# Favorite cheap foods? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 9, 2000, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-cheap-foods/15825 "2000-04-09T07:07:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2000, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-cheap-foods/15825/1 "2000-04-09T07:07:00Z")
Didn’t I just start a food thread a couple days ago? Maybe so, but I can’t help it! Since I quit smoking cigarettes, I’m OBSESSED with food! Any money I might have saved on cigarettes is now going straight into Dave Thomas’s pocket. Instead of lung cancer and emphysema, I’m going to clog up my arteries and have a heart attack! Well, anyway, my main concern here is finding some food that tastes good and doesn’t cost too much. My cheap favorites? Tomato soup with grilled cheese. Also spaghetti. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2000, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-cheap-foods/15825/2 "2000-04-09T07:32:00Z")
When I lived in Pittsburgh, I used to go to one of those cheap-ass delis, the kind that have the dessicated rotisserie chickens in the window, and get two hot dogs for a buck. Day after day. It took me a long time to get sick of them, although eventually I did. * * * “His eyes are as green as a fresh-pickled toad, His hair is as dark as a blackboard, I wish he was mine, he’s really divine, The hero who conquered the Dark Lord.” ---
**Author:** ![kellibelli](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e480ec/32.png) [@kellibelli](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kellibelli)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2000, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-cheap-foods/15825/3 "2000-04-09T13:23:00Z")
For me: ramen noodles, the spicy beef or spicy chicken. (I am addicted) For the family: rice-a-roni, with added vegetables and a bit of meat(not big meat eaters) I can do a whole cheap nutritous tasty menu for you… ---
**Author:** ![Zico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a88e4f/32.png) [@Zico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zico)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2000, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-cheap-foods/15825/4 "2000-04-09T13:26:00Z")
When I was poor, I used to go shopping ten minutes before the supermarket closed, getting bread, milk and anything else they couldn’t get rid of dirt cheap. ---
**Author:** ![Rich\_G7subs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85e7bf/32.png) [@Rich\_G7subs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rich_G7subs)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2000, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-cheap-foods/15825/5 "2000-04-09T13:51:00Z")
Stop it!..You’re making me hungry!.. My fave as an underpayed service member…Kraft Macaroni and cheese…You can buy 27 boxes for like .99$. ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2000, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-cheap-foods/15825/6 "2000-04-09T16:10:00Z")
A few that have already been mentioned…grilled cheese sandwich, Kraft mac & cheese, and I also love Campbell’s chicken noodle soup. Just the regular kind, no fancy stars or curly O noodles. Bo ---
**Author:** ![Persephone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@Persephone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Persephone)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2000, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-cheap-foods/15825/7 "2000-04-09T18:20:00Z")
I like those Instant Lunch things. They’re made by Maruchen, the same folks that make Ramen. The IL’s have a lot more flavor, IMHO. I also have a pathetic weakness for… :::hangs head in shame:::: …microwave burritos. * * * Cristi, Slayer of Peeps I made my husband join a bridge club. He jumps next Tuesday. (title & sig courtesy of UncleBeer and WallyM7!) ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2000, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-cheap-foods/15825/8 "2000-04-09T18:49:00Z")
Kelli got it right. Ooodles of Noodles. She’s obviously a born again ramen person, 'cuz she likes the spicy flavors. Traditional beef flavor Ooodles of Noodles is Gods gift to mankind. And it had to be Oodles of Noodle brand, too. I eat it at lest five times a week,sometimes twice! I have actually gotten in an arguement with a friend who is a chef about the inherent awsomeness of this soup. Sadly, he has been corrupted by the $24k he spent to goto cooking school. He refused to see my point. He just wishes the food he makes tasted as good! ( BTW, it’s superb. But it’s not O of N!) * * * Cecil said it. I believe it. That settles it. ---
**Author:** ![Sentinel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Sentinel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sentinel)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2000, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-cheap-foods/15825/9 "2000-04-09T20:58:00Z")
Geez! At least I have more sophisticated tastes. Swanson Turkey and Gravy dinners! Campbell’s green pea soup! My own home made spaghetti sauce. (I make, like 2 gallons at a time and freeze it in packets.) Canned spinach - the type Walmart sells at 60 cans for a dollar. Cold, drained, doused with malt vinegar and salt! MMMMMMM! Good! Especially if eaten with vinegar and salt chips! * * * **Some mornings, it’s just not worth chewing through the leather straps.** ---
**Author:** ![techchick68](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ea5d25/32.png) [@techchick68](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/techchick68)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2000, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-cheap-foods/15825/10 "2000-04-09T21:09:00Z")
Call me silly, but I like Totinos pizzas, specially when they go on sale for under a dollar. That’s about it…I cant stand raman noodles, those things make me ill. ---
**Author:** ![Nightingale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecae2f/32.png) [@Nightingale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightingale)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2000, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-cheap-foods/15825/11 "2000-04-09T21:21:00Z")
Pasta Roni!!! I survived on this stuff for two years of my college career. Garlic and Olive Oil or Angel Hair Pasta with Lemon and Butter. . . * * * “There are more things you don’t know than there are things that I do know. I despair of the imbalance.” – Dr. Morgenes, _The Dragonbone Chair_ ---
**Author:** ![Catrandom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@Catrandom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catrandom)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2000, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-cheap-foods/15825/12 "2000-04-09T21:31:00Z")
Pop-Tarts! Eight of 'em for under two bucks. In my poorer days I was known to have Pop-Tarts for two meals a day. I still love 'em, though I don’t buy them often anymore. My other poverty food that I loved was the cheapest pasta I could find with just margarine and salt, no (expensive) sauce. I still eat it what way. * * * ## Catrandom Go to a vet that’s also a taxidermist. Either way, you’ll get your cat back. _Sig courtesy of the amazing WallyM7_ ---
**Author:** ![Catrandom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@Catrandom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catrandom)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2000, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-cheap-foods/15825/13 "2000-04-09T21:32:00Z")
(i)that(/i) way. Catrandom, banging head on desk ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2000, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-cheap-foods/15825/14 "2000-04-09T23:13:00Z")
When my daughter was a little girl I would open up a 50 cent can of tuna and make us each a sandwich, with a couple bites left over for the cats. Washed down with a 33 cent can of no-name soda. ---
**Author:** ![MissMonica7](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@MissMonica7](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissMonica7)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2000, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-cheap-foods/15825/15 "2000-04-09T23:36:00Z")
cheap foods. i should know whats cheap, being that I’ve been in an unpaid internship for the past seven months… pasta, boxed mac and cheese (store brand is cheaper than kraft), canned baked beans, store brand frozen pizza, and my personal favorite (im sure im the only person in the world who eats this regularly)plain white rice(with butter and salt). im sure rice is about the cheapest food in the world… * * * “I am so smart, I am so smart, s-m-r-t, i mean s-m-a-r-t” ---
**Author:** ![Sealemon88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c68b51/32.png) [@Sealemon88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sealemon88)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2000, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-cheap-foods/15825/16 "2000-04-09T23:44:00Z")
Cheap food? I’m the freakin’ **king** of cheap food! I used to eat frozen fish sticks every day after school. Mmmmm…nothing better. Except for those two for a dollar hot dogs at Stop And Go. Other cheap-ass foods: Eggos. Peanut butter on toast. PB and J’s Anything from the Master MC Chef Boy-R-Dee(sp). Chili dogs. Crunchy Taco Bell Tacos. Tony’s frozen pizza. Grilled cheese sandwiches. Peanut butter and crackers (Ritz’s if yer feelin’ fancy). Spam. Viena sausages. Little Debbi chocolate donuts. ## When I was a kid, I had this strange fascination for plain tuna on toast. You say “cheesy” like that’s a **BAD** thing. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2000, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-cheap-foods/15825/17 "2000-04-10T00:26:00Z")
**MissMonica7 said:** > [@](#): > > cheap foods. i should know whats cheap, being that I’ve been in an unpaid internship for the past seven months… Hmmmm…Intern? Monica? I’m sorry I couldn’t resist that one. > [@](#): > > and my personal favorite (im sure im the only person in the world who eats this regularly)plain white rice(with butter and salt). I love plain white rice! I actually have one of those rice steamers. My favorite is the mushy, clumpy, sticky, steamy rice. Exactly the opposite of how most people think rice should be cooked. I’m always the only one who actually eats the white rice that the Chinese food places give you with any dish. I could never survive on one of those low-carb diets! I’m a bread lover too. That’s one I haven’t seen mentioned. Does anybody else just eat plain bread alone when they’re hungry and don’t feel like bothering with anything? I sometimes use bread as a meal substitute when I can’t be bothered to sit down and eat something. It’s perfect when you’re on the go! Throw in a little cheese if you feel the need for protein and it’ll hold you over as long as you want until you can get a proper meal in you. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2000, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-cheap-foods/15825/18 "2000-04-10T00:27:00Z")
No leftovers in the fridge and husband away? Give me a chick flick, a bag of Funyons, and a can of Pepsi. ---
**Author:** ![Demo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demo/32/8472_2.png) [@Demo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Demo)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2000, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-cheap-foods/15825/19 "2000-04-10T00:37:00Z")
Jack in the Box Tacos. Mmmmmm. They are nothing even close to a real taco, but they are so greasy and delightful! As above, 7-11 hot dogs. But, you have to squeeze out about a quart of that cheese and chili sauce all over the dogs and into the box and load it with jalapenos. Nothing like unlimited condiments to fill you up. I’d also advocate plain pasta with just some olive oil, garlic and salt on it. At any one time, at least one of the chain burger joints will usually have a special where you can get two burgers for a buck, or something close to that. Bon Apetit! (I feel like I’m drumming up business! ;)) * * * Just make yourself comfy while I shoot nuclear particles into your heart. (Courtesy of Wally) ---
**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2000, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-cheap-foods/15825/20 "2000-04-10T01:29:00Z")
Banquet TV dinners, specifically the fried chicken and salisbury steak varieties. I was somewhat hesitant about sharing that, until I read what you other people eat. 😉 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-cheap-foods/15825.md?page=2)