recipesfortheproletariat

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8 vegetables that you can regrow again and again.

Scallions

You can regrow scallions by leaving an inch attached to the roots and place them in a small glass with a little water in a well-lit room.

Garlic

When garlic begins to sprout, you can put them in a glass with a little water and grow garlic sprouts. The sprouts have a mild flavor than garlic and can be added to salads, pasta and other dishes.

Bok Choy

Bok choy can be regrown by placing the root end in water in a well-lit area. In 1-2 weeks , you can transplant it to a pot with soil and grow a full new head.

Carrots

Put carrot tops in a dish with a little water. Set the dish in a well-lit room or a window sill.  You’ll have carrot tops to use in salads. 

Basil

Put clippings from basil with 3 to 4-inch stems in a glass of water and place it in direct sunlight. When the roots are about 2 inches long, plant them in pots to and in time it will grow a full basil plant.

Celery

Cut off the base of the celery and place it in a saucer or shallow bowl of warm water in the sun. Leaves will begin to thicken and grow in the middle of the base, then transfer the celery to soil. 

Romaine Lettuce

Put romaine lettuce stumps in a ½ inch of water. Re-water to keep water level at ½ inch. After a few days, roots and new leaves will appear and you can transplant it into soil.

Cilantro

The stems of cilantro will grown when placed in a glass of water. Once the roots are long enough, plant them in a pot in a well-lit room. You will have a full plant in a few months.

[recipesfortheproletariat]

8 vegetables that you can regrow again and again.

Scallions

You can regrow scallions by leaving an inch attached to the roots and place them in a small glass with a little water in a well-lit room.

Garlic

When garlic begins to sprout, you can put them in a glass with a little water and grow garlic sprouts. The sprouts have a mild flavor than garlic and can be added to salads, pasta and other dishes.

Bok Choy

Bok choy can be regrown by placing the root end in water in a well-lit area. In 1-2 weeks , you can transplant it to a pot with soil and grow a full new head.

Carrots

Put carrot tops in a dish with a little water. Set the dish in a well-lit room or a window sill.  You’ll have carrot tops to use in salads. 

Basil

Put clippings from basil with 3 to 4-inch stems in a glass of water and place it in direct sunlight. When the roots are about 2 inches long, plant them in pots to and in time it will grow a full basil plant.

Celery

Cut off the base of the celery and place it in a saucer or shallow bowl of warm water in the sun. Leaves will begin to thicken and grow in the middle of the base, then transfer the celery to soil. 

Romaine Lettuce

Put romaine lettuce stumps in a ½ inch of water. Re-water to keep water level at ½ inch. After a few days, roots and new leaves will appear and you can transplant it into soil.

Cilantro

The stems of cilantro will grown when placed in a glass of water. Once the roots are long enough, plant them in a pot in a well-lit room. You will have a full plant in a few months.

[recipesfortheproletariat]

#mine #breakfast

[recipesfortheproletariat]

Sorry for any spelling mistakes

I know how to play the ocarina, but not how to spell

[recipesfortheproletariat]

Got this recipe from r/eatcheapandhealthy

Basically we added an onion and 2 cloves of garlic (could have added way more!) And turmeric.

We found the amount of lentils to be better as 1:2 cup ratio

It worked out as about 25p per serving, probably a little more considering we had it with rice and already owned the spices!

#cheap meals #clean eating #vegan #cheap recipe

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IDK if this is stupid, but I saw some other people posting anxiety help posts and things to maybe make you feel a little better especially right now and I wanted to just share something that helps me:

Obnoxiously Spicy Food

It’s not for everyone, not everyone can handle spicy food or whatever, but I swear…I know it’s just a fleeting pain-endorphin induced high but it’s something and at least it’s better for you than booze.

Here’s something I’ve been making for lunch a lot that’s fairly easy, fairly quick, and fairly cheap. And it’s vegetarian (vegan if you sub butter). I literally just threw a bunch of things together one day that I thought would taste good based on curries I’ve had before and it does. Maybe you’ll like it too.

Chickpea “Curry” Experiment 

Serves 1-3 (maybe, depends on how hungry you are)

Ingredientes:

1 Can Chickpeas, Drained 1 Can Diced or Crushed Tomatoes 1 cup or however much tickles your fancy of diced onions, fresh or frozen. (Frozen mirepoix mix works well too)  Spices, such as: cayenne, turmeric, cumin, black pepper, ground ginger, curry powder, paprika, cinnamon Butter Peanut Butter (optional) Salt to taste

So first you saute the onions in about 1 pat of butter until they get a little brown and soft. (This takes a while if you use frozen onions because the water can leach out of the onions so you have to saute longer to evaporate the water away.)

Once the onions are cooked, I like to add my spices. I pretty much just dump in whatever amount looks right. I always add a lot of turmeric and for an Extra Spicy Experience, I give that cayenne bottle a real good couple of shakes. You don’t need /all/ the spices, but the cayenne is key. (I also feel like the cinnamon and black pepper are important too but w/e)   

Then in goes the tomatoes and chickpeas. I’ve done this with both crushed and diced tomatoes. The crushed tomatoes make a saucier end product but the diced tomatoes almost seem fresher in a way. Either work fine. And the tomatoes totally have enough liquid by themselves, so you don’t need to add any water or anything.

 I will let this simmer for a bit, maybe 10 mins or until it looks a bit thicker and saucier. At this point, for a richer flavor, you can add pat of butter just right in there. Just melt that butter in there. It’s so good. 

You can also add a small spoonful of peanut butter which will also add richness and a sense of creaminess. I bet it would also be good with a little coconut milk or bamboo shoots or whatever. Cook with all the colors of your pantry or something to that effect

I eat this by itself or with rice, depending if I have easy access to rice. It’s spicy and comforting and chickpeas are surprisingly satisfying. Eat this and enjoy the capsaicin-induced endorphin ride ~*~~~*~

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Great stir fry with tofu, mushrooms, onions, green beans and bell pepper. There was even a handful of cashews in there! (Optional, of course; someone else paid for them for me.) This was about $12 for all the ingredients (would be less without the cashews), and fed 3 people, and had enough leftover for at least one more serving, so about $3 a serving. .

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You know what’s really tasty and super easy to make?

SAMOSAS!!!

All you need is potatoes, peas, some Indian spices, and something crispy to wrap them in. 

These actually have a little extra than that, because I wanted to get fancy and had some leafy greens I needed to use up before they went bad, but it was still super cheap and easy. It took me about an hour to make 30 of them, after which I froze them for later consumption. The ingredients include:

-potatoes -peas -kale -methi (fenugreek) leaves -ginger -garam masala -coriander -mustard oil

I just put everything into one pot and boiled it until the potatoes were soft, then mashed it a bit and added the spices. The wrapping is the same I use for my crispy spring rolls, which can be found at any Asian market in the freezer section and are under $2 for a pack of 30. 

A box of 8 samosas used to cost me about $6. Now I have 30 of them for way less than that. 

[Edit] I forgot to mention how I cooked these! I just pan seared them for a few seconds and then baked them. If you want to skip the pan and just bake them, that’s fine too, as the spring roll wraps will get super crispy anyway.  (Sorry for accidentally omitting this part. It was like 2am when I made this post originally.)

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instagram breakfast (or lunch)

this recipe is cheap and pretty (just like me). 

ingredients:

1 egg

1 half avocado

1 cup cherry tomatoes

2 cups raw spinach

vinegar (white or rice wine - not apple cider)

soy sauce (or liquid aminos to make this recipe gluten free)

directions:

cut the cherry tomatoes in half and throw in a bowl. add in two tablespoons white vinegar and two tablespoons soy sauce.

heat up 1 tablespoon oil (vegetable, olive, or coconut) on medium. toss raw spinach in and sautee for 2-3 minutes until wilted. place spinach on plate.

crack egg into pan. cook for two minutes until whites are solid. turn pan off, flip egg, and wait 10 seconds. scoop up egg with spatula and place on plate on top of spinach.

cut avocado in half and scoop out half with a spoon. place on plate next to egg and spinach.

salt to taste and enjoy! i always grew up eating filipino breakfast and my favorite part was the tomatoes in vinegar and soy sauce. they add the perfect salt, acid, and brightness!

if you want to make this more filling, add some white rice on the side. 

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High Society Ramen

I can’t believe this worked, honestly.  I had some crappy white wine in the fridge.  Pinot Grigio.  My throat felt a tad sore and, while at the supermarket, had noticed Ramen was a buck for six packages.  I can’t resist branded crack so cheap so I bought it. 

1 pkg Ramen, no seasoning

1 lemon wedge

¼ c white wine

1 tbs butter or margarine

1 tsp dill

Salt to taste

Cook the Ramen and drain out 2/3 of the water.  Add the butter, wine, dill.  Stir, then eat.   - A delicate noodle in a white wine broth with hints of dill.  

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Canned Soup Ramen

What you’ll need: -Cheapest Ramen you can find. If you’re in the Ireland, that’s Tesco’s “everyday value” brand at a whopping twelve cents.

-Cheapest Canned Soup you can find. Again, Everyday Value by Tesco. Got them for a little over forty cents a can.

-Whatever vegetable is on sale. I go to Aldi for their weekly savings section, and buy whatever fruit and vegetable they have. Don’t like whatever it is? Tough it out and eat it with things you do like to make it palatable. This week, it’s kale.

-A Frozen vegetable; whatever is cheapest. At the Aldi near me, that’s peas. Freezing saves more nutrients than canning, so get you some frozen whatever.

-Spices: trust me. It may seem unnecessary to shell out that extra fifty cents/pence for some basic spices, but they last a long time and will make your life so. much. better. These include: Salt Pepper Garlic Basil Oregano Paprika

-Tomato Paste: Like spices, you may see this as a waste of money. Trust me; it helps with a lot of dishes, is cheap, and lasts a long while.

Assemble:

Okay, start by opening the Ramen. I used one bag for two people, as my husband wanted lunch as well, and you don’t need a full ramen per can of soup anyway.

The Everyday Value brand is pretty low on sodium, so I add the packet to the meal. If the kind you get has crazy amounts, maybe don’t use it–but salt is good for you anyway, or so “science” says right now, so who even knows what’s real and what’s a fad.

Now, add the spices, however much of each you like, to make it taste like actual food and not sadness in a bowl. Add the cans of soup after that, and a handful of frozen peas.

I used creamy chicken for him and hearty vegetable for me because I like sadness and so became a vegetarian. Okay, cool. Now that you’ve done this, add a small squeeze (do you Brits spell squeeze with an ‘s?’ I’ve only just moved to Ireland–which yes, is not Britain, but y’awl spell things in English the same)…where was I? Okay, yes, add a small dab of tomato paste to your bowls. Yes, even the cream of chicken one. Trust me, fam.

Yeah, that’s the same picture. Shut up. That isn’t a giant blob of tomato paste in the cream of chicken–I added some of my soup bowl to my husband’s because, again, trust me. Plus, I don’t have an appetite the same way he does and don’t need as much, especially when technically having a soup and a half.

Okay, next! Add some torn kale to your soup. I do recommend you tear the kale into small pieces. Big pieces can be hard to chew as kale is one tough vegetable.

Yum. Lastly, pour hot water to the top.

Microwave that stuff for like, three or four minutes on high heat. If you’re weird about using a microwave–because radiation–then I suggest using the stove and adding the ramen noodles two minutes before you eat. They’ll cook quickly, and you don’t want soggy noodles. I suggest the microwave because it uses a lot less energy than the stove. Energy in Ireland is stupidly expensive. Save yourself the suffering of a forty or fifty euro weekly bill.

When it’s done, ta-da.

Enjoy. It’ll be hot and all, so don’t burn your lip. If you’re extra hungry, or eating this for dinner, add some toast, either plain or with a little garlic and oregano sprinkled onto it. Want more protein? Frozen meat is cheaper than fresh, but canned beans go super well in this too. I just didn’t have any. Kidney beans would be my preference, but hey ho.

Eat up. Eat Cheap. Eat Well.

[recipesfortheproletariat]

you can’t act like your healthy recipes are cheap when you omit the initial cost of everything, if your bag of tomatoes costs $5 and you only use half a tomato in your recipe you can’t pretend that its cost is like 25 cents. Normal people can’t just go and buy half a tomato for the same price as your fragmented cost, it’s not realistic. 

You’re purposely misleading people because you know the cost of everything together would reach up into the hundreds. And vegetables go bad if someone doesn’t have the time to cook them, and eat them. so not everyone can go buy these bags of vegetables in bulk “because it’s cheaper” and expect them to last, your fragmented partial costs don’t mean shit.

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Leek and Potato Crockpot Soup

🥘 This is my fav soup so I thought I would share!! 🥘 This recipe makes a hearty portion of soup that lasts my fiance and I up to three days plus it’s soooo cheap to make. 

Ingredients:

2 stalks of leeks, chopped (white and light green portions only) 3-4 potatoes depending on size, peeled and cubed 4 cups vegetable broth 1 bay leaf I sprig fresh rosemary pinch of salt and pepper to taste heavy cream or coconut milk (optional)

Steps:

Peel and cube potatoes, toss into crock pot Wash Leeks thoroughly, chop up and toss into crockpot Add broth, herbs and spices.  Cook on low for 6hrs Blend soup once cooked, careful because it is hot! An immersion blender works best. Taste it and add any spices you like at this point, I usually add a touch more pepper. Grab your desired portion, if you want a creamier soup add a few ounces of heavy cream or coconut milk to your portion and mix.  

Enjoy!!!! This soup is amazing on a cold day with some crispy bread or croutons 🥘

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The weathers getting warmer but I still need my coffee hit! Here’s a quick and delicious iced coffee recipe (with about half the sugar you find in the shop bought stuff and just as delicious). 

Soy Vanilla Iced Latte. 

1. Get a blender/ food processor / smoothie maker. 

2. Pour in 700ml soy milk, 1 mug fresh black coffee (with sweetener, to taste) - this should have been cooled for about an hour in the fridge, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 2 cups ice cubes. Pulse and enjoy!

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Upgrade your Ramen

Everyone knows that ramen noodles are cheap. But the fact that they’re  a nutritional void by themselves also gives them a bad rep. Luckily, it’s not too hard to make the healthy(ish) kind of Ramen bowls you get at Asian restaurants. It just takes a bit of planning ahead to have the ingredients on hand. 

Start out with your protein. Chicken, shrimp, beef, pork, mushrooms, tempeh, and tofu are all great choices. You can match the flavoring packet but you don’t have to. Precooked protein is the easiest to use. When you do your shopping, scope out the proteins that are on sale and cook them up before you forget about them so they’re ready for quick meals throughout the week. 

Raw protein: cut it into small strips or chunks and sautee over medium-high heat.

Cooked protein: cut into small strips or chunks and set aside.

The next important part is the vegetables. I like the traditional bok choy and scallions, but feel free to experiment with whatever you have on hand. Remember, the noodles are a blank canvas so it’s hard to mess up the flavor combinations. 

Leafy vegetables like bok choy are better fresh, but there’s nothing wrong with using frozen vegetables. Frozen and precut carrots, beans, and broccoli work really well for recipes like this because you only have to throw them in (preferably after they’ve been removed from the bag). Stock up on your favorite versatile frozen vegetables when they’re on sale so they’re always on hand. 

A ramen noodle bowl is the same as a stir-fry or a soup in that it’s a great way to use up leftovers. It defeats the purpose if you feel like you have to go out and buy something for it, so use what you have. 

You can also fry an egg and place it on top, but I don’t usually do it since I’m not a fan of eggs and I also like to keep my ramen relatively simple. 

Ingredients:

Packet of ramen noodles ($0.20)

1 cup cooked protein, small chunks or strips ($0.40)

1 cup vegetables, precut, fresh or frozen ($0.20)

Instructions:

Bring a pot of water to a boil.

Add ramen noodles and seasoning packet to water. If you’re adding veggies that take longer to cook, such as carrot or broccoli, add these in with the noodles. 

Cook for 2 minutes.

Add vegetables, cook for 2 minutes

Add protein, cook for 30 seconds (just enough to heat up the protein)

Drain (optional)

Add fried egg (optional)

Total cost: $0.80

Cost per serving: $0.40 as partial / light meal, $0.80 as a whole meal

Total prep time (including all meat and vegetable cutting): 10 minutes

Total cook time: 4 minutes

Total time: 14 minutes

Total dishes: 2 - 5

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Lazy tips for Tofu

Tofu gets a bad rap, and really it’s undeserved. 

Yes, tofu tastes bad when you cook it badly, but then so does just about anything else. It’s just that we’re much more conditioned to be forgiving of bad chicken, bad cheese, etc. And at least tofu is unlikely to give you food poisoning if it’s under cooked.

Yes tofu takes some prep. But then, so do a lot of other foods. You pay more for convenience foods of many kinds because some of the work is done for you. But as far as a ‘raw ingredient’ goes, tofu is cheaper than many animal products, and when you compare it to the work involved with preparing any ‘raw ingredient’ it’s really not much different.

That being said, here’s a few ways to make dealing with tofu less effort

Pressing

Pressing tofu is kind of an art - convincing the water to come out of the soy sponge without mushing it. This is an art I refuse to master. It’s up there with the art of eating gracefully, and ironing collars.

So I just freeze the tofu I buy. If I’m planning on using it in the next two days, I move it to the fridge. Somehow, some weird magical thing happens that makes recently defrosted tofu stronger, so you can basically squeeze out almost all the water in your hands without mushing it. This doesn’t work for silken tofu though - seriously. Don’t make the same mistake I did.

Another option, if you don’t care about the tofu being mushed up, is a clean tea towel, stick the tofu in there, wrap it up, and squeeze it that way.

Or don’t press it at all. This makes it less likely to absorb other flavours, but so long as you cook it enough it still tastes good.

Marinating

To be honest, I almost never bother marinating tofu for any length of time. My idea of a marinade is to throw random stuff in a bowl, then stir in some cubes of tofu. If I’m really patient, I might last a couple of hours. Usually it’s a couple of minutes. If you want to marinate tofu to make it taste like something specific, like the ham component of a hawaiian pizza, you can make the flavours soak in a lot faster by immersing the cubes/chunks/whatever in the marinate and baking it for about ten minutes. Shallow frying with about 1cm of oil in a pot also works (avoid marinades that have a strong powder component).

Super easy marinades

Vinegar, Salt, Soy sauce

Brewers yeast (sometimes called nutritional yeast), salt, tumeric, garlic, cumin, lemon juice, oil (if you’re feeling like reaching for the spice rack)

Mustard, Soy sauce, Sugar, Sesame seed oil or tahini (optional, because expensive)

Veggie stock

Basically any stir fry or pasta sauce you have lying around will do

Cooking

The ways to cook tofu are pretty much endless. You can even have it raw if it works with the recipes. My favourite quick ways are;

Deep frying - It’s not really deep frying since you only need about a cm of oil in a pot. You want it to be pretty hot (but not smoking). You don’t even really need to press tofu if you’re cooking it like this, just squeeze it a bit over the sink. It’ll be crispier if you go hotter, softer if you go cooler. I often don’t flavour tofu before frying like this, I just have it with salt and maybe a little vinegar (seriously, it’s good) after. I’ve found it takes less than ten minutes to cook a bowl of nommy tofu bites. Probably not so healthy, but I’m prone to the odd treat now and then. I’ve found this also is a fast way to cook tofu that’s going to go in other things - like curries and stirfries.

Baking - If you don’t mind waiting for noms to cook (I go surf the net while I wait), you can just put whatever flavourings you want on the tofu (immersing it in veggie broth and baking is awesome too - thank you @theveganzombie), and throw it in the oven.

Shallow frying - I’ve found this takes a bit longer than I personally like, but it has its uses. If you’re frying tofu to go with other stuff, put it in first, even ahead of onions, and don’t be afraid to let it sit in the pan without being turned constantly, it’ll cook quicker if you only turn it every so often. If you want the tofu to still be crispy when you eat and you’re using a sauce, cook the tofu separately and add it at the end.

Pre-cooking

If you want nommy soy goodness straight from the fridge for sandwiches, salads, world domination, noodles, whatever, then you can make it up ahead of time, and see how long it lasts. 

I pretty much never bother to do this. The last time I made tofu bites to go on a pizza, it took all my willpower to allow even two thirds of them to actually make it to the pizza. Cooked tofu does not last long when it’s within my reach.

But if you have more self control than me it’s a good way to have teh noms on hand.

Storing

Fridge - Tofu has a long shelf life, it usually comes sealed. You can keep it in the fridge for a few days after opening so long as you immerse it in fresh water and keep it sealed. For tofu that’s been cooked, just keep it sealed.

Freezer - Unless I have reason to want the tofu soft and mushy, I tend to just freeze it, and take it out when I need it. If I need to defrost it fast I just stick it in a bowl of hot water, then add more hot water when it starts to cool. This is enough to get it to the point where I can cut it without any trouble.

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Some food inspo!