Some very affordable meal ideas

Lately I've been kind of binge watching budget cooking videos. And I've noticed thar with an exception of a few of them, their approach is usually a bit negative, using words like "surviving" and "poor man's meal". Now I know that those words don't have to be taken negatively necessarily and it really depends on the context. But still, especially for those struggling and watching those videos hoping to get some tips, it's not very uplifting, almost like rubbing it in the face of those having to live on such strict budgets. After all, those vloggers will go back to their old budgets once their "challenge" is over. Looking back at the situation we were in ourselves, I'm glad I didn't approach our being on a tight budget as surviving. It's just what it was and I was really trying hard to make the best of it. 

What also bothers me is that a lot of these vloggers assume that a very tight budget means unhealthy, processed foods, such as instant ramen. Now I know this is true for some people, but for me, this is just kind of conforming the prejudices there are about cheap food. It would be much better to see those vloggers actually teaching how to actually eat more healthily on a tight budget. There are a few that do that, but honestly, the majority of them are just there for the likes and views and the more dramatic their "challenge" gets, the more attention it means for them, so actually teaching others is not quite in their own benefit. 

So I decided to offer some ideas for very frugal meal ideas for those that don't want to be eaten ramen noodles everyday (nothing wrong with having them from time to time, though!) I wanted to compose a list with very budget friendly meals, the "struggle" kind of means if you will.

Rice and beans 

This is a classic and probably the meal people think of when it comes to food on a very tight budget. And probably for a good reason; it's easy, affordable and, depending how you make the meal obviously, so tasty. It's also a go-to for people with various dietary restrictions, unless they can't eat beans for some reason. You can keep it very simple with a bag of dried beans, some basic seasoning and the cheapest rice if that's all your budget allows, to a bit more of an elaborate meal with a more fancy kind of rice, other types of seasonings, and add a bit more healthily in the form of vegetables. Or even add a side of meat/fish if the budget allows that (I usually don't add meat to pulses, as they are already a replacement for meat in and of itself, but that's just me). 

Eggs 

I was hesitant to add eggs to the list due to the increased price of eggs nearly everywhere in the world but most notoriously in the US (where the majority of the readers of this blog are from). But, I figured that since egg based meals are still cheaper than meat based meals, I'd still include it. Especially if you eat the eggs to replace the meat, rather than to have eggs and meat (sometimes you've got to set your priorities!). There are so many egg based meals out there, but to name a few: shakshuka (which is called ojja in Tunisia), anda gravy (also known as egg curry), khagina (Pakistani scrambled eggs), Tunisian tajine, food young egg... It doesn't even have to be a "real" existing meal, you can just add an egg (or two, if the budget allows it) to any meal that lacks some flavour/protein. Wether it's boiled, fried or poached, just add egg to rice, pasta or a sandwich and there you have your complete meal. It's as easy as that. It's good to note that on a very tight budget, and in today's economy, it's probably best not to have eggs daily but to alternate between eggs and other, cheaper,options. 

Seitan 

This is something a bit sentimental to me, as I was raised on a vegetarian diet. In the 1990s and early 2000s, there were very few meat alternatives like the ones common today. What we did eat a lot, was tofu, tempeh and seitan. Tofu and tempeh are both soy products, but seitan is a bit different; it's made out of wheat gluten. Personally, I liked seitan most. The only thing is that seitan, when store bought, can be really expensive. Which is a bit weird in my opinion as it's just one ingredient (or two, if water is counted as an ingredient...) and very easy to make! Later I found out that seitan can be easily made at home; not even with the more expensive vital wheat gluten, but just with all purpose flour. All in all, seitan is the least expensive meat alternative out there, even beating beans. Assuming that one KG flour costs half a dollar/half an euro, and one KG of flour made into seitan yields 3 to 4 portions. So that's just over 12 cents, for one person's portion of protein. Not bad at all, especially on a very tight budget. This does involve some work obviously, but it's doable, especially when you're making a double batch. I'm planning on doing a post on how to make seitan, for those interested in doing so. 

Anyway, back to meal suggestions. Seitan is as versatile as chicken or even more I'd say. It doesn't have a strong flavour in and of itself, so it really absorbs a lot of the flavours that you cook the seitan with. For this reason, it can be used in anything from pasta dishes, to hearty soups and stews, to rice dishes and sandwiches- the options are limitless really. Some suggestions: pasta with seitan, marinara sauce and vegetables, rice with seitan and sautéed vegetables, mashed potatoes with vegetables and a side of fried seitan, seitan sandwiches, loaded soups (a nice broth, some pasta or potatoes or any other starch, small chunks of seitan and beans, and of course nicely seasoned). As I said, the options are limitless. I usually just throw in some seitan to whatever leftovers there are in the fridge. 

Other pulses

While rice and beans may be the most famous pulses-and-starch meal, it's obviously not the only one. There are many other legumes/pulses to perfectly match a starch. Lentils, for example, are very versatile and as an added bonus, much easier to prepare ad they don't require soaking time, plus their cooking time is less. Some well known lentil dishes I can think of: koshary (Egyptian dish with rice, pasta and lentils), dhaal (south Asian lentils served with rice or flatbread), mujaddara (Levantine rice and lentil dish), lentil soup (in its many, many varieties), l3ades (north African lentil stew, served with bread) mercimek köfte (Turkish lentil "meatballs"). These are just a few of the many lentils dishes out there. Sometimes, just a bit of online searching is enough to find yet more dishes you've never heard of: 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpHGeH3bWu8&pp=ygUaYmVyeWwgc2hlcmVzaGV3c2t5IGxlbnRpbHPSBwkJxwkBhyohjO8%3D

And then there's also the humble chickpea- probably my favourite of all! I use chickpeas a lot. I mostly cook Tunisian meals and there's a lot of chickpea based meals in Tunisian cuisine, such as couscous with lamb, chickpeas and raisins (the lamb is obviously expensive but can be left out), lablebi (a winter breakfast dish made with chickpeas, broth and stale bread), barley and chickpeas soup, and even Tunisian pasta usually contains chickpeas. They can be added to pretty much any dish. And homemade hummus is also one of our favourites; I usually make a big batch and then freeze smaller portions. Chickpea flour is a pantry staple for us and can be used in many ways. Believe it or not, but Tunisians even make cookies with chickpea flour. 

Pasta 

Pasta must be on this list! I think there's no starch more versatile than pasta, not even rice. Due to the many varieties and shapes, you can make about any meal with pasta, even "rice-y dishes" by simply using orzo instead of rice. The options are limitless, and you can choose from so many shapes, combining different vegetables, protein, and sauces. And make sure to not just stick to Italian foods. Who said one cuisine could have patent on a certain kind of starch? Italian cuisine is lovely, not trying to put it down- it's just that there are many other countries using pasta too in their own unique way. Or just make up your own recipe- even better! 

I was intending to do a recipe post but this turned out to be more a list of suggestions, so stay tuned as I'll try to do a "struggle meal" series with very cheap recipes. 

Fried rice with egg, onion and pepper - easy and cheap!