Poverty ≠ Ramen Noodles: Five ways to Eat Better on a Budget

While I've been preparing my own food for quite some time, college has been my first, ahum, opportunity, to pay for it. Like many in this position, I was shocked at the price of things like cheese and meat, and cutting them back in favor of other whole foods came quite naturally. I soon worked out a few other guidelines that have helped me to eat well despite my shrinking bank account. 

 1. Check your Stock Before You Shop 

Looking at the fridge and cupboards may seem like an obvious pre-shopping step, but it's really, really commonly forgotten. 

Saving your leftovers does no good if they're pushed to the back of the fridge to gather ice and mold. I've also had a lot of fun letting my leftovers and neglected can cupboards inspire new meals. The results are often genuinely good, not just 'leftover good'.  For example, there are few things that can't be thrown into a soup, tomato sauce, or rice dish to liven it up-- veggies, meat, even beans. Comment with your most creative leftover remix!

 2. Stick to the Perimeter 

In standard grocery store anatomy, produce, dairy, the bakery, and the deli all tend to be located around the edges. Besides being healthier, these foods can often be much more efficiently priced. Make sure your cupboards are stocked with multi-meal foods like rice and potatoes, which can be combined with a great variety of veggies, beans, and meats to keep you well-fed for a long time. 

The perimeter is also where you'll find the discount racks-- and while not all bargain-shopping is eco-friendly (see "The Story of Stuff" video on externalized costs), buying from the discount bakery or produce racks can be a great way to get good, quality products at great prices and keep them from going to waste. 

 3. Go Beyond Meat-Eating 

The bottom-line truth: quality meat's expensive, and mystery/processed meat, well... doesn't belong in the human body. I have no desire to moralize meat-eating, and I don't think everyone needs to become a vegetarian, but the meat-at-every-meal mentality does take a toll on the body, the wallet, and the planet. 

If you had a small panic attack when you saw the title here, consider setting a small meat reduction goal for yourself, such as 3 to 5 meat-free meals per week, or all meat-free breakfasts, which are generally easier for omnivores.

Besides egg and dairy, there are many great plant protein sources, including beans and rice, avocado, peanut butter, and edamame. The Internet's full of information on how to make a healthy move away from meat. 

 4. Store Smart 
In general, 'airtight' is the magic word for stock foods, extras, and leftovers-- whether in a container or in a baggie. 

But a few special tricks: If you buy bread off the discount rack or just don't use it very often, stick it in the freezer. It toasts just as well frozen, and a few slices can be left out for an hour if they need to be thawed. Bananas can also be peeled and frozen in ziplocs for use in smoothies, but don't stick them in the fridge-- they brown faster that way. 

 5. Think Twice Before You Toss 

Speaking of brown peels, a banana that's lost its exterior graces may be utterly perfect on the inside. Milk can be equally deceptive-- a simple in-bottle sniff test may render a false foul due to that crusty ring left by the cap. Pour a glass and sniff it that before you pour it down the drain. Another fun fact: stale bread hasn't actually lost moisture, the water has just settled into the fiber molecules of the bread. Liberate the water with a quick pop in the microwave or toaster oven, and it'll be good as fresh. Most fruit with soft spots are still very good; just pare away the overly-ripe part, if necessary, and cut and freeze the rest for smoothies.

Moldy bread can't be saved in the same way, though, since mold is an external (and dangerous) invader that can spread in micro form throughout the bread as soon as the first spots are visible.


Eat real, my friends!

This is Ely the EcoNaut, Over and Out!

Life as an Accidental EcoNaut

I suppose a wonderful place to start this adventure would be to explain how I came to call myself an "Accidental EcoNaut."

The first few years of my relative independence have found me in a lifestyle that even by Orange County standards could be considered eco-eccentric: I don't own a car or a television, my diet contains very little meat, I line-dry my clothes, and the vast majority of my possessions belonged to someone else first. Granted, most of these habits are due largely to poverty (thus the 'accidental'), but I'd like to think that Mother Nature would be pleased that I allowed my poverty to manifest so kindly in her favor. This is still an experiment, an exploration (thus the 'EcoNaut'), but it'd definitely a part of my life that's here to stay. 

I suppose I took after my grandmother, who grew up in World War II and currently fills her time with crocheting grocery bags into doormats and other resource-happy crafts. A vague consciousness of myself as part of a bigger system has always rested toward the front of my skull. The real turning-point in allowing this to affect my life was breaking into relative adulthood and understanding on a new level the preciousness of resources, and my responsibility to use them properly. I've come to recognize time in particular as a valuable gift, one that should be treasured, and used to tend to myself, my immediate environment (my apartment), my larger environment (Spaceship Earth), my family, my community, my society, my species... and with this came the realization that all of these interests do not conflict. Any proper way of tending to myself must also contribute to the well-being of my family, my society, and my planet. 

There's a lot more I could (and probably will) say about this, but it seemed fitting to kick off this blog with a brief explanation of one important aspect of my worldview and lifestyle.

Ely the EcoNaut, over and out!