If you can afford fine dining on a regular basis, that's great.
And while pandemic restrictions limit our posh dining opportunities, we can always be thankful for the simpler delights awaiting us in our home pantries.
I can't speak for everyone, but doesn't your palette sometimes prefer something less refined, like instant ramen?
Or how about that box of mac & cheese that comes with a packet of orange cheese powder?
"What's your favorite poverty meal that you still eat regardless of where you are financially?"
Any of these on the menu sound familiar?
East Meets West
"Fried egg with rice."
– eldritch_candy
"Good for breakfast, lunch or dinner."
– elee0228
Hint: It Has Cheese
"Grill cheese sandwich"
– GreenTeaDeluxe
"Grilled cheese is great pretending to be bougie food too. My brother and I used to go to the store together and splurge on fancy-ish cheese (i.e. still the precut stuff in plastic in the dairy section, not the high end stuff in the deli section or the fancy cheese cooler) and see who could come up with the best combination of cheeses and bread from the bakery section."
"I think we settled on sourdough, smoked gouda, havarti, and cream cheese."
– The_Tic-Tac_Kid
All It's Kraft Up To Be
"Boxed mac is definitely my 'if you had to eat one food for the rest of your life' no-brainer."
– upbeatish
Ramen Upgrade
"I'll one-up that with Indomie specifically. If you haven't heard of it, you're missing out."
"It was so popular in Nigeria it practically replaced the world 'noodle' (despite Indomie being an Indonesian product, 11,688 km away)."
"I brought it to an international summer camp in Finland where all the delegates from other countries pretty much lapped up the serving tray like dogs."
– thebangzats
Spoiler Alert: It Involves Cinnamon, Sugar & Toast
"Cinnamon sugar toast"
– squangee
"My 4 year old and I eat this for breakfast on the weekends. She calls it toast with sprinkles."
– vintagchk
"Best cure for a sweet tooth! Reminds me of how my dad and I would hollow out strawberries and fill them with sugar when I was little, we called them sugar bombs!"
– squangee
Good Morning Reaction GIF
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"A gas station slushie mixed with gas station wine. Poor man's daiquiri."
– r0f1m0us3
Always A Winning Combo
"Smashed potatoes with cheese. Was once my favorite poverty meal and now some kind of soulfood lol"
– ezznezz
Culinary Expert–Approved
"I'm a chef. I own a restaurant. I've eaten some of the finest foods on this planet. Very few things taste better than box Mac and cheese with cut up hot dogs."
– Sirnando138
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Worth the Labor
"Pasta aglio olio. Warm some garlic in olive oil, add a sprinkle of red pepper and grate some parm on top. Love this simple, cheap classic."
– leaky_eddie
Canned Delights
"Can of sweet corn, can of Ro-Tel (Chile's and tomatoes) mixed together."
Cheap AND Nutritious
"We used to eat squash and eggs growing up. Grew the squash and eggs are cheap enough, or trade with the neighbors. You just cut the squash into thin round and cook in a pan with a little oil until they're just soft. Scramble the eggs with the squash, add a bunch of pepper, some salt. Sometimes we ate it over noodles or rice."
Mom's Legacy
"Grew up poor, but my mom sure knew how to stretch a dollar. She would make steak fingers out of the cheapest cuts she could find. Tenderize, fry them up make gravy out of the drippings and serve with mashed potatoes. The whole meal probably cost less than 5 bucks in 70s dollars, and I'm telling you nothing tasted better. I made it for my kids when they were growing up and they still ask me for it sometimes. She would be 94 today."
"Love you miss you mom."
– markarlage
Vegetarian Alternative
"I'm Mexican. For us, it's usually quesadillas without meat, rice and black beans as the sides."
– LoneWolfTexan
SOS
"Sh*t on a shingle?" Sausage gravy served over toast."
– phenomagasm
"I scrolled for 10 minutes to find somebody who also grew up with SOS. My mom made the gravy from scratch, just flour, butter, milk, and pepper, and used sliced corned beef instead. Mmmmmmm!!"
– motherfuqueer
The Ingredient That's A Dish
"Dal. Aside from tumeric you can buy all the ingredients for less than $2 a pound."
– Spam-Monkey
"Oh yeah! Dal is magic. Lentils in general deserve more love. They are SO GOOD FOR YOU, and are delicious. They make a great meat substitute if you're broke or just want to go meatless."
– tomboyfancy
Just Add Rice
"Soup boiled down with rice to bulk it up."
– StanMarsh02
"This is a good one, almost like a porridge or congee. When I'm sick I boil rice in chicken stock and just eat it that way, no soy sauce or anything else so its easy on my stomach. Its a really comforting thing to eat."
– megaloduh
This Goes Down Easy
"Egg drop soup:
- 1 quart chicken stock
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp corn starch
- 1 inch grated ginger
- whisk in 2 eggs
- green onions sprinkled"
– csaszarcasa
Ordering food or, for the time being, enjoying a socially distanced lunch at an establishment is convenient, but it can take a toll on your wallet.
So what options are there?
Fortunately, there are plenty of them that do not involve nuking a frozen entree.
Strangers on the internet shared their amateur culinary wisdom when Redditor SandandS0n asked:
"What's your go-to under 5 minute meal?"
These dinner selections are super sufficient.
In Case You Didn't Know
"Quesadilla. super quick and easy to make and there's a ton of ingredients that you can add without much effort that will make it even better."
– Arcinbiblo12
Noodling Around
"Ramen and an egg, but not the traditional way."
- "Boil roughly half an inch of water (we want just enough water to boil the noodles, with very little water left over when it's done boiling)."
- "Smash up the ramen noodles, while still in the package (optional but cooks MUCH faster)."
- "Open the package and remove the seasoning."
- "Dump the noodles in."
- "While boiling, crack an egg and whisk in a small bowl."
- "Noodles should be done and almost all the water should be gone, if not strain out some.
- Remove from the heat."
- "Slowly pour in the egg while mixing very quickly, try not to let the egg touch the pan."
- "Mix as much of the seasoning packet as you like (I prefer 1/2 - 3/4 because I usually add a salty component at the end.)"
- "Add to bowl and top with some chives, thinly sliced, ripped up ham/salami and/or parsley. Leftover bacon or pancetta are fantastic crunchy components to dial up the texture."
"Easy, fast and checks so many of the 'munchie' boxes for me."
noodles ramen GIF by HUANG'S WORLDGiphyDon't Underestimate Soups
"Tomato soup and add tortellini. I like the spinach ones from Trader Joe's and Progreso creamy tomato with basil. It's bomb and it really makes a decent meal."
– ambernoodle
For people in a rush, these tasty snacks would suffice.
Goes Well With Veggies And Cheese
"Hummus is such an underrated food. It goes well with a lot of veggies and breads and chips or heck even cheese. All the time I hear hummus being listed as one of those weird, gross foods when its actually an amazing snack, or a meal if done correctly. It's not really unhealthy, either, especially if eaten with veggies (celery and carrots go great with hummus)."
Ready In Seconds
"All I do is get a paper towel, and put 5 Oreos on it."
– KeengPeach
"Then go back and get the whole package."
Peanut Butter Fantasies
"Peanut butter sandwich."
– IgnoreMe733
"If I'm feeling extra froggy I'll add nutella to the peanut butter and honey sandwich and put it in the microwave for 30 seconds. Goes down about as well as a popeye's biscuit though."
– saluki352
Nature's Candy
"Fruit."
"It's like cheating the system. You eat sweets and call it healthy."
Start your day without all the hassle of a fancy breakfast.
Put It In A Bowl
"Oatmeal or cereal."
– essa618
"Cereal is definitely underrated as a meal outside of the breakfast dynamic."
– johndavidcard
Thanks, Nonna!
"A very simple recipe my grandma prepared for me when i was a kid."
"It's basically scrambled eggs...but before adding the egg she would cook sweetcorn (from a can) with a little bit of butter, add the eggs and then when the eggs were almost ready, add small cubes of cheese and cook for a minute or until the cheese start to melt (she was using fontal, but any swiss or white cheddar will do). Just a little black pepper and salt."
"Takes 5 minutes to do but it's absolutely delicious, fill you up, not so unhealthy and I feel my late grandma with me."
'I tried variations with chives or spring onions, paprika or other stuff. Still good but nothing as good as a simple "uova strapazzate con mais e formaggio.'"
"Grazie nonna"
– Xelorath
I consider yogurt a healthy snack/lunch option.
I like having a bowl of non-fat plain Greek yogurt with raspberries, blueberries, sprinkled with granola and drizzled with honey.
It's packed with nutrients and gives me a nice boost of energy.
Yogurt also makes for a perfect chip dip. I sprinkle some onion soup mix and stir in the mixture. Who knew quick and easy food prep could be so delicious?