All of those can be made on a relative dime, too; you mention things like rice, chicken, beans, carrots, all of which can be bought in bulk or from a freezer.

All of those can be made on a relative dime, too; you mention things like rice, chicken, beans, carrots, all of which can be bought in bulk or from a freezer. I hope people learn how to use spices and can source them for cheap; we have a source that is bascially a big rack that sells things like paprika powder for €2 for a relatively big bag, it's the basis for a lot of premade sauces / seasoning mixes and a lot of familiar flavours (italian, mexican). Learning to make bolognese sauce from scratch is great. Hummus can also be made from scratch, iirc it's just ground chick peas.