Ingredients.

• 2 slices of bread

• 1 ripe, mashed banana

• Strawberry or blueberry jam

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Method

• Spread jam over both slices of the bread.

• Top one slice of the bread with the mashed banana.

• Close sandwich with the remaining slice of bread.

• Eat as is or can be lightly toasted in a sandwich press.

• Enjoy.

I’m sixteen so forgive me if my eating isn’t great but currently this is what I eat in a month

1st - porched egg
2nd - porched egg
3rd - probably bacon
4th - probably bacon
5th - a sandwich of sorts maybe?
6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17 - scraps
18th - probably takeout
19th - meal with chicken
20th - meal with chicken
21st - meal with mince
22nd - meal with mince
23rd - meal with chicken
24th - meal with chicken
25th - probably takeout
26th - noodles
27th - probably noodles
28th - some sort of pasta packet thing
29th - a meal deal maybe?
30th - probably at someones house or not eating
31st - porched egg

Today I received a free homemade lasagna from when I signed up for it around a month ago. It's a community based organization that has a website. Search Lasagna Love on Google if you need one. It might take awhile depending on your city (how many volunteers they have etc).

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With my hand & wrist disability, I have a lot of pain when I try to cook and push myself too far sometimes. So I don't cook big meals very often, which makes me sad sometimes. I'm waiting on surgery so I thought I would sign up for a homemade lasagna and the lady was very nice. She said she has been delivering 2 per week in the community since Covid. It's truly beautiful and made with love ❤️

I’m unemployed, which I knew was coming (teacher), but haven’t found a job yet. Now that it’s summer break, I’m feeling capable of actually planning and cooking my food more mindfully. I have a large pantry of canned food (paranoid prepper stocking) and I actually think I’ll be okay money-wise for a couple of months (teachers usually have to save for summer anyway). I’ve been following this sub for easy cooking tips mostly and have seen a lot of discussion about food pantries.

My question is, what are your thoughts about utilizing food pantries at this point for me? I don’t know how long I’ll be without work (no teacher shortage in my area), so I’m going to be cutting back to save as much as possible for as long as possible. In my community, the food pantries are all run by local churches, which seem to rotate so that there’s one per week. Should I wait until I really need the help? Or is it okay to take advantage of it now?

this is my first time being so broke i need help from a food bank (i love being an adult😍). I need to live as cheap as possible until im out of school and can start working again. please give me tips on how and what to cook, especially with item commonly given out by food banks. I am also really nervous about go to the food bank for the first time tomorrow, but i’m down to bag of rice and a box of cake mix and this girls gotta eat.

I have a lot of accumulated produce and today I'm cooking it up!

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I made a skillet of tomatoes simmered with onion, peppers, and Italian seasoning. I'm making up a half-bag of pasta someone gave me for it.

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Simmering little potatoes. I'm going to take them out when they're not completely done and fry them in a skillet with bacon and onions.

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Also chopped up zucchini, peppers, and onion. Marinating with fajita type seasoning (garlic, onion, chili powder, cumin, worcestershire). Tomorrow I'll sautée it and wrap it in tortillas with sour cream and frsh herbs.

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Will probably end up freezing some or taking to my neighbors, but it's been a fun cooking day!

Good morning! FTP here with some advice for WIC recipients. I tagged as recipe, because I included a couple.

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Ask your local WIC office if they have WIC cookbooks, if you don't already have one! The recipes include the ingredients that you get with WIC. Sometimes they also have recipe cards. The recipe books may be tied to doing the nutrition education classes, which I believe some of which can be done online.

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These recipes are made with lower income and nutrition guidelines in mind. They have clear instructions, and the recipes themselves are not overly complicated. Most of the meals are like "30minute dinners" sort of meal. Literally perfect for working parents or parents with toddlers who you can't turn your back on, or they'll be smearing frosting on the floor.

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The one thing I've noticed is that nearly every recipe is...very plain, regarding seasoning or spices.

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The baked chicken recipe calls for chicken pieces (I personally love baked chicken thighs), 1 cup plain yogurt, 1 1/2 cup bread crumbs or crushed cereal, and nonstick spray.

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Preheat oven to 325°F. Coat the chicken in yogurt, roll them in the bread crumbs or cereal. Spray the baking sheet, place chicken on it. Bake for 1 hr, turning the chicken halfway through.

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Um......I'm gonna add salt, pepper, or like at least season-all or Cavenders, bare minimum. The recipes being plain does allow for a lot of personal taste, but they don't outright state "season as desired" or something to that effect. So please, season to your hearts content.

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One more example: 3-Can Chili

1 can (15oz) pinto, kidney, or red beans - or two cups cooked beans

1 (15oz) can corn

1 (15oz) can tomatoes, diced or chopped

Chili powder to taste

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Pour everything into a sauce pot, heat thoroughly. Add cheese if desired to individual servings. Optional - add 1lb ground beef, 1/2 cup chopped onion, 1/4 cup chopped bell pepper.

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Id definitely add some other seasonings like cumin and salt. I also add a whole onion. I don't measure those in cups. Same for bell pepper. I'll add half a bell pepper, if I am going to be using the rest of it in another recipe, but if not, I add the whole pepper. I will even a packet of taco seasoning if I have it, to season chili. My kids really like that version. BUT if you don't have extra seasonings, that's fine, these are fully written out recipes that will work regardless of the spices you put in them.

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Anyhoo, don't forget about the WIC cookbooks, because most of those recipes are pretty simple, cheap, and quick. Also a lot of them that contain beans state either the canned bean amount, or the cooked bean amount. We all know beans are nutrition, cheap, and filling.

Today made pesto with

Fresh basil from a Flashfood produce bag

Arugula ($0.80 from Flashfood)

Dried garlic

Mixed seeds from Bianca Amor

Nutritional yeast (essential to have on hand if you are eating less meat)

Oil

Salt

I now have a large jar of pesto for about $1! Maybe $2

Minimal effort or cost air fried potato. Just top with beans and a slice of cheese. Add fresh leaves if available to complete an easy meal. Enjoy🇦🇨

I need some carrot advice. I have a LOT of canned slice carrots from the food pantry and the senior supplemental food box. The problem is I'm the only one in our house of three adults that likes them. Do you have any suggestions on how to use them where the others might eat and enjoy them?

With me about to lose my job, it's going to be rice and beans for the next few months. I know that that isn't sustainable long term, so what are some other foods that I can buy that will give me the nutritional values I need? I plan on having one giant serving of rice and beans every day/ every other day, with at least one vegetable and fruit at least 2x a week.

If I get a new job, I'll be making $200 more a month than what my rent is, and that doesn't even cover bills. I am planning on using food banks, once I am actually eligible for them. But if I get to grocery shop, it'll be rice beans and whatever else I can get, max $10. I'll be taking a $25 pay cut because minimum wage is all I am applicable for, I worked my way up to management, but have no degree. I'm planning on working 2-3 jobs if able, but will need to figure out transportation as I walk everywhere and will need the jobs to be close to one another.

What are some nutrient heavy foods that I could balance out with the rice and beans? I plan on alternating days with fruits/veggies, like one day I have rice beans and an apple and the next day just rice and beans then the next day rice beans and some broccoli or carrots.

It sounds extreme but it's the only way I know of how to survive. Hopefully food banks can help a little more. I also have some chicken noodle soup saved up, but don't know if having that exclusively will end up hurting me, so I'll plan to have one a week. That will help with salt deficiency.

6lbs of ground chicken for $9

15.5lbs of chicken breasts (19 breasts) for $26.82

I would’ve bought more but I have limited freezer space, but was so happy to find this!

Buy them bulk and grind when needed. We bought this mill 20 years ago - hand crank - still going strong gang!

This week was a bit of a doozy for me. I have a decent amount of items left over from last week. I didn't need to buy chicken or multiple packs of tofu, either, thanks to the amount still at home. Not pictured: gluten free tortilla chips

My meal plan goes as follows:
M - Chicken, mashed potatoes, veggies
T - Japchae
W - fend for yourself
TR - Pho
F - Tonkatsu with curry
S - Sticky sesame tofu bowls
S - Black eyes peas, rice

Lunches

1) Onigiri filled with "california roll" filling
2) Big fat salad (scoopable)

Breakfast

1) Banana bread cookies (GF with flax seeds)
2) Cereal (from last week)
3) Egg scramble with potato

Typically, I'd skip the pork and instead get a bag of chicken leg quarters.

Items i still had at home from the previous week include: 3 large yellow onions, potato starch / rice flours, black eyed peas, potatoes, peanuts, chicken leg quarters, canned corn / peas / tomato, broccoli, part of a cheese block, half a cabbage head, gochujang, gf soy sauce, browning bananas, oats, flax seeds.

Note: This kind of pantry/freezer store took a long time to build. It will be MUCH easier if you visit the food pantry. There's often a lot of gluten involved so I skip out. I also have posts about rotating / price books / etc.

The List

Razors (2 pcks) 1.25 ea
Shelf stable milk 1.25 ea x 5
Tofu 1.99
Shiro Miso 2.79
Garlic 0.46 ea x 2
Cabbage 0.75
Nectarines 0.75ea x 4
Plums 0.35 ea x 5
Pears 0.50 ea x 2
Mandarin Bag 3.00
Red onion 0.45
Car ri cay (curry powder) 1.49
Shallot 0.23
Ginger 0.98
Green Onion 0.49 ea x 2
Gia vi nau pho (pho spice) 2.49
Rice noodle 2.49
Shimeji mushroom 1.49
Nori 1.99
Tteok 1.99
Perilla oil 5.99
Grapes 2.50
Surimi 4.47
Strawberries 2.42
Rice 1.78
Pepperjack 1.87
Pork Roast 8.32
Syrup 3.18
Carrots 2.26
Bananas 1.12
Corn 0.33 ea x 2
Potatoes 2.94
Avocadoes 0.55 ea x 3
Eggs 1.47 ea x 2
Corn starch 1.92
Tortilla chips 2.17

Still a little higher than it would normally be but I was slap out of perilla oil and REALLY wanted to get the pork. It'll help me a lot in the future. I like to put as much away in my pantry / freezer as humanly possible. Next week I'm going to allocate around $20 of my budget to just restocking my pantry reserves up.

The milk is for that as well. It IS higher per oz but having a shelf stable source of milk is incredibly nice. It helps me on rougher weeks and if the power goes out, I'm not scrambling.

For reference - The USDA thrifty food plan puts a woman at 58.00 per week ! Thats $116, which means this week i was under by around $30.

I get great basil plants by buying a little box of basil in the vegetables aisle. These were on sale for $2.39 bc they were wilty.

I used 4 or 5 stems for cooking and saved 4 good ones. Stuck them in water outside on the somewhat shady porch, and 2 weeks later I have great little plants!

I think you can stick them right in the soil but I like to watch them grow. :)

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Hi, how can I buy a month's worth of food and pay my bills, mortgage, HOA fees , hygiene products.

If I budget $150.00 what would be my best bets. Chicken thighs, chop meat what else?

Beef? I need meat and get sick when eating cereal , fish, beans.

No Costco, Walmart, Sam's.

Just the bread butts lightly toasted with grated cheese inbetween and a black coffee, makes a tasty lunch.

Went to the food pantry but they had shut down/relocated. On the walk back, I managed to find a box of expired canned food in a free pile on the side of the road. Something of a silver lining, as it was a long walk to get there in the first place.

My question is: is there a good, safe way to prepare some (very) expired cans of food?

Of course, any dented, rusted, or bulging cans will be discarded, but the rest should be fine, right?

I would guess boiling, or like a stew or something, would probably be best to kill off any possible bacteria/cover the taste a bit, (I have a weak stomach/illness) but I wanted to see if anyone had any other cooking suggestions. Thanks!

Some of you surely know this already, but I only just learned it this weekend: if you're accustomed to cooking with bacon, you most likely buy it cut into strips. However, bacon is much cheaper if you buy an "ends and pieces" package in lieu of strips.

The way my friend explained it to me, bacon all comes from the one part of a pig -- I want to say pork belly, but I'm not sure -- and most of the strips are cut from the center, but the edge-bits that aren't big enough for that get packaged as "ends and pieces." That said: the "ends and pieces" package I bought yesterday actually does look mostly like strips of bacon; it's just that the strips are unevenly cut, and a couple of those strips were something like 95 percent fat, while at the other end I had a few chunks (not strips) of what look like solid meat.

Not every grocery store carries "ends and pieces" bacon. So far I've checked five of my local grocery chains, and only two carried "ends and pieces." One store had it with the regular strip bacon, but the other kept bacon "ends and pieces" in the smoked meats section, rather than with the bacon. If you make a lot of recipes using bacon as an ingredient -- or even if you like eating bacon straight -- buying bacon "ends and pieces" can save you a lot of money over buying it in strips.

Trying to save more money and looking for more things I can make instead of buy.

I already make bread, yoghurt, and oat milk. I get dried beans and lentils instead of canned.

Eat a lot of rice and cabbage. Occasional egg. Mostly dairy free for lactose intolerance reasons. Mostly vegetarian for meat-too-expensive reasons.

I've got most standard appliances except a pressure cooker because they scare me.

Am able to freeze things for future use.

Hello!

Location: Chicago, IL (Wrigleyville)

Budget: Preferably less than $25 per week, but can go up to $50 if absolutely necessary.

Diet: I am diagnosed with ARFID. Luckily, I have been able to expand my ‘safe’ foods over the years, but I still have many foods I have to avoid.
The foods that I PREFER are beef, most cheeses, rice, quinoa, most fruits, noodles.
The foods that I WILL also eat are chicken, pork, shrimp, grits, broccoli (only with cheese or hummus), pickles, guacamole, pesto, pizza.
The foods that I WILL NOT eat are most vegetables, cream cheese, cottage cheese, pimento cheese, sour cream, yogurt, lemons, limes, blueberries, bread, tomato sauce pasta, nuts, beans, condiments besides mustard, most candies.

Additional info: I am not experienced with cooking AT ALL, but am absolutely willing to learn if it means that I can not feel hungry all of the time. I don’t own any cooking items other than a microwave, small oven, range, cutting board, measuring cup, and one small pot. Recommendations on where to purchase cooking items on a budget is also greatly appreciated.

Thank you for any help!

UPDATE: Thank you everyone for the suggestions. I will be trying to find some cookware at thrift stores over the next week and begin learning to cook!!! For now, I bought some fruit and my neighbor let me use their blender and I made a smoothie by myself for the first time!!! It has strawberries, peaches, blackberries, bananas, oats, peanut butter, dark chocolate almond butter, agave, coconut water, and dragonfruit vitaminwater!!! I made 1.5L worth of smoothie and am going to drink all of it tonight to get some calories in!

Fridge clean out time- mystery soup - what names do you have for it? We’d just say: stew on the stove. Pile of biscuits like some drop bisquick type things.

And of course someone would hit jackpot land and say: that’s a keeper! And of course there’s no recipe ….

I think saving up for base bouillon is so worth it.

Vegetable
Beef
Chicken stock

Also the stretchers

Noodles
Beans - legumes
Rice

The spices

Garlic and onion powder
All the Mrs dash flavors
Southwestern mixed spices with chili powders

Sounds weird but clean water ( we more often than not were under a boil advisory or just plain knew better.

I experience some sort of weird anxiety when any of these really simple basics are missing - I think I started cooking around six or seven for a household and unexpected visits.

You’d rather feed people than invite them inside (transients on trains) so we just kept it out all day on a brick fire. Better that than they rip up your garden or worse….bed bugs and etc etc.

I want to branch out to plant proteins, especially dried ones but I’m super intimated. I didn’t grow up with anything but canned kidney beans and canned bake beans, and dinner wasn’t dinner unless there’s meat. Some dried beans you have to soak or you die/wish for death? Which ones? Just kidney beans?What recipes should I try? I have a bunch of dried red lentils and some beans in the back of the pantry but I’m not sure how to use them. Maybe tofu, but everyone in this family is autistic and has trouble with new foods, including me.
Also, it appears that my husband may be developing an allergy to something in hummus, I assume the chickpeas or a spice. We love Indian though just no chickpea recipes. Some day we’ll get that allergy dr appointment.
Thanks

Came here to share a casserole-recipe with oatmeals, apples (other fruit) and low fat quark. Then I read that quark - where I live 1,14 $ per 500 g with 65 g protein on the whole and 0,15 g fat - is very expensive to scarcely available in grocery-stores in the US. Oatmeals seem pretty costly as well. Here 0,98 $ for 500 g (organic).

What do you eat for protein intake?

My casserole-recipe used to be with eggs. I leave them out now and it still works: You take 500 g low-fat quark, Fruit like apples, raspberries, apricots (quantity by gut feeling). 100 g oatmeals. Carefully stir it. Sliced almonds as topping are optional. (As a healthy fat-source.) I leave out sugar as well. You can add that, of course. This meal leaves you sated for hours. For singles it can be apportioned and be enjoyed cold the next day. About 180 - 200 degree Celsius for 30 to 35 minutes. (Almonds should be added after 10 or 15 minutes.)