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Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

miketuritzin.com

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Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#161

Post by westicle »

latch wrote: post #103

I've mentioned it before, but anyone serious about this type of thing should get familiar with quinoa. It might be more expensive than rice, but it also contains a balanced set of essential amino acids - which is pretty rare for a plant. Most meals that call for rice can generally use quinoa instead, and you'll be much better off.

I tried quinoa for the exact reasons you mentioned, but didn't find it nearly as palatable as more "traditional" staples. Compared to rice I found it didn't gel together when cooked, had a stronger (slightly unpleasant) flavour and a gritty texture.

In the end I couldn't justify the cost to eat something I just didn't enjoy. More power to those who enjoy it.

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#162

Post by photophotoplasm »

brady747 wrote: post #146
photophotoplasm wrote: post #68

> 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 Keeps saturated fat to a minimum In case anyone's interested, this recommendation is long outdated.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.

Bingo. We all must point out this saturated fat fallacy when it shows up in society since it is so dominant and the belief in it leads to so many bad choices and outcomes.

It's not true, but I don't think it's disastrous or anything like that. Saturated fat is practically impossible to cut out completely, and our body can produce it anyway. The more dangerous belief IMO is that fat in general is bad.

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#163

Post by photophotoplasm »

Dramatize wrote: post #160
photophotoplasm wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Food and Agriculture in Australia and New Zealand isn't as heavily subsidised as it is in Europe and America. That's one possible reason.

I've noticed our grocery bill (now we are both working) has gone from $70p/w to $130p/w in the last year.

Yeah, there was something in the paper this morning about food prices inflating.

If it's any consolation, the price of consumer electronics, furniture, and clothing have deflated at an equal rate. :)

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#164

Post by dougvk »

henryw wrote: post #153

Wow, the amount of protein in this diet is really low. And all those carbs may not be for everyone. This diet may be cheap, but not healthy. If you are the type of person who puts on weight easily (like me), than I would suggest doing 50% to 60%+ of your calories from protein and 20% or less from carbs. The easiest source of protein are white eggs (in a carton), chicken (pre-cooked), beans (get low sodium), and prote…

you are me.

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#165

Post by pyre »

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…

* That isn't fortified with calcium + B12 (and all the other stuff like vitamin A and D) like the store-bought stuff.

* If you really want to be simple, you can make cashew milk in a blender with: 1 cup cashews + 3 cups water. (Works better than making almond milk as there is no pulp to strain out)

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#166

Post by reinhardt »

D_Alex wrote: post #144

Can I ask: What is the motivation of trying to limit the cost of your food to such a low (for first-world) amount? I am really weirded out by the number of me-too responses, the philosophy of such extreme saving on food is alien to me. For me, delicious food is near the top of my priority list. I really do not stint at all, my grocery bill is abt $40/day for 2 people... that is $15k/yr, such a bargain considering: re…

Agreed, I don't get the stinginess on food either. Among price, healthiness, taste and ease of preparation, price is my last priority. I'd love to read a blog post or article that optimizes on the other three criteria instead.

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#167

Post by burgerbrain »

jhuni wrote: post #138
burgerbrain wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your preference in food has pretty much nothing to do with the fact that our ancestors most certainly hunted food. Hell, even chimps hunt.

our ancestors ate mostly hunted food Actually, most archeologists and paleoanthropologists are beginning to accept that most meat was SCAVENGED, not hunted, as I mentioned earlier. It is through scavenging that humans became "omnivores" capable of eating meat in the first place, but we certainly didn't become carnivores that should eat meat as any significant part of their diet. http://www.mesacc.edu/dept/d10/asb/ori…

You are restricting the definition of "ancestor" to suit your purposes.

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#168

Post by photophotoplasm »

jms wrote: post #158
photophotoplasm wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Food and Agriculture in Australia and New Zealand isn't as heavily subsidised as it is in Europe and America. That's one possible reason.

It does interest me as to why this is. I think it's this and maybe the geography/population making the mega supermarkets less viable. I sometimes play with the idea of a food co-op to bring prices down, but haven't got far.

I think there is also some concern that the Coles/Woolworths duopoly is driving prices up. I usually avoid big supermarkets, but I haven't noticed any significant difference in price when I have visited them.

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#169

Post by photophotoplasm »

D_Alex wrote: post #144

Can I ask: What is the motivation of trying to limit the cost of your food to such a low (for first-world) amount? I am really weirded out by the number of me-too responses, the philosophy of such extreme saving on food is alien to me. For me, delicious food is near the top of my priority list. I really do not stint at all, my grocery bill is abt $40/day for 2 people... that is $15k/yr, such a bargain considering: re…

$20 per person per day? That's massive, even for Australia. What are you eating?

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#170

Post by pyre »

henryw wrote: post #153

Wow, the amount of protein in this diet is really low. And all those carbs may not be for everyone. This diet may be cheap, but not healthy. If you are the type of person who puts on weight easily (like me), than I would suggest doing 50% to 60%+ of your calories from protein and 20% or less from carbs. The easiest source of protein are white eggs (in a carton), chicken (pre-cooked), beans (get low sodium), and prote…

He's also eating brown rice though. Brown rice is a lot more filling than white rice is, which means that you need to eat less to feel full.
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