I’m broke AF, and I’m good at making bread, which is cheap,
any recommendations about what to put in them that’s also cheap AF, I mean a tier lower than cold cuts/cheese slices? that won’t give me scurvy.
ideally something appetizing and not depression fuel. I’m open to vegan friendly options too.
If you have an air fryer, tofu slabs!
Slice a block of tofu short-ways into six to eight slices. Season on each side with oil and choice of seasoning. I use adoboe seasoning, garlic salt, paprika, and other savory flavors. Lay in a single layer in the air fryer and fry for 15 mins at 400 F, flipping with tongs halfway through. Put on bread, add condiments if you want, and eat. Leftover slices can be put into the fridge and either reheated or eaten as cold cuts.
Where I am, this works out to less than a dollar per sandwich, and makes a complete protein. Add some lettuce and tomato or other veg for more flavor, fiber, and vitamins if you can swing it.
Idk if you go to Costco but I get a $5 rotisserie chicken.
assuming a costco is near where op lives. most are not inside cities. im in a city where there is a costco inside of one they are quite a drive out with a car.
If you have access to a hot pot or oven, braising your own meat will be cheaper than cold cuts. Pork, whole chickens, and parts of turkey will be cheaper by the pound than their equivalent meat as a cold cut.
Mashed chickpeas with vegan mayo is a good approximation of a tunafish sandwich.
Egg mayo/salad cream?
This will sound insane, but it’s amazing. It’s a niche fast food in West Africa that I make myself a few times a year.
First, get some bean flour. Any kind will do. Black eyed pea flour is best, but it’s usually only something you find in an African food shop. Chic pea flour just as good, so is black bean flour.
Mix with salt, herbs, chicken bullion, and water into a dough and deep fry spoonfuls in a skillet into fritters.
Make up a batch of spicy tomato sauce. Lots of onions and oil and pepper.
Put those fritters in 6-10 inches (have someone else measure, guys) of the cheapest, thin baguette money can buy. Slather in sauce. Enjoy.
Entirely vegan if you want. Complete protein. Zesty, spicy deliciousness.
Online, look for kosai or chichena recipes for the fritters.
Bizarro falafel. I might try this.
Basically, yeah. Except the black eyed pea flour gives it a very light and airy texture, as compared to falafel, almost cakey. It feels like eating a savory doughnut hole sandwich. It feels wrong, and tastes like heaven.
they look delicious,thanks
Peanutbutter and jelly.
Peanut butter is one of the cheapest shelf stable foods, either per calorie or per gram of protein. It’s obviously delicious with some sort of fruit jelly/jam. And the protein in peanuts complements the protein in bread, covers all the essential amino acids.
Spreadable or meltable cheeses are pretty delicious on toast, and can be supplemented with seasonings. I put cream cheese and everything bagel seasoning on my sourdough slices most mornings.
There are also a ton of delicious toppings for open face “sandwiches” or toast:
- Avocado is a classic for a reason. If avocados are cheap near you, that can be an option.
- Fresh tomatoes on toast are a classic in Spain for a reason, too.
- Sardines or other canned fish/seafood, if you like that.
- Mediterranean spreads like hummus, baba ganoush, muhammara, harissa, etc.
- Shrimp, like gambas al ajillo or something similar, go really well on toast.
- Roasted mushrooms
If you’re baking your own bread, you can also try to shape some little bread bowls and fill them with soup. French onion soup takes some time but the ingredients are pretty cheap.
Not all of these options are ultra cheap, but many are flavorful enough that even small portions can work out to be really affordable on a per calorie basis, for stretching that budget with bread.
I’m Catalan, live in the US, I’d kill for tomatoes good enough for Pa amb tomaquet,
Op post a budget and how many days you need it to last. That’s far more helpful.
Also what do you have to cook in? Stovetop? Oven? Microwave? Air fryer? Crockpot?
We can be far more helpful if we know some details
Peanut butter! Cheap, high calorie, with fats and proteins to balance the carbs. You can get jelly packets or even ketchup packets in a pinch (not quite as bad as it sounds) to keep it from getting repetitive.
Also consider rice and beans!
Fry/griddle with a little butter like a grilled cheese if you’re craving something warm. Just don’t over load it with the peanut butter cause it’ll sploosh out on the first bite
Canned tuna is good and cheap.
Sweet pickles or barbecue sauce on the meat between two pieces of bread, idk it isn’t bad. Definitely poverty food though.
1 little can will get you 2 or 3 sandwiches, and a big can will get you like 7 or 8.
You can also fake canned tuna with mashing up canned chickpeas, adding mayo, salt and seaweed. A 14 oz can of chickpeas is about a can of tuna.
The seaweed is probably a; bit expensive here, but you could probably omit it, just season to taste.
I like to do hummus wraps with a bag of veggie slaw and hummus. You can add like roasted red peppers, pickled onions, or tomatoes if you have them. You could also do a salad dressing instead of hummus, but I’d suggest adding smashed chickpeas in that case.
It would probably be cheaper for you to pickle the onions yourself. I’d also recommend pickling carrots, if you never have. Absolutely delicious.
I used to make so much hummus for a mutual aid, good suggestion
As a kid, the default sandwich in my house was hummus, tomato, cucumber, in a flat rolled sandwich. Plus whatever seasonal vegetables we have. Or parsley or watercress if we have too much of that. Or mint. Or thyme. Just throw virtually any leafy vegetables in there and you’ll be fine.
I’m guessing you’re talking more like loaves/leavened bread, but that shouldn’t be a problem.
You can also cut your bread into crackers/sticks (do thicker slices and then slice those into bars) and eat hummus with them. Might need to toast them though.
Now to make a suggestion that is radically different from aspirational Mediterranean fresh food from my childhood: Marmite if you can get into it. It’s not a thing here, but I picked up a jar from a British grocery in the Gulf once and most people in my life think it’s a disgusting curiosity. But as a backup, marmite with butter or olive oil (more our style), or with vegetables, or cheese, or literally with nothing else, if you can enjoy it, its a great backup. The tiny jar lasts forever and can be used as a flavor enhancer for hearty dishes.
Shout out to baked potato sandwiches with oil, lemon, salt, and leafy vegetables. Or boiled egg sandwiches. Or potato and egg, I won’t tell you how to live. But admittedly these make more sense to me as flat bread sandwiches.
Zero carb tortillas / pizza sauce / cheese/pepperoni is super cheep pizza.
Cast iron pan / fresh green beans / butter / garlic
Chicken / rice/broth soup
Rice is super cheap and can be used with a combination of ingredients. And makes quite a few meals. I miss being able to eat rice.
Just gonna say, get multivitamins.
Zucchini sliced, green pepper, red pepper, onion, andoulie sausage if you can afford it. Coat in Italian seasoning or slap ya momma.
Air fry for 15 minutes. You can easily get two meals out of that
