Budget Batch-Baked Bacon & Bean Breakfast Buns! 16p Each! ...or Are They?
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 มิ.ย. 2024
- This was supposed to be a whole week of budget cooking, but turned out to be just one thing (I can explain) - instead, this will be a deep dive into making one budget breakfast item, including a look at cost, nutrition, HIDDEN COSTS, etc.
About the 'Budget Challenge' Series:
The reason I do this is as an exercise to try to provoke myself to respond creatively; to nurture or develop transferrable skills of creativity and adaptability; to think more about what it means to 'try'; to embed a habit of thinking about and focusing upon solutions, not problems and also to experience personal failure in a safe setting. This type of exercise - in this, and in other contexts - has served me very well in life. Those skills, such as they are, have always been the driving force of what I do, on this channel, and everywhere else.
It's important to note what this video is NOT:
This is NOT a tutorial for cooking or budgeting. No guarantee is made that anyone else will be able to replicate any part of this video (supposing you even wanted to).
This is NOT an attempt to 'play at being poor', although it always does make me appreciate things that I normally take for granted.
This is NOT an attempt to 'prove that people on benefits could get by with less' - if anything, it proves the complete opposite - because this was a difficult thing to do - that's why it's called a 'challenge'.
This is NOT a diet - it would not be a good idea to cook or eat exactly this food every day - or budget like this every day.
Outro music: 12 Mornings by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Artist: audionautix.com/
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Timestamps
0:00 Recipe
2:06 Plan & purpose
3:02 Cooking resumes
14:04 Results
15:33 Tasting
16:26 Analysis
18:49 Difficulties costing
19:16 Hidden factors
21:50 Politics
22:32 Purpose
23:20 Future - แนวปฏิบัติและการใช้ชีวิต
![[Full Episode] MasterChef Junior Thailand มาสเตอร์เชฟ จูเนียร์ ประเทศไทย Season 3 Episode 1](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Qs5zdBqLn_8/mqdefault.jpg)
i know you're always worried about being seen to be condescending to poor people with these budget challenges, but you're actually showing how difficult it is. i enjoy them because necessity is the mother of invention, and you do provide a lot of inspiration and enjoyment in a way that's accessible to people with less money because you're not using expensive or aspirational ingredients most of the time in your cooking videos overall. thank you for bringing us along on all your adventures.
I think you’re getting ’poor’ people confused with people that don’t care. Understandable.
I live in the Texas boonies. Literally it is an hour drive to a town big enough for big box stores or a supermarket. My nearest town is 1 mile in diameter. The Food Bank comes out once a month and dumps food on us. Never know what we might get. A few months ago I got 2 cases of beans in tomato juice. By itself it was so bland. But I had just recently watched one of these budget videos, which gave me ideas on how to use the beans. Very thankful as I've been able to make some yummy meals using the beans.
Anybody who gets offended by your budget challenges clearly has a chip on their shoulder.
And that is it perfectly okay to buy one onion/mushroom/carrot.
@@keptleroymg6877
Poor people don’t have the surplus mental energy to do all of this, and that’s not their fault. As you’ve clearly observed, it’s expensive to be poor.
Only at Atomic Shrimp can you expect a nice breakfast muffin and get an incredibly detailed spreadsheet of _every_ possible expense and a philosophical commentary on what it really means to cook frugally and live on low income. Fantastic video as always, Shrimp.
Precisely. Never doubted Mike's sentiment.
Yeah he doesn't even do a good job at that... he had to get to the shops and there is no allotment for gas, vehicle maintenance or public transport costs. Sure calculating the price of electricity seems smart except that the price of going and getting the food is going to be more.
@@thomgizziz In the UK it's often possible to walk to the shops, probably especially in lower income areas.
@@thomgizziz in the rest of the world shops are not on the other side of the continental shelf
@@thomgizziz Perhaps he should make up some imaginary numbers to satisfy you? He mentioned he got as much as he could carry, indicating he was walking home from the shop.
Your rant was wonderful! As I’ve mentioned before, I’m formerly homeless, I’m disabled and I spent many years living on very little. I cooked well, if not as creatively as you do. The time factor is vitally important - I often worked very long hours for very little money, and the time and energy to cook weren’t there even if the money was. You’ve highlighted all the right things here. Thank you for your intelligent and compassionate approach. It’s so refreshing.
I was lucky enough to have a massive wooded area near me while homeless. I build a camp and cooked ok. Froze alot though
Hot tip as a baker, bake them in a muffin tin. You can even roll the tops and bottoms separately (bottoms being a bit bigger and they have to fill the tin). this will also make it easier to add other ingredients like eggs without making a big mess.
This was my first video of yours that i have watching and I think you did a great job breaking everything down, so thank you for the great video!
Do you know the Muffin man
The Muffin man, the Muffin man
Oh, do you know the Muffin man
Who lives on Drury Lane?
Oh yes, we know the Muffin man
The Muffin man, the Muffin man
Oh yes, we know the Muffin man
Who lives on Drury Lane?
Oh, we all know the Muffin man
The Muffin Man, the Muffin man
Oh, we all know the Muffin man
Who lives on Drury Lane?
As a poor person myself😂 I feel the need to say, I have never once thought these budget food challenge videos are anything other than that, a food challenge you set for yourself. I absolutely love to see the creativity you put into these dishes, and to be 100% honest you've given me multiple ideas for when I'm extra skint 🤣 you've taught me that I don't have to just buy food from the supermarket and that it can be found all around us if you only look closely. I'm really happy to have a new food challenge video, they are very enjoyable to watch ☺️
100% agree! These videos are inspiring!
agreed. i've made probably a dozen of these budget recipes over a year or two when things get tight. love that he's done all the experimenting for me already
totaly agree the challanges was for fun . i am glad thay have helped you
Shrimp isn't like those other TH-camrs who go around town and say "how I survived homeless for a week" and it's all just insulting b.s. Shrimp is just an everyday joe
Same here. I find them good for inspo.
Mike this video is incredible. I feel so seen and I'm not even remotely amongst the most deprived, low income, chronically ill or other adverse circumstances in this country (UK) and certainly not the world. Thank you so much for your deeply kind consideration and thorough clarity. I have no idea how you expressed that with such depth in 24 minutes but I applaud you. If I could hit like on this video a thousand times I would.
His name is Mike?
The 'hidden factors' part of this video is a FANTASTIC message, very well portrayed, I've been a fan for a long time and I'm now even more of a fan 👏🏼
Learning to cook cheaply is also a skill, and not it's not something anyone can magically know how to do. I think another "hidden cost" is whether you have had people teach you how to do it, or if you've had the luxury of having time to learn. Anyway, these videos are massively inspiring, and it's quite sobering to see it laid out just how much time and effort goes into each one!
That's a good point. Shrimp clearly has a lot of confidence in the kitchen, but to gain that skill takes time. The first few attempts will take twice as long as you expect, and might end up inedible. The potential for waste there is hard to account for
Yes it is. You go buy a magical tome called a cookbook, one that specifically talks about budgets and how to do the shopping for a whole menu all at once. Baking bread is one of the more time consuming things you can do and this isn't where you are going to start. Most recipes are going to be less than 30 mins start to finish and the book also has instructions start to finish. Stop making excuses and just go do it, you can spare 30mins a day and you go to the store anyway.
@@thomgizziz I think it's hard to understand how someone can lack a skill that you can't remember learning.
If you don't cook, you don't know how much effort different recipes will take. And if you're a novice, a "30 minute recipe" is going to take you a lot longer, because you don't know to start cooking one think while you chop another, for example.
Demeaning someone is hardly the way to get someone to listen to you, by the way
I can cook reasonable cheap, learned it. One fundamental thing is having spices and dry herbs in house (and they also cost money).
Also making a basic sauce from flower, butter and the (vegetable) stock (put in some spices ) can lift it up.
@@gingganggoolie I can cook reasonably, but i like to chop everything before start cooking (unless it is slow cooked meat), and it takes longer but i also have no stress that it needs to be cut in time (It means i agree with you)
Less stress and a better result in the end (most of the times)
It's so refreshing to see that, even from your position of comfort and financial stability, you completely understand that people's circumstances have a huge impact on every part of their lives, and that it's not as simple as "just cook using cheap ingredients". Thank you for speaking up about that! You are one of my favourite voices of reason.
#ShrimpForPrimeMinister
In oz, the 'cheap' ingredients have gone. Like the home brand or no name, all gone.
@@EmeraldHill-vo1csa lot are vanishing here too, especially as some 'cheap' brands are almost as costly as the mid range now
Would be lovely to have someone like him who is sensible,compassionate and normal .Can you imagine any of them shopping at Lidl?
@@sarahmoss4224 Yeah because you are a good guy if you go with the easiest path possible and we all know that taking the path of least resistance always leads to the best results. By your thinking you should never punish anybody or question anybody doing wrong because they wouldn't be compassionate or "normal" and as the OP said there are "circumstances" so any criticism is off the table. The funny thing is you dont understand why your world view is naive as you can get.
The political rant was a balm for the soul to hear in a time of increasing poor-shaming, and it explained something I was frankly too stupid to fully understand myself, although I already partly understood it (time to cook, waiting for yeast to eat and reproduce, electricity/firegas/coal/firewood, other costs, poor access to land meaning no gardening, confidence with foraging, time to forage, stress making one slower at things). Damn though, £1 5s 3 for each bun. That's probably the closest to a true cost we'll get in a while.
You have factored out the hidden costs better than I think anyone "at the top" is willing to.
Off topic but this has to be the first time I've stumbled across someone using £sd style (or £sp now) denomination
I think this is the first time I heard Atomic Shrimp rant?
Anyway, I wholeheartedly agree.
(I still think baked beans are weird, though).
@@johanneswerner1140definitely not the first
And somehow he did it without using the superior Freedom Units to measure anything. What a champ.
The consideration of time, and hidden costs also known as Freedom per second (FPS)
(Also used to measure the speed of Freedom a fire arm can put out.)
is very important and I am happy that others are now using it outside of Burgerland.
@@nonamex6536what are you raving about? It would be right to assume that the author would use metric since they're used to it compared to imperial. Use what you're used to and leave other people to shout to a wall.
I really appreciate that you broke down the hidden cost related to time. This is often overlooked by those that never have to worry about those costs. Keep up the good work!❤❤❤
Who never has to worry about the costs of making food??? Even very rich people understand them. How are you all so detached from reality while pretending to be very down to earth?
You need to read it again your comment shows u completely misunderstood
@@thomgizziz Did you notice they're talking about time, not money?
I’m an enormous fan of your work. You prove that effort to understand the complexity of poverty can really pay off. You’re the least condescending person on YT.
Limited budget challenges open up the real struggles people trying to feed families. Thank you for what you do.
as someone who is on social assistance and uses my local foodbank regularly, these types of videos that you have made over the years have been invaluable! even outside of crunching numbers, these videos that you have made have really opened my mind cullinarily and taught me how to cook way more scrappily! june's budget eats is another yt series that helped a lot! the main problem i face regularly is i get 2 boxes from the foodbank and half of the ingredients i have never used before! the contents of the boxes are usually items that no one else was buying at the grocery store so you need to get really creative in the kitchen. i am unemployed so i have the extra time to research and fool around, but for those who are employed or have to take care of young children while relying on food services like this dont have the luxury to learn how to use these ingredients... i could ramble about these sorts of struggles all day and how they can affect a person and their family but at the end of the day the real problem is no one has enough money to go around because it is being hoarded by those who claim we have no business having a livable income.
I feel your paid. I'd suggest Google those unknown/ unfamiliar ingredients, also there are websites and apps where you put in the ingredients you have and you are offered recipes to incorporate them. Best of luck 😊
I'm a big fan of June's budget eats too. Such a shame the series is over with delish but I do still try and catch her live streams from time to time. This channel and budget eats made me fear winging it when cooking so much less. Before I needed recipes for everything but these types of videos gave me the confidence to have a go at just hashing things together and trying things out and I learnt a lot
I'm so glad you mentioned the hidden costs. I've been poor, where I've had to wait until midnight for my paycheque to clear, so I could go to an all nighter and get something for breakfast because there was NO food in the house & I needed to feed my daughter.
If you can't afford bus fare you have to shop locally.
You can only buy what you can carry so you can't take advantage of the bulk offers or cheap supermarket prices.
You can't afford convenience meals so everything takes so long cooking from scratch.
After a long day at work, just ensuring you can cook 3 meals a day is tiring, then you have to do everything else.
Fortunately I'm very comfortable now but I still remember those days. It would be wonderful if some of the meaner people tried to live on a £ a day for a month and see how they coped. They would learn a very valuable life lesson, I'm sure.
Yes! Transportation costs can be limiting. We have food deserts here in the US where folks must travel 30, 45, 50, 60 minutes for decent and more affordable groceries!
@sammonicuslux wow I've never seen a place like that. We usually find walmarts anywhere we are
@@inutamer365 very rural and/or poorer areas where public transportation is non-existent. Or, if there is a market, the fresh food is priced higher. But even with public transportation, it is hard to buy in bulk and carry that onto a bus.
@@inutamer365there was a John Oliver video recently about Dollar Stores, where he mentioned that that can pop up in food desserts and so even if they are bad through X, y, and z business practices, they aren't going anywhere as they are the only place to buy some basics
❤ This gives myself and my wife hope, we have 5 beautiful children, 1 of whom has autism and money is very tight, living hand to mouth most days. We long for more comfortable days but still have fun as a family trying to make new and fun ways to use our ingredients.
The same people who say your challenges prove the poor can eat cheaply, are the same people who criticise the poor for not cooking to keep their children healthy. These buns are cheap but not healthy. And healthy food, generally, isn’t very cheap. That’s why it’s a challenge. Thank you for your entertaining and thought-provoking videos
as someone on benefits, struggling to make money last, this is an inspirational video. it is the first of yours i have seen. seeing the ''actual'' cost is wonderful. yes the ingredients are cheap, but time is always an overlooked factor as is the cost of cooking. it is possible to survive on very little but to live always costs more. i look forward to watching more of your content.
as someone that counts their dollars and cents on a calculator every time I go to the store and bases my groceries for the fortnight on whatever is for sale that is on special, I have never once felt like any of your challenges were punching down at me, instead they have inspired me to actually try and COOK with what I can get. please don't ever stop them.
As an American i think you're missing a bit of context to that side of this video. It's different in the UK because of our class system that doesnt exist in America. You stay the class youre born as here, pretty much, whereas in America its all about income that determines your class.
Here it's basically a medieval feudal system still. It has the same class issues as back then, the working classes are the modern equivalent of the peasants, the higher classes look down on the poorer classes, judging them and stereotyping them and excluding them etc.
Atomic can be assumed to be middle class because of his accent. So he doesnt want anyone working class or lower thinking he's being classist/punching down on the lower classes/less well off.
Furthermore in the UK every few years the Tory party or some other useless silver spoon politician will come out with some nonsense like ''you can make a meal for 30p so they should be able to live off 10 quid a week'' . One said similar a few months ago. Tory party are usually upper class btw.
So i think Atomic is also trying to distance himself from that side of things over here.
@@SparkThaMetal The same thing happens in the US.
@@SparkThaMetal I’m not American. I’m Australian so I understand perfectly well, we share a political system and a class system that our shared ancestors transported with them.
@@naelyneurkopfen9741 Yes but here it has more implications. Being a certain class, that class is your culture, it's very hard to explain to someone who doesnt live in it.
If youre not British you will never understand. Trust me, America 100% does not have the same class system at all. Ive watched enough reactions by americans to know its defo not the same at all.
@@lumare Ah fair enough, i just assumed from the dollars and cents part .
Your whole "rant" was a breath of fresh air. It's nice to know how seen people in low income households are through videos like these. The hidden costs are so often overlooked, and seeing (just as you said) those with the power to change things not change a thing, is rather frustrating. Your videos are informative, entertaining, and are genuinely helpful for a lot of people. Your videos have definitely changed the way I look at budgeting and food preparation in a time where the change was needed, and I'm grateful that you're able to not even charge a penny, despite how many hidden costs are going in to these videos.
Thank you for all the time and, how much you spend on these videos
100%. My sentiments exactly
He gets over 100k views... he isn't making these videos for nothing, this is literally his job. Do you thank your plumber or electrician in the same way? They are just out there looking to be helpful and the workers don't charge you anything the company does.
@@thomgizziz I highly doubt modern TH-cam pays its creators anything comparable to any kind of salary, if we're not counting those few exceptions with ultra-popular channels. _And yes, I do thank people for doing their job. It's called "being polite" here in my country._
@@thomgizziz Now tell me what is your problem ? Isn't mental healthcare affordable for you or isn't there any place (there are long waiting lists, my suggestion get on it before it becomes a private company). Or do you disagree with his rant, and please tell me why you disagree ?
But i guess you can eat and prepare 3 meals a day for 30 Pounds in 30 days (1 pound a day in a 30 day month)?
@@erikaverink8418he's made a few comments on here and I've noticed he's got a attitude problem he seems to be getting angry over TH-cam comment for no reason
I'm watching this video while making pizza from scratch and waiting for my bun dough to rise. I will probably spend at least 6 hours in the kitchen today. Even as someone who is recently done with university and working 4 days a week while looking for a better job, I can't imagine spending this much time in the kitchen every day, and not even once a week! And imagine if I also had to work all week and had kids to take care of at the same time! I think it is great that you speak up on how stressful it must be for those who are less fortunate and that has to work so much harder to get food on the table
Cooking and taking care of kids at the same time isn't that difficult... I have done it many times before. Stop it with the over exaggerated BS especially when you have no idea what you are talking about.
@@thomgizziz I may not have kids of my own, but I have a father who has recently gotten 3 new kids and a new wife who has gotten unwell. I have tried taking care of all 3 at once to lessen the load for my father. I can tell you it in not that easy, especially with a 3 year old who keeps wanting to run up the stairs and a 4 year old who likes to make a mess when no one is watching. Yes, I can do a simple dish while taking care of them, but no way would I be able to make pizza from scratch and cinnamon buns at the same time.
I admire my father for what he does, but there is no way I would be able to handle all 3 all the time.
Everyone has different circumstances, and just because you are able to handle it all at the same time does not mean it is the same for somebody else.
@@thomgizziz just because you find it easy doesn't mean everyone else should! You need to drop the attitude I've seen a few of your comments on this video and you seem really angry for no reason so what's the matter didn't mammy or daddy pay you enough attention growing up?
I make pizza from scratch. I throw the bread base ingredients into a bread maker set to dough. Takes a couple of minutes to roll out. I have home canned tomato pizza sauce - open and use all year round, or use tomato paste and dried herbs. Toppings? Mozzarella, mushrooms, spinach, all take minutes. I calculate it takes a total if 30 minutes prep to make 2 huge pizzas, excluding to 10 - 15 minutes in a hot oven.
How did you spend a whole day? Genuinely, is it a real question, because home cooking is often about time management.
@@lat1419 When I wrote bun dough I was talking about a separate dough to make cinnamon buns. I was making both on the same day. I also make my tomato sauce from scratch. I also use more labour intensive toppings
22:40
Your limited budget challenges have honestly been a huge inspiration in my cooking journey, and I'm so glad I discovered them
I used to lack the confidence to cook really, other than off a recipe I found online, mainly because I was always worried I'd screw it up, and besides every one of my family members always used a recipe to cook, unless it was something simple like bacon and eggs or whatnot.
Your cooking content in general has kinda been a huge eye opener seeing you just walk in and decide something, instead of blindly following a recipe. Ever since I've watched it, it's really given me the confidence to actually experiment with ingredients, and I've made some really great dishes since then. Even if I have to use a recipe, I try to experiment with different ideas I think will work better with the recipe, instead of following it blindly.
Honestly, I've been kind of interested in doing a limited budget challenge myself, mainly to really challenge myself culinarily. Also, since I live in America, I've always wanted to figure out what a limited budget challenge would even look like over here (for example, I feel like food is generally sold in larger portions and costs more regardless over here, even considering the currency difference between gbp and usd, and the fact you look for only the cheapest food items; i've looked at the items you decide against buying there, like cheese, and it's usually always more expensive)
But even if the budget were adjusted for that (I'd adjust it anyway since I'm not as culinarily experienced as you are), It'd almost certainly be different, just because the prices of things relative to each other are different. Like over here in Florida, plantains are super cheap, relatively speaking, (only 27c per plantain at my local walmart, and they're one of the few food items that's gotten cheaper over the last year or so), so they'd definitely be a part of any limited budget challenge where I live, just because they're a cheap source of energy and starch and stuff.
I grew up poor enough to think Ramen was a fancy side dish, lol. I've spent my life being as frugal as possible, so videos like this really resonate with me. Foraging, scrounging for deals at the store, getting as much as possible out of whatever ingredients I have to hand gives me a lot of happiness. From MY perspective at least, I love these budget challenges as you always come up with ideas that inspire me in my own frugal living. Fear not Mike, there are many of us out here who appreciate your efforts and support your work. Growing up with little taught me to never waste food, and maximize every penny I spend, and while it wasn't FUN, it DID shape my life in ways I find beneficial decades later.
At £1 a packet ramen is a fancy side dish 2023
Thought society was meant to improve, not make things harder and worse.
@fluffy-Muffin Heh, here in the States, the "proper" Ramen from Japan is almost 5 dollars a pack. Good, but sad point about it actually BEING a fancy side nowadays, when I was a kid I think I remember the cheap stuff being something like 10 cents.
@@eloquentsarcasm I use to pay 7p a packet when I was younger and lived on it.
ASDA packet noodles used to be 11p each when I was young :D
But then they went up in price and it took an hour to walk there :(
amazing how far your willing to walk for a 'treat' XD
I appreciated the rant. People need to stop focusing their frustration on the poor and/or disabled and start focusing it on the top 1% who take all the profits.
hi Mike, Our household likes to keep our spending within our means and always experience your budget challenges as more of a creativity challenge.
Could i be so bold as to suggest a video around combining three or four key veggies into several meals to reduce boredom or waste? (sometimes courgettes, green beans and broccoli receive little love when presented the third time in a week)
thanks for all you do!
You are never patronising. I find your budget videos entertaining, informative and useful. 😊
Mike, I am a 6th generation butcher and I am so thankful for this video. The real cost of production is generally speaking lost on the public. The cost that we sell out produce is fundamentally down to overhead costs and the labour that is not seen by the end consumer. Thank you for raising some of the subjects here. I thoroughly enjoy my job and I get an awful lot of professional and creative satisfaction from it but the one downside to it is the lack of understanding of production costs. As a producer I do believe it is our job to educate. Love your work and look forward to the next video. Best, Dan.
Yes, I know he wanted to make the point about the real costs to those on low income, but it would have been nice to see comparison to what a cafe might charge. As well as all the 'hidden' costs he mentions you have overheads like shop rent, insurance, NI. True they might get cheaper ingredients, but as we've seen those are pretty minor.
@@rogink You dont think he put enough hours into just this one vid?
Surprisingly the local butchers is almost half the price of the bigger grocery stores, it's insane but I love it, funny the best stuff is also the cheaper option
I feel for you buddy but you've said the crux of the matter there, if I can go somewhere get a steak/mince for £3 or go to a butchers and pay double it's just to much, I would love to support smaller businesses
@@bigdaddydons6241it might be worth mentioning it's not that way in the UK,but that's because uk producers can't compete with the prices of imported products
Mike, this might be one of my favorite videos from you and why I love your channel and have so much respect for you as a person. I am only 23 and have been watching your videos for about 5 years now. Your attitude towards life is truly inspiring and you have played a major part in me discovering many of the interests (I have recently made significant progress towards turning mycology into a career) and philosophies that I pursue in my life. I know this probably sounds like weird pandering to try and get a response from you or something, but I genuinely just want to say I appreciate you as a person. Cheers.
I love how you made all those spreadsheets to analyze all the costs and time and everything. I too love spreadsheets and being nerdy over a very specific thing. I think it's so great you get to share your special interests with the world, and people are interested in what you have to say!
I thought your commentary was so thoughtful too. Your cooking videos always inspire me to try something different, I'll have to try making stuffed buns now.
I agree with you 100% and I've never lived in poverty nor can imagine the full scale of what that's like. I feel like there is no compassion in the world for those who struggle, just people screaming at them because they don't want to believe that could be them one day.
I often get overwhelmed with the cost of living, trying to eat nutritiously balanced food, and often resort to the same handful of meals that require very specific ingredients. This leads to food waste, low mood caused by lack of variety, and a heck of a lot of room for money saving. Your videos give me great ideas, inspire me to be creative, make me smile, reassure me that it’s possible to eat healthy on a budget, and most importantly encourage me that eating healthy and cheaply doesn’t have to be monotonous and boring. Thank you, I hope you make many more and enjoy doing so!
From a 25 year old living alone and figuring out how to adult independently as I go
Might help you depending on how you cook, but for me ethnic markets and bulk food stores are great. I usually get most of my calories from certain staple foods (things like grains, rice, legumes, apples, potatoes, etc) and then incorporate other ingredients to add nutrition and variety. What's helpful for me is having different types of those staple foods, so instead of just white rice I'll have brown and black, or brown and red lentils. This forces you cook differently and use different recipes as the MAIN ingredient is different. I can find everything for less than 1.50USD a lb, usually less than 1.00USD.
See this is what happens when you coddle people and pretend that nothing ever needs improvement, you get 25 year old people that are so lazy and inept that they won't find a solution to their issue or they know what the solution is and are to lazy to implement it.
There are tons of books and even apps now that will give you whole shopping lists and all the recipes you need to keep food waste down, costs down(if you want) and make a variety of foods. I'm sure you know this but you don't want to put the work in, I know I have been there done that but I didn't go around playing the victim, I knew what I was doing and wasn't acting like a child and taking zero responsibility for my choices.
@@brandon9172 "ethnic" markets? You mean the places where the bulk of the food is imported and more expensive than a normal grocery store?
Could you borrow a copy of Jack Monroe's Cooking on a Bootstrap from your library? She shows how to stretch your food / budget if you're struggling.
@@thomgizziz The cheapest noodles and rice and sauces I've found have been in the Chinese wholesalers near me. Might be worth checking out if you're close by to one. Obviously if you don't have one nearby then the fuel / time cost of going might outweigh the price savings but it's worth looking.
I really appreciate that you went into detail on the time spent cooking. That's often something that "budget healthy recipes" disregard entirely, and it's an extremely important factor if you're working 12 hour shifts and come back home completely exhausted. Living on a budget should always include time spent on said budget recipes, as a lack of time is often a crucial part of poverty.
The cost of living is hitting me hard. I work full time and my commute alone is £200 a month. I don't see your videos as belittling people with little money, I see them as great instructive videos that show that in the worst of times, people (myself included) can still eat well. I'm going to try these and I'm very sure I'll enjoy them. Amazing video Mr Shrimp. Thank you
Bravo Shrimp. I’m sick of seeing people tell entertainers to avoid politics, as if they’re not people too, as if their audience is not comprised of people, directly affected by politics. Felt a little swell of emotion or pride when you told them to shut up. It was entirely called for.
Telling people to 'stay out of politics', is politics.
Now I don't intend to pivot this channel into a load of political commentary, but what I said here, I really wanted to say (which I hope will make it easier to ride over the inevitable backlash that will be here at some point...)
@@AtomicShrimp agreed. And you had every right to say it, not least of because you went into exhaustive detail with numbers and analysis to back it up.
@@AtomicShrimp No it's saying "we're force-fed political nonsense with literally every single piece of mainstream media and this is our escape, please don't take that away from us."
I appreciate that, and trying to make this channel function as a sort of refuge is quite high in my priorities, but sometimes I need to do what I need
The people who don't want others to talk about such this are the same ones making everyone's lives worse by voting for the out of touch rich wankers causing the problems they say not to talk about @@AtomicShrimp
Carl Sagan once said “If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe”. Nothing is without cost, nothing just pops into existence fully formed, and it's a constant source of frustration to see some politicians disregard that through ignorance or malice. Thank you for illustrating the point so eloquently.
Literally one of my favourite channels across the entire expanse of youtube. We appreciate your commitment
Among the hidden cost is the cost of keeping the fresh in the fridge...
It would be interesting to compare with the price of an equivalent product, from a supermarket and from a bakery/delicatessen shop.
You could save a bit of time by mixing the beans, onions and cheese before assembling the buns. It would be interesting to see how time you could save by rolling a a big slab of dough and using a circle cutter: you would waste some dough but the time saved could recoup the cost of wasted dough; and these off cuts could be used elsewhere.
Keeping things fresh in a fridge is definitely a hidden cost, especially if you only have a small fridge, or share a fridge with other people (who are cooking separately). Particularly if those other people are less than honest. I've lived in shared accommodation, sharing a fridge, and had the experience of having some or all of my food stolen.
Or make square buns, with no waste or re-rolling?
incredible video, I love your budget challenges but this one was outstanding. I have been looking into "hidden factors" for a while and it was great that you have addressed this. You rant was also spot on. Thanks for your videos.
Thank you for the 'Rant', it seemed incredibly well thought out and empathetic to me.
I came originally for the budget challenges and stayed for the excellent eclectic content, so happy to see another video of this series.
Although I am very fortunate compared to many others at present, my winter electricity bill last year was so high it made me throw up. These hidden costs of cooking have meant me barely switching the oven on all year, not buying things that can only be baked for 40-45 minutes or more (jacket potatoes, always seen as the bastion of frugalness, are 'out' completely as a result), and wearing a ridiculous amount of layers so I don't have to switch the heating on while preparing meals in a very cold kitchen. So thank you for highlighting these costs, and I think it's an excellent direction for the series to take.
I make jacket potatoes in instant-pot (no-brand of course)... still take electricity but for like 15 minutes? I'm really sympathetic to all who need to use electricity for cooking or warming themselves... I use gas for those - still expensive but not so much...
If the hot air from your oven gets vented into the kitchen after use, it is kind of doing double duty when you cook in it.
Note that cost depends on your appliance & tariff !
I just find the "challenge" very interesting to watch. Especially how you format it with spreadsheets usually. They even give me recipe ideas or enlighten me on uses for some things I didn't know or think of.
I'm very glad you did this video - not many people seem to understand those "hidden costs". It all adds up, and can take a huge mental toll as well. Everything I do in my life is calculated like this, factoring in time/money/enjoyment/ect out of everything, it's horrible, but it's a habit I got from growing up very poor.
No need to apologise for the /rant. I enjoyed the video up to the 16p point, and then well and truly had my eyes opened when it came to those additional costs. Considering the poorest tend to get the worst energy rates (which is a crime all in itself), and time becomes part of budgeting - this video is a real eye opener. Gregs makes so much more sense having watched this, especially when equipment, knowledge, health, time, opportunity are all factored in…
You are so right about those people who judge “poor “ people. I live on a small budget too, not because I want to, but because I have to due to my health. Until now I manage fine. And I love to challenge myself to make a healthy decent meal that costs less than 2€ (I’m from Belgium), energy costs included. I can totally recognize myself in your way of cooking and enjoying little things in life.
Thanks again Mike!
That mild rant was overdue IMHO - the "let them eat cake" mentality of some politicians exposes their ignorance and their distance from everyday people, they're so far removed from reality that they couldn't even buy, prepare and eat a pot noodle on their own.
I love these videos, your rationales and problem solving is great especially when it comes to trying to provide unbiased data as clearly as possible. I’m sure it’s hard becoming more and more popular over the years and with more eyes on you, you may be seeing more negativity and bad takes, but always remember there a plenty of people like myself who have been around forever and fully understand where you’re coming from with these kind of videos. Big up the Shrimp, you’ve been my favourite TH-camr for years now 🙌🙌
Hi, poor Mancunian here - thanks for having the poor folk's back.
As someone of lower income I do really appreciate your final speech. ❤ I also still appreciate your budget videos. Like you said, they're more meant to be challenges and thought experiments, but the way you handle limited ressources has taught me alot of skills, and appreciation for being able to use literally anything in my cupboard.
And I honestly think anyone can appreciate and learn from that, no matter what income.
100% behind you on the 'rant'. I think you are incredibly level headed and more people need to think carefully about jumping to judgement on others when they have no idea what their life circumstances are. Thank you for continuing to be an entertaining, comforting and inspiring person, looking forward to seeing you next time 😁
I consider myself to have almost always been a naturally frugal person, and now that I am in uni in my own flat with a shared kitchen I am fully able to measure and practice my independence and frugality, these videos have genuinely prepared me to view my spending in a healthy and efficient way (too good to go is actually working out pretty well for me)
Hell yeah, lmao. When I as in uni from 2015-2018 I could do my weekly shop for as low as £12 XD
Granted that was on the occasions where I ate nothing but porridge, sardines with pitta and spinach, sweet potato wedges, and quorn and rice... but it was still fun seeing what I could do when I set limits on myself! I also happened to get in great shape around that time because of the lower calories, granted I was exercising alongside it too.
Too good to go is alright. Have you tried Olio too?
@@CompaSystem yeah but not very popular in my area, same with tgt but it still has at least some decent options
The people who comment on your videos criticising the poor are the kind of people clearly just read the title and don't bother watching. Anyone who watches your videos all the way through will see how difficult your challenges are to complete and how often you have to eat unappetising and not very nutritious meals, although your ingenuity and resourcefulness does mask this to some extent. Keep up the good work!
Wow...just wow. Im blown away in the effort and sheer determination to bring this fantastic presentation for everyone yo see. I enjoyed listening, watching and learning. Thank you so much.😊
Back in 2016 I did research calculating how realistic it was to survive on min wage in the us in my local area. I pulled data from 10 local and chain grocery stores, did calorie and nutrient calculations, and researched utility costs. Assumed 32hrs a week (also did a calculation for 29hrs per week since its common for employers to only give 29 hr to avoid paying benefits), 4 room mates (splitting rent and utilities evenly), health insurance at an individual plan (sample size for this was roughly 30 different plans I called to get prices), and state income tax assuming no other income. An important variable here is that this person is assumed to have NO debt and no children.
I tried to account for every single variable to make sure that a person living on this wage would have enough calories to not be wasting away and to have enough nutrients (like vitamins) to not become malnourished. The food was basically a 50lbs bag of rice, beans, eggs, and butter. With a few other items thrown in to help the nutritional profile.
I also accounted for basic needs like water for bathing and drinking (assuming NO filter), electricity, and internet (worst possible plan was selected, I called several ISPs).
Also took into account a monthly bus pass and assumed a commute of at least 8miles.
Theoretically by my calculations this kind of person would have about $100 per month to spend on things that are not in the survival category. Such as: spices, clothes, shoes, emergencies (can range from a broken appliance to a healthcare co pay). Also keep in mind that if this person does not have the initial capital to buy food in bulk than that $100 per month diminishes significantly since its more expensive to buy 10 5lb bags of rice than it is to buy 1 50lb bag.
I haven't done more recent calculations, but I'm sure that its only gotten worse.
I really appreciate you addressing the realities and debunking the narratives that shame people who are unable to get a balanced meal on their budget and time. I don't know what it is about this country and punching down, but thank you for pushing back.
You’re always so fair and reasonable. The real fans here get what you’re doing ❤keep on keeping it real !
Honestly, the insight in the back end of this video really elevates it to a level I appreciate even more. I really can't express how much it resonated with me.
I never saw your budget videos as trying to preach to the poor. I have always enjoyed the way you can make something out of so little, and also how you use foraging in some of the videos. These are skills that were common when I was growing up, but sadly seem to have been lost over the years.
I applaud your rant about certain politicians and their ill-informed rubbish. They have no idea how the ordinary person has to live. It is not just the cost of the food that people struggle with, it's the cost of cooking fuel, and the amount of time needed to prepare and cook ingredients, not forgetting the meal planning involved.
I celebrate the day when I stumbled upon your channel, I look forward to every weekend. Thank you.
One thing i used from the budget videos is that if im buying ingredients on holidays, i dont buy oil for cooking, i get something like roasted red peppers in jar with oil. It saves on wastage, gives flavour etc.
Loved listeneing to you talk about the complexity of poverty. This is why your channel is such a comfort for me. Great content with good underlying morals
I've always loved these challenges because they really show how creative you can be without spending tons of money on fancy ingredients. there really is a huge variety of things you can make with some of the less thought about things in the stores!
I honestly loved your "rant". So totally true. Honestly some of these politicians have never struggled a day in their lives and have no f*cking idea how difficult living from paycheck to paycheck can be. Thanks for spelling it out and using actual data and taking the time to calculate all of these things. Hero.
Its a pity "30 pee Lee" (Anderson) tory MP doesn't see this video.
Politicians disgust me.
I favourited, not only because I always enjoy your content, but I thank you for taking a stand.
While I'm okay right now, I grew up not so well off. It's important we actually talk about the reality of our current world, especially with so few places for meaningful public discourse, and pointing the ridiculousness of our modern problems shouldn't be something controversial at all.
I love seeing you creatively find and use ingredients, methods, etc. I also very much appreciate your making all the points that you do. Thanks for all of it.
I never would have thought of bacon patties, but that's a fabulous idea for breakfast sandwiches/filled buns. Your creativity is delightful to watch. It's an interesting experiment to see how time consuming it is to cook from scratch and how much energy that uses as well. Some folks who have never had to think about how to feed their family spend a lot of time saying how it's cheaper to make from scratch. They have no idea the effort, skills, and time it takes to make a meal. Your rant was spot on. The way you go about things demonstrates what kind of effort and knowledge are required to get creative with limited resources.
Cooking from scratch normally is cheaper but definitely not as convenient as takeaways .
Cooking skills obviously can be learned & the effort required depends on the meal .
So i have a foot in both camps & never judge others !
Except the “ Can't afford restaurants every day & coffee on speed dial ”
Not my problem m8 .
Please keep doing the occasional budget challenge.
I'm a self employed middle aged white man so probably the least opposed sort of chap, I also have savings, so much lucker that some.
But I like to cook and get ideas for making things go further not just for cost but my bit for the environment.
Less energy use and less food waste saves resources as well as saving me some money.
Writing this sat by my wood burner cooking dinner on top of it, which I see as a win.
I've recently discovered your channel and have truly enjoyed your budget cooking videos. This one is no exception, and I find them all totally delightful. Thank you for sharing your creativity, knowledge and generosity of spirit. You inspire me to further explore budget cooking, foraging and using ingredients in different ways.
I have a strong appreciation for you and how you call people on their BS as they try to loudly make untrue claims. More people should be doing this, the loud and proud hiding behind Internet anonymity have been allowed to get away with their negativity for far too long.
Well said. I watch these videos for inspiration and to keep using everything in my fridge / cupboard and not letting things go to waste (and the enjoyment of listening to Atomic Shrimp of course).
Thank you for all of the effort you put into your videos.
Before I even start watching, this has already improved my Friday night 😌
People "poor" or fairly well off should be grateful for the time and knowledge you put into making such videos.
Bravo!!! This is, in my opinion, the best video you’ve made yet. I do tend to think that each time I see your budget cooking videos, but this one was particularly profound.
I for one appreciate your stray into politics, it wouldn't hurt to repeat that mini rant into more of these videos to really drive that message home. Anyway your thoughtfulness of the real complexity behind simple messages is one of the reasons I watch you, I wish I'd had a parental figure like you growing up. Thank you.
I don't comment often but I absolutely adore your videos, Mr Shrimp. This video was awesome and your rant was triamphant. Thank you :-)
"Stay out of politics Mr. Shrimp"- The people who brought you into them in the first place, probably.
Thank you for the thoughtful commentary. You are a gem, sir.
Exactly. It's more like 'stay out of politics, just let me say my piece without challenge'
This is the BEST video you have made. Addresses a lot of the frustrations I have had reading some of the previous video comments and the complete ignorance of some
i think we sometimes forget how time consuming and mentally taxing it is to do household tasks like cooking.
If you're coming home from work on a long day or are depressed doing an hour of cooking on top of other tasks can feel like an insurmountable challenge. I sure am happy that i have the privilege of being able to order pizza sometimes.
I actually just like watching you overcome a limited-budget challenge. Some great "set it and forget it" playlist content, with a lot of handy ideas and suggestions for improvement. Don't let the elitist snobs bring you down, it's always worth the effort to show what can be done with so little.
I’ve been watching your videos for a while now, in anticipation of moving to the UK from the US next year, and I’m going to have to live on Social Security, so I need to know how to live cheaply in the UK, and your videos have been absolutely wonderful for that end. I just wanted to thank you before I forgot.
I love your budget challanges because I love your approach to food where it's a solution you come to by being creative approach.
honestly, the main thing that your budget videos did for me was make me more open to trying new foods. I was a very fussy child growing up but ive since tried so many new foods because of you!
I'm fortunate enough that (in the last couple of years) I am not struggling financially. A huge thing you've identified, that is often overlooked even for people NOT struggling financially, is TIME.
I'm lucky enough to be able to afford one of those weekly meal kits - even knowing how overpriced they are. BUT I will happily do this, because deciding what meals to cook, making a shopping list, going to the shops (+fuel!) takes a couple of hours each week.
I thoroughly encourage even the more fortunate people to re-assess how much they value their own limited time.
Thanks again Mike for making such a well nuanced video that can speak to so many people.
It never, ever, ever, ever, NEVER occurred to me that you were getting at people who have little money!! Some people 🙄 I really enjoyed this video.
The budget challenge videos are great for people who have the tools in place to do similar to you do. Doing a video of of it really very much increases the time. I absolutely try to document the things I do for food for myself (mostly for my own purposes, but also with some hope that I can throw it into my equivalent of a video (maybe a blog post, or a part of a zine, or whatever)), I often do what I did with baking pulla (Finnish coffee bread), and write my ingredients (roughly) down, then don't even get to writing it fully down by hand, let alone what I hope for of being able to have a readily shareable form of it.
I have seen most, if not all, of your budget food videos and I find them thoroughly entertaining and never thought they were an attack on anyone. There are two things that stand out to me in them. Firstly, you're at the whim of the supermarkets, i.e. the products they carry at your local shop, and any reductions they make. Secondly, the ingredients that you are able to select tend to follow the same pattern, I know you've limited yourself to try and select other options, but the bias towards these staples is inescapable.
With this in mind, and directed to those you highlight towards the end of this video. Yes, you can exist on pittance; but at what cost? I am sure causing people to live off the same few things will cost more overall and not just in financial terms. In this video at 21:41 is a clear indication of what enables the creation of these videos. Not everyone has this safety net. Get a grip. Get some sympathy. I applaud you for not staying out of politics in this matter. Don’t let people subvert your videos to further their own ideas, they can make their own content for that. I bet they'd struggle on the budgets you set yourself.
I've been poor all my life and i LOVE your budget content.
I think about these things ALL the time and i love to see and hear your perspective in every video.
My husband son and I sit down and watch your videos when we get the chance for a slow day and we will literally binge them all. Sometimes I’m able to watch them closer to the date you post them but we always look forward to a binge day. Thank you for just good fun content.
Watching this video, I really enjoyed it, then you started doing the breakdown of costs and that intrigued me further. Then your rant at the end was just like a breath of fresh air to me honestly and made me want to cheer out loud. Well done for speaking your mind so clearly and as always a very clear and entertaining video. You did an amazing job, sir!
Mike this is superb! It’s always interesting to see someone set themselves a challenge and how they cope, and I’ve always understood that’s it’s not a poverty safari or telling others how they ought to live. Your words are spot on and it’s so refreshing to hear someone talk about these issues with proper understanding and without a hint of condescension. Thank you for another great video and please keep going, you’re a hero! :)
Hopefully you won't get any death threats from the Spanish this time for using Spanish yeast in a non-Spanish meal. If you know, you know.
Brilliant as always :)
Re: your rant at the end.
Honestly, your budget food videos do far more for me than any politician could ever dream of doing. I don't find them condescending at all either. They're very informative, interesting, and inspirational. Really, I can't thank you enough.
Thank you for this video, Mike. It's being frequently overlooked that it's not just money a person is spending when cooking, and that even the money part isn't just the ingredients.
I must admit that watching you eating last year's apples found somewhere along either a footpath or a parking lot is both amusing and inspiring. I'm looking forward to seeing some more of that, too. 👌
While by no means poor - I do make my families breakfast for the week(my way of proving to the wife that I am not completely usless), have done many things burritos, tacos, sandwiches(frenchtoast, waffles,and pancakes) never thought of buns. The cooking bacon looked amazing for what it is intended for. Thanks for the great content
While I'm pretty comfortable financially, I get a lot of inspiration to add variety to my cooking by watching your videos. The way you take simple ingredients and infuse them with flavor is always welcome! I have the advantage of using all my spices too, but seeing that the base of flavor comes from the ingredients is something I'd not considered before watching this series. Thank you!
This is so utterly brilliant and it's nice to hear that someone cares. More power to you.
This is one of those videos that deserves a like and a share then copy link! Such a good message in this video Shrimp, I hope it reaches a wide audience!
No apology needed, keep on doing what you're doing, that was amazing, thank you.
Enjoyed the rant and the humanity behind it. Thankyou
Every time I think I can't like you more, there's some new simple, kind observation or comment or just way of being in these videos that proves me wrong. In fact, this particular being proven wrong has become a very looked forward to part of my day. Thank you, Mr. Shrimp.
I love this. Thank you for the amazing breakdown of true cost. I appreciate all of your budget videos, especially now that the cost of everything has sky rocketed.
The most fascinating part of these videos to me has always been seeing how much stuff costs in other parts of the world.
Made me realise how much more expensive everything in Australia is, a tin of beans here is now $1.10 (about 50p) for the cheapest option, bread's about $2.50, and so on. A 1-pound challenge here has been incredibly depressing (if not impossible) since this series started :(
I felt this in my soul. It's the same thing here in Hawaii. A can of beans STARTS at damn near $2, a dozen eggs $9, bread $7, etc. These budget cooking videos give me hope, but I'll never be able to match the affordability.
I’m Aussie too and was thinking same, I watch freedom family and some items are just so much cheaper
I tried a £10 pound challenge and it came in at $27 at the time 10 quid was about $18
is there something less expensive in Australia?Or did every food price was raised by the same percentage? prices here in EU climbed, too, but some went down again, luckily.
To be honest, I don't see why you'd think a cheap can of beans is expensive at 50p! Most of the time, I am shocked myself at how cheap some of the ingredients he uses are. I live in England myself, more specifically in London, and I haven't seen most of the cheap ingredients he uses around the supermarkets. Either they are not sold where I shop, or they get snatched very quickly. Also, please keep in mind that people have to pay for utilities, rent, transport. All these are very expensive in London, if you don't live by a supermarket it might cost you £3.50 to £7 just to travel to a supermarket and back.
The politics are important, now more than ever. Thank you for spelling it out.
There is no escaping the politics (of food or anything else), and we all have a duty to push back when people distort reality by glossing over negative externalities and hidden costs. Really good video, Shrimp. Thought provoking.
I love this video/disclaimer. As cost of living rises significantly faster than wages, it's easy to say "oh you just can't afford luxuries" but it's so much more than that. Thank you.
Appreciate you always highlight these videos aren't for shaming the poor. I loved your little foray into politics, I agree wholeheartedly. So pleased TH-cam finally suggested a channel I'm actually really enjoying, so, many thanks.