Eating Healthy Without Breaking the Bank
Frugally healthy, by Dallas McGlinn
I often purchase fresh food with the intention of eating healthy, only to have the food spoil before I eat it all. I end up telling myself that I may as well skip the healthy purchases since they will go bad anyway, so I end up with frozen pizzas and boxed food – which is more expensive, full of preservatives, more fattening, and less healthy.
As a way to solve this problem, I went to the store and purchased the items below, then came up with 8 unique recipes that use all of the ingredients.
Keep I mind that most of these recipes will create enough food to eat leftovers, so you may not have to use all combinations at once.
I am not a health food expert, nor am I a professional chef. But I tried this and it worked – maybe it will work for you. Or maybe you can buy your own set of ingredients and come up with some new recipes. If you do, let us know and maybe we will share them!
SHOPPING LIST FOR FRESH ITEMS:
Zucchini
1 bag carrots
Celery
Romaine Lettuce (or lettuce of your choice)
Onion
Cheese – any kind
Mushrooms
Green Peppers
OTHER ITEMS (WHICH YOU MAY ALREADY HAVE)
Eggs
Chicken breast
Salad Dressing – any kind
Pickles or pickle relish
Green Olives, pitted
Canned tuna
Smoked Sausage
Frozen vegetables (any combo, I use broccoli and cauliflower)
Wheat Tortillas
Rice (I use brown rice)
GRILLED CHICKEN SALAD
Grill chicken breast (on George Foreman or pan sear using water and lemon juice)
Toss with:
Romaine lettuce
Sliced Onion
Shredded carrots
Chopped zucchini
Chopped green olives
Mushrooms
Cheese
Salad dressing
GRILLED CHICKEN AND ROASTED VEGETABLES
Grill chicken as above, or bake coated with egg and bread crumbs for 40 minutes in 350 oven
Roasted Vegetables:
Frozen vegetable combination (broccoli and cauliflower)
Mushrooms
Onion
Sliced carrots
Zucchini
Green Peppers
Toss with olive oil and a little vinegar, season to taste, bake in 375 oven for 25 minutes.
WHOLE WHEAT TORTILLA AND CHEESE WRAP
Cheese
Chopped Zucchini
Shredded Carrot
Onion
Green Olives
Romaine lettuce
Wrap it all up in the tortilla and enjoy!
TUNA SALAD WRAP
Combine with one can of tuna (and adding all of these ingredients will stretch your can of tuna into several meals).
Shredded carrots
Chopped Zucchini
Chopped Onion
Chopped Celery
Pickles or relish
Green olives
Whole Wheat Tortilla
Combine with mayo or salad dressing and one egg if desired. Place tuna in whole wheat tortilla, top with lettuce.
SMOKED SAUSAGE SAUTE
Smoked sausage
1 Package Frozen Vegetables
Zucchini
Carrots
Onions
Green Peppers
Slice smoked sausage and sauté in a pan with frozen vegetables, zucchini, carrots and onions until done.
WHITE BEANS AND RICE
Smoked Sausage
1 can of navy beans
Onion
Carrots
Rice
Green Peppers
Brown smoked sausage, onions and shredded carrots; combine with one can of navy beans – pour over rice.
WHITE BEAN WRAP
Leftover White Beans
Any leftover vegetables
Take leftover white beans and combine in a whole what tortilla with whatever vegetables are left over.
CHICKEN RICE STIR FRY
Chicken Breast
Carrots
Zucchini
Green Peppers
Onion
Chicken Broth
Cook chicken breast and rice, put aside. Sauté diced carrots, zucchini, onions and green peppers in a pan, add chicken broth, rice and sliced up chicken breast.
VEGETABLE OMELET
Eggs
Mushrooms
Green Peppers
Cheese
Place whipped eggs in pan on low heat, simmer slowly until cooked through; add sliced vegetables and grated cheese, fold over, and serve.
Another hint to make healthy food more appealing is to garnish your plate with parsley, a few radishes, or fresh pieces of fruit. Studies say when we enjoy our food visually, it helps us feel more satisfied when we eat.
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