{"id":242049,"date":"2025-10-26T13:05:13","date_gmt":"2025-10-26T13:05:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/242049\/"},"modified":"2025-10-26T13:05:13","modified_gmt":"2025-10-26T13:05:13","slug":"taste-like-almonds-cheaper-than-chicken-eat-worms-as-source-of-protein-bizarre-money-saving-tips-go-viral","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/242049\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Taste like almonds, cheaper than chicken\u2019: Eat worms as source of protein; bizarre money-saving tips go viral"},"content":{"rendered":"

Young Chinese adults are going viral for sharing extreme frugality hacks online. Some of them are suggesting bizarre ways to save money<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Members of a group called the Thrifty Men\u2019s Association, with over 2.4 lakh members, proudly call themselves \u201cThrifty Stars\u201d. They treat their lifestyle as a protest against consumerism. Thanks to extreme frugality, some members claim to have bought three flats.<\/p>\n

One viral post recommends eating breadworms as a cheap and nutritious source of protein. They claim it tastes like \u201cmilky almonds\u201d.<\/p>\n

The poster argues that breadworms cost only 12 yuan (under \u20b9150) per kilogram. It is cheaper than chicken and contains 20% protein.<\/p>\n

He also claims that, since the worms reproduce endlessly, a steady food supply is ensured. The idea has sparked shock and debate across Chinese social media.<\/p>\n

\u201cYesterday, I had three meals with them and only ate about half. The total cost was just over 3 yuan ( \u20b937),\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

The user steamed them so that he does not have to spend money<\/a> on oil. He also tried grinding the worms into a meat paste. The user made dumplings and shaped them into patties.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne more bonus is that, at night, I place the bowl of worms by my bedside. The sound of them crawling is like the echo of the ocean. It helped cure my insomnia,\u201d the social media user wrote.<\/p>\n

More money-saving hacks<\/p>\n

One popular tip suggests beating an egg, freezing it in an ice cube tray, and using each cube for a separate meal. Like that, one egg can be used for three dishes.<\/p>\n

Others recommend boiling chicken skin and bones for soup. The leftover oil can be reused to fry rice, they suggest.<\/p>\n

Some posts also share unusual ways to save on housing and utilities. They recommend renting a flat below a flat with underfloor heating. This will help them stay warm in winter.<\/p>\n

Members suggest taking cold showers<\/a> in the summer and sleeping on the floor to reduce the need for air conditioning.<\/p>\n

\u201cI used to spend more than 30,000 yuan ( \u20b93.7 lakh) a year. Now, including tuition fees, I only spend just over 10,000 ( \u20b91.23 lakh) a year,\u201d One member wrote.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Young Chinese adults are going viral for sharing extreme frugality hacks online. Some of them are suggesting bizarre…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":242050,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[64,63,144430,144427,144428,137,29487,144429,532,144431,144433,38779,144432,102989],"class_list":{"0":"post-242049","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nutrition","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-best-protein","11":"tag-chicken-protein","12":"tag-egg-protein","13":"tag-health","14":"tag-high-protein","15":"tag-milk-protein","16":"tag-nutrition","17":"tag-protein-food","18":"tag-protein-oats","19":"tag-protein-powder","20":"tag-what-is-protein","21":"tag-whey-protein"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242049","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=242049"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242049\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/242050"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=242049"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=242049"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=242049"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}