Healthy food on a tight budget

[OakLeaf]

Where do you find farro that it's not super expensive (like anywhere from $8-15 a pound)??

My food budget is extremely generous, and I'm curious about the flavor of farro, but so far I just haven't been able to justify spending the money.

[indysteel]

I'll add this to the discussion, although it applies to things well beyond food. Have some faith in your creativity and resourcefulness as you head into grad school. And if those are skills you don't have much faith in, focus on developing and practicing them, as they will serve you well for the rest of your life. I get the sense that you're somewhat down about what lies ahead. I understand all the issues you've raised in various threads, but I think you have the ability to surprise yourself by making the best out of a town that isn't your first choice on where to live. That experience will be invaluable to you as you move forward in your life.

Sorry for the lecture; I just thought this might be a good opportunity for a bit of a pep talk.

[goldfinch]

Beans are cheap protein. My favorite is black beans, so easy to use in so many different ways. In soup. Refried. Salads. Eggs are pretty cheap too.

The veggies are what is tough, especially in off season.

We make a lot of soups with a variety of different bases, from tomato to curry. Beans can be from mung dal to more standard fare. Then we really load it up with veggies. You often can find collard greens that are inexpensive, even when organic. (I am not overly enamoured of the benefits of the organic label and I emphasize local and small operators over organic). Frozen spinach would work too. Or frozen beans. I also usually throw in some fresh corn if available and if not, frozen. Sometimes we throw in meat for flavoring, like chorizio sausage. It ends up cheap because we use very little.

Spices are your friend. Curries to taco seasoning flavor our soups.

[Eden]

Veggies don't *have* to be expensive....

If you are judicious about what you choose, you can be both cheap and healthy.

Cabbage is always cheap and it doesn't have to be nasty - stir fried it is terrific, shred it up really fine, toss with various dressings (I particularly like to warm up curry spices with some oil) for slaw salads. Red cabbage cooked with apples is one of my favorite side dishes at Thanksgiving.

Carrots are also cheap and also terrific stir fried. They are also nice made into curry and soup.

As Goldfinch pointed out - bunched greens are usually cheap and pretty much always in season. Saute a bit with some onions and a little dried red pepper, maybe a bit of oregano or rosemary toss with cooked beans (I like white beans) and pasta - yum.

Stretch things too - broccoli stems, peeled can be slice up and cooked just like the florets.

Some things I think are OK frozen. I wouldn't ever buy frozen carrots or broccoli *ick*, but peas, corn and okra seem to freeze fine.

[OakLeaf]

One of my favorite cabbage recipes:

http://southanchoragefarmersmarket.c...it_mung_beans/

Especially if you're in a backwater Asian market though, be sure to read the package label on the split moong dal, because some of them have yellow food coloring in them. I would think you could make this with whole moong dal (mung beans) which you can find easily anywhere, but you'd probably want to soak them first.

But my favorite recipe for whole mung beans is Madhur Jaffrey's Filipino-style recipe: http://wegottaeat.com/wegottaeat/rec...es-philippines . You can use any greens, IIRC the original Filipino version uses something local, but milder flavored greens are better than stronger ones in this IMO. Red Russian kale works just fine.

Definitely get a pressure cooker and one of Lorna Sass's cookbooks. You could drop strong hints that either or both would be a great housewarming gift.

[skhill]

To throw in my 2 cents: it's the wrong time of the year to start a garden, and I'm guessing you won't have a yard to plant one in, but-- have you looked to see if there are any community gardens around? Come spring, you could get some space in one, and in the meantime, they might have some "help yourself" beds. Not much help over the winter, but growing your own is a great way to get cheap, high-quality produce.

[pll]

Where do you find farro that it's not super expensive (like anywhere from $8-15 a pound)??

My food budget is extremely generous, and I'm curious about the flavor of farro, but so far I just haven't been able to justify spending the money.

I do buy it at Whole Foods. 1lbs is sold for either 6.99 or 7.99. I typically will prepare 3/4 of a cup with veggies (and tuna, sometimes grilled chicken...) and it gives me 5 servings (my work week lunch box, along with some fruit).

[Seajay]

Indy is right about pre planning. We hardly ever waste food since we started planning our menu for the month Much healthier too.
I might also think about a freezer. It could pay for itself quickly as well as saving time by cooking less frequently in larger batches.

[Owlie]

You all are awesome! I keep forgetting about cabbage. I love cabbage and will happily eat it raw or stir-fried with garlic and ginger (but doesn't garlic make all vegetables better?), but didn't do much with it because DBF doesn't care for it.
I'm in practice with the "what do I have in the fridge, and what can I make with it?" type cooking. I need to work on not wasting veggies, because I buy them with the best intentions, and forget that they're there, or I get lazy. Now, granted, I won't have a Chipotle to fall back on when I don't want to cook. What keeps well? Cabbage I know keeps reasonably well, as do carrots.
I've found some good tortillas here in Cincinnati (at Jungle Jim's, go figure), now that I think about it, so I'll stock up while I'm still here, and when I come back for Thanksgiving/Christmas.

I'll add this to the discussion, although it applies to things well beyond food. Have some faith in your creativity and resourcefulness as you head into grad school. And if those are skills you don't have much faith in, focus on developing and practicing them, as they will serve you well for the rest of your life. I get the sense that you're somewhat down about what lies ahead. I understand all the issues you've raised in various threads, but I think you have the ability to surprise yourself by making the best out of a town that isn't your first choice on where to live. That experience will be invaluable to you as you move forward in your life.

Sorry for the lecture; I just thought this might be a good opportunity for a bit of a pep talk.

Hey Indy, sometimes I need a lecture. Thanks. I'm hoping to be pleasantly surprised. There's a Starbucks near campus (for a very occasional treat--think birthday and right after my kinetics final ) as well as a cupcake...place. There aren't a whole lot of places to spend money, but there are lots of bike trails in the area (one right behind the university, in fact). We'll see. I don't think it'll be as bad as I think.

[indysteel]

And if it is as bad as you think, it's temporary. You'll be surprised how fast it will go. I'd be surprised if you don't end up meeting some like minded people, i.e., people who are trying to make the community a little less middle o' nowhere. Start with that food co-op; I bet the club includes some progressive people. Reach out where and when you can in situations that might introduce you to new people (especially some outside your program). Hopefully you can build a sense of community. That might go a long way toward taking the edge off of the town.

[rubysoho]

Do you have the normal Safeway or Giant stores nearby? I lived for a year spending less than $80 a month on food, about 75% being organic or at least less processed. It can be done. Just look for what is on sale. In a pinch, tuna is generally very cheap and I like it on toasted bread. I ate a lot of PB&J sammies, salmon (from the frozen aisle), tuna, apples... Variety was kept by purchasing what was on sale.

[surgtech1956]

I do prefer fresh veggies, then frozen, then canned. I buy whats on sale. This week Meijers has the Freshlike can vegs on sale, last week it was their frozen. We don't buy alot of processed, prepackaged food and make things from scratch, which is cheaper. I use to plan a two week menu and this made shopping more cost effective. What about couponing?

[Becky]

What about warehouse clubs, especially if you can split a membership fee with a parent or roommate? I save money on certain staples, especially if I'm cooking large quantities for freezing. You really have to know your prices though, to be sure that you're getting a good deal.

[OakLeaf]

What keeps well? Cabbage I know keeps reasonably well, as do carrots.

Winter squash. Should be coming into season very soon, and properly stored will last through February at least and maybe longer. Winter squash risotto in the pressure cooker is fast, easy, inexpensive and delicious (and you can stock up on arborio rice when you go to the "big city." With a little sage, butter, Parmesan and semolina you can make an AMAZING squash gnocchi alla Romana for special occasions.

I've never really done the green tomato thing before the first frost, other than a few on the windowsill, but people say if you wrap them in newspapers they will ripen gradually over the winter.

Cauliflower and broccoli store reasonably well (broccoli you can trim the ends off and put it in water in the fridge with a plastic bag loosely over it - just like you would fresh herbs - and it will keep even longer, but it does continue to mature even at fridge temperature, so that only extends the life by maybe an extra few days). Kohlrabi even better. Fennel bulbs and beetroots if you trim the leaves off and eat them immediately. Sweet potatoes of course. Green beans should be good for a week anyway. How long are you talking about?

[GLC1968]

This link/post has some good ideas. Nothing earth-shattering, but all together it gives you a great idea about how to cut costs on the foods that most people consider healthy (and usually expensive). It's a paleo website, so they won't mention grains or dairy, but you get the idea...

http://paleodietlifestyle.com/paleo-on-a-budget/