Why do the poor become fat?

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^ thanks for the link^

I just bought a big bag of Basmati rice that came in this nifty burlap bag. I am sure it will last me a few months. It was over ten bucks but since it will last a long time, it is quite economical. I bought it mainly for the burlap bag it comes in. I couldn't resist it and since I try to limit carbs to a certain extent, probably will last me longer than three months, more like six. When I do indulge, I should get some ground chicken and see if I can make something with the rice and chicken together. It might go well with the rice.

Chicken keema. Keema is the name for ground meat in Pakistani. My favorite source of ground chicken is at the local Bangledeshi market, cuz it's 2.50lb there, but you see them grind it, and they'll grind breasts or thighs for you. Also if you buy goat they pull out a whole dead skinned goat and chop it. And goat heads are 2 for $5, I'm tempted to get them but I know my mom would flip. Make a soup or just eat BRAINS!! !! Brains oddly enough are a super good source of Omega 3! BRAINS!! !!

Seriously though, for good deals, check the ethnic markets. They're fantastic.

http://www.sailusfood.com/2009/04/17/kheema-curry/
Try something like that out, though. For basmati rice, I like adding at least some whole cumin seeds and some salt to it. It's nice that way.

Curries are an easy way to make a crapton of food for cheap. As I said earlier in this thread (to get it sorta kinda back on topic and not about bodybuilding meal plans) my Indian friend's family spends $90 per month on Indian food, mind you they're vegetarians, but the point remains.

I will look for the Kheema recipe that doesn't require a pressure cooker. I do not have one.
I found this recipe and might try it but I might leave out a couple ingredients. We'll see. The spices sound good.


http://www.indianrelish.com/mutton/keema-curry.html


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I am considering the tacos made with ground chicken recipe. Those might be pretty good.

White meat will taste more like, chicken, and darker meat will taste more "beefy" and ground turkey like. Ground turkey isn't as good as ground chicken by any means. Most store's ground chicken is like 50/50, that's why I like buying it from the Bangledeshi market.

You can make a passable pilaf by doing this:
Fry an onion in the bottom of a pan, with a bunch of red pepper/chili powder and cumin, until the onions get soft and turn reddish. You can cut them up, or throw them through the food processor. Add like, a few spoons of mashed garlic and ginger to the mix while the onions are frying up. Oh, and garam masala, add that to taste. Add about a teaspoon of salt. After the onions are fried well, add meat and beans and let them cook, with some water, sorta will look soupy at that point. Then add the rice, and add water, and the water should be about an inch over your rice, and put it on higher and let it all boil together on relatively high heat, then when it's *almost* done, like still some liquid in the pan, turn it off or put it on low, with a lid on for like 20 minutes.

Gonna take a few tries to get it perfect, but yeah. Also consider adding cloves to the mix, too, if you're into cloves. Indian food in my experience you can be a bit "sloppy" making, as the spices are so powerful, and everyone has a gazillion recipes and ways to do everything, so it'll always turn out good just because the spices are good.

http://www.indianfoodforever.com/vegeta ... aneer.html

It also has instructions on how to make your own paneer (handy, since paneer costs almost as much as meat at my local supermarket). If you make your own paneer, this is pretty cheap and very filling.

When are you going to stop proving you don't have a clue about the US?
Gas prices are ranging anywhere from $3.40-$5.45 that I know of depending upon state.

Anyone working minimum wage in this country makes less then $1300 a month and loses $150- $200 of that to tax's.
The average rent is around $800 a month but goes much higher in many places.
The lucky ones can find something around $500-$600 at cheapest.
Many of these will not include utilities like electricity, but just to keep it simple and not make my hypothetical man starve to death, lets say it does.
Leaving the average minimum wage earner a total of $300-$400 a month to live on.

Now lets add on to that.
Gas for driving to work.
Most people in the US have to drive a ways to get there so I will go with $10/$12 a round trip which is what it costs me to go 40 miles both ways.
Oh, that is at $3.45-$3.55 per gallon of gas where I am so it would be around $15 in states with more expensive gas.
That is a grand total of $50-$60 at best per week and $200-$240 per month.

That now leaves the same person with $100-$200 to live off of per month.
Lets not forget car insurance that's another $50 a month at very best.
That is now $50-$150 a month for food, clothing, toiletries, garbage bags, any utilities, TV or internet, phone bills and on and on.

hmm, looks like my hypothetical man is going to starve anyway.
I took rent at the price of $700 for this example by the way.
So if your lucky enough to find a cheaper place, there's $100 and if your lucky enough to be able to car pool or take a cheaper form of public transportation there's around another $100.
Another option is having a roommate which will give you $200-$300 more if you can find a cheap 2 bedroom.

Unfortunately these options aren't available for everyone, or everywhere.

oh, and don't forget - that minimum wage earner may be supporting a family.

So, if I understand it correctly, it's cheaper to buy sh***y fast "food" instead of whole ingredients?

somewhat cheaper, but also faster and more convenient, yes.

Gas prices are hovering around $10 per gallon in Stavanger, Aberdeen or any European city with an oil based economy. Be glad your politicians actually fund you gas consumption.

Americans who complain about gas prices are free to swith to an inline-4 Honda Civic any day.



175/1300 is approximately 14%. That's low taxes.



You do realize that many Europeans can't afford to rent an apartment and have to live in a bedsit instead?



At half the rate Europeans pay, in a car with a larger displacement and more cylinders and in a car that's newer.



A drive of 80 miles would cost me 35 dollars in gas + 10 dollars of toll booths. I'm sure that the Brits pay just as much and the Danes pay even more.



Less than half of what a Norwegian, Brit or a Dane pays.



The better the reason to buy healthy groceries at Wal-Mart instead of Big Mac menus at McDonald's.

So a combo of being broke, pressed for time and lazy in other words?

I've proved conclusively in this thread numerous times it is not "cheaper." Faster and more convenient, maybe so, but it's a case of shortsightedness to do that.

Bro y u so unsympathetic 2 my plight. u kno i need dat dere Cadillac Escalade to drive my kids to school. gosh.

Don't you also know, too, that America lacks the infastructure for paved roads, and just like in Ford Explorer commercials, America is just mountainous terrain and snow all the time? That's why we got SUVs, dude. No paved roads in America, dude. Plus, I might get stuck in snow.

Compacts like the VW Golf are suprisingly roomy.

Sorry, I haven't read the 11 pages of posts, so some or all of this may already have been said:

There are a lot of reasons people can be overweight. I recently saw an article in a health publication (online) that listed 50 different reasons overweight can occur. Many of them were health issues. Poor people can't afford the same level of health care that people with more money can, so that might be a big part of it. Besides which, being poor is depressing and stressful, both common reasons that people may overeat. Additionally if someone is working and poor, they probably have a job where they're not treated too well or have to work lousy hours or more than one job and have no time to plan proper meals. They may not be able to afford a car and wind up spending a lot of time commuting (public transportation, where I live, is the SLOW way to get anywhere) and, again, not have time to prepare healthy meals. Prices of proteins and highly nutritious fruits and veggies are higher than the prices of starchy foods. My list could go on and on.

Did someone not in an earlier post also say your minimum wage was around 20 US dollars?
Compared to $8. That's 2.5 times as much.


Yes, I went with the lowest tax bracket.


You do realize that after reading my post it is ironic you would say that.
My post proved, most Americans can't afford an apartment either unless they are living with 1-3 other people.


Where exactly is it that you think Americans are pulling a brand new car out of, their asses?
Most people own second hand and almost all people working minimum wage grab anything they can get for as cheap as they can get.


Yes but again this is as low as gas gets here, and lets not forget the two and half times as much money you make.
Still sucks, but its not my fault that your government rapes your wallet at the gas pump more then mine.
If you want to see it change, get enough people to sign petitions and hope that's enough to get the ball rolling on lower prices.
The government here would love to charge $10 a gallon, but if they did no one would drive, not even them we would go on a gas strike.

Many people in America have to pay tolls as well, however being somewhat out of the way I don't have to deal with them.
Whenever we head to the twin cities there are plenty of tolls and parking fees everywhere you look.


Yes and again, this is bare minimum. As in if you crash and its your fault they will fix the other guys car only.
This is also for a 24 year old man, with not so much as a ticket to his name and an old car not worth the cost of the parts it would take to fix it if it were in an accident, it was $75 until I was 23.
A single ticket let alone an accident would send that skyrocketing into the $100+ range.


Yah, but tell that to a guy who just got done working an 8 hour shift and isn't looking forward to half an hour of cooking before he can eat dinner and veg out in the couch with a beer for the night.
Again, don't blame me because a hamburger meal is 4 times as expensive there.
Honestly any more expensive and people would stop ordering anything but the "dollarish" menu.
It used to be the dollar menu now everything's like a 1.25-1.50 a couple things even hit $2, but they still call it the "dollar menu"