So this is your first kitchen.

[amireal]

The thing that I noticed a lot in the last few years was that when you're used to seeing what shopping for a family looks like (especially one that doesn't have to watch the bottom line very hard) it's hard to really understand what shopping for a single person should feel like. Especially if you're suddenly really concerned with the price bread,

Comments

[graycastle]

dude, vegetarianism. nothing cuts down on expenses like cutting out meat: tofu, tempeh, edammame, beans, lentils, textured vegetable protein, powdered whey protein/soy protein, and eggs are all cheap and awesome. admittedly, some protein sources (like nuts and dairy) are more expensive, but are easily affordable if you're not sinking money into beef and chicken. most north americans eat too much protein anyway, so if nothing else, paying attention to how much protein you need vs. how much protein you eat (something I had to start doing when I went mostly-vegetarian) is a great idea for everyone

[graycastle]

seconded! when I'm too lazy to cook, I'll have some hummus or cheese or something for protein, and throw a sweet potato in the oven - just as it is, in its skin - and then an hour or so later I pull it out of its jacket, mash it, add some butter/salt/cinnamon, and EAT THAT. best lazy-person food ever.

and, winter squash and parsnip, also ftw.

[abbylee]

I like sweet potato with hot peppers of some sort. Chili powder is the easiest way to do it.

[amireal]

*hee8 yes.

[graycastle]

yeah, the gas/food cost thing is a bitch. I wish that more stores in more places were interested in providing their customers with these kinds of options. I'm on an extremely tight budget, but thankfully living in hippietown, USA means that I get lots of cool options for buying good food.

I also try to eat locally-grown/produced food as much as possible, which cuts a lot of my choices out in the winter, sadly (though I cave when it comes to, say, oranges, or tomatoes). I envy people who live in places like california, and can eat locally-grown organic farmer's market produce all year round.

PS, farmer's markets! sometimes save you money, sometimes make you spend more money, but are always worth it (you always get more bang for your buck).

[temporalrose]

Y'know, I had TVP for the first time just the other night (the taco-flavored kind). It wasn't bad, but I'm too attached to meat to give it up. Also, even though I live in a relatively good-sized, hippy-dippy town a lot of the nicer vegetarian/vegan items are only available at natural food stores where it's a bit more expensive.