Eating Healthily for $3 a Day • Hacker News Board

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#191

Post by gnosis » Thu, Apr 28, 2011, 10:46 AM UTC

bodski wrote: post #177

dilap wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm surprised you found eggs to be expensive. Where I'm at (Eugene, OR), you can find eggs for $7 for 5 dozen -- an incredible deal per nutrient dollar, even on your extreme budget. (This is at the Red Apple, if any Eugene locals are curious.)

Are cheap those eggs laid by anaemic, malnourished battery hens who are given growth steroids/antibiotics though? I realise that it is possible to find good deals direct from farmers but those prices sound insane! Personally eggs and meat are things I will pay the extra for the animals to be free range and fed a natural diet, and I eat a lot less of them. With a diet such as the one in the post such things can become…

When I was in the UK recently, I saw some exposes on supposedly "free-range" farms. The reporters used hidden cameras to record the atrocious conditions showing many sick and dead birds on excrement-covered floors that had obviously never been cleaned. Dead birds are supposed to be picked up every few hours, but it was clear some of the dead birds had been lying there for days.

Of course, the eggs laid by these sick, overcrowded birds were still sold at a premium, as was their meat. After the expose, the farms were closed down due to health violations, but it makes you wonder how many more such supposedly "free-range" farms are getting away with this sort of thing just because they haven't been unlucky enough to have been the targets of an undercover news story.

Here's an article critiquing "free-range" farms:

http://www.upc-online.org/freerange.html

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#192

Post by adrianN » Thu, Apr 28, 2011, 11:00 AM UTC

burgerbrain wrote: post #125

adrianN wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You spend 33% of your food budget just for coffee? Have you thought about doing something about your caffeine addiction?

33% of a food budget sounds like a lot. 33% of $9 hardly does...

And yet, if 9$ is your food budget, they are the same.

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#193

Post by yummyfajitas » Thu, Apr 28, 2011, 11:14 AM UTC

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…

Back when our diet was 54% carbs and 12.6% fats & oils, we were a lot thinner than today (43% carbs, 24% fats & oils).

https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnpp.usd...

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#194

Post by yummyfajitas » Thu, Apr 28, 2011, 11:16 AM UTC

zach wrote: post #173

SwellJoe wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good Calories, Bad Calories is often based on incomplete science. It certainly does not make sense when viewed through the lens of some of the largest human dietary studies ever performed (such as the China Study; which Taubes "debunked" in his own unique fashion, but he can't alter the fact that it's among the best, longest, widest, and broadest studies of human diet available; to ignore it is to ignore good science…

His premise is simply that for the vast majority of people who are obese, the culprit is located within the high-carbohydrate aspect of their diet. Good Calories, Bad Calories is about why the "garbage" people eat has caused them to get fat, and why it's not the saturated fat like experts have been telling the public for a generation. It's not a book about the best way for everyone to eat like Michael Pollan's books…

So how come we were thinner back when we had a high carb, low fat diet?

https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnpp.usd...

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#195

Post by lsc » Thu, Apr 28, 2011, 11:19 AM UTC

drivebyacct2 wrote: post #172

georgieporgie wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I save money on coffee by not buying it. ;-) Instead, I found Jet Alert 200mg caffeine tablets. They're about $3.70 for 90 tablets. Each tablet is equivalent to two cups of coffee, which really means one cup of coffee, the way we tend to serve it. I usually take one around 10am, and another around 3pm. The good: no, uh, 'intestinal distress', whiter teeth, better breath, no buzzy feeling like I get with coffee, and I…

That's quite an addiction you have. Have you considered kicking it?

I find it amusing that the guy who has two double-shot lattes a day just likes coffee, but the guy who takes the same amount of caffeine in pill form has 'quite an addiction' when they are both consuming the same amount of the drug in question.

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#196

Post by gnosis » Thu, Apr 28, 2011, 11:24 AM UTC

westicle wrote: post #161

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.

Another tip for quinoa is to be careful not to overcook it. It will turn really mushy if overcooked.

Keep an eye on your quinoa while cooking and turn off the heat as soon as the curly germ separates from the seed. At that point, ideally, there should be very little excess water left. Keep the cover on your cooking container on for a few more minutes while the quinoa soaks up the remaining water.

The result should be rather firm quinoa kernels that "pop" as you chew them, rather than the mushy goop you'd get if you overcooked. Quinoa is much tastier this way.

I also second the recommendation to rinse the quinoa. This is especially important for quinoa that hasn't been pre-rinsed, as quinoa naturally contains an outer coating of that acts much like soap (witness the foam coming out in your rinsing water) which can give you digestive problems if not thoroughly rinsed.

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#197

Post by arethuza » Thu, Apr 28, 2011, 11:27 AM UTC

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…

I'm glad to see I wasn't the only one horrified by this - food is one of the great pleasures in life!

My wife and I have been pretty hard up (when she was finishing law school and I was a startup co-founder) - but we always managed to have decent food.

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#198

Post by nickpp » Thu, Apr 28, 2011, 11:36 AM UTC

No omega-3 oils. No greens. No fruit.

That can't be healthy...

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#199

Post by shareme » Thu, Apr 28, 2011, 11:52 AM UTC

nickpp wrote: post #198

No omega-3 oils. No greens. No fruit. That can't be healthy...

over loading on fructose, sucrose, etc in combination with high fat high carbohydrates diets are not healthy.\

The beans have a low glysemic index(spelling) compared to other carbohydrates.

As far as greens, maybe romaine lettuce as lettuce wrap dishes..such as mix beans, tofu, low amount of lean meat, and herbs to taste..

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#200

Post by Goladus » Thu, Apr 28, 2011, 11:56 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…

On a budget, and for people trying to limit their saturated fat, cheese works best as a flavor-enhancer rather than a major source of nutrients. IE don't bother with pizza or macaroni & cheese dinners, but sprinkling some parmesan on your meal can make it taste a lot better without really adding a calories or costing that much. (If your goal is ridiculously low, like $1.70/day, it's probably still too expensive, but since the upper average is probably closer to $15-30/day there's plenty of wiggle room)