Hey! Today I wanted to share a super easy plant-based dish that is vegetarian but can be made fully vegan by omitting the eggs. This is pretty hearty so I’m not sure that even the most dedicated meat eater would want to add meat, though. But you do whatever makes you happy! Lentils with Kale and Mushrooms Serves eight for $9.22 or $1.15 per serving 2 cups of dried lentils -$1.32 1 package of sliced mushrooms – $3.34 Shredded zuchini- $0.78 1 bundle to 2 bundles of kale (or frozen kale) – $1.97 Chili Flakes, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper, olive oil *optional add on- 1-2 eggs per serving (as pictured) – $1.81 Cooking your lentils is easy- just follow the instructions on the package! While they cook in a pot, put your mushrooms in a pan with thyme, chili flakes, pepper, garlic (minced) and a small amount of olive oil.…
Hello! Tomatoes are easily one of my favorite things! I love fresh tomatoes, canned tomatoes, tomato salads, soups and sauces! Recently uncooked tomatoes have been giving me some sort of weird heartburn, so I have been cooking my tomatoes in different ways so I still get my “fix”. Since I also love pasta, an easy roasted tomato marinara seemed like just what I needed to make. This is a super affordable post which is surprising given that we’re using ten fresh tomatoes, and while you can definitely buy cans of tomato sauce for cheaper, but honestly this was so delicious that it felt fully worth the extra money. I also used a can of tomato sauce to make my roasted tomatoes go further so keep that option in mind as well! Roasted Tomato Marinara and Spaghetti $0.92 per serving or $5.50 for six Ten tomatoes (five romas and 5 vine ripened)…
Hey guys! I wanted to do a quick post about how I make my chicken stock for zero dollars! This sounds crazy, I know, but I take rotisserie chicken carcasses from family members and friends, herbs from mine and my mum’s herb gardens, the ends of my veggies (I freeze them when I chop them up) and regular pantry staples. Even if you don’t have access to free chicken carcasses or herbs, keep in mind that chicken carcasses are food waste you’d throw out otherwise. A rotisserie chicken is often cheaper than a roaster chicken! Not only do you get 4 meals (or so) from it, you can make stock which can be the base of other meals as well. I like to make my stock in my crock pot. I love that I can turn it on and (mostly) forget about it. I put it on high for 4-6 hours…
Hey all! This post is about one of my favorite recipes for the freezer to date- bacon and cheese egg wraps! Honestly, making up a bunch of these and freezing them for myself is one of the nicest things I’ve done for myself in a long, long time! It’s an awesome way to have a quick and easy breakfast that really satisfies you if you have a long morning of meetings or running errands. If you are a non-pork eater, you can easily substitute a turkey bacon alternative. I have even heard of vegan friends making tofu and veggie scramble and a non-lard tortilla (yes, a lot of traditional tortillas are made with lard but not so much for store bought). The trick to executing this well and not having soggy tortillas is to cook everything and then cool it down to room temperature before assembling your wraps. This is also…
Hi! Today’s post is a quick and easy vegetarian dinner option that is so, so delicious and super healthful. This recipe is pretty close to my spaghetti squash with tomatoes and zucchini, but it’s a bit more indulgent and not gluten free. The combination of tomatoes, tomato paste, kale, minced onions and garlic, italian herbs and fresh basil is simmered with parmesan rind and then topped with grated parmesan and fresh basil. If you follow me on Instagram then you know this photo is one of my most liked, and it’s of this recipe! Burst Tomato Penne with Kale $0.80 per serving, $4.81 for 6 1/4 onion- $0.06 ~one pint of grape tomatoes -$2.47 1/2 a can of tomato paste- $0.33 previously frozen kale- $1.28 basil leaves- $0.67 Pantry items: parmesan rind (ask for it at the cheese counters, sometimes it’s free), salt, pepper, garlic, italian seasoning Start by chopping your…
One of the easiest ways to keep your food bill affordable is to shop what’s in season. While it’s pretty easy to crave a fresh, green salad in January, when you’re trying to keep your food costs under control, you have to think about when and how to indulge those cravings if you want to make serious cuts to your food bill. Here in Canada, we are so lucky to live in such an agricultural country. At this time of year you can find all sorts of things that haven’t had to be shipped from another area of the world and don’t have that added cost. I love visiting different farmers markets because what is available is by default what is in season. I can’t always afford to buy anything at the farmer’s market (it was $5.50 for a pound of peas this weekend!), but it is a great fact finding…
Hello! So my 35 day no-buy for groceries was officially over on Friday, but I didn’t go grab groceries until Sunday so here I am now, giving a bit of a recap on how 35 days of not buying groceries went. It went surprisingly well. In retrospect, I don’t know that I could have chosen an easier month to have a no-buy on, because there was both of my parent’s birthdays, Father’s Day, a family dinner in Red Deer, and a family dinner with friends that took care of five dinners, plus loads of opportunities to visit my parents, and my mum is the best and always feeds me. So there’s a bit of cheating there but it doesn’t entirely wipe out the significance of not buying any groceries from May 25th to July 3rd. So did I buy any groceries? Yes and no. I bought shrimp on sale…
Hey! Today’s post is a quick and easy snack inspired by a restaurant dish I love! On this particular day I had been helping out at my sister’s new place all day and everyone was going to have a Famoso flatbread (seriously, check it out!) at my parent’s place afterward, but I really needed to get home and get ready for the week. So, my mum helped me assemble all of the required ingredients to make something similar myself! This recipe isn’t an exact dupe- it uses flatout flatbreads (something my mum found at Safeway and I’m now obsessed with) and I wasn’t in the mood to make my own tatziki so I used a pre-packaged hummus. Since most of these ingredients were actually my mum’s (I think she felt a bit bad I had helped all day and wasn’t going to be there for the fun post-work snack), the…
This easy multi-meal salad is perfect for when it’s hot out since you don’t need to really “cook” anything. You just need to wash your veggies, boil the kettle, and you’re good to go. This version isn’t vegetarian, but you could easily remove the chicken to make it vegetarian, or add a vegan cheese to make it vegan. When I’m making this salad, I keep everything separate until the end and then arrange the toppings because I love how it looks, but if you are in a rush just dump in as you go! Mediterranean Cous Cous Salad $6.81 for four, or $1.70 per serving 1 cup cous cous – $0.44 one can of chick peas – $0.77 one tomato – $0.85 half of a cucumber – $0.38 the juice and zest of one lemon – $0.87 salt, pepper, oregano and olive oil feta (or vegan option to your preference)…
Easy Pantry shopping list and not buying groceries for 25 days!