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Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

miketuritzin.com

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Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#221

Post by mhb »

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.

I agree with those issues. Then someone gave me some quinoa which I had to use. I found this recipe for quinoa and black beans which turned out to be great and easy to make.

http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/quinoa-and-black-beans/Detail....

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#222

Post by beedogs »

lwhi wrote: post #209
lsc wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

If you're not drinking coffee for the taste and experience - stop drinking it. In my opinion, there's no point in sustaining an addiction without any of the main benefits.

If you enjoy the taste so much, you should find yourself a delicious decaffeinated coffee.

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#224

Post by allwein »

goldmab wrote: post #207
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…

I think the daily changes in how "in shape" you are reflect how much water you have in your body from eating carbohydrate. Nobody loses a noticeable amount of fat in one day. You lost weight by decreasing the amount of energy you were eating. Low-carb diets are an effective way to do this, because they are generally restrictive (less variety means less overeating) and because protein is very satiating. But there are…

>since 50-60% protein would make a lot of people want to barf.

I don't think that's true. I'm currently on a diet that's fairly high in protein (and to go with the theme of the article, comes out to $4-$6 a day I believe). I don't think it's barf-worthy.

Example: Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with a little salsa on top, bacon, mixed veggies Lunch: Usually salad of romaine, spinach, mixed greens, cucumbers, tomatoes, cheese, grilled chicken, and homemade dressing. Sometimes I'll have chili instead of a salad. Dinner: Usually a pork chop or chicken breast, some spiced lentils, and mixed veggies

I think that's a pretty well balanced high protein diet. I'd estimate it as 60% protein/20% fat/20% carbs. The veggies add relatively few carbs. The only thing it's really "missing" is starchy carbs. Sure, if your high protein plan was 2 pounds of beef a day, I'd go and say it's barf-worthy, but I'd argue most low-carb diets aren't.

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#225

Post by wtn »

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…

If you remove all sugar from your diet you should not be sugar crashing.

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#226

Post by b3b0p »

b3b0p wrote: post #205

I'm sorry, but I really disagree with any sort of dieting advice articles appearing on Hacker News for multiple reasons. Reading this thread only backs up my own thoughts and reasons why I dislike these articles. First of all, everyone has their own idea of healthy. Second, there are so many different diets, fads, foods, etc to eat or follow that's it ridiculous to even argue one way or another. Some eat lots of prot…

I probably should have prefaced my post stating that any post that talks about diet and/or nutrition on Hacker News ends up turning into geeks arguing about proper diet and nutrition and telling others what is and is not healthy.

Which by reading this submission seems to stay true to past submissions.

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#227

Post by nollidge »

beedogs wrote: post #222
lwhi wrote: post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're not drinking coffee for the taste and experience - stop drinking it. In my opinion, there's no point in sustaining an addiction without any of the main benefits.

If you enjoy the taste so much, you should find yourself a delicious decaffeinated coffee.

> you should find yourself a delicious decaffeinated coffee.

Decaf coffee is universally worse than caffeinated. It's impossible to remove the caffeine from coffee beans without also removing a good deal of the chemicals that contribute to the flavor: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decaffeinated_coffee

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#228

Post by listic »

dilap wrote: post #131
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…

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.)

$7 per 60 eggs (5 dozen) is approx. $2.33 per daily caloric budget, (per this, http://caloriecount.about.com/calories-egg-whole-i1130 assuming you do omelet) which is not incredible, but maybe acceptable deal, given this extreme budgetary constraints.

I, personally, consider eggs reasonably cheap, healthy and fast food, but I did not try to live on $3/$1 per day. (still havent' figured if I should worry about cholesterol)

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#229

Post by PagingCraig »

danssig wrote: post #218
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…

Good lord, is the point of this kind of thing to see how much money you can move from your food budget into your health care budget? Of all the places to save money, food is the absolute last on my list.

Yes someone gets it. You shouldn't be skimping on quality food, it's your body! Also 10% protein is kinda low :(

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#230

Post by zecho »

gnosis wrote: post #191
bodski wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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,…

The rules in the US are similar. You merely have to have a door that the (often sick) chickens could theoretically leave through.

I'm fortunate enough to live in the Midwest and I know all my farmers personally. I know what I'm getting, but I understand this isn't possible for everyone. However, it wasn't long ago when people raised chickens and pigs in New York City.

If you want the best nutritional value for your buck, it's best to grow your own. For less than $50, I'll have 60 to 70 percent of my caloric intake grown this year.

My grocery budget for a family of 3 comes out to less than $50/week in the winter and around $20/week in the summer.

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