Eating Healthily for $3 a Day • Hacker News Board

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#61

Post by callmeed » Thu, Apr 28, 2011, 4:25 AM UTC

mmaunder wrote: post #22

My wife and I tried to do this recently on $1.70 per person per day. We didn't last our intended 28 days. A few observations we found: Meat and organic food was too expensive. Fruit is crazy expensive so we bought OJ from concentrate with no additives as a cheap source of Vitamin C. Eggs were are very expensive, but we needed the protein and nutrients, so rationed ourselves to 3 each per week. We had to remove all su…

>> "and you can't make cheese from regular organic off-the-shelf homogenized ultra-pasteurized milk"

I love making homemade ricotta cheese (http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/homemade_ricotta_cheese)

It's very easy and great for making a couple lasagnas which can last a long time. Not sure how it comes out price-wise though.

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#62

Post by spicyj » Thu, Apr 28, 2011, 4:25 AM UTC

kgermino wrote: post #44

orenmazor wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

honestly, I'm not sure. I've seen studies both saying egg yolks are high in cholestrol, and I've seen studies refuting that claim. considering the levels I ingest, I figured better safe than sorry (and cheaper 12 dozen eggs = 750ml of egg whites. crazy!) and just went with the egg whites.

>12 dozen eggs = 750ml of egg whites I just want to make sure (12 and dozen right next to each other confuses my tired mind) is this 12 Dozen (as in 1 gross) eggs or 12 (a typo)?

Interestingly, Wolfram|Alpha claims an egg white has a volume of 0.72 fl oz = 21 mL, which would make 750 mL equal to about 35 egg whites…

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#63

Post by icegreentea » Thu, Apr 28, 2011, 4:25 AM UTC

jhuni wrote: post #55

richcollins wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Evidence for your assertion that our ancestors ate mostly fruit?

Try living primitively, without technology, no stove, no refrigerator, no guns, no tractors, none of this stuff. What are you going to eat? Are you going to eat meat? Just try to capture a wild animal with your bare hands and eat it raw, you will look ridiculous. This isn't a practical option without technology. And even if you manage to capture it somehow or scavenge one that is already dead, there are tons of bacte…

Regards to the whole hunting thing... give this a read:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persistence_hunting

It's entirely practical without technology (well, they need a pointy stick...).

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#64

Post by r0s » Thu, Apr 28, 2011, 4:26 AM UTC

orenmazor wrote: post #14

code_duck wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Soaking beans for 6-12 hours while changing the water as frequently as possible makes a big difference.

I've heard this too, actually. I haven't tried it yet though. I've actually been terrible at the dry bean angle, opting for canned way too often out of sheer laziness.

Canned beans seems cheap until you buy a pound of dry for about a dollar. Canned food is essentially salt and water with a bit of overcooked vegetable.

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#65

Post by samatman » Thu, Apr 28, 2011, 4:27 AM UTC

kek wrote: post #26

rkon wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd agree it's low on overall grams of protein (for a male, at least) but he did manage to get the amino acids that non-meat diets usually lack... so it's not a total fail.

The grams of protein are within his dietary needs. Nobody, male or female, needs more protein than 10% of their daily calories. Most vegetarian diets do not lack sufficient amino acids. Protein needs are greatly exaggerated by "pop science". Iron and B12 are of greater concern than protein in non-meat diets.

Meat is overrated as a source of iron, unless we're talking liver or blood sausage.

Most contemporary diets are low in iron because people don't eat their dark leafy greens, which are, far and away, the best source of bioavailable iron. The OP diet, which is heavy on broccoli, neatly avoids this.

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#66

Post by r0s » Thu, Apr 28, 2011, 4:27 AM UTC

icegreentea wrote: post #28

rottendevice wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just curious: why do a lot people recommend only the white of the egg, and not the whole thing?

Nearly all the fat and cholesterol in an egg is in the yolk. Egg white is pretty much just protein.

All the B12 is in the yolk.

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#67

Post by cyanbane » Thu, Apr 28, 2011, 4:27 AM UTC

bdclimber14 wrote: post #10

This reminds me slightly of Tim Ferris' "The 4 Hour Body". Has anyone had any real experience with his suggested diets? I find eating consistent and similar meals is cheaper and healthier.

I have been on the 4HB diet and the PAGG stack from the book for about 2 months. Lost 25 lb then plateaued somewhat and I am working towards finding a solution. This (OP) original diet doesn't sound too far off from the 4HB/slow carb diet with the exception of lean grass fed meats ($$) and the rice.

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#68

Post by photophotoplasm » Thu, Apr 28, 2011, 4:29 AM UTC

> 6. Keeps saturated fat to a minimum

In case anyone's interested, this recommendation is long outdated.

You should be keeping trans fats to a minimum and trying to increase your polyunsaturated fats, but saturated fat is neither here nor there.

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#69

Post by icegreentea » Thu, Apr 28, 2011, 4:29 AM UTC

charlieflowers wrote: post #17

I'd really like to see someone do an analysis like this, but including meat. I'm a meat lover, but would like to get an idea of just how cheaply I could eat healthily.

Having just come off 4 months doing a student life... I can't give you a fullout breakdown, but the cheapest way to get your meat is to buy all the parts that takes at least an hour to cook. No jest. Brisket, flank, legs, w/e. If you can stomach it, get to know a butcher, and then ask for animal heads.

Needless to say, I stopped at the flank/brisket stage. Head is a bit... nuts to deal with.

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#70

Post by pacaro » Thu, Apr 28, 2011, 4:35 AM UTC

tejaswiy wrote: post #27

icegreentea wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's really a matter of how long/how often you're willing to stick with it. If you eat lentils (or any other bean) long enough, consistently enough, the uh... disturbances in the force will subside. Anyhow, this is an interesting setup. Rice and beans is a fairly standard South/Central American diet (for the same reason chosen here... high energy, full protein complex, and cheeaappp). This is totally a workable diet,…

Can +1 with my anecdotal evidence too. Indian vegetarian diet is pretty heavy on lentils. They're not that bad :)

One thing that the Central/South American and Indian diets add to this baseline set of ingredients is Spices!

These add little difference nutritionally, but make the world of difference in whether this diet seems bland or repetitive; with care they don't need to add a huge cost either, stored well they can be bought in bulk and the cost amortized.