Sick of spending so much money on food! Is rice the solution?

[OccamzRazer]

Also curious... based on the very simple diet you listed, would certain nutrients be missing? Would you supplement to round out bases? Though those 4 sound pretty awesome, and I suppose milk is fortified which should help some.

Good point...while rice would provide most of the cals, I'd definitely add bone broth, cooked greens, mushrooms, carrots, oysters, liver, etc. So it should be ok nutrient wise.

 

[OccamzRazer]

The Japanese have a saying that all that's needed for happiness is white rice and sunshine. I don't know about that, but you could do it on alternate days and cut your food bill almost in half.

Haha, I like that! I do enjoy rice...hopefully it's true.

 

[OccamzRazer]

Monster Mash alà Stan Efferding is delicious as hell.

Yes! The WOE I'm envisioning would be similar to the vertical diet in many ways.

 

[Dr. B]

Thank you all for your ideas! Didn't expect so many responses

I forgot to mention potatoes in the original post - I'd definitely include those too. Also forgot to mention bone broth. Soup bones are very cheap here, so I'd be getting plenty of good glycine thru those.

Currently leaning towards trying out this radically cheaper diet. I could continue spending $200/week on food, but have a gut feeling that my health will actually be better on the cheaper diet, since more funds will be available to set up an improved living environment (i.e, farm).

Thanks again!

whole milk, even the priciest, best quality, organic A2 milk is around $6 for a half gallon. which provides 64g good quality protein, 64g fat, around 100g carbs... 1200 calories...
the rest of the calories can be filled in with some good honey, or just an ounce liver a day, plus orange juice, coconut water, some dried fruits etc..
you could maybe average $10 a day and get all the needed nutrients in, so $70 to $100 a week on food and itll probably be all organic too

what foods were you getting at $200 a week?
now that I think of it, the milk and fruits etc might be doable $10 a day. but if you want to add more protein in, like another 100g protein, itll add up more...

 

[OccamzRazer]

WHICH rice?
Red Cargo rice from Thailand high protein
Black "Forbidden" rice from China, 3 varieties, zero gluten, high protein, high antioxidants
Golden Rice, from heirloom strains in India, proudly display zero pesticides or fertilizers at their farms/village gateways
Thai Jasmine White rice, favorite national product, fragrant and tasty
Calrose and other Calif brands, white. GMO, pesticide and fertilized for sure, with broad spectrum and questionable chems. Bland but foolproof cooking. Irrigated with questionable water sources.
Brown rice, Lundgren family farms in the usa, old standby for use in cold rice salads and toss recipes for its firmness

Good question, which would you recommend?

I was thinking jasmine white rice.

 

[OccamzRazer]

ME TOO. I just accept that I cannot put a price on my health and bite the bullet, restrictive diets REALLY stress me out - even if it seems like I'm getting all my nutrients on chronometer I have to EAT a variety of good food

Glad you relate James!

Yeah, about a year ago I decided I would eat optimally at literally any cost. All organic, pastured, grass-fed, starch-free, etc...thus the high weekly spending.

Now I'm wondering if a cheaper diet might actually be healthier overall, since I could save more/work less/avoid rat-racing that way.

 

[OccamzRazer]

Just fast, bro!

Actually, that's the one thing I do miss about my IF days. Grocery Bills were sooooooo cheap! Too bad it led to the worst hypothyroid symptoms of my life.

Fasting...brings back memories! Not very good ones lol. How long did you spend on IF?

On a less extreme note, I could just try eating a more regular ~3,000 cals/day, but I think I'd wither down to nothing eating that little.

 

[OccamzRazer]

You can get animal fat for like 8 euros/kilos,some tasty one like grass fed grass finished lamb subcutaneous fat,depending how much fat you eat,if you go for 100 grammes around it would have a significant impact on your budget.how do you gauge that you need 4000 calories,you go by instinct and t reach at 4000 calories most of days or is that a mental estimation ?

My maintenance is 4,000-4,400 calories/day...if I eat less I lose weight and then get hungry. I used to track precisely but it's moreso by instinct now.

 

[OccamzRazer]

I think you have to just try it and see. Switch to rice instead of fruits for a week, and figure out whether you feel worse because of switching to rice or better because you are able to keep more money in your bank account.

Thanks for the advice man! Yeah I think this might be one of those things that's best learned thru experimentation.

 

[OccamzRazer]

potato with butter and milk, with occasional minced beef thrown in is the healthiest, cheapest food you can get. You can live using only it for months on end without any compromises in nutrition.

For some reason I forgot to mention potatoes in the original post. Thanks for bringing those up!

 

[OccamzRazer]

ggenereux has been eating only rice, beef and some beans for many years.
i think that's a pretty healthy and cheap diet if you have to live on a tight budget
Add to this some fruits
And he doesn't have any issues with hairloss :)) unlike we cheese eaters/ milk suckers

Yeah I've been thinking of him and his cheap, simple diet recently. It's pretty interesting.

 

[tca300]

Breatharianism is even cheaper than rice

 

[OccamzRazer]

whole milk, even the priciest, best quality, organic A2 milk is around $6 for a half gallon. which provides 64g good quality protein, 64g fat, around 100g carbs... 1200 calories...
the rest of the calories can be filled in with some good honey, or just an ounce liver a day, plus orange juice, coconut water, some dried fruits etc..
you could maybe average $10 a day and get all the needed nutrients in, so $70 to $100 a week on food and itll probably be all organic too

what foods were you getting at $200 a week?
now that I think of it, the milk and fruits etc might be doable $10 a day. but if you want to add more protein in, like another 100g protein, itll add up more...

I get raw A2 whole milk for $6/gallon...the problem is I don't do great drinking more than a gallon of it a day. So I need to find some other cheap 'filler food.'

I also don't do that great with lots of sugary carbs, otherwise honey/syrup/etc could provide a greater proportion of cheap-ish calories.

If only a milk and honey diet was more feasible...might have to try that at some point!

I've been eating:

Macadamia nuts
Raw milk
Raw yogurt
Raw cheese
Organic carrots/shrooms/greens
Oysters
Organic berries
Organic pastured eggs
Organic grass-fed beef
Organic grass-fed organs
Organic dried fruits
Organic coconut chips
Organic coconut milk

 

[OccamzRazer]

Breatharianism is even cheaper than rice

How has it worked for you, have you tried it??

 

[OccamzRazer]

I’ve gone back and forth with this myself and it usually comes down to rice vs potatoes vs dates as a cost effective yet calorically dense carb source, which ultimately means starch or no starch is the major question. There’s no doubt a starch like rice is cheapest, so it just depends how you feel on it.

It is a sort of dilemma, isn't it? Or at least a tradeoff.

When I was a kid I seemed to do great with lots of rice. May have to try that again now...

 

[OccamzRazer]

The solution is masa harina or premium corn flour. You can mix it with milk or add it on your plate with some ground beef.

That's a great idea! I haven't tried masa harina before, but based off this forum it seems to be among the safest starches.

It appears to make a nice cornbread too - a favourite food personally.

 

[Jam]

How has it worked for you, have you tried it??

This is the most recent photo of him, looks a bit skinny...

 

[tca300]

This is the most recent photo of him, looks a bit skinny...

 

[Apple]

I get raw A2 whole milk for $6/gallon...the problem is I don't do great drinking more than a gallon of it a day. So I need to find some other cheap 'filler food.'

Is there any reason that you need a gallon or more ?

 

[Dr. B]

I get raw A2 whole milk for $6/gallon...the problem is I don't do great drinking more than a gallon of it a day. So I need to find some other cheap 'filler food.'

I also don't do that great with lots of sugary carbs, otherwise honey/syrup/etc could provide a greater proportion of cheap-ish calories.

If only a milk and honey diet was more feasible...might have to try that at some point!

I've been eating:

Macadamia nuts
Raw milk
Raw yogurt
Raw cheese
Organic carrots/shrooms/greens
Oysters
Organic berries
Organic pastured eggs
Organic grass-fed beef
Organic grass-fed organs
Organic dried fruits
Organic coconut chips
Organic coconut milk

how do u get the milk so cheap thats a good deal.. is it 100^ grass fed and organic...
whats in the coconut chips?

why do you do all those things, yogurt and cheese has major issues with the enzymes cultures used for those these days...