Starving musician food that doesn't suck

[SFOracle]

Here are a couple of suggestions. Avoid those ramen noodles. They cook quickly because they are deep fried first (usually in peanut oil) and loaded with saturated fat and sodium. Avoid sodas - most (non diet) have at least 40g of sugar which is equivalent to 10 tsp. I hate the taste of diet soda, but either way, soda is an expensive way to drink sugar (or nutrsweet) water. As I am forever rehabing my voice from singing to hard, I just drink hot water with lemon and honey. Also - those snapple or lipton iced teas and capri sun juices contain very little or no juice and a lot of sugar. Also make larger batches of food and freeze some or keep in the fridge for the next day. It is much more expensive to prepare single meals than it is (per portion) to make larger meals. Some things like veggie lasangne freeze very well if you freeze them in individual portions. Make your lunch - don't eat out. I work in the SF finacial district. I can go to Chinatown for noodles for about $4, but other than that, it costs at least $6-7 for a lunch. I can bring a lunch for half that. If you make large portions for dinner and at your workplace you have a microwave, bring leftovers. My wife is chinese, so we buy rice in 20 or 50lb bags. A 20lb bag of rice costs about $19 - $21 depending on the type. A 1-1/2 lb bag of rice costs $3. You don't need to be an economist to figure that out. We eat a lot of rice. We get our eggs, dairy products and canned or dried goods at Trader Joes - it seems to be cheaper and I think the quality is way better than Safeway. 1. Burritos - not the frozen ones, make em yourself, it's easy. Okay this is not a traditional recipe, but it's quick, tasty and nutritious. If you have time to soak beans, get a big ole bag (much cheaper than canned) and soak 1-1/2 or 2 cups of beans over night. If you don't have that kind of time, buy canned beans - red or black. Drain about 1/2 the liquid off the beans and saute them in a non-stick pan with some garlic, onion and a can of chopped tomatoes. Add chillis or hot stuff to taste. Serve with rice, salsa and flour tortillas. Carnivours can add meat (but please not ground beef). 2. Do you like Tofu? Here is a chinese recipe that I like. Use a firmer style tofu so it won't turn to mush (also has more calcium to build bone density). You are in LA right? You should be able to get dried chinese oyster mushrooms. One bag should last months. Soak about 6-8 mushrooms for at least an hour until soft, then chop them up (discard the stocks which usually stay pretty hard). Keep the water you soak the mushrooms in. Cut the tofu into cubes. Stir fry onion (cut in fairly large pieces), sliced carrot, bell peppers or what ever you have in the fridge until the onions start to go translucent. Add the mushrooms, fry for a few minutes more and add enough of the water you soaked the 'shrooms in to make a sauce. Season with a some soy sauce (note light soy is salty and is used for flavor, dark soy is less salty and used primarily for color) and hot chinese style hot sauce (optional). Thicken a bit with some cornstarch and cold water. Seve with rice. Soups - I make a lot of soups in a crock pot. When you make chicken, freeze the bones and every few weeks, make a big batch of chicken stock. Chinese style chicken stock is really easy - just boil the hell out of a couple of chicken carcasses in the crock pot - with a big of chopped ginger. Chinese do not salt their stocks or their rice. If you don't have a crock pot, you can use a large pot on the stove, but you have to watch it, and can't leave it over night. Potato Leak soup (can substitue scallions or green onion) - quickly fry some chopped leaks (clean them very well) in a whee bit of oil and some garlic (you can also add carrots, celery or whatever). Cut potatos into cubes and throw in the crock pot with 4 C water and 4 C chicken stock. Add the leaks and just let it cook for several hours (over night - but add more water or stock before you go to bed). Season with salt and pepper. When the potatoes start to fall apart, use a hand blender to partially blend the soup. Serve hot with lots of pepper (and a drop of sour cream if you feel like splurging). Black Bean Soup. Similar to above, use all water (2 quarts) use soaked dried beans instead of potatoes and onions, lots of garlic, bell peppers and celery instead of leaks. Season with some cumin bay leaf and diced chilli peppers. Add 1/2 cup of rice and some salt once the beans have softened. Carnivours can add a hamhock (but I think traditionally, cubans do not put meat in black bean soup).

[music-man]

[quote]Originally posted by SFOracle: [b] Avoid those ramen noodles. They cook quickly because they are deep fried first (usually in peanut oil) and loaded with saturated fat and sodium. [/b][/quote]Uh ... not sure about the rest of the "wisdom" in Oracle's post, but this part is bullcrap. I have a nasty peanut allergy (would blow up and spew everything if I ate peanut oil), and have survived not a few rough months on Ramen of all kinds. But I do avoid ramen lately because of the MSG. I second the suggestion about BROWN RICE - make a bunch on Sundays, then shove it in the fridge; use it to stuff burrito shells and soups and vegetables, etc. Baked Potatoes are cheap, easy and tastey if you can remember to start em 45 minutes before you want to eat. My cooking skills just barely allow me to successfully grill fresh fish (i.e. salmon, etc.) in the oven - toss a hunk under the broiler; then refrigerate the leftovers - the next week you can throw it in salads and sandwiches etc. Once a week of this and some cheese, and you've got enough protein for a healthy human.

[Tedster]

I don't know about the "peanut" part, but most Ramen noodles are in fact fried. High in calories. Unless you get the baked ramen noodles.

[RABid]

When I was full time in music with no day job as support I set up a nice routine. The band usually played 5 nights a week. On the two days off I would make a very large one dish meal each day. Chili, baked spaghetti, soup, potato casserole, broccoli rice and cheese…anything that freezes well. Once a day, two days a week make a large batch. Next get some small freezer boxes, the square white/clear type that stacks well. You see them for sail during harvest season. When you cook, put away 6 or 7 servings of each item. If you do this twice a week, eat one meal and put away seven servings each time, you will build a nice rotation of meals in your freezer. The small freezer boxes stack well and rotate easily. I managed this which only the freezer space in my apartment’s combo unit. After a few weeks you build up a full rotation. I could supply lunch and dinner for myself out of my freezer and not eat anything twice in the same week. It is much healthier, and much cheaper. This is real frozen food, not something overly processed. Just be away that one weekend of friends can wipe out your supply. For some reason band mates tend to think food is free if someone else is supplying it. Oh, and stay away from processed starches like Minute Rice and quick noodles. The process of pre-cooking and drying that makes them cook quickly takes out all neutrients. Robert

[not coaster MODERATOR]

[quote]Originally posted by Tedster: [b]Jethro says: Two words... ROAD KILL... Yeehaw... :D [/b][/quote]Jethro says 1 word: VIDDLES !!

[Lee Flier]

Wow... lots of great suggestions here! Chip: what kinda cheap protein powder were you using? I do have a blender. Actually I have something even better than a blender - a Vita-Mix. Yes, it kicks ass. Any ideas for good shakes, smoothies etc. are appreciated. I also do buy brown rice and basmati rice in bulk, and it's organic/non GM, so that's not a problem! Neil: I love Indian and Asian food, and I live in a neighborhood with a large Asian population so Asian markets are plentiful. I couldn't eat Indian or Japanese food every day, but certainly a few times a week. I'd love some tips. I do love Japanese Udon noodles. Indian food just seems so complex though, and I'm with Chip on the preparation thing: I rarely have the time or patience for it! If I have a gig or session or rehearsal, which happens at least 3 times a week, I don't have a lot of time to spend making dinner. Thus, my plea for cheap, healthy and easy to prepare meals! Eric's pasta does indeed sound good though, and I'll probably try it anyway on a night when I've got nothing else to do. :D franknputer: yes, I do go to Dekalb Farmer's Market, and there are a few places like that closer to me too. Lots of yummy stuff there! To you California dudes, one of the very few things I miss about being in California is that we don't have Trader Joe's here. Unfortunate, eh? Although the aforementioned Dekalb Farmer's Market is kinda similar in a way. Strat, all your recipes sound really good, haveta try 'em! I don't have a crockpot, but I've actually done homemade solar ovens before and there is nothing like beans cooked in a solar oven! YUM! Lots of other great recipe ideas. Rabid, I REALLY dig your idea about the freezer boxes. I'm not sure if I'm that organized :D , but it definitely sounds like something worth trying! Thanks for all the great ideas, keep 'em coming! --Lee

[henrysb3]

I cooked in a couple of restaurants, and we would start the baked potatoes early in the day. The leftovers we sliced for cottage fries or shredded for hash browns. I like a baker with cheese and salsa, but you can top it with just about anything leftover in the fridge. If you're into peanut butter (which ain't so cheap anymore), it goes great on a sandwich with fresh tomatoes. I kid you not. It's also good on pancakes. Breakfast burritos with scrambled eggs, cheese and salsa are one of my mainstays.

[JDL]

PBJ, SPAM, soup(Chef Boyradees of course), and chips

[deanmass]

Falafel mix and Lavash with any veggies and any dressing (especially packets from restaurants... :) ...) Falafel mix is like 2 bucks a box, and it makes quite a bit. Meijers (our local chain) sells large bags of chicken breasts 2 for 1 almsot every other week, and some cut strips cooked in olive oil with veggies and/or cooked pasta in it has lots of variety and is pretty cheap... And, you can get government food IF your income qualifies..My Aunt gets giant blocks of cheese for free... I often wondered why many poor people were overweight, but it seems like when you have to stretch food money, it is VERY hard not to eat tons of carbs. One other trick..( I work at a school) volunteer at a school and you can eat there...cheap....like $2.00 Sam's Club and Costco....Free samples... And, depending on how large your town is, you can always do the "hey, I just picked up my order and I was short a chicken sandwich" thing...Do it during lunch or dinner, and no one will blick...you will just get a free something...I used to run a restaurant (back in the day) and we just handed it out....the complaints were so few and we were so busy it was not worth questioning.

[deanmass]

OH!!! And... Atlanta has tons of convention centers.......Walk in around lunch time and roam around...Lots' o buffets in the convention rooms.... :)

[joegerardi]

Here's a very quick, simple, inexpensive meal that you'll get multple dinners from, and really tastes great: Buy a pound of your favorite macaroni. Boil the water (Don't forget to salt the water!) and then dunp it in. At the same time, in a larger mixing bowl, add 1-2 tablespoons of Olive Oil, a little garlic powder or real garlic sliced and then chopped very thin if you have it, some Parsley, and your favorite cheese. (But please limit it to Parmesan or Romano. I AM Italian remember!) Strain the Macaroni when cooked, and dump in the mixing bowl. Mix well, and Voila! A "White Pasta" meal, and because you cooked the whole pound, you'll get several meals out of it. Now for the second meal with it, pour a little Olive Oil in a frying pan and heat. Dump the leftovers in straight outta the fridge. Now FRY the suckers, don't just warm them. After sitting in the fridge for a day or so, all the flavors have meshed, so the frying will only enhace the flavor, with the exception that you'll need more cheese. These meals probably don't cost $3.00, and if you like French bread and a salad with it, you'll eat well. Hope that helps. As I remember more, I'll post them. ..Joe

[thisDude]

Buy a bag of frozen peas and carrots. Buy whatever other fresh vegetable is on sale. Boil up a huge pot of rice, let it sit for a day in the fridge. Buy some kind of meat (chicken tenderloins or packaged sausage will do) Stir fry it all over high heat, toss in some garlic, hot sauce, soy sauce and fish sauce (anchovie extract) and a scrambled egg. You can feed 4 for under $5. For a variation, I use soaked rice noodles, throw in some white wine vinegar, crushed peanuts, and more eggs. There's really no rules, just commit to eating whatever you make. Egg and cheese sandwhiches. Gets boring until you change up the bread. Any pasta + real butter and fresh parmesan = good eats On Sundays, I throw a salmon steak and some fresh veggies on George Foreman, drizzled in olive oil, salt & pepper, and fresh garlic (that you can buy by the tub, precrushed) For 20-35 bucks a week, you can eat well.

[loudist]

Tuna salad, good for 3-4 days in the fridge, 2nd day is the best. Tuna melts, tuna burrito, tuna and .... salad, tuna dip w/chips. I like the weightlifer tuna cocktail idea... for bulemic weight loss! Also... turkey the whole bird. 10 bucks easy. Way cheap protein. Cook one up and its lunch, dinner, snacks and soup, ala king over noodles with some cream of whatever soup and some frozen mixed veggies, way el cheapo and filling and good. For about 5-6 days of eating 25 bucks for turkey, egg noodles, veggies, burrito tortillias, cheese. Quesadillias!! Remember your Cali roots, girl. Too bad theres not a Danny's Oki-Dog where you are. That place kept the punk rockers alive in LA.

[JDL]

Thanks for the new stuff, but everyone, please look at the top of this 2nd page. look at the date Lee Flier posted that! hehe

[surfmonkey]

[quote]Originally posted by JDL: [b]Thanks for the new stuff, but everyone, please look at the top of this 2nd page. look at the date Lee Flier posted that! hehe[/b][/quote]Lee's from the future! :eek:

[D. Gauss]

depending upon HOW hungry you are, you might want to try one of these lines at your next gig: "sure i'll play freebird, if ya buy me a meal at ________'s place. " "hey dude, buy me my groceries for a month and maybe, just maybe i'll think about sleeping with you." "no you can't buy me a drink, but you could pick up some pinto beans, a little hummus, and maybe a 2 or 3 lb. lobster for me." "hey folks, btw, i like to play my guitar naked when i'm well fed, and i haven't eaten a good meal in weeks...." "gimme twenty bucks now! quick, you drunken asshole before i slam you in the nuts with a les paul." or you could just eat a lot of popcorn. :) -d. gauss

[Gtoledo3]

Canned clams, pasta and cream or milk. Put in a teaspoon or more of cornstarch to make a sauce. Actaully cornstarch is something every poor musician should have b/c you can make a sauce out of anything AND you can reheat it effectively, unlike flour. As far as meat goes, buying roasts is always cheaper. Boston butt, chuck, ham, etc, is always cheaper as a roast. you can then take that and make whatever- stir fry stuff, sandwiches, blah blah blah... I am going to give this some more thought. And it reminds me that I need to give Sal some cuban food recipes, my bad. :o

[Chip McDonald]

[quote]Originally posted by Lee Flier: [b]Chip: what kinda cheap protein powder were you using? I do have a blender. [/b][/quote]Wow, I completely missed this post... must have been during my "estranged" period... MLO rice protein. The cool thing about it is that it's not soy based so I don't have to worry about "pseudo-estrogen like compounds" (well, that's not a concern for you I know..), but also that it has a mildly sweet taste to it - no sugar, no cholesterol (supposedly lowers it). I *used* to put it on my cereal; made it a little sweeter, and I got some protein with the carbs. But now I'm pretty certain acrylamide is a Right Bad Thing To Consume, so I'm not eating cereal anymore, so... Hmm. It occurs to me my solution to the problem of "what to eat in place of cereal for breakfast" has been: "nothing at all"... Huh. I did eat cereal everyday, and now I basically don't eat anything. Well (Eric Idle voice), saving money you know... Hmm. I guess I should figure out a non-fried breakfast alternative, eh? [b]I also do buy brown rice and basmati rice in bulk, and it's organic/non GM, so that's not a problem![/b] I've just figured out last month that rice is pretty painless to prepare, I'll be buying a big bag of basmati probably monday actually; where do you find non GM basmati...? It would seem I've become a rice snob, the Lundburg domestic stuff doesn't seem quite as happening as "whatever it is" from the local Indian store.. great stuff though, WHY do Americans insist on using the most bland, unpalatable rice??? A friend of the family brought back a 5 lb. bag of the most insanely killer (prepared by people other than me) short-grain sushi rice from Japan, but I don't know how to deal with the vinegar and "all that"... [b]Asian markets are plentiful. I couldn't eat Indian or Japanese food every day, but certainly [/b] I think I could... [b] Indian food just seems so complex though, and I'm with Chip on the preparation thing: I rarely [/b] Hey, but you know what? It seems the ONLY thing I've EVER cooked in my house - the only time the stove has been used since the last owner had it (who also didn't use it), is Indian food.. There are these packets paneer makhani you can get from a local Indian grocer that costs just $2 - take the baggie out, boil for 5 minutes, mix with rice... boom, Indian meal, enough mixed with rice for 2 meals. They have some other dishes in this format that seem to work good, but I can't remember what they were, a sort of vegetable korma thing... Just had a lunch today at a local Indian buffet, greeeat stuff.. Didn't get to really dig in, only had 30 minutes... and one doesn't want to break a sweat before giving lessons , then there's the curry smell.. BUT still, the highlight of my week. Pathetic. I was making fake mango lassi with soy milk and mango concentrate, but started getting paranoid about drinking too much soy... Then there's this ridiculous $4 Publix/AFC california and salmon roll habit I've developed... Try to stay out of the "blue collar" sushi place in town, but... geez... one needs Omega 3, right? Nothing like trying to eat like a gourmet on a beggar's budget... So right now I have paneer once a week, about $3 counting the rice, cheap bad non-raw (too scared of the AFC stuff) sushi $4, a friend's tex-mex place for black bean quesadilla with spinach $5, sometimes another friend's fusion place for stir fry teriyaki $6, and if I splurge either Thai chicken krapow $6 or Real Sushi at the Blue Collar Place for $8. Hmm... that's still busting my $32 budget, but I don't really do all of that every week so it probably evens out.. I need to figure out how to make rice go longer with some sort of protein involved - I wish there really was dolphin-safe tuna. Once again, I need to come up and try an Indian place... or Thai, or Japanese.. I'm still curious about that "construction worker sushi bar" place off I-20... Frick.

[Chip McDonald]

[quote]Originally posted by d gauss: [b]depending upon HOW hungry you are, you might want to try one of these lines at your next gig: [/b][/quote]Better yet, you get a gig at a place that serves $30 a plate meals... Used to have this weird pseudo-house gig at a place that was a white linen table cloth type French cuisine sort of place during the day, but a sort-of rock/college bar at night... about the only time I've actually used my tab.

[Barandine Vondenger]

BREAKFAST: sliced apple/banana and peanut butter on toast sangitches black decaff coffee,orange. LUNCH: (one)of two for a dollar sardines in mustard or hot sauce with one of THREE for a dollar twenty soup with crackers or one of two for a dollar home made tuna fish spread sandawich on toast(five dollar thrift store toaster)with soup and cracks. applesauce or nanner and jello. ANY GIVEN DINNER: "free,gathered oakwood",charcoaled whole grilled chicken with microwave taters and *garlic bread toast slices *("oven" top-broiler only works)and three for a buck veggie, vanilla Iscreamyouscream. OR FIFTEEN BEAN soup with garlic salty-bread and fried taters and onions(I garrrahntee!aha!) OR ALL YOU can eat meatless BUHSKETTIE with garlic bread and corn on the cob and yellow or white fruit. on lettuce. microwave popcorn and raisins for snacks. buy dented cans day old bread is good when toasted treat MEAT as a CONDIMENT NOT as an ENTREE' EAT IN EXCLUSIVLY DON'T EAT OUT PERIOD. bring your own drinkables and eatables in ice chest from grocery store supplies on trips or outings. If you are extremely careful you CAN reuse condoms two or even three times. COMPARE PRICES and SHOP FROM a LIST get ONLY ITEMS ON LIST and NEVER SHOP hungry or while stoned or dead.

[Brakka]

:D :D

[Wewus432]

[b]Turkey Chili[/b] Take 1 lb. of ground turkey(much less fat and tastes BETTER than ground beef), brown the meat in a large pan and drain. Add 1 package McCormick's Chili Seasoning, a can of diced tomatoes(the kind with green chilis is good) and a can of water. You can eat as soon as it's all warmed up but taste a little better if you cook it a little and let the flavors blend. Add your choice of beans 5 minutes before serving, if you like, tastes good without beans. I like dark red kidney beans. Total cost for 4 servings about $4.00

[boosh]

Once I lived alone in a big appartment building. I had the same problem but found a solution.All around me there wére elderly couples from about 12 different nationalities. I made a deal with the wives(they all have those female mother instincts and can't take it when they see a young guy who could be there son,starve to death). Like I said I made a deal with seven of them. I paid each of them 15$ a month and each of them cooked me a meal 1 time a week.So I had the best cuisine there was. monday: Thai,...cooked by Nana 62 from Thailand tuesday: Spanish,Rosa 67 from Spain wednesday: Turkish,Fatima 55 from turkey thursday:Jewish,Esther 60 from Germany friday:Dutch,Ilse 25 from Holland(She didnot only cook :) ) saterday: Polish,Maria 70 Poland sunday:Chinese,Mai 37 from HongKong They all would knock on my door around dinnertime and hand me over warm,hot freshly cooked mamafood. Once a month I would consume the meal at their house with their husbands present. I learned a lot about different cuisines,countries and people and you know what: These people have had so many experiences in Life that I(now 31) got a solid base to live my days. Boosh

[Wewus432]

boosh, what a sweet little deal that was. What a great idea.

[boosh]

[quote]Originally posted by TheWewus: [b]boosh, what a sweet little deal that was. What a great idea.[/b][/quote]I still go back to that town once in a while and then we all have coffee and cake at one of the ladies'houses,... Esther the Jewish lady died 2 years ago sadly enough,but that's life. I had a great time living amongst these people and think about them a lot.

[Vortex]

Cheap growlies? Eat plenty of oatmeal/porridge! A nice bowl of 'po keeps one going half a day! Super cheap, super satifying. Promotes Scottish accent.

[Lee Flier]

Wow! How cool to see this thread come back to life... just when I was looking for more ideas (spring must be the time I start thinking about new food...LOL). d gauss yer killing me as usual. :D LOL... actually we DO quite a few gigs at places where they serve food and we can get a free meal - sometimes a really good one! Chip, you can get organic/non GMO rice at Sevenanda Co-Op in Little Five Points... you can get great big bags or sealed buckets for bulk stuff. You really do have to get over here dammit!

[tarsia]

Lee, here's a few meals we do at a very low cost: "Pasta and Peas" - your pick of type of pasta, (even Egg noodles work good) add some frozen peas stir in with some olive oil & add some parmesean cheese ! some nice fresh baked bread and it's ON! "Pasta & Potatoes" - seems redundant but try it, cube & cook some potatoes add to pasta with a light marinara sauce, this and a salad is a great meal ! "Stir fry" a hand full of some bean sprouts, brocolli, a sliced carrot, a diced red pepper, some ginger, a splash of soy sauce, saute'd with some oil - over rice, mmm ! add some chicken breast strips if ya want ..... just a few suggestions, the pasta dishes are from My Italian Mother in-law, oh yeah a nice bottle of red wine will compliment each meal...... :wave:

[JDL]

Yea, thanks Lee, for making this thread. Now, I can eat....

[Wewus432]

The best stove top burger can also be made from ground turkey. Add liberal amounts of Montreal Steak Seasoning to the meat and then form into patties, cook for twenty minutes or so, till done. You know how groud beef burgers shrivel up when you stovetop cook them, these burgers actually plump up and become one of the biggest, best, burgers you've ever had. You can use other seasoning but the Montreal Steak Seasoning is very, very, good. These aren't as good on the grill because they have very little fat. I use ground beef for grilled burgers.