Upcoming Topics: Stay Tuned!

Upcoming Topics for April - May

1. More 20 minute recipes

2. Travel on a dime & and how to find deals

3. Eating out without breaking your bank account

4. Stay healthy during stressful periods in your life

5. How to be a more interesting person

6. Love life and the tick of the biological clock

7. Less money look fabulous!

8. Improve your writing in 15 minutes

Affordable Groceries: Where to find them.

SAVE MONEY BY EATING SEASONAL FOODS!

Finding affordable high quality groceries is not such a big challenge. With some regular reading you will be able to establish a trend and become a smart shopper to stretch your dollar and extract the maximum nutritional value from the food you purchase. 

For those of you who don't eat vegetables, you start exploring ways to incorporate these into your diet (this is key to long life while reducing your chances of developing chronic diseases). 

For starters, get an idea of what foods mature during what season (they are at their cheapest at these times).  Attached to the list below are hyperlinks that will give you recipes and general descriptions about the produce. 

I mentioned on my first blog regarding shopping for your groceries based on the store's weekly ads will make it easy, since most on sale items will be seasonal.  Right now is the perfect time to buy strawberries, they are in season and the folks in California and shipping them around the country at lower costs due to abundance.  Strawberries taste their best at this time of the year. 

Another location to check out is your local farmer's market, just google "Farmers Market in ____(fill in with your zip code)". Sometimes you will find good deals here (not always).

Finally, if the two options above aren't conducive to your life style, frozen is the best way to go before canned (has extra salt and most have preservatives).  Frozen vegetables are picked during the peak season where the nutrition of the produce is high and flash frozen.  The added benefit is some of them are already cut, peeled, chopped, and washed.  My suggestion is get the off-brand-generic ones.  One of my favorite brands is WESTPAC, any between $1.00-$2.00; and it keeps in the freezer.  Below is my favorite item to buy that I transfer into a freezer bag and re-use a little at a time.

The WESTPAC seasoning blend has chopped onions, bell peppers, celery and parsley. I've attacked the website for recipes and nutritional information.  http://www.norpac.com/consumer/products/vegetable-blends/westpac/seasoning-blend.

Winter:
Brussel Sprouts
Cabbage
Carrots
Celery
Onions
Leeks
Potatoes
Pumpkins
Radishes
Greens (Spinach, Arugula, Lettuce, Kale, Swiss Chard, Collards) Turnips
Winter Squash
Apples (early winter)


Spring: Asparagus
Beets
Celery Spring Onions
Greens (Arugula, Lettuce, Kale, Spinach, Swiss Chard)
PeasPeppers
TurnipsRhubarb
Strawberries

Summer: Artichokes (limited availability)
Greens (Arugula, Collards, Kale, Lettuce, Spinach, Swiss Chard)
BeetsBroccoli
Cabbage
Carrots
Cauliflower
CeleryCucumber
Eggplant Garlic
Beans
Onions
Peppers
OkraPeas
Potatoes
Radishes
Summer SquashSweet Corn
Tomatoes
TurnipsZucchini
Apples
Apricots
Blackberries
Blueberries
BoysenberriesCherries
Currants
FigsMelons
Peaches
RaspberriesStrawberries
Watermelon


Fall: Beets
BroccoliCabbage
Carrots
Cauliflower
Celery
Greens (Arugula, Collards, Kale, Lettuce, Spinach, Swiss Chard)
CucumberEggplant
Garlic
Gourds
BeansOnions
Peppers
Leeks
PeasPotatoes
Pumpkins
Summer SquashSweet Corn
Tomatoes
Turnips
Winter SquashZucchini
Apples
Pears
Plums
Melons
 

20 minute Easy Egg Recipe

Egg and Tomato Stir Fry

1 Serving

Ingredient

1. 2 eggs (if you have high cholesterol either remove 1 egg yolk or 2 yolks from the recipe)
2. 1 tbsp of soy sauce
3. 1 clove of garlic chopped or 1/2 tsp of garlic powder
4. 1 tbsp of honey or agave nectar (if you truly don't have these sub with white sugar)
5. 3 large Roma tomatoes (roughly chopped) or 1 large red tomato
6. 1 tbs of extra virgin olive oil (or grape seed oil)
7. 1/2 tsp of black pepper to taste (for spice lovers do crushed chilies)

Procedure

1. Combine eggs, soy sauce,and  sweetener and whisk with fork until the ingredients have combined.
2. Heat all the oil in a skillet/wok/non stick pan high heat*if non stick pan don't use metal on it*
3. Toss in garlic stir until aromatic (30 seconds) and turn down heat to medium level
4. Add chopped tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes until soft
5. Add egg mixture and stir until eggs have cooked (this is how you know it is done, see image below).
6. Serve over white steamed rice (preferably brown rice/or whole grain), whole wheat toast, or a warm whole wheat tortilla .

Groceries on a student budget!

Life as a student doesn't mean a life of terrible eating.  You can eat fresh and dine on gourmet morsels without breaking the bank or running down your student loans.  Follow these easy steps and you are on your way to a lifestyle of eating well! A word of warning it might take time in the beginning but once you start, you'll be so good you won't notice your pro attitude of finding convention, healthy, great tasting foods to cook. 

1. Buy groceries according to what is one sale (see sample ad below).

• When you enter the store, pick up the weekly sale add and stick to the items on sale.

2. Buy frozen fruits and vegetables, they are just as nutritious, if not more than their counterparts in the fresh produce aisle.

• Buy precut/prechopped onions/bell peppers (they go with anything and add an automatic splash of taste and nutrition to any dish.

3. Get a store membership card, most of the sales prices will be applied after they scan this card (this is free, and not a credit card).

4. Find an Aldi's and shop there for the majority of your grocery needs, this store has great quality products (offbrand) at very low prices (more to come on ALDI's). 

5. Buy bulk when you see a sale item you like that can be frozen (e.g. Shredded cheese, lunch meat, and whole grain wheat bread)

More to come on being a savy pro at your local grocery store.