[Mars]

So, a while back I had a nanny job. I had free room and board (free food) I was at 150 lbs at a height of 5'10" so a BMI of 21.5

Then I went through six months of unemployment; by the end of it I was down to 135 BMI of 19.4 . . . still within healthy.

Then I got a job, moved - rent was just a little high . . . had to cut my budget somehow, it ended up being mostly in food. Now I weigh 125 lbs. . . BMI 17.9

18.4 is the cutoff for a healthy weight.

This situation must be rectified. I can't force myself to eat jars of peanut butter anymore. . . what's good for cheap, dense calories? My basil metabolic rate seems to be hard to pin down, to maintain my current weight I'd estimate 1,700 calories, but I obviously want to get back up to at least 140 lbs

[BloodEagle]

You make it sound like BMI means something. 

[Retsof]

Uhm.... lots and lots of ramen?  Erm... potatoes are cheap.  Calories... spaghetti!

[Klaustrophobia]

think like a college student.  i get a lot of mileage out of cereal and pasta.  a box of kraft mac and cheese for $1 is good for 2-2.5 meals, 3 if you eat light.  fast food can actually be quite cheap when you get the various deals, and really isn't as bad for you as it's made out to be.

[Nuke]

just eat a lot of mexican food, its both cheap and fattening, and quite delicious.

[TwentyPercentCooler]

So, a while back I had a nanny job. I had free room and board (free food) I was at 150 lbs at a height of 5'10" so a BMI of 21.5

Then I went through six months of unemployment; by the end of it I was down to 135 BMI of 19.4 . . . still within healthy.

Then I got a job, moved - rent was just a little high . . . had to cut my budget somehow, it ended up being mostly in food. Now I weigh 125 lbs. . . BMI 17.9

18.4 is the cutoff for a healthy weight.

This situation must be rectified. I can't force myself to eat jars of peanut butter anymore. . . what's good for cheap, dense calories? My basil metabolic rate seems to be hard to pin down, to maintain my current weight I'd estimate 1,700 calories, but I obviously want to get back up to at least 140 lbs

BMI is a terrible indicator of general health.

I'm the same height as you are and I've been at 115 lbs. for years. BMI alone would tell me that I'm severely underweight but it's crap - I'm a distance runner. If you're unhappy with your new weight, that's a different thing; but don't put too much stock in BMI. I'll echo some of the other posters and recommend pasta, also bread. Cheap carbs.

[Mika]

Don't put too much weight on BMI (pun intended). I recall you were around 18ish, and the general trend of men is usually that they first increase the height (low BMI), and later comes the muscle. The muscle growth seems to stop around the age of 26 (if there isn't special training program) and after that you'll likely find that you need to decrease the amount of food you are eating due to decreased consumption. This all is of course, only what I have seen, and I don't have medical background or any sort of sports education and might differ vastly between individuals. I only have done quite a bit of sports for about 16 years now.

I wouldn't also try to intentionally fatten myself, the weight increase tends to happen automatically. Also, balanced diet is more recommendable than carbohydrate rich food.

If I took a look at my BMI, lemme see, 1 meter 70 and 94 kilograms. That makes BMI of 32.5 -obese . But by looking at me, you would never guess.

[WeatherOp]

I too have learned to not listen to BMI. I'm around 5'10" and weigh around ~130 and I'm completely healthy. But, if you are really concerned with eating the right foods, have you thought about doing a little gardening?

[Mars]

I defend BMI as an indicator in my case; I was quite healthy at 140-150. At 125, I am skin and bones.

Also, good idea with the mexican food. Gardening is quite impossible I'm afraid, I live in an apartment

Carbo loading is something I've tried, but it doesn't seem to retain very well, for some reason.

[Turambar]

Watch Epic Meal Time, then try to do the stuff that they do.

http://www.youtube.com/user/EpicMealTime

[WeatherOp]

I defend BMI as an indicator in my case; I was quite healthy at 140-150. At 125, I am skin and bones.

Also, good idea with the mexican food. Gardening is quite impossible I'm afraid, I live in an apartment

Carbo loading is something I've tried, but it doesn't seem to retain very well, for some reason.

Do some research on it. I've been amazed at what people have done as far as container gardening goes with just a small space like a patio.

[Unknown Target]

Even a small windowsill garden is helpful, I've heard.

[JGZinv]

You want food and fat.... well here you go...
http://thisiswhyyourefat.tumblr.com/

The best America has to offer in death by absorption.

[Klaustrophobia]

i want it all

[Mongoose]

I too have learned to not listen to BMI. I'm around 5'10" and weigh around ~130 and I'm completely healthy.

Well that's depressing...I'm that same height but have a few dozen pounds on you.

[bobbtmann]

First year university I was 6'2" and weighed 140. The trick for me was to hit the gym, so now I'm almost 180. I also ate about four peanut butter sandwiches a day, on top of whatever free food I could get at gallery openings. I also ate a lot of breakfast cereal and KD. KD is getting expensive now, so maybe a bag of potatoes would be healthier and cheaper. Potatoes did save the western world, so maybe it can save you too.

[Nuke]

Even a small windowsill garden is helpful, I've heard.

there's also hydroponics, of course if i had a hydroponics garden, i doubt id be growing food. though i might use what i grow in my brownie recipe.