Interesting and Disgusting Ways People Ration Food

When times are tough and money is tight many people go into a survival mode where they ration their food and supplies. The minds of people during tough times become really creative and they start thinking outside of the box to extend their resources. Below are some quirky, innovative, and disgusting ways some people survive on a very tight budget. After checking this article out you might consider using some of these techniques when you are faced with little to no income.

1. Reusing milk- you might be thinking to yourself how do you do that. There is really no special technique to reusing milk. Many people use milk for their cereal and when they have finished a bowl there is usually milk left at the bottom. Some people take this "after milk" and place it back into the refrigerator to use it again later that same day or for the next morning. I have researched whether or not it is safe to reuse milk and I could not find anything that was against drinking reused milk. As long as the milk is refrigerated and clean utensils are used with it should be fine to use.

2. Reusing broth- similar to reusing milk some people reused broth that is left over from meats and stews to add to soup or leafy greens and vegetables. Reusing broth makes food taste very interesting which can be a good or bad thing depending on the recipe. When reusing broth it is best to seal it in an air tight container so that the aroma from other foods in the refrigerator will not affect its taste.

3. Cooking eggs in sausage drippings- This sounds disgusting but plenty people that I know have done this. It works but the taste is a bit awkward. The eggs don't take on that nice buttery flavored as they do when cooked with margarine. They end up tasting extremely salty. So, if you enjoy salty eggs this might work for you.

4. Swiping toilet paper- This seems to be a very common thing to do amongst friends. Sometimes times get so rough that you may not have enough money to buy that $1.00 roll of toilet paper. Some individuals admit to swiping toilet paper from work, eateries, or the hospital. I am not sure if this would be classified as stealing.

5.Storing and reusing oil used to fry meat- When people get to the last bit of oil and have no money to buy more, they pour the left over oil from cooking back into the original bottle to use again. This oil may not taste well with every thing that you prepare. If the oil was used to cook meat, it might give future prepared foods a stale meat aroma.

6. Using dish washing liquid to wash the body- I have heard many stories of college students running out of soap and having no choice but to use dish liquid. The dish detergent did the job and didn't seem to burn or irritate their skin. There are no cautionary signs on the dish washing liquid bottle that warns against using on the body. I guess if it is good enough for the oil drenched wildlife (Dawn is used on wild animals) it's okay for the people.

7. Using paper towels as coffee filters- This seems to be a common thing to do amongst coffee drinkers who have run out of filters. The trick to making this work is to double the paper towels so that they do not tear.

8. Reusing flour- Some people have reused the flour that they have used to prepare their meat. This is not as disgusting as reusing milk and seems fairly reasonable. It is best to store the reused flour inside of plastic bags to maintain freshness.

9. Scraping off mold on bread- Some people view mold as harmless and have no problem cutting around the mold to eat the other pieces of bread. According to experts, breads with mold on them should not be eaten because the mold can cause a person to feel nauseous, and vomit. A person may have a serious reaction to mold. There have been no scientific reports that reveal death by eating mold on bread but moldy bread should not be consumed. Even if mold is cut off from bread there may still be mold present on bread that is invisible to the eyes.

10. Melted popsicles to make juice- This idea is a bit genius when you think of it. Unfreezing freeze pops will turn them into a sweet, cool, liquid that can be sipped.