Banana bread and banana muffins are my favorite way to use up leftover past-prime fruit. (The second-best way is to freeze bananas and add them to smoothies!) These little banana bites are a great portion-controlled breakfast, treat, or on the go snack.
If you don’t have mini muffin tins, feel free to portion it into regular sized muffins, or even a bread pan.
Ingredients:
3 bananas (best if slightly over-ripe)
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp baking soda
3/4 cup milk
4 tbsp melted butter
1 egg
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp vanilla
Step 1: Mash up the bananas, and mix all wet ingredients in one bowl. Milk, butter, egg, vanilla, and banana.
Step 2: Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl – flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. If you have a stand mixer, use that. Otherwise mix with a spoon. Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Don’t over-mix but make sure to break up any lumps.
Step 3: Spray 2 muffin tins, and add about 2 tbsp muffin mix. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes, until muffins are brown on top and fluffy. Let cool on a wire rack.
These are delicious, relatively healthy, and also freeze well. Use ratios of wheat flour, almond flour, or ground flax for extra nutrition.
When it comes to sandwiches, almost anything goes. And your options for frugal lunches is quite expansive. You have all the “salads”: tuna, egg, chicken. Probably more. You have lunchmeat, from bottom of the barrel bologna to the fanciest $20/pound roast beef. Then you have the endless options with peanut butter.
Peanut butter is a frugal food star because it is still pretty cheap per ounce, yet packs a big protein and caloric punch per tablespoon.
Peanut butter is great on its own. Or with jelly. Or with some nutella (brand or store brand ‘chocolate hazelnut spread’). Or mixed with some plain Greek yogurt. But this combo is my favorite: peanut butter and banana. If you have honey too, drizzle a little on for a full-blow “Elvis” sandwich.
Ingredients:
2 slices bread (or a tortilla)
2 tbsp peanut butter
1/2 banana, sliced
Step 1: Spread on the peanut butter.
Step 2: Slice the banana about 1/2 inch thick. One banana can make two sandwiches, or you can put two layers of slices on.
This breakfast, lunch, or snack is quick to make, portable, and costs only $0.38 per sandwich!
**UPDATE: The SNAP Challenge is complete, with many lessons learned! All SNAP Meal Recipes listed below:
Given the already high and rising cost of meat, I knew I’d have to take a vegetarian route to keep these in budget. Swapping in lentils for the beef keeps this recipe high in protein content, and lowers the fat, while keeping the core tastes and hunger-crushing properties of the meal intact.
Ingredients:
2 green bell peppers (use any color)
1/2 cup rice
1/3 cup lentils
1 small can tomato sauce
Garlic salt
Step 1: If you have a rice cooker, you can cook the lentils and rice together in it. If not, simmer the rice and lentils in a sauce pot with 2 1/2 cups water for 20 minutes.
Step 2: Mix the cooked rice and lentils with the can of tomato sauce.
Step 3: Cut the top off the pepper and pull out the seeds. Stuff the mixture inside, adding as much garlic salt as you like.
Step 4: Bake the peppers in an oven at 350 for 20-25 minutes, until soft. Alternatively you could microwave each pepper, covered, for 8-10 minutes to soften. Another option is to put the stuffed peppers in a crock pot on low for 1-2 hours.
Serve as a meal, or with a baked potato or salad on the side.
I ended up eating one pepper for dinner, and the other for lunch the next day. They are quite filling, and delicious! Pretty healthy for you as well. Vegan, vegetarian, and you can make it gluten-free if you substitute in quinoa or another gluten-free grain for the rice.
For approximately $0.84 per serving, you can’t do much better!
Muffins are an awesome breakfast and snack food, when you make them yourself. The problem with most store-bought muffins is that they add in preservatives to keep them fresh far longer than is normal, tons of sugar to make them tasty and your body crave it, and other crappy additives and chemicals to fool your brain and tongue into loving them and wanting more.
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As I wrote in my vegetable scraps article and all about juicing, fruit and vegetables peels and scraps can sometimes be worked into muffin recipes to make them more nutritious and fiber-full, as well as help reduce food waste. This does depend on the type of scraps you have, so use common sense. If you juice a cucumber, grapefruit, tomato, and celery, that would likely make some weird-tasting muffins. But if you juice all fruit, save that pulp for this recipe.
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Ingredients:
3 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
2 egg
1 cup milk
1 tbsp vanilla flavor
1/2 stick butter or margarine, melted
1/2 cup fruit pulp – (in this case apple and mangoes which I juiced)
Step 1: In a large bowl, combine the wet ingredients (milk, eggs, vanilla, butter, fruit) and mix. In another bowl, mix all the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder). Pour the wet into the dry and mix well.
Step 2: Line 2 muffin pans with paper or spray with cooking oil. Pour about 1/3 cup batter into each muffin cup. You can see I also sprinkled a little extra brown sugar on top.
Step 3: Bake in an oven pre-heated to 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until fully fluffed and golden brown.
Step 4: Remove and let cool.
Now you have fresh baked muffins to enjoy! You can freeze these for easy on-the-go breakfasts and snacks throughout the week. The flavor can be whatever you want to add, get creative and try different combinations of fruits, vegetables, or nuts.
We all know the feeling: it’s time for dinner or you need to pack a lunch, but you don’t know what to make and have little to no time. Rather than caving and just buying a pizza or going through the drive-through, try this simple recipe. With less than 5 ingredients (3, in fact) and requiring little time (as long as it takes for pasta to boil) it is a tasty time-saver.
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The ingredients are also something you are likely to have. Especially if you make pasta, make just a little more than you need for that meal, and keep the rest in the refrigerator. Pasta is very versatile in terms of just adding in a few other ingredients for a different, complete meal later.
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Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups cooked pasta
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1 cup frozen broccoli
Step 1: Boil 3/4 cup pasta in 1 1/2 cups water, lightly salted if you want. Add the broccoli after 5 minutes, and let boil another 5 minutes. Drain.
Step 2: Mix the drained pasta and broccoli in with the cottage cheese. And that’s it!
This shows you how very simple eating vegetarian can be. It is extremely frugal as well. Frozen broccoli often is on sale for $1 per bag or less, and you only need 1 cup. Pasta is a cheap staple, and the cottage cheese is an affordable protein. This meal is all-around healthy, frugal, and tasty.
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You can of course add to it, such as cooked shredded chicken, ham cubes, shredded cheddar cheese, or drained and rinsed canned beans. Make it your own and save a few bucks a day by not going out for lunches or save hassle with this quick dinner.
When you get a snack attack, sometimes you just gotta satisfy it. Sometimes you crave sweet, sometimes salty, sometimes crunchy. What happens when you want all three but don’t want to break the calorie bank?
You combine a classic “boring” dieter snack (rice cakes) with a wonderful and delicious thing (Nutella) and a tasty-but-also-good-for-you something (peanut butter). Genius.
Ingredients:
2 large rice cakes (any flavor, I used cinnamon apple here)
1 tbsp Nutella or other chocolate spread
1 tbsp peanut butter
Step 1: Spread peanut butter on one rice cake. Spread Nutella on the other.
Step 2: Mash the two cakes together to make a delightful, guilt-free sandwich snack.
Happy almost 4th of July! Whether you are having a small family get-together, a backyard BBQ, or going out to a picnic-and-fireworks party, enjoy our independence from the Crown and be safe! I’m sure there are overwhelming amounts of recipes involving burgers, apple pie, and anything red white or blue flooding the internet. So I went another way: to highlight a simple, humble veggie that I think doesn’t get enough attention.
Little bright orange jewels, so good for your health, sweet potatoes are more than a Thanksgiving side dish. Any time of the year, they can add nutrients and fiber to your diet and become an easy side dish or snack, even a main dish or dessert.
Sweet potatoes are one of nature’s best sources of beta-carotene, the provitamin-A carotenoid. And an adequate supply of Vitamin A ensures proper growth and development, immune system function, and healthy eyesight. Vitamin A deficiency is estimated to affect roughly 1/3 of children under the age of 5 worldwide, leading to developmental problems, eyesight deficiencies, and blindness. However Vitamin A is fat-soluble, not water-soluble, which makes it harder for your body to get rid of excess, leading to the possibility of toxicity if over-supplemented. Always ask a doctor or physician before starting a supplement regimen.
Not all sweet potatoes are orange, they can also be purple due to anthocyanin pigments. These molecules have important antioxidant properties and anti-inflammatory properties. World’s Healthiest Foods states: “Particularly when passing through our digestive tract, they may be able to lower the potential health risk posed by heavy metals and oxygen radicals.”
They also clear up the common confusion: sweet potato vs. yam. They can be very similar in terms of size, shapes, and skin colors, though they both come in a variety of flesh colors. Turns out, sweet potatoes are FAR more common in the US than are yams, so at a store it is pretty safe to assume you are buying a sweet potato, even if a sign says “yams”.
Anywho, sweet potatoes were on sale, and I wanted to incorporate more into my diet, so I bought a few. Luckily they keep for a long time so I could figure out what to do with it. Turns out, these can be the simplest snack ever. Simply take one to work with you, and whenever you need a tide-me-over between lunch and quittin time, or breakfast and end-of-board-meeting, pop it in the microwave, top as you please, and you have a filling, healthy snack. This is a sweet treat, though you could go savory instead with, say, goat cheese.
Ingredients:
1 small-med sweet potato
2 tbsp honey
-or- 1 tbsp sugar + 1 tsp cinnamon
So simple, just stab the potato a few times with a fork to let steam escape. Microwave the potato for 8-10 minutes, until soft. Break it open, drizzle on some honey, and enjoy! With about 100 calories per cup, this is a super healthy choice all around.
Try using sweet potatoes anywhere you would use regular potatoes for extra fiber and vitamins. Make sweet potato chips, roast chunks in the oven as a side dish, boil and mash them with some brown sugar and butter (just be careful of amounts, it’s easy to overwhelm the health benefits with sugar and fat!), throw some into soups, stews, and curries. See how you can creatively add some sweet potatoes into your 4th of July festivities!
Scones are a popular breakfast, brunch, or tea-time treat. Linked historically to Scotland, Ireland, and England, it is unclear who really deserves the credit of invention. The original scone was made of oats, shaped into a round, cut into 4 to 6 wedges, and baked over an open fire. Nowadays, scones are similar to biscuits, made with wheat flour and baking soda or powder, producing a hard, dry texture.
Finished scones fresh from the oven
Scones can be plain or “fancy”, with added raisins, orange rind, chocolate bits, honey, or other added flavorings. They are usually served with clotted cream, also called Devonshire cream. It’s quite easy to make with just a few things you likely have in your fridge. Check out TheNibble for a history of both. For a very large list of scones you can try, wander over to The Kitchen Project.
Blueberry-lemon scone with Devonshire cream and apricot preserves. It was just as delicious as it looks!
I had been given a boxed mix for scones some time ago, and when blueberries went on sale, I knew it was time. I also had a few fresh lemons, and so it was destiny. If you are feeling brave, feel free to try making your own scones, perhaps using the Pioneer Woman’s recipe.
Ingredients:
1 box scone mix (or your own)
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
1 fresh lemon (juice + rind)
2 tbsp melted butter or margarine
Devonshire cream:
1 package cream cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
4 tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup milk
Step 1: Pour dry mix into a large bowl. Add the milk and eggs, and stir until it becomes smooth.
Step 2: Grate the lemon rind onto a plate, save the lemon as well. Add the blueberries, lemon juice, and rind to the dough and mix well. (Feel free to add a splash of vanilla or almond flavoring here for an extra dose of yummy)
The blueberries marbled the dough with their juices.
Step 3: Take 1/4 cup of dough at a time, and shape into small rolls on a buttered cookie sheet. (You can also do the classic whole round, then cut into triangles. Or make whatever shape you want). Brush the melted butter onto the scones.
Step 4: Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes, until browned all over and solid. They smell delicious!
Now you have fresh, warm scones! You can eat them naked, add some butter and/or honey, or make some cream and serve with jam. Clearly, I’m all for sugar-shock when it comes to breakfast treats. I made these over the weekend, so calories don’t count. 😉
To remind you, here is what you need for your very own clotted cream. It’s best to let it all come to room temperature to mix, then refrigerate for an hour or so. Don’t fret too much if you can’t do so.
Devonshire cream:
1 package cream cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
4 tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup milk
Step 1: Add all ingredients to a bowl, and use a hand mixer to beat together. It should take about 2-3 minutes to become thick and smooth. Add a little more milk if you want it thinner, don’t add as much or beat for a longer period of time if you like thick cream.
These are the jams I had, which were totally perfect for this. Peach preserves and cherry jam. Both were equally delicious. Good together too!
The finished cream, nice and thick. I could seriously just eat this stuff with a spoon it’s so good!
You can add extra sugar if you want it sweeter, or forget it if you like the tang. Try unflavored Greek yogurt in place of the sour cream if you dare.
Blueberry-lemon scone with Devonshire cream and cherry jam. Simply divine!
More photos, just to make you drool a bit.
If you aren’t convinced to make these on a weekend, there’s nothing more I can do here. Just enjoy pining for them I guess.
Of course, I had to have my scone with a strong cup of English breakfast tea. It’s only right.
You can see the bowl of cream is nearly empty… oops.
And this is the cherry scone my s.o. demolished. I think we both had about 4 each. The box recipe made 8-10, depending on how large you make your scones. I need to have a brunch party so I can make these again.
Tacos are always a popular meal choice. They are great for so many reasons:
Frugal – use up whatever meat or vegetables are in the house
Green – use up vegetables before they go bad & reduce waste
Customizable – you can please meat eaters and vegetarians
Healthy – easy to add tons of extra veggies and fiber with beans
Unfortunately, tacos are also very easy to go overboard with and make into fatty cholesterol nightmares. If you use fatty ground beef and heap on cheese and sour cream, your arteries will not thank you. The good news is, there are simple swaps you can make that don’t have a huge impact on overall taste but will have an impact on how huge your waistline is in 20 years….
Use ground turkey, pork, or chicken instead of beef
Better yet, don’t use meat at all! Use tofu or lots of beans instead
Make sure to cram in as many sneaky veggies as possible
Swap unflavored Greek yogurt for sour cream
These simple switches seem small, but have big long-term impact. You don’t have to go cold-turkey health nut all at once. Try one at a time and see what works for you.
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These turkey tacos are super-charged with healthy greens and multiple veggies. But once rolled up in a warm tortilla, you would never know there is so little fat and far fewer calories than your typical taco. My meat eater s.o. even had to admit that they are delicious!
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Ingredients:
1 pound ground turkey
1 tortilla
1 onion, diced
1 cup diced bell peppers
1/2 head kale
Refried beans
1/2 cup cooked rice
1 tbsp plain Greek yogurt
Sprinkle shredded cheese
Seasoning: garlic salt, cumin, Nature’s Season
Step 1: Brown the ground turkey in a pan. While that is cooking, dice up your veggies. You could use whatever vegetables are in season and that you like, try eggplant, asparagus, spinach, sweet potato…
Step 2: Drain the grease from the meat and season it to your liking. Add in the veggies, hardest ones first. Cook until onion and peppers are soft, and kale is wilted.
Step 3: Open a can of refried beans, or make your own. Heat up in a frying pan or microwave.
Step 4: Warm up a tortilla in the microwave for 10-30 seconds. Layer on the turkey and veggies, 1/4 cup cooked rice, a few tbsp of beans, 1 tbsp Greek yogurt, and a sprinkle of shredded cheddar. Roll it up and enjoy! Alternatively you could use a hard taco shell, or spread over tortilla chips as a fun appetizer.
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Tacos are so endlessly customizable. I love topping mine with salsa, guac, diced avocado, lettuce, spinach, black beans, shredded carrots… the possibilities are endless. They can be extremely frugal too, rice, beans, and tortillas are all easily found for under $1, and make a very filling and healthy meal. It’s super easy to make them vegetarian or vegan too.
Portobellos are definitely my favorite mushroom for grilling. They are delicious in just about anything else too. I love their thick, meaty texture that feels almost like a burger patty but for only 10 calories per ounce (NutritionData). My favorite marinade for meaty things has to include balsamic vinegar. It gives that salty, umami depth of flavor to whatever you put it on. I got some portobellos on sale and marinated them in this, and they turned out wonderful!
You could put these babies straight on the grill as a burger, or stuff them with grain/veggie combo. I sliced them and put them in a taco, you could also put them in stir fry or on a panini.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp fish sauce
6 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp garlic
1 tbsp Nature’s Seasons mix
Step 1: Mix all marinade ingredients in a bowl or plastic bag. The best route is likely a platic bag so you can flip it, but I just poured the marinade over the mushrooms in a shallow pie pan.
Step 2: Place in the refrigerator and marinate at least 6 hours, preferably overnight. They are like little sponges and will soak up all those tasty flavors. After a few hours they get soft, don’t panic.
Step 3: Put on an oiled grill or fry in a pan. You could also roast in the oven at 400 for 15-20 minutes. I cooked mine for 5-10 minutes each side on the stove top, then sliced into strips.
With some avocado, cooked rice, roma tomatoes, and feta cheese, I had the perfect vegetarian burrito! Portobellos also have 1 gram of protein per ounce, plus the avocado and cheese. It will very filling without feeling heavy. These mushrooms will be a staple part of my summer cooking repertoire for sure.
What do you do with mushrooms?
The fusion of food, fun, frugality, and curiosity.
