Great thread! I read it start to finish yesterday and today. I just have a few random comments (and possibly-helpful tidbits?) on things I read along the way:
For those who say oatmeal doesn't fill them up... yeah, I'm with you there, at least if you're following the usual recommended serving size of 1/4 - 1/3 cup or using those little packets. That's not nearly enough food! Maybe that's meant for people who are eating a lot of other dishes with it? I use a full cup of rolled oats, plus an equal amount of water, plus at least an equal amount of fruit. When I use steel cut oats, I can get away with just over half a cup of oats because they seem to absorb more water (and maybe they're also more filling because they require more energy to break down?). And I still add a ton of fruit.
Protein combining is a myth from the 1950s. Even Wikipedia says so. The author who popularized this idea in the '70s retracted her assertion in the '80s. It's like saying the bricks and mortar for a new house have to be dropped off at exactly the same time in order to be able to build properly, but that's not the case for a human body any more than it is for a house. If you're eating a reasonably varied diet, your body will be able to put the amino acids it needs together even if it gets some at one time and some at another. That said, I do love beans and rice from all sorts of different international cuisines!
Someone mentioned how expensive berries are. Yes, in the grocery store the prices are eye-popping unless you happen to find a great sale. I like to go berry picking in the summer. I can get just about all the free blackberries I want, and for strawberries, blueberries, or raspberries I go to a pick-your-own berry farm and get about 10 pounds in an hour or two of picking for $2.25/pound. (I do this 3-4 times per summer, so I end up with a massive amount of berries. Thank God for our huge freezer.) It's decent entertainment, too, on a nice day. I don't have kids, but the kids there seem to enjoy it, and I either listen to a podcast or have fun overhearing other people picking and talking to each other about what they're going to make with their haul. I put all of my hand-picked berries in our huge upright freezer and put berries on my oatmeal year-round.
Ethnic markets are another lifesaver in terms of keeping costs down. I love Indian and Asian (or should I say other Asian? I know some consider India part of Asia?) foods, and I can get spices and other things specific to those cuisines pretty cheap at their markets. Some produce is cheaper at those places, too, like Japanese sweet potatoes and bok choy.
Anyway, thanks for this thread, APowers! This must have taken an incredible amount of time in your already-busy life!