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If you are a regular reader of this blog, you’ve probably read in more than one post that I shop at Whole Paycheck Whole Foods. How on earth can I claim to be a tightwad when I shop there, you ask? Happy Katie has taken the words write out of my head. She gives the low down on how she shops Whole Foods without emptying her wallet. If you read through her post she points you in the direction of Mambo Sprouts a kick ass coupon site for healthy products.
I may be cheap, but when it comes to the food I eat I’m not willing to sacrifice nutrition for a few bucks. Luckily grad school taught me many things, among them how to be frugal and still eat a healthy diet. There are a few guidelines you can follow in any grocery store to keep your costs down:
 Stay here if you want to keep your costs down
- Buy in season. Produce that is in season tends to be cheaper and it tastes better. You may have to be flexible with the recipes you choose, though. For example, strawberry shortcake in the dead of winter is out. For recipe ideas and to find out what exactly is in season, check out Seasonal Recipes. Most recipe sites like Epicurious and Culinate have recipes and menus for seasonal eating, too.
- Buy in bulk. This may be more applicable at Whole Foods, which has a fantastic bulk section, though I have seen modest bulk sections in other grocery stores. Buying in bulk saves money because you buy only what you need and you aren’t paying for the packaging. This is helpful for expensive items like spices or nuts. And if you only buy what you need you lose less food to spoilage.
- Stay on the perimeter of the store. When eating on the cheap you will end up buying more whole foods (i.e. non-packaged foods) and doing the prep at home. The center aisles of most grocery stores are where the packaged foods and the high prices live. Think about it: the produce section, dairy and meat counters are all on the perimeter. Staying out of the aisles, with the occasional foray for pastas, rice and beans, will keep your costs down and will probably make you healthier in the long term.
- Bring a list and stick to it. It will take a few minutes before your trip to the store, but writing a list allows you to take inventory of what you have on hand and will help you with meal prep. If you force yourself to stick to the list you can thwart the seductively displayed impulse buys (Veggie Chips!!!) that rack up the total on your grocery bill.
- Become a vegetarian. Meat is expensive. If you can’t stand the thought of going meatless, try reducing your consumption by making several meatless meals a week. Your heart and your arteries will thank you.
If you have other ideas for healthy grocery shopping on the cheap, please leave them in the comments. I can always use the advice!
Photo credit kudzuplanet
The temperature has dipped below 85 degrees, and that can only mean one thing in Houston: Fall has arrived. I know what you northerners are thinking, and you are probably right. Sixty-five degrees is hardly bundle-up weather, but in Houston it can still elicit the desire for wool socks and bowls of thick and steaming autumn stews.
Stew can be quick if you use the right ingredients. This recipe from New Vegetarian Cuisine is a perfect example. The trick is to use red lentils if you can find them, which are actually yellow lentils with the outer husk removed. Whole Foods has them in the bulk section, but you may also be able to find them at larger grocery stores amongst the dried beans. They are a bright orange color and turn yellow once they are cooked. Bonus points: Lentils have plenty of iron, protein and fiber. If you can’t find red lentils you can substitute green or brown, but the cooking time will need to be extended by 10-15 minutes.
I modified the recipe in New Vegetarian Cuisine by using yellow potatoes, which hold up better to cooking than regular baking potatoes. If, like me, you like chunks of potato in your stew try using Yukon Golds. I also switched out the tarragon for basil because I had some left over from the Mediterranean Olive Bread I made, and it’s easier to find in most grocery stores. If you use a food processor to shred the veggies, this dish comes together in minutes. Did I mention how much I love my new food processor? I don’t even mind that I have to wash it by hand (since I don’t have a dish washer).
Balsamic Lentil Stew
 Lentil Stew Action Shot! Makes 4 heaping servings
Total time 25 minutes
Cost for the whole pot ~$7-8
4 cups water
1 1/4 cups red lentils
2 medium Yukon Gold potatoes
ground black pepper
5-6 green onions
2 carrots
1 medium zucchini
1 medium yellow squash
2 large cloves garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
1-2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- Cut the potatoes into cubes. In a large pot, combine the water, lentils, potatoes and pepper (to your liking) and bring to a boil. Cover the pot and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for about 15 minutes.
- While the lentils are cooking, chop the green onions and grate the carrots, zucchini and squash. You can also use the grater on a food processor for the veggies. Finely chop the garlic.
- In a large no-stick frying pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions, veggies and garlic and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Once the carrots are softened, add the veggie mixture to the lentils. Mix in the basil and vinegar and heat through another 2-3 minutes. Serve in big bowls. You won’t need another meal for about 8 hours.
In spite of my initial failures, I’ve had one vegan baking success this weekend. This aromatic quick bread caught my eye while flipping through The Joy of Vegan Baking because it looked foolproof. What can I say, my ego took a beating and I needed a sure thing.
I prepared the recipe almost as directed and scraped it into a springform pan, just for shits and giggles. You could also make a loaf if you don’t have a round pan. I omitted the sun-dried tomatoes, simply because I really don’t care for them and they are expensive. The rosemary and freshly baked bread aroma that filled my little apartment had me drooling in anticipation. It was torture to let the loaf cool. I popped open the springform pan and immediately cut the loaf into wedges. The texture is similar to focaccia, and the pungent olives, piney rosemary and sweet crunch of the walnuts complement each other perfectly. This bread would be great along side an autumn lentil stew or a minestrone soup. Alternatively, you could just eat half the loaf by yourself for dinner, which I totally didn’t do.
Mediterranean Olive Bread
Adapted from The Joy of Vegan Baking
Yield one standard sized loaf
no-stick spray
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cups whole wheat flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons chopped fresh basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 1/2 teaspoons Ener-G egg replacer
6 tablespoons water
1 cup soy milk
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup chopped pitted black olives
- Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a loaf pan (square, rectangle or round, whatever curls your toes) with no-stick spray.
- In a large bowl, mix the flours, baking powder, chopped herbs and salt. Set aside.
- In a blender combine the egg replacer and water until thickened a little. The recipe calls for enough egg replacer for 3 eggs, so I suppose you could just use eggs. I didn’t test it, though. Add the soy milk and olive oil to the blender and mix until combined.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and fold until almost all of the dry ingredients are moistened. Add the walnuts and olives and fold in just until combined. Don’t over mix or the bread will get tough.
- Scoop the batter into your prepared pan, evening it out with a spoon or rubber spatula. Bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, 30-40 minutes depending on the pan you use. Just check it after 30 minutes and if the knife is goopy then let it bake for 5-10 minutes longer. The top crust should be a light brown and feel hard to the touch. My round pan only required 30 minutes, but an 8-inch loaf pan will probably need the entire 40 minutes.
- Let the bread cool in the pan on a rack or trivet for at least 10 minutes. Remove the bread from the pan and let cool completely, if you can stand the wait.
The vegan baking experiments that have emerged from my kitchen of late fall into two categories: Brilliant or Unspeakably Bad. For example, the vegan gingerbread cookies I made two weeks ago from a recipe in The Joy of Vegan Baking (I’ll post the recipe soon) were moist and spicy, with a perfect crumble and texture. My coworkers wolfed them down, marveling that vegan cookies could taste so much like their non-vegan counterparts. This initial success gave me the confidence to tackle more challenging vegan recipes, like a pumpkin spice quick bread and these tempting vegan tofu mini quiches from the Fat Free Vegan Kitchen. If the combo of fat free and vegan sounds like no fun at all, I challenge you to browse the site. With so many yummy looking recipes, it’s going to be a regular stop for me.
The pumpkin bread, also from The Joy of Vegan Baking, was such a miserable failure that I threw the entire loaf out. I underestimated the cooking time and over mixed the batter, resulting in a super dense and chewy brick. I learned from it, though, and I think the next time I attempt the recipe the bread will come out better.
Earlier this week I had the Tofu Quiche Salad from Field of Greens, and ever since I’ve been hankering for mini tofu quiches. I quick google search pointed me to The Fat Free Vegan Kitchen’s version. Off I went to Whole Foods in search of nutritional yeast and tahini. Exotic ingredients be damned, I had to have those quiches.
 When life gives you failed quiches, make scrambled eggs The recipe was easy enough to follow, especially since I bought a food processor. But again, I underestimated the cooking time and totally forgot to spray the muffin cups with no-stick spray. Even if I were able to extract the quiches from the muffin tin, they would have fallen to pieces. I was frustrated with myself because I hate wasting food. I scraped some of the quiche out of the tin with a spoon and ate a few bite. Wow. The stuff was delicious! So what if it doesn’t look like a fancy quiche? I scraped all the mess out and put it in a pretty bowl with a garnish. Now I have fancy tofu scrambled eggs 
The coolest thing about this recipe is that it actually tastes like egg, and the texture is spot on. I think most folks would be surprised, and many would ask for seconds.
 October and November are always criz-azzy months for me at work. Everyone wants to wrap up their projects before the holiday slump, which means my diet and exercise routine suffer from half-assedness and downright neglect. Le sigh. When I’ve had a particularly exhausting day and would rather jump out a third story window than cook, I turn to the pita pizza. Not only are they quick, but pita pizzas are a great way to use up the odds and ends leftover in your fridge. Any cheapskate knows that wasting food is a big money sink.
What follows is only in the loosest sense a pizza. I thought about calling it a garden flatbread, but that sounded poncey. Plus my new favorite book, The Recipe Writer’s Handbook, discourages cryptic and silly recipe names. I’m so, so guilty of that.
If you don’t have all of the ingredients I list below, not a big deal. You can use a technique I like to call im-praaaaah-visation. As long as you can cut it into bite-sized pieces and it won’t be ick if you cook it, throw it on the pita. The combo I use below, however, is quite magical and has plenty of iron from the pumpkin seeds, which toast up in the oven. I love the bitterness of the radishes, the sweetness of the squash and pumpkin seeds, and the saltiness of the feta and olives all mingling together.
Garden Pita Pizza
Serves one
Total time: 10 minutes
Cost per serving: $3-5 depending on your toppings
1 whole wheat pita
1/2 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 cup (1 oz) fresh spinach
1/3 cup (1.5 oz) thinly sliced squash
1 radish, thinly sliced
4 green olives, quartered (I used some marinated olives from the olive bar)
2 tablespoons (0.5 oz) raw pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup (1 oz) feta cheese
Italian seasoning (optional)
- If you are using a conventional oven, heat it to 350 degrees. I use a toaster oven so I skip this step. If you haven’t already prepped the veggies you could do that while the oven heats.
- Drizzle the olive oil on the pita, and spread it around with your fingers. Sexy.
- Spread the spinach out on the pita, then top with the squash and radish slices. Sprinkle on the olives, pumpkin seeds, and feta. Toss a few dashes of Italian seasoning on top, if using.
- Place in the oven for about 5-8 minutes, or until the pumpkin seeds begin to brown. Serve cut into wedges.
Check out the nutrition information for this meal. The cholesterol should actually be 8%, but for some reason it keeps calculating to 33%. I think it’s just a glitch. More importantly, look at the fiber and vitamin content! You could do a lot worse
…until I met my new Cuisinart food processor/ blender combo. I have never owned a food processor, unless you count the little mini-processor that I use to make sauces and hummus. It’s nothing like my new beauty, which can chop, slice, and blend. Heart! Heart! Heart! Just look at it! It seems to glow from within!
The first time I used it to slice some yellow squash everything was so loud and happened so quickly I jumped back and slapped the off button. I think I was panting. I turned it back on and fed another chunk of squash into the tube, giggling with glee over how easily it slices. The recipe I was prepping called for chopped red peppers, so what the heck? I threw those in there, too. That’s when I learned you can over process food. Note to self: use the pulse button when chopping. Whatevs, minced red pepper still tastes like red pepper.
It’s like a whole new world of food prep possibilities has been laid before me. I’m envisioning raw food “cakes”, homemade nut milks and lightning-fast stir fry’s. I haven’t been this happy about a house gadget since I bought my electric sweeper, which changed my life. No exaggeration. I have hardwoods.
 In my quest for nutritional balance there is one nutrient that eludes me almost daily: Iron. Good Gods, no matter how I try it’s always a struggle to get my RDA, and I’m taking a supplement that provides 50%! But I’m not giving up. My list of iron-rich foods is growing daily, as is my roster of simple recipes. Which leads me to Quinoa Quripsies. BTW, Do you like what I did with “Qu” there? I thought I was being cute, but maybe it’s a little forced Quinoa is not only a complete protein, meaning it contains all the essential amino acids, but it has MAD IRON. It’s like meat for vegetarians, minus the cholesterol, fat and the vitamin B12. And with that statement, I am now officially a nutrition nerd.
This recipe really couldn’t be easier. I even hesitate to call it a recipe.
Quinoa Qurispies
Adapted (barely) from this recipe
Makes 4 servings
Cost: pennies per serving
Total time: 10 minutes tops
1 cup uncooked quinoa (find it in the bulk bins at Whole Foods or boxed in the health food or pasta aisle)
1 Tablespoon agave nectar, syrup or honey
1 Tablespoon canola or vegetable oil
- Heat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and spread the mixture on a cookie sheet. Bake for 5 minutes, or until the quinoa starts to turn golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Store in an airtight container.
- Add the qurispies to your morning cereal or yogurt. I especially love the extra crunch and sweetness they give to yogurt.
I may experiment with the sweetener and use molasses for an even bigger dose of iron. I told y’all, I’m not messin’ around.
Photo Credit SweetBeetAndGreenBean
 Cheese, glorious Cheese! I always end up with a bunch of leftover parsley or cilantro and I’m never quite sure how to use it up. I saw this quesadilla recipe in my Phytopia Cookbook and thought the parsley spread was a clever way to prevent waste. Turns out that parsley is chock full of Vitamins A, C and Iron. And this recipe is versatile. You could make all kinds of parsley spreads using this basic recipe. Switch out the nuts, add some lemon juice, maybe throw in a few olives…just use your imagination and whatever you have laying around. I think a version of the paste would be excellent as a “sauce” for whole wheat pasta.
I renamed the recipe Jumping Pepita Quesadilla because:
- I’m a big dork
- The pumpkin seeds really do jump when you toast them, which I find entertaining
The Phytopia Cookbook is teh shizz. I’ve used mine heavily for many years and it’s all banged up and warped from spillage. All of the recipes I’ve tried are insanely healthy and delicious. Go buy it, you will love it.
Jumping Pepita Quesadillas
Adapted from The Phytopia Cookbook. You will need a food processor for this recipe.
Serves 4
For the spread:
1/3 cup raw unsalted pepitas (pumpkin seeds, found in the bulk section of Whole Foods or in the Mexican food section of larger grocery stores)
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded
1 clove garlic, peeled
1 1/2 cups fresh cilantro, rinsed and dried
1 cup fresh parsley leaves, rinsed and dried
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
For the ‘dilla:
1 medium tomato
8 whole-wheat flour tortillas
1 cup grated Cheddar or Mexican blend cheese
- Toast pumpkin seeds in a dry skillet over medium-high heat for a few minutes. They will start to jump and pop. Giggle with glee. Stir the seeds to prevent burning.
- Mince jalapeno and garlic in a food processor. Careful, son. That’s raw garlic!
- Add the remaining spread ingredients and process until you have a paste.
- Finely dice the tomato. Assemble the ‘dilla by smearing 1/4 of the spread on a tortilla. Sprinkle with 1/4 of the tomato and about 1/4 cup of the cheese. Top with a second tortilla. Repeat for the remaining quesadillas.
- Place each quesadilla in a skillet over medium high heat. Cook on each side until toasted, a few minutes. Cut into wedges and serve.
I have a bonus feature for you. I calculated the nutritional value of each ‘dilla on NutriMirror.com. Check out the numbers on this thing! Can you believe how nutritious a quesadilla can be? And this spread is yummy! If you are concerned about the fat and sodium, simply use low fat cheese and reduce the amount of salt in the spread.
I am making a new category for those dishes that aren’t exactly complete “dinners” but that deserve your attention nonetheless. Laura Jean, kick-ass photog, helped me come up with the name. I asked her for advice on food photography, to which she responded:
When I first started shooting pro, I was told “get down close and shoot it like porn”…and natural light is best.
Check out Laura’s tasty food photos here.
She was right. Is this too much? It is, isn’t it.
 Figs are said to be an aphrodisiac Fig and Chile Pasta
Adapted from this recipe on Culinate.com. You should check out Culinate, it’s all about being healthy and conscientious while not totally depriving yourself.
Serves 4-6 as a side dish
12 dried figs
2 lemons
1- 6 oz container plain fat-free yogurt
12 oz whole-wheat fettuccine
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 fresh chile, seeded and finely chopped (don’t do what I did and dose yourself with too much chile. Ouch!)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
ΒΌ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- Put a large pot of salted water on to boil.
- Cut figs in halves or quarters and place cut-side up on a plate. I chose to use dried figs because the fresh ones at Whole Foods looked manky that day.
- Grate the zest from the lemons and squeeze the juice of one lemon into the yogurt. Stir in the lemon zest.
- Once you have achieved a righteous boil on the water, add the pasta and cook according to the package.
- Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. I cut the amount from the original recipe in half, just cuz. Add the figs and chile and cook for a couple of minutes. When the mixture looks softened remove it from the heat.
- Drain the fettuccine, return it to the pot and stir in the lemon yogurt, the Parmesan and the fig and chile mixture. Serve immediately.
Plain yogurt makes a quick and healthy pasta sauce a la alfredo…stop laughing. OK, it’s not exactly alfredo, but it IS tasty. Is there anything yogurt can’t do? The final product is pictured below, next to the Heirloom Tomato Salad I wrote about on Houstonist.
 *This one ain’t so quick. It’s a weekend dinner.
I got a little behind in my posting. As you can see, this recipe is for late summer veggies, but it’s pretty much still summer in Houston so I figured I squeeze this one in. You can substitute the veggies in this recipe for what’s in season in your ‘hood. The standout here is the homemade pizza crust. If you have never done this before, don’t be scared. It’s really easy. The hardest part is waiting for the dough to rise for ~2 hours. This crust recipe is adapted from Smitten Kitchen. Go visit Smitten Kitchen! It’s food pr0n!
Homemade Late Summer Pizza
Makes one thin crust pizza that will serve 2 hungry adults
Total time 2-2.5 hours
Cost per pizza about $8
 For the dough:
3/4 cups white flour
3/4 cups wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm water
1 tablespoon olive oil
For the toppings:
1 teaspoon olive oil
2-3 Heirloom tomatoes, different varieties
1 small zucchini squash
1 ounce fresh goat cheese
1/2 cup shredded smoked mozzarella
Italian seasoning
- Mix the flours, salt and yeast in a large bowl. Add the water and olive oil, stirring mixture into a ball. You will probably not be able to make it into a homogenous ball, but there’s an easy fix for that. Smitten Kitchen says to dump everything onto a floured surface and let it sit, covered by the empty bowl, for a few minutes. When you come back to it you should be able to incorporate every bit into a ball.
- Knead the dough a few times: fold it in half, press it with the palms of your hands, turn it a quarter turn, repeat. Lightly oil the bowl and roll the dough ball around the bowl to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise for 1-2 hours, until it has doubled in size.
- Dump the dough back onto the floured surface and press the air out of it. Make it into a ball again and let is rest covered for another 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to its highest temperature. Halve the tomatoes, then slice as thinly as you can. Slice the zucchini thinly. You can use a mandoline like I do to get super thin slices quickly.
- With a rolling pin, roll the dough out onto the floured surface. I shoot for about a 12 inch round, but I can never get it perfectly rounded. My crusts have a more “organic” shape. Brush the top of the dough with the olive oil, then arrange the sliced veggies on top. Drop little dollops of goat cheese around the pizza, then top with the smoked mozzarella. Sprinkle on some Italian seasoning.
- Sprinkle a little cornmeal on a baking sheet and slide the pizza on. Bake in the super hot over for about 10-12 minutes or until the cheese is browned and the crust is blistery.
I double this recipe and make two pies because this combo is heavenly and it goes fast. The smoked mozzarella gives it a meatiness, and the tomatoes and zucchini keep it light. This can be easily adapted to any season. Just use whatever is cheap and prominently displayed in the produce section. That’s usually how I remember what’s in season.
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