21–30 of 170 posts
PS: If you drink whole milk in large quantities, make sure you do the weight training to compensate. Otherwise, you'll just get fat.
If you don't want to cook or clean, that means someone has to cook/package for you. If you don't want processed food (and I don't blame you) where this is done by machine, then you have to pay for something done by real people. This will by-definition be not cheap, since labor is relatively expensive in food prep.
You could just snack on raw veggies but I'm guessing you wouldn't consider that tasty for long.
Much better would be to structure your life in such a way that you can spare the hour. Go read In Defense of Food as to why, then ask yourself about your priorities. To do otherwise is to put work/school above your health which makes no sense at all.
Couscous. It's cheap, cooks really quickly (about 6-7 minutes), makes no mess, and requires no dishes other than the pot it's cooked in. It's also really versatile. I often use it instead of rice in simple rice dishes (rice and beans, etc.), and it can substitute for pasta too.
Spaghetti with Italian sausage is cheap to make and lasts 3-4 meals. Stir Fry using frozen chicken breasts, rice, and frozen stir-fry vegetables is also cheap and lasts for a few meals. For my "nice" meal, I usually buy a manager's special (a couple days from being unsaleable) London Broil or a pot roast and have that with potatos and peas. Then there's always the old constant of beans and rice any of the 5000 ways you want to prepare it.
I'm not a ramen fan btw. There are plenty of healthy, cheap alternatives. In Sacramento, this diet costs about $45/week.
Start cooking ramen like normal. When it starts to boil, crack and egg in and stir. The soup will cook the egg, of course. Also peel a few leafs off a head of lettuce, cut them to your preference, and toss those in too. When you are done you've got a meal that has protean and fiber, in addition to your loads of gluten. ;)
1. Fresh pasta cooks faster than dry pasta, is still pretty cheap, and it tastes better too. Definitely an improved taste/time ratio.
2. If you can find a place that sells enormous sandwiches, you can make each half a meal. I often eat half a sandwich at 11 AM and the second half around 3 PM.
3. I think a rice cooker is a worthwhile investment (google Zojirushi).
I posted a recipe a while back, and it's still one of my favorites. http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=726619
Edit: Rice and lentils are both quite inexpensive if you buy bulk, and they both keep for a long time. The spices are initially more expensive, but they last for a long time as well.
1) Leftovers. I often cook chili, dal, chana masala, or soups in large quantities. I eat them fresh, then from the fridge for a day or two, then freeze the rest. Anything flavorful and goopy works (since textures degrade with freezing and reheating).
2) Rice cooker. Most useful kitchen appliance I've ever owned. They really are fire and forget. I bought mine for $13 at target. It only has one button (maybe Apple should get into this market?). It's pretty forgiving--I don't even measure the water anymore.
3) Whole pre-cooked chickens. They can cost as little as $3 or as much as $10 (for the organic ones). I get 2-4 meals from one chicken depending on its size and what I eat with it. Then I throw the carcass in a pot of water with onions and celery and make soup stock. (Throw away the bones, onions, and celery before making soup).
4) Instant oatmeal is the cheapest good breakfast I know of. I use fancy steel cut organic instant oats with organic milk and the cost is around $0.50 per meal. Adding fresh berries brings it to around $1.50. (That said, my current favorite breakfast is whole wheat bread, scrambled eggs, and sauteed kale or spinach.)
A few of things I do: 1) Leftovers. I often cook chili, dal, chana masala, or soups in large quantities. I eat them fresh, then from the fridge for a day or two, then freeze the rest. Anything flavorful and goopy works (since textures degrade with freezing and reheating). 2) Rice cooker. Most useful kitchen appliance I've ever owned. They really are fire and forget. I bought mine for $13 at target. It only has one bu…