Eating While Impoverished

I work in a profession that is famous for not paying very well. Sadly, when it comes to eating healthy things the two do not always coincide well. Top Ramen is ridiculously cheap, but not exactly the greatest meal option. I find this unfortunate.

Luckily, I grew up very white trash (even rocking it as trailer trash at one point). This past weekend I finally had to give in and turn the heat on (darn it) which will make my electric bill skyrocket and thus reduce the amount of funds available for things like food or beer or buying unicorns. It’s a sad, sad way to spend the winter. Anyhow, the reason for this post is to share some of my knowledge of how to eat healthy while also spending a little money as possible. My fellow trailer trash would probably concur that it’s possible with a few key items.

Frozen fruits and vegetables: I read somewhere that you should go fresh whenever possible. I say as long as its produce, it can’t be bad for me, right? I hope not. The only thing I’ve bought fresh recently was a bunch of bananas. Oh how I love me some 40 cents per pound produce. Canned works too, in some cases. I have no idea if I’m depriving myself of some type of wonderful nutritious aspects of produce by doing this—but hey, I take vitamins, and I save lots of money.

Lentils: My older sister introduced me to the beauty of lentils. You can buy a little bag for a buck or two, and it goes so very far—plus they are gloriously good for you! Yay lentils! Similar props can be given to rice.

Store brands: I don’t think I’ve bought a non-store brand item in a good long while. It’s the same stuff, different packaging. You can buy the store brand whole wheat bread at Safeway for $1.50 when it is on sale, and the fancy brands can be almost double that at times. Sadly, white bread is often half the price. I do have my standards, however.

Sales and price per unit: I am a big advocate of sales. Also, the most useful thing I learned in elementary school pertains to the price per unit—you know, the little thing in the corner of the price marker that says “$1.99/lb” or “14.5 cents/ounce” or whatever? Pay attention to it. Fifth grade rocked at teaching us stuff like that.

Bulk items and canned food: I try not to buy perishables in bulk because I am only one person and that would be ridiculous. But I recently discovered the beauty of an $11 case of soymilk at Costco and similar glorious bargains. Also, I give a great deal of my money to canned food outlets from time to time in exchange for their metal cylinders of edible awesomeness.

Homemade goodness: This year my mother taught me her wisdom about canning. I’ve helped her many times before, but this was the first attempt at doing it mostly myself. Also, it led to my green beans turning a weird pinkish color. Don’t worry, I am not going to eat them. I’m hoping my next venture ends better—I did can other things this year that didn’t turn pink. Anyhow, besides doing things like growing your own produce and canning it (minus the pinkish color), making food yourself often turns out way cheaper than getting takeout. This constantly saddens me. Also, it leads to experimentation like taking a ton of fresh produce out of my parent’s garden (they spoil me and like to feed me occasionally) and making a variety of soups. There is no recipe involved: just a pot, some veggies or whatever, and tomato sauce and vegetable broth. I literally had about 20 frozen bowls of soup in my freezer that could be easily taken out and eaten for lunch at work. Also, they were full of vegetables and homemade goodness. Sadly, I only have about five left. Note to self: make more soup.

Eating the cheapest produce possible: Cabbage? Good. Bananas? Good. Potatoes? Still have a million from the parent’s garden, but good. Whenever I actually do buy produce that isn’t frozen, I often go for either what is on sale or what is ridiculously cheap. It works well.

Food storage: If you couldn’t guess from the soup project, I also tend to make several portions of something at once and then freeze it for later. I wish I had a larger freezer. Anyhow, it often ends up cheaper doing things this way.

The moral of this story is that it helps to cook your own food and pay attention to what you’re spending. I hope you enjoy some of my white trash wisdom—I’m sure there will be more to follow, but that’s all I can think of right now. For more helpful tips (since the economy sucks and everyone needs to save a few dollars) you can find helpful articles like this one by typing in “eating cheap” on Google. I just discovered that five seconds ago.

Also, it would rock so much if Top Ramen were a vegetable. I’m just saying.