Hey, @pinkdrunkenelephants@lemmy.cafe , this is not a great way of showing this, because there's no real comparison between the different things listed. For instance, an average egg is about 6g of protein, which means that it's $.035/g. A single 5oz can of tuna will have about 22g of protein, which works out to about $.045/g. One pound of uncooked, boneless, skinless chicken breast will have about 105g of protein, which is around $.048/g. And so on, and so forth.
I also dispute your pricing models. In my area, boneless, skinless chicken breast is typically around $3/#, which brings it down to $.029/g. Ground beef is both more and less expensive, depending on fat content; 80/20 (20% fat) runs around $5.20/#, while 94/4 runs $8.50/# (...and doesn't taste very good by itself, unless you prefer your hamburders dryer than Ben Shapiro's wife). That ultra-lean ground beef has 96g/#, which brings it to $.089/g, while the delicious 80/20 only has 40g/#, bringing the price up to a steep $.13/g, almost 5x more expensive per gram than B/S chicken breasts.
If you don't care about taste, TVP can be had in bulk for cheap, and unflavored whey protein can also be bought in bulk.
Not sure I've ever seen the pound sign (lovingly called the "hash tag" by today's youth) actually used to denote the unit of measure. I like the cut of your jib
Everyone around here calls it a pound sign. Maybe it's a Commonwealth thing. Consequently when I first saw #MeToo, it made me giggle.
Nah, I eat a lot of beans. I just didn't want to go through everything. Plus, you do get a lot of carbs from beans, which can make dialing macros in a bit challenging.
It's just a meme, but I take your point. Since I can't do all of the math myself, threads where folks like you compare prices of foods at stores/restaurants to home cooking, prices of ingredients, etc. with sources is, of course, highly encouraged.
And to be clear, I'm not saying that to be lazy; I genuinely can't tabulate everything on my own though I am tabulating a lot of the prices for things I happen to know about and can thus throw in to the giant soup pot of knowledge, as it were. There's gonna be stuff I forget and get wrong. It's just part of being human.
The term "meme" has really lost all meaning, huh. It is an info graphic.
Also weird rambling. Just take the feedback.
Oh look at that, our first troll I get to ban. :D
Obvious troll bait is obvious.
Out
I know pricing is regional but where I am I can often get whole chickens for < $2/pound, and dry beans are going to be better on everything except arguably time (and that only if you don't plan ahead).
Yeah, dried beans are the way to go. You can get a pound of beans for around the same price as a can and those will double or triple their weight when soaked. I've found you can skip the overnight soak (though its preferable) by cooking them in a pressure cooker for about twenty min with a pinch of baking soda.
We’ve got an instant pot, and cook dry beans 2x / week… don’t need the baking soda, if you do them for a bit longer — 32 minutes for small (like black beans) and 40 for garbanzo beans.
And yeah. A IP or any pressure cooker makes a huge difference for us not having to soak them first
I'll try that next time for sure. My last batch of fava beans got too soft, so I just blended em to thicken the curry, but I like the texture better when they're whole.
I’m not saying there’s a trick, but I’ve heard other people having issues if you don’t use enough water.
2x water to beans works for me.
Rinse the beans, to get any dust and crud off … if there’s an inch of beans then fill it so that an inch of water on top of that
For me, nearly all the prices for those items are cheaper. Eggs, for example, cost $1.25/dozen here.
If you're looking for cheap, dried beans are about 1/2-1/3 the price per serving over canned.
They are more work, needing either a long boil, overnight soak in water, or a pressure cooker. But the cost saving is enough for me to buy mostly dried beans.
Yeah, I really really need to get a pressure cooker. 🤦
I've tried the overnight soaking method before and it didn't work out at all. Maybe a pressure cooker with baking soda will.
My husband is great at cooking beans, and I've learned from him that if you follow the instructions on the package, the beans will always end up being undercooked.
If you don't have a pressure cooker, then you just need to boil them for hours to get them tender. He doesn't even soak them -- just boils them for hours and hours.
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He doesn’t even soak them – just boils them for hours and hours.
If the goal is to save money, at some point you'd need to start worrying about the energy cost of the cooking method.
That's why you cook a huge pot and then freeze some. It definitely ends up being cheaper than those tiny cans.
Cook batches for use throughout the week or do what I do and and any leftover beans get refried and used as a side, burritos, bolillo. I literally just put some cheddar cheese and hot sauce and eat it with a spoon. Your digestive system will thank you and you won't have to blow out you colon.
I'd be doubtful that energy costs are going to make a difference of even tens of cents unless you're making a single portion of beans at a time. If I'm cooking beans, it's going to be at least half a pound dried, so one to one and a half pounds cooked
You should be able to get chicken thighs for around $1.79/lbs. region depending. Chicken is also easy enough to mince into ground at home with a decent knife. Don't pay the premium for ground chicken. I'll buy cheap chicken and turn it into dumpling filling by mixing in mushrooms and cabbage and use that for a variety of things. Frozen dumplings being most of it, but whatever is leftover can be made into meat balls or added to soups and stir fries.
Also, don't skip the fish market. I can get yellow croaker for $3/lbs. or less which is a great way to add variety into your diet. I try to make a point of checking if there's cheap fish every time I shop and if there is, I'm buying just enough to cook that very evening. During trout season, rainbow trout goes to $2/lbs. This works well as fish is quick and easy to cook and it's best when it's very fresh. I'll usually braise the yellow croaker with lots of ginger and green onion in a lightly sweetend sauce flavored with doubanjiang, but it's also good steamed or baked.
Yo it's so tasty!! I've seen em sold in bags frozen, too, for not too much more (like $3.50/lbs) so I guess they freeze well, but I haven't tried it.
Based on what I've read and advice I've been given, skip the tuna. It should only be consumed in very limited amounts (if at all) due to the mercury levels.
The cheap shit still goes for that price at stores like Aldi or Walmart sometimes. I've seen it happen.
Idk exactly how the price breaks down, but if you can have a chicken or two that's laying it feels like you have infinite free eggs.
Adjust these prices up by 30% for south Florida, except the beans. I can cook 5lbs of black beans for like $10 total.
Since you posted it, I'll assume you're a turkey trying to push your anti turkey meat agenda. Nice try.
It's not Greek yogurt unless it comes from the yogurt region in Greece, otherwise it's just filtered milk solids
I absolutely dislike edamame flavor. And beans are very common fare in our house because we just enjoy them as much as a good steak.
My Wife suffers from celiac and so I need to cook a gluten free menu. And a lot of "gluten free" products contain various types of bean flours in their mix. I tried 3 or 4 different types of edamame products and the basic beans. None pass muster at the table for either of us. The edamame pastas were particularly vile.