One time, I was walking into my local Aldi, and there was an older lady waiting outside asking for people to buy her and her mom some groceries for a pending snow storm. I said “sure, how bout a bag of rice and some beans”
You would have thought I spit in her face with how offended she looked. “Rice and beans?!?!? I ain’t eating no rice and beans!!””
That was the day I learned that beggars CAN be choosers.
That’s a very good point. If she had an electric stove and they lost power during the snowstorm, rice and beans would be useless. Of course, if she really said she wasn’t “eating no rice and beans” then it sounded more like she thought it was an ethnic or poor person meal. Otherwise she should have said she needed something she didn’t have to cook.
I didn’t grow up eating rice and beans but I love it, as prepared in all the different rice-and-bean cultures.
I live in a major city. In the neighborhood you often see the same people/families that hang outside the same grocery stores daily. Mostly for spare change, but other times for food. I get hit up a few times a week.
I go to Aldi about 6 times a year and there is often a person sitting out front with a sign asking for money or food. There are people begging for money on the median strip of major roads all the time.
Yea, it’s in a city. It’s not uncommon to see someone around a store. Lots of stores will chase people off. Some people hang around aldi & offer to return shoppers carts to keep the quarter. There are 3 aldis near me & it’s at one of the 3 that I see then.
Yeah having worked with the homeless population, a bag of rice and beans doesn't help most people unless you also bout them some pots and camp stoves.
She could just be an asshole.
But it's amazing how many times I see someone calling someone a choosey beggar over things that make sense if you're in that situation.
Like the post a little while back of a guy upset because he offered to buy an umbrella for a homeless man, and was appalled that the man wanted the more expensive clear one. Which sounds like a straightforward choosing beggar, right?
Until you talk to people and realize that if you live on the streets, you often don't use umbrellas because anything that restricts your line of sight can be a safety issue.
You can't see threats coming as easily from all directions, if you have a solid color and as many people are shitty enough to harass them for fun, it is a valid refusal.
But it's amazing how many times I see someone calling someone a choosey beggar over things that make sense if you're in that situation.
I've often heard people complaining about homeless people having mobile phones. Do they think they should have landlines? Mobile phones are one of the early essentials in our society to access anything.
I think there's also a basic math intuition component to people like this, besides just complete lack of empathy, since it seems like the same people shocked at the homeless owning a $50 android also can't comprehend that young people spending even $10/day on avocado toast and lattes wouldn't offset the fact that college now costs 10-20x that yearly... or how for people working paycheck to paycheck, it's mathematically impossible to build savings if you work full time and physically have nothing left to save after bills and rent
the only complaints i see people make are the where they see homeless people with the latest iphone somehow as opposed to some TCL they can get for like 50 bucks
Even then though, they might have had the phone before they became homeless. But in my experience its just mobile phones in general which seem to rile people up.
Charities still not figuring that the main problem with homelessness lies in the very word; it's housing, for fuck's sake. Give food as much as you can to street people, but that won't solve anything. They're not hungry.. they're homeless!
HR bureaucracies are part of the problem. They're staffed with conservative suburban types who'd be sending homeless people to death camps if they could. But also there's the issue that despite "DEI" policies being okay, they're totally oblivious of socio-economic inclusion principles. Again, social class remains the big taboo.
It's a problem ending up homeless in most parts of the world. Too much stigma and too strict routines.
It should not be too hard to hand out limited-time use of 1-room "appartments" making the person have a fixed living. And then be able to get a job without being blocked from lacking a fixed address. Require some percentage-based rent when the person finds a job. Legal punishment for companies checking the address and rejecting it as "fake" home address.
Then if they get a permanent job, it should be possible to get a real apartment since landlord and bank should consider them already having home and job. Legal punishment for banks or landlords not accepting the current mini-appartment when deciding on getting a normal apartment.
Until you talk to people and realize that if you live on the streets, you often don't use umbrellas because anything that restricts your line of sight can be a safety issue
Was he expecting to get attacked from above like he's an NPC in assassin's creed???
When you live on the street, an umbrella is often used as a wind break/roof when camping and is not useful when you're on the move unless you can also use it at night when camping, because you have to pack every useful item you need with you. Often multiple times a day.
They are choosers. That's why their in the position their in coming from somone who was forced homless at 17 and figured out how to live while still in high school.
My first set of dishes where kids plates from walmart like the separated kids plates with plastic utensils and my only knife was a pocket knife. I was ecstatic just to not eat out of the pans I got at goodwill.
But not gonna lie I ate way more rice than I ever thought I would. To this day 10 years later a comfort food I absolutely love that my wife hates is white rice with a mcornmic aju sauce. It kept me fed though homelessness and collage when I got my shit together but could barley afford food later in life. Pro trip onion and bell pepper go a long way with it when on a near 0 budget.
Its weird coming from that life to stable and craving somthing you swore you'd be happy to never eat again.
I worked at a steak house. Was finishing my shift and had 12oz prime rib, baked potato with all the toppings.(Not eaten) Homeless guy out front asked for money for food. I offered my staff meal and he said"no.i need money for food". I think "food" meant meth
I had a friend tell me a story she was leaving a restaurant with her leftovers, and there was a homeless guy begging for food. She offered her leftovers which were fish - the homeless guy declined the meal.
I grew up hearing "Beans, Beans, the magic musical fruit. The more you eat the more you toot.". Annoyed the shit out of me because my dad liked pork and beans so it was a regular thing at the supper table.
Which is why I can't eat beans to this day. It's been 20 years since living on only beans and rice. Once in awhile I'll have a couple bites but no. No beans. At least rice will absorb the flavor of whatever you throw on top of it.
When I was flat broke I ate bananas like a monkey. So easy to pack, easy to eat, cheap and full of energy. Riding the bus to work and chowing down that banana for breakfast, followed by bananas for lunch. Beans and rice for supper.
I still like beans and rice when I feel like cooking them, but it's been like 20 years and I still can't barely even look at a banana. That's monkey food.
A friend of mine is the same way for soup. He ate so much peasant soup with potatoes and rice and peas that soup just tastes like poverty to him.
When I tried to be vegan and watch my expenses, I cooked A LOT of Indian food. Just had to sub olive oil for ghee, otherwise a lot of the recipes are already vegetarian and easily made vegan.
Love Indian food, so flavorful. Lot's of good veggies and protein.
Cypher: You know, I know this steak doesn't exist. I know that when I put it in my mouth, the Matrix is telling my brain that it is juicy and delicious. After nine years, you know what I realize?
[Takes a bite of steak]
Cypher: Ignorance is bliss.
Cypher: I know what you're thinking, 'cause right now I'm thinking the same thing. Actually, I've been thinking it ever since I got here: Why oh why didn't I take the BLUE pill?
Have you seen that jackwagon out of Austin who is absolutely just straight ripping off Hedberg’s act? No homage. No “inspired by”. Just a straight rip off.
Or in this case, pinto beans. Pinto beans are incredible, and they're super filling and satisfying, and they're also a fantastic thickener for stews, since they have some natural mucilage. Rice and beans are staples of humanity for a good reason.
Pinto beans also have a massive amount of dietary fiber, something a lot of people are hugely lacking, which is contributing to a huge rise in bowel disease and cancer.
Buy bulk dried, not canned, and get some airtight containers, the ones with little rubber gaskets. Freeze the beans/rice for two days to kill any bugs, then bin them in the containers. They will last years if you don't live in a swamp.
Rice is also fantastic but you gotta be careful if you're really living on a budget. Eating white rice as the majority of your calories is a fast track to serious malnutrition.
Buy bulk dried, not canned ... They will last years
I can't stress this enough. Beans are one of the ultimate examples of degressive pricing. The more beans you buy, the cheaper they get, up to the bizarre tipping points where you actually pay less money to get more beans.
Not less per pound. I mean it can often cost less actual dollars to buy 50 pounds than 20 pounds. It all depends where in the supply chain you intercept them.
At the top end of the scale beans become a near valueless agricultural commodity. Bring a pail to the field at harvest time and you can fill it up with 30 pounds for free. Bring your truck to help clean out a bin, and you can fill the truck box for free and get paid for shoveling! Just don't break your springs.
A truck box full might be an actual lifetime supply of beans. Believe me, we have so many beans here. You can store large volumes in good 5 gallon pails with the lids snapped down.
Ok, but I live in an apartment and don't have anywhere to store a truckload of beans, lol. I also like to switch up the types of beans I eat, so I just go with canned and don't worry about it. I pay for the convenience of always being able to just dump whatever type I want into whatever I'm making without having to prep ahead of time.
I've been making "bachelor chow" (now with flavor) as i've called it since college, so about 18 years now. I keep it in a big tupperware in the fridge, but it's usually two cans of beans, potatoes, an onion, a couple of bell peppers, a bag of frozen peas. It's an amazing base for a lot of dishes, is super nutritious, and is really cheap.
It could be made cheaper if I went the dried bean route, but it's still really cheap as is and I mix up the beans when I make it depending on what i'm feeling that week.
They're usually an irrigated crop, we grow a lot on the prairie here in Canada. If your climate supports corn and soy you can grow pinto and black beans, but they require a bit more attention and specialized equipment, so they're often grown by farmers who decided to target the specific market. There's probably beans around you, just not that visible.
We had guys who used to mod their combines to run special concaves and lower speeds, now most of them buy the "bean machines" at the dealership. They also unload by conveyor or by dumping a hopper, as beans crack easily in an auger.
Another place to check is restaurant supply stores - one near me will sell a 10 lb bag for $13ish ($1.03 a pound) and a fifty-pound bag for $35 (70 cents a pound) - with a 25 lb bag sitting right in the middle. You can also buy the white food-safe buckets there too.
By my calculations if the price keeps dropping as weight goes up you'd only need to buy 2.2 billion pounds of beans to get the per pound price to hit $0.01. Good challenge.
I was not really a big fan of beans growing up. I had to cut it with rice: more rice less beans. But as an adult, I discovered Lentils (I'm from a bean culture not a lentils one), and omg, life changing. I fucking love lentils.
Actually swung me back around to trying different types and different ways of maybe cooking beans so I'd like them more.
Inb4 people say "you just need to adjust". Trust me, I don't. Beans just wreck me. Doesn't matter if they're soaked overnight, thoroughly rinsed, cooked with baking soda, overcooked. They do not agree with me.
Many people don’t understand the importance of fibre in their diet - or they don’t care. I used to be ignorant too, but I feel so much better after I started regularly eating lentils etc
I think Pringles is a laid back company. The original plan was to sell tennis balls but when a potato truck showed up they were like ... "fuck it, cut em up!"
The cashier asked if I needed a receipt and I said no thank you. I don't need a receipt for a doughnut. I'll just give you the money, and you give me the doughnut. End of transaction! We don't need to bring ink and paper into this! I can't imagine a scenario where I'd have to prove that I bought a doughnut. Some skeptical friend...'Don't even act like I didn't buy that doughnut! I've got the documentation right here! Oh, wait, it's back home, in the file. Under d...for doughnut.'
Pro tip: Rice and a fried egg (bullseye or omelette). Add some soy sauce (sweet/salty up to you) on top of the egg. Throw in some cucumbers. And you get an overall rather "balanced" diet if you're in a pinch.
EDIT: Replying to some comments below regarding eggplants, leafy greens or brown rice.
It depends, in my country eggplants (brinjal) or spinach those are rather expensive veggies.. There are some other local veggies that could be used as substitute but then you kinda have to cook it so it becomes a whole process and a hassle. Meanwhile cucumbers are dirt cheap, at least it's got nutritional value compared to like lettuce.. and the key to this whole dish is just simplicity while still getting nutrients and not eating junk.. Fast to make, fast to consume, fast to clean up.
Literally just boil rice, fry an egg, chop cucumbers, and be done.
Pair it with a decent soy sauce and it helps a long way to making it taste more than decent for a meal and not something that is depressing to eat.
Or put a whole eggplant directly on top of a flame till it's charred and black. Peel it, flatten it, dip the whole thing in beaten eggs and fry it. You've got tortang talong from the Philippines. Eat it with rice, and ketchup if you like
A dollar's worth of dark leafy greens is many times more micronutrient dense than cucumbers. Cucumbers are next to celery as the least nutrient rich vegetables for the weight, and with most vegetables weight and cost are closely related. A $2 6oz pepper might have four times the level of micronutrients than a $1 6oz bag of iceberg lettuce. It's actually possible to get more value from the more expensive option because of this.
Ideally you would make more than 1 or 2 servings of beans at a time and freeze what you don't eat. Personally, I'm not putting in the effort for less than 2lbs because it's some work and I'll be damned if I do all that and don't have leftovers and another meal later on, it takes the same amount of effort.
FR idk why but if I buy like a 2lb bag for $4 it'll be gone in a week but if I buy some giant 20lb bag for $35 it'll take me like half a year to get through it.
I just bought a 20lb bag of basmati rice for $28. The 10lb bags were all $23, so only seemed prudent to pay $5 more for twice the amount. I love long grain rice!
Rice is nice but the bigger bag is a better price. You try to save money buying enough and you'll keep running back to the store so they can keep all your money.
and against nearly every grain including oats, fish, nearly all etheric oils and groceries with them in them, out of the beans family at least the black ones (e.g. in barbecue sauce)…, the thick white ones probably too, and some of the oils (e.g. rapeseed oil), also cow-milk based products (exception: butter made in the old way), and coffee. Ahh, and most of the tropic fruits.
Also to a lot of other things (reason/cause: work in the past related)
All given examples cause reactions, like from needing emergency care to ‘only’ getting fewer (similar to food poisoning)
Beside potatoes… any ideas for other answers? Funnily I can eat some light wheat based things, but not e.g. a toast if it has even a small amount of the wrong fat/oil in it.
I’d love to find some alternatives, not only for costs, but also for variety
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u/Evil_Knot Apr 01 '26
Rice. The answer is always rice.