# What are the staples in your diet?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-staples-in-your-diet/36074>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [October 7, 2000, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-staples-in-your-diet/36074 "2000-10-07T17:13:49Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![SwimmingRiddles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@SwimmingRiddles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SwimmingRiddles)\
**Post date:** [October 7, 2000, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-staples-in-your-diet/36074/1 "2000-10-07T17:13:49Z")

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If I don’t have double stuffed oreos, chai tea and shredded cheese (not together) in my apartment, I immediately rush to the store to buy some. Same with sourdough bread. Peanut butter and fluff are a secondary staple, as are vegetarian hot pockets, tofu and bean burritos. I’ll definately buy them the next time I’m in the store, if I need them. Milk is a third tier food, I don’t drink it, so I only need it for cooking and for my chai tea. For this reason I rarely go through one of those two pint containers, and will buy the one pinters if I come across them. I am starting to get concerned that I will never get over the power of not having my mom dictate what I eat (moved out two years ago this month) and as soon as I hit 30, and my metabolism slows, I will be in for a horrible surprise.

So, Dopers. Am I alone in my crummy eating habits? What foods are impossible for you to live without?

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**Author:** ![tatertot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c37758/32.png) [@tatertot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tatertot)\
**Post date:** [October 7, 2000, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-staples-in-your-diet/36074/2 "2000-10-07T17:33:39Z")

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Number 1 would be rice, I know everyone probably has rice in their pantry but I must eat rice everyday or I feel like something is missing. I love rice in all it’s forms, except Minute.

I also have to eat spaghetti at least once a week, preferably 2 or 3 times. While I like “pasta” with all the assorted sauces one could put on it, there are times that only spaghetti, the kind mom made, will do.

I must also eat something spicy everyday, or I feel bloated. This, along with the rice, comes from having a Korean mother. Kimchee is also a must, as well as seaweed sheets, lightly toasted with seasame oil and salt.

MisterTot will be gone for almost 3 weeks, and I fear what all that time eating only rice, spaghetti, kimchee and seaweed will do to my figure. Oh, well it’s better than eating mac n cheese and cream cheese sandwiches the whole time, which is all TinyTot will currently eat.

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**Author:** ![THespos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@THespos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/THespos)\
**Post date:** [October 7, 2000, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-staples-in-your-diet/36074/3 "2000-10-07T17:36:47Z")

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White Castles  
Ramen Noodles  
Ben & Jerry’s - the kind with the chocolate-covered pretzels in it  
Fruity Pebbles  
Beef-A-Roni

If any of these are missing, I begin to feel compelled to go to the store.

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**Author:** ![Whammo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8dc957/32.png) [@Whammo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whammo)\
**Post date:** [October 7, 2000, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-staples-in-your-diet/36074/4 "2000-10-07T17:41:10Z")

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All variety of cheeses, Frozen Pizza, BBQ’d hamburgers, baked beans and mac and cheese. NO wonder I’m not in the best shape!

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**Author:** ![Gunslinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gunslinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gunslinger)\
**Post date:** [October 7, 2000, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-staples-in-your-diet/36074/5 "2000-10-07T17:46:20Z")

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Ruffles potato chips  
Chewy Chips Ahoy! cookies  
lots of red meat

I’m probably gonna have a heart attack before I’m 30…

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**Author:** ![2SexyForMyComputer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/8baadc/32.png) [@2SexyForMyComputer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2SexyForMyComputer)\
**Post date:** [October 7, 2000, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-staples-in-your-diet/36074/6 "2000-10-07T17:48:49Z")

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milk, beer, potatoes, and water. Thats it, and the odd steak. I’m a very fit 180 pound male, arms like steel and legs like a grad-all.

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**Author:** ![Nimue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d26b3c/32.png) [@Nimue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nimue)\
**Post date:** [October 7, 2000, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-staples-in-your-diet/36074/7 "2000-10-07T17:55:02Z")

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Milk (for hot chocolate)  
Rice, pasta, oatmeal and/or cream of wheat – for something fast, warm, and filling

As long as I have those, I can survive indefinately until the next time I get to the store!

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**Author:** ![hypergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/49beb7/32.png) [@hypergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hypergirl)\
**Post date:** [October 7, 2000, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-staples-in-your-diet/36074/8 "2000-10-07T18:17:11Z")

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Popcorn! I could live off of popcorn if I had to. I eat at least one bag of it every day.

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**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\
**Post date:** [October 7, 2000, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-staples-in-your-diet/36074/9 "2000-10-07T18:30:38Z")

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Oh, I’m a goddam pack rat.

There’s only ONE 16-oz package of spaghetti in the cupboard, and it’s making me nervous. Spaghetti is on my shopping list for later today.

As far as pasta goes, I need to have spaghetti or linguini, egg noodles (narrow AND wide), orzo, soba, udon, cous-cous, spaetzle, and some oddball shape (penne, radiatore, etc) ALL on hand.

I MUST have white basmati rice, brown basmati rice, and converted rice, at LEAST.

Bulghur, kasha, quinoa, barley. White cornmeal.

Dried beans…gotta have lentils, split peas, black-eyed peas, pintos, and black. Plus those screwy beans I mail-order from Maine: soldier, yellow-eye, and Jacob’s Cattle.

If I get within an inch of the jar-bottom on any of my dried herbs and spices, I’m phoning Penzey’s the next day. There are back-up bags of paprika, cinnamon, oregano, black peppercorns, cumin, ground ancho and chilpotle chiles, etc., stacked in the back of cupboards.

And that’s just the DRY stuff. I’m not even going to start on perishables.

The pathetic thing is that I live in Brooklyn…there’s a fully-stocked Korean greengrocer a half-block away. And a full-sized supermarket a block beyond that.

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**Author:** ![L714](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dec6dc/32.png) [@L714](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/L714)\
**Post date:** [October 7, 2000, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-staples-in-your-diet/36074/10 "2000-10-07T18:49:09Z")

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linguine, olive oil, anchovy, freshly grated cheese, bread crumb … oh and Slim Jims, raisons and um … pepperoni Hot Pockets

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**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\
**Post date:** [October 7, 2000, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-staples-in-your-diet/36074/11 "2000-10-07T18:52:58Z")

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Mushrooms (the non-magical kind - Hi Homer!)  
Corn Chex  
Mountain Dew  
Crown Royal  
Angel hair pasta

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**Author:** ![L714](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dec6dc/32.png) [@L714](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/L714)\
**Post date:** [October 7, 2000, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-staples-in-your-diet/36074/12 "2000-10-07T18:53:57Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Ukulele Ike \*  
> \*\* The pathetic thing is that I live in Brooklyn \*\*

Greetings Fellow Brooklynite!  
If nothing else, we eat well.

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**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\
**Post date:** [October 7, 2000, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-staples-in-your-diet/36074/13 "2000-10-07T19:01:05Z")

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Butter, if I run out of anything else I can handle it, but butter has to be there. That said, potatoes, tomatoes, cabbage, Classen’s dill pickles, bread, rice, cream, garlic, some cut of meat or bacon. Gotta have some rigatoni pasta around. Did I mention Best Foods Mayonnaise? If I get below two extra jars of it in my pantry I get the heebie jeebies. Some jumbo eggs from a shop run by folks with an egg farm (1 Dozen for $1.29!) and finally some of the Sinigang soup that I mention in my [recipe thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=39219&pagenumber=3). If you haven’t tried this soup, go out and find it today. If you can’t, I’ll mail you a packet of it. I just had it again last night for the second time in two weeks and I just can’t get enough of the flavor. If I had the room in my freezer, there would be some Char Siu Bao (Chinese barbecued pork buns).

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**Author:** ![Silver\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Silver\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Fire)\
**Post date:** [October 7, 2000, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-staples-in-your-diet/36074/14 "2000-10-07T19:13:10Z")

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Milk, bread, and various cans of soup. Well, now I feel boring…

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**Author:** ![Monster104](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Monster104](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monster104)\
**Post date:** [October 7, 2000, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-staples-in-your-diet/36074/15 "2000-10-07T19:55:48Z")

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Cereal (Preferably Frosted Miniwheats)  
Arizona Honey-Lemon Iced Tea (I have some almost every day)  
Bagels (To make bagel pizza)  
Cookie Dough (Either store-bought or homemade)

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**Author:** ![relic\_11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/50afbb/32.png) [@relic\_11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/relic_11)\
**Post date:** [October 7, 2000, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-staples-in-your-diet/36074/16 "2000-10-07T19:58:22Z")

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Ramen noodles  
Chocalate chip cookies  
Honey roasted peanuts  
Ramen noodles  
Easy Mac  
Juice boxes  
Ramen noodles  
Sharp cheddar cheese  
Yougurt (no fruit peices. Yick)  
Ramen noodles  
Apples  
Chef Boyardee

Did I mention Ramen noodles?

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**Author:** ![BigGiantHead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b4bc9f/32.png) [@BigGiantHead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigGiantHead)\
**Post date:** [October 7, 2000, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-staples-in-your-diet/36074/17 "2000-10-07T19:59:30Z")

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I don’t eat staples… the little pointy corners hurt too much when they come out the next day!  
:: Ducks and runs out of room, under barrage of thrown food items ::

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**Author:** ![Zumba\_The\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/779978/32.png) [@Zumba\_The\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zumba_The_Cat)\
**Post date:** [October 7, 2000, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-staples-in-your-diet/36074/18 "2000-10-07T20:02:39Z")

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I have discovered that when my SO is out of town I can live off six foods.

I MUST have eggs, potatoes, bread, cheddar cheese, butter and grape juice.

If I have those six foods in my house I can live for months. I can make scrambled eggs, cheese bread, grilled cheese sandwiches, potatoes and eggs, baked potatoes, fried potatoes, fried eggs, cheese omelets, hard boiled eggs, toast and egg sandwiches. All of the above foods taste best with grape juice.

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**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\
**Post date:** [October 7, 2000, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-staples-in-your-diet/36074/19 "2000-10-07T20:03:13Z")

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Yoghurt, granola, dried fruit and nuts. Your four basic food groups. And diet ice tea mix.

If I want junk food, I have to go out for it or not have it.

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**Author:** ![Homer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/df788c/32.png) [@Homer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homer)\
**Post date:** [October 7, 2000, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-staples-in-your-diet/36074/20 "2000-10-07T20:05:32Z")

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Mama Cozzi’s frozen pizza. Pepperoni, Pep&Sausage, and sausage. Spare me the cheese. Ugh.  
Milk  
Kool-aid  
Dr Pepper, Pepsi, Mt Dew  
Taco Bell  
Checker’s  
Life Cereal  
Granola (keeps me regular with all the other SHIT I eat)  
NesQuik banana milk

That’s about 99% of my diet.

–Tim

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