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.

  • cymbal_king@lemmy.worldOP
    4·
    2 days ago

    Thanks for contributing. Some of your content on fat is not supported by evidence. Omega-3 polyunsaturated fats are the healthiest fats, and saturated fats increase risks of heart disease.

    Here’s a great article from the Nutrition Source discussing these concerns head on. TL;DR

    Given the above information, is commercially processed canola oil harmful?

    Although care must be taken in handling and processing of canola oil and other vegetable oils, canola oil is a safe and healthy form of fat that will reduce blood LDL cholesterol levels and heart disease risk compared to carbohydrates or saturated fats such as found in beef tallow or butter.  Indeed, in a randomized trial that showed one of the most striking reductions in risk of heart disease, canola oil was used as the primary form of fat. [8] Whether using cold-pressed canola oil provides some small additional benefit is not clear.

    In general, variety is a good strategy in nutrition, and thus consuming a variety of oils is desirable, for example using extra virgin oil when the special flavor is desired and canola oil or soybean oil for other uses. Both canola and soybean oils provide ω-3 fatty acids that are important to include in an overall diet.  Of course, avoiding overheating and burning of oils is important to provide the best taste and to avoid damaging the healthy-promoting fatty acids that they contain.