I Made 16 Meals For 2 People On A Food Bank And Fresh Produce Box | Budget Eats | Delish
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- Опубліковано 30 кві 2024
- Ever since the first super long-form Budget Eats episode aired, viewers have been requesting that we do a week subsisting off food pantry box contents. We haven't done one-until now-because June didn't want to misrepresent the experience of the 37 million Americans who live with food insecurity on a daily basis, 11 million of whom are children, a statistic that’s remained largely unchanged from when June researched SNAP benefits (then known as food stamps) in high school over ten years ago.
On top of that, food pantry box contents vary widely from location to location, and there would be no accurate way for June to depict an "average" box. Watch June set out to cook a whole week's worth of meals for herself using a $15 fresh food box from FoodShare South Carolina along with some food pantry box staples she scavenged from the Delish test kitchen.
RECIPES: www.delish.com/cooking/recipe...
RESOURCES:
Regional level programs
FoodShare South Carolina (SC) foodsharesc.org/
NYC Fresh Food Box (NY) www.grownyc.org/freshfoodbox
Hunger Free NYC (NY) www.hungerfreeamerica.org/en-...
NYC Neighborhood Guides to Food & Assistance (NY) www.hungerfreeamerica.org/en-...
Just Food CSA Map (NY) www.justfood.org/value-chain-map
Glynwood Center (NY) www.glynwood.org/what-we-do/s...
St. Joseph Community Health Foundation (IN) sjchf.org/impact-areas/food/
DC Central Kitchen (DC) dccentralkitchen.org/
Capital Area Food Bank (DC) www.capitalareafoodbank.org/f...
Food On The Move (RI) riphi.org/food-on-the-move/
Daily Table (MA) dailytable.org/
West Virginia Food and Farm Coalition (WV) www.wvfoodandfarm.org/
Double SNAP Dollars Program (MT) www.doubledollarsmt.com/
New Orleans Market Umbrella (LA) marketumbrella.org/our-work/m...
Hunger Task Force (WI) www.hungertaskforce.org/
Sustainable Food Center (TX) sustainablefoodcenter.org/
Vegas Roots (NV) vegasroots.org/
Hawaii Food Basket (HI) www.hawaiifoodbasket.org/
One Island (HI) www.oneisland.org/hawaii/educa...
Experimental Station (IL) experimentalstation.org/market
Double Up Food Bucks (MO)
Nourish Colorado (CO) nourishcolorado.org/nourish-i...
Fair Food Network (MI) fairfoodnetwork.org/
National level programs
Wholesome Wave www.wholesomewave.org/
The Food Trust thefoodtrust.org/where-we-work
USDA Nutrition Assistance Contact Map www.fns.usda.gov/contacts/con...
Hunger Free America www.hungerfreeamerica.org/en-...
HFA Find Food Assistance Database findfood.hungerfreeamerica.org/
USDA National Hunger Hotline www.hungerfreeamerica.org/en-...
State by State SNAP EBT Resource List farmersmarketcoalition.org/ed...
Farmers Market Coalition National Map farmersmarketcoalition.org/st...
Donate to Partnership for a Healthier America’s Fresh Food Fund partnershipforahealthierameri...
Apps
Providers (formerly FreshEBT) www.joinproviders.com/
Tangelo jointangelo.com/
Data on SNAP
Fair Food Network: fairfoodnetwork.org/press-rel...
SPUR: The Economic Contributions of Expanding Healthy Food Incentives | SPUR
Food Research and Action Center: frac.org/research/resource-li...
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: www.cbpp.org/research/food-as...
TIMESTAMPS
00:00-06:40: Intro
06:40-10:13: Prep
10:14-13:28: BLT
13:29-21:46: Celery Pasta Salad
21:47-23:09: Day 2 Prep
23:10-25:33: PB & J Ritz Banana Pudding
25:34-30:45: Cheese Tamale Pie
30:46-34:11: Yellow Squash Tinga
35:59-42:47: Pinto Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
42:48-47:03: Corny French Toast
47:04-52:15: Pineapple Spam Bread Pudding
52:16-55:00: Mango Corn Cabbage Slaw
55:01-56:29: Cornflake Banana Bread
56:30-01:01:26: Cabbage Cream Pasta
01:01:27-01:04:50: Cornflake Banana Bread Taste Test
01:04:51-01:07:32: Ants On A Yellow Log
01:07:33-01:24:34: Trash Ratatoutille
#BUDGETEATS #BYJUNE
HOST: June Xie
VIDEO DIRECTOR + PRODUCER: Julia Smith
EDITOR: Zach Lennon-Simon
ART: Sarah Ceniceros + Allie Folino
ANIMATION: Vineet Sawant
POST-PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR: Philip Swift
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In literal tears....this is how I cook for my family..I work a second job for the sole purpose of buying groceries, but it's often from discount stores and with expired ingredients..but I do my best and we always eat..for that I'm so so grateful. It's good to see this kind of representation. Thank you June. ❤️
I’m so sorry it’s so hard, but you are truly amazing.
Good work sis! You got this.
great big hug for you. You are truly great. Hope your family appreciates you.
Look into your local food banks, churches and community centers. My mom volunteers in a couple and she says there's always more food than they can give out weekly. They've got fresh vegetables and even frozen meat and poultry. Good luck.
Big hug to you and family. Totally understand your situation as Mom of one we qualify of EBT. Ppl don't understand it's an modest amount help based of income. I have learned ways of strength the amount far possible in month.The same ppl have unlimited resources never have had to make choices for food or rent.
I didn't expect all the consideration for someone's diet, time, and money in food insecure households. I love this so much.
A food revolution is on the move with our queen June !! 💪🏼👑
When I was a little girl my mom and dad had garden every year and even after I moved away went back they had a garden I would actually eat the corn silk because it was nice and juicy yes I liked corn silk
Agreed. It's brilliant.
June did it before when she cooked vegan meals. She also went gluten-free. Her videos are amazing and inspiring.
It would be great if I didn't have allergies 😭
A food challenge someone below the poverty line can actually follow! June, of course you understand that someone who can barely buy food probably doesn’t have a Vitamix and hundreds of dollars of spices! What I don’t understand is why so many other food professionals do not grasp this concept. And you are so so inventive!
I understand assuming someone has very minimal pantry staples like salt, pepper and oil, but some people add way too much beyond the budget.
If you are watching this and thinking of donating to a food shelf, remember that the food shelves can buy about twice as much food as you can with your money. If you have food to donate, great. Otherwise, cash can be used to buy exactly what they need, and much more than you could with the same amount.
The Adam Ruins Everything episode really turned me around on items vs cash. Give them cash.
For items in the cupboard that I want to get rid of, we have a number of tiny food pantries (similar to little libraries in front of people's homes) on the can routes where I drop off those items.
This^ once I learned that food pantries can get much better prices on food than I can, I stopped doing our food drives (aside from having extra unused cans around or condiment packets, sealed plastic utensils) and switched to a regular money donation instead!
Not food but many using Food Banks are of menstrual age. Donating pads and tampons is always welcome. But money is even better. Our supermarket gives us gift cards for our grocery points and those can also go into the donation box.
THIS, absolutely. Donate cash, and any food/hygiene items that you already have but won't use. My local food pantry turns my $1 into $10! :)
Just be careful to ask the food pantry first! The salvation army pantry near me, I was told by the director NOT to give her cash as it would then have to go to the church instead per organization policy. So we always run to Aldi down the street with any cash donations received during a drive.
Hi June! It was so great to work with you as you prepped this episode! Thank you for highlighting the challenges that many families face when trying to eat healthy on a budget!
Thank you for reaching out and for all the resources! Food and power to the people ✊
@@thank9stars ii
Yay!
One thing that hit me like a brick is that folks with allergies might not be able to eat many or most packaged foods ( I can't eat very many as I'm allergic to yeast ( asthma) Programs like yours are a lifesaver to such folks I'm sure.
This was a fantastic colab. I've been lucky enough to not be food insecure for more than just a few months back in the early 80s. It did teach me things but I've now been a software engineer for decades and can afford to buy local meat, veg and all things beautiful. I needed that perspective.
In a world of low attention span based content, June is the only creator that makes me happy for one hour and a half videos and leaves me craving for more in the end.
Can’t agree more!!!
YESSSS , perfectly put.
I actually want to make some recipes with the can of spam and corn beef I haven't my cupboard that I bought for just in case meals lol
I completely agree !!!! She has opened my eyes to so much creativity related to food and I always dread getting to the end of these videos and wish there was a set list of 50 more I could jus watch after I finish.. I love these videos and June so much
@@mamigoto411 I am so happy so many people reacted to my comment because I just really hope both @junelikethemonth and @delish see this so they realise WE LOVE LONG BUDGET EATS videos, just keep them coming
I am so impressed by this! I feel like sometimes we call creativity when you're rich "innovation", but creativity when you're poor is considered "trashy". Great job in raising awareness June!
🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
So true!
So well said ❤️
Classicism 😢😢😢
When I grew up (I'm 71), peanut butter and tomato sandwiches were a staple in my family, esp in the summer when the tomatoes were at their peak. We didn't know we were eating cheap; we just knew we were eating delicious! :-)
Exactly
I never heard of that, I’m gonna try it this summer!
I'm 44 and in my childhood, I didn't know we were eating cheap as well. My mom did all she could to feed us, and I'm thankful for it!
Tomato and peanut butter together? When I was a kid, I loved peanut butter and lettuce 😁
Saltines with peanut butter and tomato was my favorite snack growing up!
I really appreciate this. So many times people do a SNAP challenge but use expensive equipment, multiple pans or they bake bread from scratch or something crazy. My mom worked then got us from daycare and we walked home. When we got home she was exhausted. No bread baking was happening. We often needed food pantry boxes to stretch our SNAP and your foraged box looks very similar to what we got! You're just missing random rice and potato flakes!
Oh or the powered milk stuff not sure if they still put in it but they used to for the ones my grandma used to get
Don't forget about scary cheese and meat products if you're lucky! I was the meat smeller and tester in the kitchen since my stomach could handle the smell and occasionally the taste if something was a bit off.
When we were struggling because of hyperinflation in my country my mom did bake bread. But I think it's because this is a different situation, where everything in the store grows in price exponentially and you need to prioritise nutritious food so you make your own carbs as flour is usually accessible. However she'd make bread once a week, for the whole week and it took her very little effort, maybe an hour but not active hour so she'd do other things while doing so. I completely understand when your limitations are more to do with time, but wouldn't say making bread when on an budget is unreasonable, not every bread is sourdough and you can make it quick. My favourite recipes are for cold dough which I use to make little breads (like croissant size), because you mix the dough and put it in the fridge. The next day you divide it and make whatever you want with it, bake and you're good. And it can be frozen. I do love me fresh bread and it is so cheap. Also she'd grow all her herbs on the balcony and would limit food to mostly vegetarian, a lot of legumes and so forth, as meat was too expensive then. It's a crazy world really, but people should always consider other's limitations. I myself hate the use of a million expensive appliances. I do not see anyone on a budget buying a Nutribullet
@@natalieheagle7005 yes pork/chicken stew meat 😅
@@DiggandDugg - I'm not sure a lot of these families have access to an oven. June didn't for this episode.
I think it would be really cool to see a college food themed budget eats! Think tiny studio dorm kitchen, limited budget, limited time, and limited cooking experience!
Great idea!
This is precisely what she did here...
YES! I love that idea.
btw they changed name from brothers green eats to Pro Home Cooks just go to their videos and look at their older vids...you will find so many college food themed budget eats/hacks + idea's
It's been 30 years since I graduated from college and I LOVE this idea! Thank you!
My Mom is currently in the hospital fighting Covid. She has been there for 18 days so far, and unfortunately she is losing her battle. It is the middle of the night currently and I am awake because I can't sleep for worrying for her. My 19yr old daughter even came and watched with me with excitement! Saying "omg, another June video! I always love everything you cook from her videos" We have decided if time permits for dinner this evening to try the version of BLT but instead of PB going to try spam. As well as the salsa on the side. Thank you for making this and allowing me to escape from my worries for a bit, and now my daughter and I will be making dinner together and another escape happens. You have no idea what your videos mean to all of us, you touch so many lives, and make those lives that much better!
💗🙏🥲
❤❤
I hope your mom is doing better now 🙏🏻
I hope and pray that your Mom is doing better now. I'm so sorry to you and anyone who goes through this💓
I wish you all the best!
Thank you for this amazing edition of Budget Eats. As a Parish Nurse at a church with a food pantry, I sometimes struggle to find recipe suggestions or preparation tips for foods commonly found in food pantry boxes. I encourage you to continue this as a series, this could positively impact SO many people who struggle with food insecurity!! Much love!!
Hi 👋
My grandpa died a few days ago. I have been so so depressed. The kind of depressed that makes brushing teeth or drinking water a huge chore. But I tonight when I opened up UA-cam and the first video was June I was filled with happiness. I thank you for taking time and effort to make these wonderful videos!
So sorry for your loss. Hope you and your family find strength and hope in this difficult time❤️
❤️
Sending hugs
Sorry for your loss you will get back up on your feet when your ready.
My grandpa passed last year, so I understand what you’re feeling. Thinking of you ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️
Just want to throw out the caveat that while we can choose to cook with expired items in our own kitchens, do not donate expired food items to pantries. They have to throw them out.
This is not always true. Check with the organization first to learn their policy
In the past I have gotten food from my local food pantry and most of the stuff you receive is out dated. Meats and Breads come frozen and were probably frozen before they expired but they are also outdated. When you don't have much to begin with any food is welcome. In my experience the stuff is very random, none really going with anything else.
@@redfoxcaly the general rule at the foodbanks i work at is meat and dairy must be with us before they expire, and frozen before they expire. anything with a 'best before' or 'sell by' date (eg. veg, bread, pulses) is fair game until it's obviously inedible, but stuff with a 'use by' date must be thrown out or frozen by that date. all to say -- the original poster is basically right. the only food that we consider expired is food with a passed 'use by' date, and while you might get this stuff from us, we cannot accept it.
I also encourage people to check out local food banks and check out their wish lists. They know what products are most in demand and can be used.
@@alexf9901 yes! This!! As a director of a food pantry this is the best suggestion. There are many things we would like to have to supplement the provisions we receive from our food bank.
PB-L-T tip: If you have sesame seeds (sometimes I can find a small jar in my local Dollar Tree), sprinkle that over your peanut butter - the PB and sesame combo will taste amazingly close to a bacon flavor. I learned that about 30 years ago from a friend, and used that trick while I was a vegetarian & craving a BLT.
Great tip, I'll give it a try!!
June is one of the best chefs I've ever seen online - the amount of consideration for people's circumstances, resourcefulness, and creativity. Even if I don't make the recipes themselves I learn so much.
Yes I agree! June has influenced my cooking style so much though I’ve never actually recreated anything in a video ♥️
Feeding a family on a budget and with limited access to ingredients is even harder when you don't have the skills, knowledge or confidence to understand the science of cooking, or how to figure out what would work as substitutes for what you don't have. That's why these sorts of videos, full of June making versions of things with alternative ingredients, are really useful. You need to be fairly certain something is going to work, or at least be reasonably edible if you're going to try to do imaginative things with what you've got and you can't risk ruining a dish and starting again.
So true. I never learned to bake as a kid because we were poor. No room for luxury, or error.
Very very true!
That's exactly why i love these videos. The only thing i don't like is her obsession with peanuts.
Thank you for mentioning this. It is especially true for the basis of this video. A lot of times you don’t have the resources or room for error to be “creative”. But some of my favorite food combos have been created out of desperation. Corn Helper is one and popcorn dipped in A1 steak sauce is another 😆
Can we just take time out to appreciate June’s nifty take on food? She can make anything look good. I honestly love you June.
100%
Anything but that “BLT”, aside from that, Definitely.
Right 😭👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Love how you so cleverly use all the parts people usually throw away like the corn silk. Can you make a video just on how we can repurpose the parts of food items that are usually not used like avocado skin or fruit peel... that would be really cool.
This idea needs to be boosted up!
I understand that avocado pits are edible, but they're terribly bitter. I wonder whether they're like acorns, and they just need to be soaked or marinated to make them taste good.
Avocado pits make a really bright pink dye when boiled. Can make tie dye tea towels or something.
Onion skins make a pale yellowy brown
mmm no idea about avocado skins but citrus rinds you can turn into candied rinds. Most fruit and veggies I just have with the skin on tho so the rest no idea. Maybe dried apple skins?
My mother in law boils corn silk and drinks the tea to help with cramps and migraines.
In Mexico, we make tea from the corn strands and drink it when we are having some urinary tract issues. It is a diuretic. And of course, we use the leaves to make tamales.
Yes!! That's the first thing I thought when I saw the corn silk! Te de pelos de helote!!! And I also said tamales when she said I'll figure out something!!
June's super real burner scarred cutting board always makes me feel so comfy.
I love that she does not pretend to be perfect. So relatable.
I thought I was the only one with a burner scarred cutting board. Lol I love it 😍
I thought it was an expensive cutting board, like the kind sold on Etsy lol
Is it weird that I got a little emotional listening to June’s intro? She’s so thoughtful and such a beautiful soul. ❤️
Yes, she really is !! 💖💖💖
Not weird at all - I could feel the authenticity behind the words.
I thought it was just me.
I teared up at the thought of hungry people in a super rich, powerful nation.
@@germyw Definitely. And how many of these people are working long days, but still food insecure. It's heartbreaking.
This episode was really eye opening for me. We shop on a very tight budget and work with what we have available. This gave me some inspiration to be more creative with the items I have. For a future episode where I live fresh fruit and veggies are very expensive and not always in the budget. We eat a lot of frozen veg and fruit and items from the pantry. It would be cool to see some different ideas using the frozen items.
I've been a bit frugal myself, although I'm not independently doing much of the shopping at all, I still live with my mom and I'm still trying to learn how to be an adult slowly but surely, but something I've personally found, especially since I have choice of the groceries but she has both of us follow strictly a $200 food budget, which might seem big to you, but for us it works, and considering where we live, it's actually kind of tight. We live in a relatively expensive area, where a $2 baguette is a bargain, especially if it's organic.
Anyway, something I found that might be a great way to enjoy fish, if you are efficient joy that is, I would suggest to abstain from fish if you don't normally enjoy fish and or don't necessarily need it for any particular health reasons, because there is a horrible problem with the fish population being depleted, but if you do like fish and you can't live without it, especially fresh fish is something you miss, or would like to have more often, something I suggest, if you have a ShopRite anywhere near you, go to their fish counter, and find their best quality variety of fish, and then get it discounted. Sure, it's almost spoiled, but you might be able to bring it home to cook for dinner that night. Also, because of it being cooked, it might be able to last for another day or two, so if you get a big piece, you can still have leftovers to eat the next day, either to eat as is warmed up or mixed into something else. For example, something I might do is get a discounted piece of fish, and then I cook it for dinner that night, and then I have some leftovers, let's say about half of it ends up as leftovers. By the way depending on the breed of fish, you might be able to get the same size of meat but cheaper. I still suggest you try to look for the highest quality of fish for the sake of health and well-being as well as the environment, but get it discounted. It's also better for the environment because it would otherwise be thrown out by the supermarket. Anyway, rinse the fish well before cooking, especially if it has a slightly off smell, and then cook it thoroughly. Something I suggest for example, is if you happen to get some fillet salmon, and also just so you know, the older it is, the more likely it's going to fall apart so you want to be careful, but something I've done and I enjoy doing is making it Japanese style, which also means you're going to have to make it a smaller portion, which means you can stretch out the fish. One way I've done it before, I usually use Japanese rice wine vinegar, but if that's not in your budget and you don't want to use the more processed version that isn't so traditional, what you could do is use beer. I one time marinated salmon fillets with Bud light, some cheap kikum and soy sauce, which I in fact used the whole bottle because I was cooking a huge package of fish worth of fillets, I would say I used about equal parts maybe? I don't remember because I kind of just estimate in the moment, I don't ever measure anything, but you definitely want the beer to turn brown from how much soy sauce you put in. Anyway, you add maybe a squeeze or two of honey if you have any, to be honest I don't know how much typical conventional honey is, but as a substitute I suppose you can use corn syrup which as far as I know is pretty cheap. Again I'm still learning about grocery shopping and such, so while I know some about prices, I don't know quite a lot yet. I know about fish prices though, since I'm the one who shops for fish, as my parents don't eat fish. Anyway, you mix in that honey pretty well, and so you know I marinated these fillets in a tin pan, disposable one at that, and the marinade was touching about halfway up the fish. I would suggest then putting a lid on it and letting it marinate, stick it in the fridge for anywhere between 30 minutes and 2 hours, depending on how much time you have and how deep you want the flavor. A more simple thing you can do, is simply salt the fish and rub it in and let it sit for about 15 minutes, which in the meantime, you can cook other things, for example, you can take kinkelman white rice and cook some of that on the stove top, and maybe while that's cooking you can also prepare some veggies. Something I've done before, is if I'm going to say cook some noodles or something, instead of just using the lid, if you happen to have a strainer that came with your one pot, I would suggest filling it up with some steamable veggies, I don't know if spinach is expensive or cheap or not, but if you're able to afford it, I'd suggest putting some fresh rinse spinach in the colander / strainer, and letting it steam while you are waiting for the water to boil. Once it starts boiling, you turn down the heat so it can just do a low simmer, and also remember have the lid on the strainer while it's on top of the pot, so it can still conceal the heat.
About nishiki rice, it's one of the cheapest and least processed Rice's I've seen on the market, at h Mart I know they sell I think a 15 lb bag it is? I don't remember we bought it a long time ago and I'm just finally getting towards the end of it, which my mom for the sake of convenience for the rice from the huge bag into several large jars, and I'm almost finished with one jar, and after that is the very last jar. Anyway, that one was about 20 bucks, which at least seems to be enough to feed two people for a month, although don't quote me on this, since I don't eat that Rice everyday, due to my digestive issues. It's something I have on a semi consistent basis, kind of every once in awhile, so I don't upset my stomach.
I hope these tips help, and to finish about the fish, to make it a more Japanese style portion which will conserve more of the fish, just take a typical American filet and slice it in half. When cooking it, and if you have a small fry pan at all, then take a piece of parchment paper, make sure it's not too big but not too small, so it doesn't hang over the side to catch fire, but it doesn't cover so little that it's pointless, and then line your pan with it. You might want to add a little water underneath it to avoid scorching, but only a little bit. If you start to smell burning or hear specific sizzling sounds, it might be time to add water underneath again, but like I said, not too much. You don't have to cook the fish for very long, which especially makes it great for a quick meal. By the way for the amount of time for the rice to finish cooking, it's probably worth going for the marinade, but if you don't even spend money on a cheap bottle of soy sauce and some bud light, then salt will do. After the rice is finished cooking, put the lid on it and put off to the side on a heat safe surface, take out the spinach and season it with whatever you fancy, maybe even while it's still piping hot add in some Bud light and some honey or corn syrup or whatever liquid sweetener you might have on hand, but a sparing amount, and then put your skillet, or small frying pan on the stove. I usually don't time how long I'm cooking the fish, and I do suggest that you go find an actual video or recipe, but I'm giving you tips based off of my own experience which I still hope is helpful
We grew and canned an easy 75% of the food we consumed. I didn't know cornbread and beans was "poor food" and I didn't realize that mom's famous potato soup would have cost mere pennies to make. I am so blessed to have had a mom who could take a box of flour, water, and some fat, and turn out good food. Knowing how to cook and how to maximize ingredients is an important survival tool-especially for the food insecure and those in a food desert. Thank you for showing frugal eating as good eatig.
I still cook like my mom cooked, I rarely buy pre made packaged food. We're healthier for knowing how to cool from scratch. I didnt learn to can but I use my freezer for everything. ❤
As someone who grew up with food insecurity, I had already loved this series. It made me happy to see someone showing that you can still have filling, nutritious, and delicious meals while keeping budgets in mind. So, seeing this episode made me even happier. June was able to show that with just a little bit of creativity you can still make meals for your family - even with a food box that may have a mismatched ingredient list.
Also, Fred's eyes are so teeny tiny and it's too cute.
Thanks for sharing your experience!
Interesting. I didn't grow up with food insecurity and watching this, I was amazed at how much creativity and skill had to be employed to make it workable. I had an intellectual appreciation for the challenges of making a go with these limited resources, but this video really, really opened my eyes to how hard it is.
So many great takeaways from this, especially that one ingredient can be many things: jam is a sweetener, powdered condiments are salt pepper MSG, cornflakes/crackers are flour, fruit is a thickening agent, etc. Wonderful ways to repurpose pantry staples when resources are limited!
Exactly !! June is so smart !! She makes us see food through a different angle !! It’s eye opening !! 💡💖
@@laureblau1241 Who knew how versatile plain old peanut butter could be in so many dishes!!
My favourite thing about this series is there is often not an aim or attempt to make a “recognised” meal/dish. It is an assembly of ingredients. And that is really freeing.
So often there is this obsession on these types of shows with trying to recreate recognised versions of existing dishes, and I think it really puts people off throwing things together, as they don’t think they have the full ingredients list. This just shows you can do anything with what you have 👏
I have never thought about a lack of spices before! Makes you realise how privileged we are.
i didn’t realize how much i enjoy seeing aaron try the food also until he wasn’t there in the very beginning lol. happy when he made his appearance!
I’m relieved to know he’s still in the picture! Whew! I was worried!
Me too. I love Aaron and June’s relationship.
Hi, June! In regard to your question about one silk per kernel: the answer is generally, yes (barring stress or bugs).
The silks are the female part of the corn plant that are fertilized by the pollen that comes from the tassel (the male part) at the top of the plant. Pollen falls from the tassel (can be done by the wind or humans) and travels down the silk tube to an ovule on the unfertilized ear. Once successfully fertilized, we get a kernel!
Thanks for sharing!!
Oh my goodness, that’s amazing !!
Corn is cool 😎
Wow, interesting!!!
@@laureblau1241 Just wanted to say hi! From Laurie Blau(-Marshall) I did a double-take when I saw your name!
I remember being mortified when I saw my boyfriends mom throw away a whole block of cheese because it had a little mold on it!! My mom always just cut those off and kept going 🤷🏼♀️ I love how informative you are about “expired” food. Coming from someone who grew up eating food pantry staples and more than my fair share of expired food 😅 thank you for normalizing this!
I know that was painful. Lol
I freeze my cheese and when I buy it cheap or in bulk I try to grate it first.
People: Pineapple on pizza? *cOnTrOvErSeYY!!*
June: *puts pineapple, bread, spam & evaporated milk together.
People: eh well.....June knows best, we guess
June! A whole hour and a half?! ALL OF THESE RECIPES?! June Xie is the hardest working food blogger out there. Quality, lengthy, thoughtful content, always. How lucky we are to have you!
So very lucky, indeed !!! 👑💖
In Missouri, with EBT, we have Double up Bucks on all produce. Every $ spent we receive 2 back, up to $25 each trip. It's only at certain grocery stores, and when you live in the country and shop once a month and drive 50 miles to your store. This really helps. And we're farmers and were hit hard by floods in 2019 & 2020, no crop means no harvest money for the year. And I"m like a kid in a candy store in the produce section when I can get free produce.
Go Missouri! That’s a brilliant approach.
Wow, good deal! In Massachusetts, we have a summer produce deal - not as great as yours (a refund each month of up to $40 for all EBT spent at farmer's markets) but something I'm grateful for nevertheless.
Share these stories with your local representatives so they keep funding great programs like this!
I was a farmers wife until retirement and in 83 and 84 the drought just about did us in. Even the garden pretty much failed us. I wish I had known about food stamps back then. It would have helped us so much. I am so glad food stamps are available to families now. But from what I am hearing its just not enough. Especially with meat being soooo expensive now. June with her experiments really opened my eyes to try new things. She is amazing!
iowa has this too!
I was very surprised she didn’t just mush up the banana and evaporated milk and peanut butter and then freeze it.
Like ice cream! Delicious!
Also, I love everything about this video! So creative!
As a mom who works 9 hour days 6 days a week on my feet while 7.5 months pregnant, it's still nearly impossible to have enough food by the end of the month. Thank you so much for this ❤️ thank you for highlighting what so many of us are faced with ❤️
“I am no food scientist” no, June. But you are a food genius/goddess/badass
Amen to that !! 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
Thank you for the time rule, as a disabled family who relied on food pantry items. Cooking that took a long time and extensive prep was not something we could handle. Now that my husband has passed I have been able to find ways to prep once or twice a week and make it last since I'm just one person.
To supplement my spices I would keep any seasoning packets that came with foods I didn't cook to box directions or fast food stuff. Also the dollar tree sells a lot of spices. Occasionally there would be some in our food pantry boxes.
Whenever we drop food off at local pantries I try to think about what I like to have as staples in the kitchen, maybe I'll add some basic spices next time. I think it's something people who have never lived on a shoestring budget take for granted when cooking
@@oliviacalderone1119 I'm going to be honest - I've never thought of donating seasonings! I'm going to donate stock cubes and some simple spices next time I do a big shop.
Thank you for sharing your story!
thank you for sharing! gonna donate seasonings too now!
Oooof now I feel bad for throwing away the ramen spice packets 😅😅😅
I'm so surprised people have an issue with this video. I bet families receiving these types of boxes have had to be even more creative and experimental than you June, with the little that they have in order to put meals on the table. I appreciate your videos it opens my mind and has encouraged me to save EVERYTHING!! These videos are here to inspire people to think outside the box and try different combos, It's not a meal subscription where you must make whats on the stupid menu card. Well done June 👏
June is the absolute best UA-camr. Period. She carries Delish on her jacked shoulders. Thank you universe for giving us June
Fred is just living his best life.
Yeah, I'm definitely a Fred fan.
Fred is adorable and it just shows how amazing June is that she adopted a senior cat.
I think Fred has realized he doesn't get to eat hooman food... So he's over the judging gig lol
Best Life Boy - Fred
Fred is everything. And low key looks like Ron Pearlman 😂
This video made me think a lot about food insecurity and how much food I waste every day. Thank you!
Same. I need to do better
Me too
Same 🥺
Thank you so much June! This is how I feed my boys. I live with a rare disease that prevents me from working full time. I have a child with additional needs. Food pantries fill in the gaps
June I just wanted to comment here saying you were the inspiration for me to use all the left over outside and core of a pineapple from the $1 bin and boil it in water to make pineapple water. I then used it as the water for a mango pineapple tea I have and it was super delicious! I never would have thought to do that if I haven't been watching so many of your videos where you use everything. Thank you so much for opening my eyes and helping me to step out of the box!
I hope June reads the comments and knows how appreciated she is. She's so creative and such a beautiful spirit. I learn so many new things every time I watch her.
🙏
she actually ate corn silk! wow
In Romania those cabbage rolls are called "sarmale", they're made with the minced meat of your choice, carrot, onion, parsley and rice as a binder. Wrap the mixture in blanched cabbage leaves, stack them in a pot, add some sort of smoked greasy slices of meat, like pancetta in between the layers, add water, boil, fry some tomato paste with oil, pour on top, not necessary, but it gives amazing flavour. So good. Replace the meat with diced mushrooms for a veggie alternative. Yum. It was cool to see how you made a recipe that was born on the other side of the world, without even knowing.
Thank you for the veggie option !!
I feel like June is on a one woman mission to make MSG really popular to consume.
She can team up with Uncle Roger, he's been on that mission since lockdown last year
And Josh from mythical kitchen
It's a lovely addition to most things!
Did we forget it’s bad for your heart, and if not cooked, it digests your digestive system? We are already a nation of people with GERD and on reflux medication!
Instead of heating your cabbage for hours in the microwave, I know a little trick. You can place it in a plastic bag in the freezer overnight, before peeling, take it out of the freezer and let it defrost completely. It will peel so easily!
This is by far the weirdest most glorious budget eats so far.
Thank you so much for highlighting food insecurity and the work that food banks do! As a food bank staff in the Bay Area (CA), this is really heartening that you’re shedding light to what so many people go through daily.
Thank you for making life more stable, liveable in an area where housing costs have make food and housing security really fragile for so so so many people.
It is strange to see how wildly different some of the prices are were you live vs. where I live in the Midwest. Where I live, $1 for a pint of blueberries would be an absolute STEAL. But $3 for that bundle of celery makes me want to clutch my pearls, lol.
I also live in the midwest and I was like "I thought celery was 1$" but things are different prices everywhere, those blueberries are a steal!! A pint of blueberries was 4.50 $ last week at the store 😭
In Italy, celery costs about 60 cents for 1kg. And 1kg of celery is a lot of celery.
It is absolutely mind boggling how expensive fresh produce is in the US. No wonder you guys have an obesity epidemic going on
My answer to the question about what comes in food pantry boxes made it in the episode! I'm honored! As always, I love June's creativity and appreciate her honesty when things don't always work out as hoped/planned. And Fred...I just love Fred.
June!!! You just gave people possible in this situation so much dignity with this video. You really have no idea how heart warming this is. Can you imagine if MORE of use walked in each others shoes from time to time? Thank you for doing this June. 🖤
Absolutely !!! 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
You need merch that says "what we lack in ingredients, we make up for in weirdness"
As the coordinator of a small pantry in the midwest, thank you June for this episode of Budget Eats. Great ideas, out of the box, love it!
When you buy celery, take it out of the plastic bag and wrap it in aluminum foil. I think mine usually lasts at least 6 weeks, probably longer because I don't use it often. And it stays crisp!
I know people in prison have used up mashed corn flakes, instant ramen, fritos,etc to make prison tamales! So that goes to show these methods are totally usable! I love June’s creativity and thoughtfulness for these videos. I try to incorporate the same logic and creativity when I’m cooking to reduce food waste and maximize using all my ingredients!
I just learned something from you - I had no idea that washing/drying bananas tends to keep the fruit flies away. I'll definitely have to remember that!
Yes, what a surprising and useful bit of information! I learn something new every time I watch June.
Not sure if correct but the farmers wrap tape on the end of the bunch coming together. I do believe that could be where the fruit flies lay eggs. I would wash that part good.
JUNE!!! This made my week! I haven't seen my mom in two years because of the pandemic and have been missing her even more than usual the last couple of weeks. Growing up, this is exactly how she cooked. Specifically, she would always mash stale cereal and crackers into flour when we didn't have any and she couldn't afford more. Banana bread (made with whatever she could find) was her signature recipe. Of course, as a kid, I was always embarrassed by her weird substitutes, so watching you make corn flake banana bread for an eager audience is such a great experience. Thanks for all the care & hard work that you put into your videos and recipes :):):):) Can't wait to tell mom that you lifted her recipe :p
Just want to echo everyone's comments on the crazy amount of creativity in these particular recipes and for raising awareness. The amount of applications for Ritz/peanut butter/celery you came up with is seriously impressive. Also your food descriptions are absolutely incredible. They are so vivid, I almost feel like I'm right there eating with you! I can only dream though! Cooking in real life with June would be amazing!
Thank you for knowing that my soul needed a new June episode…. She’s the only person who can make me rewatch all of her 1+ hour UA-cam videos 🤣😂
June: cabbage can be a little uninspiring.
The whole avatar: the last airbender fandom: My cabbages!
Literally me 😂
My son makes cabbage lasagne. 😋
"What we lack in ingredients, we make up for in weirdness." Yes to this on a T-shirt!
WOAH this is an impressive video, I feel recognized as a lower income youth that has always struggled with nutritious meals on the table. Narrowing down to one stove top burner and no oven demonstrated some great though into this video.
I'm not even done watching the video yet. But I like to recommend to add timestamps to this for each recipes, so its easy to return to each when someone needs to!!
They heard you! They added timestamps to the description box.
@@ginna1375 yaaaay! Hoping that future budget eats will have to!
10:17 improbably glorious sandwich.
"Look at this box of lies" I felt that in my soul and remembered all the boxed mac and cheese disappointments in my life. 😩
Can you do a WIC week? The limited selection makes weird combinations. And I know a lot of people who qualify for WIC but not food stamps, depend largely on their WIC benefits to feed their kids because high cost of living.
I live in Germany so it's different to the US, but I must say I appreciate how you did this video. It's so open and you thought about everything.
I love that.
Sorry if my English isn't the best ❤️
Have a great day everyone 😊
Just wanted to say that your English is almost perfect! :)
June went straight up 1950’s with that bread pudding 😂
When she does these series it's just so entertaining and relaxing to me. I have watched her previous vids on this channel multiple times and this is another classic. I can't agree I would eat some of this stuff, but she's just so dag on creative and resourceful, you gotta love it! ❤️
Anything with that year expired peanut butter in it is not going anywhere near my mouth but this was definitely very entertaining to watch!
I've learned more about saving scraps from basic foods in this video, than I have in my entire life! I'm surprisingly and pleasently, shocked!! 😲
And when I couldn't love you anymore...you go and do this. My family no longer have to worry about food insecurity, but many still do. Thank you!
I would love if this was a series. Like literally copying instances of food bank boxes. Sometimes the contents are kind of baffling. Greatful that they exist
Great idea!
also, since you always try to not waste anything... I always keep a bucket next to my sink where I collect all the water I use for washing / rinsing produce etc. I use that for watering the plants in my apartment...
great idea!!!!
I recently moved, and just down the block discovered a store called Grocery Outlet. Big bargains to be found there sometimes, the catch being a lot of it is near or even slightly past the expiration date. However, I saw a foodie dude on YT who said that expiration dates don't really mean that much, especially if you freeze the item. Anyway, I've scored some super deals. Most recently they had applewood bacon, 2 for $1. They were expiring the next day so I froze them. Not everything is a good deal, especially the general merchandise and the meat, but if you browse and pay attention, you can find some steals.
We have one near me too and I love that place!
The Grocery Outlet in my town is great. When it first opened the management didn't care how past date items were (some canned food is coded so the general public can't tell) but a new couple took over and they are wonderful. The hard part is finding something you love and knowing you'll probably never find it again.
It may be pretty specific, but I would love to see a Budget Eats allergy edition -- minus all nuts/nut products and/or no seafood/fish products. Great video as always and I love your creativity!!
I absolutely love this idea! I can’t have 4 allergen groups. I’ve always wondered about a video like this.
I agree I have a nut and shell fish
Allergy
Been getting food bank food for almost a year now! Thanks for this
I know that this is “June-lite” or “Skim June” or “Diet-June” if you will, but I sure do love every one of these dang videos.
“I can’t believe it’s not June”
What is skim june? Like editted???
Omg! You’ve topped yourself. The fact you did this in a microwave was 10 out of 10. I love how you used the oil off the peanut butter, the juice off the olives and pineapple, NOTHING went to waste.
Keep it coming June!
I grew up on foodstamps and ny grandparents had a garden. Now I work but dont make a ton of money. I buy in bulk at costco and use my freezer. My go to cheap meal is probably a quesadilla. I love her creativity and enjoy learning new things.
Im always surprised by the amount of food waste in the world. Ive been blessed to have a son that works in the food industry and what he been allowed to bring home. Be creative. Thanks for this video
I'm obsessed with all her videos, and witty dialog.
I had to rely on a food bank a few times and I really struggled with some of the ingredients even though I am a very frugal cook from way back. The hardest ingredients in my box were: a giant can of tomato juice, dried yellow peas (basically the only legume we don't eat and they are still in my pantry) and a frozen block of chicken parts (hard to thaw and had to be cooked all at once making way too much food for two - meaning I had to freeze some it after it was cooked). I think most people getting these food bank items would also have Snap benefits so they should be able to buy salt and other seasonings, oil, pasta, vinegar, flour and other basics to supplement the boxes. This was such an inspiring video. We love June!
You can make Dahl (or just regular soup) with dried yellow peas !! Really easy and tasty 😋😉
I’ve used legumes instead of rice or pasta to make a Greek style salad before. It was delicious and hearty.
Dried yellow peas = daal, falafel style fritters, burgers, stew, curry, veggie chili.
The peas can be curry bruh 😂
June.... you are truly... whew. The kind of person you are is so rare. What an honor it is to watch you work. You are one of a kind.
🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼 She really is !! I love her so much !!!
Corn cob jelly is a great way to save corn cobs. It’s sweet and a little starchy. I have a garden and rely on it mostly for our food and can only spend about $100 monthly for 6 people so I do my best to preserve everything
Glad the food boxes are getting better. Back in May, a friend was helping distribute food boxes near my home and he had a few left over and brought one to me. I didn't need it but I was curious so I accepted it.
Here's what was in it:
1 jar Applesauce
Four small apples
32 oz of apple juice
Two cans garbanzo beans
Two cans sweet corn
Two cans of tuna
Two packs of sodium-laden Mexican rice
Two packs of spaghetti
Two onions
Four fresh ears of corn
Two small bags of cheezits
1 box Cheerios
If you're diabetic, and it's well known that diabetes is more prevalent in lower income areas, there not a lot you can eat here. Most of the folks receiving them couldn't afford much else to supplement this with with the pandemic having shut down so many places of employment. What was maddening there was a report on the news that week showing people on Long Island not that far away getting boxes with fresh meat, eggs, fruit, vegetables and milk.
Thank you for calling attention to this issue.
For the next budget eats I'd love to see June do cooking without the top 9 allergens, or maybe a timed budget eats, where she only has a limited time to shop for the week, like 20 minutes.
We can tick off wheat with the gluten free episode or were you talking about all 9 allergens all in one go?
@@ginna1375 All in one go!
I so appreciate how thorough you are with genuinely replicating the circumstances that go along with food insecurity.
Most expiration dates are a mere SUGGESTION, especially if they're air tight cans and jars. They're FINE. Oh and tell Aaron y'all should try PICKLES on that BLT.
This is my favorite one so far!!! She really stepped into what a lot of people are going through right now.
I would love to see an episode that DOES feature a few expensive ingredients, so June can show us where it's worth spending a little extra money sometimes!
I am off work today due to one of my chronic health conditions playing up badly. I always try to think of something positive when I feel poorly and my silver lining today is that I have had time to watch this video in one go and it's well and truly cheered me up. You, Aaron and of course Fred, have made what was a sad day, a much better one. Thank you!
Sending u lots of hugs and well wishes and love
I'm so happy to see someone cooking with celery leaves. Honestly one of my favorite additions to things like casseroles
Jun, thank you so much for researching, hearing the points that were brought up from the person that works in providing these services, and acknowleding the barriers of a food insecure household to guide your rules.
Pro Tip on the mac & cheese - if you can find the "spirals" and cut 1 min off the cook time, it's 1000x better than the traditional tubes. Wegmans currently has them for $0.39 a box.
Yes the spirals are the best!!!
Watching this has given me soo much inspiration, my income fluctuates so sometimes i rely on food pantries, sometimes i have money for groceries, and watching this helped like, broaden my mind to what i could make with the mish-mash of random canned goods one gets in a food pantry.
Soooo many uses for peanut butter i'd never thought of, way better than just depressing peanut butter+corn tortilla sandwiches i live on during rough months
My husband passed a couple of months ago.....I've stopped cooking and eating. I'm trying to become inspired by my fav june!
It takes time. Time to nurture yourself.
Again, June excelled this budget eats with so much creativity and wits and wholesome cooking!!!! Love you June!
My mom use to make us an after school snack using cornflakes, peanut butter and honey, or syrup, whatever we had….. she would melt the peanut butter in the microwave and mix it with the honey or syrup the stir it into the cereal, sometimes she used Cheerios, then once it set up she’d cut it up and we’d eat it!! Your cornflake bread made me think of that!! Thanks!!
June will be the only one during an apocalypse not eating beanie weenies and uncooked Ramen
This is actually a really good recommendation to everyone who donate sundries to a food pantry.
Oil and spices are usually in high demand.