homemade baby food

big sister who likes to eat watermelon in the back yard = happy little brother who sneaks it while mom isn't looking :)

i make my kids' baby food when they start eating solids. it isn't difficult in the slightest, but it is certainly more time consuming than pulling it off the shelf and dumping it in your cart.
so is it worth it? here are a few numbers that will prove just how worth it it is:

• with my $200 a month food budget (+$40 for longer term storage/bulk items) i have $7/day to feed my family. a very cheap 4 oz jar of baby food costs $0.42. my 7 month old could easily cost me $2.52/day to feed. ahhh!!! imagine when he's pushing a year. i once calculated that my daughter would be costing me $4/day in baby food at her peak if i bought it.
• my baby food jar equivalents: i can make 4 0z of carrots for $0.10, 4 oz of peas, green beans or sweet potatoes for $0.22, 4 oz acorn squash for $0.26 and that isn't even with sale prices. during peach season when peaches are on sale for $0.50/lb you can make peaches for pennies.
• it's really easy to mash a banana yourself with a fork. why buy it in a tiny cute bottle? my buddy happily downs a banana every day for breakfast.
• oatmeal cereal: $1.50 for a box of oatmeal cereal? just put some oats through your blender.

stuff i don't make:

• applesauce: there is nothing magical about baby applesauce. it's just apples. and why make your own? wal-mart brand unsweetened applesauce is $1.86 for 50 oz. that's $0.15 for your 1 jar equivalent.
  
• rice cereal: i don't have a grinder and i can't "iron fortify" it at home so this is the one true baby food item i buy.

so how do you do it? it's easy - i just use www.wholesomebabyfood.com as my home base and go from there. i feel like a baby chef when i whip up a little dessert for my little man to follow his peas (applesauce + sweet potatoes + cinnamon + rice cereal = dessert!) - it's so fun and he loves it! use their recipes and freeze in ice cube trays. each cube is 1+ ounce. cover with saran wrap and then put the cubes into big freezer bags when frozen solid. and don't forget to reuse your freezer bags!




and here's my funny little squash face. this was the the mad face he made if we didn't get the squash in his mouth fast enough!!


i also make my own baby wipes... but that isn't a food recipe! i swear by them. want my recipe? email me at skinnybovineskitchen@gmail.com!

face off: sloppy joes vs. sloppy sams

picture from allrecipes.com

we spent Christmas with my in-laws in UT this year. when all of the family (my hubby is one of 7, so this means lots of people) got together right before Christmas, my husband requested a main course on the 23rd of sloppy joes as an easy and delicious way to feed so many hungry mouths. my hubby's little sister and her husband are vegetarians, so i thought i'd make a complimentary vegetarian version that i'd made before to please both halves of the crowd. i liked having them both there as kind of a "face off". here was, in my opinion, the results of said face off:

• sloppy joes - traditional recipe, canned sauce, made with ground beef. i usually like them okay, but since i had the below alternative i couldn't even stomach the joes in comparison.
• sloppy sams - lentils, homemade sauce, sweetened with molasses and brown sugar. simply amazing. i can eat this stuff with a spoon, no bun required.

winner? clearly, the sloppy sams take home the award. cheaper, appease my lentil obsession and way healthier than the traditional joes. put them to the test in your house and let me know if they pass!

sloppy sams
4 big servings
modified from allrecipes.com, specifically here

3 cups chicken broth
1 cup lentils, rinsed
1 cup chopped onion
a dash of olive oil
1 15 oz can petite diced tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 (6 oz) can tomato paste
1/2 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 1/2 tablespoons molasses (use all brown sugar if you don't have it)
1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 dash worchestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste
4 hamburger buns

1. combine broth and lentils in a saucepan. bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until tender, about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. meanwhile, cook onions with the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until the onions have softened and turned translucent, about 4 minutes. add tomatoes and garlic, and cook for 5 minutes. stir in tomato paste, ketchup, mustard powder, chili powder, molasses and Worcestershire sauce; simmer 5 to10 minutes until thickened.
3. drain lentils and reserve cooking liquid (i never have any liquid to drain). stir lentils into sauce mixture, adding cooking liquid or water as needed to obtain the desired "sloppy joe" consistency. serve on buns.
   

splurge night: part 2

on to the 2nd type of splurging - budgeted splurging (click here if you missed the first type). eating wouldn't be fun if you couldn't use some pricier, more fun ingredients once in a while. here are my guidelines for making your splurge night still budget-friendly:

• plan ahead - if you're going to have a budget splurging meal, plan ahead for it and each extra cheaply the rest of the week to compensate. also, if you plan ahead you can get things for your splurge while they are on sale. (ex. we love the french dips recipe below, but i don't buy the roast unless i can get it for $1.79/lb or less and i try and find the pepper jack on sale as well)
  
• stay in your budget - splurging shouldn't have to mean buying the most expensive ingredients out there, just something you don't normally buy. and put it in the budget. if your food budget is a little tight that month, find another category to squeeze it into. i'm infamous for filing yummy, splurge ingredients into my date budget or my miscellaneous category.
• have a date/fun budget - sometimes the splurge we want is a saturday night with no cooking - we'd rather someone else cook and clean up. so we have a date budget and that way we can have eating out be a budget-friendly splurge.

this is probably our favorite budgetary splurge. we love, love, love these sandwiches. i never liked traditional french dips, but these are fabulous.

french dips
ala my bff maggi

my french dip decided to fall apart for the picture... but man, was it good!!!!!!

1 package onion soup mix
1 package zesty italian dressing mix (or homemade mix here)
a roast

put roast in crock pot. fill with water. pour in mixes. heat on high. it is done when it falls apart. (depends on your crock pot and the size of your roast.)

serve on yummy french rolls (don't go stingey here - get good ones!), broiled in the oven to toast with pepper jack cheese on them (broil with the cheese on them). carmelized onions are also delicious on them. dip in the juice from the crock pot.

splurge night: part 1

"to splurge or not to splurge? - that is the question."

answer: "splurge, definitely splurge."

having posted my things never to cook with, i figured i should follow up with a little bit of rationality. a fairly darned disciplined healthy eater, even the skinny bovine splurges pretty regularly. but i think that is the fun of eating healthy (besides feeling way better), you have lots of room to splurge! the key is having guidelines.

since i'm a healthy and budgeted cooker, there are 2 types of splurges at my house. here are my healthy splurge guidelines (stay tuned for my budget splurge guidelines soon!):

• set boundaries - this means sticking to my list of things to never use for the most part. there are plenty of other things i love to use in cooking that aren't particularly good for you though. ex: coconut milk (curry. mmm.), creamy soups (made with milk of course, and maybe a tablespoon or two of butter). see one of my favs below. we love, love, love this soup at our house.
• know yourself, know your goals - if you're trying to be disciplined and maintain your weight, go ahead - splurge once a week! if you're trying to loose a little, make it once every other week. if you want to loose a lot, make it once a month. we all deserve a reward for our discipline.
  
• only make enough for that meal - it's splurge night. not splurge night + leftovers for the next 2 days. have your splurge and then get back to your best habits in a hurry. :)

here is one of my favorite (fairly un-) healthy splurges. like i said, we just can't get enough of this soup. definitely not one of my worst splurges, but i definitely don't make it once a week! :)

parmesan corn chowder
adapted from allrecipes.com (here)
pic from allrecipes.com
4 servings

2 cups water

2 cups diced peeled potatoes
1/2 cup sliced carrots (i use 1 cup carrots and no celery - just a preference)
1/2 cup sliced celery
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour (i use whole wheat)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 cups milk
1 (14.75 ounce) can cream-style corn
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese

1. in a large saucepan, combine the first five ingredients; bring to a boil. reduce heat; cover and simmer for 12-15 minutes or until vegetables are tender (do not drain).
2. meanwhile, in a small saucepan, melt butter. stir in flour, salt and pepper until smooth; gradually stir in milk. bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. stir into the vegetable mixture. add corn and parmesan cheese. cook 10 minutes longer or until heated through.

help sales help you

does anyone feel like a boring cook once in a while? i definitely do. i find myself cooking the same kinds of things all the time with very little variation.

that's where sales come in. when fun things come up on sale i try and seize the moment and get creative while fun things are cheap! stop throwing away your sale ads and add some variation to your meals.

here's my most recent "varied" creation. this isn't terribly uncommon in the normal world, but it is in my house! the stars aligned and the right ingredients came on sale and viola! the combination of flavors was soooo wow!!

chicken avocado pitas

large, thin whole wheat pitas (i got a bag of 6 for $1! - that was my fun sale item!)

shredded/chunked chicken (sliced turkey would be good too!)
sliced avocado, lightly salted
sprouts
1/3 less fat cream cheese
any other veggies you want (my husband wanted tomatoes too!)

1. slice pita in half and open carefully.
2. spread a thin layer of cream cheese inside. layer sprouts on top of cream cheese so they don't fall out, then stuff with avocado and chicken.
3. mmm... enjoy!

your price points

i recently got into couponing. it is great and i save lots of money and get lots of fun free stuff!

the reason i bring it up is because the couponing guru in my area has a term i love - the price point. the price point is the most you are willing to pay for any given food item. it is important to set price points on things you buy because if you have no limits, suddenly your budget means nothing. here are a few of my price points - so this is the absolute most i will pay for these items:

boneless, skinless chicken breast - $1.67
green bell peppers - $0.33 each
100% whole wheat bread - $1.88
butter - $1.67/lb
whole milk - $1.67 (gallon)
avocado - $0.33/each
yogurt - $0.33/8 oz or $0.25/6 oz

those are just a few. i have a price point for nearly everthing i buy on a regular basis. even for things i really love and really can't afford. for example, one of my favorite foods is chicken pesto pizza, but i never make it unless my mother-in-law kindly donates a few tablespoons of her pesto or my mom is buying the ingredients when i'm in town over christmas. no longer is that the case - i found classico brand pesto at wal-mart for $2.08. i have made pizza once and the recipe below and still have plently left. i can work with $2.08 if i still use it sparingly.

so push yourself and see how cheap you can go. find price points for your regulars... and some of your favorites too. and enjoy the new pesto recipe below.

parmesan pesto stuffed chicken
4 servings

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 1/2 tablespoons pesto sauce
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese (i buy a ginormous bag from costco and it lasts me 6 months!)
1 egg
1 cup bread crumbs (i ran a piece of bread through the blender and used fresh)
spices of your choice (i used garlic salt, coriander, black pepper, etc.)

1. combine pesto and parmesan. slice the chicken almost through, creating a pocket in the middle. stuff 1/2 of the mixture into each chicken breast.
2. beat egg in shallow bowl. mix bread crumbs with spices in shallow bowl. pull stuffed chicken through the egg and then through the bread crumb mixture, coating chicken completely.
3. bake at 350 in greased baking pan until juices in chicken run clear. half a chicken breast is 1 serving.

feeding healthy babies

my friend kelli has an adorable 1 year old, about 1 1/2 weeks older than mine. she requested a post on feeding our little people healthy foods, so here's what i have learned in 1 year of trying to feed healthy foods to my highly-opinionated munchkin.

my spaghetti monster. yes, those are peas she's so happy about. read more under "be sneaky" below.

• make your own. this is my one budgeting tip. when mine was tiny i used this website to make pureed foods. now that she's older i still make everything i feed her. and don't buy expensive baby-brand snacks. they love cheerios... and don't forget to wait for sales! :)
• start with veggies, then move to fruits. it may help them develop a like for the non-sweet stuff first.
• try, try again. don’t let a bad reaction to a specific good food keep you from trying the food again. wait a week or two and then try it again. their bad short term memory may mean they forgot they didn't like it!
• try different consistencies or serving styles. for example, my daughter wouldn't touch mashed bananas, but she loves feeding chunks of bananas to herself. same goes for other typical baby foods - carrots, peas, green beans, pears, peaches, apples - maybe they don't like it mushed, but they may like it in little chunks later.
• wait on things you feel strongly about. since tiny ones aren't supposed to have whole wheat yet, i waited to give emery bread with any consistency until she was almost one. that way, she didn't get hooked on white before she tried the good stuff.
• strive for variation. you wouldn't like a whole meal of just pears would you? neither does baby. :) change from day-to-day as well so they don't get bored of the good things they like.
• if they have a good favorite - work it. i know i can always get in at least 1 fruit a day because em loves bananas. that's fine - a banana a day is great for her so work it!
• be sneaky. i recently discovered emery loves noodles with pasta sauce... and that she doesn't notice if it's actually 1/2 pasta and 1/2 peas under that sauce. see the happy spaghetti monster above. she also loves cheese, so i'll melt cheese on stuff so she'll eat it.
• feed them new things first, when they are hungry. if they really won't eat it, give them something else.
• steer clear of sweets. the sooner they realize they are around, the sooner they'll want to eat just sweets... just like their moms. :)
• have their eating influence yours. make things that are baby-friendly for dinner that you can all benefit from. cook so that they are getting the nutrients they need and your get yours too. they love being "big" and having what you have for dinner and you'll love not having to cook something else. ex. pasta and sauce (sneak in peas and/or spinach), quick cream cheese and spinach pasta, shepherd's pie, chicken noodles and mashed potatoes and my next recipe of the week - black bean tortilla casserole. em scarfed it down. stay tuned!

and yes, here's me... the skinny bovine, herself, actually making an appearance on her own blog. i got bored with my hair last week and cut my bangs. i haven't had many comments from friends... i'll assume the worst. any feedback??... anyone?? :)

spicing up hot cereal

so back when i started this blog i wrote a lengthy diatribe about the benefits of eating hot cereal for breakfast (cheap, healthy, more money for the rest of the day's food, etc. click the link to read more). sometimes hot cereal gets boring, so we've tried to switch it up at our house lately. here are a two hot cereals we've been gobbling up and looking for more. the first is my spin on a tradition in my husband's house growing up and the second is my version of a classic.

corn meal mush and toast (we call it "cornlaw", my mother-in-law called it "gruel and toast" and my sister-in-law calls it "grandma's special corn meal breakfast" - you pick!)
2 servings

1 ½ cup water
½ cup water (or milk if you prefer - i'm allergic so i use water!)
½ cup corn meal
½ teaspoon salt
1/8 – ¼ teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons white sugar

2 slice of your favorite bread, toasted
toast toppings of your choice (i do a tiny bit of butter and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, my husband does no cinnamon and sugar and just drenches the whole thing in butter. ewww.)

1. bring 1 1/2 cups water to a boil. add 1/2 cup water from the tap then turn heat to low. slowly stir/whisk in 1/2 cup corn meal, a little bit at a time to avoid clumps.
2. when all corn meal is added, add salt, sugar and vanilla and stir thouroughly. either let simmer on very low heat until thick or turn off heat if it seems to be thickening quickly.
3. break your toast, prepared with desired toppings, into small pieces into the bottom of a bowl. top with corn meal mush and eat!

apple cinnamon oatmeal
2 servings

1 apple, peeled, cored and sliced into small pieces
½ tablespoon butter
½ tablespoon white sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup oats (quick or regular)
2 cups water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon vanilla

1. melt butter in a sauce pan. sautee sliced apples in the butter 4-5 minutes or until a little bit soft and then add white sugar and cinnamon. stir until completely combined.
2. while sauteeing the apples, bring 2 cups water and the salt to a boil. add oats, stir and reduce heat to low. when it is about half way done, add sauteed apples, brown sugar and vanilla. continue simmering until desired thickness is reached. eat and enjoy!

change up your grains

whole grains are an important part of a healthy diet and they are usually cheaper than the meat or veggie part of the meal so they are good "padding" for the cost of the meal too. i try to use some sort of grain in every dinner i cook. it is easy to get bored if you use the same grains in the same ways all of the time so here are some grain ideas from my kitchen:

• brown rice - chewy and delicious and much healthier than white. it tastes better as a side dish with heartier meals. it's harder to cook than white, but here's the perfect ratio: 2 1/2 cups water to 1 cup brown rice - combine, salt water, bring to boil, turn down to low and simmer covered for 40-45 minutes (until water is gone). i like brown rice with black beans in enchiladas or on a mexican-sytle salad, too.
• white rice - not as good for you as brown, but way yummier with asian cuisine like curry.
• pasta - whole wheat is best, but its expensive, so make your choice here! pour your favorite sauce over it, bake it, put it in soup, make a cold salad out of it. mmm...
• potatoes - i love red, but they are, again, more expensive, but ohhh so yummy! i buy whatever is cheapest usually. do a baked potato bar, make soup, mash them, turn them into oven fries or chop and bake them coated with a tiny bit of olive oil and a package of onion soup mix - that is one of my favorites!
• bread - i love bread. i would be an atkins diet failure for sure. i like to do homemade wheat (or 1/2 white 1/2 wheat) rolls or breadsticks or use it as part of the main course and make pizza or calzones.
• tortillas - again, go whole wheat. my husband rebels against whole wheat so we alternate white and wheat at our house. we love corn tortillas too. love these under a cafe rio style salad or in a mexi-casserole, make as a quesadilla, taco, enchiladas, burritos (try breakfast burritos for dinner some time!), etc, etc, etc. when i'm out of town my husband eats them with peanut butter and jelly.
• quinoa - actually not one of my favorites, but it is a fun one to use once in a while if you're bored!
• cous cous - a fun and different alternative to the typical grains. it's really yummy and makes a great side dish on a plate with meats and veggies. see a recipe below to try. i usually buy it in the bulk section of the whole foods market.

here's a yummy dinner i made last week. i love parmesan crusted chicken and this one was perfect.

parmesan crusted balsamic chicken and tomato florentine couscous

1 chicken breast and 1 1/2 cups couscous (about 3 servings - double all if you need more!)

parmesan crusted balsamic chicken
pound 1 chicken breast (or cut into thin peices) and marinate all day in:
1/4 cup italian dressing
1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon oil

for coating, mix the following ingredients in a bowl:
1/4 cup plain bread crumbs
1/2 cup parmesan cheese (chop smaller if you have the fresh, grated kind so it will stick to the chicken easier)
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
black pepper to your liking

simply pull the chicken out of the marinade and coat each side with the parmesan mixture.

bake at 350 in a 13 x 9 inch glass baking dish for 15-20 minutes (may vary depending on the thickness of your chicken!)

tomato florentine couscous
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups couscous
1 teaspoon dried parsley
2 cups (or more, to your liking) fresh spinach leaves, chopped
1 roma large tomato, chopped
3 tablespoons finely chopped green onion

bring broth to a boil. add couscous and spinach, stir then turn off heat and set lid in place. let stand 5 minutes. add dried herbs, tomatoes and onion and toss with fork.

have a happy turkey day everyone! i'm making my dad's stuffing this year. it's fabulous. i'm drooling just thinking about it! what is everyone else's favorite thanksgiving food?

planning a weekly menu

i got to speak to some girls in my ward tonight about cooking healthy on a budget. they are all low-budget (preferred descriptor to poor!) student types like i am, so it was really fun to hear all of their ideas and their experiences. thanks, girls, for hearing me out and for your contributions!

one of the things i shared with them was something i thought i should publish here in the skinny bovine’s kitchen as well. so, here it is!!!

make a weekly menu – why plan ahead?
here are some basic reasons:

• planning a menu for the week allows you to make a shopping list
• when you have a shopping list you can get through the grocery store quicker because you don't have to wander up and down the aisles trying to think of something to make for dinner
• if you don't have a list, you often forget things and then you have to go back to the grocery store again that week to get them (this = more time and money and gas wasted!)
• if you have a list you don't buy as many bad things (like chips, soda, candy or weird expensive things you "might" use)

want to save even more money? plan according to sales.

• stop throwing away your junk mail - your weekly sale ads for local grocery stores are priceless!
• plan your meals by what is on sale. example - last week cabbage was on sale so i made the delicious veggie soup recipe found below for our meatless monday. if avacados are on sale (i only buy them when i can find them once or twice a year 4 for $1), make some guacamole and go mexican!
• also from your sale adds, buy things in bulk that you know you will use. i bought a case of black beans from smiths a few months ago at $0.44/can and we've already used a good portion of them because we love black beans!

and here's that veggie soup recipe (compliments of my friend holley) i just mentioned. sorry no pics, my good camera is broken and my back up was otherwise occupied. i made whole wheat breadsticks to go with this soup from here and it was delicious, fast, healthy and cheap meal!

garden veggie soup (4 servings)

1 1/3 cup sliced carrots

1 cup diced onion

3-4 cloves garlic, diced (depends on how big!)

6 cups broth (chicken, beef, veggie)

3 cups diced green cabbage

1 can green beans, drained

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1 teaspoon basil

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup diced zucchini

1. spray pan and sautee carrots, onions and garlic for 5 minutes

2. add broth, cabbage, beans, tomato paste, basil, oregano and salt. bring to a boil.

3. reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. stir in zucchini and heat 3 to 4 more minutes.

snack time

i'm sure i'm not the only bovine who is getting hungry between meals so let's talk about snacks. there are definitely good and bad things to snack on, so what is the difference:

bad snacks:

• anything full of bad carbs - this can be store-bought granola bars, cereals, chips, etc., etc., etc.
• anything with lots of sugar - as much as we love it, we all know that snacking on leftover dessert from sunday night is a bad idea
• anything full of bad fat - anything fried like chips and anything with lots of butter like almost all crackers (sadly this includes our favorites like ritz, chicken in a biscuit, etc. even saltines aren't very good! ahhh!)

good snacks:

• fruit - keep lots of it around. shoot for 2-3 a day. it isn't hard - eat a banana with or after breakfast and an apple after lunch. don't want it plain? put a little bit of peanut butter on your apple and you may change your mind. this is still better than snacking on the apple cake you made last night (i made one last night... i'm trying to remind myself of this too...). a glass of orange juice is even a pretty decent snack
• veggies (with some fat free/low-fat salad dressing if you don't like to eat them plain)
• homemade granola bars (i'll post mine some time)
• yogurt - healthy and a great way to sneak in a serving of dairy
• nuts (sometimes they are expensive, but if you watch for sales these are good snacks!)
• hard boiled eggs (read more on eggs)
• whole-grain, low-sugar cereals (by the handful - i'm not talking about a bowl of cereal). i like to munch on my daughter's cheerios on occasion.
• and a good snack i've discovered will often quell my insatiable sweet tooth... muffins and quick breads made (made with no oil or butter and packed with good flour, fruits and veggies and with some added nutrition through wheat germ and flax seed)

you're probably noticing a trend - things are generally more healthy and less expensive when you make them yourself! this is something that we all know, but sometimes it's good to get a refresher!

i created these yummy snack loaved the other day for a number of reasons. 1 - i had brown bananas i didn't want to waste! :) 2 - i wanted a little bit of a sweet snack with no oil, butter or white flour in it. 3 - traditional sized loaves seem to get dry on the outside while the inside is waiting to cook, so these snack loaves are moist all the way through. yum. and 4 - a piece of a normal sized-loaf is often too much if i just need a tiny snack to hold me over.

my husband definitely prefers bread like this with white flour in it but he loved this one! it's light, moist and pretty good on the healthy snack scale! hope your health-resistant husband likes it too!

cinnamon banana snack loaf

2 snack loaves

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 4 smaller bananas for me!)
*1 cup oat flour (stick some oats in the blender)
*1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup warm water
*for an extra healthy touch decrease oat flour and wheat flour to 3/4 cup and add 1/4 cup each of wheat germ and milled flax seed

1. beat together sugar and applesauce. add vanilla and eggs and beat well.
2. stir in bananas and mix well again.
3. add all dry ingredients and combine until moist throughout.
4. add water and mix again until combined.
5. pour equal amounts into 2 large, greased loaf pans and bake for 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees (check frequently!). (the "snack loaves" will fill about 1/2 of a large loaf pan, but you could make small loaves if you have the pans.)

spent your food budget a little too early? me too.

i have a confession to make - i somehow managed to spend all of my food budget by the 17th of the month in october. argh. after a brief stint of major self-disappointment, i decided to take the opportunity to really get creative and use what i have in my kitchen already.

luckily, i like to keep lots of food around and my friend kimberly taught me the coolest trick with bell peppers a while back, so i even had some "fresh" produce on hand. i bought a bunch of bell peppers when they were 3 for $1 and froze them for later use. here's kimberly's trick. it's amazing.

how to prep and freeze bell peppers

1. buy lots of bell peppers when they are cheap, cheap, cheap!
2. chop them into small pieces.
3. spread them onto a cookie sheet and place (uncovered) in freezer for a few hours. a thinner layer is better - don't let them heap over the edge of the cookie sheet.
4. when frozen, remove from cookie sheet and place into freezer bag.

i usually just throw them into things frozen, but they do defrost quickly in case you're putting them on/in something where the extra water would be bad (i.e. pizza).

here's a recipe to try after you freeze some yummy bell peppers. when i realized i was out of money in my food budget, i started brain storming and almost immediately started dreaming of these yummy enchiladas. enjoy!

shredded chicken enchiladas with homemade red sauce

12 enchiladas

2 chicken breasts, cut in half

¼ teaspoon onion salt

¼ teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon cumin

1 tablespoon lime juice

1 bay leaf

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup chicken broth

1 can petit diced tomatoes, drained

½ cup green peppers, diced super tiny or put in small food processor or blender

more seasoning to taste (taco seasoning, chili powder, cumin, garlic salt – whatever you like! get creative!)

12 corn tortillas

shredded cheese

1 recipe "red enchilada sauce" (i'm obsessed with this enchilada sauce - it is so yummy! use 1 or 1 1/4 cups water instead of 1 1/2 cups and for the salsa part i make easy fresh salsa ala skinny bovine)

fat free sour cream

1. place all ingredients (except chicken and extra seasoning) into crockpot and stir.
2. add chicken. cook on high for 4 hours (or on low for 6-8 hours).
3. make enchilada sauce.
4. when chicken is done, remove bay leaf and shred chicken with a fork - it should basically just fall apart.
5. add extra seasoning as desired to make your chicken extra yummy! you be the chef!
6. use a fork (so extra liquid drains off) to scoop chicken mixture into corn tortillas. fit into pan - 10 across and then 2 along the bottom. top with all of the enchilada sauce and cheese to your liking. serve with fat free sour cream.

my good camera broke, so my pictures look miserable. sorry! they are lots yummier than they look!

go fancy: the art of recipe modification

i used to find myself getting discouraged because i'd see fancy meals that looked soooo delicious in magazines, online or even in restaurants that were just too fancy for me to make for any number of reasons. then i started dappling in the art of recipe modification and realized - "i can cook fancy, exotic things too!". the consequence is that now i'm not capable of following a recipe exactly (which is sometimes good and sometimes...), but here are some basic reasons the skinny bovine modifies recipes and how i work around them (if this post is too long for your taste, skip down to the "total savings for all 6 servings" near the bottom and you may be convinced it is worth your time!):

• the ingredient is too expensive. this obviously happens a lot on my budget. some examples are fancy cheeses, nuts, fresh herbs, etc.
• the ingredient is obscure or strange. do you ever read a recipe and think - "what the heck is that and where would i even buy it?"
• the ingredient is the most unhealthy thing you could possibly eat. that might be extreme, but you know what i mean. example - a whole cup of oil in a cake recipe. barf. how young do you want to die?
• you don't like the ingredient.

work arounds:

• leave it out: you obviously can't leave out a main ingredient or something that will drastically change the taste of a recipe, but there are many things you can leave out. example: my banana nut muffins are still fabulous without the expensive nuts.
• cut it down: if there is something expensive, maybe just use a tiny bit of it. if it is something unhealthy, see if you can use less - it is often just as good with less! example: almost every recipe calls for more oil than is actually needed. cut it way down or you can often leave it out (see example below).
• search out a substitute: so brie cheese or fresh herbs won't fit in your budget either? you want to make a pasta sauce with cooking wine but you don't buy wine? a cake recipe call for 1 cup of oil (barf)? use google or a cookbook in your kitchen to find a substitute. example: chicken broth is a good sub for some kinds of wine in recipes. sub applesauce or plain yogurt for oil. (see an herb example below.)
• use a different ingredient than the undesirable one and then use extra of something else (spices, another ingredient, etc.) to compensate. this takes a little bit of practice, but try it and you'll be surprised how creative you are! (i did this with the spaghetti squash and red sauce - added more of the veggies i like and left out the ones i don't. i also do it in the example below.)

my sweet friend jenny brought me dinner right after i had my daughter and what she brought was sooooo yummy i just had to get the recipe. i was slightly disappointed when i saw all of the fancy ingredients, but have since modified this fancy, exotic recipe to be totally doable, even for a healthy-eating, money saving skinny bovine. it illustrates all of the above modifiying techniques also, so it helps illustrate my point! it also uses some of that coriander i told you to buy when i posted creamy herbed chicken and homemade mashed potatoes!

rachel ray's "moroccan chili and 10,000 grains of sand"

6 servings

(places where i made changes are purple - see list of changes and reasons below)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 pounds ground lamb
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 bay leaf
1 large onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 lemon, zested and juiced
2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce, eyeball it
1 (14-ounce) can tomato sauce
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups chicken stock/broth
a handful golden raisins
4 apricots, chopped
1 1/2 cups couscous
3 to 4 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
a handful fresh parsley leaves, chopped
a handful fresh mint leaves, chopped
3 tablespoons finely chopped chives
8 pita breads, cut into wedges for scooping

skinny bovine's "moroccan chili and 10,000 grains of sand"
6 servings

1 1/2 pounds lean ground turkey
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chili powder + a bit more
1/2 tablespoon ground cumin + a little more
1 tablespoon ground coriander + a bit more
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon + an extra dash
1/2 teaspoon paprika + a little bit
1 bay leaf
1 large onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 lemon, zested and juiced
2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce, eyeball it
1 (14-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon butter
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 cups couscous
1 teaspoon dried parsley
a handful fresh spinach leaves, chopped
3 tablespoons finely chopped chives
8 pita breads, cut into wedges for scooping (made from recipe here)

looks the same as rachel ray's, eh?

1. make pita bread and let rise.
2. heat skillet, add meat. season the meat with salt and pepper, to taste, chili powder, cumin, coriander, cinnamon and paprika. cook until browned.
3. add the bay leaf, onions, bell pepper and garlic to the pan. cook until onions are soft, 8 minutes. 4. add lemon juice and zest, worcestershire sauce and tomato sauce. stir and reduce heat to simmer.
5. bring butter and stock to a boil in a pot with tight fitting lid. add couscous, stir then turn off heat and set lid in place. let stand 5 minutes. add spinach and dried herbs and toss with fork.
6. cook pita bread and cut into wedges.
7. pile chili in bowls, top with "sand" and serve with pita wedges for scooping.


changes:

• eliminated olive oil - there is enough grease in the meat that you don't need it and you're eliminating 28 grams of fat and 240 calories by leaving it out!
• substituted 2 lbs ground lamb for 1 1/2 lbs ground turkey - who has ground lamb? and this makes it 36 grams of fat and 765 calories in 1 1/2 lbs ground turkey instead of 123 grams of fat and 1772 calories in 2 lbs ground lamb.
• added a little bit more of each spice - ground turkey absorbs flavor and usually needs more. (read more.)
• left out half the butter (just 1 tablespoon instead of 2) - saving 11 grams of fat and 100 calories.
• left out apricots and raisins - i don't like apricots or raisins and they are just something else that adds cost to the meal.
• left out pine nuts and mint - i once paid about $2 for 2 tablespoons of pine nuts. never again. these would obviously be a yummy addition, but the recipe is still wonderful without them! also, 3 tablespoons of pine nuts has 174 calories and 18 grams of fat)
• substituted fresh parsley for 1 teaspoon dried - way cheaper!
• added spinach - this way it is still pretty like if you used the fresh herbs and besides, you added a veggie! (read more on adding veggies)

total savings for all 6 servings:

• fat grams eliminated: 144 (olive oil, turkey, butter, pine nuts)
• calories eliminated: 1521 (olive oil, turkey, butter, pine nuts)
• money saved: $12 (about $4 on turkey, $4 on fresh herbs, $1 on fruit, $3 on pine nuts)

okay - that is totally amazing!!!!!!!!! i don't usually obsessively break it down like that, but i'm even shocked now. that is real healthy and budgeted savings!

hope this post was as fun for you to read as it was for me to create! now, go to it - go mess with a recipe! take something out, add something yummy, make it better and make it your own!

why eat meatless?

i am by no means a vegetarian, but do love to eat meatless, or at least make a dinner with no meat every now and then. as meat is a traditional part of american meals, you may face understandable skepticism or even protest from say, your meatier half, when placing a meatless dish on your dinner table. thanks to my friend stacey for asking me to post about this! here are a few skinny-bovine worthy arguments with which to combat this protest:

• "eating meatless (at least occasionally) is cheaper than eating with meat." if you are married to an accountant like i am (or any other form of stingy, money-saving, male) this argument can definitely hold weight.
• "eating meatless is really healthy." you can choose better calories by replacing a meat with a protein-rich non-meat or eliminate an unnecessary carb load by replacing it with a veggie.
• "saving calories with less meat means more room for dessert." enough said.
• "we can be more adventurous in our food choices by eating meatless." some of my favorite meatless recipes are curries, indian dishes, etc. these types of fun recipes keep me from getting bored cooking and my husband from getting bored eating. don't be afraid to try new things!

and of course if i'm going to try and convince you to eat meatless, i'd better give you a fun, meatless recipe. i made this one last night and was pleasantly surprised at how yummy it turned out... all of the veggies in the sauce were fabulous!! besides, it was really fun to make noodles out of squash. i felt so professional. thanks again, stacey, for passing it along!

spaghetti squash with red sauce

6 servings

1 medium spaghetti squash (about 4 pounds)

2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes

1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

1 cup diced green pepper

1/2 cup shredded carrots

1/4 cup diced red onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons italian seasoning

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce

grated parmesan cheese (optional)

1. cut squash in half lengthwise; discard seeds. place squash, cut side down, on a microwave-safe plate. microwave, uncovered, on high for 14-16 minutes or until tender.

2. meanwhile, in a large skillet, sauté tomatoes, mushrooms, green pepper, carrot, onion, garlic, italian seasoning and pepper in oil for 6-8 minutes or until tender. add tomato sauce; heat through.

3. when squash is cool enough to handle, use a fork to separate strands (see pic below). place squash on a serving platter and top with sauce. sprinkle with parmesan cheese if desired.

i made a few changes of course - i was saving my fresh tomatoes for something else so i used a can of diced (drained) and i think mushrooms are yucky so i left them out.

here's my suggestion, try something meatless that is fabulous like no-cream pasta primavera or taco soup (vegetarian modification) and then sneak a meat substitute into something and see if your eaters like it (try tasty lentil taco meat in burritos or enchiladas or something!) your sneakiness will pay off! trust me.

click here for all of my meatless favorites!

recipe from http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/06/04/earlyshow/living/recipes/main2883739.shtml

choose the right [chicken broth]

so i used to be one of those people who anxiously awaited canned chicken broth to go on sale for $0.50/can and then buy tons of it. i use it for everything - in pasta sauce, sauces for meat and veggies, we cook rice and pasta in it, make soup with it, etc, etc, etc. and yet, despite the fact that i bought it at the "sale" price i felt guilty every time i used 4-5 cans to make homemade chicken noodle soup. buying canned chicken noodle soup would be cheaper than that, wouldn't it? (granted it wouldn't have been as good, so it was still worth it!)

luckily, i discovered i was doing it all wrong. chicken broth can be cheap. and here's how:

buying the chicken bullion cubes isn't very cheap, but buying a whole container of bullion sure is! i bought this beauty for $5 at wal-mart. just add 1 teaspoon of the bullion (i often like a little more) to 1 cup of water and you just made a cup of chicken broth for 2 1/2 cents!!! (the whole container holds 250 teaspoons, it cost $5 - you do the math.) another bonus - it hardly takes up any room in your cabinets, unlike buying a case of the canned stuff.

this is the kind of budgeting find that makes me oh so happy to be a poor student on a budget! take that canned chicken broth! ha! :)

in honor of this money saving moment, here's a recipe to use some of your new chicken broth bullion on. warning: this recipe is not my cheapest, healthiest or lowest fat, but it isn't that expensive or that unhealthy and it is soooo good! so go ahead, splurge! with your cheap chicken broth and red, orange and yellow bell peppers on sale at the sunflower farmers market (see sale alert!!! in side bar) this meal is affordable. make it for a date night with your sweetie this weekend instead of going out or cook it for sunday dinner. it will not fail to impress! (some of you may have seen this on my family blog a few months ago if it looks familiar.)

chicken pepper pasta

(this makes lots - 4-6 servings, depends on how much you can control your urge to eat more!!!)

1 1/2 tablespoon fat-free italian dressing

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 large cloves finely chopped garlic

3 peppers, chopped into bite-sized pieces (red, yellow and orange, no green - can use 2 peppers to make it cheaper and it will still be great!)

2 cups chicken broth

4 oz (1/2 block) 1/3 less fat cream cheese

1 cup parmesan cheese

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

garlic salt, pepper and cumin

16 oz penne pasta, cooked

1. combine italian dressing, olive oil, black pepper, onion and garlic in large saucepan. brown until onion is semi-soft.

2. add peppers and chicken broth to saucepan. simmer for about 10 minutes until peppers are semi-soft.

3. add cream cheese and stir until melted. add parmesan and stir until melted.

4. while your sauce is heating, pan-cook or grill chicken breasts coated in a little bit of italian dressing and olive oil and sprinkled with garlic salt, pepper and cumin. cut chicken into thin slices.

5. combine sauce, pasta and sliced chicken in large bowl. serves 4-6.

no need for recipe attribution. this one, like creamy herbed chicken, is mine!

update on ground turkey

if i read my comments more faithfully i would have seen this ahead (see comments under homemade poppyseed dressing) , but stacey and clare tell me that ground turkey is even cheaper in tubes in the frozen section of your grocery store! thanks girls! as usual, we're all in this together!!

the other ground meat: discover ground turkey

to most people ground turkey sounds foreign, scary and just plain wrong when compared to ground beef. i hope to change your mind about that. let me introduce you to a much more flavorful, healthy and delicious alternative that will make all of your favorite ground beef dishes even more delicious.

a few reasons why ground turkey is skinny-bovine worthy:

• unlike ground beef, it is a good source of lean protein with very little fat
• it has a yummy flavor all by itself
• you can use it in almost any recipe in which you would normally use ground beef. try the substitution in one of your favorites (see trick below!)
• it's cheaper than good, extra lean ground beef. macey's in provo grounds their own turkey and it is normally $1.59/lb (good lean ground beef on sale might be $1.99/lb). the jennie-o brand is expensive, so call grocers in your area and find one who grounds their own.
• no greasy after taste. is anyone else disgusted by that gross film in your mouth after you eat ground beef?

an important ground turkey trick:

• when using ground turkey as a substitute for ground beef you'll need to know that ground turkey seasons differently than does ground beef. use more seasonings (in many recipes almost double) when using ground turkey.

it's so good. i promise. just try it. you'll be glad you did. here's a fun recipe to start with!

taco soup (4 large servings)

1 lb ground turkey (still yummy with less meat if you like less or if you want to make it extra cheap!)
½ cup chopped onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon garlic salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 15 oz can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 15 oz can corn, drained
1 cup water
½ packet western family taco seasoning - more if you like it with more spice! (same taste can be accomplished with chili powder, cumin and garlic salt to taste)

1. spray a skillet with cooking spray. combine onions, garlic, ground turkey, garlic salt and black pepper in skillet. cook until meat browed and onions soft.
2. in large pot cominbe crushed tomatoes, kidney beans, corn, water and taco seasoning. add meat mixture.
3. cook until hot throughout and until beans are hot in center.

fun toppings: cheese, sour cream, cilantro, avocado/guacamole, tortilla chips (not all of these are healthy or cheap, but if you have them laying around they are kind of fun!)

i like to eat mine with cheese quesadillas as shown in the picture! if you’re feeling extra healthy use whole wheat tortillas.

fun modifications:
kid-friendly – use 2 cans tomato soup instead of crushed tomatoes. makes it smooth and creamy!
vegetarian – grill onions and garlic without the meat and add a can of rinsed and drained black beans

this recipe would be easy to throw together and leave in the crockpot all day until you get home as well.

price breakdown:
1 lb ground turkey - $1.59
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes - $0.84
1 15 oz can kidney beans - $0.59
1 15 oz can corn - $0.59
1/2 packet taco seasoning - $0.17
onion, garlic, garlic salt, pepper - $0.25

total (4 large servings) - $4.03

so no more ground beef. your palate and waist line will thank you.

original cow picture from http://nikkislinks.files.wordpress.com/2007/08/eat-more-chicken.jpg modified by me

taco soup recipe inspired by my mother-in-law's taco soup, but recipe is the skinny bovine's

recipe of the week: homemade poppyseed dressing

my absolute favorite lunch is a yummy salad. if you do it right you can do it cheap and healthy (stay tuned - next post will have more on this). one of the best ways to make it cheap and healthy is to make your own salad dressings. good store-bought salad dressings (like newman's) are expensive and REALLY high on the bad fat and calories scale. change the salad dressing-stigma in your brain and make your own - the healthy way!

here is one of my favorite homemade dressings. it is really yummy on a salad with chicken and your favorite fruit. mmm..... enjoy!

poppyseed dressing

1/2 cup low-fat or fat-free mayo

1/4 cup skim milk

1/4 cup white sugar

1/8 cup distilled white vinegar

1 tablespoon poppyseeds

mix well. refrigerate until ready to use and refrigerate leftovers.

coming next is one of my favorite meals - a lunch salad with a cafe rio-style flair!

above recipe is slightly modified version of "poppyseed dressing I" from allrecipes.com. thanks to the same for the photo.

veggies, veggies and more veggies

so we all know that fruits and veggies are healthy for you, but they are often a challenge for we healthy, budgeted eaters. the "5 a day" campaign has drilled into my mind getting 5 servings of fruits and veggies a day, but veggies are the hard part of that for me. i just have never loved them, but a few adjustments in my eating and shopping and i've learned to like them. veggies can be a bit more expensive than other things you could buy at the grocery store, but the benefits are more than worth the sacrifices in soda, cookies and granola bars you'll make. make small adjustments in your budget and your tummy will thank you. here are some of the cheaper veggies that i love and sneaky ways to use them so you don't feel like an under-fed health nut! :)

a few cheap veggies to love and ways to use them

spinach - spinach is a "superfood" (read about superfoods here) so it's super good for you. it's the easiest vegetable to use and disguise so that the fact that you may not love spinach won't ruin your meal. toss it in with your regular lettuce in a salad, get gutsy and make a salad of just spinach, put it in your hot pasta sauce or your chicken noodle soup and watch it basically disappear. i've heard it's good disguised in smoothies too, though i've yet to venture that far...

squash - yellow squash and zucchini are my favorites - they're cheap and a single yellow squash or zucchini goes a long way in a recipe! squash can be yummy all by itself as a side dish or you can add it to other recipes to sneak in an extra veggie serving for the day. it is yummy sprinkled with your favorite seasonings and grilled or baked. my husband loves to sprinkle cheese on top too. try slicing it up and putting it in your favorite saucy dish like pasta, curry or soup (add near the end so it doesn't get too mushy - squash cooks fast this way). pan-cook it with meat and other veggies and serve over rice.

green beans - fresh, frozen or in a can, you can always find green beans for cheap. they are great to throw into soups and sauces as well or as a side dish. pan-cook some with a little bit of italian dressing and you've got a tasty, easy and cheap little side dish... and an extra serving of vegetables for the day.

tomatoes - I KNOW, I KNOW! tomatoes are a fruit, but i'm including them in the veggie post because they taste and cook like veggies. another superfood, i once bought 6 romas for 86 cents!! hooray for tomatoes. again, salads, pastas, mexican food - the sky is the limit! canned tomatoes (crushed are my favorite) are a good base for many soups and sauces too.

broccoli - yet another superfood, broccoli is another veggie you can sneak into meals. try putting it in your blender first and then adding it to a sauce if you don't love it. you'll hardly know it's there. my friend lindsay has 2 boys under 4 and she says this is a good way to get kids to eat it too. i love it as a side dish, especially with my mom's cream cheese sauce which is skinny bovine-worthy for taste only (not healthy or particularly cheap) but if you're interested leave a comment with your email address and i'll tell you what's in it.

adjust your budget, your shopping list and your eating habits and push harder to get your "5 a day". and give vegetables a chance. you might like them more than you think you do.

thanks to the following sites for the pictures of spinach, squash, green beans, tomatoes, and broccoli, respectively: http://www.ultimatecoupons.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/popeye.jpg, http://www.parkseed.com/product_images/5849.jpg, http://www.busymomsrecipes.com/images/greenbeans.jpg.busymomsrecipes.com/images/greenbeans.jpg, http://www.blendernation.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/tomatoes.jpg, http://www.worldcommunitycookbook.org/season/guide/photos/broccoli.jpg