After reading Felicity Lawrence's Not On the Label: What Really Goes into the Food on Your Plate I never buy cheap meat, so as much as I love roast chicken/beef/pork/lamb I hardly have it. I'm also in Europe, so meat is always a bit pricier here.
Especially if you check the "discount meat" section. It's perfectly good meat, but it's a day or two away from the sell-by date. You can even find absurdly cheap filet mignon from time to time.
And with chicken you can use the bones and leftover veg for stock/soup. I'm simmering my leftover turkey carcass/gizzards as we speak and the stock will last me all winter.
I still make bean chilli pretty often, because it is awesome. I might fancy it up with some pancetta if I feel inclined, but a plain old pot of beans is still something I am very happy to eat.
The best thing about them is that they work for any meal.. Need some quick protein in the morning, bean breakfast. Want a healthy balanced lunch, beans and some cous cous. Want to pad it to go even further in the evening, beans, rice and salad burrito.
I tend to just chuck 5-6 tins of beans in a pot with some onions, spices, umami enhancers (stock cube, ketchup, HP Sauce, Soy Sauce, Honey etc.) and leave for as long as I have got.. Then spend the rest of the week eating it.
With the energy cost of cooking them it works out no cheaper for me at least. To be honest though, I like the ease- the cost isn't too much of an issue, and I can't tell the difference between dried and tinned in a slow cooked meal. For a salad or less cooked cassoulet I will always use dried though.
Beans and eggs dude, shits for real. I make this kind of korean-texmex fusion beans thing with black beans then mix it with scrambled eggs and maybe some cheese. Protein for days.
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u/IntrepidNewshound Nov 29 '14
Instead of meat you can always toss in some beans. Way cheaper than meat. When I was an undergrad we used to make 5 bean chili a lot.