Food Tips For Eating On A Budget

• Shelf-stable foods tend to be the cheapest. This is because they cost the whole supply chain less to store. Additionally, the save the consumer money by being very hard to spoil!
• Buy staples in bulk.
• For vegetables, preserved > seasonal > whatever is in the "fresh" section of the supermarket.
• Similar to vegetables, preserved meat and dairy is best. Put a little meat in stews, just enough for good flavor. Use dairy as a condiment. Both of these are expensive so use sparingly.
• If you cant afford vegetables or meat, buy seasoning. It's concentrated vegetables! Savory seasonings are also a good source of amino acids. Seasonings are expensive up-front but last a long time.
• If you have refrigeration, cook large meals and store the rest; it's more efficient use of time and energy.
• Use adequate amounts of salt. It will slow down spoilage, but also salt is essential for health.
• Human history is carried by grains and tubers.
• If you want to maximize savings, use math + data. Cronometer lists the calories per gram for nearly all foods. From this, you can calculate the cost per calorie. You can also use nutrition labels. Write down this information to save on data and electricity. Make cheap foods your base.
• Cooking oils are a very cheap source of calories, and oftentime granulated sugar as well. You dont need to add much of these to food, and shouldnt add too much.
• Write down food purchases (cost + amount). Learn how much you typically go thru.
• Learn recipes and techniques for cooking from friends and relatives, if you can. You can also learn from a local library. If you dont have a local library, archive.org is free for everyone!
  • Note: Reading books on archive.org may use substantial data, so take notes!
• Eat at regular times, and sleep at regular times. This will keep your appetite healthy.