Sneaky and Healthy Recipe #2 - Vegetable Chili

Chili is one of my favourite foods for several reasons - it's yummy, it's different with every bowl and every bite, it's filling, and if you do it right...it's extremely healthy. And did I mention cheap? This meal, much like my Whole Wheat Pasta w/ Chunky Garden Vegetable Sauce, can be made in huge portions and then dosed into individual servings.

As opposed to the chili that you can find in the canned bean aisle of your grocery store, this recipe for chili cuts down the calories, fat, salt and sugar while increasing your protein, vitamin, fiber, and mineral intake, and all for a much, much lower cost than filling your cart with cans of the greasy factory made stuff.

Here are the ingredients and cost analysis per 14 serving batch:

(Please don't be afraid...I made a double batch.)

1 lb 96/4 ground beef ($3.15) (ground turkey also works extremely well!)

2 tbsp garlic, minced ($.15)

1 medium onion, diced (.25)

1 medium green pepper, chopped ($.50)

1 medium red pepper, chopped ($.75)

1 medium yellow squash, chopped ($.50)

1 medium green zucchini, chopped ($.50)

1 14.5 oz can yellow corn, drained ($1.25)

2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes ($1.00)

1 14.5 oz can fire roasted canned tomatoes ($.50)

2 14.5 oz cans dark red beans, drained and rinsed ($.57)

2 14.5 oz cans light red beans, drained and rinsed ($.57)

14.5 oz can black beans ($.57)

1 packet chili seasoning ($.64)

1 tbsp red chili flakes ($.05)

1 tbsp ground cumin ($.25)

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper ($.05)

Combine 1 tbsp minced garlic and half of your onion in a large pot on medium heat until they sweat. Add ground beef (or turkey) and raise heat to medium high heat until beef starts to brown. Add chili packet and mix until combined.

Add zucchini, squash and peppers, stir and cook until they sweat.

(Don't ask me why, but I love how a vegetable strata looks!)

Finally, add undrained tomatoes, drained beans and drained corn. If you are looking for a spicy chili, this is the best time to add any crushed chili flakes (try a teaspoon to start), cayenne pepper, red hot, or whatever you like to add to yours.

Stir everything together, allow it to come to a boil for 10 minutes, and then let simmer for at least a half hour. Make sure to stir frequently, as this is such a dense mixture that the bottom may be black by the time the top starts to get warm. The batch may seem really large, but after the vegetables cook, the volume will decrease by at least a quarter.

This entire batch cost $11.25, and made 14 one cup servings per batch. Each serving only cost $.80, has 240 calories, only 3 grams of fat, 19 grams of protein and 9 grams of fiber, as opposed to store bought chili, which is 260 calories, but 7 grams of fat, 17 grams of protein, and 7 grams of fiber - for $2.30 a can (compared to Hormel Chili).

(What do YOU think?)

Have a potluck coming up? Need an appetizer? Something to munch on while at the pool? Then stir in some low fat sour cream, a little cheddar cheese, and break out a bag of corn chips...it makes a GREAT dip!

Enjoy!

100 Calorie Apple Pie

I love this recipe for quite a few reasons...it's a great 100 calorie snack, satisfies a common comfort food craving, it's pretty high in fiber for a dessert (4.5 grams with Grape Nuts, 3.5 without), and it's a great way to get rid of apples that are getting to the end of their life span (and if you're anything like me, apples that aren't crunchy will NOT be eaten.)

Depending on the season (and when are apples really THAT expensive anyway), this recipe is very cheap for an entire week of snacks. If you average the cost of all of these ingredients at $5.00 (which is a rather high estimate considering the cost of your spices are negligible, and you don't need to buy a specific kind of apple so those "value bags" your local market sells are almost always the way to go), you're still spending less than $.75 a serving.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 1/2 lbs apples (about eight small, any kind)

4 tsp Truvia

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground cloves

1/8 tsp allspice

1/2 cup Grape Nuts cereal (optional, not HCG-friendly)

Directions

Peel and dice apples into medium sized chunks. It should yield about 28-32 oz of usable apple.

Toss with Truvia, cinnamon, ground cloves and allspice. Ground nutmeg also works nicely, especially with the cloves, as it gives the mix a nice autumn feel.

Sweat apples in a large skillet set on medium/medium high heat for ten minutes. Reduce to medium/medium low for five more minutes, stirring mix frequently.

(Optional) In one cup plastic storage containers, cover bottom with 1 tbsp Grape Nuts cereal.

When apples are a soft, spongy consistency, remove from heat. Add 3/4 cup to each storage container.

Store in the refrigerator; these are great hot or cold. To warm up, microwave on high for 30 seconds.

Serving Size: 3/4 cup apples with 2 tbsp Grape Nuts

Number of Servings: 7

Sneaky and Healthy Recipe #3 - My 99 Calorie Omelet

Yesterday I was grocery shopping and I was about to buy a carton of Egg Beaters, you know, the already premixed egg whites in the carton. And after sighing at the price of $5.64 for a quart, I decided to see about making my own. And apparently, it's really easy...and cheap!

What you need:

18 large eggs ($1.56)
3/4 Dry Nonfat Milk (I already had some, but it's only about $2.50 for a small box...which will last quite a while. I'd say this cost about $.30 cents)
4 tsp vegetable oil (which I already had, but this costs about $.02)
Yellow Food Colouring (which I had, but was the equivalent of $.05)
What you do:

Separate the eggs from the yolk. You can do this a few different ways, by shuffling the yolk back and forth between the broken halves of the shell (which I think is the hardest, myself), by breaking the egg into a mesh sieve, (which is easier but not always foolproof) or break the egg into the palm of my hand and let the white slip through your fingers while you hold on to the yolk. You can also buy things like egg separators and such, but I prefer using my hands, myself (and you get to squish egg yolks into the sink, too!) After you have your 18 egg whites, pour in your oil and dry milk, colouring and blend all the ingredients together (I use my stick blender for this). Let the foam settle for a few minutes and viola...instant Egg Beaters.

Now as for the food colouring, yes, it's purely optional. I prefer it, but that doesn't mean you have to use it. I like my eggs to be yellow in the morning, and won't enjoy them nearly as much if they're white.

Each batch makes 12 1/4 cup servings, and cost a total of $1.93. Each serving has 50 calories, 8.5 grams of protein, 2 carbs, and 1.5 grams fat. Now, I use 1/2 cup every morning, so I get 6 servings altogether, which costs $.32, as opposed to a dollar.

So now that you have this batch of runny yellow goop, what can you do with it? Well, I divide mine in small 1/2 cup batches in small plasticware. The best part is you can prepare all your morning omelets at one time for the week and make all sorts of different kinds or all the same. This week, I made 6 of the same, each had a tablespoon each of frozen chopped spinach, chopped onions, canned mushrooms and a sprinkle of salt and pepper in each (which was 99 calories!) Then I just pop on the top, shake them up, and stick them in the fridge. The entire process took took MAYBE a half hour, but now I have no excuse in the morning to skip breakfast (or even worse, go visit the yellow arches on my way to work) because all I have to do now is break out a frying pan.

A quick note on cooking...when you put them in the pan they're going to look watery...real watery. This is okay! They cook up just as well...but they DO cook up quickly, so beware...don't leave the stove for more than a minute or you'll come back with browned eggs.

So enjoy your newfound gift of variety in the morning. Go on, spice it up, veg it up, cool it down...just make sure it's healthy (and cheap)!

Sneaky and Healthy Recipe #1 - Whole Wheat Pasta w/ Chunky Garden Veggie Sauce

Compared to my friends, I was lucky growing up when it came to food. My grandparents and my mom all grew gardens with fresh fruits and vegetables...peppers, beans, watermelon, tomatoes, cucumbers, and even odd things like kohlrabi, asparagus, dill. Now that I'm an adult, I REALLY appreciate that, because now I don't have to struggle with myself over whether I want to eat a plate of vegetables vs. a bag of chips and dip (although sometimes the chips [or fries, in my case] win).

Every week I prepare a huge meal and portion it out into smaller portions so I can bring it to work, grab it out of the fridge for dinner, freeze it, whatever I choose. And for me, one of the most important things is to add as many vegetables, fruits, whole grains to whatever meal that I can. I not only do this for myself but I do it because my roommate, whom I love immensely, is borderline terrified of vegetables, although I will say (even though he'll never read this) I'm VERY proud of him as he's been eating a LOT of fruits and veggies lately.

Last night I made a cheap staple, pasta and sauce, and the batch will last about 12-14 meals. But I didn't just get a can of sauce and dump it on some spaghetti that I found in the back of my cupboard. I planned my meal, spent very little money, yet made a very good meal with lots of vitamins, whole grains, antioxidants, and fiber. Here are the costs of the ingredients, the recipe, and the nutritional information stats:

3 15 oz. cans Hunt's Pasta Sauce ($.78x3=$2.34)
2 14.5 oz. boxes 100% Heartland Whole Wheat Pasta ($1.25x2=$2.50)
1 10 oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed ($.89)
1 14.5 oz can DelMonte diced tomatoes ($.89)
2 large (or 3 small) zucchini, chopped ($.67)
1 large (or 2 small) yellow summer squash, chopped. ($.50)
2 medium onions, diced ($.50)
2 green peppers, chopped ($1.00)
2 red peppers, chopped ($1.50)
16 oz. fresh sliced mushrooms ($2.00)
Oregano, Parsley, Basil, Salt, Pepper, Chili Flakes, Diced Garlic to taste (minimal cost)

In a large pot, combine onions, garlic, and cook on medium until onions begin to sweat. Add mushrooms, peppers, zucchini, squash, spinach, and canned tomatoes, raise heat to medium high, stir until mixed well. When mushrooms look like they’ve begun to sweat, add sauce and spices. Turn heat up to high, cover, and bring to a boil. Let the pot boil for ten minutes, then bring it down to simmer, and allow to simmer for 45 minutes. While sauce is simmering, prepare pasta as box specifies.

I use one cup of pasta and one cup of sauce per meal, which equates approximately 12 servings per batch. Each serving is 297 calories, and consists of only 3 grams of fat, 14 grams of protein, and 63 carbohydrates, which 12 grams are fiber. Fiber! The average person eats 12 grams of fiber a day, but NEEDS 25-35. And the cost? All twelve batches cost $12.79, or $1.07 a meal. Those diet dinners you get in the frozen section of your grocery store cost around $2.50 a pop, are half the size, and comparatively, well, you may be getting only 270 calories, but you’re also only getting 4 grams of fiber, 9 grams of fiber, and a whole lot of empty calories (compared to Lean Cuisine’s Penne Pasta With Tomato Basil Sauce).

Now, if you’re sitting here thinking, “Okay, sounds good, but where’s the beef?” then feel free to add it. But I implore you to try substituting the ground beef with ground turkey. Per 4 oz, lean ground beef has 300 calories and 23 grams of fat, whereas lean ground turkey has 160 calories, and only 8 grams of fat. So give it a try, you may be pleasantly surprised. As for me, I now prefer the turkey over the beef, I think the consistency is much heavier and leads to a much heartier meal. But overall, one of the big keys to weight loss and living healthy are making smart decisions, but making decisions you can stick with.