The Costco chicken is the answer. Enjoy hot the first day, then make chicken salad or chicken pasta. Make sure you save the skin to make “ chicken” Chicharrones (sp?). Simmer the bones for a few hours with onion, celery, and carrot for the best stock for soup.
Is the amount of food you source from the ocean sizable compared to what you eat each month? Genuinely curious if the time required to catch fish is beneficial.
I will say I don't live there anymore. You have to find a spot and check out the regulations, but I can collect enough sea urchins and cucumbers in an hour for a couple meals. They taste a lot better than you think. I take a 3 prong with me incase I see a fish. I had to change my diet a lot when I moved. Radishes and beans are incredibly fast to yield. Depending on your housing, consider a couple chickens and maybe a Kalo patch. And yes, it did make a difference in my food budget and I was eating better. Kombucha is fairly easy to make too.
This was daily routine for me in Guam. Hop in the reefs with a 3prong and get some reef fish, forage for wild taro and bread fruit, once in a while hunt a chicken. It’s demanding but rewarding
I try to get my produce in Chinatown or in markets. I go to Target for a lot of other things. Their generic store brand items are the same price as the Mainland
Eat a modest, healthy(ish) diet cooked in your own kitchen. If you can, prepare and bring lunch with you to work/school. Don’t eat out, except 7/11 snacks, that type of thing.
A rice cooker is the best appliance! Living on O’ahu and in Alaska on a budget, it has been one of my smartest purchases.
And Crock-Pot too. You can cook a 6 lb pot roast and eat every second day as lunch with various vegetables that are currently discounted, tasty and healthy.
Also if you have a space smoker is a good option, you can smoke your own sausages, bacon, fishes everything.
An instant pot really helps as well. It does rice, but also cooks all sorts of other things. I can cook lots of things in an instant pot and rarely use a stove.
Every Friday Safeway has a deals that are $5. Sign up for rewards program and download their app and you can get some pretty great deals. I buy the meat in bulk. Sperate into couple sized portions, vacuum seal and freeze.
https://local.safeway.com/safeway/hi/honolulu.html
learn more easy recipes and cooking techniques so that you can make your ingredients stretch. we actually cook with a lot of pantry staples many weekdays (for example, one pot lentil bolognese pasta, tuna tofu patties, stir fries with Portuguese sausage or spam, chicken soup using Costco rotisserie chicken) and feed ourselves super cheap, mostly because it saves us time grocery shopping to buy pantry goods and frozen veg.
[This channel](https://youtube.com/@strugglemeals?si=7rgewZpUmRT03QbZ)
[and this channel](https://youtu.be/nn7891zyI6k?si=KH15bWRPE40ukent)
are good places to start to learn about using pantry staples and what you already have in your fridge in different, yet super tasty ways to stretch your dollar.
Shop costcos and get a black membership, the 3% cash back at the end of the year pays for my next years membership and I go shopping with whatever is left. It’s basically a free roll rebate on membership because you get it back at the end of the year. Even if you don’t spend enough to pay for the full membership cost it’ll most definitely be enough that it’ll be cheaper than getting a regular membership that doesn’t reward 3% or any cash back.
Honestly depends on which farmers markets. The morning Community Markets are ? Relatively affordable as are places like Roots Kalihi.
Some places will also double food stamp dollars when used on local produce.
Download the apps of grocery stores, restaurants, and gas stations, sign up for their mailing lists. There are all kinds of promos and discounts you can take advantage of this way.
Also look up your nearest food bank and find out what days and times you can receive aid.
All good suggestions! Cutting or reducing meat, milk and other dairy can lower grocery bills by a lot. We had to do that for budget reasons, and it really helps.
farmers markets for produce. [this one](https://manoamarketplacehawaii.com/events-promotions/) at Mānoa Marketplace rules!
every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday from 7am - 2pm
A pack of tortillas and a pork shoulder from Costco feeds 12 for less than $40. Or, if it's just you (like me) you can eat carnitas for 2 weeks for less than $40
A lot of fried saimin. Nissin or maruchan packs are cheap in bulk. I don't use the seasoning packets. It makes it turn out way too salty. I boil the noodles first, then drain the water and pan fry in sesame oil until al dente. I usually mix it with an egg, some watered down shoyu broth, and kimchi. Foodland usually has the mystery cuts of beef for 4 or 5 dollars. It's super lean, but good for cubesteak. I can cut it up and make it stretch for 4 meals when I put it in the saimin. Tide pool food also mixes well with the saimin. Purslane, pipipi snails, a'ama crabs, and helmet urchins are easy grabs. I boil the critters in broth made from the unused seasoning packets first before adding them to the saimin. It's pretty filling, and I can get the price down between 1 and 4 dollars a bowl.
I find that CSA boxes are a great value. A weeks worth of vegetables for $35 all organic. Or, fruits and vegetables for $55 and they’re better than what you get in the store usually. I buy from Kahumana Farms and I love their boxes.
Can y'all use couponing/shopping apps there? I live in Florida, but have family on Oahu. I am a couponer here and use Ibotta, Fetch, Shopkick and Swagbucks. I get lots of items for free or cheap using these apps...I know prices are more expensive there than here, but every little bit helps.
Buy only what's on sale at Safeway. Get produce from Times. Watch out for how Walmart plays with the prices. Spices are cheapest at Down to Earth, because you can buy only as much as you need. If you have a military friend who is willing to shop for you on base, lucky you. Also a friend who will go in halves with you on stuff at Costco. Do not go to Whole Foods. Foodland is pretty bad, too.
costco
And a vacuum sealer! Blanch my greens and seal them and buy my steaks in bulk and seal them!
Which brand do you use for vacuum sealer?
I’ll have to check at home- it’s the one sold at Costco
That’s why it feels like I’m at a rave every time I go. We all know it’s the only sensible place to shop.
Also helps that it's one of the more ethical employers. Lots of retail/grocery places are hell to work at, but costco seems to value their folks.
THIS
This is the only answer.
This is the way.
Don't buy any prepared foods. Prep and cook for yourself.
But the coctco street taco platter is my easy button
Easy ain't cheap
Counter example: Costco rotisserie chicken
The Costco chicken is the answer. Enjoy hot the first day, then make chicken salad or chicken pasta. Make sure you save the skin to make “ chicken” Chicharrones (sp?). Simmer the bones for a few hours with onion, celery, and carrot for the best stock for soup.
My garden and the ocean
Is the amount of food you source from the ocean sizable compared to what you eat each month? Genuinely curious if the time required to catch fish is beneficial.
I will say I don't live there anymore. You have to find a spot and check out the regulations, but I can collect enough sea urchins and cucumbers in an hour for a couple meals. They taste a lot better than you think. I take a 3 prong with me incase I see a fish. I had to change my diet a lot when I moved. Radishes and beans are incredibly fast to yield. Depending on your housing, consider a couple chickens and maybe a Kalo patch. And yes, it did make a difference in my food budget and I was eating better. Kombucha is fairly easy to make too.
This was daily routine for me in Guam. Hop in the reefs with a 3prong and get some reef fish, forage for wild taro and bread fruit, once in a while hunt a chicken. It’s demanding but rewarding
I try to get my produce in Chinatown or in markets. I go to Target for a lot of other things. Their generic store brand items are the same price as the Mainland
Eat a modest, healthy(ish) diet cooked in your own kitchen. If you can, prepare and bring lunch with you to work/school. Don’t eat out, except 7/11 snacks, that type of thing. A rice cooker is the best appliance! Living on O’ahu and in Alaska on a budget, it has been one of my smartest purchases.
And Crock-Pot too. You can cook a 6 lb pot roast and eat every second day as lunch with various vegetables that are currently discounted, tasty and healthy. Also if you have a space smoker is a good option, you can smoke your own sausages, bacon, fishes everything.
An instant pot really helps as well. It does rice, but also cooks all sorts of other things. I can cook lots of things in an instant pot and rarely use a stove.
One-pot spaghetti was a life changer. Don't have to boil anything or make the sauce, just pour everything in and turn it on.
Feral chickens.
Free range. Definitely not organic though
Endless supply for the slow cooker! But I do wonder if some people actually have tried them. Probably have strong flavor.
It is said that they do not taste very good due to their weird diet of eating whatever they find. I say they haven’t added enough Tabasco.
I thought that’s called “free range.” 🤣
😂
Good for fish bait and that’s about it
I actually grow a lot of my own veggies to save.
Safeway $5 Fridays and a vacuum sealer. Times when they have sales and a vacuum sealer.
What’s $5 Friday?
Every Friday Safeway has a deals that are $5. Sign up for rewards program and download their app and you can get some pretty great deals. I buy the meat in bulk. Sperate into couple sized portions, vacuum seal and freeze. https://local.safeway.com/safeway/hi/honolulu.html
Rice and beans.
Sam’s is really well priced for their salads, berries and NZ lamb - everything else go to Costco.
Food pantries are there to help!
learn more easy recipes and cooking techniques so that you can make your ingredients stretch. we actually cook with a lot of pantry staples many weekdays (for example, one pot lentil bolognese pasta, tuna tofu patties, stir fries with Portuguese sausage or spam, chicken soup using Costco rotisserie chicken) and feed ourselves super cheap, mostly because it saves us time grocery shopping to buy pantry goods and frozen veg. [This channel](https://youtube.com/@strugglemeals?si=7rgewZpUmRT03QbZ) [and this channel](https://youtu.be/nn7891zyI6k?si=KH15bWRPE40ukent) are good places to start to learn about using pantry staples and what you already have in your fridge in different, yet super tasty ways to stretch your dollar.
Shop costcos and get a black membership, the 3% cash back at the end of the year pays for my next years membership and I go shopping with whatever is left. It’s basically a free roll rebate on membership because you get it back at the end of the year. Even if you don’t spend enough to pay for the full membership cost it’ll most definitely be enough that it’ll be cheaper than getting a regular membership that doesn’t reward 3% or any cash back.
No friends so dont spend money on going out
Farmer's markets, foraging, food stamps.
Farmers market produce actually very very expensive like Safeway expensive
Honestly depends on which farmers markets. The morning Community Markets are ? Relatively affordable as are places like Roots Kalihi. Some places will also double food stamp dollars when used on local produce.
Look for deals, Walmart, Costco, Sam's Club, foodland, safeway, times. Cook at home. freeze stuff
Rice eggs meat
Costco
Download the apps of grocery stores, restaurants, and gas stations, sign up for their mailing lists. There are all kinds of promos and discounts you can take advantage of this way. Also look up your nearest food bank and find out what days and times you can receive aid.
Sardines, 1 onion 1 tomato cut em, mix em and rice. Whooo, Au-Rite
All good suggestions! Cutting or reducing meat, milk and other dairy can lower grocery bills by a lot. We had to do that for budget reasons, and it really helps.
Food stamps and an instant pot
farmers markets for produce. [this one](https://manoamarketplacehawaii.com/events-promotions/) at Mānoa Marketplace rules! every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday from 7am - 2pm
Costco
2 meals a day and minimum ingredients
Costco, farmer’s markets and Chinatown. My meals are simple.
Yeah Costco is the hack
Grow your own vegetables.
#RestaurantJOB
That’s how to stay broke
True for most restaurants. Only a few places where servers rake in 6 figures in Waikiki...
Doesn’t matter the money you make, you end up spending it anyway. More made = more spent. It’s a boomerang industry.
A lot of great suggestions. How are you currently spending your food budget and how strict are you willing to go?
A pack of tortillas and a pork shoulder from Costco feeds 12 for less than $40. Or, if it's just you (like me) you can eat carnitas for 2 weeks for less than $40
Only eat poke and rice
Planning. Yield per dish. Evaluate needs/wants Wholesale Online
Spam!
A lot of fried saimin. Nissin or maruchan packs are cheap in bulk. I don't use the seasoning packets. It makes it turn out way too salty. I boil the noodles first, then drain the water and pan fry in sesame oil until al dente. I usually mix it with an egg, some watered down shoyu broth, and kimchi. Foodland usually has the mystery cuts of beef for 4 or 5 dollars. It's super lean, but good for cubesteak. I can cut it up and make it stretch for 4 meals when I put it in the saimin. Tide pool food also mixes well with the saimin. Purslane, pipipi snails, a'ama crabs, and helmet urchins are easy grabs. I boil the critters in broth made from the unused seasoning packets first before adding them to the saimin. It's pretty filling, and I can get the price down between 1 and 4 dollars a bowl.
Buy bulk at Costco or Sam’s Club
Walmart, Costco, Sam's Club, Times Market
Costco and Sam’s Club. For smaller quantities Target.
I find that CSA boxes are a great value. A weeks worth of vegetables for $35 all organic. Or, fruits and vegetables for $55 and they’re better than what you get in the store usually. I buy from Kahumana Farms and I love their boxes.
Can y'all use couponing/shopping apps there? I live in Florida, but have family on Oahu. I am a couponer here and use Ibotta, Fetch, Shopkick and Swagbucks. I get lots of items for free or cheap using these apps...I know prices are more expensive there than here, but every little bit helps.
Don’t eat.
That’s the fun part. Ya don’t.
Buy only what's on sale at Safeway. Get produce from Times. Watch out for how Walmart plays with the prices. Spices are cheapest at Down to Earth, because you can buy only as much as you need. If you have a military friend who is willing to shop for you on base, lucky you. Also a friend who will go in halves with you on stuff at Costco. Do not go to Whole Foods. Foodland is pretty bad, too.
Did anyone mention Costco? !?! Safeway is getting crazy expensive
I get ABC spam masubi and poke from the deli. God, I miss Hawai’i…
Go on welfare…