Recipes and Tips for Healthy, Thrifty Meals - preterhuman.net

1 Recipes and tips forHealthy, Thrifty MealsUnited States Department of AgricultureCenter for NutritionPolicy and PromotionRecipes and tips forHealthy, Thrifty MealsFOREWORDThe essence of nutrition guidance is to provide thepublic with the best information available to assistthem in making wise and nutritious food choices tosustain life and good health. As public officials in Department of Agriculture, we are deeplyconcerned that Americans not only have enough foodbut also that the public has enough information toknow what food to purchase and how to prepare a healthy diet is the cornerstone to goodhealth, meeting that goal can be a challenge.

2 That iswhy we are delighted to offer this publication to thepublic. Recipes and tips for healthy , Thrifty Mealsismore than a cookbook. The book provides basiccooking and food safety guidance. The menuspresented here conform to the recommendationscontained in the Dietary Guidelines for Americansand the USDA Food Guide Pyramid. The 40 recipesare quick, easy, tasty and hope that you will find the Recipes and otherinformation provided in this book useful. At the backof the book is information on how to get morenutrition information. If you have comments orsuggestions, let us hear from R. WatkinsRajen S. Anand, SecretaryExecutive DirectorFood, Nutrition and Center for Nutrition Consumer ServicesPolicy and Promotion13 TABLE OF CONTENTSI ntroduction 4 tips for healthy , Thrifty meals5 Some best buys for cost and nutrition 8 tips for healthy cooking 10 Keep your family s food safe 11 Menus for 2 weeks of meals13 Recipes 18 Food lists for 2 weeks of meals69 Recipe list 74 INTRODUCTIONHow can you serve healthy Meals on a limitedbudget?

3 It takes some time and planning, but youand your family can eat better for less. This bookletcan help you save money as you prepare healthymeals. It contains tips for planning, shopping, and cooking healthymeals on a tight budget Sample menus for 2 weeks for breakfast, lunch,dinner, and snacks Recipes for healthy , Thrifty Meals Lists of the foods needed for each weekly menu4 tips FOR healthy , Thrifty MEALSWHY PLAN Meals ?To help you and your family be youplan Meals , you can make sure you include enoughfoods from each food group. Pay special attention toserving enough vegetables and fruits in family help you balance you are serving afood with a lot of fat or salt, you can plan lowfat orlow-salt foods to go with it.

4 For example, ham ishigh in salt. If you have ham for dinner, you also canserve a salad or a vegetable that doesn t need save you plan before you go foodshopping, you will know what you have on hand and what you need. Also, shopping from a list helpsyou avoid expensive impulse purchases. To save time and you plan Meals , youhave foods on hand and make fewer trips to thegrocery store. Planning also helps you make good use of leftovers. This can cut your cooking timeand food FOR PLANNINGB uild the main part of your meal around rice,noodles, or other grains. Use small amounts of meat,poultry, fish, or eggs. For example, make a casserole by mixing rice,vegetables, and chicken.

5 Or try Beef-NoodleCasserole (p. 22) or Stir-Fried Pork and Vegetableswith Rice (p. 26).Add variety to family Meals . In addition to cookingfamily favorites, try new, low-cost Recipes or foodcombinations. For example, if you usually serve mashed potatoes,try Baked Crispy Potatoes (p. 49) or Potato Salad(p. 58) for a Make Meals easier to prepare by trying new ways to cook foods. For example, try using a slow cooker or crock-potto cook stews or soups. They cook foods withoutconstant watching. Use planned leftovers to save both time and money. For example, prepare a Beef Pot Roast (p. 21),serve half of it, and freeze the remaining half to uselater.

6 You also can freeze extra cooked meats andvegetables for soups or batch cooking when your food budget andtime allow. For example, cook a large batch of BakedMeatballs (p. 20) or Turkey Chili (p. 39), divide itinto family-size portions, and freeze some for mealslater in the snacks that give your family the nutrients they need. For example, buy fresh fruits in season like applesor peaches. Dried fruits like raisins or prunes, rawvegetables, crackers, and whole wheat bread arealso good ideas for FOR SHOPPINGB efore you go shopping Make a list of all the foods you need. Do this in your kitchen so you can check what you haveon hand.

7 Look for specials in the newspaper ads for thestores where you shop. Look for coupons for foods you plan to buy. But remember, coupons save money only if youneed the product. Also, check if other brands are on sale, too. They may cost even less than the one with a While you shop When your food budget allows, buy extra low-cost, nutritious foods like potatoes and frozenorange juice concentrate. These foods keep well. Compare the cost of convenience foods with thesame foods made from scratch. Conveniencefoods are products like fancy baked goods, frozenmeals, and vegetables with seasonings and of these cost more than similar foodsprepared at home.

8 Also, you can use less fat, sugar, and salt in food you make at home. Try store brands. They usually cost less than namebrands, but they taste as good and generally havethe same nutritional value. Take time to compare fresh, frozen, and cannedfoods to see which is cheapest. Buy what s onspecial and what s in season. Prevent food waste. Buy only the amount that yourfamily will eat before the food label and shelf information Read the Nutrition Facts label on packaged the amount of fat, sodium, calories, andother nutrients in similar products. This can helpyou choose foods that have less fat, sodium orcalories, and more vitamins, minerals, and fiber.

9 Use date information on packages sell by and best if used by dates to help you choose thefreshest foods. Look for the unit price to compare similar foods. It tells you the cost per ounce, pound, or pint, soyou ll know which brand or size is the best stores show the unit price on a shelf stickerjust below the BEST BUYS FOR COST AND NUTRITIONBREADS AND GRAINSLook for bargains on day-old bread and bakery regular rice, oatmeal, and grits instead of the instant and flavored whole-grain bread and brown rice to add nutrients and variety to family AND SALADSLook for large bags of frozen vegetables. They may be bargains and you cancook just the amount you need, close the bag tightly, and put the rest back in the at salad bars can be costly.

10 Some food items lettuce, cabbage, onions,and carrots usually cost less in the produce section of the store than at thesalad bar. But if you need only a small amount of a vegetable, buying at thesalad bar can save money if it reduces the amount you Buy fresh fruits in season, when they generally cost MILKN onfat dry milk is the least expensive way to buy milk. When using it as abeverage, mix it several hours ahead and refrigerate so it can get cold fresh milk in large containers (gallon or 1/2 gallon). These generally cost less than fat-free or lowfat milk to cut the amount of fat in your family s Meals . Note that children under 2 years of age should be given only whole AND POULTRYLook for specials at the meat counter.