Poverty Food

[worth1]

I remember making salt and black pepper tea years ago.
Something to stave off hunger and help warm me up.
It's easy, heat up a cup of water to boiling and add salt and black pepper.
Add crackers and you've got a meal.
Did this working in the chemical plants long hours in the winter.
To this day I always carry crackers in my lunch bag.

[worth1]

Last night it was peanut butter and strawberry preserves plus mayonnaise sandwiches.
I eat these things almost every day.
They are filling and more or less healthy too.

[Sue_CT]

Worth there is absolutely nothing healthy about a mayonnaise sandwich, if you talking about just mayonnaise and bread, lol. Or did you mean all 3 on one sandwich? Still not healthy, but does provide some protein and calories.

[worth1]

No a swear of mayonnaise too.
If you're starving its a whole different story.
We're talking poverty here.

[Uncle_Feist]

Mustard and 'mater biscuits was the best tasting food I ever had in my life.

[MissS]

A peanut butter sandwich is healthier than a mayo sammy and probably cheaper and more filling too.

[karstopography]

I like roasted in the shell peanuts and raw in the shell peanuts and seek those out, but I’m not too keen on peanut butter. I don’t like peanuts in mixed nuts very much or mixed nut mixes themselves or the canned spanish peanuts or even the dry roasted ones, but I’ll eat those before I’ll eat peanut butter. I’d eat a peanut butter and honey sandwich before a peanut butter and jelly one. Boiled green peanuts, those are delicious.

But if I was out of options or starving, I’d be likely be happy to eat peanut butter. If I could eat the peanut butter with fresh apple slices, that would be better. Peanut butter with a tart crisp apple is pretty good.

Usually, when there’s not much in the fridge or pantry to eat, there’s almost always been a can or two of sardines and a jar of peanut butter. The sardines win every time, especially if I can pair them with saltine crackers. I like the bigger sardines, the cheap brands, over the higher end relatively small ones.

Sardines in mustard or Sardines in tomato sauce and some crackers, I could live on those. I bought a lot during early and middle Covid, need to start whittling them down some.

[worth1]

Polenta.
You can use your imagination and make this stuff taste pretty good.
It's basically boiled cornmeal.
You can put the stuff in a used can let it cool then cut the other end of the can off.
Used that end to push the polenta out and cut off polenta wafers and fry in a pan.
Seems like it's all the rage now but it was originally poverty food for the poor folks.

You can use any type of broth or stock instead of water.
Salt pepper and spice to taste.
Some people put cream in it.

[Tormato]

I like roasted in the shell peanuts and raw in the shell peanuts and seek those out, but I’m not too keen on peanut butter. I don’t like peanuts in mixed nuts very much or mixed nut mixes themselves or the canned spanish peanuts or even the dry roasted ones, but I’ll eat those before I’ll eat peanut butter. I’d eat a peanut butter and honey sandwich before a peanut butter and jelly one. Boiled green peanuts, those are delicious.

But if I was out of options or starving, I’d be likely be happy to eat peanut butter. If I could eat the peanut butter with fresh apple slices, that would be better. Peanut butter with a tart crisp apple is pretty good.

Usually, when there’s not much in the fridge or pantry to eat, there’s almost always been a can or two of sardines and a jar of peanut butter. The sardines win every time, especially if I can pair them with saltine crackers. I like the bigger sardines, the cheap brands, over the higher end relatively small ones.

Sardines in mustard or Sardines in tomato sauce and some crackers, I could live on those. I bought a lot during early and middle Covid, need to start whittling them down some.

I had peanut butter on apple slices yesterday, a really good combo. I think my favorite is just about any hearty bread, sliced, toasted, and then immediately slathered with peanut butter. The several seconds that it takes for the peanut butter to warm up and melt, is like an eternity.

[Danny]

Love peanut butter on hot toast ! Also good on toasted raisin bread. Avocados are cheaper right now, avocado toast is filling and good as well as fairly healthy. A big batch of homemade macaroni salad with lots of in season veg in it will fill up tummies and makes a good cooling snack or meal. Fried rice is another cheaper way to stretch a budget and can be tasty or homemade chow mein. Stuffed zucchini.

[NarnianGarden]

That all makes me hungry ..

[NarnianGarden]

Potatoes are reasonably priced..

Cabbage and other brassicas are in season (cauliflower and kale are more expensive, but, really not too bad..)
They are tasty , either in a salad, soup, or slightly steamed (and topped with butter / olive oil.. Olive oil, of Course, is also getting more expensive..)

Certain store brands have reasonably tasty stuff.. such as, ready-to-use chick peas, lentils and kidney beans.

Eggs are nourishing, but I am somewhat bored with them.

Tuna / sardines are also nourishing... but one gets fed up with them. Plus I hate to discard the smelly cans!

Bananas are foreign import, but always reasonably priced.

[worth1]

I think one of the problems is getting picky people to understand from whome and where the food comes from.
Once this is established then things can become more convenient for the cook.

I recall one picky nephew that refused to eat anything I cooked until he decided he was going to starve to death.
All the crying and temper fits mattered little to me.
Eat or starve little one.
Mind you I was serving meals fit for a king not gruel.

[MissS]

Pasta, fresh tomatoes, olive oil, onions, basil and garlic then topped with parmesan cheese. $1.00 a serving. Cheap, easy, filling and absolutely delicious! What's not to like?

20220831_175740.jpg

[Sue_CT]

I want to eat that, lol!

[worth1]

Kartoffelpuffers are a cheap and easy meal too.
I was raised on the things.

[MissS]

Rotisserie chickens are affordable. Make chicken salad. You can place it on greens or make a sandwich. Easy and no cooking required. Keep the carcass for making stock or broth.

[worth1]

Vinegar pie.
No kidding look it up.
I love the things and my mom made them all the time.
Another name for them is mock lemon pie.

[worth1]

HEB Hill Country Fare instant pudding is 69 cents a pack.
All you need is some powdered milk, cold water and a whisk.
1 1/3 cups of powdered milk makes a quart of milk.
I made a big batch last night.
But right now milk and powdered milk is over the top expensive.
But I only buy powdered milk because I don't waste it by letting it go bad.
So it's still a savings for me.
One package makes 2 gallons of milk.

[Tormato]

HEB Hill Country Fare instant pudding is 69 cents a pack.
All you need is some powdered milk, cold water and a whisk.
1 1/3 cups of powdered milk makes a quart of milk.
I made a big batch last night.
But right now milk and powdered milk is over the top expensive.
But I only buy powdered milk because I don't waste it by letting it go bad.
So it's still a savings for me.
One package makes 2 gallons of milk.

I haven't bought bottled milk for about a decade. I was simply SH CKED when I had to buy whole milk for someone, yesterday.

WalMart had it for $1.43/gallon. Is that normal, or did I catch a rare sale/ current short time discount? I was expecting to pay $4 to $5 a gallon.