vegeater.com

Budget Eating

May 10, 2010 – 9:52 am

A friend of mine recently lost a job. She sent me this question:

I am trying to cook with more fresh foods and less meat while we’re jobless. Might you have any recipe or even quick and easy meal or side ideas that might suit our new budget?

Sure I do. Here are my thoughts:

a) Get friendly with dry beans (and Beano). Yes, you have to remember to soak them the night before, and yes, they take a while to cook (unless you have a pressure-cooker, which I recommend getting if you plan on cooking a lot of beans.  It’s possible to find one at a secondhand store, but beware of older models, and read the manual). But they’re cheap protein, and can be very tasty. I generally stay away from kidney beans, as I find them particularly gas-producing; instead I usually use Adzuki beans, as I find them more digestible. Don’t salt your beans until they’re done cooking. Salt slows the cooking process for them. I definitely recommend taking Beano or some other digestive enzyme product (containing alpha-galactosidase) if your digestive tract isn’t accustomed to beans. You can also add a strip of kombu, a type of seaweed you can find dried in Asian food stores, to your bean-cooking liquid to help with digestibility.

b) Get friendly with the bulk section of the grocery store. Here you can find all sorts of nutritious grains, beans, spices, dried fruits, and even soup and hummus mix. These are usually cheaper per pound than packaged goods, and generally have a wider variety to choose from. Try experimenting with alternative grains like quinoa, millet, and oat groats. One of the perks is that you don’t have to go home with a pound of whatever new thing you’re trying out – you can buy an “experimental” portion. You can also buy flours, teas, and spices here.

c) Buy store-able vegetables, like potatoes, carrots, onions, yams, and garlic, in more-economical multi-pound bags. Cheaper per pound. Keep in fridge or cool basement. These can form the base for many low-cost meals, such as vegetable curry, potato salad, and my favorite, Refrigerator Soup.  Be sure to wash any non-organic veg with soap or veggie wash.

d) Forego buying pre-washed, or pre-sliced veg. Any type of processing just adds to your bill. If you have the time, why not wash the lettuce yourself?

e) Check out some of the cool blogs out there on frugal living, frugal eating, and frugal families. The Frugal Vegan has a collection of “Family Dinners Under $2“. She tends to recommend more highly-processed soy products (like TVP) than I like to see folks eating, but hey, they’re cheap and she has good ideas. She happens to also have a $32 Weekly Meal Plan, which I think is pretty darn smart

f) Here are some go-to budget-friendly recipes I like to make:

• cole slaw: a head of cabbage is super cheap
• potato salad: potatoes are also cheap
• red beans and rice
• veggie curry over rice
• black bean tacos with corn tortillas
• pancakes from scratch: skip the bisquick and use whole wheat pastry flour (from a bulk bin) instead. All you have to do is add baking powder and salt.
• soups of all kinds: pretty much any homemade vegetarian soup is going to be budget-friendly, unless you’re using expensive ingredients like shiitake mushrooms or some such.

g) And finally, my favorite cookbook for simple, frugal meals is “More-With-Less” from Doris Janzen Longacre. This one is put out by the Mennonite Central Committee. From what I can tell, the Mennonites are great at sustainable, frugal, low-impact living.  Instead of buying it, try checking it out at the library; I do this, then I copy down my favorite recipes onto recipe cards for my recipe box.

If you have other ideas for budget-friendly eating and cooking, please leave a comment!