How I Eat On A Budget, With No Fridge, And Stay Healthy!

First of all, this isn't going to fly for everyone, because you've got to consider your location and resources available as well as your lifestyle. What works in the southeast USA doesn't work in NYC. I will do the best I can to add ideas as I explain my current situation.

It's a great question; "How do you eat healthy, on a budget, in the middle of nowhere, USA, with no refrigeration, and very little power resources?" I have lived on a budget for most of my life, and I've lived alongside minorities in both larger cities and more rural towns. I know no single parent struggling with three children and having to visit the food bank once a week who wants to hear "you should shop at this place that sells organic stuff at decent prices or join this co-op for better whole foods", because it's just not realistic for some people. Those "decent prices" honestly aren't so decent. While we'd all like to be privileged enough to afford whole and organic, non gmo foods, it's a far fetched fantasy for many people in the US. Unfortunately, the cheapest foods in America are the ones that are processed, pre-packaged, and full of additives. Whole foods and fresh produce are actually way more expensive in comparison. You'd think fresh produce would be cheaper to buy, but it's not. But you'll only know this if you're seriously in dire straits & have to visit a food bank, or if you've only got 20 dollars per week to feed a family with.

Government agencies help to a degree, but not enough. I've seen a woman living on social security, who couldn't get more than 30 dollars in food help per month because she only had to pay 200 dollars in rent. Her check was 700 per month. She was confined to a walker, needed help doing ordinary things most of us take for granted, and she was expected to live and buy all her groceries off five hundred bucks plus an extra thirty dollars in food help- that includes any heating bills, other utilities, anything she needed during the month other than food, and any other expenses that she had to pay with that leftover five hundred dollars. Shelters, food banks and co-ops try, but the problem of starvation here is off the charts. Most people just don't hear about it, because it's an embarrassment to a society that's focused on capitalism, self-wealth and entertainment. There are so many people living so far below the poverty line here that it's sinful. I've been in those long lines, begging for food in the middle of winter in a large, unfriendly city. I've been at the point where I was rationing one can of beans between two days in order to keep from starving. I've been in soup kitchen lines and visited churches on days when they were giving out free dinners to the homeless. I'm not a stranger to hard times. I've also seen how hard it is for anyone without a lot of money to legally start a soup kitchen, or even acquire donations for a food bank. I could go on; as I'm always disheartened at the way we treat our impoverished in this country. I'll revisit this later. Back to the subject...

No, I don't have a refrigerator. And there's a good trick to living this way; I cook ethnic foods inspired by countries that also don't rely so much on refrigerators. One such place is India. Now since I live out in the boonies and can't find an Indian grocery near me, I like to shop online with shipping delivery. This sounds expensive, but it really isn't. There's a site I personally like, called ishopindian.com. You'll find most Indian and Pakistani grocery stores have better prices and deals than typical American grocers. They sell a wider variety of dried foods, like rices, flours and beans. Their spices are tremendous, as you can get way more for way less. Instead of paying three dollars for a tiny bottle of curry, you're spending three dollars for a giant bag of it. In lieu of butter, since I have no refrigerator, I use ghee. It's a clarified form of butter that doesn't need refrigeration. Indian groceries are known for a bigger selection of oils, too- at much better prices. For instance, coconut oil in a typical, American chain grocery is considered an "exotic" food, and the price is marked up. But it's common in an Indian grocery, and therefore it's much less expensive. You don't usually have to worry so much about acquiring "whole foods" in an Indian grocery either, as that's the typical item anyway. So I stock up on dried beans, spices and rices, and I enjoy looking at the choices in flours. I can get rice flours, bean flours and wheat flours- and you can do quite a bit with that if you're willing to cook.

This is how I get a lot of food for a better price. I basically stock up on staple items and spices, so I won't have to worry about them for long periods of time. They store beautifully in appropriate containers. I cook a lot of Indian, Sri Lankan and African dishes, as they have a lot of the same ingredients. At this particular online shop, if I keep my order under 30 pounds and over $109.00, my shipping is free. That's really not so bad. And if this is not an option for you due to unavailable shipping, I'd get online and really try to hunt down some better food choices. For those without internet access or computers (yes, plenty of people are still without in this nation), find a way to get to your local library once a week and do it. I did that myself for awhile back in 2010. I didn't have a car or a computer, and I rode my bicycle once a week to the library.

I don't live on beans and rice alone; I do get my fresh veggies. If I don't get them shipped, I purchase a lot of root vegetables locally. Root veggies are usually less expensive than those that expire quicker. Potatoes, beets, carrots, parsnips- they last a little while longer and you can even keep them in a box in a cool place for storage. Root vegetables are usually more work to peel and cut, and so they're cheaper. What drives up prices in this country are conveniences and trends. Since it's now popular and trendy to eat organic, whole, and non-gmo foods, the prices for those items have skyrocketed. I've been told places online like Thrive will sell better quality foods at better prices, but I've found this isn't the case. Again, realistically, this isn't an option for most people below the poverty line. And I'm trying to give everyone options to consider here.

But you can find these foods in places where they've always been available; in Asian markets. And if you don't live anywhere near one like me, you can order online. Even Amazon has food that can be shipped to you. (I'd try the Asian markets first for better prices.)

As far as cooking without much power, I have enough electricity to use a one-eye stovetop cooker without anything else plugged in, and I have a gas powered cooktop. I don't have an oven. This causes me to get imaginative with my flour experiments. I cook bread in a frying pan, with a high quality cooking oil or ghee purchased for a decent price at the above stores mentioned. Don't even bother trying to purchase ghee at a regular grocery store. Your jaw will fall to the ground when you see how much they charge. It's another one of those "exotic" items. I don't eat much bread, however. My primary diet is dried beans and rice and root vegetables, soups, and whatever fruits and perishable veggies are on sale down the road once in awhile. This is also a temporary plan. This spring, I'll be starting a garden by my creek side. I'll be buying even less at that point. And with no refrigerator? Canning and drying food is the answer.

One thing I never liked about living in Brooklyn was that it was very difficult to garden. It's possible though; I just never went through the motions to get involved myself. There are community gardens popping up all over the city now. I know a few people there who grow a few edible things in pots in their tiny apartments and under grow lights. Even growing those small, upside down tomatoes you hang on your balcony cuts down on grocery bills. I'm not a coupon user. I find most coupons are for things I don't and won't eat. I cook almost everything from scratch.

Another option for food in the middle of nowhere, if you're not a vegetarian, is to go hunting. I know I'm going to lose like, a good chunk of my readers here, but I grew up with hunters. It's not something foreign to me. My great grandmother raised chickens for eggs, and would kill the older ones herself and feed her family with them. I know people who trap their own small game. I don't agree with hunting for sport, but I have no problem hunting for food. The deer population in places like I live is so overwhelming we have deer carrying disease if their numbers aren't kept down. That's a lot of deer. This place is so full of wildlife that the local hunting club down the road can't dream of keeping up with it. And that wildlife attracts bigger predators. I've had problems with both bears and mountain lions. So realistically- one deer that feeds a family for a month doesn't make that much of a dent in the backcountry. (and that goes into the family freezer up the road for sharing.) It's not big commercial food production, either (which I find horrifying). Hunting the right way, and experiencing a much more merciful approach to consuming other animals has always felt natural to me. I don't find killing and consuming plants any less brutal than consuming animals. It's just a different face, and I appreciate the sustenance like nothing else in the world. To me, eating can almost be a spiritual experience. Especially when I find myself so close and involved with the natural state of life and death.

It's honestly not a big joy for me to purchase processed, pre-packaged meat. I've done it, but I don't like it. I'd rather get right in there, get dirty, and do it myself. I know exactly what it is, I've got control over how fast and humane the kill will be, and I've begun to appreciate what I've got on another level. It's very different from becoming disassociated to the process of where my food comes from, and getting used to seeing meals in boxes and bags on grocery store shelves. I've gotten off on a tangent again....

In more rural areas, you've got options like privately owning your own chicken house, maybe acquiring a goat or two for milk, etc. Frankly, living out in the boonies offers much better options for taking care of yourself in the long run. One garden can produce enough food for canning to last all through the winter. Don't ever discount the possibilities and find out if there's any way to plan for something like that.

I don't like to see people going hungry. I know what it feels like. I'm appalled at the idea that it's illegal to give food to homeless people on the streets, and I broke that law constantly while living in New York. I encourage anyone reading this to break that law, too. Just don't get caught. You can also put together small donation "napsacks" of food and other personal items and give them out to anyone you see in need. Think about those things we take for granted; women going through their cycles with no way to clean themselves and no sanitary napkins, people being unable to brush their teeth. Hand sanitizers are golden in the colder months and in areas with subways and high traffic transportation portals. People get sick so easily and often. You can pack items along with a few meals in napsacks, with a small rolled blanket attached, and hand them out to anyone you see in need. Think of how good it feels to have clean laundry- some people don't have that luxury and are forced to wear the same, grungy clothes for months at a time, on top of having a difficult time of finding a place to clean themselves up. I've gone off the subject again. But this is a subject that's very strong in my heart.

I hope I've satisfied the original question. I purchase most of my food at Indian groceries online and stock pile staples that don't need refrigeration. I eat meat occasionally, but honestly not that much. I cook from scratch, and I cook over a gas flame most of the time. When I'm lazy, I'll use the electric eye, and when I'm in the mood for a real fire, I'll build a giant one outside. I love bonfires. I use a plug-in hot water pot to warm my water for coffee and tea, and it gets hot fast. As far as refrigeration goes, I don't really need it for the time being. I feed my leftovers to a very fortunate dog, and if I want something chilled, I use the creek. The water's always cold and never freezes. And it's practically in my front yard. I've entertained the thought of digging a trench or small cave for storing root vegetables and other things. My great grandmother did it, and so could I.