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Ask HN: Hack a healthy, yet not expensive, meal.

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Re: Ask HN: Hack a healthy, yet not expensive, meal.

#11

Post by iigs »

ichverstehe wrote: post #6

I have no idea about food prices in your part of the world, but being a high school student living on a very small budget (think $200/month for food expenses, and this is Denmark which is relatively expensive) I have learnt a few tricks. One of them is baking your own bread! I have an electric mixer with some special tools for dough, so I spend 15 minutes every two days and have pretty good and cheap bread. Soups are…

+1 for your own bread. My mother gave me a recipe for "food processor" bread, which involves about $0.25 worth of ingredients and a few minutes of work.

It's not the right season at the moment, but you could also consider growing your own stuff in the garden. Fresh herbs from the grocers are $$$, and don't taste/smell as good as what you pull and carry to your stove.

Commercial tomatoes breeds are optimized to have a tough skin, so that they can be thrown into large containers while green and hauled to the grocery store while ripening. None of this has anything to do with tasty or healthy. Growing your own tomatoes is also easy if you have a sunny spot, and you can pick varieties that taste better than what you'll end up with from the store.

None of these are cost-optimizing in a large way, but if you're going to be cooking anyway, you might as well enjoy better taste and the satisfaction of producing something physical and tangible.

Re: Ask HN: Hack a healthy, yet not expensive, meal.

#12

Post by robg »

Salad. Cut up the lettuce (the more colors the better - spinach, red leaf, romaine) once a week. Stick it in a big covered bowl in the fridge. Then add different stuff for different varieties - corn, tomatoes, avocado, shrooms, tuna, steak, chicken, ...

Re: Ask HN: Hack a healthy, yet not expensive, meal.

#13

Post by sidsavara »

I recommend finding someone on craig's list to cook for you, so you don't have to worry about it. Time is at such a premium when you are trying to launch your own business, and if they're shopping for a family, they are probably better at bargain hunting and coupon clipping than you are.

I did just that, and I discuss it in this post. Wasn't sure if HN would appreciate it, so I haven't submitted it here:

http://sidsavara.com/personal-productivity/the-price-of-my-d...

Re: Ask HN: Hack a healthy, yet not expensive, meal.

#14

Post by robg »

ichverstehe wrote: post #6

I have no idea about food prices in your part of the world, but being a high school student living on a very small budget (think $200/month for food expenses, and this is Denmark which is relatively expensive) I have learnt a few tricks. One of them is baking your own bread! I have an electric mixer with some special tools for dough, so I spend 15 minutes every two days and have pretty good and cheap bread. Soups are…

+1 for soups. From beans to chili to harvest veggies you can't go wrong.

Re: Ask HN: Hack a healthy, yet not expensive, meal.

#15

Post by jonmc12 »

ph0rque wrote: post #3

Not exactly on topic, but... one of my future startup ideas is a robotic garden: basically, some kind of a transparent container with a controlled atmosphere and temprature, watering system, and nutrient supply that would produce a supply of fruits/vegetables year-round in any location.

I've seen those 'kitchen gardens' on infomercials.. 'just 3 payments of $49.99'. You can grow your own lettuce.

Would be cool if you could actually create something that would sustain a family - it will be difficult to find produce that will yield well for many conditions without expending a ton of energy to control its environment though.

Re: Ask HN: Hack a healthy, yet not expensive, meal.

#16

Post by staunch »

jonmc12 wrote: post #10

I go to whole foods every 3-4 days. Pick up just enough: - Tuna salad, Turkey, Pre-sliced peppers, Broccoli, Yogurt, walnuts, Green / white tea, prepped salads, walnuts, etc Trick is to make sure its ready to eat - even if its a little more expensive, that keeps me from eating out. Also, going every 3-4 days means that I eat everything, no waste.

Whole Foods is probably the least economical place to shop.

Re: Ask HN: Hack a healthy, yet not expensive, meal.

#17

Post by rjett »

Cook huge meals once or twice a week and save the leftovers...Spaghetti lasts me 4 meals, chicken pot pie lasts me about the same. +1 for PG's beans and rice...I cook it with kielbasa and sautee peppers and onions and that lasts me for 4 or 5 meals. Since I'm doing all my cooking, the average cost per meal comes in right around $3...not bad for a 2-guy-in-a-garage budget.

Re: Ask HN: Hack a healthy, yet not expensive, meal.

#18

Post by shawndrost »

I cook based on price, ease, health, and how long it takes the materials to go bad. My favorites:

Lentils with onions, potatoes, and/or ham. Chop, put in saucepan with water. Salt.

Chili with rice. Fry hamburger and onion. Add canned kidney beans, tomato sauce, chopped habanero, and chili powder. Salt. I highly recommend a ricemaker.

I also like Thai curry with rice, but it'd be too much hassle if it weren't for the basil plants I grow. Fry chicken or fish with curry paste; add other stuff, like potato and peanut with red curry or eggplant or bamboo shoots with green curry. Add basil and habanero at the very end.

I keep some beans, tortillas, and cheese on hand for when I'm too lazy to actually cook, and lots of fruit for snacks.

Re: Ask HN: Hack a healthy, yet not expensive, meal.

#20

Post by HeyLaughingBoy »

iigs wrote: post #11
ichverstehe wrote: post #6

I have no idea about food prices in your part of the world, but being a high school student living on a very small budget (think $200/month for food expenses, and this is Denmark which is relatively expensive) I have learnt a few tricks. One of them is baking your own bread! I have an electric mixer with some special tools for dough, so I spend 15 minutes every two days and have pretty good and cheap bread. Soups are…

+1 for your own bread. My mother gave me a recipe for "food processor" bread, which involves about $0.25 worth of ingredients and a few minutes of work. It's not the right season at the moment, but you could also consider growing your own stuff in the garden. Fresh herbs from the grocers are $$$, and don't taste/smell as good as what you pull and carry to your stove. Commercial tomatoes breeds are optimized to have a…

+1 for grow your own. I take that a bit farther since I have chickens (http://softwarefromthefarm.blogspot.com) :-)

Although I have the acreage to grow pretty much whatever I want, you can grow lots of stuff in a small apartment as long as you have a window that gets enough light. Herbs don't take up much room, esp. if you use a strawberry pot and plant multiple types in the same pot. You can also grow tomatoes, etc. in pots

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