I don't know where to post this, so I'm posting it here.

I need to gain some weight because I'm borderline anorexic. But I can't afford much more than bread, potatoes, eggs and cheese, That is my diet. And I hate eating it. It's the only thing I can stomach that is cheap, but I hate it. I don't want to eat eggs and potatoes for the rest of my life. I would rather die of malnutrition, like I am currently doing.

I have no appetite, but that is a symptom of something else. Ideally, there is a way to gain weight while eating less mass. Something calorie dense.

I might be slightly exaggerating. But for the last couple of years I've been eating potatoes and eggs for almost every single meal of the day. And yes, I eat one warm meal a day. Sometimes I suppliment with some bread to stop the hunger pains. Sometimes I also eat a piece of vegetable.

cant you ask your parents for some money to buy something unique?

One of the pillars of Spanish cuisine.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_omelette

https://www.themediterraneandish.com/spanish-tortilla-recipe/

Why not other cheap foods like beans, vegetable oils, sugar? Sugar isn't that healthy but it's probably better than being borderline anorexic. There are even more possibilities if you add flour, which is cheaper than bread. Cake, pancake. Fried potatoes. Potato gratin or noodle gratin.

Fry potatoes, boil potatoes, bake potatoes... They will taste very differently. Use seasoning. Don't be shy on salt/pepper/whatever your culture uses. Eggs can be very different too besides fried or boiled: soak bread with egg and fry it. Very tasty. Add some flour or whatever you have in the fridge to make an omelette. Not a fan of cheese, but I am sure there are many ways to use it too.

I do not believe any of it.

No. I could ask grandma. Maybe she has enough cash left over from paying for meds to buy some better groceries. But I REALLY don't want to bother grandma. She won't let this go until one of us is in the grave. I'll hear about those groceries every Christmas...

Bread pudding? S-tier desert in flavor and easy to make

Seasoning is the key - i was in a similar situation to op, I figured out how to make breakfast sandwiches that I love out of ingredients that are palatable to me. I use rotisserie chicken, spinach, eggs, and previously ovened cubed potatoes, broccoli or whatever veggies I could afford and bought that week. I’d used salt, pepper, smoked paprika, garlic powder on the ovened veggies and put them in the fridge, buy bulk eggs for cheap, buy bulk croissants, but any carb will do or just skip it and make an omelet.

I toast the bread in the pan. Cheap pan spray, throw in hand shredded chicken pieces, cold veggies, eggs on top of that, and here’s what made the difference for me - then sprinkle Tony’s Cajun on that while it cooks, flip, top with bulk cheese of choice, sprinkle nutritional yeast on top for gut health, bam, now it’s delicious thanks to those added flavors. I actually now love having my same meal every morning and the leftovers a few hours later for lunch. I vary my dinners, but breakfast and lunch are always the same aside from varying veggies in the mix.

That is fine. You don't have to. But it is my life, and the fact that someone finds it unbelievable is kind of funny. In a tragic way.

Oil is expensive. So is electricity. Boiling is cheapest.

And I'm looking to gain weight, not make my food less miserable.

I can't afford a bottle of coke. It's as expensive as two loaves of bread. Two and a half loaves if I buy the cheapest bread. In my country sugar has a tax on it. Making products with sugar even more expensive.

Beans oil and sugar don't sound great. I already eat oil when I fry the egg. And beans usually make my stomach hurt.

For weeks I've been fantasizing about eating a donut. But I ain't paying an equivalant of more than a dollar for a single donut. Back in the day I'd buy 4 of them for the same price.

Eat more and move less. Weight gain/loss isn't exactly simple thermodynamics, but it's close. Do whatever you can to increase the amount of calories you're getting per dollar. Unfortunately that's probably gonna mean cheap, processed, very fatty stuff. With such little diversity in your diet I'd be eager to beg, borrow, and steal for multivitamins since you are likely deficient in one or multiple important micronutrients.

Sandwitches and fried bread requires chewing. My teeth are coming loose (probably because of the malnutrition). It's a bit hard/painful to bite and chew things.

Chicken is expensive. So is cheese. I can afford up to two to three slices a day when rationing for the whole month.

But spinach and broccoli do sound nice. I'll buy some next month, when I can afford anything aside from the very basics. And eating those will help me gain weight?

That is A LOT of sugar. I'll need to consult with the family if I am allowed to use that much sugar for myself.

Give them some bread pudding too!

The only thing you're really missing is some pulses/beans/legumes, and some more veg.

Buy yourself some more grains (jumbo oats go well as a porridge, they go well in soups, and you can use them to make flapjack (250g oat, 125 butter, 125 sugar, 3 table spoon of golden syrup, mix flatten in a tray bake at 200c for 15-30 mins, or in a covered pan on the hob), energy dense and can have other stuff added (dried fruit, ginger, choc chips, etc))

You could also add pasta and rice as two other carbs that effectively cost next to nothing, lentils and beans can give you the protein that you need, alongside the eggs

And buy an A-Z multivitamin+mineral if you don't have them already, if you're malnourished you won't be feeling great to begin with.

Keep tins of tomatoes and beans around for when you do feel adventurous

Try lentils and Dahl if beans don't agree with you

Find a local Asian/Indian supermarket and stock up on essential spices: ginger, cumin, pepper, paprika, chilli flakes. This is how the rest of the world doesn't become bored living on potatoes/rice and lentils

I am the same as you, I eat 1 meal in the evening and don't have an appetite for the rest of the day

Peanut butter

In my country sugar has a tax on it. Making products with sugar even more expensive.

Are you from Slovakia? We have a 5% tax on basic food, while 23% on sugary food.

For calorie dense you can't do better than fat. Oil might be 'expensive' but it is one of the cheapest things to buy on a per calorie basis and you only need a teaspoon to fry an egg or make mashed potatoes taste half-decent. You would be surprised how much better potatoes and eggs can be with a little fresh chill pepper or coriander if you can find it. The better it tastes the easier it is to eat. One more tip... Canned condensed milk. It's cheap, calorie dense and delicious. A spoon a day will last weeks. Delicious in tea and coffee. Good luck!

You convinced me. I will try this. Ever tried it with boiled mashed potatoes instead of potato slices? I have access to a lot of leftover mashed potatoes.
::: spoiler spoiler
No way I'm letting that snake eat all the potatoes for himself.
:::

Best of luck Gilgamesh, great hero-king of Uruk!!!! What people are saying seems sensible.

Potatoes are actually super filling per calorie, one of the first and best foods I recommend for weight loss. The potatoes/eggs/cheese combo is especially filling, basically you’ve dialed into a budget conscious survival meal.

But you need to gain weight without spending much more money. What do you have to cook with? Knife cutting board pots pans stove?

First great option is soup. Pre fry aromatics directly in the pot (carrots, celery, onion, whatever you can get). Be HEAVY with oil, I recommend light olive oil. Heavier than you probably think with salt too. Then add mass (potatoes) and water. Dried lentils and split peas don’t need to be soaked overnight, just add them in and let them simmer for the last half hour. Tons of cheap calories and seasoning. Season with anything you have.

Then get into white rice. There’s a cost barrier here but if you can save up enough for a large 20lb bags the cost per meal is extraordinarily low. Tons of calories and doesn’t really fill you. Have it with the soup or as a bed under other veggies. Overdoing it with the rice can cause some health issues relating to blood sugar but it’s an extremely easy and cheap way to add 2-400 calories to a couple meals a day.

Check clearance for oily sauces. This is basically the reverse advice compared to weight loss - a lot of innocuously small jars can easily contain over 2,000 calories. If you can get them at 25% cost that’s a ton of weight gain potential and will help give you flavor variety and make your meals more calorific.

Just a few thoughts. Wish I could help, I know this situation sucks

Based on your diet you might have scurvy

Her some vitamin c in you! Better yet: take a complete multivitamin daily.

Based on your responses here I think you will object that they are too expensive. But they're cheaper than the dental care you will need for the rest of your life without meeting your nutritional needs.

Gaining weight requires consuming more calories than you use . If you hate everything you cook you will not eat enough. Simple as.

I get vitamin C. Oh wait, the energy drink I supplement with has every vitamin under the sun EXCEPT vitamin C. Thanks. I shall raid the medicine cabinet in search of those precious yellow tablets.

And do not worry. Dental care is free.

I don't hate everything I cook, I hate eating. It's a chore. I have no appetite. I need a way to cram more calories into me without needing to do so much chewing and swallowing.

Where do you live where condensed milk is cheap? It's the price of liquid gold where I live. Also, I am unfortunately lactose intolerant. And I have not seen lactose-free condensed milk anywhere.

It always does. That's why I don't usually listen.

I used to live with someone who said seemingly sensible things. Now, they are the bane of my existence, and I am theirs. Although that may be due to early-onset dementia. Can't be sure.

Are there food shelfs (food assistance for people who can't afford it) where you live?

The biggest thing you can do is to make the food you eat more enjoyable and eat more of it. I would have no appetite and starve if i had to eat your diet. The good news is that it's possible to eat a lot better, but still very cheaply. Also you really need to eat two or preferably three or even four meals daily if you want to gain weight.

I would remove eggs and cheese as they aren't a good value. Add black beans, chickpeas, and lentils, which are good over rice (very cheap, especially if you buy them dry in bulk). Pasta too. Add spices, cheap hot sauce, tomato sauce, etc and it becomes a good meal. Try oatmeal for breakfast too. I would also make sure that you are getting as many fruits and vegetables as possible (apples, bananas, carrots, lettuce, broccoli, etc. not too expensive but will complete the meals and provide good nutrition). Also consider pan frying the potatoes - it's tastier than boiling.

That is A LOT of food to eat. I can barely stomach one full meal (a day) consisting of two eggs and two to three large potatoes. That is too much food to eat. But if I ever regain my appetite, I will attempt to try this. Correction. I currently intend to intend to attempt to try this.

I am a sedentary life form. I don't think there is a way to "move less". And eating more is already making me nauseous. Isn't there some sort of nutrient slop I can make and just swallow like a goose being fattened? That'd be so much easier.

Use more oil, butter and sugar.

Potatoes are not ideal when trying to gain weight, is pasta / noodles so much more expensive? If so, buy flour and mix it with 1 egg per 100g and add some water or milk. Cook chunks of it in salted water.

Try to get your hands on the cheapest nuts you can find and eat as much as you can.

To be honest, I have no idea what the percentage is. I live in Poland, and they have some weird system where how much sugar a food has changes the tax. And they are planning to raise that tax by 900% (nine hundred percent) in the next year, so... I should invest in suger, I guess. It'll be the next Bitcoin in a year.

No, but the potatoes can be cut however you want, the slices are only to make them faster to cook.

My advice was going to be peanut butter, but someone beat me to it. Make sure it has sugar in it (almost all of it does).

Also, the expression is "hunger pangs."

Your sound advice and my visceral reaction to it have been a wakeup call for me. I need therapy ASAP. They need to cure my autism so that I can eat poor people food like I deserve. Because just thinking about eating lentils and peas makes me retch in disgust. I hate peas. And lentils are related to peas, so I hate them by association.

Thanks for the advice. Despite my reaction, it is more than reasonable. I will attempt consuming more nasty... nasty rice. School food really made me hate rice...

Some people born into privilege simply cannot empathize.

Mashed is technically sliced. In pieces so small they form a homogeneous mass. It shall be attempted. I'll update y'all on how it went.

Update: I didn't have the energy to cook today. I just made scrambled eggs. I hated them. Every time I hate them more.

If I were to try with mashed potatoes I would make small balls with the mashed potatoes and then try not to stir it to not mix too much the eggs with the potatoes.

No. It is hunger pains. I feel pain from not eating. I don't have pangs of hunger. I'm not hungry. My stomach hurts from being empty. Hunger pains. It might be because of the contraction of the stomach, but they are definitely pains.

Potatoes are very versatile. You should cook the potatoes with skin intact as that's where most of the micronutrients are at. Roasted smashed potatoes are fantastic with skins intact. I made a potato cabbage gratin dauphinois the other day with all plant based ingredients and it was superb. You can also shred them to make a breakfast hash. You can boil them and make mashed potatoes. You can mix in a bit a flour and make gnocchi. There are so many great options with potatoes. If you have access to a Costco or similar bulk store, buy them from there, it's usually much cheaper to grab a 10lb bag from a bulk store than a smaller bag from somewhere else, assuming you can go through it all. Maybe you have some friends you can split the purchases with to further save money?

Have you considered dried beans, they are very cheap and shelf stable. You soak them over night, rinse, then boil for an hour. Alternatively you could quick soak by boiling for 5 minutes, then letting them rest for an hour, then rinsing, and cooking for about an hour.

Rice is cheaper than bread, will do a better job of managing hunger pains, and help you gain weight more so than plan white bread.

Have you considered a food bank to bolster your nutrition?

I'm surprised you're eating eggs and cheese with how expensive they are. I would recommend replacing with nuts as they are much healthier and they have a higher caloric density, if that's possible for you.

Not desperate enough for that yet. And what they give away is mostly rice and shitty pasta, and even shittier canned meats. As stated before, I would rather starve to death. Even if I went and got the food, I wouldn't eat it.

I wouldn't say I'm hard to please, just hard to keep alive and healthy.

How about bananas? If you can get yourself to eat a banana some time during the day separate from your main meal, that's all bonus. Plus it's got lots of vitamins you definitely need.

Corn and corn meal are also cheap and high energy. Grits are a poor person food staple in parts of the world for a reason.

Onions aren't the highest energy density veggie, but they are cheap and make other food taste MUCH better. Green onions in particular are one of my favorites. The best part is you can take the green onions and put them in a glass on your window sill with an inch of water. Trim the tops and cook with them. They will keep growing back for quite a while, so very cost effective. Just make sure you change the water every couple days so they don't get slimy.

It's not that I can't afford food. I can't afford food that is nutricious and is also considered edible by my autistic/retarded brain. I could just eat lentils and rice. But they would have to force feed me to get it in me, because I would not eat that voluntarily.

And despite being straight, I would rather put someone's nuts in my mouth than eat nuts.

And beans usually make my stomach hurt.

If beans are making your stomach hurt you probably aren't cooking them right. If you're getting them from a can you have to rinse them very well to wash off all the garbage that they pack them with, but after that they're good to eat right away.

The best and cheapest option is to buy them dry. About 1/2 cup of dried beans is equivalent to one 16 oz can. You have to either soak them overnight or quick soak them (boil for 5 minutes with some salt, then let sit for 1 hour), rinse, then cook for at least an hour, until they are soft.

You might also be having problems because you don't have enough fiber in your regular diet, so the extra fiber might be a shock to your system. After about a month of consistently eating more fiber you shouldn't experience that any longer.

Humans measure our food in dietary calories, and our caloric food can be broken down into four groups. In order of ascending caloric density:

• Carbohydrates,, like potatoes and other plants.
• Protein - beans, meat
• Fats (oil,.butter, etc)
• Alcohol

Those of us in affluent countries tend to have too much caloric intake, so strive to limit using fad diets like dropping the bottom or the top while keeping vitamins and those proteins human bodies can't generate.

If you have the opposite problem and limited funds, you need to think in a budget of "calories in vs money spent." Bread and potatoes are relatively low-calorie, so may not be enough to have an effect.

Two actual suggestions:

1. If you're buying store-bought bread, investigate if you can bake your own. I can make a loaf of covid-era sourdough for almost just the cost of flour, and since the flour was milled it keeps a long time and I can stretch dollars buy buying in bulk.

2: if you do have a kitchen anyway, consider beans. Good bean recipes can be very cheap if you start with dried instead of canned, are relatively calorically dense, and respond very well to long cooking. Especially if you need something easy to chew.

You need 50g of oil to roast a kilo of potatoes, and you can buy 4L jugs of it.

Then you need to make your food more calorie dense. The only way to gain weight is to consume more than you use. There is no other way.

Okay, and how do I gain weight from that?