Good morning! I thought it would be fun to highlight some of the more affordable recipes on my blog today. The reality is that vegetarian cooking is generally inexpensive, since we’re typically using beans and eggs for protein. Plus, cooking from scratch is a great way to save on groceries and minimize your exposure to the preservatives found in processed foods.
I went through the archives and marked the least expensive meals with my new “budget-friendly” category. Access it here or at any time by hovering over ALL RECIPES, then mousing down to “EVERYDAY” and clicking “Budget friendly”.
While we’re at it, I thought I’d share a few tips on saving money without sacrificing quality, starting with fresh produce! In-season fruits and vegetables are generally your best bets since they require less resources to grow under optimal conditions. Check my monthly seasonal produce guides to find out what’s in season now.
Organic produce is typically more expensive, unfortunately. You can spend wisely by choosing organic produce for the items on the dirty dozen list and often opt for conventional if they’re on the clean fifteen list.
You can often buy local produce at a discount if you shop farmers’ markets near closing time. Those hard-working farmers don’t want their vegetables to go to waste. If you’re ever wondering what to do with a lone eggplant or zucchini in your fridge, check my ingredient index for ideas (you can always access it by hovering over ALL RECIPES, then mousing down to INGREDIENT).
Cooking well-balanced meals with whole grains is a great way to save money and keep your belly full until the next meal. Whole grains offer more nutritional bang for your buck than processed grains, since they offer more fiber, nutrients and healthy fats. Some of my favorites include whole grain pasta, brown rice and farro. Gluten-free, grain-like options include quinoa, millet (millet is downright cheap, by the way) and sorghum.
Pulses like black beans, chickpeas and lentils are great additions as well, and they’re especially affordable if you cook them from scratch (although canned beans are undeniably convenient and still inexpensive). I mentioned this a couple of weeks ago, but one half-cup serving of cooked lentils has twice as many antioxidants as blueberries and costs a fraction of the price. Pretty amazing.
Growing an herb garden is a great way to save on fresh herbs. You can buy a whole plant for the cost of one on those three-dollar-per-packet specialty herbs! I grab cheap bunches of cilantro and parsley at the store, but prefer to grow basil, mint, rosemary and thyme at home. Those are all pretty hardy plants that don’t require too much fuss. Another option is to use dried herbs, substituting one-third the amount of dried herbs for the specified amount of fresh, but that trick works best in simmered recipes like soups and pasta sauces.
When you’re cooking, feel free to play around with herbs, spices and other flavorings. If the recipe calls for multiple spices and you’re missing one of them, you can probably skip it altogether without sacrificing a lot of flavor.
Extra-virgin olive oil costs more than processed vegetable oils, but I use it liberally for its incredible health benefits. It’s my go-to cooking oil (quality extra-virgin olive oil can actually be heated up to around 425 degrees Fahrenheit before it starts breaking down). Big bottles of California Olive Ranch Everyday, Trader Joe’s 100% Greek Kalamata and organic olive oil purchased on sale are my top picks.
Maple syrup and local honey are pricy and there’s not much to be done about it, although I do buy the biggest jars available to save per ounce. (Let’s get real, though—treats are treats and are therefore nonessential.) You can also save on vegetable broth by making it from scratch or just replace it with water, albeit for less flavor.
Alright, I think that just about covers my tips. What are yours?!
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