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 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)…
Anyone who follows me on Instagram probably remembers this little snap of a salad I whipped up the other day, which was just too delicious to not share. This isn’t a cheap dinner, but it sure was delicious. For a less hungry person, this could serve two, but I kept it as a single serving on price since that’s how I ate it. Beets and Greens Salad $3.23 per serving ~1 Large Beet- $0.57 ~1/3 of a large container of mixed greens – $1.46 ~1/8 of a large container of feta- $0.88 1/3 of a can of cannellini beans- $0.32 Pantry Staples for dressing- olive oil, lemon juice, dijon mustard, salt and pepper (remember to salt and pepper liberally since the beans etc are a very blank slate. Go harder on the pepper and lighter on the salt due to the feta.) Start off by washing your lettuce and using…
Hi! Today’s post is a freezer meal stockup or family sized recipe that is cheap and cheerful- my two favorite things! Cooking with beans and lentils allows me to skip on expensive meat, and instead load up on healthful vegetables. Sometimes I make the choice to eat meat free and have the nice produce I want. This option actually only uses one fresh ingredient- mushrooms. These could easily be swapped out for rehydrated dried or canned if you are looking to save even more. The most common comment I get when people talk about lentils is usually a combination of “those take forever to cook” or “aren’t those hard to cook?” My answer is the crockpot we all love- seven hours on low while you sleep, and those lentils are cooked. I boil mine because I tend to do a bunch of food prep all at once and one little…