Nah man, that’s not a river

Just read it. That is a very bad source. It does the same thing you did and just made unverified claims with no actual evidence. It also makes leaps in logic (e.g. “The word was meant to convey, at that time, the inferiority of Asian products to European products. By extension, Asians are also inferior to Europeans.”) It makes no mention of “rice boys” and so can’t support that claim either. In fact, while I’ve been doing your due diligence for the last hour, I haven’t found an appropriate historical source for any of this. Not on Google Scholar, not on Google proper, nor in my university’s library. The closest thing I’ve found for “rice boy” in particular is the dubious book of definitions that Wikipedia is using as a source for that claim. And the closest thing I’m finding for racist connotations of “rice burner” is from the book Far Eastern Tour which outlines its use in Korea by Canadians in reference to Korean support troops. Of course, the Oxford Dictionary has some information concerning the American etymology, but it is paywalled so I can’t access it.

And how dare you accuse me of rewriting history when you won’t make the slightest effort to research it yourself. What a shameful display of hypocrisy.

You’re the one who made the claim so the onus is on you to provide a source. That’s literally the most basic thing a person learns in academia. You can’t claim that “facts are facts” without providing proof of those facts.

Furthermore, you can hold Americocentric views without being American. That’s the whole purpose behind American cultural exports.

What an Americocentric attitude. Gross.

I don’t know whether to laugh or cry

I have neither of those stores in my area. At Walmart, chicken is $20/kg like every other store.

I think there’s a food bank in the town near to me. I’ll have to inquire about if they serve the surrounding area, but I’m guessing not due to a large low-income population.

As for brands, the only brand of food that I’ve ever stuck with unequivocally is Philadelphia cream cheese. Not out of loyalty but because nothing can stack up to it. I’ll eat own brand for everything besides cream cheese.

Oh no, it’s not a gastro thing. I can tell you that for certain. The taste and texture makes my stomach do somersaults. Normally you see that type of thing when you’ve eaten something and became sick recently after (my neuro prof back in the day had a funny anecdote about whiskey and his inability to drink it after a particularly rowdy night) so I’m wondering if that’s what’s happening. Or maybe I just really can’t stand potatoes.

I’ve never heard of potato bread before! I’ll give it a go. As for eggplant, I’m not the biggest on it and it’s actually a bit expensive here. But zucchini? A m a z i n g. Got some growing right now. Unfortunately that doesn’t help me for a wee while, so I might pick a couple up if I have the money. I like to eat em chopped up with a Greek dressing. Can also shred em and put em in baking (chocolate zucchini muffin :> ) but I can’t quite afford anything so extravagant right now.

As for what’s cheap - basically nothing, lately. I really should move to somewhere that doesn’t have an oligarchical food industry, but that’s a long term thing. Either way, I do appreciate the offer but I’m not sure I’m comfortable accepting. It’s endlessly kind, but I feel I should try to work with what I have before I take from someone else.

I actually tried keto some years ago on a lark. I quickly learned to avoid supermarkets since I could smell all the sugar in the baking aisle halfway across the store. Before posting this, I didn’t think such a high-protein, low-fat dirt could result in ketosis but I was educated by another user on how the process actually works.

My budget at the moment is CAD$250 per month. 750g of cottage cheese a month would run me $225 at $7.49 a package. As others have indicated, it’s an unhealthily low amount of calories despite it meeting my protein requirements. The only dietary restriction that I need to target is getting enough protein for maintenance of muscle mass. The reasons are twofold: firstly, as I’ve indicated elsewhere, I have had issues with ED in the past. I fear that losing muscle mass would cause a relapse and I can’t afford that at present. More importantly, however, is that my current employment is fairly physical, so I can’t afford to get weaker either.

So, to summarize: $250/month, maximizing protein per dollar.

Issues with cottage cheese idea:

• Unfulfilling psychologically
• Potential for malnutrition/health complications
• Extremely low-calorie

Ideas to remedy the situation:

• Cheap carbs (potatoes, flour, pasta/ramen)
• Making things from raw (e.g. milk -> cottage cheese, flour -> bread)
• Cheap meat

I think animal protein needs to be a part of the solution. Tried vegetarianism in the past and I couldn’t function well on it. But all animal protein in Canada is expensive, either due to supply management (eggs and dairy), price gouging, supply and demand (e.g. price of chicken breast is ludicrous), or some other unknown factor(s). So plant based protein should also be part of the solution in spite of its lower quality. Others have suggested dried beans/lentils.

It would be worthwhile to make things from raw. I can save roughly a dollar per kg of cottage cheese if I make the cottage cheese myself from milk. I can also use the byproducts in the making of bread, furthering the value and capturing all protein. There will be a significant time cost in doing this.

At the moment we’re looking at a diet of homemade cottage cheese, bread, and beans. If I can save enough doing this then I could incorporate vegetables as well, but it might be better to just take a multivitamin and eat the psychological cost. This will only be for a month, potentially two, and hopefully not more. I think I can go that long without becoming too miserable. I’d love to hear some feedback if you have any.

(Bonus solution: find a better paying job.)

New idea for a Stardew Valley mod :))))

I don’t mind the advice! I already take a B complex, though. I try to take vitamin D but I always forget that one. Probably because I don’t take it with a meal.

Unfortunately, "cheap meat’ is an oxymoron in my country. “Cheap veggies” almost is as well, but it’s getting a bit better on that front (shoutout to Odd Bunch; I wish you’d expand west). I’ll see what I can do about incorporating tatties into my diet since multiple people have recommended them. I’m aware that they’re cheap, but they generally make me feel sick to my stomach. Happen to have some good tips on how I might “hide” them in meals?

Ugh, I wish I was in the States. Aldi won’t come to Canada due to “price fixing” and “manipulative” grocers. Who are, unsurprisingly, a large contributor to my inability to afford nutritious food.

There’s more nuance to it than that. Beans do have a lot of protein, but the specific proteins they’re high in are less digestible than animal protein, and still not as plentiful as in animal protein. And that’s fine provided that you eat multiple sources of plant protein and are able to eat a lot of it. But then the issue becomes an excess of fibre and, in the case of legumes, oligosaccharides.

Disclaimer: I’m saying this as a well-muscled individual. For the average person, deriving all protein from plant-based sources is probably fine.

Well, that’s kinda the chief problem. Last time I did that I suffered brain fog the entire time. Same thing happened when I tried vegetarianism. And on top of that, I lost a surprising amount of muscle mass on beans and rice. I think I need more protein than that diet can offer. It’s just a shame that it’s so bloody expensive…

Oh yeah, true. I’ve already decided based on feedback that this isn’t a good way to meet my dietary needs without breaking the bank. I’m just proud to say that the extreme measures I’m considering aren’t due to an ED this time around. Just poverty this time.

That’s a non-exhaustive list and does not reflect my actual dietary habits

Not entirely sure what you mean. Could you rephrase?

I’m sorry to hear you’re going through that. I can sort of imagine what you’re going through, and it’s certainly not fun, but it’s probably not a 1:1 situation. I really hope you get better though.