Post by Honeylioness on Mar 30, 2009 12:10:40 GMT -5
WIR: Frugal meals/foods that focus on health (without sacrificing flavor)
azure sky - 03/29/09 12:15 PM
OK, I know this has been done, but I recently made two great discoveries: canned salmon, and homemade breakfast cookies (delicious--I promise--even though they are made with whole grain flour and wheat germ). Both are cheap and super healthy, and what could be faster than cooking up some salmon cakes for dinner? I am making the transition to dried beans since they are also cheaper and healthier than canned beans. I have some black beans soaking right now...wish me luck!
Any others want to share their best healthy cooking tips that are easy on the budget?
Honeylioness - 03/30/09 11:48 AM
For me it is not about a particular food or stretcher, but in buying the best ingredients I can and then extending one meal into several without it being boring. So here would be an example (keep in mind I am cooking for just myself):
Shopping List: Two whole chickens, bag of potatoes, assorted veggies (beans, carrots, broccoli), cheese, sour cream.
Saturday: Cut up chickens into pieces. Skin and de-bone one whole breast. I then wrap the pieces and put them into a bin in my freezer. Save the carcass and bones, put into a plastic bag in freezer for stock. Prepare buttermilk and seasoning blend, add chicken to liquid to soak overnight.
Sunday: Make fried chicken, gravy, steamed beans and baked potatoes (about 6) for dinner.
Monday: Use two baked potatoes from Sunday to make twice baked potato mixing the flesh with sour cream, cheese and seasonings before heating in oven. Make just ONE re-stuffed potato and save the extra “Filling”. Serve with steamed carrots and cold fried chicken.
Tuesday: Pull meat off a few fried chicken pieces, heat in left over gravy. Use extra potato filling to make potato pancakes. Form the filling into small patties, dredge in flour than fry until crispy and golden brown.
Wednesday: One of my favorites – Breakfast for dinner. Either an omelet or French Toast.
Thursday: Have a meatless meal of rice and vegetables. Or perhaps soup and a sandwich
Friday: Out with friends.
Saturday: In the morning pull out the bag of chicken bones from last weekend (sometimes I wait a few weeks and make a really big batch), toss into a large pot of water along with other items I tend to “save” (i.e. limp carrots, celery, onion ends and skins) along with a quartered onion, a few peppercorns and the frozen de-boned chicken breasts. Let it all boil for about 20 minutes. Cool and pour through a colander to remove the spent veggie matter. Pick off the meat scraps from the bones, cut of the cooked chicken breasts and make either soup, or fricassee or chicken and dumplings.
I will also make a large roast on the weekend and then translate the left-over meat into stew, open faced sandwiches, cube it on top of a large salad or do a stir fry.
azure sky - 03/29/09 12:15 PM
OK, I know this has been done, but I recently made two great discoveries: canned salmon, and homemade breakfast cookies (delicious--I promise--even though they are made with whole grain flour and wheat germ). Both are cheap and super healthy, and what could be faster than cooking up some salmon cakes for dinner? I am making the transition to dried beans since they are also cheaper and healthier than canned beans. I have some black beans soaking right now...wish me luck!
Any others want to share their best healthy cooking tips that are easy on the budget?
Honeylioness - 03/30/09 11:48 AM
For me it is not about a particular food or stretcher, but in buying the best ingredients I can and then extending one meal into several without it being boring. So here would be an example (keep in mind I am cooking for just myself):
Shopping List: Two whole chickens, bag of potatoes, assorted veggies (beans, carrots, broccoli), cheese, sour cream.
Saturday: Cut up chickens into pieces. Skin and de-bone one whole breast. I then wrap the pieces and put them into a bin in my freezer. Save the carcass and bones, put into a plastic bag in freezer for stock. Prepare buttermilk and seasoning blend, add chicken to liquid to soak overnight.
Sunday: Make fried chicken, gravy, steamed beans and baked potatoes (about 6) for dinner.
Monday: Use two baked potatoes from Sunday to make twice baked potato mixing the flesh with sour cream, cheese and seasonings before heating in oven. Make just ONE re-stuffed potato and save the extra “Filling”. Serve with steamed carrots and cold fried chicken.
Tuesday: Pull meat off a few fried chicken pieces, heat in left over gravy. Use extra potato filling to make potato pancakes. Form the filling into small patties, dredge in flour than fry until crispy and golden brown.
Wednesday: One of my favorites – Breakfast for dinner. Either an omelet or French Toast.
Thursday: Have a meatless meal of rice and vegetables. Or perhaps soup and a sandwich
Friday: Out with friends.
Saturday: In the morning pull out the bag of chicken bones from last weekend (sometimes I wait a few weeks and make a really big batch), toss into a large pot of water along with other items I tend to “save” (i.e. limp carrots, celery, onion ends and skins) along with a quartered onion, a few peppercorns and the frozen de-boned chicken breasts. Let it all boil for about 20 minutes. Cool and pour through a colander to remove the spent veggie matter. Pick off the meat scraps from the bones, cut of the cooked chicken breasts and make either soup, or fricassee or chicken and dumplings.
I will also make a large roast on the weekend and then translate the left-over meat into stew, open faced sandwiches, cube it on top of a large salad or do a stir fry.