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Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

miketuritzin.com

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Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#91

Post by Klinky »

r0s wrote: post #53
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…

> we found a few "living on a dollar a day" blogs, but every single one bought in bulk and then calculated the cost of each scoop they took out of the bin. What's wrong with that? It's by far the cheapest way to cook. Bulk makes buying organic cheap too, as long as you don't shop at supermarkets. They have a habit of avoiding organic brands that are price-competitive with existing products.

You have to store those products somewhere. 25lb - 50lb bags or buckets of flour, rice, beans and/or other dry goods are not small. Buying produce in bulk may save you money, but you must use the produce before it goes bad which can start to happen within a few days or a week.

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#92

Post by jhuni »

Evgeny wrote: post #76
jhuni wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

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. There is evidence that humans started eating meat about 2-2.5 million years ago. There is a theory that the addition of nutrient and calorie dense animal foods provided the opportunity to develop large brains which require significant energy to r…

probably by picking up small crawling animals and scavenging

Emphasis on the word scavenging. There is no question that ancient hominids scavenged when they were starving. However, this obviously couldn't be a significant part of their diet because there are so many diseases that can transfer from one animal to another.

And if meat was a significant part of our diets, cholesterol and atherosclerosis wouldn't be problems like they are now.

Fire was discovered at least 300,000 years ago.

There is no question that humans developed the technology of cooking, farming, and hunting to overcome their natural weaknesses, however, that did not significantly effect our evolution.

Evolution occurs because of small, infrequent, random mutations in the genetic material. In order for our digestive system to evolve there must be some "selective mechanism" that operates to select beneficial changes, however, there was no such selective mechanism operating at that point because the users faulty diet would not kill its user before reproductive age.

For example, people that eat the unhealthiest of diets - that have underage diabetes and obesity can still live to reproductive age. Their diet isn't healthy it is just "healthy enough."

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#93

Post by Klinky »

miketuritzin wrote: post #90
davidmathers wrote: post #86

Golden Produce, a local shop A few doors down from Golden Produce is El Castillito, the source of my staple food: the super carne asada burrito. At just over $8 it sounds more expensive, but OP doesn't mention how long his staple meal takes to prepare. Preparation time is definitely a cost if you'd rather be doing something else. Like taking a walk to buy a burrito. So I don't think the $3 figure is entirely accurate…

Funny - I (the OP) go to El Castillito a lot, actually, because my co-founder and I work a couple minutes walk away from there. You are right about preparation time, though you can cut down on prep time a lot if you cook a bunch of food at once and then reheat it when hungry over the next few days. That can actually be even faster than walking to get a burrito on the days you reheat.

It can be quicker, but does it taste better & is the total time invested lower in the long run? You do have to spend a good portion of time planning out what meal you're going to make, go shopping for the ingredients then prepare & package the meal properly so it's ready to reheat later. Also things like diced fresh veggies do not hold up well in the fridge, freezer or microwave.

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#95

Post by miketuritzin »

Klinky wrote: post #93
miketuritzin wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Funny - I (the OP) go to El Castillito a lot, actually, because my co-founder and I work a couple minutes walk away from there. You are right about preparation time, though you can cut down on prep time a lot if you cook a bunch of food at once and then reheat it when hungry over the next few days. That can actually be even faster than walking to get a burrito on the days you reheat.

It can be quicker, but does it taste better & is the total time invested lower in the long run? You do have to spend a good portion of time planning out what meal you're going to make, go shopping for the ingredients then prepare & package the meal properly so it's ready to reheat later. Also things like diced fresh veggies do not hold up well in the fridge, freezer or microwave.

True. I think it's all about how important saving money is to you. Everyone has a price-effort curve that depends on their financial situation and how frugal they are.

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#96

Post by michaelhalligan »

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…

Lentils are the most complete non-meat protein source.

I believe that Quinoa actually takes this honor.

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

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

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#97

Post by colanderman »

samatman wrote: post #52
colanderman wrote: post #19

As a vegan on a limited budget, this approximates many of my meals (though I could stand to eat more nuts and seeds and fewer grains), and I can attest that any day I eat roughly this mix of foods is a day I feel superbly healthy. I would suggest replacing the low-fat dairy milk with a non-dairy alternative such as soy or almond milk. Although this would up the cost to $3.50ish/day, non-dairy milks are usually fortif…

If one can afford to invest in a soy milk maker, or persuade family to buy it as a present, making soy milk is extremely cheap. Also, what comes out of a soy milk maker is massively better than what you can get in a box. I use a combination of soaked soy beans and ground coconut, for a grand total of about 15 cents a quart, including a bit of salt, vanilla, and a tablespoon of sugar (optional). It's a major dietary s…

Thanks for the link. I didn't realize the machines and process cost were that cheap. Combined with a stand mixer and freeze bowl, one could churn out soy ice cream for two orders of magnitude lower cost than store-bought (which easily runs $10-$15/qt).

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#98

Post by malkia »

Back in Bulgaria we used to have a farm (almost anyone had) at the "village" - e.g. the house that most city people would had at certain near rural place.

Mushrooms, chickens, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc. Now can't be certain how much it cost supporting, and also water, transport, etc. - but salaries were (and still are) very little compared to US. Granted some things are ten times cheaper, but then others reach the price of US (absolute prices, not average salary relative).

Homebrew alcohol (wine, liquior), preserved tomatoes, salads, fruits, etc. Homemade ketchup kind of like stuff was (and I guess still is) very popular.

Some people even made cheese from milk (for feta you need bulgaricus bacilicus, for cheese I think not). And off course milk from the cow.

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#99

Post by colanderman »

bdclimber14 wrote: post #87
catch23 wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

use a $9 popcorn machine. it's easier and much much faster (takes me 5 minutes). it does generate lots of smoke, so be sure to do it outside.

It's certainly cheaper than an official bean roaster. I'll have to buy one and see what a popcorn machine is, because I don't think I've ever seen one, and I assume you aren't talking about the ones at movie theaters.

I presume the GP is talking about air poppers: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_popper Basically, they funnel heated air into a small chamber.

My girlfriend's dad uses his to roast coffee and swears by it. I don't drink coffee myself (can't stand the smell) so I can't give an opinion.

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