Beef Stew Over Rice

Yesterday I made beef stew over rice. I've made it before using different ingredients and seasonings but I think I finally found my zen. Of course nothing trumps venison chunks but ground beef gets the job done.

While making it I got to thinking, why rice? Do people really know WHY everyone says to buy rice? Well no. I only know because I mom told me and she's the author of Poverty Prepping, so obviously she knows.

Rice is the thing you should buy for any reason. It keeps forever if you keep it dry, white rice anyway. Brown will go bad after a few years because it has oils in the skin. Those oils are incredibly good for you, but if you're looking for longativity get white.
It also lasts long in the fact that you don't need much to make a meal. 1 cup of uncooked rice makes about 4.5 cups of cooked rice (don't quote me on that).
Rice also fills you up quicker and keeps you full longer. For poverty households, that's key. Because you don't want to make meals that are cheap but don't fill you up or keep you full, then you would just have to make more food more often.
In addition to those three factors rice is cheap or expensive depending on where you buy it. At Walmart a 5 pound bag is about $7 (depending on the time of year) and at Costco a 25 pound bag is $8. A 10lb bag at Walmart is roughly $15. A 50lb bag at Costco is $18. So you really need to watch the price where you buy it. If you, or anyone you know has a Costco card I would highly suggest you buy it there.

Costco can be a double edged sword sometimes though. You buy these larger sizes or value packs thinking you're getting a deal, but if you don't keep track of the prices at other stores you can be sucked in by the idea of larger is cheaper. For instance at Walmart a great value brand box of toasted oats is 18 cents per ounce on the large box, but only 15 cents per ounce on the small box. Obviously the mentality of larger is cheaper doesn't apply to all things. Another instance being orange juice. If you buy the plastic 1 gallon jug you're paying more per fl oz than if you buy the small white card bored (looking) jug.

So the morel of the story is to always keep track of prices and buy things that don't go bad quickly, last a long time in usage, and fill you up.