Category: meals

Childhood poverty is no joke.

But there are certain aspects of growing up poor that people actually enjoy that upper and middle class kids usually don’t experience.

One of those is the so-called “poverty meal”—a go to quick meal for when you’re really broke made from inexpensive pantry staples like macaroni, rice, potatoes and canned goods.

The dubiously named Redditor laced-with-arsenic asked:

“What’s your favorite poverty meal that you still eat regardless of where you are financially?”

Steak Fingers

“Grew up poor, but my mom sure knew how to stretch a dollar. She would make steak fingers out of the cheapest meat cuts she could find.”

“Tenderize, fry them up make gravy out of the drippings and serve with mashed potatoes. The whole meal probably cost less than 5 bucks in 70s dollars, and I’m telling you nothing tasted better.”

“I made it for my kids when they were growing up and they still ask me for it sometimes. She would be 94 today.”

“Love you, miss you mom.” ~ markarlage

Cereal

“Bowl of cereal.” ~ ApocalypseSpokesman

“My nephew was so excited when he realised that people ate cereal for meals other than breakfast.”

“Didn’t have the heart to tell him.” ~ lilithpingu

“A bag of generic cereal is like 5 or 6 bucks. That’s easily 10-15 meals at least.”

“A gallon of milk where I live is 3 bucks. And that’s good for like 10 bowls of cereal.”

“That comes out to less than a dollar per meal.”

“Add in a banana or toast and you hit at a dollar per meal. Super cheap.” ~ bhfroh

Quesadillas & Chilaquiles

“I’m Mexican. For us, it’s usually quesadillas without meat, rice and black beans as the sides.” ~ Reddit

“For us it’s usually chilaquiles.” ~ mattylou

“Bruh, we can’t even explain to the internet how cheap and tasty chilaquiles are.” ~ SteamFoxx

“Enfrijoladas.” ~ Bob__Kazamakis

“My girlfriend is Mexican and she makes this for us. It’s so wonderful. Homemade everything.” ~ yabaquan643

Sh*t On A Shingle

“Shit on a shingle? Sausage gravy served over toast.” ~ phenomagasm

“SOS! My mom made the gravy from scratch, just flour, butter, milk, and pepper, and used sliced corned beef instead. Mmmmmmm!!” ~ motherfuqueer

“Chipped beef on toast!! My mom was literally the only person I knew who ever made this.” ~ 910ee

“We ate this growing up and we weren’t poor. My mom was very poor growing up.”

“This was comfort food for her. We’d have it once or twice a year in the winter.”

“I still love it and ask her to make it when I visit.” ~ StarryEyes8194

Potatoes

“Boiled potatoes and butter. Don’t care if I am rich or poor that is my go to snack.” ~ dapornaddict

“Aww man this hits hard. Was living alone in London didn’t have much money at all.”

“I’d hit up Aldi get a full chicken for £1.75, a broccoli for 55p, and some potatoes for 55p.”

“I’d make a full roast like a king and still have potatoes to boil and have with butter after. So f’king good.” ~ EnemiesAllAround

“My family does something similar. Put some red skin potatoes, fresh green beans, chicken stock, and seasonings in a pot (or slow cooker) and simmer it for an hour or more.”

“Use a slotted spoon to put some in a bowl, then add a bit of stock and plenty of butter. It’s heaven.” ~ FitChemist432

“Fried eggs with fried potatoes.” ~ MrOtero

“The only meal Romanian dads knew how to cook when mom was away.” ~ Fabulini

“Ukrainian too. My old man can’t cook for sh*t, but I loved every time he made that.” ~ ExtraBitterSpecial

“Same for my Russian dad. I miss his fried potatoes and eggs.” ~ BarefootHippieDesign

“Oven-baked potatoes with salt and margarine.”

“Cheap ingredients found in almost every home and easy to make. Also, the starch in potatoes makes you feel full for pretty long.” ~ trashturmoilavocado

“I’m Irish and that is my go-to.”

“I can cook potatoes 100 ways.”

“I could have made a 5lb bag of potatoes last a week in my university days.” ~ guinnesshappy

Macaroni

“We called it ‘Ghetto Mac’ where you make some pasta and add in whatever you can find in the fridge or cabinets. Cheese, lunch meat, spam, spices, etc…”

“No two meals were ever the same.” ~ RhondaTheHonda

“We always called it poverty pasta.” ~ TehGogglesDoNothing

“We called that white trash casserole.” ~ WonBigMayor

“We always just called it goulash even though it doesn’t resemble traditional goulash at all.” ~ koolaideprived

“Called it goulash. Usually ground beef, stewed tomatoes and a can of vegetables in elbow macaroni but my mom had been known to do hot dogs, ham, sausage or just extra veggies.”

“Goulash is traditionally a soup but this was more of a casserole.” ~ Urithiru

“All this time I didn’t even know it had a name we would just do this to try to make a meal.” ~ JtDeluxe

Dal

“Dal.”

“Aside from tumeric you can buy all the ingredients for less than $2 a pound.” ~ Spam-Monkey

“Oh yeah! Dal is magic. Lentils in general deserve more love.”

“They are SO GOOD FOR YOU, and are delicious. They make a great meat substitute if you’re broke or just want to go meatless.” ~ tomboyfancy

“As an Indian, I see where you’re coming from, but I really never saw it that way before.” ~ RupesSax

“Dal by itself? Nah. But khitchdi? Now you’re talking! My favourite comfort food.” ~ hsihsadna

Squash

“We used to eat (zucchini or yellow neck) squash and eggs growing up. Grew the squash and eggs are cheap enough, or trade with the neighbors.”

“You just cut the squash into thin round and cook in a pan with a little oil until they’re just soft. Scramble the eggs with the squash, add a bunch of pepper, some salt.”

“Sometimes we ate it over noodles or rice.” ~ _Not-A-Monkey-St_

Soup

“Egg drop soup: – 1 quart chicken stock – 1 tbsp soy sauce – 1 tbsp corn starch – 1 inch grated ginger – whisk in 2 eggs – green onions sprinkled.” ~ csaszarcasa

“Soup boiled down with rice to bulk it up.” ~ StanMarsh02

“Dump a can of your favorite condensed ‘cream of’ atop a cup or two of rice. Best damn comfort food when you’re sick.” ~ Stargate525

“My grandma (who grew up during WWII) taught me that you can make soup from almost anything.”

“At least once a week I just throw a bunch of scrap veggies, left over meat, rice and whatever other random bits are left over from the week’s meals into a pot with some stock, boil it all together and bam.” ~ Reddit

PB & Sometimes J

“Peanut butter sandwich.” ~ Thinkpad200

“Nothing beats a good ole-fashioned PB&J, hold the J” ~ rezamwehttam

“My oldest son (about 4) would always say ‘I want a cooked peanut butter and jelly sandwich’, which meant peanut butter and jelly on toast.

“My middle son (about 2) would proceed to say ‘I want the same thing but not cooked and no jelly’.”

“I’d say so a peanut butter sandwich? ‘NO, I WANT A PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY NOT COOKED WITH NO JELLY!’” ~ ImNotBettyBoopg

“I had a PB&J recently and felt like a f’king fool! Why did I stop eating these when I became an adult?”

“Society lead me to believe this was the way. It is not!”

“Been having PB&J a couple nights a week since. I refuse to let societies unenlightened views dictate my dinner choices!”

“PB&J is a top tier dish for any occasion.” ~ Iminurcomputer

There are definitely regional and cultural differences. Many enduring comfort foods also qualify as poverty meals.

The recipes remain popular because they’re simple, quick and inexpensive.

What are the poverty meals you still love?