I cannot stress enough how important it is to cook for the season you are in. Not only is the produce more fresh, it comes from more regional farms instead of being shipped thousands of miles from Mexico or South America. Should I mention that it is cheaper, too?
A few days ago, I posted my recipe for my Black Bean, Corn, and Avocado Summer Salad. Most of the ingredients were either purchased on sale or grown in my garden. Remember my Aldi trip the other day? I got the sweet corn and avocados at the peak of their freshness, but at a low price. The peppers, tomatoes, and green onion came straight from my yard so I know they're fresh! The canned black beans were on sale at Publix a while back, and I got a 3 pound sack of Vidalia onions at the beginning of the summer for $0.99 (what a steal!). The other ingredients (salt, pepper, oil, lime juice) are all items that I have on-hand at all times.
So what did 10+ servings of delicious salad cost to make? Here's the breakdown:
$1.34 - Corn
$0.34 - Beans
$1.38 - Avocados
$0.08 - Onion
Free* - Tomatoes, peppers, and green onion
$0.15 - Dressing
Total: $4.18, or $0.42 cents per one cup serving.
Note to self: calculating cost of dressing ingredients was a huge pain. Never do it again.
*As The Hubs points out, it costs water, fertilizer, dirt, seeds, etc. to grow food. I consider gardening a hobby so I don't count that towards the cost of our food.
I mentioned in my recipe that I would serve the Black Bean, Corn, and Avocado Summer Salad with tacos or spicy chicken - so what would I do in the winter months? I would probably serve a rice and bean dish, or cilantro-lime rice, with an amazing red cabbage slaw. Perhaps a green salad with cilantro-lime dressing. It's all about making it work!
Save money, eat healthy!
- Maggie White
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