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You Can Have It All

2012-02-21T11:22:00.001-05:00

Meaghan Hennessey

Cheap and easy food is usually synonymous with unhealthy. A lot of people don’t cook just because they can’t spend the time or money on ingredients, but, this winter, challenge that with these easy, fast, AND healthy meals.

Chicken breast stuffed with goat cheese and basil isn’t what comes to mind when you’re thinking easy but it’s true! Bone-in chicken is cheaper than boneless and store brand goat cheese isn’t very expensive. All you have to do is place the goat cheese and basil leaves under the chicken skin, drizzle the chicken with olive oil, salt and pepper, and bake for 40 minutes. You can share it with a roommate or keep it all to yourself. With only 6 ingredients, it’s easy and wallet-friendly.

Another easy meal is leftover empanadas. All you need is frozen puff pastry and add anything you have laying around. Scrambled eggs, green onions, ham, anything! Once you pack the puff pastry with your leftovers, fold the dough over itself and pinch it tight. Brush the outsides with egg wash to give them a golden color. Since everything is already cooked inside, all you have to do is bake the empanadas according to the puff pastry instructions. In minutes you will have a leftover delicacy!

Lastly, you can whip up some cheap and easy veggie quesadillas. Meat is usually the most expensive part of the meal so using veggies is a cost efficient and healthy way to go! Take whatever veggies you have in the refrigerator and either bake or cook the veggies on the stove with some olive oil. Once you bake the vegetables, just add them to some cheese and fry it all up in a tortilla.

I hope these cheap and easy meals help you save some cash! Who ever knew you could have cheap, easy, and delicious?

Be Ready For Spring Break

2012-01-27T08:36:00.000-05:00

Meaghan Hennessy

If you are anything like me, the minute you hear Spring Break you think, “I need to hit the gym and go on a diet.” While these are surefire ways to get in beach body shape, they can be tough to stick to. In light of Spring Break and the anxiety that goes along with it, I decided to give you all some ways to slim down without going to the gym or dieting per say.

One easy tip for the winter is to add soup to your diet. Who ever knew curling up on the couch with a broth based soup can severely cut your calorie intake. It’s important to stay away from the thick, creamy soups like “loaded baked potato” because those are high in fat and calories, but minestrone, Chinese won-ton, or chicken noodle, to name a few, are great choices. The soup will curb your appetite and force you to eat slower which gives your body time to tell you it’s full. If you want to make your own soup, add some broth or canned soup to a pan, then add some vegetables and let it simmer. Who ever knew cutting calories would be so delicious!

The next extremely easy “dieting” tip is to chew strong mint gum. It may seem goofy, but chewing gum with flavor will decrease your chances of having a snack attack. We encounter tons of scenarios throughout the day (class, surfing the web, watching TV) that usually result in mindless snacking. The gum will give you the flavor you’re craving, but not the calories.

As you probably know, water is important for essentially all body functions. One function you probably are not as familiar with, however, is weight loss. Drinking water helps curb your appetite and results in eating less. It’s shown that eating foods that contain a lot of water (fruits and vegetables) will fill you up faster. The craziest way cold water helps however is by speeding up your metabolism! When it comes to staying hydrated, opt for some good old H2O to whip your body in to shape.

Now for the easiest, most enjoyable way to shed some pounds: SLEEP! Sleep actually ensures healthy eating habits. Studies show people who are tired eat more. Also, when the body is tired it functions poorly and ends up storing more fat. A study was done here at the University of Michigan that discovered sleeping an extra hour a night could help you drop 14 pounds a year! Not bad for being able to do it in pajamas.

I hope you have learned some useful tips! Dieting does not need to be synonymous with starvation. These simple lifestyle changes usually help many lose as much weight as other dieting practices do because there are no cravings or feelings of deprivation.

Why is organic so much more expensive?

2011-09-30T16:45:00.000-04:00

Meaghan Hennessy

As college students, our budget is extremely tight. I’m lucky if I purchase vegetables, let alone organic ones! This got me thinking, if organic foods are made without chemicals or hormones, in theory, shouldn’t they be cheaper? Obviously there are other factors as to why organic foods are expensive, but what I found shocked me.
First, I think the term organic should be defined. According to the FOA (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United States), “Organic agriculture is a holistic production management system which promotes and enhances agro-ecosystem health, including biodiversity, biological cycles, and soil biological activity.” One of the reasons the demand for organic food has increased is because people are becoming more concerned about how their meals are being produced, processed, and handled. Also, there are more nutrients and no chemical toxins in organic food, which increases its appeal. Now that we know why organic food is worth the price, lets discuss why it is so expensive.
There are several reasons why organic food has a larger price tag than its conventional counterpart. One of the main reasons is the government doesn’t subsidize organic farmers. Farmers who practice “agrochemical agriculture” get paid and subsidized by the government to make a large amount of product and sell it cheap. This is unfortunate for people trying to go organic on a budget because the government is driving down the price of chemically treated food, but not helping out the farmers trying to stay “green.” Another big reason why organic food is more expensive is because without chemicals, farmers cannot produce as much product. This brings about a basic economic principle of supply and demand. The demand for organic food is increasing, while the supply cannot increase past a certain point, thus driving the price up. Lastly, farmers who want to be certified as “organic,” wishing to use the USDA organic seal on their product must follow certain guidelines. The requirements include expensive soil, expensive feed for animals, and usually techniques that require more labor. As a result, organic farmers have more upfront costs and smaller yields, so price of organic goods has to be higher than conventional food in order for them to make a profit.
Fortunately, there are ways to save money here in Ann Arbor on organic food. Community Supported Agriculture is a way for consumers to buy local, seasonal food directly from a farmer. It allows consumers to eat ultra-fresh food for cheap. There are tons in the local Ann Arbor area. Also, growing your own vegetables in your backyard is a money saver and may turn out to be a new hobby! Lastly, buying locally produced organic products saves you money and helps support local farmers. The benefits of going organic are worth the extra dollar or two, but if you are on a budget use these alternative and cheap ways to go organic!