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Ask HN: Hack a healthy, yet not expensive, meal.

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Re: Ask HN: Hack a healthy, yet not expensive, meal.

#81

Post by streety »

hs wrote: post #50
noahlt wrote: post #26

The things poor people eat all around the world: - rice - beans - soy - potatoes - fish - veggies (anything dark but not too expensive) The real key to a good-tasting meal is freshness, even with simple foods. Seasoning is like makeup for food.

+1 for freshness 'real' food has 'bio-sensor' ... you can tell just by looking, that a fruit/veggie is bad it's much harder to 'sense' that in processed food i find that fruit/veg is harder to fool with, maybe having to do with its low price (not much incentive to cheat) in my country we got rotten meats cleaned with formaldehyde and then soaked in fresh blood to be sold along with fresh meats ... such thing is unhea…

Having worked with formaldehyde I expect that is a horrific practice for all concerned. Very shocking.

I'm not sure why, as a vegetarian, you feel you don't need to worry about avian flu. You catch it by being in close proximity to live poultry, not by eating it. As you've already said that your meat is dead when you buy it I don't see how your risk is any less than mine.

Re: Ask HN: Hack a healthy, yet not expensive, meal.

#82

Post by mchristoff »

indian fare from trader joe's is bomb, particularly if you're vegetarian and broke. it's $2 a packet and all you need to do is just squeeze it out and add starch (the nan they have in the bread section is also pretty solid).

also, living in sf, burritos are the cheapest and most filling (not to mention tasty) takeout you can get hands down.

Re: Ask HN: Hack a healthy, yet not expensive, meal.

#83

Post by mchristoff »

sidsavara wrote: post #13

I recommend finding someone on craig's list to cook for you, so you don't have to worry about it. Time is at such a premium when you are trying to launch your own business, and if they're shopping for a family, they are probably better at bargain hunting and coupon clipping than you are. I did just that, and I discuss it in this post. Wasn't sure if HN would appreciate it, so I haven't submitted it here: http://sidsa…

@pg, what's your rate these days? Haven't had any of that slow cooked chili in ages :)

Re: Ask HN: Hack a healthy, yet not expensive, meal.

#84

Post by wheels »

dcurtis wrote: post #77
alaskamiller wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Silicon Valley, here's my shopping experience: 12oz yellowfin tuna fillet Whole Foods: $14 Safeway: $9 Lucky's: $8 Costco: $6 12oz is good for 2-3 servings. Plus the $3 for a bundle of asparagus or $2 for a bag of broccoli. I've gotten the meal down to $5 per plate, which is what I usually shoot for in terms of cooking. For me, I think this is a good trade off between tasty, healthy, fast, and cheap.

Yeah, Costco is a good idea. But it still isn't as "cheap" as beans and rice at about $1-$2/meal.

...and that's expensive rice and beans. ;-)

Re: Ask HN: Hack a healthy, yet not expensive, meal.

#85

Post by Shooter »

kingkongrevenge wrote: post #72
pg wrote: post #4

Rice and beans. There are 1000 variations.

> Rice and beans. I wouldn't aspire to a Hispanic diet. They're mostly short and chubby as far as I can see.

I rarely downvote, but your comment has left me wishing I had a few more to spare.

Re: Ask HN: Hack a healthy, yet not expensive, meal.

#87

Post by DabAsteroid »

rcoder wrote: post #64
rw wrote: post #19

Spinach - lots of spinach. Popeye had it right.

Spinach is great, but if you're on a tight budget, and therefore not getting a lot of trace minerals, the oxalic acid content can actually mess you up pretty badly. (Oxalic acid binds to calcium, iron, etc. to form an indigestible chelate.)

I would suggest taking one's mineral-supplement separately from mineral-binding chemicals.

Re: Ask HN: Hack a healthy, yet not expensive, meal.

#88

Post by _b8r0 »

This is an awesome recipe that costs Buy some cheap soup in a tin. I recommend Cream of Chicken because it's quite nice and usually available. Go to the bakers or supermarket shortly before they close and buy a cheap crusty round bread loaf on discount. You could use a square loaf but that's just stupid. Warm up the soup. Whilst the soup is warming up, butter the underside of the bread and put it in the oven, medium heat for no more than 10 minutes. You ideally want it crusty and solid on the outside but not burnt. When the bread is done, slice off the top of the bread. Scoop out the insides, tearing them up into little pieces.

Here comes the science bit, watch carefully now:

Pour the soup into the empty bread, use the torn up bits of the inside to bulk it up a little or leave them to dip into it. Add salt and pepper to suit and enjoy not having to wash a bowl afterwards. I defy anyone to eat a whole one including the bread.

It won't leak because you baked the bread hard. The butter stops it from getting stuck to the bottom of the tray in the oven.

There, soup hacked :)

Re: Ask HN: Hack a healthy, yet not expensive, meal.

#89

Post by DabAsteroid »

jjburka wrote: post #27
staunch wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Whole Foods is probably the least economical place to shop.

If your whole foods has a bulk section its rather economical to shop there for that. But on the topic of cheap/good for you eats: Can't go wrong with burritos made with beans,corn and rice.

If your whole foods has a bulk section its rather economical to shop there for that.

Indeed. However, the bulk spices are even cheaper online, if one knows at which websites to shop.

http://www.herbalcom.com ($6.25 to ship any size order)

http://www.herbco.com (free shipping for orders over $250)

Re: Ask HN: Hack a healthy, yet not expensive, meal.

#90

Post by DabAsteroid »

noahlt wrote: post #26

The things poor people eat all around the world: - rice - beans - soy - potatoes - fish - veggies (anything dark but not too expensive) The real key to a good-tasting meal is freshness, even with simple foods. Seasoning is like makeup for food.

Seasoning is like makeup for food.

Nope. Culinary herbs and spices contain antioxidative and anti-glycative chemicals that in many cases also improve insulin sensitivity (e.g. they are anti-diabetic).

http://news.google.com/news?q=diabetes%20spices

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