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Weekly Newsletter Archive >
How to Eat Healthy on a Budget - Part Two
How to Eat Healthy on a Budget - Part Two
Mar 11, 2010
Last week we covered my first 5 suggestions for eating healthy on a budget. If you want to re-read them, just click the Weekly Newsletter Archive link on the website and go to last week’s newsletter. Now, here are the next five suggestions:
6. Eggs are a nearly perfect protein food and all things considered, are very economical and versatile. You can make them any number of ways, of course – scrambled, fried, hard boiled, soft boiled, poached, into omelets or frittatas. You can stir scrambled egg into warm broth to create a type of “egg drop” soup or what Italians call Stracciatella. This was a favorite of my children’s when they were small. Another favorite of my children when they were small was what they called a "Face." You might know it as a "Toad in a Hole." Cut a round out of the center of a slice of wholegrain bread with a cookie cutter, put it in a pan with some coconut oil; lightly brown one side; turn and break an egg into the hole. Cook the egg and decorate as a "face" with red pepper smile, olive eyes, whatever your kids like! When made as an omelet or frittata, eggs can be the basis of a nutritious, satisfying and very inexpensive dinner. If you can find a local source for your eggs, that’s great. When Omega-3 eggs like Egglands are on sale and you have a coupon – stock up. Great Day Naturals Omega-3 eggs are sold in my Walmart and are actually less expensive than regular eggs and have the most Omega-3’s and lutein of any other eggs I’ve seen. As an added bonus, they’re distributed by a wonderful, Christian company.
7. You may remember living on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as a kid. Peanut butter can also be a great, nutritious and affordable ingredient in your low budget, high nutrition diet! You have to be careful about the type of peanut butter as peanuts are susceptible to a fungus that generates poisons called aflatoxins, which can cause liver damage. Look for the best quality, natural peanut butter you can find and buy it on sale. It’s great on celery sticks (ants on a log, a favorite of my son, Chris, when he was small), apple slices, whole grain bread and even a tablespoon melted into your morning oatmeal is a great addition and protein boost.
8. While buying grass fed meats like beef, lamb and bison and range free, organic poultry may be entirely out of the question from a budgetary standpoint, (and that is definitely the case for many of us) you can still find the best quality chicken, beef, lamb and turkey on sale at your grocery store periodically, and in the case of ground meats, you can make a little go farther by the addition of spinach, pureed beans, grated zucchini, chopped mushrooms or other vegetables, as well as bumping up the flavor and nutrition.
9. Sardines are one of my all time favorite protein sources and while you may think you wouldn’t like them, please give them a fair chance! They are incredibly nutritious and an excellent value. You will almost always find a brand on sale. I eat them straight from the can with some horseradish mustard or salsa on top. My 83 year old dad makes sardine sandwiches. They make an outrageous (and outrageously healthy) pasta sauce, a favorite of my son, Matt. My favorites are Brunswick sardines in olive oil. Every few weeks they are on sale and that’s when I stock up.
10. Other canned fish like tuna and salmon are also very nutritious choices and when you buy them on sale they’re a great value. Buy them packed in water otherwise they’re usually packed in soybean oil which is not your best option. With salmon, buying the wild Alaskan canned salmon is the best choice. That can be a bit pricey, however, if you happen to catch a large can on sale, you can extend that by mixing it with beans and vegetables into feeding the whole family. One of my favorite ways to make tuna is a recipe my oldest son created for himself. Mix the tuna (drained and flaked) with a can of your favorite drained beans and a 10 oz. package of thawed spinach that’s been squeezed dry. At this point you can just combine everything with a drizzle of olive oil and whatever seasoning you like (Mrs. Dash Lemon-Pepper is our favorite for this) and enjoy or just gently heat through in a frying pan. Either way it’s absolutely delicious, filling and very healthy.
Offers:
No-Nonsense Nutrition
http://www.threedimensionalvitality.com/No_Nonsense_Nutrition.html
Get together with a few friends and have a No-Nonsense Nutrition Q & A party! It’s better than a jewelry or basket party. You will get answers to your specific nutrition questions, get resources to enable you to improve your family’s diet for less than a meal from a fast food restaurant!
Nutrition-Boosting Strategies e-book
http://www.lulu.com/content/e-book/nutrition-boosting-strategies/7486352
There is so much information on properly preparing foods and how to combine your foods to get as much nutrition from them as possible, including recipes!
Closing to part two:
My prayer is that these suggestions will enable you to make the best nutritional choices, within your budget, for yourself and for your family. Next week is part three of this 4-part, month-long series on how to eat healthy on a budget.
Until then, as always I wish you health, peace and joy and I call you BLESSED (empowered to prosper and excel).
Ann
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