BellaOnline Forums Food and Wine Vegetarian Operation : Eat Great Cheap

Hey Guys,

Here's the latest article on storage. It is a key item you want to incorporate into your planning process.

It will save tons of time and money.

When planning your 'Eat Great Cheap' program there are a few things you want to take into consideration:

health
price
variety

Here are some of the things I've been able to forage in the bazaar of groceries, farmer's markets, health food stores and last & most our home garden:

mung bean threads = appr. .20c per [they some 8 - 10 to a package]
red lentils [org]= 1.99 p/lb [caught a good sale]
pinto beans [org]= 1.29 p/lb
tomato paste = .89 p/3oz. can
millet [org]= .89 p/lb
brown basmati rice [org]= 1.29 p/lb


stop back frequently. I'll be adding to this list!

Jason whats Millet?

Hey Rosie!

Millet is a grain. A lot of times you'll see it in bird feeders, but it's quite nice for human consumption. We eat it all the time in my house.

You can make it sweet [like in a porridge] or savory [like rice].

It's inexpensive and has a smooth nutty flavor.

It can also be used as a great thickener in soups, stews and sauces. You'd have to grind it up first.

For the past month we've had family and friends pop through our place and a need to feed and feed big.

We employed our eat great cheap techniques and not only fed everyone for pennies on the dollar, but also had leftovers for later.

We used:
Tofu
Beans
Brown Basmati Rice
Quinoa
Tomatoes
Onions
Garlic
Greens
Peppers
Pasta
Coconut Milk
Cassava/Yucca
Taro
Mushrooms
Apples
Oranges
Raisins
Soymilk
Nutmilk
Nuts & Seeds
etc.

Each days meals stayed within our budget of $5 or below per person. [Most of the times it came out to between $2 & $3 per person]

So start filling your pantry with items like these.

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Here's another quick tip:

Focus on your serving sizes. If we stick to having the right serving amounts of our meal portions it makes not over-eating easy while still satisfying our appetites and staying within budget.

Ex: Say for dinner you were having a baked potato, stuffed with lentil chili and a mixed green salad on the side finishing it all off with a nice cup of herbal tea.

• you may end up eating a couple of stuffed baked potatoes $.20
• filled with lentil chili $.50
• topped with some shredded soy cheese or a cream sauce made from nuts or seeds $.10 - $.60
• mixed green or herb salad $.50
• home made dressing $.50
• herbal tea $.30
• now you still have a bunch of either leftovers or uncooked ingredients and your meal was between $2.60 and $3.50.

That's not a bad break and it puts everything into perspective. The primary thing you want to start with is the nutrient density, then you can fill in the caloric blanks with less expensive [still great quality] food items. It can stretch a good meal and make it great one. It's also a good way to stay within your $150 a month budget.

[side note: $150 is workable in a pinch, but here's a quick suggestion, if this is possible for you...
first start cutting and discounting the other less essential areas of your spending before you cut your nutrition budget. I speak from personal experience here. Whenever we had to make a choice between quality food & nourishment and the non-essentials [clothing, entertainment, etc.], we made our first priority our health and well being while cutting costs in others. You only have 1 body, 1 life and your health. If all of your efforts are centered outward and not focused inward, you may have a great house, beautiful car and all the bells and whistles life could offer, but without your health... what's it all worth?

There are many people spending all they have to regain their health. It may not have been valued enough before it was gone. If you can avoid this scenario, please turn your focus on investing in your health and determine to spend what's necessary to build it. Shave the other areas, not your good foods!]

Dear Jason stretching it 4 pages for what? loong

These are fantastic tips, Jason! So inspiring! You make me recommit myself to better health. You're so right about spending money to regain health vs. investing in maintaining your good health now.

I am going to do this.

Made the baked potatoes stuffed with lentil chili. Delicious! Even my Texas husband liked the chili. Thanks so much!