Recession or No Recession, You Still Gotta Eat! by Janice Taylor
As the news of the recession hits hard and food prices continue to climb, some of us are worried that we may not be able to feed our families in a healthy manner. Our Lady of Weight Loss to the rescue!
Before you head off to a burger joint to partake in their $2.00 'bargain' meal, here are four of Our Lady of Weight Loss's favorite recession proof foods that come fully loaded with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and zeaxanthin (woo hoo, it has the world thin in it!). These scrumptious cheap eats will give you the best bang for both your calorie buck and your pocketbook buck!
Turkey: I hear-tell that there isn't much taste difference between a fresh and frozen turkey, and at 99 cents a pound (non-sale price!), a frozen turkey is half the price of a fresh turkey (double the bang). You get a whole lotta' bird that can be stretched from one dinner to the next. Turkey dinner one night turns into sandwiches the next, then potpies, tacos, fajitas, soup and anything else you can conjure up!
Turkey Rebellion (It seemed like a good name at the time and now I get requests at home for more of that Rebellion stuff.)
Ingredients:
1 pound Turkey, shredded or cut into julienne strips.
1 Iceberg lettuce, cleaned, chilled and torn into pieces
1 Bibb lettuce, cleaned, chilled and torn into pieces
1 green tart apples, unpeeled & cored, cut and diced
1 red tart apple, unpeeled & cored, cut and diced
2 or 3 tablespoons orange juice
1 cantaloupe, peeled and cut into bite-sized cubes
1/4 pound seedless red grapes
raspberry vinagrette (low-fat, low-cal) dressing - optional
Directions:
Combine all ingredients except lettuces in a large mixing bowl. Make sure that orange juice has coated the fruits and turkey. Place lettuce on salad plates. Arrange turkey and fruit mixture on bed of lettuce. Add dressing to taste.
Eggs: Known as the perfect protein, eggs are, in addition, a spectacular source of antioxidants, lutein, zeaxanthin and protein. You can poach 'em for breakfast, make egg salad for lunch and how about those dinner omelets! The egg industry has come up with some pretty sophisticated and fancy technology, enabling egg producers to keep prices (relatively) low. While other foods are now skyrocketing, eggs continue to be one of nature's best buys among high protein foods.
Devilishly Delicious EGGS (from Our Lady of Weight Loss: Miraculous and Motivational Musings form the Patron Saint of Permanent Fat Removal)
Ingredients:
1 dozen hard-boiled eggs
1/3 cup reduced fat mayo
1 sweet pickle, diced
2 heaping tablespoon honey Dijon mustard
juice from 1 fresh lemon
hot sauce, 2 major shakes - 3 if you are a hotty
salt n' pepper to taste
fresh parsley, optional!
Directions:
Take hard-boiled eggs and cut the long way. Take yokes out and put in medium-sized mixing bowl. Add reduced fat mayo. Mix in the rest of the ingredients until smooth and creamy. Then take a teaspoon of egg mixture and neatly place in the whites. (Do your best NOT to lick your fingers!) If you like, you can sprinkle a little paprika on top. The red is lovely on top of the yellow. And for a touch of green, add parsley sprigs here and there. Artfully, please.
Rice and Beans: Talk about cheap n' easy! Beans and Rice are the quintessential easy to make dish and the perfect combo. FYI, the average person eats 300 to 400 pounds of rice each year. Rice is the staple of the world and can be the meaning between life and death. Songs, poems and haiku's (Japanese poetry) are written and sung about rice. Check this haiku out!
It's Haiku Friday
Time for a Haiku Salad
Rice, salad leaves, beef! (by Apple Venus, KillerSalad.com)
Killer Rice n' Beans
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium Vidalia (sweet) onion, chopped, (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 medium green pepper, chopped (about 1 1/4 cups)
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 (14.5 ounce) can fire roasted diced tomatoes with green chilies
- plus 1-1/2 cans of water
1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans, undrained
1 cup of rice, raw
Directions:
Heat olive oil in a large skillet that has a lid over medium heat. When hot, add onion and green pepper; sauté until the vegetables soften and brown a bit. Add the fire roasted diced tomatoes. Increase heat to medium high, add bay leaf and thyme and water. Stir in the beans with their liquid. Add one cup of raw rice. Reduce to simmer and cook until rice is fully plump!
Kale: Dark, leafy greens are cheap, easy and a good idea! They are loaded with vitamin C, carotenoids and calcium; and may well have more nutrients than any other vegetable!
Here is one of my favorite recipes from Our Lady of Weight Loss: Miraculous and Motivational Musings from the Patron Saint of Permanent Fat Removal. It was submitted by Kick in the Tush Club member, Mary Margaret of Houston, Texas. Mary Margaret tells us that a good way to eat an entire bunch of kale is to tear it into bite-sized pieces and put on a sprayed (olive oil spray or nonstick spray) cookie sheet. Dust with Parmesan cheese and put under the broiler for a very short time, until crispy. "I eat all those vitamins right off the tray by the stove," she says. "It never makes it to the table. Feels absolutely virtuous. "
Ingredients:
8 cups Kale
nonstick spray
4 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
2 cup chopped pecans or slivered almonds
Directions:
Preheat over to 400 degrees. Stir in all ingredients except nuts until well blended and place on the cookie sheet. Scatter the nuts on top. Broil for 2 to 3 minutes. Serve at once!
Stay tuned for more recipes and tips on how to feel, look and be delicious through the good times and the bad times! Recession or not!! (Sign up for Our Lady's Daily Feed subscription!)
Spread the cheap n' easy word (NOT the icing!),
Janice
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Janice Taylor is a Life & Wellness Coach, Cert. Hypnotist, author,columnist, seminar leader and 50 pound big-time-loser.
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