Frugal can be healthy
Planning your meals is crucial, as is the time you spend in the kitchen
Healthy food doesn’t always come across as affordable and words like “fresh,” “organic” and “local” don’t always point to a bargain. But if you’re on a tight budget, does it mean you’re banished to an eternity of boiled potatoes, bland pasta and mystery meats?
Local dietitians, chefs, community kitchen co-ordinators and everyday cooks and say it isn’t so. There are people in Windsor-Essex who manage it every day.
“Planning your meals is absolutely critical,” said Elizabeth Strachan, a public health nutritionist who runs cooking classes in local schools. So is the will to spend some time — perhaps the priciest commodity of all — in the kitchen.
Christine Turick, who has been taking cooking classes with the Youth and Family Resource Network in Leamington since December, said she’s managed to convert her 22-year-old son to foods like turkey burgers and artichokes using what she’s learned about meal planning and healthy food alternatives.
“He’s eating stuff I’ve never made before,” Turick said, adding that she’s learned to make healthy and economical substitutions that have helped her think outside the traditional “Canadian cooking” box.
“Things like zucchini, I never thought of,” she said, referring to how she learned to bake them into healthy chocolate cookies. “We’re using things in a non-traditional way.”
Last week, Turick and her fellow classmates tackled a slightly fancier-than-usual menu of chicken scaloppini seasoned with lemon, capers and leeks, a side of basmati rice and lemon-blueberry yogurt loaf.
The leeks came from the community garden, but the chicken was on sale for $3.99 a pound and, with the rest of the ingredients split four ways, the group churned out four servings for about $4.75 each. The HST on that grocery bill? Three cents. That’s because everything they use is fresh or staple foods, and therefore, tax-free.
They might stay away from pricier meats, fishes and cheeses, said Marianne Haddad, who co-ordinates the program, but a stack of their class recipes shows it’s still possible to whip up dishes like balsamic sweet potato salad with blue cheese, artichoke and feta stuffed pork tenderloin and double chocolate brownies for much less than their prepared or restaurant equivalents.
Chef Robert Catherine, a cooking instructor at the Unemployed Help Centre who teaches high school students in the centre’s community kitchen, said he’s taught his high schoolers the way to prepare meals on a budget of $4 or less. And the local Meals on Wheels program, for which Catherine and his students cook, can turn out hundreds of complete meals for local seniors — like a grilled pork chop, side of potatoes, green beans, bowl of chowder and fresh-baked muffin — for $6.25 a pop. That’s less than a fast food meal, he said.
The cost of feeding a family of four in Windsor-Essex is estimated to be $170.23 a week, according to the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit’s latest “nutritious food basket” survey.
There’s no getting around the fact that food is expensive, Strachan said, but the more processed it is, the more expensive it gets.
A 2002 study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that the cost for a family to feed itself after switching from a nutrient-poor to a nutrientrich diet was the same after six months and even went down after 12 months.
“People need to be more open to trying things,” Strachan said. Experimenting, making budget-friendly substitutions and eating new foods are all necessary when you have to watch what you spend. Our expectations about how food should taste and look have been skewed after decades of convenience and ready-made foods, she said, and that also has to change.
Chicken Scaloppini with Lemon, Capers and Leeks
A full, budget-friendly and taste-tested meal for four from the Youth and Family Resource Network’s kitchen:
1 package chicken (breasts, thighs or substitute another meat like pork or even fish) 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper, divided 1/3 cup whole wheat flour 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided 2 large leeks, trimmed, washed and thinly sliced 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth 3 cloves garlic, minced 2 tablespoons capers, rinsed 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest 1 tablespoon lemon juice 3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
Season chicken on both sides. Place flour on a large plate, dredge the pieces shaking off excess.
Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large non-stick skillet on medium heat. Add the chicken and cook until golden brown and just cooked through; about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a platter.
Add 2 teaspoons oil to the same pan and add leeks. Cook 6-8 minutes. Stir in chicken broth and garlic, bring to a boil, scraping up any brown bits, and simmer for 2 minutes. Stir in capers, lemon zest, lemon juice, parsley, salt and pepper. Return the chicken to the pan. Cook, turning the chicken to coat with the sauce until heated through, about 1-2 minutes.
To serve, top with leek mixture.
Basmati Rice
1 cup basmati rice 2 cups water 1 teaspoon olive oil
In a pot, add water and olive oil to the rice and bring to a boil. Continue to boil until potholes appear.
Turn to low and cover. Simmer 5-10 minutes or until soft. Remove from heat and let sit.
Fluff with fork before serving.
Lemon-blueberry Yogurt Loaf
Ingredients for loaf: 1½ cups whole wheat flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/3 cup brown sugar 1 cup plain yogurt 3 large eggs 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (1-2 lemons) 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1/2 cup canola oil 1½ cups blueberries, fresh or, if frozen, thawed and rinsed
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease an 8.5-inch by 4-inch loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Then grease and flour the pan. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl.
In a separate bowl, whisk the yogurt, eggs, lemon zest, vanilla and oil. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
In another bowl, mix the blueberries with the remaining tablespoon of flour and fold them into the batter Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 minutes or until an inserted cake tester comes out clean.
Lemon glaze (optional)
1/3 cup lemon juice 1 tablespoon sugar
For the optional lemon glaze, heat the lemon juice and sugar in a small pan on the stove until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside. When the cake is baked, allow it to cool 10 minutes before turning it onto a cooling rack and carefully place it over a baking sheet. While the cake is still warm, pour the glaze over the cake and allow it to soak. A pastry brush can help.
No comments:
Post a Comment