S/O beans/rice $ tight....what if you can't have beans/rice due to health

[Holly IN]

Beans and rice is a big no no as well as any high starchy food (including bread and potatoes). We do allow an occasional bread but not everyday. 3 of us have health issues related to beans, rice, pork and high starchy foods.

 

So what do you do when $ is tight and you can't have the staples what is the norm for those that are tight?

 

Just wondering and curious.

 

Holly

[prairie rose]

I'm not sure of the answer but I know what you mean. We have egg and milk allergies and while we can have rice and beans...beans get old after a while, meat is expensive and the only option left is eggs. Often the rest of the family will eat an egg dish and I will just go without or make a pb sandwich. Or our meals just taste really bland or thin from the lack of milk/cheese products. Dh and 2 of the kids have diary issues. The only thing I know to do is plan carefully so we can try to avoid tight grocery weeks and realize that due to health issues we are probably never going to be able to eat for next to nothing. :(

[sleepymommy]

Eggs. Maybe different frittatas?

 

Buying meat in bulk is less expensive, but you would have to have enough cash up front.

 

Whole chicken. One day salad, another day chicken with veggies, etc. I can usually get 3 meals out of one chicken. Plus about 1 gallon of broth.

 

Soup with the broth.

 

Need to think of some more..

[Joanne]

3 of my family of 5 do best on heavy animal protein. No arguements, please. It's our reality.

 

I haven't purchased full or even sale priced meat in years. I buy our animal protein in the clearance sections of grocery stores, often buying up all the stuff they have and freezing it. I save a LOT and we end up with a variety to choose from.

[Crimson Wife]

If you've got a freezer, I would check with the local 4-H club about buying meat after the fair. I know our 4-H club sells off its meat animals for what works out to be a really good price per lb. It's a fairly hefty up-front cost but you could set aside a bit each paycheck to pay for it. The main reason we don't do it is because we're "flexitarians" and don't eat much in the way of meat.

[Tammyla]

Anyone have a system of knowing how long meats can be frozen? I'm a chicken after the date stamped on the package, and feel awful about the wastefulness.

 

3 of my family of 5 do best on heavy animal protein. No arguements, please. It's our reality.

 

I haven't purchased full or even sale priced meat in years. I buy our animal protein in the clearance sections of grocery stores, often buying up all the stuff they have and freezing it. I save a LOT and we end up with a variety to choose from.

Edited December 22, 2009 by Tammyla

[coffeefreak]

Eggs. Maybe different frittatas?

 

Buying meat in bulk is less expensive, but you would have to have enough cash up front.

 

Whole chicken. One day salad, another day chicken with veggies, etc. I can usually get 3 meals out of one chicken. Plus about 1 gallon of broth.

 

Soup with the broth.

 

Need to think of some more..

 

:iagree:

And don't buy a chicken with the giblets in it. It throws off the weight and you only get about 2 meals after boiling. We make chicken pot pie and chicken and biscuits, and Chicken soup for starters. We also throw it in the freezer by itself and take it out for Quesadillas etc. Ground Turkey is cheaper than Ground Beef. Have you tried that? We have Tacos and soups which are really cheap.

 

HTH!

Dorinda

[Carol in Cal.]

I seem to recall blood sugar issues?

 

Beans, but not rice, tend to be low glycemic index foods, so although they have carbs they don't spike blood sugar very much, particularly if you go for a brisk walk (at least 10-minutes) after eating them. Also, adding some fat to the beans drops the glycemic index further. And it can be good fat--when I make refritos, I use olive oil and they still taste wonderful. (Not EVOO, though, just normal good yellow olive oil. EVOO is too strong for refritos.) So I'd focus more on the legumes and not serve rice or potatoes at all.

 

Big, huge salads are cheap and filling--especially if you grow your own salad greens. In the winter, it's a lot harder, but braising greens are also very healthy and filling and quite easy to grow. You have to avoid that other staple of cheap winter food though--winter squashes--because the carbs and GI are too high. Still, you can extend that meat budget a lot by making soups and stews--just leave out the carrots and potatoes.

[LND1218]

Anyone have a system of knowing how long meats can be frozen? I'm a chicken after the date stamped on the package, and feel awful about the wastefulness.

 

The package date is a sell by date. And then as long as you cook or freeze it it's fine. Packaged correctly meat stores a long time. (You have to repackage the stores packaging - that stuff doesn't last long at all.)

 

We put up all our meat once a year. Every fall we process, wrap and freeze the game dh brings home. And we eat it from the freezer until the next fall. None of our venison has ever tasted or gone bad.

 

We store our frozen chicken for a good 6 - 9 months.

 

But it must be wrapped well and stored well. We use a deep freeze.

[LMA]

Beans and rice is a big no no as well as any high starchy food (including bread and potatoes). We do allow an occasional bread but not everyday. 3 of us have health issues related to beans, rice, pork and high starchy foods.

 

So what do you do when $ is tight and you can't have the staples what is the norm for those that are tight?

 

Just wondering and curious.

 

Holly

 

Would something like Angel Food Ministries be helpful to you? They have an almost-all-protein box (fish and meat proteins).

[Tammyla]

Thank you...I think not repackaging has caused plenty of freezer burn and in my mind that equaled toss it.

 

The package date is a sell by date. And then as long as you cook or freeze it it's fine. Packaged correctly meat stores a long time. (You have to repackage the stores packaging - that stuff doesn't last long at all.)

 

We put up all our meat once a year. Every fall we process, wrap and freeze the game dh brings home. And we eat it from the freezer until the next fall. None of our venison has ever tasted or gone bad.

 

We store our frozen chicken for a good 6 - 9 months.

 

But it must be wrapped well and stored well. We use a deep freeze.

[Quiver0f10]

I seem to recall blood sugar issues?

 

Beans, but not rice, tend to be low glycemic index foods, so although they have carbs they don't spike blood sugar very much, particularly if you go for a brisk walk (at least 10-minutes) after eating them. Also, adding some fat to the beans drops the glycemic index further. And it can be good fat--when I make refritos, I use olive oil and they still taste wonderful. (Not EVOO, though, just normal good yellow olive oil. EVOO is too strong for refritos.)

 

:iagree: and paired with good whole grains there shouldn 't be any blood sugar issues. Not all carbs are the same. You can avoid bad carbs ie; processeed foods and stick to whole foods to avoid isues.