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.

    • AnimalsDream@slrpnk.netEnglish
      1·
      2 hours ago

      This is untrue. Virtually all plants have all essential amino acids. The only difference is that the main plant-based sources of proteins that people rely on - legumes and grains - have relatively lower levels of one or another amino acid than some other sources. But no studies have found those differences to have any negative impact on people’s health, or even their ability to gain muscle, whether they combine proteins or not.

      Here’s an interview with Christopher Gardner - a specialist who goes into detail on this topic.

      What we really need is for people to worry more about where they’re getting their fiber, than protein.

      Edit: although it should be noted that it is still good to eat both grains and beans for other reasons. Diversity of foods is important for the gut microbiome for a start.