What is the cheapest food?

Elliesmum

There was an urban myth that went round when I was at Uni. A lad had spent all his grant (guess how old I am :rotfl: ) and had no money so lived on porridge for the entire term.

Now he supposingly got scurvy, the reason - he made his porridge with water. Apparently if he had made it with milk he would have been fine

Now I did say this was an urban myth - I have no way of proving this is correct - but if it was, surely this would be a pretty cheap way of feeding yourself?

EM xx

dolly_day_dream

I have found that if you try and follow a vegan diet then it is very easy to save money. You are not buying expensive meat nor eggs or cheese (which many dieticians will tell you can make a vegetarian diet high in fat). I am not advocating that everyone turns vegan!!!! I am because it is something I am happy with but appreciate that not everyone is. I also plan my meals around my carbs but then add pulses, nuts etc to them. This together with eating local veg help keep my part of the household diet very low.

moanymoany

In the Linda McCartney cookbook she says that soya tvp - the soya chunks or mince, contains more than twice as much protein as any other source of protein food including meat.

rosieben

thriftlady wrote: »

Funny you should mention that http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=481412&highlight=thriftlady%27s+wartime+experiment

you beat me to it Thriftlady! :rotfl: the best thread I've ever seen on MSE! :T

BrandNewDay

moanymoany wrote: »

In the Linda McCartney cookbook she says that soya tvp - the soya chunks or mince, contains more than twice as much protein as any other source of protein food including meat.

I've noticed that the value bags of mince from Tesco contain a lot of this (along with beef and pork). I tried it in a spaghetti sauce, but there was something in the back of my mind telling me that it wasn't going to taste as good, so it didn't taste right. However, since this thread is about frugality over taste, I'd guess that the value mince could be just the thing for the once-a-week meat dish.

moanymoany

BrandNewDay wrote: »

I've noticed that the value bags of mince from Tesco contain a lot of this (along with beef and pork). I tried it in a spaghetti sauce, but there was something in the back of my mind telling me that it wasn't going to taste as good, so it didn't taste right. However, since this thread is about frugality over taste, I'd guess that the value mince could be just the thing for the once-a-week meat dish.

I use 2/3rds mince and 1/3rd dried soya mince (ish) when I make bulk batches of mince to freeze. I can't tell it's there. If there is more soya I don't like it. It does keep the costs down.

Have to say, I don't buy the bags of value mince. I rarely buy mince, but when I do I like the low fat stuff.

thriftlady_2

pennypinchingmum wrote: »

2. Value pasta, Rice ,this is what we live on potatoes are much more expensive.
.

Tesco value spaghetti is 58p a kilo, value long grain rice is 46p a kilo and a kilo of spuds from a 25 kilo sack costs about 22p

Sacks of spuds are easy to find at farmshops. Farmshops are not all in the middle of the countryside either. Check out Big Barn for your nearest one http://www.bigbarn.co.uk/

BrandNewDay

moanymoany wrote: »

Have to say, I don't buy the bags of value mince. I rarely buy mince, but when I do I like the low fat stuff.

Low fat is good for making chili con carne or tacos or any dish where you'll cook the stuff down. However, for hamburgers - really GOOD hamburgers - you shouldn't get the low-fat mince. Get good-quality mince that still has plenty of fat in it. Makes tastier burgers.

But, that's not the point of this thread!

happyevs

BrandNewDay wrote: »

OK... let's say you want to feed a family of four for a month. NOT counting sales/bogoff/whatever, what staples are the cheapest and give you the most nutrition for the buck? I say "staples" because I don't even want to consider things like frozen ready meals, although they may well be the cheapest way to keep body and soul together.

If I were really insanely hard-core about it, then I'd put cost over taste, right? So, things like monotony and blandness would not matter. Aren't there people in other countries who eat pretty much a bowl of rice with a few scraps of whatever else they can get, day in and day out? Aren't there entire cultures that live on nothing but yams, a couple of green vegetables, and maybe have meat three times a year?

How cheap can you get before scurvy and rickets set in?

Would the base staple be rice? How cheap can you get it in bulk?

I'm thinking the cheapest diet would be rice mixed with frozen mixed veg, also bought as cheaply as possible, and then the very cheapest meat once a week. Over-ripe fruit and veg bought at the greengrocers just before the end of business would be a treat.

This is just a mental exercise... I am not actually going to try it, although I am toying with the idea of having a basic foundation like this... eat much less meat, fuss less over novelty and variety, and have something like that two or three times a week instead of starting with "Well, what meat do I thaw for tonight's supper... and what do I have to go with it?"

How cheap can you get before scurvy and rickets set in?

Thank you for such a laugh you cheered me up no end

lesley1960

Elliesmum wrote: »

There was an urban myth that went round when I was at Uni. A lad had spent all his grant (guess how old I am :rotfl: ) and had no money so lived on porridge for the entire term.

Now he supposingly got scurvy, the reason - he made his porridge with water. Apparently if he had made it with milk he would have been fine

Now I did say this was an urban myth - I have no way of proving this is correct - but if it was, surely this would be a pretty cheap way of feeding yourself?

EM xx

Scurvy is due to a lack of vitamin c


but guess the diet wouldnt have done him much good lol