Food on a budget- and not the shit they teach you in school
Okay children listen up, i recently went to a bunch of high school graduates leavers classes where they teach you real life shit. Ofc, me being the money conscious hoe that I am, went to the âfood on a budgetâ where they were supposed to teach us how to eat on a budget. What did the teacher do? Get us to make a detox brocolli soupâŠ
Clearly, she took, food on a budget as when you donât want to spend 20 pounds on a meal. However, I was expecting, âwhen you literally have 10 pounds in the bank and you can only use 5 of them or the bank will start fining you, and itâs like 2 weeks until pay dayâ level of budget. So, Iâve decided to spread my (albeit limited) knowledge of what to do when youâre at that level of budget.
Okay, first things first, I know what is cheap in the country I live in, not where you live, so Iâm sorry if soemthing i mention is absurdly expensive in your country.
1) this seems dumb but: LEARN TO STRETCH YOUR EGGS. My father will refuse to eat omlettes, scrambled eggs, French toast etc with milk in them, but that is how you stretch your eggs. I know you might add a little bit of milk or cream but (for me at least) a big ass jug of milk is cheaper than a 6 pack of eggs, so stick half the amount of eggs in you would usually use (I would use two so I use one) and then pour a hefty amount of milk in (like Πof a cup). Boom now you have the same amount of food and double the amount of eggs left.
2) if you know that you might not be able to buy food for a while, then assess what you already have. That meat you didnât like? Semi off fruit? Eat it. Eat that shit within the next few days. The fruit? Blend it, itâll be fine in a smoothie. The meat? Suck it up, or shove it in a sandwich with some overpowering condiments so you canât taste it. Next, you got any vegetable or meat scraps? Even like onion skin? Chuck it in a pot with some water and just let it simmer for a few hours. Then put it through a sieve and just keep the liquid in the fridge (or pour it into your ice cube tray) (youâll thank me later). ThenâŠ
3) look at your non perishables, what do you have? Do you have oats? Or rice? Or pasta? If so then good!! Forget everything a lifestyle YouTuber has ever told you. Carbs fill you up, theyâre slow burning and theyâll keep you fuller for longer. They đđ» are đđ» good đđ»
4) okay, so youâve eaten all your perishables? Youâve assessed what you have in your pantry? Okay, now itâs time for you to spend that ÂŁ5 in your bank account (after you raid your house and every pocket and bag you own to see if you have any more money, so letâs say you found another ÂŁ3). What you want to do is buy shit that keeps you full and is cheap. What did we say about that? CARBS. Right, so get yourself a bag of oats, forget about the GMO crop spraying shit, you need food, so donât buy the organic shit or the name brand stuff. Suck it up and get the cheapest, biggest bag you can find. And yes, sometimes this means doing maths (stay for a bit and Iâll teach you how to figure out which is better for the cost okay?? Okay). Those oats you picked up? Theyâre now your breakfast for a hot minute okay? Next, rice. That shit can be eaten for every meal, itâs boring as hell but if you get desperate enough stick some ketchup or jam or something on there if you can find some at the back of your fridge (tip: do you have a China market nearby? Or like any kind of Asian grocery store? Rice will be cheaper in there and youâll get bigger bags) utilise it.
5) stay away from meat! Meat is usually expensive as hell anywhere you go but if you can find some janky ass, has just been reduced to hell and back because it expired yesterday, then buy it! If itâs a day or two old then itâs fine, dw you wonât die. Chill out, cook it real basic and and then cut it up into cubes. Pack them into your freezer in small ass portions and whenever you feel like you canât eat any more rice or that youâre lacking some nutrients. Take them out, let it defrost for a bit and stick it in a pot with some seasoning and let it heat up for a bit then shove it in your rice. Remember that stock you made with your scraps? This is its time to shine!! Pour a little into your pot with your meat, itâll give the rice and meat some flavour.
6) now itâs time for some maths bitches, you read6? Okay. This is the life saver here check the price of whatever youâre buying, letâs say itâs a bag of oats and it costs ÂŁ3.50 and then check the weight of the bag letâs say itâs a 1kg bag. Convert that shit to grams, so thatâs 1000 grams. Then do the price (3.5) divided by the weight (1000 grams). So, 3.5/1000 and that gives you 0.0035. That means that each gram of this oats is worth ÂŁ0.0035 okay? So now you do the same with another bag of oats and youâll see how much 1g of oats is in that bag. Then compare? Which is cheaper? Buy the cheaper one.
7) okay, i think Iâve exhausted my tips for what to do when you already have no money but what can you do when youâve just been paid and you know you always end up short buy the end of the month? Basically, my main top is make a shot ton of soup and chilli and stews and that sort of thing, theyâre pretty cheap to make and stock full of nutrients. Make double or even triple the quantity of what the recipe says (times everything by 2 or 3), eat a portion for dinner that night, leave a portion or two worth in your fridge, and freeze the rest. That means when you get to the end of the month and you start running out of food and money, you have some reserves in addition to everything I said above.
Idk if this was helpful, but if it taught one person, one thing then Iâll be happy.
