Reddit mentions: The best dried beans, lentils & peas

>you're going to try and tell me you fed 4 people on $7 a day? did you grow/raise/catch/kill any of your own food? barter?

Cooking, baking, and buying in reasonable bulk. Rice, beans, pasta, frozen/canned vegetables, and a crockpot can do it. I'm not talking 500-pound bags of military surplus war beans or anything, just actually cooking them yourself. If you build a diet around cheap-to-obtain staples, the costs drop rapidly. For example:

• 15 pounds of brown rice at $16
  
• [25 pound bag of black beans at $36](http://www.amazon.com/Black-Beans-25-Lb-Bag/dp/B00J7UTDPC]
  
• [20 pounds of spaghetti at $38](http://www.amazon.com/Barilla-Thick-Spaghetti-Pasta-Ounce/dp/B00338JWL4]
  
• [50 pounds of flour at $42](http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=bulk+flour]
  
  So at about $150 you have about 6 months worth of base staples. And these are just random quick Amazon searches - most of these things can be found with more variety, healthier (depending on your dietary needs), and/or cheaper if you are looking. You can hit farmer's markets, but in my area they aren't really that much better as far as deals go unless you are looking for specific foods. Food banks certainly exist, and they are pretty laid back about who gets food, but I've never hit the point of wanting to use one up here.
  
  You don't eat out, drink alcohol, and treats end up being the most cost-effective ones possible. I ended up going with the cheapest fresh stuff I could find in stores for the number of services, to supplement frozen and canned. Fresh veggies really are the cheapest way to eat healthy. Cheaper the better: my usual "spaghetti sauce" was mostly carrots. Potatoes are literally cheaper than dirt here (Washington state: less than $2 per ten pound bag, not sure if it's that way anywhere else). Homemade salsa, mustard, and cost-effective heat seasonings are the condiments of choice - they stretch the furthest.
  
  If you don't want to cook a great deal, you can live on a crock pot or rice cooker. They are essentially $10-$20 investments these days. Dump everything in before leaving, come home to cooked food. It's not amazing, but it's sustenance on days where you are too lazy to cook for yourself. You can also cook and freeze, which is cheaper than buying frozen meals. Or, cook and refrigerate if you are someone like me who can eat the same leftovers for days at a time. Crockpot also means homemade soups, another great use for cheap veggies and potatoes. And acorn squash adds a great creaminess to chili (a great penny-stretching food). Sliced bread can be purchased relatively cheap, but almost any other baked good needs to be made at home.
  
  If you are a carnivorous family then chicken and tuna are your friend, but they are still not going to be cheap enough to be eaten regularly. Chicken does well with rice and beans, making it the natural choice for crockpot meat. Pork, and even beef, can be had when really good sales roll around - but that often makes them holiday meals (which I'm okay with). Cheese and fresh dairy in my experience is never cheap enough, and the only regular dairy we did was powdered milk. The trick with all of these is creating meals that use them sparingly, such as chicken in a crockpot giving flavor to everything else.
  
  I do grow greens in the warm months here (because I've got the greatest cheap AND lazy way to ever do it), but other than that I don't hunt or garden.
  
  Ultimately, it's doable, but it requires a complete disconnection from the "Murican Diet" of fast food and brand names. You work with healthier foods, smaller portion sizes, and less pre-packaged/pre-made products.

Vegan cooking isn't that difficult once you get used to it. The hardest part is a great egg replacement, which you don't have a problem with.

You can make seitan as a chewy, juicy meat substitute. I'm not a vegetarian but have been very happy with it battered, deep fried, and sauced in a strong Asian-American sauce like orange/sweet and sour/or lemon.

As others have said, Asian food is where it's at. Stirfrys are easy. Tofu, tempeh, seitan, or just extra veggies instead of meat. A Sichuan-style eggplant is delicious. Veggie tempura. Sushi with mango, strawberries, grilled onions, eel sauce(Without eel), mushrooms, fried bean curd, pickled carrots and diakon as options can be surprisingly good. Eschew tradition and have fun with it.

Pasta, pizza, more or less anything baked. Milk can be replaced by soy/nut alternatives, or even water and a little oil in most recipes. Sauces are easy, marinara, pesto, or nutritional yeast(Parm cheese equiv). Bake and frost a cake! Chocolate is just coca powder, sugar, and a fat, with different fats imparting flavors and textures. "Creamcheese" frosting is achieved with apple cider vinegar. Balsamic can be amazing.

Cashew vegan cheesecake is amazing. You can play around with the ingredients in the, what is more or less a nut butter to give it different flavors. White or brown sugar, maple or corn syrup; different fats and acids. I like both acv and lemon, brown sugar, with the coconut milk and oils. Haven't tried the crust, it's good by the spoonful chilled.

And a few "bonus deals" for those who read this far down in the comments! (Tomorrow I'll start putting everything in the original post.)

21) Shirakiku Rice - $12 for (5) lbs
5 lb rice for $2.30/lb. Including since it's a lower-priced item that is shippable, even though it's not as good a deal as you'd get in stores.

22) Wheat Thins Salsa Flavor - $11 for (6) boxes
Wheat Thins for $1.80/box for 9 oz. size is pretty good! Cheaper than Wal-Mart.

23) Ravarino bowtie pasta - $11 for (12) lbs
12 lbs of bowtie pasta for under $1/lb is grocery-sale-price good!

24) ~~Organic coconut oil - $10 for (1.5) lbs
I get coconut oil (organic) on sale for $6/lb, so $10 for 1.5 lbs is spot-on as a great deal.~~ Deal is over, now up to $16.

25) Sandwich-sliced kosher pickles - $12 for (12) lbs
$1/lb for kosher sandwich flats (pickles), awesome - store some up; also great for chopping into potato salad, pasta salad, etc.

26) Chipotle-flavored pinto beans - $13 for (12) cans
Just over $1/can for chipotle-seasoned pinto beans, probably one of the best prices on the site for canned beans.

27) Tesori Capellini Pasta - $16 for (20) lbs!
Hard to beat at 75c/lb! Usually there are around 9 servings per pound, so this will last a very long time.

28) ~~Goya Sweet Peas - $16 for (24) cans
This deal may be gone before I type it, because that works out to about 66c/can. Go quickly, only 2 left at this price!~~ Called it! The price is now $44 for the 24 cans. Congratulations if you got in on it before they wised up!

29) Organic White Bean Chili - $18 for (12) cans
A little something for our legume-based chili lovers - low sodium, too!

30) Quaker Quick Oats - $14 for (5) lbs.
It's difficult to find a good deal on oats, at the site. This is one of the better ones I saw, at around $2.80/lb.

31) Quaker Instant Oats - Peaches and Cream - $10 for (40) pouches
Quaker peaches & cream instant oatmeal - 40 pouches for $10 (25c/pouch). Incredible! Most of their pouches are going for around $1 each. For the 25c/pouch price, if you don't like Peaches and Cream, you can also get Raisin Spice flavor:
Quaker Instant Oats - Raisin Spice - $10 for (40) pouches

32) Chef Boyardee Whole Grain ABCs-123s - $18 for (12) cans
At $1.50/can for more nutrition than the original style, these are a nice buy.

>Who decided that every single thing has to come wrapped in plastic?

Consumers did. Plastics are durable, long-lasting, and cheap to make. They keep food fresher as well. When these products were created and provided to consumers as an option, consumers considered them superior in quality and in cost.

But that's not all. Plastics had enormous impacts on all manner of daily life -- military applications, scientific applications, it provided us the ability to travel to space for example.

All of this due to plastics.

Nobody "decided" independently any of this. The material turned out to be highly useful and important and cost-effective and now it's used.

>Who decided that everybody should have a personal vehicle?

Consumers did. Henry Ford took an enormous gamble to create the assembly-line method of creating vehicles to lower the cost because most people considered it a ridiculous notion that people would be driving around in cars or that people wouldn't be using public transportation methods.

But it turns out consumers like having a personal vehicle and when it became affordable for more people to have it, they bought it.

It's really that simple.

>Who keeps pushing for the use of more and more bottled products for hyper-specific purposes?

People buy bottled water because they find it convenient, fast, and easily within reach. You do not have to use bottled-water products if you do not want to.

>Who decided to artificially limit the useful life of household appliances?

Consumers decided they want to upgrade appliances, especially when appliances themselves. New versions of microwaves are better than old versions, so people buy the new version. Same is true for blenders and refrigerators and TVs and diswashers and so on and so forth.

If you're referring to "planned obsolescence" such as lightbulbs for example, competing lightbulb manufacturers quickly arose to offer light-bulbs that last years longer and consumers have the choice to buy them. Many last five to ten years.

If you're referring to "perceived obsolescence" as in a change in appearance or name or branding and so on is the only real difference to the product, I think that doing that is not a big deal. Upgrading your brand or packaging is what businesses do sometimes. It's up to you as the consumer to decide if you want the "new" version or not.

>You blame it on the public that there's literally no alternative

You have a clear alternative. You can reject all modern life and then walk off into the woods never to be seen again. That is your alternative.

Consumers MAKE the market, not the service or product creators. All a product or service creator does is INTRODUCE the product or service to the marketplace (you) and then the consummers (the market) decides whether or not they want to buy it.

So when a company like Tesla decides they can GET RICH offering electric cars to the population and work for years trying to streamline battery technology in order to dramatically reduce the cost to consumers...

Then it's up to YOU whether or not you buy one when it becomes more affordable. If you, the consumer market, finds the cost attractive and the car worth it to buy, then you will buy it. Period.

When people hurrying at a frenzied pace to get meat alternatives to a viable consumer point such as lab grown meat and iron-infused veggie burgers...

And it hits the market and is affordable and grocery stores and restaurant chains begin offering it and marketing companies create campaigns that resonate with people...

Then you will BUY it. And then it will become normal.

>when big companies have been pressuring the whole economy for decades to drive out independent actors and traditional ways of doing things.

That's not how any of this works. Companies don't become "big" unless lots of people like their product and service so much they keep buying it, thus making the company big.

>Nowadays every time I buy lentils I have to throw in the trash a single-use plastic.

Here's a giant burlap sack of lentils you can have delivered straight to your door via Amazon (you have consumer options): https://www.amazon.com/Non-GMO-Project-Verified-Non-Irradiated-Certified/dp/B001PEZLCW/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=dry+lentils&qid=1557917341&s=arts-crafts&sr=1-2-catcorr

>Only the supplier profits off of this, and only large-scale suppliers.

No, the consumer profits from it too because it lowers the cost. It also keeps food fresher longer.

>The public is a mine for the lust for obscene profits of corporate executives

If you want to start a business, you must create a product or offer a service that people want and are willing to pay for. There is no other conceivable way to create a successful business.

You as the consumer have all of the power and choice. The only thing a business can do is hope you choose them.

You're being ridiculous.

>If it wasn't like this, companies wouldn't have to constantly push new doodads through overblown advertising campaigns.

If a business doesn't make money, it cannot continue operating.

If people don't like the "doo-dads" the company is offering, they will go out of business.

You have full 100% autonomous choice in what "doo-dads" you think are worth it enough to spend your money on.

Nobody is forcing you.

Some of these are hard to find and get into, so I'm gonna post a brief visual guide to Chinese food ingredients/products that bearsx3 posted about. (Note: I'm not Chinese, I've just taken up Chinese cooking as part of my food hobby, so if anyone could add or correct any info, that would be appreciated)

Chinese cooking Wine

• Notice the different spellings: xiao xing, shao hsing, shaoxing
  
• I use this as an ingredient in stir fry sauces. I also use this commonly as a quick marinade for chicken thigh or beef (along with soysauce, salt, cornstarch, etc) before I stir fry them.
  
  Zhenjiang (Chinkiang) vinegar
  
  
• Also called Black Vinegar (in the picture I use the brand on the left)
  
• Honestly, I run into this ingredient pretty rarely. I've never had to replace my first bottle. A recipe book I bought lists it as one of the staples of Chinese cooking, however. It tastes... really authentic haha. I would include this on the shopping list of an intermediate Chinese food hobbyist rather than on the list of a beginner.
  
  Hot bean sauce
  
  
• This one confused me for a while because I went to an Asian market and there was an entire wall of sauce products and there seemed to be many similar to this. It also goes by many names: Chili Bean Paste, Toban Djan (pictured), Doubanjiang, and some other spelling derivatives. I've used a couple brands and they are both good. If you're in doubt about which sauce is which, just look to see if the Chinese characters match the one in the Lee Kum Kee pic I provided.
  
• I use this frequently. You might even be able to find it in the Asian section of Publix or Kroger or something like that. Walmart might even have it.
  
• Not to be confused with Garlic Chili Sauce, (also made by the same brand as Sriracha, here), which is tangier and brighter.
  *found this article about the stuff. It's pretty interesting.
  
  Sweet Fermented Paste
  
  
• This stuff is also confusing. In English it can go by sweet bean sauce, sweet bean paste, sweet soybean paste, sweet flour sauce, or sweet noodle sauce (according to wikipedia). You'll be able to tell it's the sauce you're looking for by it's Chinese name, usually a derivative of Tian mian jiang, like tien mien djan or something like that.
  
• It's used as a condiment for Peking Duck, among other things.
  
• I got this stuff confused with Black Bean Sauce for some reason. Ugh. Don't make the same mistake I did.
  
• There's a good post on it here, just scroll down a bit.
  
  Fermented Black Beans
  
  
• Called Douchi
  
• Used in lots of stuff. From what I gather, legit beef with broccoli includes these.
  
• RINSE BEFORE USE. I ruined an entire batch of this Salt-fried Pork Belly by not rinsing the beans first. It was way too salty.
  
  Sesame Oil
  
  
• Once you know you're gonna get into Chinese cooking, get this stuff in a tin since the little bottles of it are kind of pricey for the amount you're buying. I use the brand pictured and it's really good, especially in salad dressings (but that's more of a Japanese thing). Every time my bottle runs low, I just refill it from my tin.
  
  Soy Sauce
  
  
• I grew up with Japanese soy sauce, so I've got Kikkoman brand loyalty, but I'll definitely try the Wan Ja Shan aged soy that bearsx3 recommended to see if there's a difference. Like the sesame oil, buy in bulk when you get serious, otherwise you'll be wasting money on small glass bottles of soy sauce. (But get one to keep on the table for rice).
  
  Whole Dried Chilies
  
  
• There are lots of different kinds (especially when it comes to Mexican food), but the ones you'll commonly use for Chinese cooking are the ones pictured above. I find them super cheap in the Mexican section at Walmart.
  
• No need to cut them open and get the seeds out, they'll remain intact while you stir fry them.
  
• If you're stir frying them, you'll be adding them to an extremely hot wok. BE CAREFUL: the fumes will burn your throat, so be sure to cover your mouth with a shirt or something. Also, don't stir fry these with small children or animals around. The first time I stir fried these, if there had been a baby on the patio or something, it could have been injured by the fumes.
  
• Lol with that said, don't be intimidated by it. These things absolutely make dishes like kung pao chicken.
  
  Things I'm still confused about:
  
  What are some good brands of dark and light soy sauce? Is normal soy sauce in between dark and light, or is normal soy sauce the same as dark soy sauce? What about thick soy sauce? A Balinese acquaintance made some absolutely amazing fried rice that was topped with thick soy sauce and I've been hunting it ever since.
  
  If anyone has any questions, ask away.
  

Never had this soup myself but I love trying to make a vegan/vegetarian version of existing dishes.

I found this recipe on google:
https://girlandthekitchen.com/avgolemono-soup-greek-chicken-soup-lemon/

Swapping the chicken broth for vegetable broth is one option, but I’ve also seen some vegan chicken broth products. We use one that comes in a powder form from a local health food store. There are some on amazon as well.

Something like this:
Better Than Bouillon, No Chicken Base, Vegan Certified 8 oz. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000N7YKQK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_bgojDb6Z55B60

You could also make your own vegetable broth. Homemade broth is really tasty.

For the chicken meat, I’ve had good luck with butler soy curls in a soup. They stay together well and don’t turn to mush In a soup like a lot of fake meat products. I usually brown them in a sauté pan first. If you hydrate them in your broth they take on its flavor. They also sell a vegan chicken flavor seasoning for it (same brand) but I’d imagine your broth will give enough flavor on its own but you can experiment.

Butler Soy Curls, 8 oz. Bags (Pack of 3) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HAS1SVU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_thojDbHX21G1Y

Chik-Style Seasoning - 10.75 oz Jar https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008UYIW8U/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_1iojDb88KXZ9X

The tricky part is probably the eggs. You’ll have to experiment here to get what you’re after.

It sounds like they’re being used as a thickener and making the soup creamy. The recipe calls for mixing the eggs with lemon juice almost like a mayonnaise or a hollandaise sauce.

A “flax seed egg” might work for you, google it and you can see how that’s made. I’d also consider puréed silken tofu. My mom uses silken tofu instead of egg in her cheesecake recipe with pretty good luck. Some combo of the two might even work.

Not sure if this soup has an eggy flavor from the eggs, but if that’s missing you can use a little black salt which has an eggy flavor.

It might take a few try’s and some experimentation but it looks like it can be done.

McDonalds is NOT a good way to cut your food budget. I can't imagine what you would eat there to get breakfast/lunch/dinner under $5 total.

Yes, definitely start cooking. Here's a very quick, easy, cheap, and tasty vegetarian (high protein!) dinner:

Pick up a bag of Bob's Red Mill TVP for $2.79 at the grocery store, and follow this recipe minus the fresh red pepper (I'm lazy), grab a pack of tortillas and some sour cream. One batch will give you tacos for dinner for about 4-5 days, and that won't even use up the whole package of TVP. That's like $3 for 4 days of dinner! (Since discovering this, I bought 15lb of TVP in bulk from nuts.com which is like 60% the price of individual store packs but does require I have somewhere to store it)

And here's a delicious lentil dish I've taken to making. I usually double it because leftovers make the next day easier or provide lunch:

• ½ c masoor dal (red lentils)
  
• 6 tbsp vegetable oil
  
• ½ bunch scallions (green onions), chopped
  
• 1 tsp finely chopped fresh ginger (I get this at the Korean market and pay 18¢ for a 6" long piece, using 1" per batch)
  
• ½ tsp chili powder
  
• ½ tsp turmeric
  
• 1¼ c water
  
• ½ tsp salt
  
  Heat the oil, then add the scallions (note: if you don't chop up the white part, you can put it in water or a pot on the window sill and grow more) and stir them around until they are lightly browned. Add the spices and stir over heat for a minute so it smells all nice. Stir the lentils in. Add the water, reduce heat to low, and let it cook for 20-25 minutes. Add the salt at the end.
  
  Here's another taco recipe using black beans and sweet potatoes.
  
  Risotto's a good easy dinner that you can make in large batches to last a few days and just toss in whatever frozen veggies your grocery store has on sale.
  
  Eggs are a good cheap breakfast.
  
  And think really hard about whether that $720/yr in weed is really worth it. Heck, the weed munchies probably aren't helping the food budget.

Well like I said starting small is really the best way. Try doing one vegetarian meal a week, which will give you the opportunity to try new recipes, so you can start learning new flavors, without being overwhelming trying to do it every night.

Italian or Chinese noodles would be a great place to start!

You can always do a pasta with veggies and marinara sauce. Even with just jarred sauce you can bulk it out a bunch by sauteing fresh onions, garlic, carrots, peppers, zucchinis, mushrooms in a pot, then add the sauce and simmer them for 10 minutes before adding the cooked pasta.

Chinese is also a good starting point. Many Chinese restaurants will have all the same sauces and veggie combos available with fried tofu instead of meat. Or at home you can buy bags of frozen stir fry vegetables. Stir fry with garlic and ginger and some chow mein noodles and finish with soy sauce for a super simple dish to make at home.

The beans/lentils are good for protein which is why they're so common if you're really going full vegetarian, but if you just want to try starting vegetarian cooking one night a week then don't worry about it, you'll get plenty of protein the rest of the week. If you want to some you can try a vegetarian bean chili for a familiar flavor profile (unless you're from Texas and find this to be blasphemy lol). Here's a recipe, this whole blog is all vegetarian recipes as well: https://cookieandkate.com/2015/vegetarian-chili-recipe/

If you want to you can try putting 1/2 cup of dried red lentils into the marinara and veggie sauce and simmering for 20 minutes. It will look a bit like a pseudo bolognese. Also if you want to start branching out and your grocery store doesn't have things you want to try, like bulk beans or spices or sauces, you can always order things off good ol' Amazon, such as https://www.amazon.com/Arrowhead-Mills-Organic-Lentils-Packaging/dp/B00CLATJMW/ref=sr_1_4_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1541553946&sr=8-4&keywords=red+lentils

I love this "refried" beans recipe in the crock pot. You can use dry black beans, pinto beans, or a combo of both. It's great with rice, tortillas, or just as a soup with a chopped avocado on top. It makes a large amount, but freezes and thaws easily and the only fresh ingredients you need is the pepper and the onion which are both used up (I use the whole pepper). I like to make "fajita bowls" like at Chipotle with rice, beans, sautéed peppers and onions, salsa, avocado, etc.

I also love Chana Masala (Indian-spiced chickpeas, serve with rice or flatbread). I use this slowcooker recipe but there's hundreds of great recipes online. If you have the spices, all you need to buy are chickpeas and canned tomatoes. I skip the cilantro and use dried.

Side note: I buy all my beans dried because it's cheaper and I don't like using a lot of canned food. Costco sells huge bags of black beans and I buy chickpeas in big bags from Amazon. International grocery stores sell dried beans very cheaply.

I've had great experiences with these green lentils, which have an awesome almost-peppery flavor just on their own. If you're looking for a creamier curry (lentil mush vs. recognizable individual lentils), these are pretty good red lentils. I also grabed these brown lentils, but haven't tried them in a curry yet.

Just a head's up: if you don't eat a lot of legumes, you might find that lentils give you some... flatulence. This is best avoided by rinsing the lentils very well, or by just eating more lentils -- the body adjusts pretty quickly in my experience.

Truly an incredible, delicious food!

You probably get enough soy in your diet... I would check out something like this to get a good combo of beans with good protein and nutrients. I'm not anti-soy, but it's in damn near everything so I think it's good to mix it up with other beans. Sprouting the beans I linked is pretty easy and it's supposed to do great things for the nutrients.

That being said, $2.39 is pretty decent. Whole Foods isn't often the best in their dried bulk food items but if you catch a sale you can get good deals.

Nomalicious!

I am going to hook you up with the most wonderful things ever: SOY CURLS. Absolutely, amazingly delicious for us vegetarians. They are kind of like tvp but you know how tvp is gooey icky texture? Soy curls do not have that texture. It has an amazingly chewy/"meaty" texture. You will not regret getting them. Great source of protein, gluten free, versatile, delicious--just incredible!

Um...if I win I wanna try these!

Hey there! Super rad that you're interested in making your dishes for your friends!

There are all sorts of different ways to replace meats in a dish, depending on how the meat is prepared.

For a shredded breast meat sorta meat, I highly recommend soy curls. They absorb sauce like magic!

Ground meat is very easy to replace, both in the refrigerator and frozen sections of many grocery stores carrying ground soymeat, both seasoned and unseasoned.

Larger chunks of meat, you'd do well for frozen brands like Gardein, as well as refrigerated mock meats like Field Roast.

For fish, a lot of it comes down to getting that fishy flavor right, and there are many strategies for that!

>B-b-b-b-b-b-b-bonus #1 Make your own damn hummus

I decided to include one of my favorite easy recipes to make. I love middle eastern food, but living in the middle of nowhere midwest makes that hard to come by round dese parts. This recipe + the following falafel/tzatziki makes my friends think I am some sort of food wizard, but it is criminally easy.


>Preperation

1. Purchase Garbanzo beans, Lemon, Garlic, Tahini (if you want to go balls to the wall. It is worth it. It gives it like this peanut butter taste. That makes my mouth happy.), Olive Oil
   
   >Cooking
   
   
   
2. Soak about 2 cups of the beans in water over night
   
3. drain
   
4. You can boil them for a bit to make them softer but it is not needed
   
5. Blend in a food processor with 2 cloves of garlic, some lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of olive oil and tahini.
   
6. serve
   
7. If it is dry add a bit more olive oil.
   
   You can add any spices you want to this. The liquid aminos gives it a really neat flavor.

You should be able to find bags of dried beans and rice that are cheap. You can also buy these foods online if you can't find them locally, but those are pretty standard staple food items that you should be able to cop at any food-market. But if not, you can get these foods online in bulk. For example, a 50 pound bag of pinto beans can cost you about $60. 50 pounds is 22,680 grams. 100 grams of raw pinto beans has 347 calories. So that's 78,700 calories per bag, per $60. If you eat 2000 calories per day, this will last you 39 days if you just ate from this bag of food.

It's probably easier to start simple and basic rather than finding 30 different things to buy. I would suggest for starters, buy maybe two bulk bags of dried seeds (legumes are seeds, grains are seeds, for the record) and revolved your meals around them. You can then incrementally increase how much you spend on food until you find out how much you want to spend. But start with the cheapest items. Veganism can be super cheap as I've just demonstrated with the pinto beans. Find recipes that revolve around beans. You can make chili, for example. Bean tacos. You can just boiled them and eat them plain (I enjoy that personally), or you can do that, but add bunch of spices and other vegetables.

As you get more familiar, you will naturally know which foods you feel are worth the price. Most raw foods will be cheap, so that's not a worry. But say if you want to buy pre-packaged foods, or mock-meats like a package of veggie burgers. Of course, you can also learn to make veggie burgers or whatever yourself which will save you lots of money

> I feel awful throwing away canned goods that i have that are not vegan because i think that's such a waste, but also don't have the money to completely overhaul my pantry/fridge as i'm a broke part time college student

Whatever your reasons are for going vegan, well, if it is environmental and / or ethics, the damage has already been done. Throwing them out does no good. Just finish off what you already have, but don't buy those non-vega products in the future.

I make this all the time in the summer. Super quick, super easy. Only hard thing to get, occasionally, is soy curls (this link is the kind I use) - a lot of grocery stores have them but you may need to go to an asian market to find them if you're someplace with low demand for them.

Very first: slice up your cabbage hopefully better than me, pour enough apple cider vinegar to lightly coat everything, then add enough veganaise to coat and then toss splash of BBQ in there. Shake it up and let it sit for as long as possible - an hour is great. You can eat it right away, though. Just gets better if you let it soak in.

1 Bag Soy Curls soaked in cold veggie broth. Drain it after ten minutes or so and mix th a bit of BBQ sauce, let it set/marinade for a bit. You can skip that part and cook right after you drain, however.

Fry the soaked curls in a pan until hot then dump BBQ sauce in there until it's as wet and BBQy as you like it.

Throw that shit on a bun.

Fries was just generic seasoning mixes (Trader Joe's) on top of rosemary frozen fries. Chips are great too. Or eat two sammies, I'm not going to stop you.

OMG, I get to introduce you to an amazing vegan pantry must-have! Soy Curls are like Gardein Chick'n Strips and TVP had a baby. They're awesome to cook with because they come dried like TVP and you soak them in broth which you can season however you like. You'd then fry them in a pan or bake them. They're cheaper than Gardein Chick'n Strips and are shelf stable.

Do you cook at home? It’s a lot easier when you’re not relying on restaurants to offer vegan options. I get a lot of my non-perishable things (rice, dried beans, pasta, oil, vinegar, seasoning, nutritional yeast) online, even some things from Amazon (soy curls are delicious and have lots of protein!)

I do buy fresh and frozen produce, tofu and soy milk from my local grocery store, though. Hopefully, you have access to some fresh stuff nearby, though tofu and soy milk are definitely not essentials.

I did the trail veggie. I ran into a couple shortly after Fontana that had been weekend camping and packed too much food so they were looking to give it away. Oddly enough they were veggie too. Ended up with several packs of these beans, they were awesome.

I contacted the company halfway to tell them how much I enjoyed them on the trail and they sent around 6 boxes to my mothers' house. I was set for the rest of the trail lol. I'd just add hot water, later on, I sent the stove home and just soaked them for an hour or two before eating.

I carried a small bottle of Catalina dressing and was set. I know it sounds gross, but I love Catalina on beans. Other than that I just had the usual sides of cheese, instant potatoes with gravy, veggie jerky, rice or noodle dishes from Knorr, etc.

If I were to do it all over again I'd probably bite the bullet of extra weight and carry a high-quality multi-vitamin and perhaps a good whey or micellular protein blend. I knew thinning hair would be in my future due to genetics, but pre-trail and post-trail photos are night and day difference. Hair never really grew back. I'm sure many will take this as proof that a meatless diet isn't optimal, but I last I checked, a diet of tuna, snickers, honeybuns, etc. isn't optimal either. I can't think of anyone who "ate optimal" on the trail. Idc what you're eating, the trail will not be kind to your body and the caloric deficit you'll be in will take its toll. Just my 2 cents, then again I met vegans who did just fine, so it's whatever.

Google led me to this Canadian online store: http://www.bridensolutions.ca/instant-refried-pinto-beans-nutristore-10-can

That's about twice as expensive as I pay on Amazon in the US: https://www.amazon.com/Santa-Fe-Bean-Southwestern-7-25-Ounce/dp/B000FI701Y

But 2x as expensive might be acceptable if you really really want beans.

You might also experiment with looking for instant bean soup, instant hummus, and instant falafel.

Couscous is a pretty solid base for cold-soaked meals as well, but it might not pack as much nutritional value as the beans, depending on how important that is to you.

Check your local health food store as well. You might get lucky in the bulk bins.

You don't have to eat plain to save money. Just make your own food. Making your own meat substitutes is way cheaper.

This can of vital wheat gluten is $22 for 45 servings. This four pack of beans is $18 for 64 servings. This pack of tofu is $21 for 48 servings. That's 157 servings of protein for $61. Lentils are crazy cheap as are oats, whole grain pastas and breads. Flax seed is cheap (gives you your omega-3s and works as a binder in recipes). Nutritional yeast is sold pretty cheap in bulk sections in some grocery stores as well.

Frozen fruits and veggie are sometimes cheaper than the fresh stuff. I live in CA so I can get some pretty cheap fresh produce. A lot of vegan cooking involves some planning. For example I always keep cashews soaking in the fridge for when I may need a creamy or cheesy sauce.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B008EMAF0G/ref=mp_s_a_1_3_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1539053499&sr=8-3&keywords=butler+soy+curls&dpPl=1&dpID=61iVKpebUvL&ref=plSrch

Try buying these, cheap, healthy and super easy to make, best part is they never go bad as they’re just dehydrated soy.

DIY sauces are the best. Here is my go-to stirfry marinade. I don't generally measure the quantities; just keep tasting until I find a ratio that works:

• Soy sauce
  
• Gochujang (Korean chili paste - definitely spring for this stuff if you can find it, it's a unique combo of salty, sweet, and funky)
  
• Lime juice or rice vinegar
  
• Honey
  
• Chopped ginger and garlic
  
• Sesame oil
  
  Sometimes I replace the gochujang with Sriracha or another chili sauce, and add fermented black beans--this is another wonderfully versatile Asian ingredient that adds a salty funky kick to your dish.

Most recipes call for canned, although if you have an Instant Pot, all you have to do is dump in dry beans & pressure-cook them in the IP with some water (same result as the canned kind, but you control the salt & freshness!). Depending on how you like your beans done (firmness & flavor), you can do something like a cup of dry chickpeas, four cups of water, a couple bay leaves, and some garlic cloves. Do a manual cook on high pressure for 40 minutes and then a natural pressure release. Adjust the time (and flavorings) as needed, to your preferences & for whatever recipe you want to use them for (I don't recommend garlic & bay leaves for the cookie recipe!! lol).

I buy dry chickpeas in bulk & store them in a food-safe 5-gallon bucket with a gamma-seal lid (a type of screw-on lid that doesn't require a tool & has a seal built-in). They're good for a year or so that way. A lot of places sell the one-pound Goya bags in the Spanish/Mexican section of the grocery store for about a dollar. Or if you want fancier ones, Amazon sells them in larger quantities:

https://www.amazon.com/Garbanzo-Chickpeas-Verified-Non-Irradiated-Certified/dp/B001PEWJWC/

You can make hummus in bulk & then store it in snack-size packs in your freezer for up to four months. I do a lot of little meal-preppy things like this with my Instant Pot. Like, I make hummus all the time, I make yogurt all the time (for parfaits, homemade froyo, etc.), I make hardboiled eggs all the time (those go into hardboiled eggs for snacks or in ramen, sliced into salads, chopped into egg salad for sandwiches - with or without curry, chopped into potato & egg salad as a side, deviled eggs, etc.). Lots of rabbit holes to go down with the Instant Pot!

It's pretty easy to nearly double the value of the McDouble.

Bob's Red Mill Black Turtle Beans with subscription

All natural,
Kosher certified,
Trans fat free,
Cholesterol free

Calories per dollar: 634.5

Protein per dollar: 42.3g

McDouble

GMO,
Definitely not Kosher,
Trans fat 1g,
Cholesterol 65mg

Calories per dollar: 390

Protein per dollar: 23g

Livestock Subsidies in the United States totaled $4.1 billion from 1995-2012.

*Excluding sales tax

Also, I would suggest ordering from your local food co-op or buying club rather than Amazon.com. You will probably get a better deal, but that's just convenient for comparison.

Sweet and Spicy Shoyu Soy Curls

You’ll need:

• 1 package of soy curls (8 ounces). I use these by Butler.
  
• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
  
• 1 tablespoon BBQ sauce
  
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
  
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  
• 1 tablespoon hot sauce (I used Aardvark)
  
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup or agave
  
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
  
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  
  Assemble:
  
  
• Unpack those lil soy curl babies and let 'em soak in a medium sized bowl with water for 10 minutes.
  
• Drain soy curls.
  
• Warm up a large skillet to medium heat. Place olive oil and allow to heat.
  
• Pan-fry soy curls until they turn a nice light brown color.
  
• Reduce heat to low-medium.
  
• Add the BBQ sauce, rice vinegar, soy sauce, hot sauce, maple syrup or agave, chili powder, garlic powder and red chili flakes.
  
• Stir until the soy curls are well-coated (about 5 minutes).
  
• Serve

Sure. This stuff is supposed to help the flavor of lentils and help digestion. Heat in ghee and fry beans in it for a minute.

I've bought split pea 4lbs $15.

garbanzo Takes a long time to cook to soft. Pressure cooker?

I bought some brown lentils, but they weren't split, and still had the shell. Little more chewy than I like.

These were a very good no soak substitute for navy beans. Bit pricey.

I tried these in chili and they were good. No soak. Small, sweeter than kidney. Fast cook.



Search


I've been using chili and white chili kits from the grocery store, a pound of beans, a bit of chicken for meat, diced tomato, onion, peppers, and any other vegies I want to use up.

Instant Pot Chipotle Black Beans (so easy!)

Canned beans, schmanned beans. Nothing is better than cooking your own DRIED beans from scratch! These Chipotle Black Beans are SO easy (and cheap!) to prepare in your Instant Pot and the flavors outperform any can of beans. It’s a win-win.

Full recipe (with notes) found at....https://veggiechick.com/instant-pot-chipotle-black-beans/

• 2 tablespoons water (or vegetable broth)
  
• 1/2 medium Spanish yellow onion, diced
  
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
  
• 3 cups water (or unsalted vegetable broth)
  
• 1 cup dried black beans, not soaked beforehand*
  
• 2 teaspoons cumin powder
  
• 1 teaspoon Spanish paprika
  
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon chipotle powder (adjust amount for desired spiciness)
  
• 1 tablespoon lime juice, optional
  
  

  INSTRUCTIONS
  

  
  

1. Set the Instant Pot to Sauté. Add the 2 tablespoons water (or vegetable broth), chopped onion and garlic. Sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the onions are soft and translucent
   
2. Next add the water (or 3 cups vegetable broth), dried black beans and all spices.
   
3. Press Stop to reset the Instant Pot and then press the Bean/Chili button (or Manual/Pressure Cook) and set the time to 35 minutes. The Instant Pot will start to build pressure and after pressurized, it will cook for 35 minutes. After cooking, it will need to sit for awhile to release pressure (about 15 minutes).
   
4. When the pressure is released, remove the lid. The beans will be sitting in some liquid; taste to make sure they are cooked through and to your desired spiciness.** If desired, add a little more chipotle powder and/or lime juice and stir. 
   
5. Use a handheld strainer to remove the beans. Save the liquid for adding to recipes if desired. Makes 3 cups.
   
6. Store these beans (with or without liquid) in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days. 

I've read these beans are even better (keep them whole or mash):
Amazon, preserved black beans

This is the tofu I used the first time I made mapo and I think it's still the best I've had. Silken is definitely the way to go, Firm to Extra Firm. It's shelf stable and this is a great price.
Mori-Nu Silken Tofu, Firm, 12.3 Ounce (Case of 12)

Agreed on the chili oil, it's delicious but easily cut for diet.

Edit: added more info on thebtofu

Make your own! It's super healthy and cheap, much cheaper than buying it premade. I'm actually making some right now!

Ingredients:

• Dried Chickpeas (maybe theres cheaper options). Boil ~1 lb for ~5 minutes, then simmer for an hour. They will double in weight and volume after absorbing water
  
• Add beans and Sesame Seeds (Tahini if you don't have a good blender) to a blender.
  
• Add some lime/lemon and a mixture of turmeric, cumin, garlic, salt, cayenne, Italian, etc spices
  
• Add other veges like carrots, tomatoes, red pepper, etc. But not a lot, otherwise will overwhelm taste.
  
• Blend and serve!
  
  Edit: and water so your blender doesn't overheat!
  
  Eat with veges or as a meal topping

It's much more like these, you just cook it and cut it to look like meat. We are calling this one a "duck" not a beef, since it's sweet like a duck. If I remember right from my non-vegan days.

What u/choomguy says. Santa Fe Bean Company has some that are pretty good and can be bought off of amazon, though you can sometimes find them at the super market. Couple them with Minute Rice!

Note: the amazon link is to an eight pack of beans. I accidentally bought these and end up putting most of the bags in my emergency barrel.

I've been doing research about this all weekend!

Gardein and other's like it make their soy products textured like meat by changing the molecular structure of the plant proteins so they are more stringy like animal proteins. They use an extruder to create the end product of fake meat which is why it's not really possible to recreate at home.

While yes, seitan does come slightly close to meat texture, it's still more spongy and bread-y than Gardein.

So what to do. WELL there is a vegan restaurant in my town that has these devil 'wings' and sometimes buffalo 'chicken pops' that have a really great mouth feel, very close to chicken.

I wondered and wondered how they did this. So I experimented. I got ahold of some TVP and tried mixing that with wheat gluten and the texture was almost there but still not the same. So I asked the restaurant (under the guise of food allergies. I felt pretty sneaky) what was in their devil wings. They said they were soy based gluten free.

Hmmm so no vital wheat gluten after all. So it must just be all TVP, I think to myself. But the TVP I have is in such tiny mince chunks, that can't be right. So I do more digging. There are BIGGER soya chunks out there--> some in smaller nuggets some in bigger fillets.

Whaaaaat how did I not know this was a thing. So I look at these chunks(more so the fillets) and THEY ARE THE DEVIL WINGS! HORAY! But where can I buy these big pieces of soya? I look and look and look and there is only really one company that sells the large soy pieces and that is So Soya in different flavors. A little expensive for me, so I plan on going with the chunks to try first. I looked up a bunch of videos and recipes on how to cook them and you reconstitute them in water or brother, wring out the excess liquid and then use them in place of chicken or beef slices. I wish they were more readily available in markets, but they seem to be something mainly used in Asian cousins(mainly Indian).

TLDR: Soya chunks, fillets, curls. You can buy them from So Soya for the bigger pieces or the chunks are sold online or in asian markets(curls here). They come dried, so you reconstitute them with either broth or water, squeeze out the excess liquid, and use them like chicken.

Wow, they actually sell it in stores near you? Lucky!

Butler Soy Curls, 8 oz. Bag https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0048OBT04/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_N22KxbV2RMA68

I eat a lot of mexican food and refried bean flakes (although never used that brand) are easy, quick, and delicious!

Choose the lentils carefully. Perhaps you were using Pidgeon Peas, which require a pressure cooker (or over 1 hour of cooking time) to soften.

Some varieties cook much easier than others. I recommend red lentils from Bob's Red Mill. Pour them into a pot of boiling water (I use a 2:1 ratio of water:lentils), then cover and let it simmer for ~20 minutes. You will be rewarded with tasty, wholesome thick mush.

Yep, Amazon. I'm getting these ones that come in the 8 pack. I have an address in Niagara Falls, NY, and I get stuff shipped there and then bring it back across. I have a couple of packages waiting to be picked up, so I thought I'd throw these in as well, and offer them to anyone here who is interested.

Downvotes, but no counter evidence.

​

The sign of true intellectualism.

​

https://www.amazon.com/Pinto-Beans-50-Pound-Bag/dp/B0098QCYZ6/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1536385218&sr=8-1&keywords=50lbs+pinto+beans

We love Quorn. However, if you want "This tastes great! Oh crap did I just eat some chicken?" experience check out Soy Curls. I ordered a veggie dish w/ Soy Curls and took it back complaining that they used chicken in their vegetarian dish. They were all 0_o back at me.

They're Butler foods soy curls I get mine on Amazon.

Butler Soy Curls, 8 oz. Bags (Pack of 3) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HAS1SVU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_TiM.zb5PQ43RX

One bag usually lasts my husband and I two meals. I use them in soup, I make them into fajitas... I love them! The texture is spot on.

If you are doing from scratch, you probably need to do the beans from scratch. I would also recommend smashing the beans before dehydrating them, to make flakes.

But, since you are buying the beans, might as well buy pre-dehydrated beans like this

As a fake meat I like Butler Soy curds that to my palate do not have that soy after taste that plagues many fake meats. I marinate it is Hot sauce, garlic and onion powders and maybe a little bit of liquid smoke. I fry the drained soy curds in peanut oil and sprinkle on their Chik-Style Seasoning as a breading and it works really nice in stir frys or with Better then Bullion I can come up with a pretty mean chicken noodle soup. I like the soy curds better then Gardein and they are much cheaper.

Buy an instapot pressure cooker and get some dried beans of all varieties. Pair the beans with rice and you have a complete protein! I am in romantic love with my pressure cooker. I'd recommend making chili in it right off the bat. (You'll need diced tomatoes, beans, onion, chipotle peppers and chili or taco seasoning. Split pea soup is also stupid easy and very affordable.


You can also get a seed sprouter and the seeds for it for some produce in your diet. I also like sprouting mungbeans. And it's getting a little late in the season to plant I think but consider starting a tomato plant.

I think it could be done as the calorie to weight ratio is great.You could likely survive on the chips alone but I'd supplement the chips with some fresh fruit/veggies when possible. The biggest challenge would likely be getting bored of the chips.

I think you could get creative with storing the whole bag of chips, perhaps in the outer mesh pocket of your pack if you have one or if not by attaching a stuff-sack or other bag to your pack.

Fritos are 160 calories per ounce and probably a bit more crush resistant. I imagine they'd pair well with some instant re-fried beans.

I'm waiting for Words of Radiance, which also comes out tomorrow. When I got home, there was a super heavy Amazon box waiting for me.

I got excited because I'd seen this post on reddit, and thought hey maybe they accidentally sent me my book early!

Nope. It was just lentils :(

I know it's not exactly the same as TVP, but soy curls are made from the whole bean and are quite easy/fun to use in cooking :)

Soy curls are the bomb, especially when you soak them in something tasty and not just plain water

Amazon is your friend.

https://www.amazon.com/Santa-Fe-Bean-Southwestern-7-25-Ounce/dp/B000FI701Y/ref=sr_1_3_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1519239520&sr=8-3&keywords=dehydrated+refried+beans&dpID=51KxO3C8SgL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

https://www.amazon.com/Santa-Fe-Bean-Southwestern-7-25-Ounce/dp/B000FI701Y

Dude, these things are amazing. Don't carry canned beans...

What I learned as a college senior supporting myself on about $150/week (including rent): lunchables are fucking expensive. Lentils are where it's at - you can get 108 oz of fancy-ass lentils off Amazon for $21.37, and the cheap ones at the grocery stores around here are maybe half that expensive. Nutritious, and they last, too.

You can them on amazon: Santa Fe Bean Co., Instant Southwestern Style Refried Beans, 7.25-Ounce Pack (Pack of 8) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FI701Y/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apip_IMPBMNkasV7bT

>classic hummus

I've been making my own Hummus for about a year and a half now, and I've been pretty pleased with it, it has far less oil too. I buy the ingredients online, I could get canned chickpeas locally, but couldn't get Tahini. Canned chickpeas are about 99c a can in most grocery stores if you go that route.

5lb of Organic Chickpeas $14.95 - - a whole hell of a lot of chickpeas. It lasts me ~2 months making a batch a week.

2 16 OZ jars of Tahini $10.49 which is enough for 5-6 batches of Hummus.

• 2 cups dry chickpeas (or 2 16oz cans canned).
  
• 1/2 cup to 1 cup tahini depending on taste.
  
• 1/2 cup to 1 cup lemon juice
  
• 1 tsp baking soda to add to water while cooking chickpeas
  
• 1 tsp salt, more to taste
  
• 2 cloves garlic or 1tbs prepared garlic
  
• Pepper, Cumin, Parsley, to taste.
  
  I cook 2 cups dry chickpeas, which will fill up a 5 cup food storage container no problem, which is a LOT of hummus.
  
  Chickpeas are beans, so they need to soak. Soak them in water overnight, then drain, put in a pot of fresh water, add a tsp of baking soda and simmer for ~2 hours. You want to cook them until the skins are dissolved and they're really soft, which is the key to smooth hummus. Once they're done, drain them.
  
  Mix about 1/2 cup Tahini with 1/2 cup lemon juice (2 lemons give or take if you use fresh) and 2 cloves garlic (or about a tablespooon of chopped garlic) and put in a blender or food processor and blend for a bit. Add salt and pepper, and optionally you can add parsley and cumin and/or greek seasoning. Add the cooked and drained chickpeas and blend until smooth. Add a bit more lemon juice or water if it's too thick for you.
  
  More Tahini will give the hummus a deeper and richer flavor, but nutritionally Tahini is a bit like peanut butter, so the more Tahini the more calories/fat it's going to have. It's still reasonably healthy, just higher in calorie.
  
  Tastier than store bought Hummus and generally healthier because most store bought hummus uses some form of vegetable oil and sesame flavoring rather than actual tahini, so it has more fat in it.
  
  
  

I get them from Amazon! Unfortunately it looks like they recently increased the price a lot, it used to be $22 for 6 bags

https://www.amazon.com/Butler-Soy-Curls-Bags-Pack/dp/B008EMAF0G/ref=pd_aw_sim_325_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B008EMAF0G&pd_rd_r=8453e621-0e64-11e9-9a1f-612069dec60e&pd_rd_w=VL9YS&pd_rd_wg=3N2S8&pf_rd_p=57b46099-d750-4d74-83ee-63ad64b310a4&pf_rd_r=8FC8VWKQZXZ1HRKT4A7A&psc=1&refRID=8FC8VWKQZXZ1HRKT4A7A&th=1#&vs=1

Do you have a kitchen and freezer?

Rice (Basmati, Jasmine, Calrose) and beans (black, pinto, kidney). If you can buy in bulk you will save a lot.

If you have a slow cooker (garage sale/goodwill) beans become really easy and you can store them in the fridge for a week and heat them in the microwave. The bean broth can be used to cook rice or to make soups.

All kinds of lentils (I'm just learning how to cook these).

Frozen vegetables in bulk.

Have a good look at Indian cuisine. There are really good deals on the necessary spices on Amazon, look up SpiceIsland.

I'm a huge fan of dehydrated refried beans Fantastic Foods sells them in bulk and they are pretty good butthey are already seasoned. My favorite are the ones from The Santa Fe Bean Company. Sometimes they ahve them in bulk.

I'm not a vegetarian, but meat is expensive, and meat that isn't expensive is usually loaded with bad shit.

You can add chicken to beans and rice or lentils when you have it.

I ate a lot of freeze dried beans with instant rice on the trail. I used the foil bag a few times, keeping the unhydrated left over in a zip lock, and kept it in a cozy while rehydrating sometimes. I found I preferred to either put the bag in my jacket or sleeping bag when it was cold, when it wasn't cold it stayed too hot to eat so I would let it sit out to cool.

I've been camping recently and even if you're not backpacking you could still use the same food ideas. Something like this would work well (haven't tried it personally yet but I just ordered it): https://www.amazon.com/Santa-Fe-Bean-Southwestern-7-25-Ounce/dp/B000FI701Y

I feel the same way! Part of the reason I like making vegan/vegetarian recipes for lunch is I hate the texture of microwave heated meat. I also don't really like the texture of tofu.

I found these things called soy curls and they are amazing. They have a texture similar to chicken, but you can mitigate that by breaking them into very small pieces. They get crispy on the outside, too. Anyways, they are my go-to protein source when I need protein, but know the texture of meat or tofu will be off-putting. You might want to try them.

Small quantities are cheaper from Amazon. Large quantities are cheaper directly from Butler Foods.

Butler Foods, Soy Curls, 8 Ounce https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0048OBT04/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_wCaHDbEX8668P

Southern soy curls recipe (I don't have an airfryer, so I just cook them in the oven at 400 until crispy):
https://healthyslowcooking.com/vegan-air-fryer-southern-fried-chicken-soy-curls/?epik=dj0yJnU9SjdoeVlyeWZtZ0ZlTDRFbi1oby03cG9Ha3NKRzhQUlcmbj1EejU5aVlXR1prSWkwX0FDQlFsbTRBJm09MyZ0PUFBQUFBRjJFRERZ

Cheeze sauce recipe:

https://www.brandnewvegan.com/recipes/amazing-vegan-cheese-sauce?epik=dj0yJnU9LWdLdWFuZUJ0ZFdFT0d4ekoza1ZBYVlpMHJUWm55RjAmbj1rbmoza2JxZ05MOHNGbVJ1ME1TYWNnJm09MyZ0PUFBQUFBRjFaeFhR

I haven't tried these yet (been meaning to), but apparently dehydrated tofu is a thing you can get on amazon. Says it's vegan.

I buy them from Amazon! http://www.amazon.com/Butler-Soy-Curls-oz-Bag/dp/B0048OBT04

Lentils are cheap AF on Amazon:

I use Butler Soy Curls. Not actually sure if Butler is a brand or a variety...in any case, you can find them here on Amazon. Some local stores might have them too (for example, I know Vegan Agenda in Salt Lake City sometimes sells them.)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00HAS1SVU/ref=mp_s_a_1_2_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1523387914&sr=8-2&keywords=butler+soy+curls&dpPl=1&dpID=51JnQKmK4hL&ref=plSrch

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FI701Y/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

You can cold soak them too.

I bought a few of these I figure I can make these on the trail and use it in burritos for lunch for a day or two.

The interwebs delivers! http://www.amazon.com/Chinese-Douchi-Fermented-Black-Beans/dp/B003K3KOM8

Don't know how OP does it, but I just buy it in a can.

Butler Soy Curls, 8 oz. Bags (Pack of 3) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HAS1SVU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_FNx6CbG4Y40S7

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/186691/lisas-favorite-carne-asada-marinade/

25lbs of rice for $20, which is just a little over $1/kg, my bad for slightly overestimating.

I literally bought 1kg of chicken breast for $10 last week, and that was at a more expensive supermarket. Easily find it for cheaper at the local butchers or market.

Almost 50kg of beans for $15

Love the (just slightly inaccurate) name calling, really helps your shitty arguments.

I've tried dehydrating them but they don't really dehydrate well. Plus, these are cheap so I just use them.

Gosh, that food desert thing sounds really dire.

Rice.

Beans.

> 25lbs of rice for $20, which is just a little over $1/kg, my bad for slightly overestimating.

Costco. Not everyone has access to one dumb fuck. Add membership fees and it's not .80 lbs. Nice try though dummy.

> literally bought 1kg of chicken breast for $10 last week, and that was at a more expensive supermarket. Easily find it for cheaper at the local butchers or market.

Sure you dud chubbs. I bought 2000 KG of coke for 19.99 at the most expensive dealer last week. Trust me. I 'm on reddit.

>Almost 50kg of beans for $15

You can't be this dumb or can you? If you are a not so clever troll then you are the dumbest most shut in loser i Met here. Not an easy task friend.

This was your link:Almost 50kg of beans for $15 : https://www.amazon.com/Bobs-Red-Mill-Turtle-26-ounce/dp/B004VLVJP4/ref=redir_mobile_desktop/135-2788632-8712266?_encoding=UTF8&ref_=mh_s9_acsd_zgift_b16U6F_c_x_1_w&th=1

Bob's Red Mill Black Turtle Beans, 26-ounce (Pack of 4)- $15.28

So fucking dumb. SO fucking shut in.

>Love the (just slightly inaccurate) name calling, really helps your shitty arguments.

Nah. It's 100% accurate. You just proved it.