Eating well … on a budget

I like food. A lot. Mmm … food. And it’s a big line item in the ol’ budget, as it probably is for you. That said, I just took a quick look back at budgets from years past, and I am aghast at what we used to spend. When it was just my husband and me in NYC, our monthly food and restaurant outlay was— *gulp*—$1,800. WTF. Thank you, blog, for making me want to slap some sense into 2008 me.

Honestly, I was shocked. Especially as I don’t recall feeling particularly extravagant about what we were eating back then (best friend: “I think that was the year we went to that restaurant with the dessert made with edible gold”).

Right.

How to reduce your food budget? Apparently, start with a ridiculous one and then cut back on the precious metals. Reminds me of the old joke: “How do you make $1,000,000 in the stock market? Start with $2,000,000.” To be fair, our lives were very different in those pre-kid years and I vaguely remember storing sweaters in our oven.

Now we hardly ever go out to eat since it’s much more efficient to throw food on the ground and then burn a $50 dollar bill. I also learned how to cook, or what I call it—following directions with food. If you want to reduce your food budget, this is the number one way to do so. Not only is it better for your wallet, it’s better for your waistline and if you cook mostly vegetarian dishes, it’s better for the planet. Win, win, win!

With the interweb, there really is no excuse for not knowing how to cook. And cook well. Listen to the hive mind (i.e. ratings and reviews). I make this one vegan curry. If you’ve been to my house for dinner, I’ve probably served it to you. If you just had a baby or work at my kids’ school or were recently in the hospital, you’ve probably eaten it. My four-year-old will see a collection of cans on the counter and ask if I’m making curry.

It costs about $1.00 per serving including the rice … ’cause you know it’s the rice driving the cost.

Enjoy.

Butter Chickpea Curry (adapted from allrecipes)

Serves 12 … or one over twelve days

6 Tblsp. canola oil

2-3 onions, diced

1 heaping Tblsp. minced garlic

8 tsp. curry powder

8 tsp. garam masala

4 tsp. ground ginger

4 tsp. cumin

4 tsp. salt

1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes

1 8 oz. can tomato sauce

1 14 oz. can coconut milk

3 15.5 oz. cans of garbanzo beans, drained

3 15 oz. cans of sweet potatoes, drained and cut into ½ inch pieces

6 oz. frozen peas

Jasmine rice

Heat the oil in a large stock pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic and cook until the onions are soft and translucent. Stir in the curry powder, garam masala, ginger, cumin, and salt. This is very important—you must fry the spices in the oil for a few minutes to release their flavor! Pour in the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, and coconut milk. Simmer for five minutes. Pour in the garbanzo beans, sweet potatoes, and frozen peas. Bring to a simmer.

The recipe is very forgiving. It works with just about any kind of tomato base, even condensed tomato soup, and any kind of milk or cream. Your sweet potatoes can be in two-inch chunks. It can be used with chicken, cauliflower, carrots, regular potatoes … really, anything.

Serve with jasmine rice (preferably from the Three Ladies brand—trust me—trust the ladies).