Whether it's their childhood or their college years or when they first move out on their own, at some point in life most people have to survive on a tight budget.
Part of that survival is learning to eat with few resources.
But some of those cheap meals are actually pretty tasty.
Redditor Imawildedible asked:
"What is some 'poor people food' that you will eat no matter how wealthy you get?"
Tomato Mayo Sandwich
"On behalf of my father."
"He grew up in genuine poverty (non-canned meat only on Sundays kind of poverty) in the South, and so tomato and mayo sandwiches on white bread were a staple for him."
"Fast forward 60 years, I went to visit him a few weeks ago for his birthday and watched him get home from the gym in a luxury sedan, walk into his nice house, plug his new iPhone into the charger, and promptly make a tomato and mayonnaise sandwich for Saturday lunch."
"He told me that, no matter how far away he gets from his childhood, he’ll always crave that sandwich."
- Womens_Lefts
Immo Wegmann on Unsplash
Popcorn
"Microwave popcorn, which fueled my entire time in college."
- Iamwinning2022too
"To me, microwave popcorn is the luxury. My parents weren't poor or lacking a microwave, they just were really price-conscious and never saw the need to spend on bags when a big ol' jar of kernels was cheaper by the ounce."
"I was amazed when I was at sleepovers and those parents just used a bag."
"So convenient! No shaking! No melting butter beforehand! No cleanup! Everyone got their own bag! And it has an exotic, artificial taste just like the movie theatre!"
"I prefer the pan-made now (more flavor control, and the bags are irreparably salty), but man, nuker-corn seemed like it was just so cool."
- SymmetricalFeet
GiphyTacos
"Tacos!"
"They're always so cheap to make, and many times cheap to purchase."
"Tacos just make you feel happy. I don't know what it is."
"They also seem to fill you up!"
- jabba-du-hutt
GiphyPB&J
"Peanut butter and jelly. Never forget the ones who were there for you when you had nothing."
- I_Love_Small_Breasts
"Have you tried a grilled PB&J? It's insane."
- TitaniumReinforced
"Variations on peanut butter sammiches are all must tries:"
"PB & Honey"
"PB & Nutella"
"PB & Banana (& Honey)"
"PB & Fluff"
- RonYarTtam
GiphyRice
"Rice with fried egg and soy sauce."
- damnwhale
"Rice with pretty much anything and soy sauce."
- t_e_e_k_s
Rice
"Rice with just soy sauce."
"This was literally the only thing I ate as a kid, my parents would tell me I refused to eat anything else even at restaurants unless it was rice with soy sauce."
- Aschentei
Mgg Vitchakorn on Unsplash
Frozen Pizza
"Frozen pizza. I LOVE pizza - fancy pizza, good pizza, mediocre pizza."
"But something about controlling how your own frozen pizza comes out and devouring it will always be satisfying."
- Eldrick84
"I actually like the super cheap Totino’s pizza."
- YetAnotherJules
"I buy those bad boys by the box at Walmart. Had one for dinner tonight. They are so cheap but always seem to just hit the spot when you're hungry and don't want to get together a meal."
‐ Archer1407
GiphyPotatoes
"Any and every variation of potatoes. I’m like Bubba from Forest Gump with them."
- swagga74
"When I was a kid my mum always used to put potato in her curries. As I got older I couldn't understand why other people didn't do this or why this wasn't an option in restaurants."
"Was then told this was something poor people did to make their food last longer."
"So I learned to cook this for myself and it's the only way I like to eat curry. Potatoes rock but are also enemy as I get older as my belly is constantly rewriting it's boundary."
- Dark_Moe
"Potatoes are an astounding source of potassium."
"Sweet potatoes are almost as good by the same metric. WAY better than bananas."
- thenerj47
Eric Prouzet on Unsplash
Franks & Beans
"My favourite would have to be beans and wieners."
- C_Woodswalker
"My family calls it beenie weenies."
- DJisanotherRedditor
"Franks and beans here."
- Aperture_TestSubject
GiphyMac & Cheese
"Cheap powdery 39cent Mac & cheese."
- JamesTheMannequin
"We had a big family growing up so one of my moms specialties was tuna Mac."
"Add a can of tuna fish, and that canned peas/carrots mix. Boom balanced meal 😂"
- PrimaryImpossible467
GiphyCup Noodle
"Cheap instant noodles for the win."
- neuroticteletubby
"Sometimes, when I am feeling risky, I buy the EXPENSIVE instant noodles."
- JollyNeedleworker1
"I have an awesome Asian market by me with aisles for different countries but my favorite thing is the two big rows of nothing but instant noodle meals."
"Half of them have zero English and weird pictures so I never know exactly what I'm getting. It's sort of a ramen lottery for me to grab a few random packs when go. I love it!"
"Some of them get crazy though. Some have a chemical pack included that'll boil the water for you."
"Some are a bit larger bag with a dozen or more little bags of stuff inside, and those can be a challenge to figure out what you're supposed to do."
- diiejso
GiphyWhile several of these suggestions aren't exactly poverty meals, most are still fairly inexpensive.
So did your cheap eats make the list?
What's your favorite inexpensive meal?
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