Healthy eating does not have to be expensive
By Holly Anne Shelowitz

We are all super busy. Finding the time, energy and money to prepare nutritious meals for yourself and your family can be a real challenge, especially as the temptation to eat fast food is everywhere.

Leaving meals to chance often means grabbing takeout or something on the fly. Not only does this quickly add up financially, it can also easily add unwanted pounds, as well as health problems from the bad fats and excess salt, sugar and chemicals.

However, you can eat nourishing organic foods without it costing you a bundle. In fact, you can even save money. Check out these ideas:

Buy from your local farmers markets
Wherever you live you will likely be able to find a farmers market at a nearby neighborhood. This will save you money, there are usually organic growers.

Now you can find many farms that are Certified Naturally Grown. For many small farms, the USDA organic certification is too costly to acquire, so this new certification allows small farmers to grow organically. I believe that buying local is way better than organic veggies flown in from afar.

If you have to choose what to buy organic, I would absolutely encourage buying your meat and poultry organically, or at least without hormones or antibiotics. Manufacturers are happy to brag about that on the label. "Natural" does not mean no hormones or antibiotics unless it says so. Buy free range eggs, ideally from a small farm, but if that's not possible, read your labels well. Butter and cheese from Europe is great. They don't mess with their food like we do!

Get a group of friends together. Each person brings ingredients for a dish, then you get together in one kitchen to hang out and cook. At the end, each person takes home four to five different dishes.

More bang for your buck
I believe strongly in cooking once and eating many times from that meal. When you make soups, make extra to freeze. Create an evolving meal. On Sunday, roast a chicken with carrots, onions and potatoes, and make a big pan of green beans or sautéed greens such as kale, collards, swiss chard or broccoli. Make a pot of brown rice for the week. Enjoy this wonderful meal on Sunday, then leftovers can be brought for lunches the next day either as chicken over rice with a salad or in sandwiches or what I call a do-over meal - the exact same thing all over again!

The next day, sauté onions in olive oil, add the rice and the leftover veggies with a scrambled egg, add the chicken, season with soy sauce and you have your very own fried rice - in 10 minutes.

Take all the chicken off the bone (save the bones from Sunday Dinner) and put the bones into your slow cooker or soup pot with water to cover, a splash of vinegar and a chopped onion. Put the lid on, let simmer all night or for 24 hours. Strain in the morning or when you get home from work and you have your own chicken stock - not only a delicious addition to soups, stews, grains, and veggies, but also super nutritious. It's called "Jewish penicillin" for good reason. Our grandmothers knew the benefit of making broth - not only for nutrition and flavor; it also stretched the cost/use of the chicken. Bone broths are loaded with minerals that support our bones, improve digestion and are downright soothing. Try a hot cup of chicken or beef broth seasoned with sea salt in the morning before your morning coffee.

More on eggs and butter:
Eggs and butter are two inexpensive, nutrient-dense foods. Ideally, butter should be yellow, not white. Cows grazing on green grass provide mineral rich, nutrient dense yellow butter, high in vitamins A and D. Butter from Ireland, Denmark and France are available in the supermarket and usually don't cost much more than regular butter.

Eggs are an inexpensive nutrient dense food and they are not only for breakfast. Make quiche and enjoy with a salad for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Try scrambled eggs for dinner with leftover veggies and salsa or tomato sauce. Add some grated cheese and you have a simple and nourishing meal. Don't forget about egg salad as a great lunch filled with protein.

Whole grains and beans are nourishing and inexpensive. Serve with tortillas and salsa and you have a quick, delicious and satisfying meal.

Got a crock pot?
I believe the No. 1 kitchen invention for people who want to eat healthy food and save money is the crock pot or slow cooker. Most of us have one stuck way back in the cabinet somewhere. So blow the dust off that baby and get it to work for you. This will cook for you when you are asleep or at work/school. If you don't have one, you can find them at yard sales and secondhand stores for $5-$10 or new for $20 or less. You can assemble your ingredients in the crock in the morning for a chicken or beef stew, and come home to your house smelling like someone has been cooking all day for you!

Or, after dinner, put ingredients in your crock and wake up to a hearty lentil soup ready to scoop into your thermos for lunch. How cool is that?

Simply doing a Web search for slow-cooker meals will provide you with hundreds of recipes.

So many of us eat out because there is not food ready and available at home. Some simple planning will help you to save money AND be healthy too!

Holly Anne Shelowitz is a Certified Nutrition Counselor and meets with clients in Rosendale, NY. She can be reached at 845.687.9666. Visit her website: www.nourishingwisdom.com

Vegetable Quiche
*make 2 and freeze one for another time!

1 frozen pie crust (be sure there is NO HYDROGENATED OIL) or make your own
1 C chopped broccoli, asparagus, zucchini, or any veggies you like
1 C grated cheddar cheese
4 eggs
1 1/2 C cream or half and half
1/4 tsp salt
dash pepper
dash nutmeg

1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Arrange veggies and cheese in pie crust
3. In a mixing bowl, beat together eggs, cream, and spices
4. Pour custard mixture over cheese and broccoli
5. Place in preheated oven on a baking tray, and bake 40 minutes or until top is golden brown and knife inserted comes out clean

This makes a great breakfast, lunch or dinner with a salad!

Turkey Surprise
You can use any vegetables you like here-
4 servings

1 lb. ground free-range turkey (mixed light and dark)
1 red pepper
2 carrots
1 zucchini
1 onion sliced
1 ear of corn cut off the cob or 1 C frozen corn (optional)
1 small can of diced or whole tomatoes
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
Salt/pepper to taste
(optional) grated cheddar cheese for topping, fresh cilantro and or parsley for garnish

1. Saute onions, and all veggies EXCEPT CORN in olive oil until fragrant.
2. Add ground turkey, tomatoes, soy sauce.
3. Stir to mix, breaking up chunks.
4. Cook on medium flame until meat is cooked through.
5. Turn off flame, add corn and stir to mix.
6. Taste, add salt/pepper if needed and enjoy!

Lentil Soup
Prep Time 20 minutes, Cooking Time 40 minutes.
6+ servings

7 Cups water
2 Cups brown or green lentils
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
4 ribs of celery cut into 1 inch slices (or smaller if you like)
2 large carrots cut in chunks
1 bunch of greens cut in bite sized pieces (kale, collards)
2 yukon gold or new red potatoes cut into chunks
Any other veggies you want to put in there
2 bay leaves
1 Tablespoon of dried basil or 1 stem of fresh basil leaves
4 fresh tomatoes or 1 small can of diced roasted tomatoes- optional (muir glen is a great brand)- if you cant find that, then any diced tomatoes are fine with their juice
sea salt and pepper to taste

1. Combine all ingredients in a large soup pot, and bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat, simmer covered until lentils are tender 40 minutes. The longer you simmer, the creamier your soup will be
3. Stir to mix, taste and adjust seasonings.

*Cook's notes:
Buy organic veggies and you don't have to worry about peeling the carrots and potatoes

You can add any veggies that you like…broccoli and cauliflower are great-zucchini will get mushy and disappear. I like to add a touch of red pepper flakes

Sometimes I will let the soup cook a bit longer so it gets creamy...
The next day it will be thicker- just add a few tablespoons of water when you heat it up.