this post was submitted on 29 Oct 2025
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I'm sad that this is worth mentioning. But if you are dealing with hunger amid threats to SNAP benefits, rice and beans are very cheap per meal and can be bought in bulk. Here's some tricks I've learned:

If you get dried beans, make sure you follow the directions to pre-soak them. Canned beans are easier to prepare, just dump in near the end of cooking to heat them up. Dried lentils don't need to be pre-soaked, but I prefer to cook them separately and drain the water they boil in.

Brown rice, barley, or other whole grains have much more protein than white rice and I find them more filling. Whole grains take longer to cook than white grains.

Frying diced onions in the pot before adding the grains and water is an easy way to kick the flavor up a notch. Use a generous amount of cooking oil (light olive oil is healthiest) for cost effective calories and help making the meal more filling.

Big carrots or celery in bulk are pretty cheap too. I like to dice carrots by partially cutting length wise into quarters, but leave the small end intact to keep the carrot together to make it easier to dice down the side. Add them to the same pot as the grains after the grains start to soften. Beets are also great; skin and cube then boil separately until soft. Change up your veggie to get a mix of vitamins

Get some bulk garlic powder, hot sauce, paprika, cumin, crushed red pepper, black pepper, etc. Season and salt the pot to taste.

You'll only need 1-2 pots and a cutting knife/board for veggies.

I recommend Harvard's Nutrition Source for science-based nutrition information and they have some recipes too

Edit: discussing big changes in diet with a primary care doctor or registered dietician is generally a good idea.

Probiotic supplements may help with gas.

As a bonus this sort of meal has a very small environmental footprint.

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[–] AnimalsDream@slrpnk.net 11 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Also a very underrated flavoring that's unjustly stigmatized because of racism is MSG. You can get really big bags of them for super cheap, and it's an easy way to make any meal taste savory.

[–] faythofdragons@slrpnk.net 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

MSG is my secret weapon for making my cooking better than his mother's.

[–] redraven@midwest.social 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

MSG has been a godsend in the kitchen for us. It just makes everything taste better!

[–] faythofdragons@slrpnk.net 2 points 1 day ago

It stands for Magical Savory Goodness

[–] rumba@lemmy.zip 7 points 1 day ago* (last edited 18 hours ago)

Rice, oil, little tomato paste or *sauce, pinch of sugar, whatever spices you have -> mexican rice

Large skillet of cooked rice, 1 scrambled egg, salt. Stir egg in to rice over heat and mix until cooked. Eggs and rice. Decent flavor, super filling, reheats well.

Rice, soaked black or soaked red beans, Filé powder, chilli powder, salt. cook like it's just rice. red/black beans and rice, heartly flavor, super filling.

1 single sausage patty cooked and chopped super fine, file powder, skillet of cooked rice, salt - > dirty rice.

1 serving of cheap uncooked spaghetti broken into 1/2 inch pieces, 3C uncooked rice, 2 tlbs of high heat oil, stir until pasta browns a bit, water barely to cover, stir in salt, dry italian herbs, butter if you have it, tight lid. stir occasionally, DIY Rice-A-Roni.

Throw a single uncooked chicken wing in a large pot of uncooked rice and water, cook normally. it will flavor the rice and you can still eat the wing or tear the meat off into the pot.

[–] ArchmageAzor@lemmy.world 13 points 1 day ago (2 children)

It's the return of depression meals, 1930s style

[–] Ohmmy@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Unlike my dumbass family back then I'm not afraid of spicing my rice and beans like people with melanin

[–] Soup@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I can’t imagine spices were exactly cheap. When you’re at the point of making water pie I’m gunna guess that spices are an easy enough thing to let go of.

[–] Ohmmy@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

I'm not talking spices from around the globe or some shit. I'm talking jalapenos, serranos, chipotles...

Ya know, cheap staple crops from my region of the world that grow like weeds and add flavor for cheap.

[–] Soup@lemmy.world 1 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

Ok, with as little intended rudeness as possible: Spicing is a weird word, and usualy for clarity anything to do with heat would be “spicing” or “making spicy”.

And yea those are definitely not too expensive at all. I really enjoy using spiciness as a way to add a a lot of depth basically for free. Everything is better with some red pepper flakes.

[–] Ohmmy@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

Frankly I disagree, chili powder and paprika are spices commonly sold as spices and are just dried then crushed chilies. It's just a preservation method and in Asia chilies are preserved in chili oils so not technically a spice but is used for flavor like a spice.

Really the only problem here is that the language we are using is so fucking bad at describing flavor and cooking.

[–] Soup@lemmy.world 1 points 1 hour ago

I mean, a little yes but if you’re specifically talking hot peppers, and you said that you were, then the bulk of what they bring to the table is heat. Flavour for sure a little, but I wouldn’t consider them spices.

I can agree that the language is a little vague. Like at what point does ginger become a spice and not a normal ingredient? Only when it’s dried and powdered?

[–] ivanafterall@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

Can anyone recommend an economical and tasty gruel brand?

[–] ExtremeUnicorn@feddit.org 53 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (10 children)

Imagine living in a country with 900+ billionaires, with growing tendency, where regular people are discussing about the best ways not to starve.

Not that it's much better where I live, but damn, what the hell is wrong with this world?

[–] jerkface@lemmy.ca 10 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

The problem is less that people can't afford to eat, it's that they've been alienated from their food and don't know what to do to feed themselves without being exploited by gouging opportunists.

[–] Poojabber@lemmy.world 9 points 2 days ago

The elite have always been vampires living on the blood of us peons.... it feels new to us because we are living it now, but history shows its been this way a long time, and it was probably the same in prerecorded history too.... we, as humans tend to suck....

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[–] Wahots@pawb.social 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Also, for what it's worth, hot sauce also makes you feel way more full/less hungry. If you need an addition.

[–] mushroommunk@lemmy.today 2 points 1 day ago

If there's science for this you have I'd love to see it. I'm the exact opposite. Some good hot sauce on beans and rice and I eat twice as much it's so good.

[–] MTK@lemmy.world 11 points 1 day ago (1 children)

To reduce gas with beans:

  • soak with baking soda (1tsp per cup of beans)
  • before cooking boil some water and in a bowl cover the beans with the boiled water, after 5 minutes drain and wash them and throw them in to whatever you are cooking
  • ferment the beans, best results but more work

Also remember that as your body gets used to it, the gas is reduced.

[–] Garbagio@lemmy.zip 6 points 1 day ago

And NGL everyone farts, you're fine. Just use common etiquette.

[–] HubertManne@piefed.social 2 points 1 day ago

lentils in particular can be mixed with rice and cooked up right in a rice cooker. easiest meal to make.

[–] brownsugga@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago

a relatively cheap NON-VEGE way to add protein to this base is pork butt/shoulder (same thing) cooked slow all day, either slow cooker or oven at 250F. Its a cheaper cut of meat and one of them is enough to add protein to like 6 servings or rice+beans. Also, bone-in skin-on chicken thighs are great and less expensive- if you render some of the chicken fat out in your cooking vessel before cooking the rice and beans it is a big flavor boost.

[–] GraniteM@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago
[–] jerkface@lemmy.ca 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Don't "skin" beets with a vegetable peeler. Blanch them and slide them out of their skins. It sounds like more work, but it's so much less work.

[–] docfate@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago

Pro-tip: If you have an Instant Pot, you throw the beets in there and pressure cook them for 20 minutes. Slow release and then let them cool a bit. The peels come right off and they are cooked perfectly. No need for any spices at all.

[–] chunes@lemmy.world 14 points 2 days ago (1 children)

leave it to lemmy users to disparage the primary staple of 3.5 billion people. "Pre-diabetic junk food" lmao sure ok

[–] Credibly_Human@lemmy.world 8 points 2 days ago (3 children)

It truly is the way too many enthusiasts on any topic think.

Like they can't fathom the idea that other people are focused on other things despite this being 100% the reason humans were able to create what we have.

If humans all focused on the exact same things, we'd have a very narrow scope and much less innovation.

It's why its so hard to find good advice.

You go to a cooking subreddit, and they'd have you thinking that unless you knew every artisinal craftsman shop in your area (your local butcher, your local baker etc etc), you must not know food, and that you need 400 dollar pans to get utility out of your cookware when literally just a common stainless steel set would do you just fine, and even if you had to replace it 20 times, it still wouldnt be the cost of the more expensive one.

People live in their own bubbles and expect that everyone else not only could but should meet them where they are in their bubble, rather than realizing that guess what, food is just to eat for most people, not some passion they want to dedicate multiple hours a day to.

[–] CyanideShotInjection@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

I understand your point because often in a lot of hobbies, when you are a newbie, people can be very condescending to you. But I still think that it's abnormal the number of people that know nothing about cooking, since, contrary to most hobbies, it is essential for us to eat.

However I think that the real problem is that most people are so overworked and we have so much responsabilities, that it is almost a luxury to take the time to cook in our society. I am pretty sure there would be wayyy more people enjoying cooking if they could take their time doing it.

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[–] Rcklsabndn@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 day ago

Just get a full La Cruiset set for a wedding gift and you are golden. /S

[–] CancerMancer@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

You're right, and I've learned to ignore most advice I read from enthusiasts. I bought a cast iron pan 20 years ago for $15 and I still use it to cook almost everything, including eggs.

I did splurge and buy a nice dutch oven to make baking bread easier, but it's not necessary.

Multiple times now I've been mocked relentlessly for PC building advice or opinions on software development I had that became commonplace within 3 years, like when I said noSQL databases were overrated as hell but they had their uses. Made enemies on both sides lol... And now that's the common opinion.

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[–] wyrmroot@programming.dev 28 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

Also, if this sounds too boring to anyone - do not underestimate the power of keeping a bunch of fun hot sauces around. They don’t have to be too spicy, but something similarly vinegar based will have a decent shelf life and be pretty cheap per serving.

I’m not just eating pantry staples again, I’m enjoying a smoky chipotle bean stew on top of some fragrant mango-lime-habanero rice.

[–] Rekorse@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 day ago

Something chili based is fantastic. I'll use just chili powder if needed but something like a siracha is fantastic with so much stuff.

[–] unphazed@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Celery is good for an additive for flavoring, but has near zero nutrition as it has such a low caloric amount. Chewing on celery burns more calories than intake.

[–] ThatGuy46475@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

That’s why you put peanut butter on it

[–] blaggle42@lemmy.today 18 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I just want to add:

If you are in NYC - check out the Chinese and Mexican grocery stores!!! Usually a ton of foot traffic keeps the vegetables fresh. I do most of my vegetable shopping at one particular Chinese store which I find to be the best - [except for the onions (why are the onions so bad - do chinese people not eat yellow onions?)] - and it's fun to try new vegetables!

Also, strange, and I'm not sure what to make of it - fish in the Chinese grocery stores costs 1/2 of what it at white-people ones.

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[–] Tm12@lemmy.ca 120 points 3 days ago (10 children)

Lentils are another good legume. Look up a daal recipe for any lentil you find, and basmati rice

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[–] cheers_queers@lemmy.zip 10 points 2 days ago (1 children)

This will cost an extra few dollars but still totally worth it..add curry sauce! Aldi has butter chicken, korma, and tikka masala sauce for abt 5 bucks a jar and it is really good with rice and beans.

[–] SaraTonin@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

If you’ve got some spices, as suggested above, you can basically make your own. Add a tin of tomatoes, some tomato puree, and maybe have a slightly wider selection of spices (sumac, mace, cardamom, cloves, for example) and you can have a wide variety of curry flavours without having to spend the extra on pre-made sauces.

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[–] chillpanzee@lemmy.ml 60 points 3 days ago

Skip the olive oil. If you're buying it on a beans and rice budget, its gonna be fake olive oil anyway. Just use corn/canola/veg oil.

[–] AnimalsDream@slrpnk.net 14 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Some notes about gas: It's primarily caused by a combination of fiber, and in the case of beans, by the oligosaccharides. The fiber can be handled by gradually increasing intake of high fiber foods. The more you get used to eating them, the less bloated you should feel, and it generally goes down to a normal level of gas that most people experience.

For the oligosaccharides, soaking and rinsing the dry beans does help remove a lot of it. Rinsing canned beans also helps. Taking Beano (or an equivalent) can help too. There are also claims of various spices being able to help as well.

It's also important to note that different types of legumes can cause more bloating, or less. Experiment with different kinds to find what works for you.

If you're willing/able to make the effort, sprouting and even fermenting will significantly help with bloating as well.

As a last resort or easy reprieve, opting for low fiber plant foods like white rice and tofu won't hurt in the short term, though whole foods should generally be preferred because natural sources of fiber of hugely beneficial.

On an unrelated note, I have always hated soaking beans, which is why the Instant Pot has been one of the single greatest cooking inventions I have ever used. Supposedly the pressure cooking also breaks down the oligosaccharides and reduces bloating. I just love it because I can toss in a bunch of beans and oat groats, and have enough of that stuff cooked to easily and quickly prepare meals every day for a week with each batch.

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[–] termaxima@slrpnk.net 29 points 2 days ago (4 children)

As a vegan, this has been my main meal because I'm pretty lazy (usually wrapped in a tortilla with guacamole, but I also eat it plain)

The gas issues are only a problem for a few days / weeks until your gut biome adjusts !

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[–] Scotty_Trees@lemmy.world 12 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Been on lemmy like two years, and this is the first post I'm gonna actually save for later cuz damn this is just useful and nice information to have, thank you so much for sharing!

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[–] Quexotic@infosec.pub 7 points 2 days ago
[–] Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world 57 points 3 days ago (7 children)

Fortified short grain white rice... hit up Costco or Sam's, or your local Asian market, and you can score a 20 lb bag for like $15 which comes out to literally a few cents per meal. (well... pre-tariffs at least... nowadays idk)

From there, add beans, or eggs, or chicken broth, or literally almost anything else: shit off the clearance wrack, from the food pantry, w/e. If it's a meat or veggie, it'll go with rice. In the case of the pantry, if you're not actually sure what it is, it'll still probably go with rice. Got a bag of spicy cheetos you forgot to close and now it's all stale? Don't throw that shit away, smash it up and throw it in with your next batch of rice - now it's spicy! (I've done it - texture's a little weird, but otherwise came out better than expected). Rice is ridiculously versatile.

Disregard the hate for white rice being nutritionless junkfood - it is, but when money's that tight, you don't give a fuck. The fortified rice mitigates that a bit, and in my experience is usually cheaper. It's a starting point: add what you can to make it less shit; and even if it's a meal of just straight rice, that's still better than an empty stomach.

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[–] RBWells@lemmy.world 21 points 2 days ago

My kids call me "bean lady" for my love of beans. They are a perfect food.

Red beans and rice (red beans cooked with small chopped veg, long grain white rice)

Pinto beans on brown rice, with tahini.

Pinto beans on brown rice, with chili paste.

Pinto beans refried with breakfast.

Lentil dal with coconut milk and spinach (or lately with Hong Tsoi because it grows here, spinach is too fussy. )

Garbanzo bean soup with potatoes and chorizo.

Ful mudamas with pita and feta cheese and scallions

Channa masala so spicy, with chopped onion and mixed pickle, on white basmati

Red lentils and greens on sourdough toast. East with knife and fork.

Brothy enormous white beans cooked in veg broth but with a Parmesan rind or a bone.

I really truly love beans.

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