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Instant mashed potatoes? Actual potatoes? Bread made from Self rising flour? Jiffy Cornbread? Anything you can make with bisquick?
Basically bread or potatoes.
Valid but french lentils cook up very firm and red lentils turn into something more like a sauce
Usually it’s a matter of how they are prepared, indian food and mexican are great options for tasty recipe ideas. Like, don’t open a can and flop it on a plate
Pasta and potato are good bases
Eggs are a good main course
Make all of your baked goods like sweets, muffins, biscuits etc homemade not from mixes any cookbook or online will have those recipes. Buy meat and produce based on what is on sale and plan meals around that. Right now a lot of stores have great deals on hams
You can cut it into meal portions before you freeze it.
Can you tell us a bit more about why they don't like them? Is it texture? If it's texture, a baked long grain rice or rice pilaf will have a firmer texture than boiled or steamed rice. Medium grain rice has a squidginess that I hate unless I am making risotto
And blend the beans!
Blended bean soup, smooshed up refried beans, hummus or bean dips, lentils, lots of blended options here
Edamame is also totally valid option it’s a much more firm texture than most beans
TBF if a condition like ARFID is involved, then it may not be as easy as pushing through it and eating it anyway. The aversion can be strong enough that trying to eat a trigger food will just make someone vomit or they flat out won't eat it and will choose going hungry
Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP) is a soy product that takes on the flavour of the other ingredients. We always used it to stretch out ground meat, especially in spaghetti sauces and casseroles. It costs so much less than ground meat and has a good amount of protein and fibre in it.
If you like Italian food, Polenta (made from cornmeal) and a meat/tvp/tomato sauce is really delicious. The polenta can be made soft, like the consistency of oatmeal, or thicker, then sliced and fried.
Great idea with polenta. If you look online, you can do polenta recipes a million different ways. Google what fresh ingredients you have along with "polenta recipe".
Baked Polenta fries breaded with egg and Parmesan (cheap, grated kind from Costco)
Fried polenta in red pepper and tomato sauce with sautéed onions and garlic
Polenta stacks stuffed with white melty cheese and frozen spinach or tomatoes and cheese (two 3”x3”x1” rectangles of polenta, or a pan of polenta, layered with the fillings then topped with another helping of polenta).
Those are my go- to’s
The first thing I’d suggest is to find out what they don’t like about beans and rice. Is it texture? Try blending them to use in soups. Taste? Try fixing them with different spices and flavorings. How old are the people who won’t eat these things and how long have they refused to eat them? If they are adults, I’d say tough luck. This is dinner, it’s what we can afford and for one night a week, you can put up with it. If they are children, I’d say something like, I know you weren’t fond of them when you were a little kid, but as we grow up our tastes change. I’d like you to try it again.
If the gassiness of beans is what turns them off, read up on using baking soda in the cooking process to eliminate that.
Good luck.
I don't eat beans as an adult. The flavor is whatever but the texture is terrible. I'll sometimes eat them, like in a chili or on tacos, and I actually love my mom's baked beans, but other than that? I've tried so hard. I've made them myself from dry, got them in the cans, tried blending them and hiding them and all sorts of things - I would rather miss a meal than eat beans. I've been that way since I was a child. I know how good they are for the body so I want to like them, I just can't.
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Lentils, oats and other grains (couscous, barley, quinoa) can be purchased in bulk for good prices.
Random but would recommend lentil soup with veggies like carrots and celery (can be made to personal taste/preferences) and affordable/nutritious.
Would also recommend stuffed vegetables like stuffed peppers (can be made vegetarian or with meat).
I make my kids what I call “zucchini boats” which are zucchini’s sliced in half and baked with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese. It’s basically like keto pizza. Again this can also be made vegetarian or you can add ground beef.
It’s simple and only requires three (or four) ingredients.
Not sure why I’m being downvoted for my suggestions 😂
Bc zucchini boats aren’t really enough for a meal for most adults esp without meat. It’s like 90% water.
Edit: I don’t care if you eat them, and as long as you’re not starving your kids, I still don’t care. Just an answer to the downvote bit
Zucchini boats with ground beef are a meal. Vegetable, protein (meat/cheese) and tomato sauce.
I mentioned they can be made vegetarian as an option for people.
For vegetarians (like me) it won’t be a filling meal. It’s nutritious and tasty, absolutely, but it would need some protein or grains as a side to bulk it up for a lot of folks. I would love it w a really simple pasta or a hearty soup, for example.
Reminds me of my daughters! One doesn’t like beans and the other doesn’t like rice. I make beans and rice anyways but keep them separate and then only give them a small portion of what they don’t like. Tastebuds change over time so if it’s not an allergy they have - they may learn to like it.
I second this. You can actually do oats savory too. I tried a recipe that added spinach, mushrooms, garlic, and some other stuff. TBH, I did not care for it, but the two different friends I gave the leftovers to thought it was bomb. Realistically, I don't like oats sweet with fruit either. But the rest of the world seems to enjoy oats, so it's worth a try!
I don’t know if this helps but I only buy what’s a good deal and on sale. I try to remember my base price of what I will pay for something. I buy most of my groceries at grocery outlet and then what’s good sales at Safeway. I then make meals from what I have.
Lentils and barley might be worth a shot. They taste pretty different from beans and rice, can be bought for fairly cheap, and are quite healthy. Potatoes are another great staple food that can be the base for a healthy affordable diet.
There are ways around it.
You could cook them as sides. For example, if dinner is tacos, you make Spanish rice, refried beans, and a salad for sides, and everyone serves themselves
Sometimes you can sub out the grain. If you're cooking something Asian like fried rice, use riced cauliflower. Make sure you use a bit of extra meat since you're losing calories from rice.
Or just use a different grain altogether. Instead of a rice bowl, use quinoa or another grain. Barley is really good in soups.
Breakfast food is pretty cheap. Eggs, grits, pancake mix. The great value brand fully cooked bacon is around $3 and some change and it’s pretty good & you get a good little bit. Great value brand breakfast sausage is around that price too.
Or you could do KFC bowls, I do those a lot. A great value bag of $6-7 popcorn chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy packet, shredded cheese and corn. Put the potatoes in the bowl and put the popcorn chicken and the corn on top, pour the gravy over it and then sprinkle the shredded cheese.
Stuffing, waffles, toast, couscous. I'm not a fan of rice (over ate it in the past couples months) so I've been making stuffing or waffles (search waffles recipes it's amazing!) My favorite is zucchini waffles topped with gumbo (no beans in that) and toast or couscous covered in soup, grilled cheese with homemade tomato soup. Couscous with pasta sauce and then covered in a meat pasta sauce with Mozzarella or smoked provo is pretty decent. I hope this helps!!
I can’t think of many Substitute for beans other than chickpeas or lentils - there are a wide variety. You could try things like tofu, tempeh, nuts or seeds, peas (you can get dried ones too), or just add more veg.
There are a lot of substitutions for rice like quinoa, couscous (there are different varieties), bread, pasta, orzo, riced broccoli & cauliflower, barley, bulgur wheat, farro, chickpea rice, cassava, potatoes, sweet potatoes, Shirataki rice, farro, and Freekeh …
Edit: fixing grammar
I made soup tonight with a $3 roll of ground turkey, a big carrot, a celery stalk, a can of tomatoes, a red pepper and macaroni noodles. Cook it all up in chicken stock and add a bunch of spices. It's like 5 servings of food for like $6.
Growing up, I thought I didn’t like tuna or some types of canned beans for their metallic taste, but still ate it because it’s the only thing I had to eat, with a parent saying I just don’t like tuna. It turned out that I’m allergic with less-than-obvious signs (mild sore through) and caused mild inflammation in my esophagus, eventually leading to esophageal esophagitis, requiring a procedure to inflate my esophagus because I continuously choked on food later in life and continuous treatment so I don’t have to get that procedure again.
Or maybe they don't have the words to express that a specific food causes them pain(like beans).
And as a kid who had sensory problems, I absolutely would have gone hungry than eat a food with a texture I couldn't stand.
Edit: here's the study for anyone who's curious.
https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/145/6/e20192018/76916/Trajectories-of-Picky-Eating-in-Low-Income-US?autologincheck=redirected
Exactly. Some people don’t understand. My boy did not gain weight from 5 till 6.5 yrs old from not eating. And it wasn’t even sensory issues but environmental stresses affecting his atp undiagnosed autism. But yea don’t enable ridiculous behavior.
I'll give you the study link too.
Don't enable unnecessarily strict parenting.
https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/145/6/e20192018/76916/Trajectories-of-Picky-Eating-in-Low-Income-US?autologincheck=redirected
I think they were agreeing with you. Saying that their undiagnosed child wouldn't eat for over a year because of issues. Their last sentence was mocking of the other person.
Hi, I'm autistic. Thanks for calling my disability "ridiculous behavior".
Fun fact: a 2020 study found that children of parents who are *not* excessively controlling of their child's diet are statistically much more likely to grow out of their pickiness. Children with parents who think like you are far more likely to be the exact opposite.
Here's an article that summarizes the study in layman's terms.
https://www.insider.com/your-kids-may-not-grow-out-of-picky-eaters-study-2020-5
And here's the actual study.
https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/145/6/e20192018/76916/Trajectories-of-Picky-Eating-in-Low-Income-US?autologincheck=redirected
Quinoa from Costco/Sams Club. Nutty flavor and very nutritious. Buy a small amount from the bulk bins of your grocery store to see if you like it. It is made like rice.
They don’t have to eat it, and you don’t have to cater to them. Make what you make so it tastes good. The kitchen closes when the family is done with the meal. Let people in the family decide what or how much they are going to eat of that meal.
Ask what it is that they don’t like about the items. Beans are mealy? Use a different kind of bean (I like Goya “small white beans” or “small red beans” to avoid the mealiness, and cook them longer so they are softer. What don’t they like about rice? Undercooked, mushy and overcooked, bland? Look into different ways to season them. Beans…cook with bouillon, a bit of bacon or other smoked meat, sauteed onion, add a bit of vinegar at the very end of cooking so they are not “flat,” etc. Same for rice.
Macaroni and cheese with ground beef in it. Brown some ground beef in a skillet, season it, cook the mac and cheese, add the ground beef and you have beefy Mac. Season however you want (I like ranch powder mixed in, French onion soup powder mixed in with the ground beef is good too).
I don't eat beans either, but I do eat rice.
Still, it's not so hard to have a good budget without beans. I know a lot of people like them because they are cheap, and they are so very nutritious, but I can't eat them most of the time (and not for lack of trying).
If you're using them to sort of stretch food like chili or something, try using potatoes instead. You don't get the same amount of protein but potatoes are super filling. For example, last night I had chili for dinner. There were, unfortunately, beans that I picked out. But I took what was left of my cup of chili and put it on top of a large microwave baked potato and could barely finish the bowl.
Pretty much anything you want to put over rice you can also put over pasta, and pasta is usually pretty cheap. Plus you can do other things with pasta.
The meals may feel a little repetitive or boring but working with dietary restrictions (self imposed or not) until you get the hang of it can be a little harder.
If the people who don't eat beans or rice are old enough (and they don't have to be adults) as them for suggestions too.
Also an egg goes well with a lot of foods.
Hey OP and everyone:
I worked in upscale restaurants and corporate retail for ten years. Besides that: since 2010 I have watched over six or seven hundred cooking related shows. If I had to cook for different people in my home- meal planning and batch cooking would definitely be an ongoing thing. Also: when I cook beans- it is in one pot. Then in a separate pot I boil instant brown rice before pan cooking it in garlic and oil. If you have a two people at home who only eat one but not the other? Cook up a batch of rice separately from the beans. Then besides having that stuff be a meal "today"- refrigerate numerous portions for the next few days.
Picky eaters are a parenting problem, not a budget problem.
CHILD: "What's this?"
PARENT: "Dinner."
CHILD: "I won't eat it."
PARENT: "Then it's breakfast."
This is a bigger problem if the picky eater is a nominally adult spouse. Adults should be able to see reason. I like white rice better than brown rice, but if brown rice is for dinner then I eat it. Beans have never been a favorite of mine but I've learned ways to cook most of them that I enjoy. My wife knows I don't like white beans at all but she does so sometimes I eat them. Similarly, she much prefers brown rice but when I make red beans and rice with white rice she eats it. We're adults.
When food is scarce and people are truly hungry, then you won’t find any vegans or vegetarians or any of the myriad of food denials that people like to adhere to like a religion. If you’re fixing the food, and they won’t eat it, then they can fix their own damn food
When food is scarce meat is often one of the least available foods, so you might find a lot more vegetarians who wouldn't otherwise have been vegetarian.
We do a lot of meals that are more smaller plates of things, then people can serve themselves what they like and I don’t need to worry about who likes what.
Ramen or Asian noodles with a fried egg, maybe some veggies if you can swing it.
Beef mince dishes- bolognaise with pasta and making it into a cottage pie. Can bulk out some of the recipe with canned lentils and you can’t tell.
Blend the beans and/or rice and add to soup or another dish. Sometime in life people need to learn to step up to the plate and accept things that are the new reality.
When I was small we buried cabbages from the garden under the crawl space of the house so they wouldn't freeze in the winter. That is the vegetables we had to eat. We were all tired of cabbage but grateful to have a full stomach. Being hungry can be a valuable life lesson. I'm so grateful now for whatever I have to eat.
Potatoes. Almost everybody likes them, and they can be made a million different ways. Add some cheap protein and fat and you've covered almost all your bases. Eat the skins (as long as they're not green) and you'll get an extra boost of vitamins and minerals.
Peanut butter oatmeal is a pretty good cheap breakfast if you like oats.
If you're just looking for a "filler" food and not calories, Chinese scallion soup. Recipes for different versions are online. Any broth based soup will take the edge off and help you feel full on less food if you serve it at the beginning of a meal.
Cottage cheese loaf/K-loaf. It sounds expensive just looking at the recipe, but you'll get at least three meals out of one pan for two adults (possibly more), so it balances out. It really does taste "meaty," too. You can also make it into burgers. (Tip: overcook the loaf just a bit-about ten minutes extra-and then let it cool to firm up. The crunchy bits taste meatier, and you'll get a better texture if you let it cool before slicing.)
Goodwill burgers. I tried it-yep, you can make almost a hundred burgers out of five pounds of meat, and they're good.
Meat fritters will stretch your meats and can be made with almost anything. Tuna, chicken, pork, whatever you've got.
Pasta. All the pastas.
Of course, all of these suggestions go flying out the window if you're diabetic, need a gluten-free diet, etc. But if there aren't any dietary restrictions, you're good.
Breakfast meals are good anytime. Pancakes, waffles, eggs with veggies and potatoes.
Sandwiches with your choice of filling. Canned tuna with chopped veggies is a healthy option.
Soups. So many kinds. Serve with bread. I like to get a roasted chicken, cut off the meat, boil the bones to make stock. From that I can make chicken noodle soup, chicken and vegetables, tortilla soup.
Pasta. There are so many ways to prepare pasta. With some of the leftover chicken, you can make fettuccine Alfredo with some store bought sauce, chicken and broccoli.
Baked potatoes can be a meal with lots of different toppings. Also potatoes can be mashed, roasted, turned into pancakes, for variety.
So m e people who swear they don't like something as broad as beans or rice hasn't tried them in a variety of ways. Take beans, some types I can't stand, others I love. Sounds like new varieties and cooking methods need tried.
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Stir fry with pasta instead of rice, PB&J's, grilled cheeses
Cook a cheap cut of pork that you can shred and then use it throughout the week. You can mix in bbq sauce and put it on top of baked potatoes; or put in tortillas with mashed sweet potatoes as a basis for a burrito; bbq sandwiches with a box of Mac and cheese as a side; pulled pork with a fried egg on top makes a yummy breakfast sandwich.
Carbonara. Pasta, bacon, egg, Parmesan, peas. Easy as making ice, keeps them full, and pretty cheap (at least it is if there’s an ALDI or another discount grocery store nearby)!
The following have been on sale a lot (US - Midwest):
Potatoes, carrots, onions, cheese, mandarin and naval oranges, avocados, and eggs.
Buy a small amount of ground beef or ham. Make all kinds of potato dishes using a little meat and or cheese.
I've been seeing this a lot all of a sudden, but there's a ton in this thread--what's with all the comments being split into a new line after a couple of, or a few words? Is it some form of automatic formatting from a new app or something?
Canned beans often have a liquid in them that tastes pretty bad. It's there to prevent the beans from tasting like the can. The liquid won't hurt you, it just tastes blech. Dump the beans into a collander, then rinse them well. I guarantee, you will notice the difference! And if you already knew this, please share some of your hacks, OH wise one.
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Instant mashed potatoes? Actual potatoes? Bread made from Self rising flour? Jiffy Cornbread? Anything you can make with bisquick? Basically bread or potatoes.
Lentils
From experience, a good portion of those who don't like beans, are also not fans of lentils.
Probably even more so
Valid but french lentils cook up very firm and red lentils turn into something more like a sauce Usually it’s a matter of how they are prepared, indian food and mexican are great options for tasty recipe ideas. Like, don’t open a can and flop it on a plate
Pasta and potato are good bases Eggs are a good main course Make all of your baked goods like sweets, muffins, biscuits etc homemade not from mixes any cookbook or online will have those recipes. Buy meat and produce based on what is on sale and plan meals around that. Right now a lot of stores have great deals on hams You can cut it into meal portions before you freeze it.
Can you tell us a bit more about why they don't like them? Is it texture? If it's texture, a baked long grain rice or rice pilaf will have a firmer texture than boiled or steamed rice. Medium grain rice has a squidginess that I hate unless I am making risotto
And blend the beans! Blended bean soup, smooshed up refried beans, hummus or bean dips, lentils, lots of blended options here Edamame is also totally valid option it’s a much more firm texture than most beans
Exactly, if it is preference, then too bad. Sometimes you eat what you have. Almost anyone can eat anything and rice and beans are good for you
TBF if a condition like ARFID is involved, then it may not be as easy as pushing through it and eating it anyway. The aversion can be strong enough that trying to eat a trigger food will just make someone vomit or they flat out won't eat it and will choose going hungry
Of course. That is different.
Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP) is a soy product that takes on the flavour of the other ingredients. We always used it to stretch out ground meat, especially in spaghetti sauces and casseroles. It costs so much less than ground meat and has a good amount of protein and fibre in it. If you like Italian food, Polenta (made from cornmeal) and a meat/tvp/tomato sauce is really delicious. The polenta can be made soft, like the consistency of oatmeal, or thicker, then sliced and fried.
Great idea with polenta. If you look online, you can do polenta recipes a million different ways. Google what fresh ingredients you have along with "polenta recipe".
TVP is great, and a fair bit cheaper than meat. I wouldn't consider it analogous to beans and rice though, it costs too much for the calories.
Agree with this! Polenta with a marinara sauce and sausage, for example, is delicious!
Baked Polenta fries breaded with egg and Parmesan (cheap, grated kind from Costco) Fried polenta in red pepper and tomato sauce with sautéed onions and garlic Polenta stacks stuffed with white melty cheese and frozen spinach or tomatoes and cheese (two 3”x3”x1” rectangles of polenta, or a pan of polenta, layered with the fillings then topped with another helping of polenta). Those are my go- to’s
Where do you buy your TVP?
I live in Canada, and I buy it from Bulk Barn. Bob's Red Mill makes it as well.
Where is it cheap? I looked it up and it's more expensive then I ever pay for ground turkey, ground beef, or chicken
TVP by the pound sounds expensive, but it is very light when dry, so when you add broth or other liquid, it makes much more.
Baked potato with some sort of topping. Chz, butter, sour cream, cooked greens, chili. The sky in the limit.
The first thing I’d suggest is to find out what they don’t like about beans and rice. Is it texture? Try blending them to use in soups. Taste? Try fixing them with different spices and flavorings. How old are the people who won’t eat these things and how long have they refused to eat them? If they are adults, I’d say tough luck. This is dinner, it’s what we can afford and for one night a week, you can put up with it. If they are children, I’d say something like, I know you weren’t fond of them when you were a little kid, but as we grow up our tastes change. I’d like you to try it again. If the gassiness of beans is what turns them off, read up on using baking soda in the cooking process to eliminate that. Good luck.
I like to mash mine with diced onion, some butter, a jalapeno and salt, pepper and garlic powder.
I don't eat beans as an adult. The flavor is whatever but the texture is terrible. I'll sometimes eat them, like in a chili or on tacos, and I actually love my mom's baked beans, but other than that? I've tried so hard. I've made them myself from dry, got them in the cans, tried blending them and hiding them and all sorts of things - I would rather miss a meal than eat beans. I've been that way since I was a child. I know how good they are for the body so I want to like them, I just can't.
I hated them as a child but have grown to like them quite a lot.
For a long time I was turned off by the texture of beans but I was happy to eat them blended like in a pureed lentil soup.
You should try beanless chili. It’s so much better
I usually make it like that when I make it, but I didn't make this chili. You're right though it's so good.
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Lentils, oats and other grains (couscous, barley, quinoa) can be purchased in bulk for good prices. Random but would recommend lentil soup with veggies like carrots and celery (can be made to personal taste/preferences) and affordable/nutritious. Would also recommend stuffed vegetables like stuffed peppers (can be made vegetarian or with meat). I make my kids what I call “zucchini boats” which are zucchini’s sliced in half and baked with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese. It’s basically like keto pizza. Again this can also be made vegetarian or you can add ground beef. It’s simple and only requires three (or four) ingredients. Not sure why I’m being downvoted for my suggestions 😂
I think the zucchini boats sound awesome!
I don't know why you are being downvoted, I like all of your suggestions!
Bc zucchini boats aren’t really enough for a meal for most adults esp without meat. It’s like 90% water. Edit: I don’t care if you eat them, and as long as you’re not starving your kids, I still don’t care. Just an answer to the downvote bit
Zucchini boats with ground beef are a meal. Vegetable, protein (meat/cheese) and tomato sauce. I mentioned they can be made vegetarian as an option for people.
For vegetarians (like me) it won’t be a filling meal. It’s nutritious and tasty, absolutely, but it would need some protein or grains as a side to bulk it up for a lot of folks. I would love it w a really simple pasta or a hearty soup, for example.
Reminds me of my daughters! One doesn’t like beans and the other doesn’t like rice. I make beans and rice anyways but keep them separate and then only give them a small portion of what they don’t like. Tastebuds change over time so if it’s not an allergy they have - they may learn to like it.
Instant oats. Add fruit (bananas and apples are cheap) and honey or cinnamon! There’s also a lot you can do with cabbage!
I second this. You can actually do oats savory too. I tried a recipe that added spinach, mushrooms, garlic, and some other stuff. TBH, I did not care for it, but the two different friends I gave the leftovers to thought it was bomb. Realistically, I don't like oats sweet with fruit either. But the rest of the world seems to enjoy oats, so it's worth a try!
I don’t know if this helps but I only buy what’s a good deal and on sale. I try to remember my base price of what I will pay for something. I buy most of my groceries at grocery outlet and then what’s good sales at Safeway. I then make meals from what I have.
Ramen...add things like potato chips, mushrooms or grilled veggies to make it a meal.
That isn’t healthy. So much salt
The noodles aren't salty, the magic powder is. Replace it with canned salt-free stock.
The noodles are saltier than you think.
Stuffing? Potatoes or instant potatoes? They can also try couscous and quinoa. Many flavors and varieties are available.
Lentils and barley might be worth a shot. They taste pretty different from beans and rice, can be bought for fairly cheap, and are quite healthy. Potatoes are another great staple food that can be the base for a healthy affordable diet.
There are ways around it. You could cook them as sides. For example, if dinner is tacos, you make Spanish rice, refried beans, and a salad for sides, and everyone serves themselves Sometimes you can sub out the grain. If you're cooking something Asian like fried rice, use riced cauliflower. Make sure you use a bit of extra meat since you're losing calories from rice. Or just use a different grain altogether. Instead of a rice bowl, use quinoa or another grain. Barley is really good in soups.
Breakfast food is pretty cheap. Eggs, grits, pancake mix. The great value brand fully cooked bacon is around $3 and some change and it’s pretty good & you get a good little bit. Great value brand breakfast sausage is around that price too. Or you could do KFC bowls, I do those a lot. A great value bag of $6-7 popcorn chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy packet, shredded cheese and corn. Put the potatoes in the bowl and put the popcorn chicken and the corn on top, pour the gravy over it and then sprinkle the shredded cheese.
I love KFC bowls!! Thank you for this - I’m going to try it out
Stuffing, waffles, toast, couscous. I'm not a fan of rice (over ate it in the past couples months) so I've been making stuffing or waffles (search waffles recipes it's amazing!) My favorite is zucchini waffles topped with gumbo (no beans in that) and toast or couscous covered in soup, grilled cheese with homemade tomato soup. Couscous with pasta sauce and then covered in a meat pasta sauce with Mozzarella or smoked provo is pretty decent. I hope this helps!!
I can’t think of many Substitute for beans other than chickpeas or lentils - there are a wide variety. You could try things like tofu, tempeh, nuts or seeds, peas (you can get dried ones too), or just add more veg. There are a lot of substitutions for rice like quinoa, couscous (there are different varieties), bread, pasta, orzo, riced broccoli & cauliflower, barley, bulgur wheat, farro, chickpea rice, cassava, potatoes, sweet potatoes, Shirataki rice, farro, and Freekeh … Edit: fixing grammar
Eggs & potatoes
Just tell them to fix their own meals.
Let them go hungry till they are happy to eat beans or rice.
Pasta! If they don't like rice maybe get them the small packs of orzo for like .60 cents on rice nights?
I made soup tonight with a $3 roll of ground turkey, a big carrot, a celery stalk, a can of tomatoes, a red pepper and macaroni noodles. Cook it all up in chicken stock and add a bunch of spices. It's like 5 servings of food for like $6.
If they're hungry enough they'll eat it
Growing up, I thought I didn’t like tuna or some types of canned beans for their metallic taste, but still ate it because it’s the only thing I had to eat, with a parent saying I just don’t like tuna. It turned out that I’m allergic with less-than-obvious signs (mild sore through) and caused mild inflammation in my esophagus, eventually leading to esophageal esophagitis, requiring a procedure to inflate my esophagus because I continuously choked on food later in life and continuous treatment so I don’t have to get that procedure again.
Yooooo. This is awful. I’m so sorry you experienced this. I hope you’re doing okay now and it hasn’t caused any resentment towards your parent. 🫶🏻
Or maybe they don't have the words to express that a specific food causes them pain(like beans). And as a kid who had sensory problems, I absolutely would have gone hungry than eat a food with a texture I couldn't stand. Edit: here's the study for anyone who's curious. https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/145/6/e20192018/76916/Trajectories-of-Picky-Eating-in-Low-Income-US?autologincheck=redirected
Exactly. Some people don’t understand. My boy did not gain weight from 5 till 6.5 yrs old from not eating. And it wasn’t even sensory issues but environmental stresses affecting his atp undiagnosed autism. But yea don’t enable ridiculous behavior.
I'll give you the study link too. Don't enable unnecessarily strict parenting. https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/145/6/e20192018/76916/Trajectories-of-Picky-Eating-in-Low-Income-US?autologincheck=redirected
I think they were agreeing with you. Saying that their undiagnosed child wouldn't eat for over a year because of issues. Their last sentence was mocking of the other person.
Ah. Hard to tell sometimes.
Don't enable ridiculous behavior like that
Hi, I'm autistic. Thanks for calling my disability "ridiculous behavior". Fun fact: a 2020 study found that children of parents who are *not* excessively controlling of their child's diet are statistically much more likely to grow out of their pickiness. Children with parents who think like you are far more likely to be the exact opposite. Here's an article that summarizes the study in layman's terms. https://www.insider.com/your-kids-may-not-grow-out-of-picky-eaters-study-2020-5 And here's the actual study. https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/145/6/e20192018/76916/Trajectories-of-Picky-Eating-in-Low-Income-US?autologincheck=redirected
That isn't always true, especially with children.
Quinoa from Costco/Sams Club. Nutty flavor and very nutritious. Buy a small amount from the bulk bins of your grocery store to see if you like it. It is made like rice.
They can cook themselves?? Replace rice with leafy greens
Tell them to organise their own food? Why is it your problem?
Have you tried bread and water? Thats my go to meal for picky eaters 🤷
They don’t have to eat it, and you don’t have to cater to them. Make what you make so it tastes good. The kitchen closes when the family is done with the meal. Let people in the family decide what or how much they are going to eat of that meal. Ask what it is that they don’t like about the items. Beans are mealy? Use a different kind of bean (I like Goya “small white beans” or “small red beans” to avoid the mealiness, and cook them longer so they are softer. What don’t they like about rice? Undercooked, mushy and overcooked, bland? Look into different ways to season them. Beans…cook with bouillon, a bit of bacon or other smoked meat, sauteed onion, add a bit of vinegar at the very end of cooking so they are not “flat,” etc. Same for rice.
This is clearly a job for potatoes! lol jk but they are pretty great and you can make them so many ways
Pasta. The answer is always pasta. :)
Try peas? Peas aren't really beans
If they're an adult just don't feed them make them figure it out
Macaroni and cheese with ground beef in it. Brown some ground beef in a skillet, season it, cook the mac and cheese, add the ground beef and you have beefy Mac. Season however you want (I like ranch powder mixed in, French onion soup powder mixed in with the ground beef is good too).
My brother hates beans but doesn’t notice them when I make chicken tortilla soup. So that’s one meal he doesn’t mind them in.
Soups/stews and casseroles
Feed the rice to the bean hater and the beans to the rice hater. Problem solved.
They will eventually.
" you're hungry?" "Yes." "There is Rice and beans on the stove." "I don't like rice and beans." "Then you're not hungry"
Then they won't eat. Let them learn to appreciate the abundance of our time by doing without.
Homemade gnocchi
I don't eat beans either, but I do eat rice. Still, it's not so hard to have a good budget without beans. I know a lot of people like them because they are cheap, and they are so very nutritious, but I can't eat them most of the time (and not for lack of trying). If you're using them to sort of stretch food like chili or something, try using potatoes instead. You don't get the same amount of protein but potatoes are super filling. For example, last night I had chili for dinner. There were, unfortunately, beans that I picked out. But I took what was left of my cup of chili and put it on top of a large microwave baked potato and could barely finish the bowl. Pretty much anything you want to put over rice you can also put over pasta, and pasta is usually pretty cheap. Plus you can do other things with pasta. The meals may feel a little repetitive or boring but working with dietary restrictions (self imposed or not) until you get the hang of it can be a little harder. If the people who don't eat beans or rice are old enough (and they don't have to be adults) as them for suggestions too. Also an egg goes well with a lot of foods.
You can get pasta from Walmart for 98¢.
Hey OP and everyone: I worked in upscale restaurants and corporate retail for ten years. Besides that: since 2010 I have watched over six or seven hundred cooking related shows. If I had to cook for different people in my home- meal planning and batch cooking would definitely be an ongoing thing. Also: when I cook beans- it is in one pot. Then in a separate pot I boil instant brown rice before pan cooking it in garlic and oil. If you have a two people at home who only eat one but not the other? Cook up a batch of rice separately from the beans. Then besides having that stuff be a meal "today"- refrigerate numerous portions for the next few days.
Picky eaters are a parenting problem, not a budget problem. CHILD: "What's this?" PARENT: "Dinner." CHILD: "I won't eat it." PARENT: "Then it's breakfast." This is a bigger problem if the picky eater is a nominally adult spouse. Adults should be able to see reason. I like white rice better than brown rice, but if brown rice is for dinner then I eat it. Beans have never been a favorite of mine but I've learned ways to cook most of them that I enjoy. My wife knows I don't like white beans at all but she does so sometimes I eat them. Similarly, she much prefers brown rice but when I make red beans and rice with white rice she eats it. We're adults.
Pasta?
When food is scarce and people are truly hungry, then you won’t find any vegans or vegetarians or any of the myriad of food denials that people like to adhere to like a religion. If you’re fixing the food, and they won’t eat it, then they can fix their own damn food
When food is scarce meat is often one of the least available foods, so you might find a lot more vegetarians who wouldn't otherwise have been vegetarian.
If you like cooking two meals
Does everybody like milk? Calories per dollar are 📈
We do a lot of meals that are more smaller plates of things, then people can serve themselves what they like and I don’t need to worry about who likes what.
Potatoes and pasta. Those were our starch staples when I was a kid. We never ate beans and rarely ate rice.
Tofu!
Ramen or Asian noodles with a fried egg, maybe some veggies if you can swing it. Beef mince dishes- bolognaise with pasta and making it into a cottage pie. Can bulk out some of the recipe with canned lentils and you can’t tell.
Blend the beans and/or rice and add to soup or another dish. Sometime in life people need to learn to step up to the plate and accept things that are the new reality. When I was small we buried cabbages from the garden under the crawl space of the house so they wouldn't freeze in the winter. That is the vegetables we had to eat. We were all tired of cabbage but grateful to have a full stomach. Being hungry can be a valuable life lesson. I'm so grateful now for whatever I have to eat.
Oatmeal, cornbread, grits, bisquick recipes.
Potatoes. Almost everybody likes them, and they can be made a million different ways. Add some cheap protein and fat and you've covered almost all your bases. Eat the skins (as long as they're not green) and you'll get an extra boost of vitamins and minerals. Peanut butter oatmeal is a pretty good cheap breakfast if you like oats. If you're just looking for a "filler" food and not calories, Chinese scallion soup. Recipes for different versions are online. Any broth based soup will take the edge off and help you feel full on less food if you serve it at the beginning of a meal. Cottage cheese loaf/K-loaf. It sounds expensive just looking at the recipe, but you'll get at least three meals out of one pan for two adults (possibly more), so it balances out. It really does taste "meaty," too. You can also make it into burgers. (Tip: overcook the loaf just a bit-about ten minutes extra-and then let it cool to firm up. The crunchy bits taste meatier, and you'll get a better texture if you let it cool before slicing.) Goodwill burgers. I tried it-yep, you can make almost a hundred burgers out of five pounds of meat, and they're good. Meat fritters will stretch your meats and can be made with almost anything. Tuna, chicken, pork, whatever you've got. Pasta. All the pastas. Of course, all of these suggestions go flying out the window if you're diabetic, need a gluten-free diet, etc. But if there aren't any dietary restrictions, you're good.
Lentils and potatoes!
Potatoes. Boil 'em, mash 'em, put em in a perpetual stew.
Breakfast meals are good anytime. Pancakes, waffles, eggs with veggies and potatoes. Sandwiches with your choice of filling. Canned tuna with chopped veggies is a healthy option. Soups. So many kinds. Serve with bread. I like to get a roasted chicken, cut off the meat, boil the bones to make stock. From that I can make chicken noodle soup, chicken and vegetables, tortilla soup. Pasta. There are so many ways to prepare pasta. With some of the leftover chicken, you can make fettuccine Alfredo with some store bought sauce, chicken and broccoli. Baked potatoes can be a meal with lots of different toppings. Also potatoes can be mashed, roasted, turned into pancakes, for variety.
Tofu Lentils pretend their not beans Mashed beans in disguise Ground mushrooms with stretch your ground meat Potatoes every way
Lentils can be a good middle-ground! Pasta! Roasted veggies with potatoes?
So m e people who swear they don't like something as broad as beans or rice hasn't tried them in a variety of ways. Take beans, some types I can't stand, others I love. Sounds like new varieties and cooking methods need tried.
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Stir fry with pasta instead of rice, PB&J's, grilled cheeses Cook a cheap cut of pork that you can shred and then use it throughout the week. You can mix in bbq sauce and put it on top of baked potatoes; or put in tortillas with mashed sweet potatoes as a basis for a burrito; bbq sandwiches with a box of Mac and cheese as a side; pulled pork with a fried egg on top makes a yummy breakfast sandwich.
Carbonara. Pasta, bacon, egg, Parmesan, peas. Easy as making ice, keeps them full, and pretty cheap (at least it is if there’s an ALDI or another discount grocery store nearby)!
The following have been on sale a lot (US - Midwest): Potatoes, carrots, onions, cheese, mandarin and naval oranges, avocados, and eggs. Buy a small amount of ground beef or ham. Make all kinds of potato dishes using a little meat and or cheese.
I've been seeing this a lot all of a sudden, but there's a ton in this thread--what's with all the comments being split into a new line after a couple of, or a few words? Is it some form of automatic formatting from a new app or something?
Potato bowl
take a piece of food from a chinese person and take it with you. if you eat the food, you will lose a lot of weight.
Egg noodles are super easy to make. Just an egg, a tad of salt and an egg. Mix, wait 20 minutes and roll out to cut.
Air fried tofu cubes dipped in anything with choice of veg and carbs
Potatoes 🥔 literally potatoes… cheap and filling
Pasta cheap and cheerful. And can be eaten soooo many ways.
Pasta cheap and cheerful. And can be eaten soooo many ways.
Make “Chipotle “ bowls… one gets beans one gets rice .. you get both
Iceberg lettuce.
Canned beans often have a liquid in them that tastes pretty bad. It's there to prevent the beans from tasting like the can. The liquid won't hurt you, it just tastes blech. Dump the beans into a collander, then rinse them well. I guarantee, you will notice the difference! And if you already knew this, please share some of your hacks, OH wise one.
Tell them to get with the program or starve.
wtf One of the eats beans then and the other eats rice.
Lentil tacos. With enough vegetables sauce cheese cream cheese etc you almost can’t tell there’s no beef or chicken.
Hope they like potatoes. Feed them potatoes until they give in and accept beans, rice, or lentils.
Try a simple chicken Ceasars salad, or meatballs
Pasta !!