"Basically", half the world eats very well in every respect, thank you very much, on a rice-based diet. For example:
Rice, a can of Spam, some vegetables (onion, green bell pepper, celery, garlic, green onions), a couple of tomatoes, a boullion cube or two, and a couple shakes of Tabasco and Worstershire costs about five bucks and gives you ten adult-sized servings of jambalaya that's better than the stuff you'd find at many restaurants even in New Orleans. It freezes fine, too, so don't give me that crap about how you can't cook every day, either.
It's too bad she lives in a place where rice-based dishes like this one haven't been a part of the local culture for hundreds of years. Maybe she's put off by that long list of hard-to-find, expensive ingredients.
Honestly, do you know just how good some of these ramen noodles are when you add a little meat and fresh herbs?
A little rice and meat and herbs is the same deal
Gosh I ate rice all week
Sausage jambalaya and shrimp gumbo(the shrimp was 3.99 lb)
There are probably still 6 big servings left.
I could have fed a family for a week off that for 10 bucks