In your broke college student days or in times where you had no money for food, what to you eat to get by?

Question

I know people who lived on Ramen noodles and another who ate refried beans and rice while in college.

There used to be a neighborhood friend of mine ate only rice and butter. I watched a show where an Irish chef said he had eaten "sugar sandwiches" which is just bread, butter, and sugar. I've done that before.

lol...I had that that Stone Soup book when I was young.

After arriving home from any kind of restaurant, mostly McDonalds and Pizzerias, my mom would perform magic tricks. She would make napkins appear from her purse. Sometimes she can even make packets of red pepper and parmesean cheese appear or salt and pepper shakers. The best trick was the Napkin dispenser..lol...This was the only thing that my mom did to make me embarassed. She also used to grab mini gummi bears for me to eat for later from the ice cream bar at Sizzlers. I used to joke with her saying she was the reason fast food places now use pump dispensers for ketchup. I'm sure this will also be the one thing i'll remember about her when she's gone.
:(
But the one thing i've never thought anyone would do was...take toilet paper from public restrooms. I was hanging out with my cousin and his college friends at UC Santa Cruz and they mentioned that some people do that.

Answer 1

Sphagetti with sauce made from Catsup and warm water

Ramen Noodles

White bread and dollar store peanut butter

Answer 2

Oh, I could go on a long time here, but I shall be merciful. Thank the stars for Jim's Hamburgers, where burgers could be had late at night for a dime....yeah, it was the mid-sixties, but the price was good even then. My college, The University of Wisconsin at Superior, had a food bank for students, just like the community food banks. Also, there were a number of great people who liked to help. One family in particular loved to play Scrabble and invited students over once or twice a week for grand meals and a lot of Scrabble. Perhaps there are still folks who do that sort of thing? If not, why not?

Some possibilities for you: Grocery salvage stores. Dumpsters are not that bad if you time it right (try asking the grocers or restaurants before the food gets to the dumpsters). You could try the Stone Soup effect (look up the story). Bakery clearance stores. Popcorn. Soups can be made from almost anything. And if you live near fields and forests, there are indeed many, many edible and delicious and nutritious plants available (fear not the geranium, the rose hip, the dandelion greens, or the nasturtium.) I am a vegetarian, but I would not mind if you went fishing. And, of course, there are Ramen noodles...often available for a dime or fifteen cents in salvage stores. I close with a smile of reminiscence: there was (maybe still is??) The Seagull Society (look it up).

Answer 3

The best and most nutritious food that a person can eat when pennyless is "soybeans". Get some of that and some rice and that should keep you going for a long time, and it's cheap too. Make sure you have some salt for seasoning. It also keeps the food better if you don't happen to finish it. I believe some farmers or supermarket owners give away soybeans if no one is buying. Bon apetite!

Answer 4

With my first husband, we lived off of Ramen noodles, and those cheap burritos you can buy in the grocery stores for something like 5 for $1 or 10 for $1 depending on the sales. We also lived off of hotdogs.

With my second husband, when we're hurting for money and short on food, we always turn to spaghetti (we always have sauce and noodles on hand), hotdogs, soup and grilled cheese, and eggs, and PB&J sandwiches.

My husband also loves ketchup and mayo sandwiches (I can't even stomache the idea).

Answer 5

Don't be too proud to ask for help. This is key. Raid your parents fridge during your next visit. Stock up on canned goods when they're 5/$1.00. Someone taking you out to eat? Have the waitress fill that bread basket several times and bring a big purse.....or a man bag. When you do have some extra cash, STOCK UP on killer sales...watch ads like a Vulture waiting for a squirell to run into the road.

Answer 6

im not in college, but i would go to wendys i here they have a huge variety of dollar menu burgers. or i would just hang out at a friends house right around lunch time, and stay when they are about to have some lunch and ask if you can eat with them, because you are starving. hehe play tricky mind tricks on people. or pay a visit to family and act like you came to see them and maybe stay for dinner?(get where im going here?)or better yet, i would just get a job maybe half time once a week, depending on how much work i have to do

Answer 7

Box Mac N Cheese

Answer 8

Well, when my kids were little and we didn't have a lot of money, at the end of the month we ate a lot of dishes made of beans, rice and pasta. large pots of ham and beans, chicken and rice, chilli and spaghetti. They go far with a big family and these types of foods are good as left overs.

Answer 9

Pop tarts, liverwurst and baloney sandwiches, Mac and cheese, MD 20-20 ("The Wine Of The Century")...

Answer 10

Tater tot casserole. Only has 4 ingredients: beef, mac-n-cheese, tater tots, cream of mushroom soup. You can eat a pan of that crap for a few days. Also, Ramen noodle soup, peanut butter sandwiches, hot dogs.