Sopa de Fideo Hits the cheap/delicious notes perfectly, and is easy to make to boot. Don't forget the beans! Sopa de Ajo is another good one for using up stale bread while being packed with cheap...
Sopa de Fideo Hits the cheap/delicious notes perfectly, and is easy to make to boot. Don't forget the beans!
Sopa de Ajo is another good one for using up stale bread while being packed with cheap flavor.
Pancit is one of my personal favorites, and is great as a kitchen cleanout dish, using up whatever you have on hand.
Outside of what I posted, speaking of extreme budget meals in general, you cannot beat anything potato based. The least expensive of all staples, yet still a surprisingly well-rounded food.
Food is cheap when you are a whole food vegan, so every meal I make is low cost. Some quick examples of particularly cheap options: spring rolls (yeah, the rice paper isn’t a whole food, but I eat...
Food is cheap when you are a whole food vegan, so every meal I make is low cost.
Some quick examples of particularly cheap options:
spring rolls (yeah, the rice paper isn’t a whole food, but I eat it all the time anyways)
soups and stews: I like a lentil vegetable seasoned with things like nooch, miso, soy sauce, and whatever strikes me as good at the time. Dried mushrooms are the secret ingredient for umami goodness.
curries: there are many options but right now I am in a Thai yellow curry phase. The giant pot I just made probably cost about $8 in total and made roughly 8 servings.
tacos: I use soy curls in my tacos which are relatively expensive, but it’s still cheaper than meat and I make it even cheaper by making my own tortillas, which have the added benefit of tasting amazing. Admittedly I use super fancy masa harina so it’s still not super cheap in practice. 😅 Better advice to make it cheap would be to use maseca and make larger tortillas to make burritos filled with homemade beans.
bread: it really shouldn’t be a meal, but my homemade sourdough bread is sometimes just that tempting, especially on the day I bake it.
salads: expensive if you buy the bags, but very cheap if you prep them yourself. The key to making them tasty is to make your own dressing, which is much easier than you’d think.
If I had to pick just one thing I’d say curry is my favorite but it’s not as healthy as I would like it to be: Thai curries have a coconut milk base which is high in fat. So my more regular meal would be spring rolls chocked full of fresh vegetables.
this spaghetti is dirt cheap -- especially if you grow your own basil. most meals are cheap if you use proper butchers, proper farm markets, and not supermarkets or posh spots with the same...
this spaghetti is dirt cheap -- especially if you grow your own basil.
most meals are cheap if you use proper butchers, proper farm markets, and not supermarkets or posh spots with the same produce at 5x the cost just because its stacked in a pyramid. I do most of my produce shopping at a persian market and my animal proteins from either an indian, greek, or italian butcher -- depending on the day of the week. Way cheaper and better quality across the board compared to the trash at any supermarket.
I add chopped onions, chopped mushrooms, a beef bone with meat on it, a bay leaf and various hard low flavor vegetables like carrots or cauliflower and sometimes potatoes. I wouldn't add celery or...
I add chopped onions, chopped mushrooms, a beef bone with meat on it, a bay leaf and various hard low flavor vegetables like carrots or cauliflower and sometimes potatoes. I wouldn't add celery or asparagus unless you really want that flavor.
I add salt and pepper at the table.
Some cooks use stock or a boullion cube for flavor. Both can be made vegetarian.
I'm certain that gourmet cooks do it better but it works for me.
Tortilla (aka Spanish omelette), just made it tonight actually. Goes great with a little ketchup. Just eggs, potatoes oil, and maybe an onion if you're feelin' fancy or like it a little sweeter....
Tortilla (aka Spanish omelette), just made it tonight actually. Goes great with a little ketchup. Just eggs, potatoes oil, and maybe an onion if you're feelin' fancy or like it a little sweeter.
Probably related to the Spanish Omelette, is Filipino Torta. An egg based "pancake" looking thing, but mixed with ground beef or ground turkey or canned corned beef or canned beef hash, canned...
Probably related to the Spanish Omelette, is Filipino Torta. An egg based "pancake" looking thing, but mixed with ground beef or ground turkey or canned corned beef or canned beef hash, canned sardines...and probably anything else one wants to try. Break eggs in a bowl, add in the meat/fish and/or vegetables, salt and pepper as desired, mix it all up, then fry it like pancakes. Serve over rice, with ketchup for extra taste. Or put it between two slices of bread, and boom, you got a sandwich. But I think over rice makes more sense so you can make the torta last.
Sopa de Fideo Hits the cheap/delicious notes perfectly, and is easy to make to boot. Don't forget the beans!
Sopa de Ajo is another good one for using up stale bread while being packed with cheap flavor.
Pancit is one of my personal favorites, and is great as a kitchen cleanout dish, using up whatever you have on hand.
Outside of what I posted, speaking of extreme budget meals in general, you cannot beat anything potato based. The least expensive of all staples, yet still a surprisingly well-rounded food.
Food is cheap when you are a whole food vegan, so every meal I make is low cost.
Some quick examples of particularly cheap options:
spring rolls (yeah, the rice paper isn’t a whole food, but I eat it all the time anyways)
soups and stews: I like a lentil vegetable seasoned with things like nooch, miso, soy sauce, and whatever strikes me as good at the time. Dried mushrooms are the secret ingredient for umami goodness.
curries: there are many options but right now I am in a Thai yellow curry phase. The giant pot I just made probably cost about $8 in total and made roughly 8 servings.
tacos: I use soy curls in my tacos which are relatively expensive, but it’s still cheaper than meat and I make it even cheaper by making my own tortillas, which have the added benefit of tasting amazing. Admittedly I use super fancy masa harina so it’s still not super cheap in practice. 😅 Better advice to make it cheap would be to use maseca and make larger tortillas to make burritos filled with homemade beans.
bread: it really shouldn’t be a meal, but my homemade sourdough bread is sometimes just that tempting, especially on the day I bake it.
salads: expensive if you buy the bags, but very cheap if you prep them yourself. The key to making them tasty is to make your own dressing, which is much easier than you’d think.
If I had to pick just one thing I’d say curry is my favorite but it’s not as healthy as I would like it to be: Thai curries have a coconut milk base which is high in fat. So my more regular meal would be spring rolls chocked full of fresh vegetables.
this spaghetti is dirt cheap -- especially if you grow your own basil.
most meals are cheap if you use proper butchers, proper farm markets, and not supermarkets or posh spots with the same produce at 5x the cost just because its stacked in a pyramid. I do most of my produce shopping at a persian market and my animal proteins from either an indian, greek, or italian butcher -- depending on the day of the week. Way cheaper and better quality across the board compared to the trash at any supermarket.
I'm a huge fan of lentil soup (dried lentils) with rice or potatoes or bread. (We make our own bread)
I also love split pea soup. (Dried peas)
Have any lentil soup pointers? I've had some in restaurants that I've liked a lot, but never made it myself.
I add chopped onions, chopped mushrooms, a beef bone with meat on it, a bay leaf and various hard low flavor vegetables like carrots or cauliflower and sometimes potatoes. I wouldn't add celery or asparagus unless you really want that flavor.
I add salt and pepper at the table.
Some cooks use stock or a boullion cube for flavor. Both can be made vegetarian.
I'm certain that gourmet cooks do it better but it works for me.
Tortilla (aka Spanish omelette), just made it tonight actually. Goes great with a little ketchup. Just eggs, potatoes oil, and maybe an onion if you're feelin' fancy or like it a little sweeter.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_omelette
Probably related to the Spanish Omelette, is Filipino Torta. An egg based "pancake" looking thing, but mixed with ground beef or ground turkey or canned corned beef or canned beef hash, canned sardines...and probably anything else one wants to try. Break eggs in a bowl, add in the meat/fish and/or vegetables, salt and pepper as desired, mix it all up, then fry it like pancakes. Serve over rice, with ketchup for extra taste. Or put it between two slices of bread, and boom, you got a sandwich. But I think over rice makes more sense so you can make the torta last.
I love Spanish omelettes!