I take it ramen profitabiliy shouldn't be interpreted literally. Disregarding taste, what are the cheapest sources of food that is still considered healthy?
I've never had Ramen, so I had to look it up, but... let's take Ramen literally, using Amazon's Ramen pricing as a baseline, and try to inject health concerns! At $17.49 for a 36 pack of Ramen, we're talking ~$0.49/meal. Check!
Two kilograms (4.4 lbs) of Lentils costs me $2.49 at my local supermarket. According to the fine people at Wolfram Alpha, 1 cup of lentils (cooked) weighs 99grams and costs $0.125. Bags of frozen vegetables cost ~$2. I can get ~8 meals from one bag of such veggies, making each portion cost $0.25. That's a total cost of $0.374, which means we still have ~$0.12 to go.
One package of dried soup (with beans) costs $1.99 regular price - but can be on sale for $0.99. Taking the regular price into count, and getting 12 (small) bowls of soup brings the per-bowl price to $0.125.
So, you can eat (unfortunately, high salt) soup, beans, lentils, and veggies for ~$0.49/meal. You'll actually need less than a cup of lentils if you do this, which should bring the cost down a bit.
Wow... 380 calroeis is crazy. I fully admit that was the first ramen I saw ;). The caloric intake of the meal would be ~200-250 calories - as I assume some oil would be used.
But humans can survive on ~1200 calories. It's just not awesome.
Eggs are probably the cheapest natural form of animal protein you can find. Add a couple to your ramen. If you buy good quality eggs, eat the yolk too.
Chicken legs are also often priced under 99 cents a pound, even in the Bay Area.
I don't think there is harm too, but there is a distinct quality difference in taste and nutrition, which would be a terrible thing to waste from good eggs. Overall I think it is beneficial, but since some people are against eating yolks, I hedge my advice by stating yolk from good eggs.
You can grow a lot of your own vegetables for next to nothing, if you have space, dirt, good weather/sunlight, and a rain barrel.
Tomato and peppers, for example, are both very easy to grow. There are also spices that grow like weeds. All of these can be added to your ramen bowl. :)
You can buy bags of dried beans at the grocery store for around a dollar each. The bagged beans actually taste better than the canned beans, and they are much cheaper. Just remember, some beans need to be soaked overnight before being cooked!
For example, you can make a giant pot of lentil soup that will have 10 servings for maybe $4 worth of ingredients. And it's healthy.
Invest in a good pressure cooker (for speed) or crockpot and a dozen 1 quart canning jars. I have a 21-qt at home. It's an investment that pays off once you figure out all the things you can cook and freeze for later.
With this you can make tons of beans in bulk, freeze them and defrost as necessary. I would serve the beans with fresh rice. The base for most of my beans (about 12 quarts) was a pint of bacon fat and like 3-4 full sized onions and a bunch of garlic.
I got my meals down to about 50 cents each. You can get beans in bulk (25lb bags) from hispanic markets.
Lentils with a mirepoix base are another great option.
Get a gigantic bag of brown rice(15), gigantic bag of beans(10), cumin/spices from an Indian/middle eastern store(5-10), 2x gigantic bag frozen vegetables(10) some garlic (4), olive oil(10), Siracha(5), and optionally coffee(10). That is enough food to feed a few people for a month for $74.
Cheap Costco eggs taste like rubber and have pale yellow yolks. Real free range eggs have a fattier taste with a deep almost red orange hue.
Likewise, real free range chickens have really deep flavor in comparison.
When I say real, I don't mean a chicken that has pasture time but eats the same vegetarian feed as other factory farm chickens. They need to eat insects, get exercise, etc.
There's pretty high sodium in ramen and I tend to find that ramen isn't really filling when eaten alone (and poor in nutritional value) and that means extra $$$ to make it more filling (spam, eggs, proteins, etc.).
My go to for a cheap filling meal has always been a stew or soup. Bulk quantity canned tomatoes, beans or rice, some protein, onions, carrots, and a ton of herbs means a single pot meal that can last for a long time - especially in the freezer.
24 comments
[ 3.5 ms ] story [ 64.6 ms ] threadTwo kilograms (4.4 lbs) of Lentils costs me $2.49 at my local supermarket. According to the fine people at Wolfram Alpha, 1 cup of lentils (cooked) weighs 99grams and costs $0.125. Bags of frozen vegetables cost ~$2. I can get ~8 meals from one bag of such veggies, making each portion cost $0.25. That's a total cost of $0.374, which means we still have ~$0.12 to go.
One package of dried soup (with beans) costs $1.99 regular price - but can be on sale for $0.99. Taking the regular price into count, and getting 12 (small) bowls of soup brings the per-bowl price to $0.125.
So, you can eat (unfortunately, high salt) soup, beans, lentils, and veggies for ~$0.49/meal. You'll actually need less than a cup of lentils if you do this, which should bring the cost down a bit.
You found pricy ramen, by the way. The ramen I get (Maruchan, I think) is ~$0.20 per package, which has ~380 calories.
Your meal seems to be about 150 calories by my extremely rough estimation.
But humans can survive on ~1200 calories. It's just not awesome.
Chicken legs are also often priced under 99 cents a pound, even in the Bay Area.
Tomato and peppers, for example, are both very easy to grow. There are also spices that grow like weeds. All of these can be added to your ramen bowl. :)
This would take months to set up.
For example, you can make a giant pot of lentil soup that will have 10 servings for maybe $4 worth of ingredients. And it's healthy.
Split pea soup is another good one.
With this you can make tons of beans in bulk, freeze them and defrost as necessary. I would serve the beans with fresh rice. The base for most of my beans (about 12 quarts) was a pint of bacon fat and like 3-4 full sized onions and a bunch of garlic.
I got my meals down to about 50 cents each. You can get beans in bulk (25lb bags) from hispanic markets.
Lentils with a mirepoix base are another great option.
Be sure to pierce it to let steam escape.
They can cook a bit unevenly. Letting it rest for a few minutes afterward can allow it to finish cooking and "even out".
Likewise, real free range chickens have really deep flavor in comparison.
When I say real, I don't mean a chicken that has pasture time but eats the same vegetarian feed as other factory farm chickens. They need to eat insects, get exercise, etc.
My go to for a cheap filling meal has always been a stew or soup. Bulk quantity canned tomatoes, beans or rice, some protein, onions, carrots, and a ton of herbs means a single pot meal that can last for a long time - especially in the freezer.