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.

  • olbaidiablo @lemmy.ca
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    3 days ago

    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.

      • AnimalsDream@slrpnk.net
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        3 days ago

        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.

          • AnimalsDream@slrpnk.net
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            2 days ago

            In my experience, they’re usually kept in the same section as baking goods. You know that shelf that usually just has a bunch of Bob’s Red Mill products? If your grocery store carries tvp, it’s probably there.

            • lightnsfw@reddthat.com
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              2 days ago

              You know that shelf that usually just has a bunch of Bob’s Red Mill products?

              No, but I don’t really spend much time in the baking stuff so if that’s where it was I’d have missed it. I’ll check it out. Thanks.

    • bss03@infosec.pub
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      3 days ago

      Best sloppy joes I ever had were mostly TVP. It is really great at absorbing the lipids from the meat AND spices.