Veggie on the Cheap

Project food Budget: 3 weeks missing

2011-05-11T11:25:00.000-05:00

The last 3 weeks have been a big transitional time for me. We sold our espresso stand, withdrew from the dinner swap, started looking for part time work, spoke at a rally at the Capitol, made some tough dietary choices, and got back into the groove of being home in the mornings with the sweet moody toddler. :) All in all life is busy but good... and this blog always takes the first hit.

The budget has stayed steady around $80-85.

I miss the dinner swap, but we had to focus on our family for a while, instead of the dinner swap. Since then I have decided to stop eating dairy and oil. I don't think these dietary restrictions would work well for the dinner swap. I am happy to announce that the other participants are still going strong, and they are all really enjoying it.

I do hate to admit, the dinner swap actually cost a bit more than doing all my cooking at home. I am really not sure why that was the case. It was only a difference of about $10, but we are at a very frugal point, so it made a difference to us. We are also not getting left over coffee from our espresso stand, so that is another item to add to the list, and it will end up adding about $8/week.

My husband and I sat down and made a list all the meals I make, which he enjoys. The list was 25 meals long! I was pretty happy about it. When we first met, I only really knew how to cook two things, stir fry and fajitas. We made a deal that I will stick to these basics, while I get to experiment with new recipes twice a week. Here is a great find for a quick, healthy summer recipe!

Rachael Ray's No Cook Lasagna
No Cook Oatmeal

Project vegetable garden!!

2011-04-21T22:14:00.000-05:00

Spent: $50.53

This is the first garden I have planted since I was a teenager. I have always had the impression that the start up cost of a garden was huge. I was expecting $150. I decided not to go with a raised bed, as that would cost more for the lumber and extra soil. I only had to buy 3 bags of compost, and I mixed it with the dirt in the garden spot. It was a lot of work though. I tilled the plots with a hand spade... during a drought! Terrible idea. Although I guess it did save me money on supplies. I have two small beds. One has red and yellow bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, sun gold tomatoes, sweet basil, African blue basil. I have a trail of mint lining the sidewalk and a pot full of cilantro. The other bed has sugar baby water melons, Asian black water melons, and two varieties of heirloom squash. Hopefully everything will grow well and the soil is not to clay ridden! That is actually my biggest worry. I am going to keep track of the production of the gardens in relation to average market value of the produce to see how long it take for me to make the money back, and if it actually starts saving us money.

Project Food Budget: Week 12

2011-04-21T21:34:00.000-05:00

Goal: $70/ week - $ 280/month
Actual: 82.09 week- $341/month OVER $61

The Breakdown:

$15 1/2 CSA share
$31.59 Dinner Swap
$35.5 Staples

Dinner Swap Menu:

Kimbap (Korean style sushi rolls) with steamed Asian greens
Lentil and Butternut squash soup with side salad
Whole wheat pasta and veggies with creamy pesto sauce w/ home garden side salad and hibiscus tea
Minestrone soup and dinner rolls.
Cacciatore
Lemon chive pasta with garlic roasted broccoli

Additional meals/items:

carrot bread
home made tortillas

2 cups whole wheat white flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 TBL coconut oil
2/3 cup warm water
Mix all dry ingredients, add wet ingredients and mix thoroughly. Add more water by the tablespoon if mixture is too dry. Kneed for several minutes and let rise for 30. Cut into 8-10 pieces and roll out. Cook in hot skillet flip when bubbles form.

Fajitas

I really thought I was going to be right around $100 this week. I am not really sure how I stayed so close to the budget. I did buy extra items to make a special dinner for Easter. I think without those items I would have been on target.

Project Food Budget: Week 11

2011-04-14T12:25:00.004-05:00

Goal : $70/week- $280/month
Actual: $87.48 - $258.91/month

The Breakdown:

$15 for 1/2 CSA share
$23.74 Dinner Swap meal
$43.98 Staples
$4.76 dog food ingredients

Dinner Swap Menu

Sweet potato and kale quesadillas w/ home made tortillas
Potato, apple, (veggie) sausage and sage casserole and salad
Spinach and mushroom quiche and roasted tomato soup
Fettuccine and white beans
Chickpea salad sandwiches and pasta
Vegetable biscuits and gravy with mashed potatoes and green beans

Additional recipes:

I tried my hand at solar cooking. The recipe was amazing. The solar oven made of random things laying around my house... ummm... not real great. So I am going to tweak it and try again! This recipe for solar cookies, with about 1/4 c of cocoa added is (as I said) amazing! I finished cooking them in the conventional indoor oven. :)

I also decided I did not like the carrot bread recipe I have been using and found a new one. It is quite possibly the best bread I have ever made. I would definitely suggest trying it! I also threw it on the skillet for a minute to heat it up and then added a tad of butter and some fresh crushed garlic.. Yumm!

Dinner swap meal: sweet potato and kale quesadillas with home made tortillas and smoky pinto beans

12 large sweet potatoes
3 lbs dry pinto beans
5 lb whole wheat white flour
coconut oil
chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
3 onions
5 lbs Monterey jack cheese

Staples:

peanut butter
oranges
black beans
lemons
limes
tortillas
eggs
cheese
pinto beans
cottage cheese
honey
cheese
cliff bars

I am on track to go approximately $50 over budget this month. I have $21.09 left to stay under the monthly budget. $15 of which is already spent for my CSA share. Being that I have used almost all our grains, I don't think $6 will make it.

I have been $15-$20 over budget every week. I have decided once it comes time to renew my CSA, I am going to try to do a work share. That would shave off $15-30 per week and bring be right down to my goal. This won't happen until June though. We are also going to start a garden. I have not really done so before, so it will be a grand experiment. What in life isn't?

Project Food Budget: Week 10

2011-04-06T13:19:00.003-05:00

Goal : $70/week -$280/month
Actual: $86.18/week- $171.43/month

Dinner swap menu:

Edemame, peas and quinoa topped with blue cheese and cocoa beet cookies
Spinach and mushroom enchiladas with black beans and flan
Carrot and ginger soup, croissants, broccoli slaw, hibiscus tea and chocolate raisin cookies
Vegetable noodle stir fry
Rice, dal and sateed veggies and chocolate chip zuchinni bread
Stuffed bell peppers with garlic bread and salad

The break down:

$15 1/2 CSA share
$27.22 dinner swap meal
$37.70 staples

CSA:

salad mix
spinach
scallions
kale
radishes
beets
carrots
bok choy
rainbow chard
lettuce
dandelion greens

Dinner Swap: Edamame, peas, and quinoa topped with blue cheese and cocoa beet cookies

5 bags of shelled edamame
5 bags green peas
4 oz crumbled goat cheese
8 oz crumbled Gorgonzola blue cheese
3 white onions

Staples:

dry milk
peanut butter
butter
2 lbs Monterey jack cheese
cornstarch
garbanzo beans
key limes
lemons
vinegar
cliff bars
tortillas
ancho chili powder
smoked salt
organic red delicious apples

Thumbs up to these recipes:

I am going to reach my $70/week goal!

Project Food Budget: Week 9

2011-04-02T14:11:00.000-05:00

Goal: $70/week - $280/month
Actual: $85.25

I am at a plateau with the budgeting that feels a lot like when you are trying to loose weight and your weight loss was great until you get to that last 10 lbs. I seem to be hovering around $85/week. I just want to squeeze that last $15 off our budget. I suppose I will keep on keepin' on.

I thought the overage was due to choosing expensive dishes to make on my night of the dinner swap, but after doing the math, I only spent $30 total on my dinner. I don't want to go crazy and make really expensive dishes, but I also want to make sure they are getting high quality, delicious food. This week I made the pesto-infused sun-dried tomato stew with oatmeal dinner rolls.

Dinner Swap Menu:

Pesto infused white bean and sun-dried tomato stew with oatmeal dinner rolls
Butternut squash rissoto
Vegetable (or chicken) pot pie with corn bread crust
Black bean soup and corn bread
Thai curry and rice and zuchinni bread
BBQ sandwiches, mac and cheese and cucumber salad

Additional meals:

Vegetable and tofu stir fry
Beans and greens
Carrot Bread
Breakfast apple pie

preheat oven to 400 degrees. Skin and cut 4 apples into chunks. Place in sauce pan and fill with enough water to cover 1/3 to 1/2 way up the apples. Mix 2 tsp of cinnamon and cook on low until the apples are slightly tender. In a separate bowl, Mix 2 cups of old fashioned oats with 1/4-1/3 c honey and 1 cup of almond meal. Mix well until it makes a stiff mixture and all oats are covered. Lightly grease casserole dish and sprinkle 1/3 of oat, honey mixture in the bottom of the dish, top with cooked apples in liquid, top off with remaining oat mixture and bake for 15 mins.

One of the participants in the dinner swap is splitting the CSA share with me. Which is amazing. We only have to cook one dinner a night for our own families, and a couple lunches. A huge portion of the share would go to waste. The half share works perfectly. I am able to pick it up on Friday nights, Saturday is the day we must cook for ourselves. This means fresh veggies for that meal. I don't have to lean on frozen veggies after all. :)

The Actual Cost of Food

2011-03-29T10:59:00.002-05:00

   Living in Texas (in what I can only imagine the most expensive utility district in the nation) has made me acutely aware that the price at the bottom of my grocery sales receipt is not the entire cost of my food. I am sure we have all thought about it in one way or another. Is it really cheaper to go to multiple grocery stores, to get the best deals, if the stores are on opposite sides of town? Is it really cheaper to buy dried beans vs. canned beans if dried beans require a lot of water and hours of electricity or gas use? I don't know. I do feel they are valid questions. While figuring out how much money you are spending on gas to drive between stores seems fairly straight forward. I think it is more difficult to figure out the cost of cooking and prepping your food.
   One thing I think we can all agree on, is using your stove and oven in the middle of summer when it is 100 degrees outside heats your house, and makes your air conditioner work more frequently and harder. I wish I knew how to calculate the actual cost. I can only imagine it is pretty significant. I also know it is completely unbearable to be in our house after cooking a meal in the summer. It usually stays that way well into the night.
   I began having a desire to stop cooking indoors during the late spring/summer months last year. I found very expensive solar ovens, and formulated a plan to get a tall table, and portable electric burners to use outside when cooking. None of that came to fruition. This year I am going to act on it. I am going to keep the indoor cooking to an absolute minimum. I am going to learn how to grill, which means actually using the copy of The New Vegetarian Grill, I bought last year. I have started looking at DIY solar oven plans. I plan to have one made by the end of April. Then I can watch as lower energy bills roll in.
   As a side note, I find it really funny and a tad ridiculous when you look for seasonal summer recipes that call for you to preheat your oven to 400 degrees. There is nothing seasonal about that.

Project Food Budget: Week 8

2011-03-28T16:17:00.001-05:00

Goal: $70
Actual: $84.53 plus we went out to eat for another $25

This weeks overages are due to a number of factors. I went shopping based on our passed grocery needs. Meaning I bought a lot of items for an entire weeks worth of eating. The very next day, my neighbors and I decided to start a dinner swap. This means that I purchased almost an entire weeks worth of groceries, and then went back to the store to buy enough ingredients to make a meal for 20 people. I think the overage is fairly reasonable for that fact. I also went a little nuts in the bulk grain section, but the surplus will lower bills later.

Now lets talk food swap! Cooking co-op, dinner trade, whatever you call it, it is AMAZING! The basic premise is you find friends, coworkers, neighbors that would like to join. You make enough food for every family in the group and they do the same. Some co-ops make all their meals and meet one day, swap them and freeze them. We all live very close to each other, and I like fresh hot food, so we each chose a day of the week to be our day to cook. We cook enough food for 24 people, divide it up amongst the group and deliver it to each family by 5:30 pm. The rest of the week, you wait for dinner to be delivered to you!

I can can not articulate how awesome it was. Last week was the first week and it was more than I dreamt it to be. :) Four nights last week, I was able to sit and read to my 2 year old, relax, go for a late afternoon/early evening walk, and get much needed/neglected deep cleaning done. Normally from 5-6 I am stuck in the kitchen, rushing home to be stuck in the kitchen, or prepping everything. It was unbelievably relaxing to take my time on those days. I could get used to this co-operative lifestyle. The meals were all amazing as well.

Dinner Swap Menu:

Curried chickpeas and spinach on a bed of kasha
Eggplant (or chicken) Parmesan
Potato soup
Homemade pizza and Salad w/peanut dressing
Roasted vegetables and pasta with delicious tiramisu for dessert

I could go on and on about how wonderful it was. We even have a new member this week. This means I cook for the group on Mondays, and for just my family on Saturdays, every other day I get a hot home cooked meal at my door. sigh... life is good.

I also made:

Carrot Bread
Olive oil carrot cookies
Chocolate quinoa cookies (I added 1/4 cup of creamy peanut butter)
Chamomile Lemonade

You might be wondering why I made so many cookies. Sleep deprivation. My two year old daughter has the hardest time going to sleep and staying asleep. One night last week she woke at 1:30 am and when I left for work at 4:30 am she was still awake. This means I got very little sleep that night. I do not understand how she could be up in the middle of the time. I have decided she has toddler insomnia. I have, in fact, coined that term. So, I began a frantic search of ways to get her sleeping at night. I came across all this information about adults with insomnia and in many cases it is due to hunger. Apparently if you eat the wrong types of food before bedtime, or do not eat a snack before bedtime your body does not make and maintain the proper hormones. It them signals hunger, and it can wake you. In the reading, it indicated you might not even be aware your are hungry when you wake. The information stated eating high protein foods before bed will cause these undesired waking. Everything I read said, small amounts of protein, and complex carbohydrates before bed. So I began a quest for "healthy" cookies for her to eat, and decided to push chamomile tea. She did not care for the tea, so I found the lemonade recipe. It is great. She has slept well every night since I started this new bedtime snack ritual. I am also less of a crazy person.. if only a little.

Project Food Budget: Week 7 (Sans CSA)

2011-03-22T17:11:00.001-05:00

Goal : $70

Actual: $86.45

I don't know what to think about this week. Our CSA needed to be renewed, but I didn't really feel like dealing with SXSW crowds to go pick it up, and we need to get our taxes back before we drop $300 on a 10 week share. Part of me wanted it to be well under budget, but then there was this other part of me that wanted to go over budget, just to say to myself, "Aha! having a CSA share really does save money!!" So, just be aware that there could have been some level of sabotage in this weeks budget. I did go to the grocery 3 times this week. Which added about $8.36 in little extras. I could have definitely said no to my daughter about a z-bar, and 4 pack biokiefer.... Ok, Ok looking over the receipt it looks like had I not bought random quick snack bars, then we would have been right in line with our standard. The CSA may not save us money, but it definitely gives us a bigger variety, and healthier whole foods. Without it I leaned pretty heavily on frozen. Every time I dumped frozen veggies into a pot it made me cringe. I think I have come to love the (time consuming) ritual of cutting whole veggies for dinner.

Some of the meals we ate include this delicious kale and white bean pasta penne from http://veggieburgher.blogspot.com/.

Vegetable pot pie

Edamame, peas with blue cheese on a bed of quinoa

Almond oatmeal

Quinoa fruit salad

Carrot cake oatmeal

And this completely amazing whole wheat banana bread

As much as I love our CSA and lamented it all week. I don't think we are renewing it. This is only due to my newest dinner time development. Co-op Cooking!!! I am really excited about this, and you will get to read all about it on Thursday's post!!

Edamame, peas with blue cheese on a bed of quinoa

8 oz frozen edamame (soy beans)
8 oz frozen peas
1 small red onion
2 gloves garlic
1/4 cup Braggs (or soy sauce/tamari)
3/4 cup water
Blue cheese crumbled to top (amount varies for preference)
1 cup quino
2 cups water

Wash quino well. It is known to be quite sandy otherwise. Place quino and two cups of water in a small pan and cook on med to low heat until all the water is absorbed and quino has expanded and looks like a spiral. Meanwhile, combine other ingredients (leaving the blue cheese aside and refrigerated) in a pressure cooker. Stir well and cook per pressure cooker's directions. The quino and edamame mixture shoudl be done roughly the same time (usually within 15 mins.) Make a bed of quino on the plate, top with edamame mixture and crumble the blue cheese over both to complete.

Reinventing the Wheel

2011-03-12T13:47:00.000-06:00

Developing and sticking to a food budget is a practice of necessity in our home. This explains the long gaps in posting. When it is not a necessity, I shop in a willy-nilly the surplus with never dry type of way. At times when it is required, I find myself cursing the frivolous "times are good" self. I keep thinking, "if only I had stuck with the budget, money would be a bit more loose now." C'est la vie! It is what it is and it is time to enjoy the present with as much gusto as the past. Lessons have been learned and life will be more balanced going forward.

With that being said, I started this blog as a way to keep myself in check. I also look around for other blogs and people that have succeeded in feeding their families low cost vegetarian meals. While I would love to develop and create recipes, menus and shopping list everyone can follow, I am perfectly happy following someone else's plans and ideas. Why reinvent the wheel? This leaves me doing internet searches for "$50 vegetarian menu, " low cost vegetarian," etc every now and again. Today I think I found the gem of all gems!

Low Budget Vegetarian

This site is simple, and amazing! The author offers a FREE 90 page "cook book." Really it is an instruction manual on making tasty, balanced, healthy, low cost meals, shopping tips and meal planning. It is so informative. I have been looking for a how to manual on cooking, I think this is the answer. I am extremely happy to have stumbled onto it! I can't wait to incorporate his ideas into my shopping and cooking to see how it helps.

I would highly recommend this to everyone. I mean, how can you pass up free, let alone something that is so useful!

Project Food Budget: Week 6

2011-03-10T20:23:00.000-06:00

Goal: $70
Actual: $70.85

Menu:

Napa Cabbage with Orange Miso Dressing ★★★★★
Chipotle Barbecued Tofu with leftover Napa Cabbage Salad ★★★★★
White Bean Olive Basil Spread, Avocado, Onion, Tomato Sandwiches on Homemade Whole Wheat Bread ★★★★★
Pink Beans, Quinoa & Spinach Soup ★★★★☆
Slow Baked Beans with Brussels Sprouts
Bean Burritos ★★★★★
Smoky Pinto Beans, Simple Beets and Carrots with Corn Bread ★★★☆☆

Breakfast:

Coconut Chai Breakfast Muffin ★★★★☆
Applesauce Oatmeal with Chunks of Apple ★★★☆☆

Groceries:

CSA Share:

Turnips
Beets
Carrots (a ton)
Brussels Sprouts with greens
Brussels Sprout greens
Spinach
Kale
Salad Greens
Scallions
Oranges
Grapefruit
Cilantro
Parsley

Store

limes
lemons
apples
tomatoes
onions
avocado
ginger
tofu
tortillas
great northern beans
pinto beans
basil
almonds
walnuts
eggs
cheese
cliff bars

Recipes:

Homemade Apple Sauce: cut desired amount of skinned apple into small chunks. Place in a saucepan with just enough water to cover apples. Add 1 tsp of cinnamon and bring to a boil. Boil down the liquid slightly. Drain excess water and save for use in Applesauce oatmeal. Place cooked apple in food processor and pulse until desired consistency is reached.
Apple Sauce Oatmeal with Apple: Skin and cut a large apple into chunks. Place in sauce pan with 2 1/2 cups of water. Bring to a boil. Add 1 cup of old fashioned oats and 1 tsp of cinnamon. reduce heat and cook to desired thickness, being sure to stir constantly. Once cooked stir in Homemade applesauce liquid and 1/3-1/2 cup of homemade apple sauce.
Smoky Pinto Beans: Soak dry pinto beans overnight. Cook according to package directions, or in pressure cooker. Once beans are cooked reduce heat, add smoked sea salt to taste, and 1/2 chopped onion.Cook on reduced heat for 10-15 mins. Save extra beans in liquid to make bean burritos.
Bean Burritos: When making a meal with pinto beans, or black beans cook the entire lb of beans. Save half to make bean burritos a couple days later. For instance, this week we have Costa Rican Style Black Beans and Rice. I used half the black beans in that recipe and then saved the remaining beans and the juice the beans were cooked with. In the next day or two I use the beans to make refried beans for burritos.
- Refried Beans:
Blend beans in juice and set aside. Heat oil in skillet or wok and add onion and green pepper. Cook until onions are translucent. Add ground chipotle pepper to onions and cook for about 1 min. then add blended beans. Cook for several minutes and add smoked salt and greens, if desired. Cook beans and stir constantly, until beans reduce and thicken.

Notes: My husband eats egg and cheese tacos every morning for breakfast. I think this probably adds about $8 to our grocery bill each week. That is just an observation for anyone looking to save a bit more. Oatmeal is so cheap, easy and delicious. My husband only eats a cliff bar for lunch, so unfortunately, oatmeal will not fill him up enough or give him anywhere near the protein of a couple egg.

I tried three recipes from fatfreevegan.com. They were all wonderful and simple. I think I might try her kid friendly mac and "cheese" as I have never found a vegan mac and cheese that is at all tasty.

Project Food Budget: Weeks 4 & 5

2011-03-10T17:34:00.000-06:00

The last two weeks were blog free for a variety of reasons. Week 4 was consumed with flu. Aside from feeling the sickest I had been in my life, I also sent my husband to the grocery store with the list. I am positive we went over that week. When I am with him we do a good deal of shopping at Fiesta Mart. Which is insanely cheap on a huge array of items. We then get a few additional items at HEB. This saves us at least $10 a week. I don't think my husband enjoys stopping at two stores. The week he did the shopping he only went to HEB. I think he said the bill was around $80.

Week 5: I was in a budget funk. I am finding it extremely difficult to stay under $75. I think I got in the, "I want to buy what I want when I want and not be so restricted mood." While I did not really do this, I was down on the budget. I think we spent about $85 that week. I became concerned that our budget was not giving us room for enough fruits and veggies. I was concerned we might not be getting enough Calcium. After tracking our calcium intake for two days, it seems we are getting more than enough. I am feeling much better about our budget and our ability to eat well with it.

Here are some good finds from those weeks:

Recipes:
Beetroot Hummus (possibly the best hummus I have ever had.) ★★★★★
Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Smoothie★★★★★
Black Bean Brownies ★★★☆☆
Mini Carrot Loaves ★★★★☆

Information on Nutrition:
Harvard's School of Public Health has differing ideas on healthy eating as well as an alternate food pyramid.
Meal Make Over Moms is a site run by two moms who are also registered dietitians. They have some wonderful sounding recipes and great ideas about how to get kids to eat healthy.
Spark people is actually one of my happiest finds. This website allows you to track your menu, and it tallies the nutritional info for you. They have a feature that suggests a menu base don your dietary preferences. It also provides workout routines and recipes for healthy eating. It is completely free! I honestly think it is the best site I have seen that offers these things. I have even participated in pay for sites that are not even nearly as thorough and good.

Project Food Budget: Week 3

2011-02-16T20:28:00.001-06:00

Goal: $70
Actual: $70.76

Menu:

Creole Black Eyed Peas w/Glazed Turnips, Beets, and Carrots ★★★★☆
Spaghetti with Chipotle Peanut Butter Sauce and Carrots ★★★★☆
Black Beans and Rice, Costa Rican Style ★★★☆☆
Swiss Chard, Onion and Tofu Pizza
Kohlrabi Empanadas
Beet, Bean, and Apple Salad
Bean Burritos ★★★★☆

Extras:

Homemade Peanut Butter Cliff Bars ★★★★★

Groceries:

1 Bunch Garlic
1 pkg Tofu
1 Jalapeño
1 Granny Smith Apple
Peanut Butter
1 lb Black Beans
1 lb Chickpeas
1 small can Tomato Paste
1 large block of cheese
6 pack Cliff Bars
Dry Milk
1 Lemon
Ginger
Brown Rice
Vinegar
Eggs

Included in CSA share:

Turnips
Kohlrabi with small greens
Beets
Spinach
Carrots
Cabbage
Brussels Sprout Greens
Scallions (green onions)
Cilantro
1 orange
Sweet potatoes

Recipes:

The only additional recipe used this week is the Whole Wheat Flax Tortillas and a bread machine pizza crust. It is by far the most delicious and softest pizza crust I have found. When I make it, I cut it in half to make two pizzas or use half for another meal. For instance, I will only loosely follow the kolhrabi empanada recipe. Mainly for the filling, but I will use half the dough to make kohlrabi pockets instead of following the recipe to make the empanada crust. I find this to be easier on me and less wasteful. It just stretches our budget. As you will also notice, I found a new recipe website. I use http://www.all-creatures.org/recipes for a huge portion of our meals this week. This is mainly due to the ability to search their page for recipes that include specific ingredients. This made planning around our CSA share a breeze! So far they have all been pretty good. I am going to start rating the dishes on a 5 start scale, just so you don't have to randomly try unrated foods, like I make my husband and daughter!

Bean Burritos: When making a meal with pinto beans, or black beans cook the entire lb of beans. Save half to make bean burritos a couple days later. For instance, this week we have Costa Rican Style Black Beans and Rice. I used half the black beans in that recipe and then saved the remaining beans and the juice the beans were cooked with. In the next day or two I use the beans to make refried beans for burritos.

Refried Beans:

Beans in juice
1/2-1 onion diced
green or red pepper if on hand
1 bunch of greens stemmed and cut thinly or left over cooked greens, if on hand
2 Tbls oil
Ground Chipotle pepper to taste
Smoked Salt to taste

Blend beans in juice and set aside. Heat oil in skillet or wok and add onion and green pepper. Cook until onions are translucent. Add ground chipotle pepper to onions and cook for about 1 min. then add blended beans. Cook for several minutes and add smoked salt and greens, if desired. Cook beans and stir constantly, until beans reduce and thicken.

Whole Wheat Flax Tortillas:

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
6 TBL ground flax (You can use 2 TBL of butter or shortening instead of flax seed. If you do decrease water by 1/2 cup.)
2/3 +1/2 cups warm water
1.)Combine all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Then gradually add the water while mixing. Mix into a dough, cover and let rise for 20 mins.
2.) Roll into a rope and divide into 10 equal pieces
3.) On a lightly floured surface knead each piece into a flat circle and use rolling pin to make tortilla.
4.) Cook on stove top on medium to low heat. Tortilla will bubble and then flip.

Notes:

Our grocery bill was actually $80.33 plus a couple dollars for frozen pizza, I had my husband get on his way home one night I was sick. The difference includes toiletries and Valentines Day items. I would like to work these types of items into our $70 budget, but I am giving myself a little wiggle room for the first little while, and counting only the food items in the actual. That being said, I won't spend more than $10 on these additional items. I also want to point out the cliff bars are my husband's daily lunch. I tried the home made option this week and they were great and very simple. My husband still has to weigh in, so it is still up in the air whether or not we switch to home made.
Central Texas just weathered an extreme unseasonal freeze. It definitely impacted our CSA share. Our CSA received major damage to their crops. This was one of my biggest worries when joining a CSA. Your share is based on the success of the farms which is directly related to the weather. In the 20 weeks we have received shares I am positive we received a great deal more than $30 worth of vegetables in our weekly shares. Most weeks my very large grocery bag is overflowing with vegetables. Even in these previous two smaller shares, it has been enough to get us through a week. I also realized these weeks of surplus and weeks of less would also occur at the grocery store. Vegetable prices at the store are also based on industry yields and disasters. If I gave myself a $30 budget at the grocery store for veggies, there would be times when my bag was fuller than others. Even during this time when our CSA is adjusting and replanting, I know I am getting the better deal, and healthier fresher vegetables, and supporting a local farm all in one shot. I am so glad we gave it a chance. It really has been one of the best decisions we have made for our health and budget.

Project Food Budget: Week 2

2011-02-11T20:38:00.001-06:00

Goal: $70
Actual: $84
Menu

Pinto Beans, Greens, corn bread
Left over Beans, cooked carrots, and corn tortillas
Honey Tofu with Spicy Bok Choy and Rice
Spinach Chickpea Curry with Kasha
Quinoa, Chickpea and Root Veggie Salad
Asian Black Eyed Pea and Kasha
Root Veggie Stir-fry with Chickpeas

Groceries:

Chickpeas
Black eyed peas
1 dozen eggs
Whole Wheat Flour
Onions
Tofu
Coconut Milk
Quinoa
Raisins
Limes
Lemons
Millet
Cottage Cheese
Lentils
Cheese
Soy Sauce
Cliff Bars
Brown Sugar
Almonds

CSA:

Spinach
Carrots
Beets
Chard
Scallions
Turnips
Bok Choy
Kohlrabi
Dill
Cilantro

Notes: We went over budget this week, due to a number of things. I make my dog's food every two weeks. This week was the week I needed to get the ingredients. Which were lentils, millet, and cottage cheese. I need to figure out how to buy these things and the rest of our groceries without going over budget. I also used an additional $3.29 to buy some almonds to make almond butter. I made some using my food processor and 1 tsp of cinnamon. It seems almonds a a source of calcium. The cinnamon almond butter was delicious!

Project Food Budget: Week 1

2011-02-04T11:34:00.001-06:00

Goal: $70
Actual: $75

Dinner Menu:

Honey Vegetable Tofu Stir-fry
White Bean with Sun-dried Tomatoes and Pesto Stew
Chipotle chick peas, roasted root veggies, turnip greens, Greek yogurt with dill and pita bread
Adobo Sweet Potato and Greens Quesadillas with Smoked Black Beans
Rustic Cabbage Soup with Oatmeal Dinner Rolls
Black Bean Burritos
Leftovers

Breakfast Menu:

Grocery List:

Start your shopping in your pantry! We were able to eliminate a lot of needed items from the list, b/c it we already had it. We only had to buy: $45

Black strap molasses
Basil
Chickpeas
Dry milk
Raisins
Yeast
Tomatoes
Bananas
1 large block cheese
1 package of Parmesan cheese
Tortillas
1 dozen eggs
Cliff bars
Soap
Sugar

Our CSA share included: $30

1 bunch of carrots
1 head of cabbage
Turnips with greens
Rutabaga (Swedish turnips)
Cilantro
Dill
1 head of cabbage
Beets with greens
1 bunch rainbow chard
2 large sweet potatoes
Brussels sprouts with greens
Big bag of broccoli
Green onions

If you choose to go the CSA route, your share will have a different variety of veggies. Be creative. You do not have to follow recipes to a the letter. Substitute and try variations!

Next week I will work on posting a complete shopping list in case you don't have everything we have on hand.

Recipes:

Any menu item with a hyper link will lead you to the recipe I used. Those without a hyper link are listed here.

Chipotle Chickpeas:

1 lb dry chick peas, soaked over night, cooked and drained
1/2 TBL ground chipotle pepper
1 TBL oil
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Place oil, chickpeas and chipotle pepper in 9x13" baking dish. Shake until chick peas are evenly coated. Cook for 20 mins. Shake and cook for another 10 mins.

Roasted Root Veggies:

Use any root veggies you have. This week I used sliced turnips and rutabagas.
1 TBL oil
Pre-heat over to 400 degrees. Place veggies and oil in 9 x13" baking dish. make sure veggies are fully coated with oil and cook for 45-60 mins.

Greek Yogurt with dill:

Make yogurt. We use non-fat dry milk and a yogurt maker. Here is a video on how to make yogurt without any special equipment.
Once your yogurt is ready to use, strain the whey completely using a coffee filter. Save whey for other uses.
Chop fresh dill and stir into yogurt.

Smoked Black Beans:

1 lb dry black beans, soaked overnight, and cooked. (do not drain.)
1 tsp smoked salt or to taste
1/2- 1 onion, diced
Once beans are cooked add smoked salt and onion and cook for about 15 mins. Save left overs to make refried beans.

Raisin Oatmeal:

Follow banana oatmeal recipe, omitting the bananas and adding 1 tsp cinnamon, and 1/3-1/2 cup raisins.

Pesto:

2 cloves garlic
1 bunch basil
1/4 olive oil
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
Combine all ingredient in a food processor and blend.

Whole Wheat Flax Tortillas:

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
6 TBL ground flax (You can use 2 TBL of butter or shortening instead of flax seed. If you do decrease water by 1/2 cup.)
2/3 +1/2 cups warm water
1.)Combine all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Then gradually add the water while mixing. Mix into a dough, cover and let rise for 20 mins.
2.) Roll into a rope and divide into 10 equal pieces
3.) On a lightly floured surface knead each piece into a flat circle and use rolling pin to make tortilla.
4.) Cook on stove top on medium to low heat. Tortilla will bubble and then flip.

Omitted and Substituted:

I try to avoid canned and frozen ingredients. When a recipe calls for canned beans I use dried beans. When a recipe calls for canned tomatoes I use diced fresh tomatoes. Anytime a recipe calls for a variety of veggies, I check my current stock and use whatever I have. For instance, I used carrots, broccoli, cabbage, onion and garlic in the stir fry, and did not even pay attention to the veggies they called for. I did not have red pepper on hand, so that was completely omitted from the sun-dried tomato stew as well as navy beans instead of white kidney beans. I have carrots but not parsnip, so carrots were used in the cabbage stew. There are many many more examples. The key to keeping the bill as low as possible, is to use what you have so there is no waste and don't buy things you don't really need. So far flavor and satisfaction has not suffered. I also always mix greens while refrying my beans. This ensures veggies in the meal and it is a great way to sneak them passed my 2 year old. At the very end of the week, I was out of a lot of items. For instance, when I went to make the oatmeal dinner rolls, I realized we had eaten the eggs for breakfast. Instead of running out to get more eggs or skipping the rolls, I did a quick search for egg replacer substitutes. I found 2 TBL of cornstarch is the equivalent of 1 egg in baking. The rolls turned out great!

One More Time With Feeling

2011-02-04T08:48:00.000-06:00

Have I ever dropped the ball! Sheeeeesh! Well no more, I am back to updating weekly. I also found a group of veggie food bloggers doing this same thing. You can check them out with the tag "Project: Food Budget" and I am sure they will pop up and give you a ton of really great ideas!

My loyalty to this blog ebbs and flows with our wallet....Our budget currently restricts us to $70/week. I think it will continue to be like this for a long time to come. So I will be planning our weekly menu again and posting it here. I look forward to this practice and hope that as our wallet expands I can keep being frugal with our grocery budget. Seems like a great way to save money and one day build wealth.

Check out the hillbilly housewife. She has an emergency menu posted. Very frugal. She also makes recommendations such as using dry milk instead of fresh. We gave that a try and paid $5.49 for a box that makes 5 gallons of milk. 5 gallons of fresh milk would have cost us $14.95. Meaning we saved nearly $10! She also has great tips on improving the flavor. I loved the suggestion for putting blackstap molasses in the milk! While I hate the stuff my 2 year old loves it! 1TBL blackstap molasses has 25% of daily recommended iron and 20% calcium. (This varies with brand and from bottle to bottle. So read the labels!) I put a tsp of black strap molasses in her milk at each meal. She loves it and I feel confident that she is getting a huge dose iron and calcium.

Our weekly grocery budget must include everything from groceries, cleaning supplies to personal hygiene products. You will see links to info about cleaning with vinegar and making home made deodorant. It is not just food.

I will also start couponing, but not in an extreme way. The goal of my grocery list is simplicity. I am going to try to limit the variety of item we buy each week. After a very short try at buying local organic produce at the farmer's market, I have come to a strong realization that this is too expensive. We once again signed up for a CSA membership. This has been amazing. A huge variety or fresh organic veggies for $30/week. We have been able to try veggies we would have never tried, and have enough fresh veggies for every meal. I would highly recommend joining one. Check out Localharvest.org. If money is tighter than time, most CSAs offer a work share. Meaning if you work on their farm for so many hours they will give you a free bushel. I am not able to do this as paying for child care while I work the farm is more expensive than the share. We use Johnson's Backyard Garden. They have multiple incentives, such as being able so swap things you don't like for things you do like as well as one free item if you pick up your share at the farmer's market.

The new formula to keep our weekly grocery bill (CSA cost included) under $70 is:
1.Use our CSA share(use greens at the beginning of the week and tubers and ground veggie later in the week.)
2. Buy a similar list of groceries each week.

whole wheat flour
1 type of grain
2 types of beans
favorite versatile spices (cinnamon, chipotle pepper, adobo sauce, smoked salt)
dry milk
One block of cheese
eggs
Oats
Various baking supplies (baking powder, yeast, sugar, vanilla)
peanut butter
vinegar

Buying these core staple items, we should be able to build up a little bit of a variety, while keeping the bill very low. We also will not have to buy all these things every week. I will also be able to make complete rounded meals. I am going to start posting the menu and grocery list after the week has passed. This will allow me to make a rough menu and cook our meals based on what we have on hand instead of making a strict menu that requires a lot of different ingredients. I have found a weekly menu with a long list of small ingredients equals a very large grocery bill. This being said, I substitute and eliminate a good deal of ingredients in recipes. For instance my refried bean recipe calls for green pepper and onions. If our share did not have green peppers, I only use onions and I add chopped greens.

We have also cut many things out. We no longer buy cereal, soy milk, more than one package of cheese or more than 1 dozen eggs. I make oat meal, granola bars, or sweet bread for breakfast. Oats are the most versatile food. Nutritional data is great and the price is very low!

I hope you will follow my blog again, and keep me posting! :) Ok, Ok! I will stick to it on my own. :)

Thanks for reading!

The Grand Experiment

2010-10-07T23:18:00.000-05:00

It has been a lifetime since I updated this blog. I got a job working a graveyard shift, and that alone has made me more exhausted and busy than any other aspect of my life. With that came an influx in our grocery budget, and it was no longer as important to stick to this budget and goal. Every week when I spend and spend on groceries, I feel a tinge of guilt. Even though I only hit my $75/ week goal a couple of times, I kick myself knowing that it is possible to be frugal with the grocery budget, but I am choosing not to be. So, the grand experiment starts again.

Some issues that plagued the former attempt at feeding a vegetarian family on the cheap:

1. In order to keep within budget I had to compromise nutritional choices I would have rather not. One very large compromise was feeding my toddler non-organic fruits and vegetables. As I tend to subscribe to the non-GMO side of the GMO debate, there is developing research linking ADHD with increased levels of the most commonly used pesticides, and my daughters brain is in it's most rapidly developing stage... I feel I can no longer make these compromises.

2. Previously while trying to stick to my budget, the idea of shopping for locally grown and produced items seemed laughable. It has always seemed that fruits and veggies at the farmers market are priced well above their grocery store counter parts. After joining a CSA for 10 weeks, it is no longer out of reach. While I have decided not to renew my membership with the CSA, I will continue to buy local food to not only support local farms, but receive fresher, tastier items. I am convinced there is a way to buy locally on a limited budget.

The Plan:

Visit websites of local farms prior to the farmers market to determine which veggies should be selling at the farm stand. I will plan the weekly menu three days at a time. Given that we live in Austin and a fresh farm stand is available everyday of the week, we have ample opportunity. I will frequent the farm stands/farmers markets on Saturdays and Wednesday. The remaining ingredients will be purchased at local grocery stores. The new experiment is to buy local, organic fruits and veggies while preparing healthy delicious meals for a family or 3 (and a dog) for roughly $100/week. I will post the recipes, cost of each meal, and a weekly grocery list each week. This will now be done a week behind, so all reviews and issues are listed up front.

I apologize for the 6 month lapse! Here's to a fresh start!

The new and improved upcoming weekly menu will be posted Sunday October 17th.

Feb 8-14th

2010-02-07T14:58:00.000-06:00

This is a week of leftovers. I frequently freeze our left overs in hopes of using them for another meal later in the month. This week we are low or completely out of many staple items. I decided in order to keep our grocery bill from ballooning this week, we will eat our leftovers and free up the money we would usually spend on meals to buy our staple items.

Our grocery bill ballooned despite my efforts! This week I spent $113. It was quite disappointing, but we had a lot of staple items needed. From now on I am going to post the cost of each meal.

Monday: Leftover Slow Cooker Vitamin A Blast Black Bean Chili

-Recipe from healthyslowcooking.com

Tuesday: Immune Enhancing Miso Soup with a side of Lightly Sauted Kale ($2.44)

- Recipe from the site Eating Consciously

Wednesday: Left over Cajun 15 bean soup w/ Millet Mash ($6.22)
-Recipe for Millet Mash from Amazing Grains pg. 108

Thursday: Sun-dried Tomato Veggie Burgers ($2.50) w/ Sweet Potato Fries ($1.62)

~ This dinner was so good! I diced the veggie burgers and mixed it with green onion and frozen peas. I then made hamburger buns using my bread maker and this recipe. Instead of baking the buns right after they were done rising, I flattened then and piled on the veggie burger mix and put some shredded cheddar and then folded and closed the uncooked bun around the veggie burger mix. I then cooked at the suggested temperature for 20-25 mins. It was a delicious veggie pocket. My husband loved it too and said he would like it again.

Friday: Butternut Squash Enchiladas ($9.40) w/ Drunken Beans ($1.62)
-Recipe from Vegetarian Times
-Recipe for Drunken Beans from Romancing the Bean pg. 76

~This recipe was a good deal more expensive than I like to spend for a meal. It also took a very long time to make. The first step of roasting the butternut squash took an hour and a half instead of 45 mins. I think if I make it again I will dice it before roasting it. The dinner was very good and spicy! My husband suggested replacing the butternut squash with sweet potato, which is a terrific idea. Not only are sweet potatoes a small fraction of the cost of a butter nut squash, but they cook faster. I may try this again with sweet potatoes instead and Verde sauce instead of enchilada sauce. The drunken beans were great, as always!

Saturday: Mexican Pizza ($4.14)

- Recipe from The Vegetarian 5-ingredient Gourmet pg. 164

~This recipe calls for salsa, refried beans, pizza crust and cheese. Instead of using premade items I used left over pizza crust from our pizza last week, made the salsa by adapting the recipe for Spicy Vegan Quinoa Chili, and made refried beans from the left over drunken beans. I made the salsa by following the Chili recipe until it called for the TVP and Quinoa. I also added some lime juice and cilantro. To make the refried beans I blended the drunken beans with a bit of the cooking liquid and added 1 tsp of chipotle powder.

Sunday: Winter Stew ($6.23) w/ garlic bread
-Recipe from Vegetarian Pasta Cookebook pg. 112

Breakfast: Warm Nutty Cinnamon Quinoa ($5.67)
-Recipe from 101cookbooks.com

~This was delicious!! I think it is now my all time favorite breakfast! It was easy and amazing!

Feb 1-7

2010-01-30T22:21:00.000-06:00

This weeks menu is predominately recipes from websites. Since you have access to all the recipes, I decided to post the shopping list for you. Click here to get the grocery list for this week. Our groceries this week were $80. The lintels and cottage cheese are used to make our dog's food. If that is something you are interested in, it saves money, and you know your dog is eating humane quality food without deadly fungi in it. I use recipes from Dr. Pitcairn's book, Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats. If you are not interested, you may want to remove those items from the list. I also decided not to get the agave nectar. It is quite expensive and you can use 3x the sugar in any recipe calling for agave nectar. Yes, agave nectar is the healthier alternative, and it has a lower glycemic index, but I decided I would rather spend $3.60 to get my daughter some goat milk.

Monday:Spicy Peanut Noodles and Tofu

-Recipe from www.vegetariantimes.com

~This was amazing! This recipe did not call for tofu. I doubled the peanut sauce recipe, and poured it over drained tofu slices and baked it at 450 degrees for 20 mins. I don't think the meal would have been complete without it!

Tuesday:Slow Cooker Vitamin A Blast Black Bean Chili

-Recipe from healthyslowcooking.com

~ This Chili was delicious! My husband said he thinks it was his favorite soup I have made. Try it!

Wednesday: Peruvian Baked Quinoa and Cheese with a side of Lightly Sauted Kale

-Recipe from VegetarianTimes.com

~Leek, green pepper, red pepper, garlic. This combination seems like a fail safe for a delicious and full flavored meal. Strangely, this dish was extremely bland. While we decided that we would not mind eating it again, I just can't see using two semi-expensive ingredients (quinoa and leek) if the dish is not amazing. So, we will not behaving this one again.

Thursday: Slow Cooker Apple and Split Pea Soup

-Recipe from healthyslowcooking.com

~I love the introduction to this recipe on the blog. It has been miserably rainy here for a week. It was a good rainy day soup. My husband said it was a little too French for his taste. So unfortunately we won't be having it again.

Friday: Pesto and Goat Cheese Pizza

   Pizza Crust*
   1/2 cup pesto
   1 cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped
   1/2 cup artichoke hearts, chopped
   1/2 cup pine nuts
   4 oz chevre goat cheese
   3/4 - 1 cup mozzarella cheese
   1/4 cup kalamata olives, chopped (optional)

Preheat over to 400 degrees. Pat out dough out on a greased pizza pan and spread pesto over dough leaving 1/4 inch crust. Sprinkle toppings evenly over pizza, putting cheeses on last. Bake for 20 mins.
*I make my pizza crust with a bread maker using this recipe. I also divide the dough in half to make two thin crust pizzas. I vacuum seal one and freeze if for future use.

Saturday: Ancho Coffee Red Bean Chili

-Recipe from Veggiemealplans.com

Sunday: Black Bean Enchiladas with Warm Salsa Verde

-Recipe from www.vegetariantimes.com

~I was worried about this one while I was making it. The tomatillos have such an odd scent. But the finished product was wonderful! I did make a few changes though. My husband does not like the taste of cumin, so I used chipotle powder instead.

Breakfast: Chai Oatmeal

-Recipe from vegweb.com

~This recipe was decent, but not spectacular. I was a little disappointed just because I love a good chai. It seems like with chai you have to find some bad one's before you find the one! I think I will probably look for a good chai recipe and then adapt it to an oatmeal recipe.

Jan 25-31

2010-01-24T23:27:00.000-06:00

I found a vegan food blog tonight. There were several interesting looking recipes, and they included ingredients we have on hand. I thought I would give them a try!

Monday: Pine Nut Hummus, Cauliflower Baked w/ Tomatoes and Feta Cheese & pita bread
- Recipe for Pine Nut Hummus from a courtesy post card from our Realtor, Sheila Rosart
- Recipe for Cauliflower Baked w.Tomatoes and Feta Cheese from Mediterranean Vegetarian Cooking pg. 58

Pine Nut Hummus

3/4 cup olive oil
3 TBL pine nuts
2 15 oz cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2/3 cup tahini, ell stirred
2/3 cups water
5 TBL fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup pine nuts for garnish
Fresh basil sprigs for garnish

Puree all the ingredients in a food processor and refrigerate in a covered bowl. Recipe may be prepared up to 3 days ahead. Garnish with fresh basil and pine nuts.

~Word to the wise... When a recipe indicates the use of a food processor...Use a food processor. I am pretty sure I broke our blender making the hummus. It tasted great but it was a strange consistency (from trying to process it in my blender.) The cauliflower dish was amazing. It was a little time consuming. Mainly due to peeling tomatoes. It was definitely worth the time. After trying it my husband declared, "This one's a keeper!"

Tuesday: Black-Eyed Peas and Chard w/Soba Noodles
-Recipe from Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker pg. 140

~This recipe was a little more involved than I expect for a slow cooker recipe. It was very good though. It was very down home and a good mix of beans and greens. My 18 month old hates black-eyed peas, greens, and carrots.. Which is pretty much all this recipe consisted of. I was surprised when she ate it like candy! We will be having this one again, but per my husband's request not too frequently. He missed spices.

Wednesday: Mediterranean Chick'n Cutlets w/ Pitas
- Recipe from Lightlife

Thursday: Avocado Mac and "Cheese"
- Recipe from the site Eating Consciously

~I firmly believe all non-cheese mac and "cheese" recipes should not reference cheese in the title. It sets them up for failure. For instance this dish should be called pasta in an avocado sauce. This dish was different. It was not bad, but had a very unique flavor... a flavor that did not go over well in my home. We won't have this one again, but it is one of the best non-dairy mac and "cheese" attempts I have tried.

Friday: Immune Enhancing Miso Soup with a side of Lightly Sauted Kale.
- Recipe from the site Eating Consciously

~The soup was delicious! The ginger in it is fantastic. While we were not sick...I can only imagine this soup would be an ideal under the weather soup. It would be so soothing on a sore throat, or if you were stuffy. I added our leftover soba noodles from the Black-eyed peas with Chard and Soba noodles. It was the perfect combination and ensured we have a grain. I have never sauted kale. This worked really well. Definitely a good side dish for the soup!

Saturday: Spicy Vegan Quinoa Chili
- Recipe from the site Eating Consciously

~Quinoa Chili! What a great idea! This was the best chili I have had. It was spicy and a complete meal! My daughter even loved it, and I did not think she liked spicy food. I think her pallet might be changing.

Sunday: Pesto-Infused White Bean and Sun-Dried Tomato Stew
- Recipe from Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker pg. 71

Breakfast: Good Morning Millet Melange

- Recipe from Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker pg. 241

Jan 18-24th

2010-01-17T21:08:00.000-06:00

This weeks groceries only cost $70. We shopped at Fiesta Mart this week, which I believe is the main reason for the savings. For those of you unfamiliar with Fiesta Mart, it is a grocery store which focuses on Latino shoppers. It is a great store. Everything is in Spanish and English, and there is an array of items I have never seen anywhere else! (Although they do not offer much in the way of organic produce.) They also have the largest ethnic food section I have ever seen! It consists of five isles and each isle represents a different area of the world. It is only in Austin, Houston, Dallas/Ft. Worth. We are very fortunate to have it nearby. The prices are so much lower. I am not really sure how they keep everything so cheap... I suppose their markup must be significantly lower than the competition. It looks like we will be shopping there from here on out!
I believe I am doing away with the grocery list. Not my personal one, but the posted one. It was suggested that perhaps it is not used frequently. I also realized without access to all the recipes the grocery list is useless. If you would like the grocery list posted, just leave a comment and I will start posting the grocery list again.

As previously mentioned I absolutely love Romancing the Bean, by Joanne Saltzman. It is hands down the BEST vegetarian cookbook I have come across. The recipes are easy to follow, she explains how to make variations, most recipes are quick, and she offers suggestions on what to serve with each recipe. All the recipes I have tried in this book are fantastic. If you can not infer, I think Romancing the Bean is the one cookbook every household should have, Vegetarian or not! Because I have had so much luck with this cook book, I am going to try a few recipes from her cookbook Amazing Grains.

Monday: Beans with Tomato and Corn with a side of Roasted Carrots and Parsnip & Herbed Bread
   - Recipe for Beans with Tomato and Corn from Romancing the Bean pg. 73
   - Recipe for Roasted Carrots and Parsnip from The Everyday Vegan pg. 153

~This meal was quite simple and delicious. The actual bean recipe called for Lima beans, but Saltzman suggested kidney beans or garbanzo beans would be a good alternative. We have the exact amount of each leftover from yesterday's meal. It was really great with both beans in it. It was so simple and only took 5 mins of prep and 20 mins to cook! The roasted carrots and parsnips were wonderful. I have never even thought about roasting carrots. The recipe simply consisted of chopping and mixing with olive oil. The cook time was approx 40 mins. It was a great side item and went very well with the beans! We will definitely be having this one again sometime!

Tuesday: Boston Baked Beans with a side of Baked Quinoa with Squash
   - Recipe for Boston Baked Beans from Romancing the Bean pg. 60
   - Recipe for Baked Quinoa with Squash from Amazing Grains pg. 76

~The baked beans were really good. The author of the cookbook always includes notes before each recipe. She commented that this recipe was probably the easiest in the cookbook. I can attest to that. The baked quinoa and squash smelled so delicious while I was preparing it. I was really excited to try a new quinoa dish... I was disappointed. I don't think I cooked it long enough. The squash was still crunchy. It smelled like it would be so flavorful, but it did not deliver. It was quite bland and did not live up to expectations at all. This one is off the list! I also realized while we were eating that baked beans are not really an entree. The equation I use to plan our meals is 1 major protein source + whole grain + vegetable= dinner. Sometimes that equation needs adjusting... otherwise using an item that is commonly used as a side item for the entree, leaves you feeling unsatisfied. I will be using the baked bean recipe in the future as a side for veggie burgers or meatloaf. It does not stand well alone.

The quinoa squash bake was better the next day after I cooked it another 30 minutes. It did not make it fantastic, but it was much better than last night.

Wednesday: Cajun 15 Bean Soup with millet mash
   - Recipe for Millet Mash from Amazing Grains pg. 108

~ I bought the Cajun 15 bean soup in the dried bean section of the store. It was Hurst's Hambeens Brand. I just followed the recipe on the back of the bag. The Cajun spices were included with the beans. I added a teaspoon of liquid smoke, as I omitted the meat from the recipe. It probably could have used a tablespoon instead of a teaspoon. I paired the millet mash with the soup, not only to have a whole grain, but because the Cajun bean soup called for sausage and the millet mash called for fennel and fennel seed. Many sausages have fennel seed in them. I recall the first time I tried fennel. I wondered why it tasted like sausage. Of course, it is the other way around. I felt that since I omitted the sausage from the soup, the millet mash would be an ideal tie in. It was great! Both the soup and the millet mash were hearty. They definitely complimented each other well.

Thursday: Fajitas
     1 red pepper, sliced
   1 package Lightlife Chkn' style strips (any chicken alternative works, but this brand tastes best!)
   1 green pepper, sliced
   1 lg. red onion, sliced
   1 lime juiced
   1 TBLS chili powder
   1 TBLS cheyenne pepper
   1 avocado, sliced
   1 roma tomato, diced
   6-10 tortillas*
   2/3 cups cheese (optional)

Combine peppers, onions, and chik'n style strips in a frying pan or wok. Squeeze lime over mixture and saute over medium to low heat. Add cheyenne pepper and chili powder to taste. I honestly don't ever measure it, and I really prefer the spicier end. If you do not like the spices start with 1/2 tsp and work up. Taste as you go. Once mixture is soft and well cooked, add all other ingredients to tortillas.

~We always love this one! It had quite a bit more spice than usual, but that has to do with my stubborn nature... and insisting on using the Indian chili pepper I bought by accident.

Friday: Kale and Sweet Potato Quesadillas with Black Beans and Rice

- Recipe for Quesadillas is from Jodi Balis' comment on NPR's "How Low Can You Go? Meals under $10."

- Recipe for Black Beans and Rice from About.com

Sweet Potato Kale Quesadillas

1 large sweet potato, cooked
1/2 cup canned diced tomatoes, drained
1 bunch kale, stems removed, leaves cut in chiffonade
1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar (my whole foods block of cheddar in my fridge is $3.19)
2 TBS adobe sauce (from small jar chipotle chiles)
4 Tortillas
3 TBS canola oil

MAKE FILLING:
1. Place kale in large bowl with small amount of water. Cover with plastic wrap and cook 7 minutes. Drain off water.
2.Heat oil in large pan over medium high heat.
3.Scoop out sweet potato and add to bowl of kale. Add remaining ingredients.Mix well.

ASSEMBLE QUESADILLAS:
4. Place filling on half of one tortilla shell. fold other half of shell over to form a half moon.
5. Repeat until all filling is used up.

COOK QUESADILLAS
6. Cook until golden and crispy. Flip and cook second side.

~This is on of our favorites as well. My husband LOVES chipotle anything. With a pressure cooker, this recipe is quick and easy. It is so delicious and filling as well. I skipped the black beans and rice, because I forgot to soak the black beans. Luckily, we still had some Cajun beans left over. I made Cajun beans and rice as our side dish.

Saturday: Black-eyed Peas in Rosemary & Lemon , "Messa" Collards and Amaranth Steeped in Beer and Rosemary
   - Recipe for Black-eyed peas in Rosemary & Lemon from Romancing the Bean pg. 71
   - Recipe for "Messa" Collards from Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker pg. 173
   - Recipe for Amaranth Steeped in Beer and Rosemary from Amazing Grains pg. 102

~Even though I've lived most of my life in the South, I just had collard greens for the first time on New Year's Eve. I decided to give them a go, and pair them with another traditionally Southern dish, black-eyed peas. The Amaranth was a little too bitter, but that is b/c we chose and extra stout beer to steep it in. In retrospect, cornbread would have been a much suitable and traditional pairing with this dish. The "Messa" Collards were amazing easy to make, and were delicious. My husband reported they were the best greens he had ever eaten! That was a tremendous compliment, as he grew up in a Southern country family, where greens were a fairly common item. I am not usually a big fan of black-eye peas, but these were good. The only adjustment I would recommend is using lemon juice instead of lemon zest. The zest was much too bitter. I tried it the next day for lunch with lemon juice and it made a world of difference.

Sunday: Maple-Chipotle Glazed Tofu with Oat Groats in Sweet Carrot Marinade
   - Recipe for Maple-Chipotle Glazed Tofu from the web site Veggie Meal Plans
   - Recipe for Oat Groats in Sweet Carrot Marinade from Amazing Grains pg. 73

~The Maple-Chipotle Glazed Tofu was superb!! The recipe choices this week gave me the knew knowledge that my husband does not like oranges or anything orange flavored. Sadly a few of the dishes this week did not go over so well. At least now I know. :) I hoped the chipotle in the tofu recipe would override the orange juice, and it did. Even with a dislike for orange my husband loved this! The recipe was very straight forward an consisted only of mixing ingredients, rowing the tofu. and pouring the glaze over the tofu. I love that I found this recipe! I needed different ways to cook tofu, and this one delivered on easy and flavor. The oat groat recipe was a great choice for this. It tasted even better with a bit of the glaze mixed with it. I will definitely make the tofu again, but the oats had double the orange juice, so for the sake of my husbands pallet, I will pair it with a different dish next time.

Breakfast: Barley and Kamut Breakfast Pilaf
   - Recipe from Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker pg. 239

~This breakfast really let me down. It was quite mushy and lacked flavor. The only saving grace was the maple syrup. I don't think syrup should carry a dish. I may adapt the recipe in the future to be include fresh apples and flavor it like cinnamon apple oatmeal.

Jan 11-17

2010-01-11T13:35:00.000-06:00

Monday: Pineapple Corn Salsa Soft Tacos

~ This is a recipe I got from e-mealz.com. Which is a site you pay $5/month and they provide you with weekly recipes and your grocery list. The plus side to the recipes are they use very common ingredients. Things are pretty easy to find. It is also very convenient to have your grocery list pre-made for you. The downside is the recipes begin to be slight variations of one another, some of them are really gross, and our grocery bill fluctuated vastly from week to week. There were several times ingredients were left off the grocery list. This particular recipe is really tasty and easy to make. It is a warm pineapple and corn salsa, with a chicken alternative. I added the Tortillas to make soft tacos.

Tuesday: Spaghetti with Steamed Broccoli

~There are few things cheaper than spaghetti! I used to make my sauce from scratch, but HEB has some really delicious jarred sauce. It is very inexpensive and saves me a ton of time and energy. I use whole wheat spaghetti noodles and always add a couple cloves of garlic to the sauce.

Wednesday: Indian Cauliflower and Kidney Bean Stew w/ Coconut Milk
   - Recipe from Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker

~I forgot to get the coconut milk, and this recipe and the curry recipe ended up falling on the same day. So I scraped this and used the veggies and beans to make my own creation. I used a lavender spice blend from a local lavender company call Hill Country Lavender. The soup was good, but nothing spectacular. My husband hates sage, and unfortunately the blend had it... which means this was a one time experiment.

Thursday: Chipotle Black Bean and Corn Enchiladas
   1/2 lb of cooked black beans
   1/2 bag of frozen mixed veggies
   1/2 cup cilantro leaves (optional)
   1 14 oz can of chipotle diced tomatoes
   2-4 oz chipotle peppers (reserve and freeze adobo sauce for future recipes)
   5 tortillas*
   2/3 cup of cheese
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine beans, mixed veggies and cilantro leaves. Mix well. Fill tortillas with cheese and bean mix. Fold and place in baking dish. Combine tomatoes and chipotle pepper in a separate bowl and spoon over enchiladas. Bake for 20 mins.

Friday: Gwen's Meatloaf Gone Vegetarian with Butternut Squash Fries

   Gwen's Meatloaf Gone Vegetarian:
   1/2 pack McCormick meatloaf seasoning
   1 can (15.25 oz) Hunts Seasoned Tomato Sauce for Meatloaf
   1 cup of dry texturized vegetable protein cooked in 2 cups of hot water
   1 package (12 oz) Light life Smart Ground Original
   2 large eggs, beaten
   1 cup dried bread crumbs (you can use oats or crackers)
   1/2 green pepper diced
   1/2 onion diced

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Mix 1/2 can sauce, texturized vegetable protein, Smart Ground, beaten eggs, green pepper, onion and 1/2 envelope McCormick meatloaf seasoning. Shape into a loaf in a casserole pan. Bake uncovered for 1 hour. Drain the grease off. Add remaining Hunt's Seasoned Tomato Sauce for meatloaf (spread over the top) and return to oven for 10 minutes.

   Butternut Squash Fries:
   1/2 large butternut squash, cut in thin strips
   2-3 cloves of garlic, crushed
   1 TBL olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place butternut squash strips in 9 x 13 baking dish. Crush garlic over squash and pour olive oil on top. Mix well to ensure garlic and oil is well distributed in the squash. Cook until squash is soft with golden or dark spots. (depending on taste) Average cook time of 30-40 mins.

~This "meat"loaf recipe is a variation of my mother-in-laws actual meatloaf recipe. Her meatloaf is a family favorite. There is a story of one of my husband's childhood friends frequently stopping by and asking for her meatloaf. This vegetarian recipe is delicious. My husband says, it should not be called meatloaf. I suppose that is because the consistency is quite different. It definitely lacks the grease meatloaf usually has... and it does not stick together like a standard meatloaf, but the flavor is dead on. I really love to make this! I started making the butternut squash fries after seeing my friend, Suki, make something very similar. Her recipe used chunks of squash, and onion. I omit the onion and make squash strips, so they are more like French fries. If you like sweet potato fries, you will love this. The butternut squash has such a light flavor, and works so well as a fry!

Saturday: Refried Black Bean Burritos

Sunday: Curried Garbanzo Beans with Spinach over a Bed of Kasha
   - Recipe from Romancing the Bean pg. 74

~This is one of my all time favorite recipes. It is so delicious! It is also surprisingly easy to make. I was worried this time around, because the recipe calls for coconut milk... which I had forgotten to get at the store. Joanne Saltzman explains how to make variations and use different cooking liquids... which saved the day. I used soy milk instead. I was afraid it would not be as rich of a sauce, but I was not disappointed! It was still amazing! We had plenty of left over butternut squash from a previous recipe, so I added this to the recipe. It was such a good move. It was soft and absorbed the curry well. It was a good complement to the garbanzo beans, and tied in well with the spinach. YUM! This is the first time I have tried Kasha. I finally found it at Whole Foods. Kasha is toasted buckwheat groats. It sounds quite odd, but it is soft, easy to make and has a wonderful flavor. Not to mention it is whole grain! I would recommend trying it. We are definitely going to be eating more of it! Here is a good website on how to prepare different types of whole grains. I use a rice cooker.. I think it is the easies method.

Money Saving Tip #3

2010-01-10T14:27:00.000-06:00

Cut Down on Cheese!

There are so many reasons to cut down on cheese. Reduce your carbon foot print, cholesterol, fat intake or animal welfare issues.. I could go on...but we all know it is very tasty and a lot of people don't want to live without it! However, It adds a big chunk to the grocery bill. I try to limit using cheese to once a week. Although you would not know that from last weeks menu. :) Reducing your cheese intake can save you $10-20 per week!

Jan 4-10th

2010-01-10T14:15:00.000-06:00

And.... We're back! You have my sincerest apologies for such a delay in posting this weeks menu! We came home this week from Christmas vacation, with a toddler with RSV. Then headed straight to our friends home to pet sit for the week. Needless to say, life has been busy, sick and blogging took the back burner! This weeks menu is focused on quick and last minute. I am not posting a shopping list for this week, but I will post one for next week.

Monday: Leftover Chipotle-kissed Sweet Potato Stew

~After driving 15 hours, I was extremely glad to have frozen these leftovers! I just Stuck it in the crock pot, caught up on some sleep and then we ate once we woke up!

Tuesday: Veggie Burgers w/ Pepper Jack Cheese and Canned Vegetarian Baked Beans

Wednesday: Spinach Quesadillas with leftover Baked beans

1 small bag of fresh baby spinach, chopped
6 tortillas
1/4 red onion chopped
2 cups shredded mexi-blend cheese

Place tortilla in dry frying pan on Med-low heat. Sprinkle enough cheese to cover tortilla and sprinkle some chopped red onion over cheese. Then, layer spinach about 1 inch thick, cover with cheese and place 2nd tortilla on top. Cook until bottom layer cheese is melted and spinach wilts. Then flip and repeat until you have cooked your quesadilla to the desired darkness.

Thursday: Mexican Chili Corn Pie
- Recipe from Favorite Vegetarian Recipes pg. 228

~ This is one of our favorites. It is a corn chili baked with a cheesy corn bread crust. It is wonderful, and pretty easy. The corn bread is a terrific topper for the chili.

Friday: Vegetable Tofu Stir Fry

8 oz frozen mixed vegetables
2 tbls sesame oil
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 small red onion
1 lb extra firm tofu
2/3 cup Bragg's (or soy sauce/ tamari)
1 cup brown rice
2 cups water

Cook rice in a rice cooker. Cut tofu into thin strips and heat 1 Tbl of oil in a skillet and lay strips over the oil. Douse tofu strips with approx 1/3 cup of Braggs or enough to cover the tofu completely. Once the tofu is fully cooked, heat remaining oil in a wok or frying pan and cook garlic and onion until soft. Approx 2 mins. Add Mixed frozen veggies, add tofu and cook until hot. Once rice is done, add to veggies and tofu. Mix remaining 1/3 cup Braggs and cook until thoroughly mixed.

~This is a pretty standard veggie stir fry. It is also quick and easy.

Saturday: Edamame and Peas Topped with Blue Cheese on a Bed of Quino

8 oz frozen edamame (soy beans)
8 oz frozen peas
1 small red onion
2 gloves garlic
1/4 cup Braggs (or soy sauce/tamari)
3/4 cup water
Blue cheese crumbled to top (amount varies for preference)
1 cup quino
2 cups water

Wash quino well. It is known to be quite sandy otherwise. Place quino and two cups of water in a small pan and cook on med to low heat until all the water is absorbed and quino has expanded and looks like a spiral. Meanwhile, combine other ingredients (leaving the blue cheese aside and refrigerated) in a pressure cooker. Stir well and cook per pressure cooker's directions. The quino and edamame mixture shoudl be done roughly the same time (usually within 15 mins.) Make a bed of quino on the plate, top with edamame mixture and crumble the blue cheese over both to complete.

~ I came up with this after my watching my friend Suki make something similar using noodles, and without edamame. I never even thought I liked blue cheese until I tried Suki's dish. I absolutely love this dish. It is has so much flavor and gives you plenty of protein, and nutritious whole grain! This dish has really made quino one of my favorite grains. It is fast cooking, loaded with protein and easy to eat! Quino is available in all the bulk sections here in Austin. If you have a whole food, it will be there. If you don't have access to bulk sections, or items like this are hard to find, try the area of the store that has organic or nutritional items.

Sunday: Hummus, Tabbouleh, Grape Leaf Wraps with Pita Bread

~ I just bought all the items pre-made, from a local store called Tom's Tabbouleh. It is one of the most expensive meals of the day week. Total it cost $12 for the meal, which is quite a bit more expensive then I normally spend for our meals. But this meal is the easiest (since it is already made) and one expensive meal a week doesn't usually break the budget.

Menu for December 14-18th

2009-12-12T01:19:00.000-06:00

This weeks menu is shorter, due to the holidays. Veggie on the Cheap will be taking a Holiday break and will resume with a full menu for the week of January 4-10th. I apologize for leaving you with no holiday menu, or lists. Luckily, I have never had to prepare a holiday meal! Perhaps, next year! (but hopefully not!)

Monday: Fettucini Alfredo with Steamed Broccoli and Tuscan White Beans with garlic and Sage
   - Recipe for Tuscan White Beans from Vegan Planet, pg. 289.

Tuesday: Split-pea and Parsnip Soup pg 42. slow cooker
   -Recipe from Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker pg. 42.

Wednesday: African Sweet Potato and Peanut Stew on a bed of Couscous
   -Recipe from Vegan Planet pg. 302

Thursday: Savory Stuffed Wheat-Meat Roast with Quick Mushroom Gravy and Ginger-Pineapple Chutney with Cranberries.
   - Recipe from Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker pg. 166 & 196

Friday: Kimbap
   4-5 sheets of sushi nori (sea weed paper)
   8-10 strips of fresh pineapple cut lengthwise 1/4"
   1 avocado sliced
   1 cup fresh baby spinach
   1 package extra firm tofu sliced lengthwise
   2 carrots shredded
   1/2 cup short grain (sticky rice)
   1/2 cup short grain brown rice
   1 TBL sesame oil
   Bragg's or soy sauce to cover tofu while cooking.

1. Mix uncooked brown and white rice together, cook according to directions using rice cooker. Let cool slightly.
2. Heat sesame oil on a large skillet. Place sliced tofu and cover with Bragg's. Allow to cook until Bragg's is thoroughly cooked into tofu. Set aside.
3. Once rice has cooled slightly, assemble Kimbap on top of a bamboo roller. Spread rice onto sushi nori, leaving 1-1 1/2 inch boarder. layer spinach over the rice and then lay the avocado, tofu, pineapple and carrots in narrow lines on top of the spinach.
4.) Dampen edges of the sushi-nori and carefully roll onto itself until the dampened top seals with the outer part of the sushi nori. Then use bamboo roller to tighten wrap. Cut and serve with wasabi if desired.

~This is one of my all-time favorite recipes. My dad was station in Korea in his early adult life. He brought back a love of there cuisine. We ate kimbap frequently when I was a kid. I loved it! Well, I loved everything except the daikon radish.  I always left a pile of them on my plate from picking them out of each roll. Even though I hate them, they do add a necessary sweetness to the rolls. When I initially tried recreating this dish on my own, I omitted the daikon radish and found the rolls lacking. The pineapple is the perfect solution! The pieces are slender enough that they do not over power the rolls, but they give the rolls the needed sweetness to contrast with the salty flavor of the tofu. My first inclination is to apologize to any of my Korean friends for making such insane changes to this dish, but it is so delicious, I know they would be delightfully surprised if they tried it!

Breakfast: Good Morning Millet Melange
   - Recipe from Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker pg. 241.