Need cheap food

[maggiesdaddy]

My wife and I are both in college and I have been doing well so far sticking to a raw diet despite her being lacto-ovo vegetarian. The problem is that we just paid off a very large credit card bill and I have resigned from my position at my job in order to take classes full time and graduate this May with my BA in Clinical Psychology (I have to graduate then so we can move out of state for her job when she graduates).

So far, my experience with raw food is that it is expensive. It takes a lot more to get full and fruit is costly.

I have the book Thrive that has some good recipes in it that aren't to bad, but I was wondering if any of you could give me any ideas for tasty cheap raw meals?


My go to foods now are fruit smoothies with a banana, coconut, ice, peaches/pineapple and a small dab of agave nectar; almond burgers made with almonds, garlic, apple cider vinegar, hemp oil, onion powder, and sea salt; raw spaghetti; and then just whole fruits and salads.

The only foods that I REALLY don't like are celery and carrots.


Any help would be appreciated!

[MysticTree]

bulking up meals with home-grown sprouts is easy and cheap.
Depending where you live, bananas can be a good buy.
Lots of foods can be picked from the wild - it depends where you live.
buying in bulk with other like-minded people and saving that way.
Going to the wholesalers rather than the local greengrocer and again buying in bulk.
Getting an allotment or using existing space if you have a garden or sharing some land through home-growing schemes/land share/community gardens.
Getting part-time work in a health food store that gives a staff doscount.

[MyRedPanda]

We have a Costco membership, and I but most of my fruits and veggies there - they have a nice organic selection, and most of the produce is relatively cheap - besides if that is the majority of your diet you will be able to finish it before it goes bad!

[maggiesdaddy]

Thanks for the suggestions! I have not had luck making sprouts. Every time I do, the seeds rot instead of sprouting. I don't know what I am doing wrong. I use a mason jar with cheese cloth on top, fill it with like 1/4-1/2 cup seeds (depending on size of jar) and let them soak overnight. Then I drain and rinse and let sit. I then rinse and drain every morning and night until they . . . rot. What am I doing wrong? So far I have just tried raw bulk sunflower seeds (which I heard are better when you plant them for sprouting). I would like to try quinoa, but what kind do I buy? I have the kind sold in the bulk section at my local health food store, but it does not say the seeds are raw . . . will they sprout?


There is not a Costco near me. I have a CSA with a local organic farmer which will provide me with some produce until mid october, but it is not nearly enough food. The store I have near me are Walmart (which I hate shopping at unless absolutely necessary, I hate their business practices and their quality of product stinks. for example I was there yesterday looking for an air mattress and ALL of the strawberries were rotten), county market (which is expensive unless there is a sale, Meijer (my favorite) and Food Fantasies (my local health food store which is great but HEAVILY overpriced). I also have a Sam's Club near me, but I don't know what their produce is like.

[maggiesdaddy]

Also, the idea of picking things in the wild is a fantastic idea! I live in Springfield IL (I don't mind people knowing) and am not sure what is in my area, but I will definitely look into it! I have a daughter (8 months) that I will be watching while my wife is at class two days a week and am always trying to think of ways to get out of the house, so if I can find things that grow in my area I can take her with me!

[MysticTree]

not sure what you are doing wrong but I would suggest a more open mesh than cheese cloth. The netting you get for old fashioned underskirts of prom dresses ... even net curtain material.

Then when you drain them, make sure to shake a deal of water out as well. Surface tension of water makes it "stick" to the seeds. Take a look on sprout people.com. They have good videos and what they say is applicable to jars - you don't have to buy special sprouters.

then the other consideration is temperature. They will sprout best when it's warm. If your kitchen is particularly cold then you can make a poly tent on top of your fridge and use the waste heat from the back to make a mini greenhouse!

but start simple and check that the seeds are not just too water logged which would cause rotting.

[MysticTree]

Also, the idea of picking things in the wild is a fantastic idea! I live in Springfield IL (I don't mind people knowing) and am not sure what is in my area, but I will definitely look into it! I have a daughter (8 months) that I will be watching while my wife is at class two days a week and am always trying to think of ways to get out of the house, so if I can find things that grow in my area I can take her with me!

It's a good skill for children to learn too. I am amazed at how many people have grown up not knowing even how to spot an apple tree! Oh by the way it's always worth asking people if they want their apples picked in return for some of the crop. Elderly especially.

[MyRedPanda]

What you are doing wrong is you are not misting - if you don't have an automatic sprouter you need to be spraying the sprouts with a spray bottle several times a day. If this is too much but you don't want to drop the cash on an automatic sprouter an easy thing to do is get a small aquarium pump for $10 at a pet store, and rig it up so that your sprouts are getting watered by pumping from a water reservoir. You can have the pump empty onto the sprouts in a trickle fashion by installing an aerator stone (also from aquarium store, about $2) at the end of the pump tube. Then put a hole in the sprout jar to allow the water to run off and back into the reservoir, creating a pumping cycle.

[MysticTree]

What you are doing wrong is you are not misting - if you don't have an automatic sprouter you need to be spraying the sprouts with a spray bottle several times a day. If this is too much but you don't want to drop the cash on an automatic sprouter an easy thing to do is get a small aquarium pump for $10 at a pet store, and rig it up so that your sprouts are getting watered by pumping from a water reservoir. You can have the pump empty onto the sprouts in a trickle fashion by installing an aerator stone (also from aquarium store, about $2) at the end of the pump tube. Then put a hole in the sprout jar to allow the water to run off and back into the reservoir, creating a pumping cycle.

Sprouts should be rinsed not misted.

[rawdeedah]

For sprouts I usually use the different sized mesh screens you can buy that attach to a mason jar. After soaking (most raw food books have charts for the particular seed/nut soaking and sprouting times) I rinse and leave the jar upside down to drain in an over the sink colander. Some seed and nut 'sprouts' don't actually grow a tail, but the soaking softens the outer layer for better absorption. www.sprouting.com Mumm's mixes are great!

For cheaper food options shop in season! Make a lot of salads using seasonal veggies. Right now in my area zucchini and tomatoes are ready so I'm making things like zucchini pasta with marinara sauce. Buy berries on sale, rinse and freeze on cookie sheets to bag up later for smoothies etc. Eating locally and seasonally also helps your body with warming/cooling foods (e.g. root veg in the winter for warming)
Also look into local foraging classes. These are starting to pop up in my area - as well as permaculture classes for growing food.

[Dent de Lion]

Add more bananas to your smoothies-- or just increase the banana-to-other-ingredient-ratio since bananas are so cheap. You can also buy them by the case to get a discount.

Consider buying dates by the case, they're cheap when you consider how much they cost per calorie they provide.

[snoops]

Like rawdeedah said it wasn't clear that you are leaving the jar upside down. I only soak about 6 hours then rinse 3 or 4 times a day. When not rinsing I leave the jar, with the cheesecloth upside down in a big bowl.

[maggiesdaddy]

Like rawdeedah said it wasn't clear that you are leaving the jar upside down. I only soak about 6 hours then rinse 3 or 4 times a day. When not rinsing I leave the jar, with the cheesecloth upside down in a big bowl.

I SEE!!!! That's what I was doing wrong! Now I'm off to try it again!

[snoops]

and not right upside down!! But on a slant so the water can drain and try to spread the seeds along the length so they aren't all clumped together. They need air to circulate! Good luck.

[penelopeB]

Plant fruits and vegetables on your backyard. You'll harvest it for free.

[maggiesdaddy]

Plant fruits and vegetables on your backyard. You'll harvest it for free.

I totally would, but I live in an apartment in a small city, so I don't have a backyard. I do have a balcony, but it is always covered by light shade. Are there any veggies or fruits that I could grow in a pot that do well in light shade?

[maggiesdaddy]

And a community agriculture plot is out of the question since they are very limited here and are all taken for years to come. People finish a season and put deposits down so they don't have to worry about a spot the next year. I have been on the waiting list for two years now for one.

[holistica]

I always go to Shaw's early in the morning to get the best pick of the produce markdowns. It's fruits and veggies that are on their way out but still usable, or pre-pack ones that expire that day, but are still fine for a few more days. Organic is not guaranteed, but sometimes you get lucky. I often find boxes of organic baby spring mix for 99 cents. I'm not sure if other chain grocery stores do this, or if you're anywhere near a Shaw's, but that's my little trick.

[MysticTree]

I just carried home 17 pounds of reduced citrus, plums and salad in my rucksack on the bike. Exhausting but very satisfying! They had tons of organic bananas I had to leave in the shop because my rucksack was full already :(

[maggiesdaddy]

Thanks, but I have never heard of Shaws and when I looked on their website there isn't one for at least 100 miles around me. :( I bet I could find something similar though!

[sprouts2go]

I sprout in Mesh strainers. First put your lentils (whole not split) in a container of water let sit overnight. Drain and rinse. Toss them into the strainer (medium size) then I toss mine in the oven since it keeps the cats out of them. I rinse them in the morning and at night occasionally I remember to rinse when I get home from work. I have done mung beans (high protien),lentils,mixed sandwich sprouts (that's what they call them). My favorite is french lentils. Great for chili or mixing with apples cinnamon and celery. Hmm I have done other spouts this way too and never a bad batch. Anytime I have tried a jar they got moldy. I have also tried the sprouting burlap bag thingies. They worked fine too but I prefer the strainer method.

[maggiesdaddy]

Awesome suggestions! Does anyone have a recipe for raw chili that they like?