Blog
Meals In 30 Minutes Featuring Sweet and Sour Rice
The month between Thanksgiving and Christmas is one of the busiest in the year. I like to make “all in one meals” on the stove that are quick and healthy. The recipes I look for include three or four food groups all in one dish. Most of the time I have enough left over to take for lunch the next day. This saves me money and time!
Spend Smart and Eat Smart for the Holidays
I’ve just returned from vacation in North Carolina. One of the things I am grateful for is food prices here in Iowa. We don’t appreciate how good we have it until we shop on either coast for groceries. Since my cupboard was bare, I needed to make a trip to the grocery store. Big surprise, my store finished a renovation while I was gone which includes a much larger produce section, which is great. However, they have also devoted half of an aisle to holiday candy. Halloween candy is hardly gone when the Christmas candy moves in. Add in all the holiday baking and no wonder budgets and weights get out of control at this time of year
Recipe Feature: Vegetable Soup with Kale and Lentils
I never heard of either kale or lentils when I was growing up. Recently, I’ve started enjoying both. Kale is being promoted as one of our most powerful vegetables. It is low in calories, but rich in vitamins C and K, fiber, and calcium. Lentils are very high in protein and they contain fiber, folate, vitamins and minerals. They come in a range of colors including yellow, red, green, brown and black. Lentils are easy for me, because they cook much faster than other dry beans.
Super Bowl Tostada Party
Whether you are a Broncos fan, Seahawks fan or just watch the Super Bowl for the commercials, you might be pondering what to serve while the big game is on. Consider our Make Your Own Tostadas. They are super economical (about .40 each) and easy. If you prepare the toppings and bake the tostadas the day before or during the pregame you won’t have to be in the kitchen while everyone else is watching the game.
Edamame?
What is it? Have you tried it? What do you think of it?
Chocolate Surprise Cupcakes
Have you ever heard of a chocolate cupcake that provides 60% of the Vitamin A you needed in a day? Today is your lucky day!
SNAP Challenge Meals
Following our SNAP challenge blogs throughout the month of March, I received some requests for details about the foods I purchased and how I put them together into meals. I allowed myself $28 and I spent $25.01 so that I could use a few things from home (cooking spray, margarine, salt and pepper).
Fruit Salsa, the new rage!
Americans love salsa. We eat more of it than ketchup these days. When I think of salsa I think of a tomato based sauce with hot peppers used as a dip. However, more and more salsas are using fruit as the main ingredient. With warm weather coming soon (thank goodness) many fruits will be in season so they will be abundant and lower in cost.
Apricot Pops
I remember when we were kids we made our own popsicles in the summer time using a flavored drink mix like Kool-Aid. We had an ice pop mold that we used. Since we were making them out of sugary water they were very hard (basically ice on a stick) and they didn’t provide many nutrients.
What I have learned being part of the SSES Team
I joined the Spend Smart Eat Smart Team as a junior here at Iowa State University, a little over a year after I no longer had an on-campus meal plan so I was buying my own groceries and preparing my own meals. I liked to cook but struggled when it came to knowing how to budget my spending on groceries as well as how to reduce food waste in my kitchen.
Save time with Freezer Meals
Today my 4-year-old son started preschool. That means summer has officially ended. While I’m a bit sad that summer has ended, I’m looking forward to our schedule getting into a more regular routine. However, I also know life will continue to be busy with activities. Therefore, I spent some time in my kitchen a couple of weeks ago preparing some meals to freeze. I enjoy freezing meals ahead of time because:
Eating protein foods on a budget
My total is what?!? There has been a lot of sticker shock at the grocery store lately. Food prices in general have increased in the last couple of years, but meat prices have gotten a lot of attention lately. Foods from the Protein Foods Group are important sources of protein, iron, vitamins B and E, zinc and magnesium. Therefore, it’s necessary to determine how to fit them into your diet but stay within your food budget.
