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.
As someone who’s been cooking every meal with what is largely the same four to five ingredients for the past six months due to the economic situation here, I can say with confidence that varying preparation methods and spice profiles is key to thriving in spite of repetition.
Potatoes like the ones in your picture? Use them to make something akin to boxty: https://donalskehan.com/recipes/boxty-irish-potato-pancakes/
Unless you’re planning to make mash, though, you might benefit more from a method other than boiling your potatoes. Baking is far less effort and if you don’t feel like sticking them in the oven for an hour, you can microwave them for 6 minutes or so in a 1,000 watt microwave (if theyre still not soft, use more time).
What kind of bread are you working with?
Eggs, potatoes, cheese, and “bread” (traditionally tortillas, but wheat flour is wheat flour) are primary ingredients for a breakfast burrito. Splash of cumin, pinch of paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt (maybe a tiny pinch of chili powder, cilantro, oregano, annato, and coriander if you have them, or lime juice, or tomato) if you can squish the bread flat and warm it in a pan a little you can slightly crisp up one side for texture and make an improv breakfast burrito sandwich.
Polish https://eatingeuropean.com/authentic-polish-pierogi-potatoes-cheese/
Or even
Japanese https://www.kaveyeats.com/hokkaido-potato-cheese-dumplings-chizu-imomochi
Kitchens have been known to make potato cheese dumplings. Make the innards and serve as a spread on pan-fried (low heat) bread if you can’t make the dumpling exterior. (Edit – just saw that you said you’re from an eastern european country and I just recommended dumplings. LOL. That’s like asking an american if they’ve ever eaten a hot dog. I feel a tad silly. )
Italian potato frittata: https://cookingitalians.com/the-classic-italian-potato-frittata/
I’m sure someone has reccomended a Potato cheese omelette, but you can do those lots of ways, from a souffle omelete (separate eggs, whip the whites into stiff peaks, then fold in the yolks so it’s super fluffy) to gyeran-mari type rolled omelette https://www.koreanbapsang.com/gyeran-mari-korean-rolled-omelette/
Got sugar? Tired of eating bread in bread form?
French Toast Casserole: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/240502/easy-french-toast-casserole/
I’ll edit the post to add more if I think of them, but I’m not awake yet.
Edit – just read your comment about the sugar tax. Boo :(
And about boiling being cheaper. (which is weird to me because boiling water is one of the most energy expensive methods of cooking when i go camping, but that might be due to wind, and as you said, circumstances are different in your area of the world, so boiling it is )
I saw rapeseed oil mentioned, got any other ingredients handy that you’re willing/able to use without causing family strife?
Even seemingly minor ingredients can make a big difference.
I’ll see what I can come up with for ideas.
Cook with real Butter, and learn how to make all the potato foods you can; hash browns, big steak chips to small fries, mash with a bit of milk and butter, jacket potaotes stuffed with things like beans and cheese, try see if the act of cooking something new helps build an appetite by association.
Another food to go for is purple sweet potato, not only is it delicious its genuinely full of nutrients.
Another method is finding a cheap soylent recipe and having a bottle of that every day to supplement your calories without being unbalanced.
https://www.completefoods.co/diy/recipes?sort=favoritesCount
This site has a whole list of varying types, including from expensive to cheap
https://www.completefoods.co/diy/recipes/sean-superfood-v3
For example this one is for making gains in the gym but the calorie excess would still help if you’re only eating once a day.
The recipe says it can be modified to replace the maltodextrin with rice flour (and imo the stevia for actual sugar or honey if you’re like me and can’t stand the taste of sweeteners)
Flour should be in your budget. Learn how to make a pan fried wheat tortilla - super quick and easy. Then you can look up Turkish flatbread or Italian focaccia. That will spice up your routine.
Fried potatoes, refried potatoes (from boiled leftovers).
Make sauces with nothing but a bit of butter, flour, instant buillon cube/powder. Optional: cream, milk, onions, garlic, anything that was left in the pan from something you just fried.
You can also steam some potatoes with canned meat in a pot.
But onion - I think - would be a great game changer.
And if you can plant some rosemary or thyme in a garden or pot on the windowsill. Those are hardy plants and won’t likely die on you and they taste amazing with potatoes, especially freshly picked.If you’re eating only plain boiled potatoes, I feel for you. No wonder you don’t want to eat.
If you can, get real butter and 33% cream and learn how to make silky smooth mashed potatoes. Lightly fried bacon chunks and onion scallions also go really well in that. I could easily down an entire pot of mashed taters done just right.
The problem you may also experience is that white bread by itself, while you are chronically malnourished, may bring on Type 5 diabetes. And white bread has almost no nutritional value. You really need to up your proteins and macronutrients. Expensive if you rely on meat, cheap AF if you work with beans and lentils.
If you can afford flour, you can create a lot of dishes that are much healthier and even more fattening than plain white bread. Any German will know of Spätzle, especially when it’s drowned in butter and three or four types of melted cheese.
And a cheap or free crock pot, along with ground beef (which can be cheap), can allow you to make many dishes with beans or lentils that will allow you to gain weight.
Good luck.
Mashed potatoes and whole wheat or multi grain bread
Fermented grains and potatoes may help you gain weight at an accelerated rate without all the pesky eating. You can batch making calories in multiple gallon quantities. Set uqp and processing are about as expensive as adding an extra week or two into the monthly food budget and are rapidly diffused over time. You can serve yourself hot, cold or in between!
it will be hard if its only sugar, you need fatty foods too.
Someone recommended you setup a donation link for a more varied diet… I second that.
Have you had your Vitamin B1 levels checked? Asking for two reasons, one is your diet seems like it would be low in thiamine, the second is thiamine deficiency can cause or exacerbate a lot of conditions that cause low or no appetite.
Like half of America is thiamine deficient, so I am sure the supplement would be helpful to you. If you DM me I would buy it for you.
First, if you can, try eating the potatoes with the skins. Less food waste, less time peeling, and it’s where most of the nutrients and fiber are.
Next, consider something like canned beans. Not “baked beans” because those are mostly sauce and honestly kinda gross. Like a can of black beans or chickpeas or red beans or black-eyed peas. You can season them however you’d like, but they’re good plain too. Versatile and can pair with almost anything. High in protein and fiber. And they’re affordable.
Another option is dried beans which are the cheaper option per bean but they’re more work to prepare because they need to soak. Lentils don’t need to soak though, and a pound of dried lentils isn’t too pricey.
If you can afford whole grain bread, it really does have much more nutrients than white bread. If you have a high metabolism, your body is just going to burn off all the empty carbs from white bread. Butter can add some easy fats too.
Oatmeal is another affordable option. Not the packets. Get the giant cylinder of instant oats. It’ll last you many meals, and all it takes is some hot water. You can adjust to your preferred consistency, whether you like it thick and clumpy or a bit more soupy is up to you.
If you can eat nuts, find one you like and get a big bag of them. Larger quantities are usually cheaper by weight. Walnuts are pretty affordable. Lots of omega-6 fatty acids. You can even crush them up and put them in your oatmeal if you like that.
If you’re not opposed to poultry, you can get a carton of chicken broth and drink maybe half a pint of it at a time. Heat it up first of course. It’s very gentle on the stomach and can stimulate an appetite. Also provides lots of good fats which are what your body needs if you want to put on weight and keep it on.
If you don’t eat meat, then vegetable or mushroom broth could do for stimulating appetite, just be aware that the fat content will be lower.
That’s mostly what I can think of. If you have troubles with digestion you might want to consider live foods/probiotics like yogurt, miso, stuff like that. A little bit pricier but it can make a big difference if your GI tract just doesn’t feel right. And again the larger containers are usually cheaper by volume.
Wait why are we suggesting more fiber to someone trying to gain weight? Fiber makes you feel full easier without giving you any real calories. Like… some of those are really good suggestions for losing weight for someone with a big appetite. However, OP said they have a small appetite and want to gain weight.
Because fiber is still important regardless of one’s weight goals. It also aids in digestion meaning OP will absorb nutrients more efficiently, instead of pooping most of it out. They said they’re on a budget, so why would they want the food they eat to go right through them without nourishing?
Besides, more full = eat less = groceries stretch further. So fiber is important for someone on a budget, even without counting the nutritional benefits.
Look, for just about every other case, I’d recommend eating a bunch of fiber, however:
It also aids in digestion meaning OP will absorb nutrients more efficiently, instead of pooping most of it out
I assure you, people can easily get most of the nutrients from food without fibers. In fact, overweight people don’t usually eat much fiber at all.
Besides, more full = eat less = groceries stretch further
Again, talking about a person who already has zero appetite and is at an unhealthy low weight, at least according to themselves. Eat less = die of malnutrition at this rate.
Overweight doesn’t necessarily equate to over-nourished. Someone can be overweight and still have malnutrition. Fiber is important for everyone, regardless of body type.
Also, eating a fiber-rich diet isn’t going to kill anyone, even if they are recovering from anorexia and need to put on weight. Feeling satisfied sooner because of the fiber content in a meal isn’t the same thing as eating nothing. And it’s more nourishing than low-fiber options.
Plus, in terms of gastrointestinal health, fiber can significantly improve appetite over time. So using no appetite as a reason to avoid fiber is a bit counter-intuitive.
Regardless, ideally OP will consult with their doctor and follow their advice. Lemmy isn’t the place to get critical medical guidance. But when it comes to tips on simple, easy-to-digest foods to eat on a budget, which is what was asked for, I’ve offered my input. Beyond that, I’m not here to defend a thesis.
Beans also complete protein with potatoes. Humans should always easy beans with some carb. Rice, bread, potatoes, yams, corn.
You still need fiber though. It woud be remiss to give this person a recommendation without considering nutrients. You can’t live entirely on bread and potatoes without supplementing other things.
Person said they’re borderline anorexic and have no appetite. Person might literally not get enough calories if they up their fiber intake.
Hey my dude, you need some recipes and some mental health. Im happy to help on both fronts if you need.
Eggs and potatoes are easily the two most versatile substances on the planet, other ingredients to make them into things are actually equally as cheap, spices look expensive until you realize that $4 lasts up to 6 months. To add to that, I was once an incredibly picky eater and found personally and through feeding others that, outside of phobia and dietary constraints, the majority of food preferences is based on a history of bad cooking. Give me deets on your dietary limits and I’ll give you every recipe I know. If there’s anything you’re willing to experiment with, I’ll teach you everything you need to enjoy it. Anything from dry beans, to tofu, to grinding your own amaranth or acorns for flour.
If you’re in the western world, mental health services are decently accessible, even in the US without insurance. Shoot me a DM me your location and situation and I’ll do all the leg work, all you’ll have to do is make the appointment.
As for the information provided, the recipe that springs to mind is cheese gnochi bites.
You’ll need 3 large russet potatoes 2 eggs 1 cup shredded chedder or other strong cheese 1 cup flour Salt, pepper, garlic to taste Oil to fry in
Microwave the potatoes until baked, immediately shock in cold tap water and peal by hand. (fantastic trick for any mashed potatoes as it not only takes less time but does not add any moisture leading to fluffier potatoes)
In a large bowl, mash the potatoes and add the cheese, mix so that the cheese melts and spreads evenly.
Once incorporated, feel mix, if still hot, let it cool until luke warm or cool to the touch then mix in the eggs and spices.
Finally, add flour until it holds together when scooped.
Heat oil on medium in either a pot or skillet depending on oil availability and intended shape.
If using a pot with at least an inch of oil, scoop a glob of potato with a spoon and use another spoon to scrape it into the pot. Fry until golden all the way around.
If using a skillet with shallow oil, put the glob in the pan and gently press it flat leaving some thickness. Then flip like a Patty when golden.
If you have access to gallon bags, you can put the mix in the bag, cut off a corner, and squeeze the mix into the fry like a piping bag. Either making dollups for deep oil or doing a tight spiral for shallow.
Let cool on a wire rack but eat warm. Oil can be strained of bits and stored to fry with later.
You can also add extra cheese and cook in an air-fryer but the texture won’t be fried so much as baked. The extra cheese gets more oil in the mix to help the exterior crust up.
Thanks for being a great and kind person! o7
You are a wonderful human being. I hope you always have equally awesome peers by your side whenever you need them.
That sounds like food. If I don’t get literally crucufied for trying to fry something I will try it.
I wonder if my aversion to cooking has something to do with the constant criticism and threats I get… Oh well.
My dude, that does not sound like a great environment. What’s going on?
You get threats? For what?
Do you use spices or hot sauce to add flavor?
A slow cooker could make soups and stews with potwtoes and whatever vegtables or scraps.
Im sure lentils will send a represenitive to talk about them.
Hi I have basically the same problem.
a) take a fucking multivitamin before you get fucking
scurvy(til dv vitC of potatoes), anemia, rickets, Wernicke’s encephalopathy, or some other crazy shit in 20 fucking 26.b) find a high calorie protein shake you can stomach enough to keep down. If you’re only eating like one meal a day anyway you can splurge a little on something premixed and tastier. There’s a weirdly ritzy gas station chain near me that does a lovely strawberry banana smoothie that sits real well on my stomach, and I always get the yogurt scoop and protein shot.
c) start mixing your white sauces (anything that would normally have mayo, sour cream, or runny white cheese) with plain greek yogurt to give you a better fat / protein balance to all those carbs.
d) oh and you need metamucil. Desperately. Food that is both tasty and inoffensively bland is almost by definition low in fiber. And tbh you might find giving your bowels a good scrubbing may affect your appetite for the better.
Peanut butter
Can’t go wrong here. High calorie density. Best tasting food; fight me. And actually pretty healthful.
Some of the food packs that were created for humanitarian organizations when they go into a place with people suffering from severe malnutrition are basically peanut butter fortified with vitamins and minerals. It’s great for getting nutrition back on track, and easier to stomach than most calorie-dense foods such as meat.
If you get pure peanut peanut butter. A lot of the shelf stuff has tons of sugar and salt added. Usually I’ll buy the pure stuff and cut it with a small amount of the other to sweeten it
In a thread about how to gain weight, you are advising against sugar sweetened peanut butter.
In a thread about how to survive on very little money you are advising the most expensive peanut butter option.
Get the cheapest, sugariest, oiliest jar you can find. Salt is not evil either.
Good point. Salt DOES drive away evil spirits. It can’t be bad.
spoiler
Not for the body anyway. Maybe for the spirit.
Isn’t buying pre-baked bread usually more expensive than raw ingredients?
Anyway, what’s more important is that you have enough energy for your everyday life.
As long as you don’t start feeling weak at any time of the day, even lower weight should be pretty fine.If your lack of weight is due to heavy physical labour, you can check if glucose powder has a higher calorie count per $ as compared to bread in your area.
Remember though, glucose powder will mean even lesser essential nutrients, so take the advice of bean people. Dehydrated beans should be cheaper than canned ones. It will take longer to prep for eating though. And simple stuff like ginger, garlic and onion can make the thing way more appetising.please buy some fruits and vegetables from time to time. Actually a lot of time. Different vegetables and fruit. Some nuts too. Eating the same meal every day is very unhealthy and can have very bad l andasting consequences for your health, especially in combination with stress (i know this from my personal experience of being poor and autistic unfortunately). And “hunger pains”? This is already very not ok.
Maybe start a gofundme campaign to at least temporarily somewhat mitigate the money problem? I’ll gladly send you a few bucks, if it helps you avoid what i got through.
I would also chip in a few bucks for OP to have a more varied diet for a while. Lmk if the gofundme or whatever goes up…
Yep, this is basically what caused all kinds of funny malnutrition sicknesses in the past, like scurvy. Get some cheap greens, because they are cheaper than a hospital visit.
