Affordable, But Nutritious

June 24, 2019

It's summer, and it's busy -- and expensive (in our house, at least).  The kids are home from college and with them come their various significant others, one of whom is bulking up to play Division 1 football.  I love love LOVE having them around and wouldn't have it any other way, don't get me wrong, but cooking for 8 (10 if we want leftovers) people every night adds up.  Putting high-quality, nutritious meals on the table is very important to us -- so how do we do that without breaking the bank?

1.  Add extra veggies.  What's more nutritious than veggies???  Vegetables, even organic ones, aren't THAT expensive.  And, when cooked in a good fat like olive, coconut or avocado oil, they can be quite filling.  I make at least 2 sheet pans of roasted veggies every night.  You can chop almost anything (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, kale, zucchini, brussels sprouts), toss it with oil and salt and roast it on a sheet pan and it's delicious.

2.  Embrace ground beef.  Ground beef is typically inexpensive -- even the grass-fed ground beef at Whole Foods is down to $6.99 per pound, thanks to Amazon.  That comes to a little over $2.50 per person for a filling meal.  And so many different meals can be made with ground beef (burgers, tacos, meatballs, meatloaf, stir fries, beef/rice bowls) that you can have it twice a week and not get bored of it.  And don't worry about the fat content, especially if it's grass-fed.    

3.  Have breakfast for dinner.  Eggs are a great source of protein and choline, a nutrient almost all of us are lacking in.  Although the best quality eggs (Certified Humane and/or locally-raised) can cost $6.99 per dozen, when you think of that as an extremely healthy entree for 4-6 people, it suddenly doesn't sound so expensive.  We do omelets, frittatas and even just scrambled eggs at least once a week for dinner.

4.  Try a bean (or bean pasta) meal.  Beans are another great source of protein and can be very filling.  The pastas made from lentils and chickpeas are actually quite tasty (even Barilla has bean pastas now) and hold their shape better than other gluten-free pastas.  Cannellini beans and black beans are great bases for affordable meals like this one and this one.

5.  Don't snub canned fish.  Although I would highly recommend buying your canned fish from a reputable source like Vital Choice or Thrive Market, just because it comes in a can doesn't mean it's something to turn up your nose at.  Salmon patties and crab cakes made from canned fish are delicious crowd-pleasers that also happen to be nutritious and affordable.

Hope those ideas help YOUR family -- and if you have any ideas to help MINE, please pass them along!