might be able to figure out some sort of tuna casserole. My ultra-cheap version uses boxed macaroni & cheese, tuna, cream of mushroom soup, and canned peas or corn. Not sure what-all of those ingredients you can have, but if tuna and macaroni are ok you can probably come up with some kind of sauce for it and add whatever veggies you like.
Do you have an Aldi near you? You could save a lot of money there, for sure. They had 70/30 (high fat) ground beef in a five pound container for around $2 a pound, cream cheese is around a buck, cans of tuna are I think 59 cents, mayo is $2, eggs $1.69.
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 4:21 PM on August 31, 2011 [1 favorite]
You might get better suggestions if you list what you can eat. Your avoid/limit list doesn't leave much in the way of protein options except meat. Tofu is made from beans so that's iffy. All I can think of are mushrooms and sprouts.
My dad was on hemo many, many years ago so I don't remember that much about diets. Rice is suppose to good for someone with kidney failure and is easy and cheap to base meals around. You can get it up to a boil on the stove and turn the burner off. It takes longer to cook but it would keep the kitchen from heating up and you could do a large batch at once.
Your dialysis center should have a renal dietitian to help you. Schedule an appointment and explain your situation. The dietitian should be willing to work with you to figure things out.
Davita (dialysis supplier) has a large listing of kidney friendly recipes. Try looking there for ideas for cheaper options.
http://www.davita.com/recipes
posted by stray thoughts at 4:22 PM on August 31, 2011
My dad was on hemo many, many years ago so I don't remember that much about diets. Rice is suppose to good for someone with kidney failure and is easy and cheap to base meals around. You can get it up to a boil on the stove and turn the burner off. It takes longer to cook but it would keep the kitchen from heating up and you could do a large batch at once.
Your dialysis center should have a renal dietitian to help you. Schedule an appointment and explain your situation. The dietitian should be willing to work with you to figure things out.
Davita (dialysis supplier) has a large listing of kidney friendly recipes. Try looking there for ideas for cheaper options.
http://www.davita.com/recipes
posted by stray thoughts at 4:22 PM on August 31, 2011
Response by poster: Pages 9 and 10 of this PDF (Google Quick View) have the most comprehensive list of acceptable foods I've seen.
The diet can vary depending on the patient, though, and my diet (or at least what I feel I'm okay eating) changes month-to-month. It's a sliding scale - some foods I can eat as much as I like, some I have to make sure I don't overdo it, some I have to limit to small amounts, some I can only have a small taste of. Tofu, yes, is made from beans, and is often put on the "bad" list, but ounce-for-ounce, it's not as bad as meat, it just has much less protein.
The thing with meat is that it's deemed "okay" because dialysis patients typically need a lot of protein, especially the older ones (and a lot of standard dialysis treatment and diet advice is skewed toward that majority of the patient population), so the high-quality protein in the meat offsets the relatively large amounts of potassium and phosphorus. In my case, I don't need nearly as much protein, but I still have to get some regularly. I can avoid larger amounts of meat. My appetite won't even let me enjoy most meat that often.
The dieticians I've seen haven't been much help to me. They tell me what to stay away from and limit, but they can't help much in giving me recipes or ideas for things that I can more easily cook. I've just changed dialysis centers, and the dietician said he'd be meeting with me soon, so maybe I'll bring it up.
In any case, that list is far from comprehensive, and I tend to lean away from meat. You can suggest recipes that include things not on that list. Those things just can't be the main part of the meal.
posted by WasabiFlux at 5:34 PM on August 31, 2011 [1 favorite]
The diet can vary depending on the patient, though, and my diet (or at least what I feel I'm okay eating) changes month-to-month. It's a sliding scale - some foods I can eat as much as I like, some I have to make sure I don't overdo it, some I have to limit to small amounts, some I can only have a small taste of. Tofu, yes, is made from beans, and is often put on the "bad" list, but ounce-for-ounce, it's not as bad as meat, it just has much less protein.
The thing with meat is that it's deemed "okay" because dialysis patients typically need a lot of protein, especially the older ones (and a lot of standard dialysis treatment and diet advice is skewed toward that majority of the patient population), so the high-quality protein in the meat offsets the relatively large amounts of potassium and phosphorus. In my case, I don't need nearly as much protein, but I still have to get some regularly. I can avoid larger amounts of meat. My appetite won't even let me enjoy most meat that often.
The dieticians I've seen haven't been much help to me. They tell me what to stay away from and limit, but they can't help much in giving me recipes or ideas for things that I can more easily cook. I've just changed dialysis centers, and the dietician said he'd be meeting with me soon, so maybe I'll bring it up.
In any case, that list is far from comprehensive, and I tend to lean away from meat. You can suggest recipes that include things not on that list. Those things just can't be the main part of the meal.
posted by WasabiFlux at 5:34 PM on August 31, 2011 [1 favorite]
There are some recipes here. Some ideas and a few more recipes here. Also here.
posted by WorkingMyWayHome at 6:06 PM on August 31, 2011
posted by WorkingMyWayHome at 6:06 PM on August 31, 2011
Zucchini is cheap right now. Here is a simple soup recipe from this book.
2 med onions
1 1/2 lbs zucchini
1/2 c milk (I leave this out)
1 pinch cayenne pepper
2 Tbsp butter, or whatever oil
3 c chicken broth
Pepper and salt to taste
Sauté the onions until soft, Add squash and broth cook until squash is done. Season and blend. You can use a stick blender standard blender or food processor. I add in some chunked chicken for extra protein, and a dash of nutmeg adds a subtle flavor that's nice. I make my own broth, Also, you could shred the squash before cooking if you don't have some kind of blender.
Making your own broth is pretty easy, and would really allow you to control what goes in. It makes a good base for soups, which are pretty easy to throw together and make larger quantities without producing a large amount of heat.
posted by annsunny at 6:28 PM on August 31, 2011
2 med onions
1 1/2 lbs zucchini
1/2 c milk (I leave this out)
1 pinch cayenne pepper
2 Tbsp butter, or whatever oil
3 c chicken broth
Pepper and salt to taste
Sauté the onions until soft, Add squash and broth cook until squash is done. Season and blend. You can use a stick blender standard blender or food processor. I add in some chunked chicken for extra protein, and a dash of nutmeg adds a subtle flavor that's nice. I make my own broth, Also, you could shred the squash before cooking if you don't have some kind of blender.
Making your own broth is pretty easy, and would really allow you to control what goes in. It makes a good base for soups, which are pretty easy to throw together and make larger quantities without producing a large amount of heat.
posted by annsunny at 6:28 PM on August 31, 2011
I just want to add that, if you haven't already, you may want to consider applying for SNAP (food stamps). That could really help your other expenses from forcing you to skimp on nutrition.
posted by southern_sky at 7:06 PM on August 31, 2011
posted by southern_sky at 7:06 PM on August 31, 2011
Best answer: Here's the herbed cream cheese recipe I referred to earlier.
Mash up the following together:
1 t. dried thyme
1/2 t. dried rosemary
1/2 t. black pepper
1 t. ground coriander
11 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 c. olive oil
2 bay leaves
2 roasted garlic cloves make a nice addition, but aren't necessary. Refrigerate to blend flavors, though it will taste best if you bring it to room temperature before eating. Eat with crackers, pita chips, or veggies. You can also spread this on a piece of bread and place under the broiler until it's browned a bit.
posted by WorkingMyWayHome at 9:29 PM on August 31, 2011
Mash up the following together:
1 t. dried thyme
1/2 t. dried rosemary
1/2 t. black pepper
1 t. ground coriander
11 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 c. olive oil
2 bay leaves
2 roasted garlic cloves make a nice addition, but aren't necessary. Refrigerate to blend flavors, though it will taste best if you bring it to room temperature before eating. Eat with crackers, pita chips, or veggies. You can also spread this on a piece of bread and place under the broiler until it's browned a bit.
posted by WorkingMyWayHome at 9:29 PM on August 31, 2011
Hm.
Based on that PDF and your "very cheap, simple to cook" criteria, this is what I would do:
I'd stick to a combination of sandwiches and stir-fries that include rice/pasta.
For the rice, I would cook a huge pot of rice every week, and store it in the fridge. This not only helps to dry out the rice (reducing the fluid content etc), it also makes the rice ideal for frying. The best fried rice is made with "drier" rice that is at least a few days old.
For the stir-fries, I'd do something like this...
1) Add oil to your heated pan (your PDF advises canola oil or olive oil)
2) Add any combination of the following, chopped/sliced: garlic, ginger, chilli, onions.
3) After 1 minute, if you want, add any meat on your "ok-to-eat" list if you want to include meat.
4) Add, if you want, one or more of the following: basil, thyme, oregano, paprika, cumin, curry powder, dill, bay leaf, rosemary, turmeric, tarragon, cloves.
4) Then, add any combination of the following in order of "hardness" (i.e. the toughest/'hardest' vegetables like carrots should be added before squishier softer vegetables like cucumbers): bean sprouts, cabbage, carrot, cauliflower, celery, corn, cucumber, eggplant, green beans, mushrooms, radishes, summer squash, sweet peppers, watercress, English peas.
5) Finally, you add the pre-cooked/stored rice or pasta to the pan. Mix it around well; if you want you can crack in an egg into the mix too.
done!
(**For the tougher/harder vegetables, you can cover the pan and leave it on medium heat for 1 or 2 min (or more, depending on how big the vegetable pieces are etc) before adding the squishier softer vegetables.)
For sandwiches... I guess there are a bunch of ways to make sandwiches out of the "ok-to-eat" ingredients on your PDF's list, but if I were very lazy I think I would just use the stir-fry stuff (during cooking, would scoop out some of the stir-fry stuff into a tupperware in-between steps 4) and 5) (i.e. before adding rice/pasta to the rest of the stir-fry in the pan)) as the main sandwich filling.
For more variety wrt sandwiches, I'd pre-chop/cook some things in bulk like onions, hard-boiled eggs, cucumber etc... and maybe have things like canned tuna on hand (your PDF recommends canned tuna in water), for quick & convenient assembly of the sandwich.
posted by aielen at 5:24 PM on September 1, 2011 [1 favorite]
Based on that PDF and your "very cheap, simple to cook" criteria, this is what I would do:
I'd stick to a combination of sandwiches and stir-fries that include rice/pasta.
For the rice, I would cook a huge pot of rice every week, and store it in the fridge. This not only helps to dry out the rice (reducing the fluid content etc), it also makes the rice ideal for frying. The best fried rice is made with "drier" rice that is at least a few days old.
For the stir-fries, I'd do something like this...
1) Add oil to your heated pan (your PDF advises canola oil or olive oil)
2) Add any combination of the following, chopped/sliced: garlic, ginger, chilli, onions.
3) After 1 minute, if you want, add any meat on your "ok-to-eat" list if you want to include meat.
4) Add, if you want, one or more of the following: basil, thyme, oregano, paprika, cumin, curry powder, dill, bay leaf, rosemary, turmeric, tarragon, cloves.
4) Then, add any combination of the following in order of "hardness" (i.e. the toughest/'hardest' vegetables like carrots should be added before squishier softer vegetables like cucumbers): bean sprouts, cabbage, carrot, cauliflower, celery, corn, cucumber, eggplant, green beans, mushrooms, radishes, summer squash, sweet peppers, watercress, English peas.
5) Finally, you add the pre-cooked/stored rice or pasta to the pan. Mix it around well; if you want you can crack in an egg into the mix too.
done!
(**For the tougher/harder vegetables, you can cover the pan and leave it on medium heat for 1 or 2 min (or more, depending on how big the vegetable pieces are etc) before adding the squishier softer vegetables.)
For sandwiches... I guess there are a bunch of ways to make sandwiches out of the "ok-to-eat" ingredients on your PDF's list, but if I were very lazy I think I would just use the stir-fry stuff (during cooking, would scoop out some of the stir-fry stuff into a tupperware in-between steps 4) and 5) (i.e. before adding rice/pasta to the rest of the stir-fry in the pan)) as the main sandwich filling.
For more variety wrt sandwiches, I'd pre-chop/cook some things in bulk like onions, hard-boiled eggs, cucumber etc... and maybe have things like canned tuna on hand (your PDF recommends canned tuna in water), for quick & convenient assembly of the sandwich.
posted by aielen at 5:24 PM on September 1, 2011 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks everyone. I'll keep working on balancing spending with how much I can work in the kitchen. It doesn't help that I'm picky with ingredient quality and how things are prepared (some might say snobby) and variety.
southern_sky, unfortunately, food allowance is already included in California's contribution to SSI, so this is all I get, unless I can find work that I can do.
posted by WasabiFlux at 2:52 PM on September 3, 2011
southern_sky, unfortunately, food allowance is already included in California's contribution to SSI, so this is all I get, unless I can find work that I can do.
posted by WasabiFlux at 2:52 PM on September 3, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by sugarfish at 11:46 AM on August 31, 2011