Healthy Meals on a Budget
By Hilary Grant
When it comes to healthy meals on a budget, it’s in the genes…at least for me.
Indeed, one of my earliest memories is watching my mom and a neighbor drive off on their weekly supermarket outing. They didn’t buy groceries at one place, or even two. It was usually three stores (McCoy’s, Alpha Beta and Lucky’s, all no longer in Long Beach) and sometimes four.
After all, what wasn’t on sale at one stop might be at another. Earlier planning saw both women clipping coupons, perusing glossy newspaper ads and plotting menus.
While I never became quite this devoted to the whole marketing experience, I’ll happily admit this: my mother, who came of age in The Great Depression, taught me well. As a matter of fact, thanks to her hands-on lessons, I can be a foodie on a budget.
Here are some ideas to help you do the same:
Homemade stews, soups and casseroles stretch food dollars.
Years ago, I remember an East Indian friend stunned at the amount of meat that an American typically consumes in a single meal. “In India,” she said, “we would take those four pieces of chicken that one person has and put it in a stew. It could serve four people!” Indeed, whether making a Brunswick stew (a hearty dish that feeds a dozen, with only one medium-size roasting chicken), or my friend Leslie’s beef and vegetable soup that uses a little more than a pound
of meat (best made with chuck tenders, an extremely economical cut, but similar in taste to pricier rib eye steaks), meat eaters can still indulge, and keep on budget.
Spaghetti, chili and a myriad of casseroles also call for a small amount of meat (and as vegetarians and vegans already know, many of the best ones don’t require any). One-dish meals frequently yield more than a single dinner, and since they’re already chock full of vegetables, side dishes aren’t needed.
Comparison shop.
We’ve all done it: bought something at a great price, then stumbled upon the exact item elsewhere for less. Here’s how to make sure this doesn’t happen with food (or at least, not as often): don’t fall into the routine of grocery shopping at just one place.
On my end, the nicest try-another-store revelation is the tiny Los Osos Mexican Market. The produce section is limited, but nearly everything there is cheaper than at any other grocery. Five beautiful garlic bulbs are 89 cents, and iceberg lettuce, 39 cents. Avocados are around the same as at a big store, but they’re from Morro Bay, not Chile or Mexico. I also feel good about shopping there because most of the produce is Central Coast grown, and the business is locally owned.
Supporting area farmers markets is another way to find reasonably priced, and of course fresh, food. Or consider joining a budgetwise CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm. For about $80 a month (or $20-25 a week, depending on how much produce you require), members receive a weekly bag/box of organic picked that-day produce from a nearby farm – often with recipes. (Find the CSA nearest you by visiting localharvest.org.)
Make your own dressings and dips.
A few generations ago, most at-home cooks made their own salad dressings. In fact, a quick look at one of my 1960s cookbooks boasts about 75 dressing recipes, many with just a handful of ingredients using budgetwise pantry staples like oil, vinegar and mustard. Most take under 10 minutes to prepare – less time than driving to a store, selecting a preservative-laden dressing and having a cashier ring it up.
Even whipping together so-called “exotic” dips are easy. Make hummus by blending garbanzo beans (79 cents on sale for a namebrand can at Spencer’s Fresh Markets) with a good olive oil, fresh lemon juice, fresh garlic, kosher salt and tahini, then garnish with more oil, Hungarian paprika and basil. Guacamole is simpler: mash ripe Central Coast avocados (Haas is best), and then add fresh lime juice, kosher salt, chopped red onion and cilantro to taste.
Grow your own food.
It was 1943, and, according to victorygarden.org, Americans had planted more than 20 million home gardens. Equally impressive: nearly one-third of the vegetables consumed that year came from these backyard plots.
Whether because of tough economic times or a way to lessen our carbon footprint, home gardens are returning. (A new survey by the National Gardening Association reported that seven million more households grew their own fruits, vegetables, herbs or berries last year than the year before – a nearly 20 percent increase. Moreover, the NGA estimates that a well-maintained food garden yields an annual return of about $500.)
Templeton teacher Tracy Tedone began her summer garden five years ago; consequently, she said, “I buy very few vegetables from July through October.” In addition to zucchini, crookneck, cucumber, bell peppers, tomatoes and melons, she has also tried eggplant. Tedone emphasized that “all the prep and planning only take a few hours. After my husband put a drip system in, I really have to do very little but wait, and admire.”
Use the Internet.
I googled “Healthy Meals on a Budget” and 538,000 hits came up. Then I typed “Dinner for $10” – here, an astonishing 21,500,000 entries. Even National Public Radio has gotten into the act: its All Things Considered program recently challenged listeners to submit recipes that could feed a group of four for less than $10, with bonus points for dishes that sounded more expensive (go to npr.org to view some of the winning meals). Check out delish.com,
budgetcookingsecrets.com, divinecaroline.com and eatingwell.com for lots of other healthy and economical meals – including trout with couscous, and Louisiana red beans and rice.
When it comes to spices and grains, buy in bulk.
This, in fact, was the top tip from Tucker Shaw, Dining Critic for the Denver Post, in that newspaper’s 2008 “Four Meals for $10” article. “Find a local grocer with a robust bulk-food aisle,” he wrote. “You will be shocked at how much money you can save by purchasing just what you need.” Tucker discovered that six ounces of couscous in a prepackaged box cost as much as $2.50, but a full pound of the same stuff, scooped out of a bin, was $1.50. One of the largest selections of bulk items in SLO County is at New Frontiers Natural Marketplace, which carries many grains, spices, loose tea and even peanut butter.
Think outside the box.
One day last summer, my dog and I walked down a street we hadn’t visited before. On a large corner lot, I spotted a brood of noisy, pecking hens. I asked the man in the backyard if he sold eggs. “My wife Jenny is in charge of that,” he said. “I think they’re a dollar a dozen.”
These days, we’re addicted to Jenny Armstrong’s dark-yolked eggs – and while we pay more than the initial quote, the price is less, and way fresher, than those at any grocery store. Plus, I know where our eggs come from.
So if you see a handmade sign (or chicken coop) leading to local produce or eggs, don’t be shy. You could discover a surplus of goodies at a small price…literally around the corner. Not only will these foodstuffs be fresher and cost less than the same storebought items, you might even make a brand new gastronomical connection.
And in the foodie world, what could be better?
Hilary Grant is a writer, filmmaker and foodie in Los Osos.
