Organic on a Budget--Update

Two weeks ago, I set a $50 per week food and entertainment budget for myself. Well, I did it. I came in at $94 total. I had originally hoped I would be able to slip fuel in there as well, but that was pushing it just a bit. The best part of it is that I actually was able to eat healthy, nourishing meals and didn’t have to live on fattening casseroles and processed frozen dinners. A lot of it came down to eating the same thing for multiple meals and I discovered that when you like what you’re eating, you don’t mind.

Here are a few of my favorite recipes that are budget friendly and taste great!

Breakfast smoothie:

1 cup plain organic yogurt
½ cup organic frozen strawberries
1 tbsp organic blue agave syrup

Blend until smooth.

Greek Quinoa Salad (this is a simplified version of a recipe from Better Homes and Gardens):

1 cup organic quinoa
2 cups water
2 organic tomatoes (any variety) diced
Several handfuls fresh, organic spinach chopped
1 lemon
Olive Oil
Salt
Feta Cheese

Prepare the quinoa as per the directions on the box. When it is cooked, remove from the heat and add the tomatoes and spinach. In a separate bowl, juice one lemon and add equal amount of olive oil. Add salt to taste. Pour over the quinoa mixture and stir. Top with feta and serve.

Marinade:

1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup water
2 cloves garlic crushed

Mix well. I used this with frozen salmon. Simply take it out of the freezer, put it in the fridge and let it thaw and marinate at the same time. Also, I used the same marinade with tofu. Press the water out of the tofu first (I do this by wrapping it in a towel and putting my dutch oven on top of it for an hour in the fridge). Marinate for a minimum of 2 hours, but preferably overnight. With both the salmon and the tofu, I sautéed them in olive oil and served with brown rice.

*The marinade can be made organically as well, but I used what I already had in my cupboard.