No Appetite

[cloudwatcher]

Being broke means I'm very limited as to what I can afford at the grocery store, and the stomach pain means I have no appetite at all. I'm convinced I would rather not eat than eat cheap food. Today I had an egg salad sandwich, and gileswench has been cooking me some great meals, but the rest of this stuff - blah

Comments

[felisdemens]

Crock pot/slow cooker. It's really the only way. You insert grains, beans, vegetables, water and some sort of bulk-bought protein, spice it, and then you eat it for a week. It's what got me through some of my poorest times.

[sunfell]

The crock pot is your friend. So are coupons. It's amazing what one can do with a bag of red beans, some celery, onion, and seasonings, a bottle of Crystal hot sauce and some rice.

Or some white beans, carrots, onions, celery, a can of tomato paste and a nice slice or two of bacon (or a ham hock).

If you have your Basic Pantry, you can do a lot. Might try looking at feed_4_4_less, or poor_skills for some advice. pantry is good, too.

[cloudwatcher]

No crock pot. From some bizarre reason I left all my kitchen stuff in Georgia when I moved to California. I don't even have a toaster or an iron.

[veleda]

hmm..

focus on simple fresh ingredients.

grow some herbs in your garden. Fresh herbs can make a HUGE difference.

[cloudwatcher]

I'm planning an herb garden now that I have space for it.

[veleda]

never got an email addy to send you the party invite?

would you be willing to bring your guitar?

i promise good foods!

[cloudwatcher]

Still haven't gotten the directions. Are you getting these messages?

cloudwatcher@livejournal.com

[strega42]

Falafel. Chickpeas are cheap. Puree them, add some pureed onion, cilantro, garlic, salt, and pepper (maybe some cumin), a little flour so they stick better; roll them into ping pong ball sized balls, and deep fry them. They're low fat even deep fried, they're high in protein, and they're tasty.

Beans and rice are not only cheap, they're a complete protein. Given the way meat prices are lately, we've been looking at alternatives to having meat every night.

If you've got a pasta maker, or can find a cheap one, it's incredibly cheap to make your own pasta. We try to avoid that as it's very very high in carbs, and Scott's blood sugar problems need a relatively low carb diet. This is sometimes difficult given his potato addiction. :-p

Potatoes are cheap, as well, and extremely versatile. I can stretch meat (usually diced chicken) quite a bit if I use it for stuffed baked potatoes.

[cloudwatcher]

I've been eating a lot of beans and cornbread. A friend gave me some hummus with roasted red peppers that was really good.

Potatoes and rice aren't on the diet list - too many carbs.

The big problem with fixing a lot of this stuff is I have no appliances. They are all still stored in the laundry room at dad's house. It's hard to puree with nothing more than a spoon or a fork.