Recipe for Recessionista Success

Times are lean–literally!

You may have seen me commenting at Jezebel, under the name LadySoprano is a Fat-Fighting Superwoman. Well, I’m also your typical recessionista, looking to save money even as I save calories. You’d think it would be super-expensive, but it’s not.  I’m finding that it’s actually cheaper to eat well. Here’s how I’m doing it:

1. Veggies and fruits are cheaper! It’s true. Of course, if you want fresh strawberries in April, they’ll be imported and expensive. Fresh strawberries this time of year? They’re practically giving them away. These days, I aim to make fresh produce at least half of my shopping purchase.
2. Don’t fall for the 100 Calorie packs. It’s tempting to think, “hey, I can have OREOS for 100 calories!” There’s always a catch–and the catch here is that they don’t satisfy. Oh, and they’re expensive. Either buy the cheaper, fattier pack of Oreos and limit yourself to two a day, or start satisfying your sweet tooth with a healthier alternative, like fruit.
3. Buy meat in bulk. I don’t have a Costco or Sam’s Club membership (hey, I cook for one!). So what I do is buy the large packs of chicken breasts at Safeway. When I get home, I immediately open the package, put together baggies with 2-3 chicken breasts inside, and then pop them in the freezer before they have a chance to defrost. That way, when I’m wanting chicken for dinner, I don’t have to cook 10 pounds of chicken and find myriad ways to eat it before it goes bad.
4. Cut out the non-essentials. I don’t allow myself to buy Dr. Pepper at the store anymore–in fact, I only drink it as a very special treat anymore. I’ve also cut out other non-essential purchases like packages of chips, cookies, etc. If I really, really want a cookie, I buy a large, fresh cookie from the bakery, savor it, and consider it a special occasion.
5. What about dessert? Two words: Otter. Pops. I recently figured out that one Otter Pop has only 15 calories. They’re sweet, they’re cold, and I can eat three in one sitting without feeling like a pig.

I have found that buying less processed food is not only good for my body, it’s good for my wallet. I do splurge on a few things–I bought organic peanut butter, for example, because it is healthier: unprocessed, lower in calories.

That said, I’d like to share a fabulous recipe. I’ve always loved homemade quiche, and since I’ve been on my Superwoman Fat Fighting Spree, I’ve thought I’d have to give it up.

Fortunately, quiche is one of those meals that can be tweaked. I tweaked mine, it’s delicious, and I want to share it with you.

Ingredients:

• 3 or 4 spears fresh asparagus (27 calories)
• 1 cup fresh leaf spinach (7 calories)
• 1 cup Heart Healthy Bisquick (420 calories)
• 1 package of fresh crumbled Feta cheese (320 calories)
• 3/4 cup of Egg Beaters egg whites (90 calories)
• 1 cup fat free milk (90 calories)
• Total calories for the whole pie = 954

Directions

1. Spray a 9″ pie plate with cooking spray (I use Pam Olive Oil spray).
2. Chop the asparagus spears into small, bite-size pieces, add to pie plate.
3. Add spinach leaves and Feta to the pie plate
4. In a mixing bowl, whisk Bisquick, egg whites and milk until it is well-mixed. Scrape the edges of the bowl to get all of the Bisquick.
5. Pour over the veggies and cheese.
6. Bake at 450 degrees for 30-40 minutes, until golden brown on top. To test whether it’s done, insert a knife in the middle–it should come out clean.

You can eat 1/4 of the pie, for 238.5 calories. I aim for about 300 calories per meal, so you can have another vegetable or some fruit on the side.

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