A question I have gotten asked a lot over the years is: “How do you feed 10 kids and two adults on a budget and still eat healthy?” I usually shrug my shoulders and say, “I just eat the food in my fridge first.” My strategy has always been to build my menu based on what’s in the fridge, freezer and cupboards first. I actually don’t follow much of a plan other than..what do I have and how can I make something edible with it? Don’t get me wrong…I do go to the grocery store and farmers markets and I do buy fresh produce. I buy eggs— locally from a friend who pasture raises her chickens. I love shopping discounted bent and dent stores…And, my husband always stocks my freezer with half of a grass fed cow (yay for great husbands!!). Occasionally, I’ll purchase grass fed chicken in bulk and I love to keep good fish on hand.
The key is, I’ve found, is that once I set my budget for the week, to stick to it. I also make a meal plan based around what’s in my house before I go to the store.
As far as healthy is concerned, I’ve found that if I don’t have unhealthy food ingredients in the house then logically I will only have healthy food to fix.
Because it’s become a passion of mine, to help families have financial success making healthy food, with a few resources, I decided to share my meal plan as it worked out this past week.
This was what was in my house….
Freezer: hamburger, steak, roast, tilapia, frozen green beans, frozen corn.
Fridge: salad makings (romaine, spinach, tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers) and eggs (by the way..I have a college size refrigerator)
Cupboard: Protein powder, lentils, quinoa, tuna, kettle and fire cream of mushroom soup, sugar free pasta sauce, chicken broth, hemp seeds, chia seeds and walnuts.
Garden: butternut squash, spaghetti squash, kale
Day 1: Monday
Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs and Kale Chips
Lunch: “Taco” Salad
Supper: Steak strips with garlic roasted green beans.
Day 2: Tuesday
Breakfast: Hamburgers – no bun with Romaine
Lunch: Lentil Soup
Supper: Tuna “Noodle” Casserole
Day 3: Wednesday
Breakfast: Protein Smoothie
Lunch: Tuna wrap with Romaine
Supper: Butternut squash with Tilapia
Day 4: Thursday
Breakfast: Hamburgers- no bun/with Romaine
Lunch: Spinach Salad/leftover Lentil Soup
Supper: Steak stir fry
Day 5: Friday
Breakfast: Protein smoothie
Lunch: Butternut Squash Soup
Supper: Greek Spinach Quinoa
Recipes
Scrambled Eggs and Kale Chips
Ingredients: Eggs, Kale, Olive Oil (about 1/4 cup)
Instructions: Rip the kale off the stems. Pile it up on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil or avocado oil and salt. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees until kale is crispy. Meanwhile, scramble a couple of eggs per person depending on how many people you are serving.
Taco Salad:
Ingredients: chopped romaine and spinach, cherry tomatoes, chopped peppers (all colors), cucumber. 2 lb hamburger, cumin and salt.
Instructions: Make the salad and set aside. Meanwhile brown the hamburger and add 2-3 Tbsp of cumin and salt to taste. Plate up the salads according to the number of people you are serving. Top with 1/2 cup hamburger.
Additional toppings may include: Siete brand tacos crumbled on top, salsa, and/or cheese and sour cream—(if you aren’t avoiding dairy).
Steak Strips with Garlic Roasted Green Beans
Ingredients: 2-3 sirloin or ribeye steaks cut into strips. 1 gallon green beans. Olive oil or avocado oil. (amounts depend on how many servings you need).
Instructions: Turn the oven on to 350 degrees. While the oven is heating, dump the green beans onto a baking sheet and drizzle with oil. Place in the oven and bake until green beans begin to brown a little. Meanwhile, cut the steak into strips and season with salt and pepper. Cook the steak either on a grill or in a cast iron skillet with butter. Once the meat and green beans are done, plate up and serve.
Hamburgers and Romaine
Ingredients: 2 lb hamburger and Romaine lettuce
Instructions: Grill or bake hamburgers in the oven. (I usually bake mine on an open baking sheet). Season to taste. Plate up with Romaine as the “bun.”
Lentil Soup
Ingredients: 3-4 cups organic lentils, large bunch of kale de-stemmed, 2-3 carrots chopped , 2-3 stalks of celery chopped , 1 onion chopped , 1 large can of organic tomato sauce, and 1 box of organic chicken broth. (more or less broth may be added depending on how thick you prefer your soup.)
Instructions: Rinse and cook lentils until they are soft. Drain off water and add large can of tomato sauce and 1 box of organic chicken broth. Meanwhile, chop the vegetables and sauté them until they begin to brown. Add the vegetables to the soup. Mix the kale in last. Cook until the kale wilts. Serve and enjoy.
Tuna “Noodle” Casserole
Ingredients: large spaghetti squash, Kettle and Fire mushroom bisque soup, and 5 cans of organic tuna fish.
Instructions: Cut the spaghetti squash down the center and scrape out the seeds. Rub the insides with olive oil. Turn face down and bake until soft when poked with a fork. Scrape out the squash and drain off all the water in a sieve. Add “drained” tuna and Kettle and Fire mushroom bisque soup. Stir together, warm again in the oven and serve.
Protein Smoothie:
Ingredients: Chocolate Protein Powder and water.
Instructions: Blend either hot or cold depending on preference.
Tuna Wrap with Romaine
Ingredients: tuna, paleo wrap and romaine
Butternut Squash and Tilapia
Ingredients: Butternut Squash, olive or avocado oil, and tilapia filets.
Instructions: Cut and peel a butternut squash. Dice into cubes and spread out on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive or avocado oil. Try adding some rosemary and salt. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees until the squash begins to carmelize. Oil a skillet with avocado oil. Season with salt, pepper and blackening season or paprika. Blacken the tilapia until cooked through.
Note: use avocado oil in this application because olive oil will oxidize on high heat.
Butternut Squash Soup:
Ingredients: Butternut squash, 1 can coconut milk, 1 box organic chicken broth.
Instructions: Bake butternut squash and mix in batches in blender until smooth with coconut milk. Scrape into soup pan and add broth until desired thickness is achieved. Season to taste.
Greek Spinach Quinoa
Ingredients: Quinoa, Box of fresh organic spinach, feta cheese
Instructions: Cook Quinoa and set aside. Sauté the spinach and add to cooked quinoa. Mix in a 1/4 to 1/2 cup of feta cheese. Other additions may include kalamata olives, olive oil and cherry tomatoes.
How to make Gluten Free Sandwich Bread. (Contributed by one of my clients – Lori Rose)
Ingredients: 3/4 cups warm water, 1 packet of instant rapid rise yeast, 1 1/2 cups millet flour, 1 cup tapioca starch, 2 Tbsp monk fruit sweetener, 2 tsp xanthum gum, 1 tsp table salt, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 3 large eggs, whisked, 2 Tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp apple cider vinegar.
Instructions: 1. Whisk together water and yeast in a small bowl. Allow to stand for five minutes. 2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine millet flour, tapioca starch, sweetener, xanthum gum, salt and baking powder. Whisk to combine. Fit the stand mixture with the flat paddle attachment. Add the yeast mixture, eggs, oil and vinegar. Mix on medium speed until smooth. Dough will be thin. 3. Spray an 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 by 2 3/4” loaf pan with non stick cooking spray and place plastic wrap loosely on the pan. Allow dough to double in size. This takes about one hour. 4. When dough has doubled in size, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove plastic wrap from the top of the pan. 5. Bake until the internal temperature of the bread reaches 210 degrees F, about 45 minutes. ( if the crust gets too dark before the internal temperature reaches 210 degrees, place a piece of foil on the bread. This prevents the crust from burning.) 6. Remove bread from oven and allow to cool for two minutes. Transfer bread to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. 7. When cool, slice pieces with a serrated knife. 8. Store bread on the counter for up to 3 days or freeze sliced bread, wrapped in freezer wrap with waxed paper between each slice, and placed into a freezer container, for up to six weeks.
Deep Roots Wellness 