As I wrap up this week’s focus on finances, I would like to share some tips for eating well on a budget. Food is probably the most elastic expense that exists—in New York, it is possible to pay either $2 or $2,000 for pizza, depending on where you look. In that case, the price difference has to do with ingredients (the $2,000 pizza contains truffle oil and flakes of gold), but more often it has to do with time.
Generally, there is a tradeoff between how much you pay for food and how long it takes you to prepare. I always laugh at the grocery store when I see pre-cut vegetables going for five times what they cost in their natural form, but I suppose that to some people, the tradeoff is worth it. If you are buying these things because you don’t actually know how to cut your favorite vegetables, it’s worth your time to learn. For example, if you buy baby carrots, you could be saving yourself a ridiculous amount of money by cutting your own carrot sticks from the enormous bags they sell. Contrary to popular opinion, there is no difference between baby carrots and ordinary ones other than the shape. Baby carrots are just ordinary carrots that have been turned on a lathe. You don’t need to tackle every fruit and vegetable in your diet right away, but start with whatever you eat most often and go from there. I would be in big trouble if I didn’t know what to do with tomatoes. I actually know what to do with a pineapple, but it’s a skill I only get to enjoy using once or twice a year. Another enormous savings is to learn how to make your own beans. Beans are a wonderful source of protein and other nutrients for vegetarians, and they are way less expensive to purchase dried than canned. They don’t even take that much active time to prepare—you put them in your slow cooker/pressure cooker/pot of boiling water with whatever spices you desire and voila! Without demanding much active attention, you have yourself some delicious homemade beans to enjoy. Making things from scratch isn’t always worth it, of course. The biggest exception I see to this rule is every kind of bread that requires yeast. Some people consider baking bread to be a relaxing hobby, but it is technique-driven enough and costs enough time that it’s really not worth doing for merely financial reasons. Flatbread, on the other hand, is so fast and easy to make that once you learn how to do it, you wonder how others get away with charging so much for it. I am not in a position to comment on the price of meat, but I can say from experience that meat substitutes are way more expensive than vegetarian protein sources that are closer to nature. Legumes and tofu simply do not cost nearly as much as Stripples, Grillers, breakfast patties, and a number of other delicious things my Adventist brethren are good at manufacturing. These are nice for special occasions, but they cost way more and aren’t as good for you as less-processed plants. I’m not a vegan, but I’m the first to admit that the highest-priced item on my regular shopping list is cheese. For that reason, even if you do enjoy dairy, it’s good for both your budget and your waistline to make it an accent, rather than the center of a meal. A sprinkling of cheese goes a long way if you do not make your diet cheese-centric. A balanced meal includes protein, fat, carbohydrates (yes, you actually need some of those), and a hearty does of micronutrients from fruits and vegetables. Letting any one of those groups take over entirely is bad for your health, so striving for balance puts cheese and other treats in their proper place. It’s helpful for both health and finance to retrain your appetite to crave empty calories less. A little bit of junk food won’t kill you, but every calorie (and dollar) you spend on soda, ice cream, or Pringles (love those) is space that’s not going to stuff you need from another category. The greatest waste of calories is undoubtedly alcohol, which doesn’t only fail to contribute much nutritionally, but also actively works as poison over time. More than anything, teaching yourself how to cook is your best bet for healthy, affordable eating. Weaning yourself off of eating out or premade microwave/oven goodies will save you money over time. Don’t be scared off by complex recipes with tons of ingredients: focus on basic cooking techniques that you can build on over time, such as knife work, boiling, roasting, baking, blending, and sautéing. Once you have those basics down, you can experiment with what you like until you’re making your own recipes from whatever you can find. The better you master the basics, the more you can try later. There are several great online resources for learning basic cooking techniques. When confronted with an ingredient I don’t know very well, I make great use of allrecipes.com, foodnetwork.com, and occasionally wikihow.com as well. These three sites have well-illustrated, easy-to-follow instructions for basic cooking techniques. If you want to get fancy with your plant-based cooking, https://westcovinahills.adventistfaith.org/recipes is a good resource with some truly delicious recipes that I am way too lazy to make myself, but have enjoyed when prepared by others. There are some great videos on various health topics there as well. Enjoy!
1 Comment
Valerie Purdey
5/7/2020 10:15:44 pm
I really enjoyed reading this. I have a sourdough bread recipe that is very simple and impressive. I that wish you still lived close enough for a couple cooking sessions together. A protein I make from scratch is Seitan (aka gluten steaks). I taught both Bryan and Cameron how to make it and would love to have had a chance to teach you as well. I have so many fond memories of the years your family lived in the San Francisco Bay Area. Many of those memories include food and picnic baskets. Thanks again for this blog.
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AuthorJillian Lutes is the youth pastor at West Covina Hills Seventh-day Adventist Church. Archives
May 2020
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