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Broke

For your inner brokeboi, here are some struggle meals

As struggle times dictate, you need to cut some spending. You, of course, you cannot reduce your rent or basic utilities like phone bills and internet bills. So, what usually happens — you watch your food spending. Enter struggle meals.

A lot of us are familiar with the struggle of low funds, especially if you grew up in a low-income household.

So as COVID-19 restricts our access to income, our first response is panic but for many of us our second is “here we go again.”

So as Jabookie’s tweet asked, we compiled a list of struggle meals you can incorporate into your meal plan today.

https://twitter.com/jaboukie/status/1239997629070745605


Childhood Faves

The responses to the tweet included several wacky versions of Mac n Cheese, PB&J, and Hot dogs. Something called Hot Dog Octopus with spaghetti/macaroni is pretty jarring but to be honest, it might actually slap.

Others found new ways to make a peanut, butter, and jelly

https://twitter.com/theaaliciaw/status/1239998832286580737?s=20

But most of the responses were overwhelmingly coming from POC and “ethnic” households.


Carbs

The basics for these cuisines are usually some kind of carb. Whether it’s rice in many African and Asian communities or arepas and tortillas in Latino communities or Na’an in Brown communities.

Lots of our foods have a basis in a good old carb.

When it comes to Latino struggle foods, many recommended dishes with arepas or tortillas as bases.

https://twitter.com/hostarastrology/status/1239998306341785601?s=20

Eastern Europeans have those potato struggle meals on lock.

And sometimes when you don’t have a lot of bread, all you need is some.

https://twitter.com/shutupaida/status/1240086048006266881?s=20


Ramen

Ramen is known to be cheap on its own but with various ingredients, you can up your struggle meal.

While Ramen might be THE struggle food for college students, there are definitely better struggle foods in the Asian community.

https://twitter.com/jerica1798/status/1239998331289509888?s=20


Legumes

Everyone knows that if you don’t have a lot of carb base a good filling struggle meal is legumes.

Every color beans, lentils, even chickpeas or “garbanzo beans.”

https://twitter.com/pensivethot/status/1240001534122962945?s=20

https://twitter.com/jocosocialist/status/1239998700069564417?s=20


Eggs

Eggs usually don’t get enough recognition for being packed with protein, versatile and relatively cheap.

If you think about it an omelet is just eggs with at least 1-2 extra ingredients.


Curries

Whether they hail from an African household or a Brown/South Asian household curries can easily be tasty on a budget.


Struggling Struggle Meals

The name of the game when it comes to making tasty meals is when faced with fewer ingredients add some spices. But then there are the struggling struggle meals.

Minimal ingredients, minimal effort.

https://twitter.com/lindsxhs/status/1239997982952452096?s=20

You could also go for maximum hydration meals.

Or maybe sadder struggle meals.

https://twitter.com/ahn_dreah/status/1240007733996208128?s=20

While many of these struggle meals remind us of harder times, they also may remind us of comforting childhoods and family gatherings.

So while you’re in social distancing mode try some of these meals to save some bread until we can all go back to our luxurious 5 ingredient dishes.