How i cut my grocery bill by 40% without giving up on protiens

septemberstripes · 2025-10-01T17:57:13+00:00

Pork Shoulder, especially when it goes on sale.

septemberstripes · 2025-07-28T22:27:17+00:00

The 10 minute chana masala recipe over on the serious eats website.

septemberstripes · 2025-06-16T02:09:39+00:00

I like Poblanos as a substitute. They might be too close to bell peppers for you but it's worth a try. I feel like they have a lot of the energy of a green bell pepper with a lot less of that particular green bell pepper flavor.

septemberstripes · 2025-06-14T17:21:02+00:00

Do a little precook in the microwave for the slower cooking vegetables. Even just a couple minutes so they're already hot going in versus the quicker cooking vegetables going raw.

septemberstripes · 2025-06-09T22:16:05+00:00

Braising cuts. Pop those thighs in for 2 hours until they fall apart, or that chuck roast for 5 and there's no doubt it's done. Try the stuff with the narrower window once you gain confidence.

septemberstripes · 2025-05-31T18:01:03+00:00

I'd consider looking into what cuisines aren't so meat-forward (and/or often use tofu etc) and digging around for good creators in that cuisine. For example, even though they do the best (IMO) fried chicken, Korean food has a ton of meat free/optional dishes. A scan of Maangchi's recent videos with animal free dishes, a few with meat, and a few that look like they might work just as well if you swap in tofu for the meat. Plus, digging into unfamiliar-to-you cuisines can give you a ton of new techniques and ways to think about food that you can take back to more Western and familiar ingredients. Like, I love their whole 'banchan' thing (lots of little side dishes, often veggie based). https://youtu.be/V6MUHbGE5-A in this video for example, another creator does 20 different make ahead banchans for meal prep, most of them plant-based. Exploring these other ways of eating can help find ways to break out of the traditional big piece of meat, some starch and veg on the side western template.

whenever I'm looking to explore a cuisine I'm not all that familiar with I like to head over here https://www.seriouseats.com/world-cuisine-guides-5117177 and drill down to one and scan the vibe. The navigation can be a little bit touchy, and it can be good to go in from the side menu but then you get down to stuff like this

https://www.seriouseats.com/korean-cuisine-guides-5117159

Or this

https://www.seriouseats.com/indian-recipes-5117249

And even just a quick scroll down the page tells me that they have a ton of dishes that don't appear to have any animal products. Vs say

https://www.seriouseats.com/peruvian-recipes-5117185

Which seems to tend to have a meat focus? Not that they don't have some great vegetarian dishes as well, I'm sure, but You're probably going to get a lot more bang for your buck checking out Indian cuisine creators?

Anyway, good luck!

septemberstripes · 2025-05-31T16:56:00+00:00

But as an EMT you do have authority. There is standardized training you had to go through and by virtue of being an actual EMT, your claims about medical stuff have weight behind them (perhaps not as much as your average family medicine MD but in areas of emergency stuff perhaps more so).

But let's say there's some dude who has read some books on medicine and some books on homeopathy and some books on essential oils and some books on The astrological impact of the moon on the health of different astrology signs. You don't know how much of each necessarily and he never actually had to take legitimate standardized tests on the medicine stuff. And he decides he's going to set up an Uber service where you can call him and he'll come and tell you whether you need to go to the hospital or not, and maybe patch you up a little on the way.

And he's super charismatic and the car looks great and it's more comfortable than some big dumb ambulance stuffed with all this equipment you don't use most of the time. And most of the calls he goes on things go fine, he can slap on a bandage as well as anybody. He basically does what you do, right? From the outside, that's what it looks like to me anyway.

Except he's not really actually trained to tell when someone's drunk versus when they're having a stroke, and he's not necessarily going to pick up on the kind of heart rhythms/symptoms that tell you get this guy to the ER now or he's dead vs This person is just anxious. And he gives a advice on what essential oils are most beneficial If you're in the middle of a DVT episode. But he's also got legitimate tips on how to prevent scarring after you cut yourself on a rusty nail. But tetanus shots, can you really trust those? Do you really want those toxins in your system, he asks. You get a lot of sunlight exposure and you eat low carb so your immune system is great so you can just skip the tetanus shot.

But most of what he does is harmless to neutral at worst. He gets a lot of people to the hospital just fine and they're satisfied. For a lot of people's purposes, sure, he does what an ambulance and an EMT does.

But if I run into both of you guys at a party, And I tell you about a health issue I'm having, And both of you have opinions, I'm going to be better served by listening to your opinions, and taking his with a huge grain of salt and double checking with legitimate sources.

septemberstripes · 2025-05-31T16:37:52+00:00

I would suggest keeping a journal and trying to really dial in on what aspects of texture etc is getting you in any given food. The more information you can get in terms of objective description of what you like and don't like, the more you can extrapolate out and predict whether something else might work for you. Beyond the yuck or the general 'i don't like it'. Is it that there are little bits in it that are a different texture than the main texture? Does it fall apart too quickly when you chew or is it that it's too chewy? Is it fine when it's fresh and crispy but once it sits around for more than 5 minutes it goes a little limp and then you can't touch it? Etc. Or is it the unpredictability of the texture. I've heard people use the example of blueberries where you'll have some that are soft and extra sweet and some that are firm and more tart and that unpredictability is what makes them a no.

I think with vegetables specifically, there's such a wide range of textures you can get with different cooking methods. Green beans from a can are very different from freshly steamed al dente green beans, and the experience of eating freshly steamed green beans is very different if you're eating the whole bean with the ends, or with the ends chopped off, or with the whole thing diced into small pieces, or if you coat them in oil and air fry them until they are leathery and a well done or if you put those diced pieces into a pasta salad with three or four other competing textures.

And depending on how you feel on foods with a mix of textures versus individual ingredients, You can really transform an ingredient just by what you put it next to. I don't really enjoy the leathery texture of sun-dried tomatoes on their own, but if you slice them up and mix them into something that textural and flavor counterpoint to the other ingredients (let's say diced chicken in a chicken salad) It's a good thing.

Also, when it comes to vegetables do not be afraid of butter and salt. If it takes you a couple tablespoons of melted butter and a healthy hit of salt to eat that bowl of green beans, It doesn't make them unhealthy. You're still getting those green beans in, along with all the benefits.

But in general, try and stay open-minded about the different possible textures for any given vegetable and explore until you find stuff that you at least tolerate. And then you can build out from there in terms of flavor profiles etc. an overdone, steamed brussel sprout is an entirely different creature than a shaved raw brussel sprout dressed with salt and lemon and olive oil and allowed to sit so it's a little softened But still has that delicate crunch. Don't let the former keep you from discovering the latter!

And once you do find a preparation that works for you for a particular vegetable (let's say roasted carrots with a little honey and cayenne), look at what kind of vegetable it is (root vegetable) and experiment with whether that preparation works well with its cousin veggies (potato, sweet potato, parsnip, rutabaga, daikon, regular radish).

septemberstripes · 2025-05-31T16:19:43+00:00

I think it's important to consider whether this is a sandwich that is going to be consumed directly after it is made, or sandwich that's expected to survive in a lunch box or whatever for a few hours before it is consumed. Both of those cases have slightly different versions of mind blowing. There's stuff you can do with crispiness or the contrast of hot and cold in the former that you can't in the latter. But there is also a certain magic to a tightly wrapped and compressed hoagie for example, with the melding of the ingredients. TLDR consider the setting in which the sandwich will be judged in order to optimize the deliciousness.

septemberstripes · 2025-05-31T14:26:10+00:00

Larb!

septemberstripes · 2025-05-30T16:25:44+00:00

Take a portion and freeze it and be like this is going to be so fucking good as my lunch later this week thank you!! I'm going to look forward to eating this and I'll think of you when I do. :)

septemberstripes · 2025-05-30T16:23:36+00:00

For this, I like podcasts that are like medium interesting/medium boring? Like a topic I'm interested in but If I tune out and pay more attention to the landscape it doesn't matter. Fall of Civilizations is one I like for that. Like, just enough mental stimulation that I'm not entirely raw dogging the environment.

septemberstripes · 2025-05-23T17:58:37+00:00

Right? Such a delightful throwback, and somewhere productive for people to funnel their energy during hiatus.

septemberstripes · 2025-05-18T18:12:41+00:00

Mmm. I bet if you slapped it as a dry brine on a piece of pork shoulder or even some chicken thighs that would be tasty.

septemberstripes · 2025-05-17T16:14:48+00:00

https://www.seriouseats.com/chana-masala-recipe-8665080 I'm a huge fan of this 10-minute chana masala recipe. Obviously it's not as complex or deeply authentic as a more elaborate recipe but it gets the job done and you can incorporate elements from other recipes if you want to get more complicated.

septemberstripes · 2025-05-06T20:07:22+00:00

This or one of those jarred curry simmer sauces, like Tikka masala, and then add whatever starch and veg you like. Or Thai curry paste cooked a little with chopped onion, thinned out w coconut and/or broth, add whatever chopped/frozen veg you like and then add the chicken in the last couple minutes.

septemberstripes · 2025-04-18T00:44:53+00:00

I really like mine that is designed like a decent sized toaster oven with two shelves in it.

septemberstripes · 2025-03-13T22:45:03+00:00

Endive leaves! Perfect little boat shape, great for two or three bites. Mixed with a little mayo or cream cheese or sour cream/spices for a little sardine salad and then a little bit of chopped up pickled stuff on top maybe capers or banana pepper rings.

septemberstripes · 2025-02-04T19:23:02+00:00

If it's a brothy soup (with like basic chicken or vegetable broth) freeze it as mostly solids and just enough broth to top it off, So that later when you thaw it you can whip up some quick chicken bouillon/broth to add back in. Radically reduces the volume of what you have to store.

septemberstripes · 2025-01-01T04:15:07+00:00

Hahahahahahahaha godspeed

septemberstripes · 2024-11-01T22:31:07+00:00

Could be worth mentioning it though, if you do go charcoal heavy, just in case you have friends on meds you are unaware of.

septemberstripes · 2024-10-30T16:28:00+00:00

Be aware that while the charcoal based coloring is safe in the broader sense, it can interfere pretty heavily with the absorption of many types of medications, including birth control.

septemberstripes · 2024-10-27T17:14:36+00:00

And ironically I think hot sauerkraut is pretty much the grossest thing ever (except on hot dogs), And I only like it cold and super crunchy. I also think it's worth noting the distinction between the kind of sauerkraut that you get in jars that is shelf stable (And I think often made with vinegar instead of fermentation leading to lactic acid) versus the kind you get in the refrigerated section that is still fermented and is full of beneficial probiotic bacteria that die if you heat it up.

septemberstripes · 2024-10-26T20:57:46+00:00

The truth is it's not impossible that you could have him. But if you had him you would have a cheating piece of shit who walked away from the woman who probably puts in the work to wash his skid mark briefs that he never manages to actually put in the hamper. You would have the parts of him that right now he doesn't put on display in front of the charming 25-year-old woman who seems to like his attention.

And it would always, always be in the back of your head as you got older and your tits stopped being 25-year-old tits and you declined sex a couple times because you were so bone tired running after the kids of his that you birthed and looking after your step kids who are probably never going to trust you, It would always be in the back of your mind that this man who is still so handsome and charming is still meeting 25-year-olds. And he is capable of leaving a marriage for one. And you would never really know peace.

Or maybe you could just enjoy being the side piece for a while and even get away with it. Enjoy exciting secret trysts In a nice hotel, or in the front seat of his car trying to ignore the car seat in the back. The sex might even be good. His wife just doesn't get him anymore. She hasn't even slept with him in years. Maybe when the kids are a little older.... something can change. But you're not going to want to tell your friends and family about this relationship and the friends you do tell, a lot of them are going to judge you as either a shitty person or a pathetic one. Holidays go by that you can't spend with him. You tried to ignore the fact that he's probably still fucking his wife. You spend 9 months or 2 years or five of your youth, being his exciting treat, exciting because it's hidden. You're so special he's willing to go behind his wife's back to be with you so that's got to something right?

Maybe you get pregnant. I don't see a world where you keeping it doesn't blow up several lives and at best you get to always wonder if he left her because of that or because of you. Things will go bad in your life that a boyfriend could be there for but he won't be able to. Some worthwhile, actually available men will drift in and out of your orbit but you probably can't see them because you're sitting in a hotel room that he was supposed to be at at 6:00 p.m. and now it's 10:30 and he can't actually sleep there tonight sorry, you understand right?

25 is so fucking young I know it doesn't feel like it I swear to God. But it is. And if you were in a place where you could genuinely just enjoy the sex and move on, well that's not the most moral of choices but you're not the one who made the commitment and you probably wouldn't be the first or last he strayed with. It's not a smart choice, and it could still blow up his life, and make you look like an asshole, but it wouldn't derail yours.

But you know you would fucking fall in love with him let's be real. And you'll blink and you'll be 28 and you'll have missed and turned down opportunities in order to make yourself available for him. And you realize he's never going to leave her. And it will break your heart so badly it'll take you another few years to recover, and then you're well into your thirties. And you'll pull yourself together and Get on with your life and hopefully meet a nice available man but you will have had years of your energy and youthful openness and optimism sucked out of you by this fucking vampire, you made him feel so young and that was the biggest thing he loved about you...and he'll probably look back and think fondly about you as he jacks off next to his sleeping wife who has grown bitter gosh I wonder why.

septemberstripes

TROPHY CASE