Not everyone can afford an upscale night on the town with a swanky menu.
Sometimes the menu is simple and concise.
And it may need to be repeated 3-4 times a week.
The money and food struggles are real.
But that doesn't mean you can't consume foods that are yummy.
Redditor bADDKarmal wanted to discus the foods that signal some life issues but are still yummy.
So they asked:
"What is the best struggle meal?"
Pea soup. My grandma made it with just water, a bag of peas and some spice. So good.
Basics
butter get GIF Giphy"Toast with butter and sugar."
nobid_leon
"My dad would always make toast with butter and brown sugar. Toss it in the oven to get a crisp and it was magical."
11646Moe
Special
"Spam and rice. The poor hawaiian kid special."
Xxaxis366
"I agree with the rice part, but Spam is insanely expensive. It's like $5 a can minimum around here. Not Hawaii."
"A bag of beans that costs $2 or less, some tomatoes and spices. Will last longer, be more filling, and not give you a sodium overload. Honestly, most things go good with rice."
DreamPig666
"Had this for lunch today and threw in a couple of eggs too!!"
MeNicolesta
For food reason...
"Noodles."
hyprsensitive
"I know this is a bit gourmet relative to this, but try the Shin Ramyun brand ramen some time. It is so freaking good, especially the Black one. It's surprisingly close to standard restaurant ramen. About 2 bucks, bigger portion than most ramen. I saw some people doing a huge ramen tournament, and Shin Ramyun won. For food reasons."
appleparkfive
"Yes pretty much any Noodle will do. Straight fire."
bADDKarmal
The Best Basics
"Red beans and rice."
Caseated_Omentum
"I was going to say, as long as you have beans and rice, you can live off of that alone for a very long time or potatoes by themselves has more nutrients than any other 1 food and can keep you alive longer than anything else. Potatoes has kept kingdoms and countries from starvation through times on war, droughts, and high inflation."
RonAnFawn
Good easts...
Grilled Cheese Meme GIF Giphy"The comfort food I had when poor as hell was grilled cheese that you dip in warm tomato soup. Taste like pizza, I still do it from times to times."
MoleHester
Everyone needs comfort and this food.
The Fav
honduras avocado GIF by JenChibi Giphy"Frijoles from a pot with fresh Pico and a tortilla is my fave. Or queso fresco, tomato and onion in a tortilla."
UpstairsSize
Oh Shin...
"Ramen, alternating out the seasoning and sauces you use each time."
Nondenomabomination
"Try Shin Ramyun. It's bigger and costs a little bit more. But it blows the others out of the water. Especially the Shin Ramyun Black one. Has some vegetables and mushrooms in it."
"I saw Good Mythical Morning do a ramen tournament and Shin Ramyun won. Wasn't surprised at all. You can find it at any Asian market, but it's pretty common in other stores these days. International section often has it."
"It's pretty similar to the ramen you would order in a little mom and pop restaurant. Put an egg in it if that's your thing, but it's good as is."
appleparkfive
That’s life...
"Soft fried egg added to a tortilla with cheese and salsa, put back into the pan for a minute to get the tortilla crispy."
souvenireclipse
"Nice. I do this too but with beans instead of salsa."
kale_blazer
"I toast my tortilla first using a skillet. Try that. I sometimes add a slice of ham. That’s life. No salsa for me though."
txpharmer13
Use Jiffy
"A couple of cans of tuna (in oil or water, as you like), drained. Prepare a box of macaroni and cheese (the deluxe if you can swing it). Add a little finely chopped onion, half a bag of cooked frozen peas, salt and pepper. Give it a dash or three of celery salt if you have it, really makes the dish. Heat it through, stirring occasionally, serve."
"Hey presto, stove top tuna casserole. Tuna packed in oil will give a better flavor and be more calorie dense. Deluxe mac & cheese has the cheese goop in a pouch instead of the cheese powder. If things are really tight use a couple of boxes of the powder sort."
"Also, beans and cornbread. A bag of pinto beans is cheap, do them in a slow cooker if you have one. Add a little bacon if you have it. Make the cornbread from scratch or use the Jiffy cornbread mix. Yum."
darrellbear
Grounded
meat beef GIF Giphy"Ground beef, egg noodles, and packet gravy mix. Can feed a family of four."
WhichDuck5191
"Ground beef is not cheap these days though.
"Leather-Highway7374
Now I'm hungry. Who else?
Do you have a favorite struggle meal? Let us know in the comments.
People Explain Which Food Pairings Sound Absurd But Actually Taste Great Together
Now THAT is shockingly good!
I am not a foodie. I love food but I'm not obsessed, so when I go out to eat, or even when I'm preparing at home I'm pretty straightforward and boring. I've only recently begun to dabble in chipotle flavorings. So I'm always interested in what menu concoctions people are wiling to try, because I'm proudly sticking to the same old. But when I do dabble, I am often surprised. So throw me some ideas.
Redditor u/gooodkush wanted to know what mouthwatering combinations we need to be adding to our menus that will surprise us by asking....
Thank you Ireland
Drunk Turn Up GIFGiphyGuinness and mussels blew my mind a little bit. I was thinking chocolate and malty with garlic and briny? How could that work?? But I was so wrong. Please, try it if you get a chance- it's freaking delicious. (Thank you, Ireland)
Irish here, the mussels are usually served in a thin white wine and garlic cream sauce which removes the briny flavor you'd expect. Also mussels aren't that "fishy" to begin with.
Guinness is popular with oysters too, in fact we have an annual festival!
Faves.....
Cream cheese and jelly sandwich. One of my favorites.
I remember reading about that when I was a small child. I was always curious but my mother refused to make one for me, and eventually I forgot about it. Now I want to try it again.
Friends
There's a local Mexican restaurant I go to on occasion that has lobster tamales with raspberry chipotle sauce. It sounds like a weird paring, but it's one of the best things I've ever tried.
Raspberry and chipotle are friends. Something about the super sweet and the smokey I think. There's a chicken wing place I like that has a raspberry chipotle sauce and its awesome.
On the Patties....
fast food pretty girl GIFGiphyBurgers and peanut butter.
I tried it at a joint known for it, hated it. But I think it was more because of the amount of peanut butter they used.
Tried it at home where we make thinner patties, used a thinner layer of peanut butter, then some honey spread on the top of the bun. Amazing.
Softserve....
Vanilla pudding and fries, I tried.
I remember when 6 year old me dipped a fry into a softserve at McDonald's. It was amazing. Different but not better or worse with chili too.
Cheese Always
Cheddar cheese and peanut butter, everyone thinks I'm crazy until I remind them that's what them snack crackers are supposed to be.
Cheddar cheese is one of those super combo foods.
Apple pie?
add cheese
Burger?
add cheese
Peanut Butter?
add cheese
wine?
Add cheese
Sweet and Porky
Pork and pineapple. Pineapple really goes with any meat but I love it with pork and duck and greasy meats, it really cuts through the bull and balances out the umami from the fats. It's also a great tenderizer.
Raw pineapple will turn meat into sludge if you leave it mixed long enough.
That is true! I made that mistake the first time I made Bulgogi! I couldn't find the Asian pear purée it called for and I thought Pineapple might be a fun substitute! Bad idea putting pineapple purée on thin cut steak. REAL bad idea. Now, I found a happy mid point and my bulgogi is now perfect and on point, but first attempt was a disaster.
Pizza Add Ons
Season 6 Pizza GIF by FriendsGiphyHoney and pizza.
I've heard about honey on pizza paired with brie cheese and walnuts. Pretty amazing.
Bacon Forever
Peanut butter, banana, bacon and sriracha.
Bacon really does go with everything. If you ever get the chance try bacon with chocolate or maple syrup, absolutely heavenly.
In a big wrap with some greens, fresh spinach is my favorite. Use freshly cooked bacon and put the whole thing in a panini press. A local deli makes this and at first the idea was repulsive until I ate it. Sweet fancy Moses is it good. The called it "the Chief."
Magic!
commercial fast food GIFGiphyMilkshake and fries. most of the time it's best with a frosty from Wendy's.
Something about that combination is magical. It's not as good with Wendy's current fries as it was with their old fries though IMO.
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People Break Down Which Food Combinations Sound Disgusting But Are Surprisingly Delicious
Chefs can take years to prepare and streamline perfect and precise menus and recipes. Each scent, each tiny ingredient is a piece of the magnificent, nourishing puzzle. Certain dishes make titans in the food industry because of these orgasmic amalgamations. However, if you're just a regular hungry, bored human you can look in the fridge and see what's left over when you're too lazy to shop. Then suddenly mayo and.... whatever is a masterpiece. No matter how skin crawling it sounds.
Redditor u/Gfuelmaster64 wanted to discuss a few menu ideas for the future by asking..... What is a food combination that sounds disgusting in theory but is actually really delicious?
Pot Sticky
potato GIFGiphyFried potatoes and maple syrup.
Sweet potato fries with honey. Had a ranch convince me to try it, and I'm never going back.
Edit: a ranch hand at a dude ranch we visited ( and will be visiting again). Not going back to salt and ketchup.
Chips Ahoy
Potato chips on a PB&J.
Fritos on a PB&J. Mmmmm.
Or potato chips on a bologna sandwich.
Artisanal
Apple pie and sharp cheddar cheese.
There was an amazing restaurant in NYC that was all about cheese. It was called Artisanal. They had an Apple pie made with strong cheddar cheese in the pie crust. Amazing. Loved that place.
The Glaze
Balsamic vinegar and vanilla ice cream.This works best with more aged balsamic, which has sweeter notes.
Strawberries and balsamic is an amazing combination too. I put balsamic when making strawberry jam every summer.
Edit: I use around 0.8 kg of sugar and one lemon for each kg of strawberries. Mix the halved (or quartered) strawberries with the sugar and leave in a bowl overnight.
The next day, bring this mix to a boil and add the lemon(s). After 5 minutes remove the strawberries and cook the syrup for 5 more minutes. Add the strawberries back in and repeat this process twice more. On the last syrup cooking I may cook it for longer if it's too watery.
Once you add the strawberries for the last time, cook for one minutes and put a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar for each kg of fruit. Finish cooking and proceed to canning.
For canning, please refer to this guide. I had a quick look at it and it seems pretty comprehensive.
Sweet Pizza
new girl pizza GIFGiphyA friend of mine offered me 3 days ago pizza with sweet potato as a topping. Thought he was crazy and I tried to pass, but he kept talking about how good it was, so I tried it and it was honestly the best pizza I have ever had. Gonna remember this one.
'disgusting in theory'
Mangos with crushed mustard seeds and salt don't add too many seeds or too much salt.
In Thailand they enjoy green manhood with a salt, sugar and chili mixture.
...welp, that's definitely fitting the 'disgusting in theory' part, but I don't want to put it into practice...
Kid Me
burger eating GIFGiphyPut a chocolate chip cookie inside a cheeseburger. Kid me would do this all the time and it's amazing.
"Guberburger"
Back when I lived in Halifax, Nova Scotia, there was a restaurant that put peanut butter on a burger. Had it a couple of times, weird combo. I'd be more inclined to try with a cookie, tbh.
That sounds pretty good! There is a restaurant about an ~hour away from me that will do a peanut butter burger. Haven't had it.
There was to be a restaurant (Wheel in Drive In in Sedelia, Missouri) a couple hours away from me that specialized in that. They called it the "Guberburger."
the reaction
Hungry Best Friends GIF by Best Friends Animal SocietyGiphyPeanut butter and onion sandwich.
There's a chemical reaction that causes the sulphur in raw onion to dissipate to a degree leaving it sweet and lightly spicy. If you use too much you lose the benefit of the pb.
Viola....
Sour cream with cut up strawberries with a little bit of sugar.
Roll the strawberry in sour cream, and then roll it in raw sugar.
It's amazing.
My dad would make something similar but to the sour cream he'd add brown sugar and a dash of nutmeg. I think maybe a pinch of cinnamon too?
Simmer Yes!
yum GIFGiphyPork belly, coffee, vodka, miso.
Simmer in water for 1.5 hours. Best damn pork belly you'll ever have.
YAASSSSS!!!
Goat cheese and honey!!
This makes sense considering goat cheese goes great with strawberries and balsamic reduction. Put that crap on a salad. OMG.
Pickles Away!
Peanut butter and pickle sandwiches.
Peanut butter and pickle burgers. Mmmmmmm. There is also a food cart near me that does peanut butter, pickle, and thai chili sauce burger. It's my absolute favorite.
I'm Intrigued....
interested GIF by Nick CannonGiphySoy Sauce and Vanilla Ice cream.Seriously surprised me with how not terrible it was.
I might try it. What I do now is eat ice cream (any flavor I like at the time) out of the container with pretzel rods instead of a spoon. No dishes.
Whatever....
Well, if you mix brown sugar and ketchup and cook it on a pork chop, it tastes really good with rice. Also, jelly with garlic bread.
You realize Ketchup + brown sugar is pretty much just bbq sauce... right?
Nope, but I have been told it's a weird combo all the same so... Whatever, right?
Satisfied....
snoop dogg kiss GIF by VH1GiphyPlain Lays potato chips and cottage cheese as the dip. My favorite snack.
I thought me and my mom were the only ones who liked this, but an ex loved it. Funny how many people like it. Such a satisfying snack.
Hot & Chic
I actually like hot Cheetos with Chic-fil-A sauce.
It has that sweet and spicy with some crunch I kinda enjoy.
That makes me think of my sister. She will eat salt and vinegar Pringles with McDonald's sweet and sour sauce.
Not so Thanksgiving....
A can of jellied cranberry sauce, a jar of marinara sauce, a can of sauerkraut, 1/2 cup sugar. Heat and add pan baked browned meatballs. Serve over rice. Nobody will have any idea what's in it, and they will love it, even if they hate cranberry and sauerkraut.
I like to do jellied cranberry sauce and salsa mixed together and poured over turkey meatballs. I usually try to use a pineapple salsa when I make them. I also puree the crap out of the sauce so there are no lumps.
Get a Test....
melinda shankar degrassi GIFGiphy
Candied orange and horseradish... but honestly I might be pregnant 🤦♀️.
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Junk Food Junkies, we have been blessed with insider info! If you've never worked in fast food it's easy to assume everything on the menu is about the same quality. Apparently, that's not the case. One Reddit user asked:
People who work in fast food: what is one item from your menu you would never order?
Honestly, if there's anyone who would know what to steer clear of, it's the people who make the food, right? So listen, take notes. You'll thank me after your next 1AM drunken fast food binge is helluh upgraded. You're welcome for the glow-up!
H/T: Reddit
Working at a drive thru window can be not just a job but a study into the human psyche. Let's be honest when we roll up into a drive thru as a customer we're usually in the middle of some sort of life situation or we're drunk. So our behavior can be "out of the ordinary?"
And the poor workers have to be the witnesses to our lunacy. That particular job usually means long hours and overnight shifts. There is no aspect of humanity that you miss out on, and the things people keep in their cars never seizes to amaze.
Redditor permanantthr0waway wanted drive thru staff answer... Drive-thru window workers of reddit, what's the strangest thing you've seen in someones car? Pay attention before you leave the house people. Are your pants on? What's in your car? It's not that hard to take a quick peek.