When we talk about having to cut back on our spending, a good starting point is to look at our major expenses and see where we can trim some fat, so to speak.
For many people, the major areas of expense are the mortgage, our cars and the cost of groceries. While it may be possible to renegotiate a mortgage in an effort to lower your payments, that is a time consuming effort that you may not be able to accomplish if you develop some credit issues as a result of declining income. Car payments are almost never renegotiated, although you may be able to find a different lender who can offer a lower rate, but your savings may not be especially significant.
One of the easiest ways to quickly reduce some of your expenses, and is something that you have direct and immediate control over, is your food and grocery expenses. A quick and easy way to enjoy some immediate savings is to cut your meat portion size by 25%. You still feel satisfied after a meal and you see some immediate savings too. Another way to lower your food costs is to buy less expensive food than you normally might. In this regard, there isn't a much cheaper food than Ramen noodles or an equivalent brand.
The genesis of the Japanese Ra-Men noodle is the Chinese Lo-Mein noodle. Ramen noodles originally found their popularity in Sapporo, Japan and spread out from there. Ramen noodles, as we know them, were invented by Taiwanese-Japanese inventor Momofuku Ando. The noodles have become so popular worldwide that there is a Ramen noodle museum located in Osaka, Japan. Ramen noodles were introduced to the American market in 1970 by Nissin Foods.
While Ramen noodles are pretty tasty, there is one potential health issue with them, which is that they contain MSG (Momosodium Glutamate). This chemical has been linked to damage of the pituitary gland. So, if this is an issue for you, just discard the little flavor packet you get with your noodles and add your own ingerdients to the plain noodles.
Ramen noodles ARE cheap. In bulk, you can buy them for less than 20 cents a pack in most places. A single pack makes a typical serving and two packs makes a meal, so, you can feed an adult a meal of Ramen noodles for around 40 cents plus the cost of heating the water.
You can enjoy Ramen noodles as is or add various ingredients to the base dish. For some extra protein you can scramble a couple of eggs and dump them into the pot just after you turn off the boiling noodles. If you are a scratch cook you can take some milk and some cheddar cheese, mix a sauce, and pour it over the plain Ramen noodles for a hearty mac and cheese. The possibilites are endless with this versatile noodle. Following are some links to Ramen noodle recipes, enjoy:
http://www.budget101.com/ramen_noodle_recipes.htm
http://www.womansday.com/Articles/Food/Recipes/9-Unique-Ramen-Noodle-Recipes.html
http://vegetarian.about.com/od/ramenrecipes/Ramen_Recipes.htm
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Blittie
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Nini Kahler
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Comments
~R~ Good first post!
I've also taken to using boneless/skinless chicken breasts as a "paillard" which is a fancy term for pounding the crap out of them with a heavy saucepan to get them thinner and uniform in thickness. If I do that then 1 will feed the 2 of us as grilled chicken sandwiches, stir fry or in an Italian dish. This reduces portions and saves grocery money.
Oh, and by the way, we now get our "noodle soup" (Ramen/Manchu) at the 99 Cent Only store where they're 6 for a dollar.
That's the Cheap Bastid way! And the Squeakin'By way too!
Rated and glad to have you back!
I like your ground beef idea. A McDonald's quarter pounder, for example, may contain beef from a thousand different cows, so you have much more opportunity for contamination than if you use your method for getting ground beef. The pounded chicken is a good idea too, since it also takes less time and electricity or gas to cook a thin piece of chicken. (But you still get a quality meal.)
Thanks again for the suggestions Walter.
Sometimes we do the same with the meat like buying a large turkey or a brisket or ham and making it last a week or more sometimes. If a person watches what they buy, it is easy to come out of a grocery store having spent $100 or less and have enough food to last you two weeks.
We do the same with turkey. (Yet another future post topic) We will boil the bones to make stock, which will then become turkey soup. Leftover turkey might end up as turkey sandwich spread or turkey tacos. Again, lots can be done with turkey. As Thanksgiving approaches, I hope to get some more OS'ers to chime in with additional recipies.
I do a lot of dishes with pasta (because it's cheap), but I'm torn on the Ramen. I LOVE the "flavor" packets, but they're a total killer. I don't know if I could handle the temptation.
I do like all the add-in options everyone else mentioned--Thanks!
I have recovered. I toss the packet of flavored salt, or whatever it actually is, and sprinkle a little soy sauce in so I know for sure how much I'm getting.
Great ideas for other ways to serve ramen noodles! Useful post!
spotted_mind, do some Ramen experimenting. Become one with the noodle. Let your tongue caress the curvy goodness of the noodle. Savor its essence and feel its silky texture as it slides down your gullet, on its way to becoming tomorrow's poop.
Tre, I might have to try that recipe. Sounds kinda good.
That is kind of strange isn't it Natalie. One can burn out on Ramen, but a short time later, they are in the cupboard again.
Thanks again everyone for the good comments.