Hubby and I have officially started our new eating plan. So, keeping dinnertime affordable has become a bit more challenging. So frustrating that eating healthy seems to be more expensive than eating all the pre-packaged crud the stores try to sell you. Anyway ... I am now on a mission to find some new healthy recipes and good deals on produce (while I wait for my garden to truly take off). Here was last night's dinner:
2 cups Romaine lettuce ($1.29/head - so about 25-30 cents worth)
2 cups baby spinach ($2.99/bag - about 75 cents worth)
1/2 cup sliced cherry tomatoes (used about 6-7 of them, so maybe 50 cents worth?)
1/2 cup sliced zucchini (about 50 cents)
3 cans white tuna in water, drained (from my pantry, but probably bought when they were 4/$1 - so, 75 cents worth)
2 tablespoons (each) low fat/low carb salad dressing (minimal)
Split this between the two of us (Matilda had PB&J), total cost per person was about $1.50. Now that I see it broken down, it doesn't seem so expensive to eat right! It was really, really filling too. I added a sprinkle of Mrs. Dash southwest chipotle seasoning to the tuna, which was a yummy addition. Hubby added a couple splashes of hot sauce. Not my thing, but whatever floats your boat!
How have you used tuna in your cooking? I would love some more ideas, since it's fairly cheap. Preferably recipes that don't involve lots of mayo or dairy products. If I come up with any other new ideas, I'll be sure to pass them along!
YUM! Love your blog!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Julie! I am having so much fun doing this! :)
ReplyDeleteWe rarely eat tuna and when we do it's usually just in a sandwich. I do love eating tuna with crackers but that isn't the healthiest of options. :)
ReplyDeleteCostco has amazing baby spinach for $3.99 for a HUGE container. We love it and eat spinach salads probably 4 or 5 nights a week! We never buy regular lettuce anymore!
I've never been much of a tuna eater. In fact, I despise tuna salad sandwiches. Always have. Of course, that could have as much to do with all the mayo as it does the tuna! Once we're allowed to introduced some more starches back into our diet, I might actually try the tuna on crackers for one of my snack options ... so thanks for the idea! :) And thanks for the reminder about the Costco spinach. In the past, we never went through it fast enough & it would get all wilted & nasty. But we'll be eating a lot more now. I can't do just spinach in my salads, though. I have to mix it with some sort of leaf lettuce. I don't know why - just one of my weird things, I guess. But I would imagine Costco has pretty good deals on lettuce too. Need to check that out this week!
ReplyDeleteYep, they have a big tub of organic mixed greens for about $4. :)
ReplyDeleteI don't have many tips... besides sandwiches, we only use it in Tuna Helper or Mom's tuna casserole recipe. I never even thought about using it in salad, but that sounds good & I'll definitely try it! ;)
I love the Costco greens. Matter of fact, I buy them, and the mangos that Costco has now... got the Ninja blender from Walmart and have been making fruit smoothies like crazy this summer. No added powder mix, just fresh ingredients. The mango adds a fabulous sweetness and texture, and you don't even taste the spinach. It's a great way to get the nutrition at the same time you feel like you're getting a treat. Kids love it! You can add berries and banana as well.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great idea! I'll have to try that for my kiddo & see what she thinks. :)
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