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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[–] Ephera@lemmy.ml 36 points 3 days ago

Dried lentils don’t need to be pre-soaked, but I prefer to cook them separately and drain the water they boil in.

Pre-soaking lentils (and pouring the water away) makes them easier to digest, in particular it makes them bloat you less.

https://farmhouseguide.com/benefits-of-soaking-lentils/

An exception are dehulled lentils, like red lentils. They don't need pre-soaking and are quicker to cook, too. I often throw red lentils into the cooking water with my noodles or rice, just to add some protein into the meal.

[–] xyro@lemmy.ca 45 points 3 days ago (2 children)
[–] someguy3@lemmy.world 28 points 3 days ago

Rice is way cheaper.

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[–] avidamoeba@lemmy.ca 31 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (10 children)

Bean stew is one of the most delicious things you can cook whether you can afford more or not. Here's my recipe. Everything but the beans, onions, carrots, paprika, oil and salt is optional and mainly improves the taste profile. Works with almost any kind of bean. Can be done with dried beans too but you gotta handle softening them up first.

Bean stew/soup v4.1

  • 3x beans cans - 540ml
  • 2x onion heads
  • 2x carrots
  • 2tbsp paprika, 1tbsp smoked paprika
  • cooking oil
  • 1/2 tsp salt (or less) and 1/2tsp of MSG
  • 2x chicken or beef cubes
  • marinara/tomato puree/diced tomatoes/vinegar/some other acid

  • Add beans with some water in a pot. Use OG bean water too.
  • Chop onions and carrots in small pieces.
  • Fry onions and carrots in a pan with oil.
  • Once fry is done, add all the paprika and stir for 10-20s then pour into the pot, let it boil once.
  • Add the beef/chicken cubes.
  • Add spearmint, lots.
  • Add some more oil if needed. Olive is great.
  • Add 3-4tbsp marinara, diced tomatoes or balsamic vinegar.
  • Add 1/2 tsp salt (or less) and 1/2tsp of MSG.
  • Test for salt, it might be good enough.

Eat it with some bread or by itself. It goes well with any type of hot pepper too.

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[–] altphoto@lemmy.today 5 points 2 days ago

I eat this almost daily and I'm not ashamed to say it.

[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 6 points 2 days ago (2 children)

We put 45 minutes on the electric pressure cooker and get the smoothest beans.

[–] qjkxbmwvz@startrek.website 3 points 2 days ago

That's how I start my refried beans. After pressure cooker add oil (lots...), salt, and a little vinegar. Sauteed onions, cumin, chili powder also good.

I think it's way better than any vegetarian refried beans that you get in a can. Probably because they have more salt and oil...

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[–] JohnnyEnzyme@piefed.social 22 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (5 children)

Brown rice, barley, or other whole grains have much more protein than white rice

White rice is pretty much pre-diabetic junk food that's been stripped of most of its fibre and nutrients. I'd recommend always replacing with something like the above, or my favorite, steel-cut oats.

If you get dried beans, make sure you follow the directions to pre-soak them.

When cooking from dried, some baking soda in the heating process can greatly speed things up. The use of a potato masher here and there can also speed up the softening of the beans, and makes it easier to tell how far along they are.

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

Don't forget MSG, which boosts up the savory / umami taste. It's cheap, you don't need a lot, and there is no such thing as an MSG allergy. (altho very occasionally people can have sensitivity)

[–] partial_accumen@lemmy.world 19 points 3 days ago (2 children)

or my favorite, steel-cut oats.

If we're talking about cheap meals steel-cut oats have almost excluded themselves these days. I used to be able to buy organic SCO in bulk for about $1.45/lbs. These days I can't find any SCO for less than $3.50/lbs and that conventional, not organic.

Where are you getting cheap SCO these days?

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[–] Sergio@piefed.social 20 points 3 days ago

Frozen peas are great for that too. Goes with a lot of different dishes. just throw in a handful, or make a side-dish.

[–] someguy3@lemmy.world 20 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Rice and beans together make a full protein, so eat them together.

Rice takes up arsenic when it grows, if you eat a lot it can add up. It's mostly in the bran which is in brown rice and is removed for white rice. Rinse many times before cooking and you can either boil in lots of excess water and drain (like you do with pasta) or parboil it. https://health.osu.edu/wellness/exercise-and-nutrition/how-to-reduce-arsenic-in-rice

https://sheffield.ac.uk/sustainable-food/news/new-way-cooking-rice-removes-arsenic-and-retains-mineral-nutrients-study-shows

[–] olbaidiablo@lemmy.ca 6 points 2 days ago (2 children)

If you want to stretch out your ground beef use 1/4 lb of medium instead of lean and use TVP to fill in the rest. The TVP will absorb the fat and flavour, is quite a bit cheaper than ground beef and is shelf stable. TVP also has more protein than ground beef.

[–] Rooster326@programming.dev 4 points 2 days ago (2 children)
[–] AnimalsDream@slrpnk.net 9 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Textured Vegetable Protein. It's basically soy that's been processed in a way that results in a granular product that's mostly protein, and has a somewhat similar texture to ground meats.

Personally I prefer Soy Curls because those are made from whole beans and still have their fiber, but tvp can be a great choice for people with especially high protein needs like strength trainers.

[–] lightnsfw@reddthat.com 1 points 1 day ago (2 children)

I've wanted to try that but couldn't find it at the grocery stores I've tried.

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[–] crimsonpoodle@pawb.social 6 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Also especially if you have a big family or friends go to the restaurant supply store. Last summer they had 50lbs bags of potatoes for $10. Lots of produce like that for cheap in bulk.

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[–] Dragonstaff@leminal.space 14 points 3 days ago (4 children)

Taco seasoning goes great in beans too.

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[–] sudoer777@lemmy.ml 3 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (5 children)

Any suggestions for relatively inexpensive breakfasts, or do people also eat beans/rice? Right now I've been eating overnight oats, but they aren't filling at all and taste terrible (and a lot of recipes have ingredients that oxidize weirdly overnight that I've tried eliminating). Tofu scramble takes a long time to prep, there's not enough freezer space between my roommates and I for meal prep, and my apartment has tons of shitty restrictions they've gone after me for, so can't use a second freezer or instant pot. I've been eating beans/vegetables + rice + salsa for dinner though and that works well and is always filling (maybe I should switch to brown rice from what I'm reading in this thread).

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[–] baldingpudenda@lemmy.world 16 points 3 days ago (1 children)

My go to rice recipe: spanish rice

Add some refried beans and a protein or cheese, kids will clean their plate.

[–] quick_snail@feddit.nl 14 points 3 days ago

Beans are protien

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