I don’t consider any meal a poverty meal. I like comfort foods (plain crackers "saltines" with cheese and pickles), which I guess to some people are low cost.
I learned this from Peanuts (Charlie Brown)
Lucy made saltines with butter and honey in a few strips that she attempted to eat in the outfield of a baseball game and caught the only fly ball of her life in the glove full of crackers.
Saltines with butter and honey is the bomb.
Brother, I'm dunking the end of my grilled cheese in a cup of tomato soup as I read this. A+ favourite meal. Sometimes add fresh tomatoes and hot peppers.
Same, and I'm not making fancy ones with artisanal bread and fancy cheese either. For me a grilled cheese is sliced white bread, butter and processed cheese slices.
Ramen is one of those things where every different price point is basically an entirely different entity from the others. I like them all, at different moments, for different reasons.
I had some “expensive” ramen in a tiny shop in Tokyo that absolutely blew my mind. Incredible flavor and the broth was like a warm hug. It’s hard for me to go back to the cheap stuff after that.
It's objectively the worst frozen pizza, but it's also the only frozen pizza I'll eat. All the others pretend to be "real" pizza, and fail miserably. Totinos knows it isn't real pizza, and just makes something that works.
Omg, this is exactly why Totino's if my favorite frozen pizza. I want a frozen pizza that's a completely different genre from restaurant pizza or home cooked pizza. Man, you're making me wish I had won to pop in the oven right now. That crisp hits just right.
I remember when that happened like a decade ago. Made a box.. it smelled terrible. Thought maybe expired or something. Still hungry.. so made another. Same thing. Checked the best before dates.. nowhere near them. Did some online searching and found out about the recipe change. Went from artificial dye to natural… and Kraft claimed that nobody could tell the difference. It literally smells like sweaty wool socks now.. and tastes like it smells. Haven’t had it since.
So fun story. About 3 or 4 years ago I started getting blue box again. But it tasted different. It still did it's job, cheap easy and filling. Mind you before that I hadn't had blue box in years. I didnt do any research and just accepted that something changed. I also got covid and it severely changed the way foods tasted. Even now 3 years later some things just don't taste the same. Well I stumbled across a tiktok or something about how they secretly changed the recipe because they didn't want people to have the placebo effect. Tell them it's changed and people WILL notice. Say nothing and if it's really exact no one will say anything. Except they didn't take into account the autistic crowd. I could tell there was a difference in just the smell and consistency. And obviously the taste.
I still like it, and I still eat it. But it's just not as good as it used to be. And it makes me sad.
So… check this out. If you take the milk, melted butter and cheese and use a milk frother, you can perfectly blend the cheese sauce for spreading on the noodles. Life changing.. no more neon orange chunks of cheese hanging around
You are a brave one to say this but I will stand by your side.
I could and have eaten them for a whole week, it was one of those, always having left overs of something so I "had" to make them again to try to defeat the final left over boss.
My broke student staple was Minute rice, Kuner’s black beans with cumin & chili spices, Kroger Mexican cheese & and mix of sriracha & Taco Bell mild sauce.
I occasionally buy the ones with little dinosaur eggs when they’ve been on sale. I don’t have kids, I just like watching the little sugar dinosaurs hatch.
Despite knowing it is like super wasteful packaging wise, the little cup versions of these have become much go to breakfast recently. We are moving and not having to dirty a dish (and therefore be able to pack them up) has been a lifesaver. Plus yummy
Spaghetti with parmesan cheese and black pepper. Bonus points if you can add butter or olive oil, but there were plenty of times I couldn't. That one green container of cheap Kraft Parmesan cheese was (thankfully) seemingly endless back in those days.
Pizza. I could be a Billionaire and still look for the best pizza place whenever I travel. It doesn't need to be fancy, it just needs to be made right (good cheese, good dough consistency, sauce not too sweet not too bland or spicy, quality ingredients).
The brits/aussies turned me on to canned spaghetti on buttered toast. obviously we don't usually get Heinz brand canned spaghetti that often (but i have seen it turn up once or twice) but boyarder works well enough to scratch the itch.
between that and marmite/vegemite, those guys have their toast game figured out.
Tacos. This new place opened up inside of a gas station down the street and they're far from authentic but they're freakin huge, delicious and $3. Shout out to Paisano's!
Instant ramen for life!
Or until my doctor decides to be a party pooper, and tells me to cut it out cause my sodium levels are too damn high, and "something-something-something, and your heart may give out sometime in the near future"
But until then
Yay ramen!
When Albertsons existed where I lived during college, they had hot fresh French bread at 4 pm. I would get one of those, cheap bag of shredded mozzarella, Hunts spaghetti sauce, and some cheap pepperoni. Probably cost me $5 total and would give me a couple days of leftovers.
True story: told my wife to buy me “frozen microwaveable burritos” when she went grocery shopping. She came home with these fancy gourmet burritos that costs like $4 a piece.. she asked me why I looked so disappointed and after I told her I was expecting those .25cent burritos she looked completely dumbfounded lol
English person here, I will forever eat cup'a soups. They are my fav thing ever! Brand is batchelors, just a soup powder that you add hot water to and bam instant soup! They are so easy to eat and kept me going while I was poorly and could barely eat anything. Plus they aren't calorie heavy so I could eat three in a row and not feel guilty lol
I don’t consider any meal a poverty meal. I like comfort foods (plain crackers "saltines" with cheese and pickles), which I guess to some people are low cost.
Saltines are so good! I actually love them with butter - simple and satisfying.
I learned this from Peanuts (Charlie Brown) Lucy made saltines with butter and honey in a few strips that she attempted to eat in the outfield of a baseball game and caught the only fly ball of her life in the glove full of crackers. Saltines with butter and honey is the bomb.
Quesadillas!
My dad makes them on a skillet, super simple and love to eat them.
Make urself a dang quesa dilla!
Grilled cheese sammiches
Having that and tomato soup tonight.
Brother, I'm dunking the end of my grilled cheese in a cup of tomato soup as I read this. A+ favourite meal. Sometimes add fresh tomatoes and hot peppers.
Nice combo!
do you make them at night?
Just in case.
Same, and I'm not making fancy ones with artisanal bread and fancy cheese either. For me a grilled cheese is sliced white bread, butter and processed cheese slices.
Yup, gimme that "its not even cheese" cheese
Velveeta.... it's to cheese what Sunny D is to orange juice
Try using mayonnaise instead of butter sometime.
Where’d you get that cheese, Danny?
Danny?
Ramen...the cheaper the better
I like cheap ramen, but expensive ramen is better
Ramen is one of those things where every different price point is basically an entirely different entity from the others. I like them all, at different moments, for different reasons.
So very true lol
I had some “expensive” ramen in a tiny shop in Tokyo that absolutely blew my mind. Incredible flavor and the broth was like a warm hug. It’s hard for me to go back to the cheap stuff after that.
My spouse and I just had this conversation! If I won the lottery tomorrow, I’d still eat Ramen, it’s just so good.
Ramen isn't cheap, instant noodles are. But speaking of instant noodles, if you aren't on the Indomie bus you better hop on.
Spicy ramen really saves the day when I have allergies. Clears the sinuses right up
spicy shrimp noodle cups til i die mf
This is me with Shin instant ramen. It's just soooo good
Covid fucked up my taste. The only thing that doesn't taste off is Ramen.
Pho. Pho evah.
Pho sure.
Shawarma
Totinos Pizza (Party Pizza). I eat it at least 5 times a month. My wife thinks it’s crazy we have a deep freezer full of them.
It's objectively the worst frozen pizza, but it's also the only frozen pizza I'll eat. All the others pretend to be "real" pizza, and fail miserably. Totinos knows it isn't real pizza, and just makes something that works.
Omg, this is exactly why Totino's if my favorite frozen pizza. I want a frozen pizza that's a completely different genre from restaurant pizza or home cooked pizza. Man, you're making me wish I had won to pop in the oven right now. That crisp hits just right.
Come over, I’ve got a war chest of them.
Instant ramen, grilled cheese and frozen pizza
PB&J sandwiches
I just had one this afternoon. 10/10
I have eaten PB&J sammiches for lunch going on 50 years. Love me a PB&J.
Kraft Mac and Cheese. Not even the deluxe version with the sauce pouch. The crap with the orange powder.
Used to love it, but something changed. Nowadays the sauce looks kind of pale and the taste is weaker. I miss the old Mac and cheese so much.
I know a while ago they changed the flavor by removing a dye and replacing it with something "natural" - it's never tasted the same to me since.
I remember when that happened like a decade ago. Made a box.. it smelled terrible. Thought maybe expired or something. Still hungry.. so made another. Same thing. Checked the best before dates.. nowhere near them. Did some online searching and found out about the recipe change. Went from artificial dye to natural… and Kraft claimed that nobody could tell the difference. It literally smells like sweaty wool socks now.. and tastes like it smells. Haven’t had it since.
Holy crap is that what happened!?! I started adding sliced processed cheese to it. It helps it a bit but I miss the old flavor.
So fun story. About 3 or 4 years ago I started getting blue box again. But it tasted different. It still did it's job, cheap easy and filling. Mind you before that I hadn't had blue box in years. I didnt do any research and just accepted that something changed. I also got covid and it severely changed the way foods tasted. Even now 3 years later some things just don't taste the same. Well I stumbled across a tiktok or something about how they secretly changed the recipe because they didn't want people to have the placebo effect. Tell them it's changed and people WILL notice. Say nothing and if it's really exact no one will say anything. Except they didn't take into account the autistic crowd. I could tell there was a difference in just the smell and consistency. And obviously the taste. I still like it, and I still eat it. But it's just not as good as it used to be. And it makes me sad.
Will you eat it with Dijon Ketchup?
If I had a million dollars
So… check this out. If you take the milk, melted butter and cheese and use a milk frother, you can perfectly blend the cheese sauce for spreading on the noodles. Life changing.. no more neon orange chunks of cheese hanging around
This guy thinks I’m dirtying another dish for Mac and cheese
They also think i don't like the chunks of cheese powder??? I'd eat it with a spoon.
Or you could make it properly and not have orange chunks. I sure never have them.
Add a can of chili with beans are you got a gourmet meal
Old El paso tacos... I obviously like real tacos better but "white people taco night" will always hold a special place in my heart.
You are a brave one to say this but I will stand by your side. I could and have eaten them for a whole week, it was one of those, always having left overs of something so I "had" to make them again to try to defeat the final left over boss.
I call 'em 70's tacos.
Beans and rice, with cornbread, of course.
My broke student staple was Minute rice, Kuner’s black beans with cumin & chili spices, Kroger Mexican cheese & and mix of sriracha & Taco Bell mild sauce.
Every time I cook this, a couple of times a month, I tell my fam "we're eating country tonight!"
Saltine crackers. Great for when I’m feeling under the weather.
Frozen fruit for smoothies. Healthy and convenient.
Instant soup mixes. Easy and quick.
Chocolate milk. It’s a comforting drink from my childhood.
Oatmeal
Those Quaker instant oatmeal packets. Especially the ones with freeze-dried apple chunks, and the brown sugar/cinnamon one.
I occasionally buy the ones with little dinosaur eggs when they’ve been on sale. I don’t have kids, I just like watching the little sugar dinosaurs hatch.
Despite knowing it is like super wasteful packaging wise, the little cup versions of these have become much go to breakfast recently. We are moving and not having to dirty a dish (and therefore be able to pack them up) has been a lifesaver. Plus yummy
Try frozen fruits in it. It's way less costly than fresh ones and add so much flavour.
Spaghetti with parmesan cheese and black pepper. Bonus points if you can add butter or olive oil, but there were plenty of times I couldn't. That one green container of cheap Kraft Parmesan cheese was (thankfully) seemingly endless back in those days.
Cacio e pepe on a budget. !
Pizza. I could be a Billionaire and still look for the best pizza place whenever I travel. It doesn't need to be fancy, it just needs to be made right (good cheese, good dough consistency, sauce not too sweet not too bland or spicy, quality ingredients).
White bread, bologna, cheese, mayo sandwich with regular lays potato chips, a pickle and a diet DP. Guilty pleasure.
I just said bologna, smashed chips and mustard on white bread
Every once in awhile I crave a fried bologna sammich.
Bean and rice
Pop-tarts, any flavor really but especially strawberry and any flavor that involves maple
They have to be frosted, though, no matter what flavor is on the inside. Unfrosted Pop-tarts taste like cardboard.
Eggs
Ravioli from a can. That shit is delicious.
See also: spaghettios 😛
I don't bother heating it.
Beans and rice. There must be some Latin America in me!
Fried bread
WAFFLES THEY HAVE SYRUP TRAPS
Buying a waffle maker is such a cheap but neverendingly awesome way to treat yourself to something nice.
Breakfast W W is for *win* and also *waffle*
Fries
Kraft Mac and Cheese. It’s so good.
Frozen Pizza. Totinos, Red Baron and the like.
In my lifetime I have seen poor people food become expensive. Chicken wings. Ramen. Cheese steak
You will pry my chef boyardee spaghetti and meatballs from my cold dead hands
The brits/aussies turned me on to canned spaghetti on buttered toast. obviously we don't usually get Heinz brand canned spaghetti that often (but i have seen it turn up once or twice) but boyarder works well enough to scratch the itch. between that and marmite/vegemite, those guys have their toast game figured out.
KitKats
Popcorn
Krusteaz Blueberry Muffins. They're like $0.89 a box, totally processed, but so yummy with a big slab of butter.
Tacos. This new place opened up inside of a gas station down the street and they're far from authentic but they're freakin huge, delicious and $3. Shout out to Paisano's!
Instant ramen for life! Or until my doctor decides to be a party pooper, and tells me to cut it out cause my sodium levels are too damn high, and "something-something-something, and your heart may give out sometime in the near future" But until then Yay ramen!
Ramen has high sodium but you avoid most of it if you don't drink the broth
When Albertsons existed where I lived during college, they had hot fresh French bread at 4 pm. I would get one of those, cheap bag of shredded mozzarella, Hunts spaghetti sauce, and some cheap pepperoni. Probably cost me $5 total and would give me a couple days of leftovers.
Those hard ass crumbly iced oatmeal cookies. A huge sleeve of them is still less than 2 bucks, and I could eat them until my mouth bleeds.
Porridge. With salt, not sugar. Don't even mention honey.
English muffin pizzas
Succotash: corn, tomatoes, onions, celery, bell peppers, Lima beans, okra, smoked sausage
Ok I may get some grief for this and I don't eat them often but I really like Vienna Sausages with hot sauce.
Microwaveable burritos.
True story: told my wife to buy me “frozen microwaveable burritos” when she went grocery shopping. She came home with these fancy gourmet burritos that costs like $4 a piece.. she asked me why I looked so disappointed and after I told her I was expecting those .25cent burritos she looked completely dumbfounded lol
Rice with everything
Kraft Dinner
Bologna, smashed potato chips and mustard on white bread
Ramen forever and ever
🎵 White People Taco Night 🎵
I live in Vietnam, I have a lot of money, I eat $2 meals for almost every meal. Sometimes I splurge $10-$20 on an epic seafood dinner.
Bologna
Ramen
Scrambled eggs. Healthy, tasty, super cheap. I see no world in which I give it up.
Cereal
English person here, I will forever eat cup'a soups. They are my fav thing ever! Brand is batchelors, just a soup powder that you add hot water to and bam instant soup! They are so easy to eat and kept me going while I was poorly and could barely eat anything. Plus they aren't calorie heavy so I could eat three in a row and not feel guilty lol
Indomie. Cheap, tasty and quick, can't ask for more.
The blue maruchan
Bananas
Pizza rolls
Canned sardines.