I’m in the US and so broke right now, I only get to eat 8oz of rice a day and it’s absolutely wearing me out. I’m mostly chugging water to keep my stomach from hurting throughout the day. Does anyone have, like, tricks or tips to get more out of it or something? I don’t have ANY money to add more to my diet, but this doesn’t feel sustainable at all.
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You can go to food banks. They’re charities, it’s free for people in need like you.
Find a local food pantry. They’ll help anyone in need.
I mean I’d say it’s worth scrounging a couple of bucks for garlic and chili powder at a dollar store at least
Can you switch some of the rice for beans? They have more fiber.
Also, the dollar store has canned veggies.
That is not a healthy or sustainable diet. Please go to a food bank or charity that offers meals.
Go to any Sikh Temple and they will feed supper
Second the food pantry and you can also make rice congee. It’s really good and it is basically just rice cooked in a lot of water. Typical ratio is 8-10 cups of water per 1 cup rice. It will help stretch it out. Beans are also really cheap if u can find money for those and the protein will fill you up.
Are you able to stretch it with canned chili from the dollar store? Have you weighed your costs on pasta vs rice? I personally find that pasta can be filling as well
I’d you can buy some lard or shortening to mix in while you cook it the fat will make you feel full longer and with less rice.
It’s a terrible solution for hunger, but it’s barely better than starving.
You will die without a protein source to go with ur daily rice.
The Japanese imperial navy suffered from a condition titled “beriberi” when they rationed only milled white rice to sailors.
Take a daily multivitamin to lessen risks of nutrition based diseases like beriberi, scurvy, and more
If you’ll post your región we can help more specifically. I personally will tell you to call your nearest Catholic Church- I am personally involved in food outreach and churches can help you by tomorrow. Food pantries have organized pick ups.
In art school I used to buy a selection of vegetables to sauté with my rice. Broccoli stalks cut into French fry shape and sauted with soy sauce and butter is quite nutritious. Onions, broccoli stalks, bell peppers are all dirt cheap.
I’d invest in bouillon.
Make sure you are getting electrolytes too. Too much water can flush them out of your system and make you feel more tired as well.
Would definitely suggest a food bank. Also if you can, add beans to your rice – makes it much more complete from a nutrient stand point,
Find local food banks/pantries to help get some variety in your diet. If you’re in the US, Feeding America has a tool to look up local resources: https://www.feedingamerica.org/find-your-local-foodbank
Also research whether or not there are any places in your area (student centers, religious centers, etc) that have free meals. Sometimes you can find local calendars for events you can attend that have free food. It probably won’t be enough to feed you every day, but it will help break up the monotony of just rice.
Our small town has a free soup kitchen that offers free lunch.
Potatoes
What area you live in, OP? I might be able to help you!
Not super healthy, but if you buy a jug of margarine (about $3 for 2lb) , just 1 tablespoon of it will add 100 calories to your 200 calories of rice. Also will improve on taste. Also will, technically, be more healthy than having no fats at all in your diet.
But still, I agree with other advice here to find a local food bank or similar.
http://www.FindHelp.org
Find a food bank. You’re worthy of the assistance.
It doesn’t feel sustainable because it isn’t!! You’re literally starving and malnourished hunny. Please look into some local food banks and see what you can obtain for your cupboard, you’re worth it!! ❤️
I donate to food banks specifically so you don’t have to go through this.
Go to a food bank or soup kitchen. Let me know if you need help finding one. They’re all over..
If you can, also get chicken bones / scraps (from friends or family, maybe?) to make chicken stock (or get some from a food bank if possible). This will help flavor the rice as well as add some additional nutrients.
I definitely recommend hitting up a food bank. As others stated, you are currently in need and this is what they are there for.
Hi friend,
I’m sorry you’re having a tough time right now. Please don’t be afraid or ashamed to ask for help. Food scarcity is a huge problem for many Americans and it’s important to know that you’re not alone. You deserve to eat, just like everyone else does. Remember that the kids you’re worried about taking from are usually having meals supplemented by school – my local district gets both breakfast and lunch.
Anyway, on to the actual advice.
The dollar store is your friend. This lady on Tik Tok shows how to make dollar store meals and has tons of recipes: https://www.tiktok.com/@dollartreedinners?_t=ZT-8vK5DGPWFNG&_r=1
She made an entire Thanksgiving dinner for 4 for under $20. I would highly recommend checking out her videos for inspiration.
Please find your local food bank and get some staples to supplement your rice. You are worthy of nourishment.
Are you comfortable saying what city you live in? I’m in Tacoma, wa….if you live near me I’m happy to meet you somewhere with some groceries.
There are churches and other charity places that provide free meals for people in need.
Yes, you are 100% deserving and you’re not taking away from anyone else in need. More food reserved for those in need ends up in the dumpster than you realize.
Go get yourself something to eat and pay it forwards one day when you can.
If you’re able bodied and unemployed, apply for any construction type job you can. They’ll hire you in an instant and if you’re not a total fuck off, you’ll be making far more than a living wage within 6 months to a year. I know because I’ve been in your shoes myself.
If you can’t do physical labor, apply for benefits at your department of health and human services. Look for affordable housing and get a roommate who isn’t full of drama while working literally anywhere. Jobs at fedex, Amazon, online call centers, anything.
But regardless of your employment status, you need to eat and survive another day. Take care of yourself and keep pushing through.
What’s your CashApp cashtag
There are plenty of food banks and churches that you can get food from. And if it comes to it at night go to the grocery store dumpsters they throw out the sell by date food that is still perfectly good.
If you have salt, add some to your drinking water to keep your electrolytes up.
You need beens, you can just about thrive on rice and beans. Just rice you will starve
Try posting an Amazon list on r/assistance. You should be able to get some help there.
I was a single mother of three. If you need someone like me to give you permission – please do! You can give back in a thousand ways. But please don’t starve yourself or suffer malnutrition. You need both protein and occasional fruits.
Try to at least get some beans and boil them for the time being. It will help a little. You need something other than rice. Your body isn’t really getting any food or nutrients and you will get really sick and possibly worsen if this continues. Bags of beans are extremely cheap at the store, try Walmart. Black beans and kidney beans are really nutritious especially. I wish I had even a dollar to send, I’m struggling myself, I’m sorry. I’m sure there’s people who’d be more than willing to help though. Whether it’s through social media or somewhere else.
See if you have a Sikh or Hindu Temple nearby. They serve free food, no religious ceremony or trying to convert. Free open kitchen. If you are in a big city they might have the open kitchen every day if not then smaller ones have few days of the week. They might be also able to help you with some pantry items.
Check with local churches to see if they have a pantry. Join local facebook groups. In my community there are a few places locals stock with food for those who need it to help themselves. Download the Flashfood app. Participating grocery stores sell items that are about to go out of date very cheap. This could help your small food budget to go further.
Rice doesn’t have all the micronutrients you need. Potatoes are better for that as a single source food. If you cannot afford a couple potatoes per week, you absolutely should avail yourself of a food bank, as others have suggested.
There’s no shame in going to food banks. One thing this country does well is feed people. Find a food bank near you: https://www.foodnow.net
I had a fiend in your situation years ago, he refused help from his friends as well as going to a food bank. The lack of a baisc diet needs cost him his job as he starting making a lot of mistakes and his tempure became short with co-workers. Luckily he was able to move back home with his brother out of state instead of ending up on the streets. Hit up the foodbank get situated, donate bank when you are able.
So the truth is, you will die if you keep doing this.
You will have serious nutrient deficiencies if rice is all that you eat, especially if it is write rice and not brown rice.
Food banks are for you. This is no time to be prideful, food banks are for those who believe they need it, and that sounds like you right now.
Get some meat and veggies in that rice and some other variety into your diet.
beans are cheap and would be much much better than rice
You’d be shocked how much food is thrown away that’s still packaged and clean behind grocery store dumpsters.
Go get canned beans and tons of great food at a local food bank / church to go with the rice
The food bank I volunteer at is constantly having to throw out food because we don’t have enough people coming to pick up. We get a weekly produce drop off from a local grocery store and we pack bags per person, also every 1-3 days we get extra bread from a local bakery that didn’t sell, and then there’s all the pantry shelf stable stuff.
I promise that you’re not taking anything away from children in need because spoiled food is just going to be trashed. It’s a good thing to take from a food bank.
Churches will help you even if you’re not religious. There are options. Good luck!
Add some soy sauce
I’m so sorry food is a struggle.
When I was super broke, I had brown rice and lentils every single day. Dried lentils plus brown rice make a decent source of protein, and if you buy them in the bags and not the boxes, they’re pretty affordable. The bran in the brown rice is more filling, and the lentils + rice will give you a complete protein, too. I could eat for a week or longer on a bag of rice and a bag of lentils. Supplement with food banks and charities.
Many places also have things like community meals through churches, missions, etc. where you can go have a hot meal once a day. Is it ideal? Probably not. But it’s food in your belly to help you get through.
Fry it with some oil and onion and it goes a bit farther. Normally I’d recommend eggs but thats pretty high atm
I also want to give a shout to Food Not Bombs. If there’s a chapter near you, go to their food shares and get yourself something to eat. No IDs or proof of financial need necessary.
Can you not at least add some beans? That would provide far more nutrition. Dried beans are very cheap. Go to your local value village or similar and find a good used slow cooker.
Rice only is not sustainable.
Bananas and Top Ramen. You can have something filling and salty for like 50 cents. Bananas are like 25 cents a piece. Top Ramen is like 30 cents per pack.
Don’t do rice. Do lentils.
Cheap canned food like peas/green beans. Meal prep and spread it out a few days. Mashed potatoes, rice a roni, mac and cheese, ramen, box dinners. Use coupons. Be creative.
Do an internet search for “struggle meals”.
Dry beans are so cheap and are perfect with the rice! And then buy whatever the cheapest green vegetables are there that you can find on sale or damaged or about to go off or whatever.
I have lived a lot of my life with almost no money doing things like this. I also learned to make bread. You can eat decently with very little money.
Check out r/PovertyFinance ?
Spam musubi.
Depending on where you are some restaurants have meals prepaid by people to take.
Please check if there is an ISKCON temple nearby, they offer high quality free food to anyone who visits.
Try going to a gurdwara if there’s one near you. Just be respectful and take your shoes off and wash your hands.
I feel you brother. The cheapest thing to add to make it better is eggs, beans, or peas. Constant terrible cheap carbs are infinitely better with any kind of cheap protein you can get.
Peanut butter is a lot of calories and protein and fat for the dollar. Only carb feels like dieing.
You will starve to death or have many health complications if you continue this, I saw in a previous comment you said other people need the food bank more than you. It’s simply not true, put your ego aside and go get some food. This is an emergency situation
Look up ‘feed my sheep’
And see if there is one nearby.
Since you have a phone get on Facebook and find a buy nothing page in your area, get some stuff people are giving away and flip it. Free kids bike? Sell it for $5 and take that money to a dollar store and get some food.
Black coffee suppresses appetite. Canned Tuna is cheap and has protein. I dont know your circumstance but may e a job in a kitchen. Sory if this isn’t an option.
Have you applied for SNAP/ Food stamps? I think you can do most of the process online now
You can buy or make seasoned rice vinegar. It helps the tastes a lot
Meals on wheels. Those people are heroes to those in need.
I’ve had to do it before, 2 weeks of just rice, and ground meat, 1 bowl a day. It can be done, it sucks, just gotta manage better in the future though, but you’ll survive.
How you accessing Internet and with what device?
Cheap bag of apples in the corner of smart and final at 50% off.
I volunteer at a no questions asked food pantry. We rescue good food that stores would just throw away. There’s always food left over and we typically serve 150 people/families several times a week. So there’s no need to feel like you are taking resources away from others. Please find a pantry in your area and do what you can to take care of yourself. If the pantries in your area are anything like mine, they would be so glad to see you and help you. Please know there are people who care about you and want to help.
LENTILS. Cheapest best protein you’ll find. And tasty if you make them right.
By powder chicken stock and flavour your rice water
Yo, fr. Taco Bell has a free item with signup on the app no purchase necessary. It may not be the best food but it’s better than nothing.
Here is a link to Little Free Pantries.
They’re neighborhood/community made “free/give/take/trade” spot people make in various neighborhoods.
If you don’t see any in your area, make one. Most are shelves or old newspaper boxes.
https://mapping.littlefreepantry.org
Find some Hari Krishnas they serve food every day
Buy some beans and mix them up, and you have a nutritious meal, plus it’s a complete protein.
Get a can of spam to go with your rice, if you can. Get some protein to even out the carbs.
Other people have suggested great ways to make cheap meals out of dollar store groceries and have suggested food banks and temples, so I’ll suggest this; if you live in or near a city, see if any local groups or organizations host food serves on certain days. It may not be able to give you food for a whole week, but you’ll get a free hot meal, likely a drink or some water, and it’ll be more varied than white rice. For example, Food Not Bombs is a group that puts on serves and has chapters all over the US serving free vegan/vegetarian meals, usually with other offers too like toiletries, snack foods, and resources for those who need them. Look up a chapter close by, see if they’re active, and head down on a day they serve if you can. Or any other group like them.
Why not food bank? You’re exactly who they’re for…
If you think you don’t really need help and feel like there are others who need it more than you do, well, that’s not quite accurate.
I had to do this for a few months. We “borrowed” condiments and drowned the rice in free soy sauce, hot sauce, sweet and sour, really whatever we could get our hands on. It added flavor/variety and calories (not many, but they all counted at the time).
Then when that got old we went to the local church that gave out near expired food each week. It got us through some really tough times.
Hey. If you post on r/assistance with an Amazon grocery list, people are great at helping out. Maybe you can put stuff on the list that you can stretch out like canned chicken and tuna.
You need protein atleast get a can of chicken or something cheap like that
I would add lap xuon/cheong to my rice to feel “luxurious”
Go to your local food bank(s) and get help! They have plenty of food and the more people in the community take advantage of them the more funding they will get and less food will go to waste. You would be surprised how much food they have to throw out at the end of the week if no one takes it.
Food banks are for people like you that just need a little help. Adding in some produce and protein from the food bank would really help you health wise and sanity wise as there is only so much you can do with just plain rice.
I hope things get better for you! Stay safe
As someone who donated and volunteers at a food bank, I would be thrilled to know that we can be a resource for you. I’ve read your comments about feeling like you’re taking from someone else, but you should know how a lot of them work. Ours runs on typical public donations, and then from local grocers and farmers. It is a rare moment when we run out of food. Our goal is to serve the community, and you are a part of the community. Please let your local food bank, religious org, or shelter, feed you.
You need to find food banks in your area, you are on literal survival rations eating that little food and that can cause long-term harm.
If you eat only rice for too long you can get scurvy.
I know someone who suffered the same unfortunate rice diet circumstance as you are toughing through now and he ended up with a bad case of it.
You’re not replenishing vitamins in your body eating only rice. If you can figure out a way you should at least be taking a multi vitamin.
Or get creative, native Americans made a tea from the needles of the eastern white cedar tree that is high in vitamin C.
Visit a food bank they are ment for people who are in your situation. The last thing you want to deal with right now is getting sick from malnutrition.
This time of year in my area you can pick up tree nuts in the public parks. You can also go to supermarkets on Sundays and there are food samples
Slow-cook beans are super cheap too. I used to do slow-cook rice, beans, and zucchini and/or carrots for every meal.
The fun is the seasonings. So if you add teriyaki sauce, it’s an Asian dish! Or if you add bbq sauce, it’s southern. Or if you add tomato sauce, it’s Italian. Or if you add peanut sauce, it’s Indian.
Honestly, if you mix up the sauces, you can have fun with it. I did that for two years and didn’t feel like I was missing anything.
Bro DM your addy imma send you some
Pizza
Make some pinto beans
I think rice and beans form a complete protein for one. I would do further research on that. But, I think you would def qualify for EBT
You can grow plants at home. Buy whole dried spices like mustard, coriander, basil and put them in cocopeat. They grow out in a week and you can add them to your rice for flavour and nutrition.
Sprouts are also easy to make from dried legumes, and very nutritious.
You can also buy dehydrated fruit and vegetable powder and add it to the rice.
You won’t be alone. Talk to your neighbours, cooking in bulk is way cheaper than cooking alone.
what is your cash app? i’ll send you money for some groceries…
Since you have internet access, try searching foraging in your area. There are so many wild edible plants that it’s crazy. Avoid mushrooms until you have more knowledge, but there are plenty of plants to choose from, even in the city. Spring is prime time. Dandelions are plentiful and delicious. You can look for fiddleheads, ramps, hostas, and a slew of other plants. It may not be what you are used to, but many people harvest wild plants for food.
Please get to a food bank immediately. They won’t shame you or embarrass you, they will get you set up with proteins, produce and other carbs.
I was poor growing up and Mom always put buttered saltines with everything.
It takes some research, but make a list of local religious organizations (especially non-Christian ones. Sikh temples and synagogues are the best). They will probably have at least one day that they offer free meals. Your local food bank will have canned foods that can make rice stretch a lot. Beans, tuna and peas, or canned fruit with sugar were my go to. Especially if you can get some margarine or spices. Do you receive food stamps? And then there’s an app that I’m drawing a blank on, but you put your local grocery store into it, and they’ll usually have groceries that are a little busted or about to go bad and you can buy them for super cheap. I’ve used it a couple times now. It’s okay.
If things don’t line up, and you do have to skip meals, put a pinch of salt in some of your water. If you can get a bottle of lemon juice, add that too. It’ll help
The trick to being poor is learning how to best utilize every single resource there is.
Where do you live? You’re welcome at my dinner table anytime.
Food banks, churches, Facebook no buy groups, contact DES or government programs, you have some options. I’m sorry you’re going through this.
beans are cheap and more nutritious than rice
Literally any amount of income will turn that to something more sustainable.
I lived off of 4 hrs of minimum wage per week for my food budget for the last 2 years of college.
Spaghetti and homemade ground turkey meatballs is the cheapest food in existence.
Believe me, I did the math and lived on it without starving for years, even after school.
Toss in some carrots or veg while the pasta is cooking for added nutrition.
Agree with others that you should go to a food bank, soup kitchen, etc.. You need more food that 8oz of rice.
FYI fhere’s also r/EatCheapAndHealthy for when you have a little more money, but still not much
If you’re local to western mass dm me I have a small free pantry going!
Can you start planting veggies? And use food banks for now
Lentils would be such a better option for you in terms of nutrition than rice. They are generally more affordable, as well.