I don’t know where to post this, so I’m posting it here.
I need to gain some weight because I’m borderline anorexic. But I can’t afford much more than bread, potatoes, eggs and cheese, That is my diet. And I hate eating it. It’s the only thing I can stomach that is cheap, but I hate it. I don’t want to eat eggs and potatoes for the rest of my life. I would rather die of malnutrition, like I am currently doing.
I have no appetite, but that is a symptom of something else. Ideally, there is a way to gain weight while eating less mass. Something calorie dense.
I might be slightly exaggerating. But for the last couple of years I’ve been eating potatoes and eggs for almost every single meal of the day. And yes, I eat one warm meal a day. Sometimes I suppliment with some bread to stop the hunger pains. Sometimes I also eat a piece of vegetable.
Potatoes are actually super filling per calorie, one of the first and best foods I recommend for weight loss. The potatoes/eggs/cheese combo is especially filling, basically you’ve dialed into a budget conscious survival meal.
But you need to gain weight without spending much more money. What do you have to cook with? Knife cutting board pots pans stove?
First great option is soup. Pre fry aromatics directly in the pot (carrots, celery, onion, whatever you can get). Be HEAVY with oil, I recommend light olive oil. Heavier than you probably think with salt too. Then add mass (potatoes) and water. Dried lentils and split peas don’t need to be soaked overnight, just add them in and let them simmer for the last half hour. Tons of cheap calories and seasoning. Season with anything you have.
Then get into white rice. There’s a cost barrier here but if you can save up enough for a large 20lb bags the cost per meal is extraordinarily low. Tons of calories and doesn’t really fill you. Have it with the soup or as a bed under other veggies. Overdoing it with the rice can cause some health issues relating to blood sugar but it’s an extremely easy and cheap way to add 2-400 calories to a couple meals a day.
Check clearance for oily sauces. This is basically the reverse advice compared to weight loss - a lot of innocuously small jars can easily contain over 2,000 calories. If you can get them at 25% cost that’s a ton of weight gain potential and will help give you flavor variety and make your meals more calorific.
Just a few thoughts. Wish I could help, I know this situation sucks
Your sound advice and my visceral reaction to it have been a wakeup call for me. I need therapy ASAP. They need to cure my autism so that I can eat poor people food like I deserve. Because just thinking about eating lentils and peas makes me retch in disgust. I hate peas. And lentils are related to peas, so I hate them by association.
Thanks for the advice. Despite my reaction, it is more than reasonable. I will attempt consuming more nasty… nasty rice. School food really made me hate rice…
Just remember: the school rice is not your rice; make the rice your own with butter, tumeric, a little bullion cube or dust, maybe some black pepper. Those very basic spices are relatively cheap (typically less than $5 for all three).
Considering your teeth situation soup may be your best bet since they mostly have liquid and soft veggies, but consider this: the crappy peas/lentils/chickpeas or whatever you had previously can be made to your own personal taste standards until you think it tastes good.
You can put spices on rice? You have opened a new dimension of cooking to me. Why did I never think of that? Probably because I never seen anyone doing it. Or because I’m stupid. Depends on who you ask.
You can put spice, condiment and premade sauce on every thing. You can cook many thing with spice or condiment around it (rubed on or mixed in cooking water), the result will be different than added at the end.
Put a bouillon cube in the water with the rice while it’s cooking, a knob of butter on top when it’s almost done, and some tumeric when fluffing it. Add garlic you’re golden!
YOU CAN PUT SPICES ON EVERYTHING. YOU HAVE FREE WILL :D
If school made you sour on rice, I found the slightly pricier Jasmin rice to taste way different to the Basmati rice common in cafeterias. In a big sack, they’re both pennies per meal, though you should probably check if it’s to your taste with a smaller sample first.