McCoy - Healthy meals for less : great-tasting simple recipes under $1 a serving

Books by Jonni McCoy

Miserly Moms

Miserly Meals

JONNI McCOY

Great-Tasting Simple Recipes

Under $1 a Serving

Healthy Meals for Less
Copyright 2002, 2009
Jonni McCoy

Previously published in 2002 as Miserly Meals.

Miserly Moms is a trademark and servicemark of Jonni McCoy.

Cover design by Dan Pitts

E-book edition created 2011

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwisewithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

Published by Bethany House Publishers
11400 Hampshire Avenue South
Bloomington, Minnesota 55438
www.bethanyhouse.com

Bethany House Publishers is a division of
Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan
www.bakerpublishinggroup.com

ISBN 978-1-4412-1087-6

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

The internet addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers in this book are accurate at the time of publication. They are provided as a resource. Baker Publishing Group does not endorse them or vouch for their content or permanence.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Special thanks are due to my husband, Beau,
for his unwavering faith in my ability to
help others through my writing.
A special hug goes to my children, Jeremy and Jessica,
for their patience, support, and willingness to try new recipes.
I owe my mom, Joan Stivers, particular thanks
for instilling in me at an early age the delight in cooking.

I want to give a special thanks to my test chefs,
who spent numerous hours testing these recipes.
Your help made them even better!

Cheryl Coffin, esq.

Melissa Filkins

Mindy Harrington

Vickilynn Haycraft

Maria Irizarry

Kathy Merrill

Kat Osten

Kristen Paris

Donna Salinas

Lori Scott

Julie Shirin

Debbie Steele

Joan Stivers

Michele Woodland

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

JONI MCCOY holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Speech Communication from the University of California at Santa Barbara. Prior to motherhood, she spent ten years as a senior buyer and supervisor for electronics firms such as Apple Computer and National Semiconductor. She presents seminars on living for less to womens groups and other conferences. She has been practicing her frugal ways since 1991. Jonni has appeared on the Gayle King Show and The 700 Club and radio programs such as Focus on the Family, FamilyLife Today, and the Dick Staub Show. She has also been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Good Housekeeping, Womans World, Family Circle, Family Fun, Working Mother, and Womans Day magazines, and online at Oprah.com, Dr. Laura.com, CBS.Marketwatch.com, and SmartMoney.com . Jonni and her family make their home in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

------------------------------

FOR MORE HELP with recipes and money-saving tips, visit www.miserlymoms.com . We offer numerous resources for the frugal person (or frugal wannabe). There are articles, links to other money-saving sites, discussion groups, and much more. Drop by soon!

www.miserlymoms.com

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION
Why This Cookbook Is Different

YOUR IDEALS ARE WELL WITHIN YOUR REACH.

ANCIENT CHINESE PROVERB

W hen I first embarked on my frugal lifestyle, we found most of the extra savings we needed to pay other bills within the grocery budget. We were able to reduce our food bill by more than half! Part of that reduction was through smarter shopping techniques. In my book Miserly Moms , I explain in great detail how to shop differently in order to reduce your grocery spending. I dont want to repeat those tips here, but rather encourage you to read Miserly Moms to learn to stretch your dollar.

Nevertheless, shopping is only part of the way to save grocery money. The other part is to modify the menu. Both things need to be done in order to accomplish a maximum reduction in grocery spending. After all, how can we save money if we have steak several times per week? We need new recipes that call for simple ingredients but still provide an appealing and healthy meal to the family.

That last part of my goal is what this book is really all about. When people hear that I shop and cook frugally, they often assume that our meals are high in carbohydrates, low in protein, and high in fat. It saddens me that there are such misconceptions out there about inexpensive meals.

I want to report that these assumptions dont have to be true, and I will provide numerous examples and options to support my position. This book includes over two hundred recipes that offer several features that no other cookbook offers:

Each recipe costs $1 or less per serving . The cost per serving is indicated on each recipe page.

Each recipe has been tested by a chef to make sure the recipe is written correctly, the servings are accurate, and the flavor is tasty.

Each recipe is nutritious (according to RDA standards) and is backed up by a detailed nutritional analysis.

Each recipe offers a preparation time estimate as well as a cook time estimate .

Each recipe is easy to make . No tricky maneuvers or tools are needed.

Each recipe page offers a kitchen tip on varying subjects of interest to a chef.

Chapter 1, The Miserly Kitchen, explains these features in greater detail. I have also included some nutritional information that I felt was important to keep your family healthy. Page through the information in The Miserly Kitchen, read some of the Kitchen Tips, and take a look at the charts at the end of the book to see how you can make your kitchen a more effective place.

Use these recipes as a springboard for your own creative ideas. Perhaps you can change a few of your familys favorite meals to make them healthier and cost less. Perhaps you can branch out and add a few vegetarian meals that everyone will love and benefit from, health wise as well as financially. These recipes are our familys favorites. You may notice the lack of pork recipes. That is because my family doesnt like the taste of pork, and no other reason. You can substitute pork for the beef or chicken called for in many of the recipes.

Many of us are frugal in our cooking because we need that extra grocery money somewhere else; others have a financial goal they are trying to meet and need every extra dime. Regardless of your reasons for reducing your grocery budget, let my recipes be a tool to saving you money for some other goal. Let your frugal cooking be an enhancement to your familys budget, not a frustration.