Your Turn: Inexpensive Meals
By: Editor | June 15, 2009 | Category: Spanish
Our Monday blogger, Jake, has work duties that will take him away from Gov Gab until September. In his absence, we’re alternating between “Your Turn” weeks, where we’ll ask a question to spotlight your knowledge about government resources, and posts from guest bloggers across the government.
Today’s question: Thrifty meal ideas, favorite recipes, sources for good quality and inexpensive ingredients—I’d love to hear all your suggestions!
Permalink
| View Comments [6]
| 
E-mail This Entry
| Tags:
budget
cooking
editor
meal_planning
recipes
your_turn
Bookmark and share: 
About social bookmarking
RSS Feeds
E-mail Updates
Seriously, google it and see! and my family teases me about letting my kids eat "yard salad"
Comment Permalink
Have you ever tried using a plump jicama ("HIC-ama), peeled and thinly sliced, instead of chips or tostidos in dips or salsa? The slices are satisfyingly crunchy plain, and a large one costs less than two bags of chips, notorious for their "empty calories."
Grocers seem to be offering good bargains at the meat counter, too. Check the "bargain center," first. Then wash, pat dry, and rewrap the meat for freezing when you get home. Don't forget to date and label it.
Our local store had baked whole chickens for $5.00 each last week. We made dinner and lunch for two, and stock for chicken noodle soup with veggies later. We sliced the warm breast meat and served it with oven fries and vegetables the first night. The next day, I used the leg and wing meat with baby spinach leaves, grated carrot, celery and fresh tomatoes for a nice go-to-work salad. There was enough for several sandwiches, too. I stored bones and carcass in the refrigerator, tossing the skin and other unattractive bits. Later, I covered the carcass and bones with water, added celery, onion, garlic, and a bay leaf, and simmered for about half an hour to harvest all the nutrition for soup stock. Then strained the broth, I picked clean the bones saving the meat, and cast out the softened veggies. The frozen stock and meat are ready to be made into chicken noodle soup, or will be used as a base for a bean soup that will be much lower in sodium than most canned varieties.
And speaking of beans, drain a can, rinse, and add them with cooked rice to summer salads for a non-meat protein that's full of fiber and easy on the budget.
Pick up specials on yogurt and cheeses, while you're at the dairy counter. Remember, many yogurts are sugar laden. Buy the 16 oz. containers of plain yogurt, substitute it for half of the prepackaged small containers, mix, and refrigerate in small 1/2 or 1 cup sized containers for snacks and lunches. You'll save money and calories!
The less that's been done to the food you buy, and the shorter the distance it has had to travel, the less expensive it will be. That's a compelling reason to avoid the interior aisles. It's another good reason why summer's an especially good time to shop at farmer's markets on weekends for local produce.
It's a little early for silver queen corn, but you can find the best asparagus, oakra, tomatoes, basil, strawberries, peaches, and cherries now. Won't you feel ahead of the Christmas rush when you whip up batches of pesto in the blender to freeze for holiday gift-giving, or immerse pitted cherries and brandy in pint jars for special occasion cherries jubilee? You can admire them between now and winter. Just don't forget to tag them with ideas or a recipe!
Comment Permalink
I'm not sure I'd go in for "yard salad," although I LOVE a good salad, just because of the bitterness. But I definitely know it's not weird. My grandparents frequently eat dandelion greens that have grown in their yard. I look forward to owning a house some day so I can benefit from things grown in my own yard (herbs, veggies, etc.). Thanks for the note!
Comment Permalink
http://recipefinder.nal.usda.gov
This database was created for nutrition educators working with families and individuals participating in the SNAP program (formerly known as the Food Stamp Program), but anyone is welcome to use it. All recipes are healthy, inexpensive and easy to prepare!
All of the recipes are available in English and Spanish.
Comment Permalink
I love pasta. I saw on a morning news show that you should buy the store brand pasta instead of the brand name pasta. If you look at the label and list of ingredients - they're exactly the same.
Comment Permalink
WalMart has a variety of delicious baked chickens each and every day for right around that price. IMO, it is the best buy in the land. There's so much you can make with a chicken. I get at least four meals out of one--often six.
In fact, even though I'm 20 years distant from my college days, I still try to (as a game, mostly--and only when I have the time to spend hunting the aisles) keep my daily meal budget to UNDER $5 for all three meals. WalMart's chicken averages $1 per meal for the meat part, which is why I think it's so excellent.
I'd love to hear similar finds from others!
Comment Permalink