Hi all! I recently decided to drastically drop my intake of meat and processed food for health reasons, but I'm sort of a starving artist, and need cheap, healthy alternatives. The catch is that mushrooms and broccoli, two staple of vegetarian food, are inedible to me, due to deep rooted loathing in my childhood. Silly I know, but it may as well be an allergy. Anyways, anyone have any good ideas for a poor hippy's kitchen? Thanks and much love!
Stir fry is a good cheap meal - you can use any of the veggie odds and ends left in your cuboard so you don't waste anything and there is the magic of lentils - use them in place of mince to make cheap pasta sauce, use them in curries, dahls, they are great value. Especially if you buy them dried.
Scrambled egss and omlette, with whatever veggies you want. I've heard it's also good with tofu, but I've yet to buy any tofu...when I do though, it will be my first ever atempt at cooking with tofu. You could also put in left over stir fry. I think that's what I'll do for tomorow's breakfast!
Beans and rice....lentils and rice. he cool think about lentils is that they need no soaking and they cook with the same 2:1 water ratio and the same time as short grain brown rice. Back in my poo,r broke, student, hippie days I used to make a pot and eat them all week. If I was cash up I would have some store bought tortillas, salsa and cheese. If not I would make my own flat bread and would season with tamari and cayenne pepper. You can get ever so creative with other flavorings. I would sometimes flavor them with mustard, honey (or even just sugar) and dill.
We were just having a discussion about vegetarian food in one of the personal forums I like to hang around. I am a notorious cheapskate (also a starving artist) but I love cooking for friends. Do you have a crock pot? You can get them at thrift stores for a couple of bucks. I just gave my bachelor friend a "crockette" mini-crock pot - just the right size for one. Your crock pot is your best friend if you're vegetarian and cheap! Here's our recipe threads from the Big Green Field. vegan tofu scramble: http://www.hipforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=229335 Introduction to dals, or Indian legume dishes. Dals are CHEAP man! http://www.hipforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=229663 Chili chili chili!!! (also includes a discussion on the best way and reason to go veggie) http://www.hipforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=229673 I've got a TVP chipolte spanish rice bubbling on the stove now. PM me if you want to talk penny-pinching veggie recipes!
The Mexican foods section of the supermarket is your friend. Loads of inexpensive, tasty, and easy to prepare foods, and most of it is healthy. You can find loads of recipes and ideas on the net - you're looking for Mexican home cooking, not "Mexican restaurant" cooking. A lot can be done by just assembling some kind of tortilla-based "sandwich" to your own tastes, warm the tortillas first so they don't break when you fold it. Just a little bit of the more-expensive fresh vegetables like tomatoes and lettuce goes a long way to make it even better.
i like seitan in a stir fry i think it is most like meat... it reminds me of chicken, the first time i had it i had to ask if it was chicken...
Cheesy Tomato Melt: Take a piece of your favorite bread, spread on mayo. (I use eggless) Put on a thick slice of a big beefsteak tomato. Salt and pepper to taste. Lay a slice of american cheese on top. Nuke for 2 minutes. It'll rock your world. Might as well make two at a time, as one will just tease you. x
Lettuce prices vary here, but they're usually $1.50 to $2.00 for a small head. Tomatos run about $3.00 to $4.00 a pound. When you're as broke as I've been at times, that's luxury food.
Offer to hoe someone's garden in exchange for a little food from it. This works well with older people who can't always do it for themselves. x
