another tip: while YMMV, stay away from most beans other than black or chickpeas. those are the ones that tend to cause the least disturbance in the force.
Anyway, several of our Canadian brands are ultra low sodium, that this is a nonissue.
I just want to make sure (12 and dozen right next to each other confuses my tired mind) is this 12 Dozen (as in 1 gross) eggs or 12 (a typo)?
For most people it's probably okay to eat foods containing cholesterol as long as you keep everything in balance. Several years ago my blood tests showed all the bad signs - high cholesterol, low HDL, and high triglycerides. I knew I would never stick to a really low fat diet, so I just shopped the perimeter of the store, avoiding processed foods. I flipped by blood test results in two months.
pinto aren't bad though. kidney are mediocre, as long as you dont eat too many at a time. I've been eating the same diet for 6 months now. I could probably graph what the effects of different beans are on me, at this point (it'd be a gross graph, so don't ask)
edit: again, ymmv. I'm sure different people process things differently, and chickpeas could be YOUR kryptonite. plan experiments accordingly.
Anyhow, this is an interesting setup. Rice and beans is a fairly standard South/Central American diet (for the same reason chosen here... high energy, full protein complex, and cheeaappp). This is totally a workable diet, but the moment you start wanting to eat fish/meat, your food expenses will skyrocket. Even if it's just Tilipia (yuck!). Which sucks =/
These add little difference nutritionally, but make the world of difference in whether this diet seems bland or repetitive; with care they don't need to add a huge cost either, stored well they can be bought in bulk and the cost amortized.
If you want to buy cheap spices you can't go wrong buying whole dried spices (they keep their flavor much longer) from an indian grocery store. I've always found one near where I've lived (mostly east coast, but I did spend a summer in Albuquerque and I found a few there).
Not necessarily, though it depends on what you consider skyrocketing. I find that it only adds $2-$3 a day, depending on what your eating and how you buy it. I buy pork chops in bulk for around $2.49/lb. So that means I can add a half pound chop to my dinner for only $1.25. I also tend to stock up frozen chicken breasts, which I don't remember the cost of since a big back of those lasts me a long time. But I usually end up eating one pork item and one chicken item a day, alternating between lunch and dinner. I'd say in total my daily meals are $4-$6. Obviously if you're eating filet mignon as your meat, your costs are gonna shoot up. :)
I once lived in a happy big house with fellow students. We took turns cooking. One of us, an excellent vegetarian cook, whipped up a terrific lentil stew that was so fantastic I had two large bowls. What a tasty meal!
What a night! My roommate had to abandon the room, and two individuals in adjoining rooms were driven downstairs to the living room. I slept only fitfully between blasts. No one spoke to me for 3 days.
Lentils! Never again!