DD put my little ponies in a brand new container of hummus today

[Anonymous]

I, for one, don’t buy tahini - I make my own in the food processor using sesame seeds that I’ve toasted.

You can also use peanut butter. It gives the hummus a different taste, but it’s still delicious.

[Anonymous]

OP: If you are still reading, two reflections;

1. Your DD might be growing and really hungry right now.
2. Sounds like you are not used to these struggles yet.

That's ok. Getting help from the links provided is hard. Buying from goodwill should not be. Many women (me included) pop in for a shop when we drop stuff off.

Do you like beans and rice? That's cheap and easy. How about soup?

Roast a chicken on monday, stir fry it on tuesday, eat it cold on wesnesday, soup thursday.

I've been very, very poor. Some weeks I re-try my cheap eats to make sure I can still do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is not to scold you but hummus is cheap and easy to make. Tahini, chickpeas, oil oil, lemon juice.

Is it even cheaper if you buy the ingredients rather than the premade?

Tahini is the only ingredient with a more-than-negligible cost and even that is cheap.

Olive oil is $8+ a bottle, Tahini is $4+ a container, chick peas are $0.50 - $2.00 depending on if they are dried or canned, a lemon is around $0.50.
Total cost to make would be $13-$15 at the cheapest. Premade hummus is less than just the olive oil. Are you familiar with the concept that it costs more to be poor?

My hummus recipe doesn't contain olive oil.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is not to scold you but hummus is cheap and easy to make. Tahini, chickpeas, oil oil, lemon juice.

Is it even cheaper if you buy the ingredients rather than the premade?

Tahini is the only ingredient with a more-than-negligible cost and even that is cheap.

Olive oil is $8+ a bottle, Tahini is $4+ a container, chick peas are $0.50 - $2.00 depending on if they are dried or canned, a lemon is around $0.50.
Total cost to make would be $13-$15 at the cheapest. Premade hummus is less than just the olive oil. Are you familiar with the concept that it costs more to be poor?

My hummus recipe doesn't contain olive oil.

The recipe in the post above does. Stop with the hummus recipes. OP does not need recipes for hummus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is not to scold you but hummus is cheap and easy to make. Tahini, chickpeas, oil oil, lemon juice.

Is it even cheaper if you buy the ingredients rather than the premade?

Tahini is the only ingredient with a more-than-negligible cost and even that is cheap.

Olive oil is $8+ a bottle, Tahini is $4+ a container, chick peas are $0.50 - $2.00 depending on if they are dried or canned, a lemon is around $0.50.
Total cost to make would be $13-$15 at the cheapest. Premade hummus is less than just the olive oil. Are you familiar with the concept that it costs more to be poor?

Yes, but the amount of hummus that would make is 10x what comes in a little container, and you could freeze some for later.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is not to scold you but hummus is cheap and easy to make. Tahini, chickpeas, oil oil, lemon juice.

Is it even cheaper if you buy the ingredients rather than the premade?

Tahini is the only ingredient with a more-than-negligible cost and even that is cheap.

Olive oil is $8+ a bottle, Tahini is $4+ a container, chick peas are $0.50 - $2.00 depending on if they are dried or canned, a lemon is around $0.50.
Total cost to make would be $13-$15 at the cheapest. Premade hummus is less than just the olive oil. Are you familiar with the concept that it costs more to be poor?

You don't need to buy fancy olive oil and tahini to make decent hummus, though--you can buy inexpensive oil and tahini at Trader Joe's (and even at Whole Foods!) You can get a bag of dried chickpeas for $1, and that will make hummus for weeks.

I don't disagree conceptually with the idea that it is sometimes more expensive to buy things in quantity and/or to take the time to cook something yourself if you don't have cash on hand, but in this case you can literally buy all of the ingredients for a few dollars more than the finished product, and you get enough to make that tub of hummus many times over.

OP, if you have a working freezer, it is definitely helpful to cook and freeze food even if the recipe makes more than you and your DD will eat. That has gotten us through many tight financial stretches in between jobs. We spend far less if we make a meal plan, shop just for those ingredients, and then prep the meals all at once. It also helps to make sure we use all the leftovers, which is an area that we are not great about much of the time.

[Anonymous]

All y'all who are out here posting hummus recipes are completely missing the point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Except in a two person household where one is a little kid, it would go bad before it can be eaten. It's cheaper too buy the finished product. As a single moms with a young child, I quickly learned that it often cost less not to make homemade because the cost of ingredients was more than a single finished product.

No that's ridiculous. All those items are pantry staples. They don't go bad (well the lemons will eventually but you can just buy one at a time.)

You just make a batch of hummus each week. The olive oil, tahini and chick peas all last a long time in the fridge (opened tahini) or on the pantry shelf.

No your ridiculous.

The items are not pantry staples for a single mom with one kid on a serious budget. They are products meant for one single recipe and are a splurge. The only item from the list I keep on hand is olive oil and it's a product that lingers in my cabinet for a year or more and still isn't used up. It's really hard to understand that when you have never lived it so instead of arguing why not accept that someone else simply has experience in this area that you don't.

I also love the suggestion for making homemade hummus because I am sure the OP has time to do that along with roasting that chicken another poster mentioned

Aldis is a great suggestion and sticking with easy to make and basic is the best way to go - things like Grilled cheese, baked chicken and steamed veggies, pancakes, mac n cheese, etc. They actually have a decent hummus as well for $1.99.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All y'all who are out here posting hummus recipes are completely missing the point.

+1000. But they make me laugh.

[Anonymous]

So sorry OP! Sounds like really you were just having a bad night. Having a kid is hard and expensive. Being divorced with a child is even more so. Is it possible to cut your budget a bit (food and what not) to make a little room for some new things for you? Anything around the house you can sell to free up some money?

Being poor is hard. Being poor as a single parent... Special place in heaven for you hun! Stay strong!

[Anonymous]

OP, I'm so sorry for your situation. I hope everything gets better. I know how it feels to be poor both as a child (parents would do without so that we could eat; had no health insurance) and as an adult (many examples, unfortunately but thank God I'm ok now). Anyway, my church has a food pantry opened to the public that's sole purpose is to support people in need. My church is in NOVA so not convenient for you, but if you call the Archdiocese or Catholic Churches in PG, they can probably direct you to specific parishes with pantries or help. I don't know if you're Catholic, but I don't think you need to be Catholic to get items from our pantry. It's open to all. God bless and hope things improve.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All y'all who are out here posting hummus recipes are completely missing the point.

+1000. But they make me laugh.

+1 only it's nervous laughter over here because I can't believe people really think this is about the freakin hummus and are lecturing OP on daring to treat herself to a container of hummus that she ADMITTED was a luxury to treat herself. Like.....

->The Point---->
/
/
/
/
/
---------All Y'all's heads----------

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All y'all who are out here posting hummus recipes are completely missing the point.

+1000. But they make me laugh.

+1 only it's nervous laughter over here because I can't believe people really think this is about the freakin hummus and are lecturing OP on daring to treat herself to a container of hummus that she ADMITTED was a luxury to treat herself. Like.....

->The Point---->
/
/
/
/
/
---------All Y'all's heads----------

Not just posting recipes but ARGUING about costs and value. So DCUM

[Anonymous]

Someone get this Momma the big Costco hummus!

Seriously, hugs OP. It sounds like a pretty rotten time for you. Take help where needed and stay positive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is not to scold you but hummus is cheap and easy to make. Tahini, chickpeas, oil oil, lemon juice.

Is it even cheaper if you buy the ingredients rather than the premade?

Tahini is the only ingredient with a more-than-negligible cost and even that is cheap.

Olive oil is $8+ a bottle, Tahini is $4+ a container, chick peas are $0.50 - $2.00 depending on if they are dried or canned, a lemon is around $0.50.
Total cost to make would be $13-$15 at the cheapest. Premade hummus is less than just the olive oil. Are you familiar with the concept that it costs more to be poor?

You don't need to buy fancy olive oil and tahini to make decent hummus, though--you can buy inexpensive oil and tahini at Trader Joe's (and even at Whole Foods!) You can get a bag of dried chickpeas for $1, and that will make hummus for weeks.

I don't disagree conceptually with the idea that it is sometimes more expensive to buy things in quantity and/or to take the time to cook something yourself if you don't have cash on hand, but in this case you can literally buy all of the ingredients for a few dollars more than the finished product, and you get enough to make that tub of hummus many times over.

OP, if you have a working freezer, it is definitely helpful to cook and freeze food even if the recipe makes more than you and your DD will eat. That has gotten us through many tight financial stretches in between jobs. We spend far less if we make a meal plan, shop just for those ingredients, and then prep the meals all at once. It also helps to make sure we use all the leftovers, which is an area that we are not great about much of the time.

Please stop posting in this thread.