Cheap and Healthy: 15 Nutritious Foods for About $2
1. Brown Rice
2. Whole-Wheat or Multigrain Pasta
3. 100% Whole-Wheat Bread
4. Nonfat Greek Yogurt
5. Old-Fashioned Oats
6. Frozen Vegetables
7. Russet Potato
8. Fresh Bagged Spinach
9. Canned Refried Beans
10. Canned Tuna
11. Canned or Jarred Marinara Sauce
12. Whole Wheat Pita Bread
13. Store-Brand Egg Substitute
14. Frozen Edamame (Soybeans)
15. Dried Lentils
Anything you would add? Or take away?
I think I may get roasted for this, but, well, it works on a budget. Last night's dinner (red potatoes tossed in oil and spices, roasted at 370ºF for 1 hour):
Peanut butter? Maybe it didn't fit her $2 cut-off.
ReplyDeleteEggs?
ReplyDeleteFruit?
ReplyDeleteI think she should have put "dried lentils/legumes."
ReplyDeleteJust sayin'
shaun
I wonder if she was going for short prep time, regarding the lentils. I'd add split peas if that was the case. As long as they didn't have "hard to cook defect."
ReplyDeleteFruit ... maybe bananas? I can get a good-sized bunch for less than $2.
ReplyDeleteMaybe so.
ReplyDeleteHow about frozen fruits and vegetables? Sweet potatoes and carrots come to mind. A lot things fit when they're in season (I'm thinking squash and certain fruits).
shaun
I would add in-season fresh fruits and vegetables. Or, to wait and not buy until that item is on a good sale...like broccoli crowns for 99 cents/lb or some other veggie. Also, other frozen veggies too...wait until they are .99/lb. If not on sale or on sale and with a coupon, don't buy it. And add cabbage to that list. You can make your own sauerkraut very easily. Fresh homemade sauerkraut is delicious and nothing like what you buy in the store canned or "fresh". You don't have to have a big crock or some such...just a mason jar with a lid and ring will do.
ReplyDeleteThe local markets bring in lots of large squash and pumpkins for fall. They do not all sell at full price. Toward the end of the season, many places will drastically reduce the prices and you can get lots for cheap. Cook it and freeze the cooked pulp or can it if so inclined.
Also, try to find free sources of food in your area. There is a house in a town near us that has a large persimmon tree. They do not eat them but I love them. No pesticides or anything. Just good fruit. Our neighbors have grapes they let us pick. There are wild black raspberry and wine berry canes/vines on almost any roadside or back road. (Pick up aluminum cans while out picking fruit even. Take a walk and carry a bag to put cans in. Save them and cash them in.) Look for apple trees in waste places or even in someone's yard. Just knock on the door and ask if they would let you pick if they are not going to use them.
What is going on with cabbage this year? I can only ever find a few wilted heads whereever I go. I usually pay about 0.69/lb. Is this typical?
ReplyDeleteAbout the cabbage...could it be that inordinate amounts of rain damaged the crops this year? The east coast has had a LOT of rain. In September here, it rained an average of every other day. I'm not kidding. And, 11 out of 30 days in November.
ReplyDeleteI bet you're right. A lot of the produce comes from California I'd guess. But cabbage likes the cold, is probably more local. I wonder if that weird October snowstorm had anything to do with it.
ReplyDeleteDrink cheap wine.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.slate.com/articles/life/drink/2011/11/why_you_should_be_drinking_cheap_wine.html