Red red lentil stew with cumin and coriander

Shout out to Jill McKeever of Austin TX for the recipe I modified here:

2 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium onion, chopped fine
3 ribs of celery, chopped fine
3 oz tomato paste
1 cup dry red lentils, washed
4 to 5 medium carrots, chopped into largish pieces
1 1/2 lb of Yukon Gold potatoes, UNpeeled and chopped into 1 inch cubes.
10 oz bag of frozen green beans
1/2 T cumin
1/2 T coriander
1 tsp smoked paprika
6 cups of low-sodium vegetable broth

Water saute the celery and onions until golden brown. 
Add garlic and cook one minute  
Add tomato paste, cook for 3 minutes, stirring so the paste coats the veggies
Add lentils, potato, carrots, beans, all the spices and finally the broth. 
Bring to a boil, then lower heat to simmer till the carrots are tender.
Taste for salt

If you have an Instant pot, put the soup into the inner pot, place the lid on, and push the "manual" button (that's what mine says;  whatever button is for pressure cooking on your machine) and set the time for 15 minutes.  After it is finished, let the pot naturally release pressure for another 15 minutes and then quick release the rest,

SOY CURLS!!!

OK, first of all, I must, again, apologize for waiting so long before posting again!  I really have no excuse other than just lazy.  

Now.  I have found the sine qua non chicken strip/chunk substitute:  soy curls.  Basically they're just soy beans, cooked in a way to turn them into elongated strips and then dehydrated.  It's NOT the same as TVP, the result of defatting soy flour.  It's the whole bean, no filler;  just bean.  
They're available here if you want to try them out (1 8-oz bag).  If you do try them and think they're the best thing since sliced bread, you can come here to get them in bulk (get the 12 lb box; seriously) 

The bag has the "full" curls (about an inch and a half or longer) in addition to chunks (under an inch long) and also "dust", very fine crumbles.  It's usually best to separate the three sizes but it's really not necessary. 
The first time I tried them It was in a ersatz chili like soup.  It was OK but for the best texture, you really need to squeeze the excess water out of the curls after you've rehydrated them.  The "chili" turned out OK, but they really shone in my barley vegetable soup:

Soy curl vegetable barley soup 

1  cup soy curl chunks, rehydrated (break the long curls in half)

1 sm onion, diced

2 tsp minced garlic

2 carrots, diced

2 stalks of celery, diced

1 1/2 cups of cooked hulled barley

6 cups of veg broth

1 1/2 cups frozen green beans

1 cup frozen corn

14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes (incl juice)

4 ounces tomato paste

1 1/2 tsp italian seasoning

Put the soy curls in hot veggie broth to cover for 10 minutes and drain (reserve the drained broth).  Squeeze the water out of the curls (I usually put them in a sieve and then press a bowl that fits down into the sieve till they stop "leaking" :) )  Again, reserve the expressed broth. 

Dry saute (adding a tablespoon or so of water when things stick) the onion and carrot till the onions are translucent.  Add garlic and saute about a minute more.  Add the tomato paste and saute/carmelize for about 2 minutes.  Add all other vegetables and bring to a boil.  (I usually toss in a small handful of red lentils at this point to thicken the end result) Lower to simmer for as long as it takes for the carrots to get tender to your liking.  At this point, add the italian seasoning and up to a teaspoon of cumin if you wish.  Serve and let everyone add salt to taste.

This will serve at least 8 people with rather big servings.  With a green salad and a hunk of bread, this is a very filling dinner!

Breakfast herb wrap

OK.  All you cilantro haters out there, you can avert your eyes!  Well, I guess you can read on if you sub in parsley for the "devil's weed" but the taste won't be the same (something you all are quite glad of, I bet, lol)

 I know; I don't understand either!  How can people not like cilantro??  It's a fresh, zingy taste that will enliven the dullest dish, from beans to eggs! 

Cilantro.  It's even a beautiful word! 

I'd seen it listed in recipes but never thought about it because it wasn't on any of my spice bottles at home so I was kinda "meh."..............until one evening at the India Cafe, on Washington St. in Iowa City, IA.   I'd gotten the mulligatawny soup and it took me a few spoonfuls to figure out that that fantastic taste was coming from the bits of green floating around in the soup.  Hoping against hope that it wasn't some exotic Himalayan herb that was gonna cost an arm and a leg, I asked what it was, and the waiter uttered the magic word:  cilantro..  YES!!!  I'd seen that in the grocery store! 

Turns out that cilantro was also one of the main components of the spicy green chutney that they brought to dip pakoras in, although I didn't know it was in there; the spiciness pretty much overwhelmed (in a good way!) most of the lime, cilantro and mint that made up the rest of the chutney.  In fact, I liked the green chutney so much, I used to bring in one of those tiny Tupperware containers people use for single servings of  salad dressing and I'd dump in some of the chutney to take home!   But I don't have to do that anymore, since the local grocery chain sells it in 7.5 oz jars.  Yay!

Fun fact:  the spice coriander is actually the seed of the plant that cilantro comes from.  I like to think it's the economy of God (or Mother Nature, if you go that way) to give us plants that have multiple uses:  turnips and beets (you can eat the greens!), cilantro/coriander, shade and food from fruit and nut trees. 

So anyway, today is one of my "on the fly" recipes.  It's a very simple wrap/burrito style sandwich with only 4 main ingredients, 5 if you count the dried dill :)

1 burrito size (10") whole wheat tortilla ($0.45)
1 Tbs butter
1 jumbo egg ($0.30) (or two smallish ones)
1/4 tsp salt
a few grinds of pepper
1/2 tsp dried dill
1 Tbs minced cilantro leaves,
1-2 Tbs restaurante style salsa

Scramble the egg in a small bowl, adding the salt, pepper and dill to the egg.  Melt the butter in a skillet.  When the butter is melted, swirl it around the bottom of the pan and pour in the egg.  Swirl the egg around till the bottom of the pan is covered with a thin layer of egg and turn the heat to medium low and sprinkle the cilantro evenly over the egg.  When the egg looks fairly dry on top (but still a tiny bit "wet") turn off the heat and carefully lift the egg with a rubber/silicone spatula to loosen and slide it onto the tortilla.  Spoon the salsa horizontally across the middle.   Fold in the sides about an inch and a half or so, and then roll up from the bottom, and there you have it, a yummy herb-y breakfast burrito for about a dollar.

Enjoy!

WHOA. HOLD. THE PHONE!!

I have made a fantastic discovery!

Now, if you're more about gravy for its moistening powers than its flavor, have I found the solution for all you new vegans and cheap eaters out there!

With a bit of a tweak to the recipe from Canadian,Will Kriski's blog Potato Strong, I now present to you the food miracle of modern times:  White bean gravy!

Yes, white beans; those humble legumes that make probably the most palatable of poor man's soups, bean soup (some may put ham in theirs, but having eschewed animal products for food, I leave that out).  I use Great Northern Whites (for both the soup and this gravy) but I'm sure navy beans will work just as well.  GNW's are a little more expensive, but the texture of the final product makes them the winner for me.

Now, as with all "replacements" for animal product foodstuffs out there, this won't taste "just like" the meat counterpart, but I have to say it gets pretty darn close!  Way closer than fake cheese sauce!

So, without further ado here's the recipe: (I used my Instant Pot for this, it got the beans so very soft)

1 cup of dried white beans (navy, great northern)
4 cups of water
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp poultry seasoning
black pepper to taste
2 tsp "Better than Bouillon" no-chicken or vegetable broth


for brown gravy, also use
1/2 tsp soy sauce


Put the beans into a bowl to soak with the water for a minimum of 4 hours.  Transfer them to the Instant Pot with another cup of water and set manual/pressure cook to 55 minutes.  When the timer goes off, let them natural release for 15 minutes and then quick release the rest of the pressure, if any.  Drain the beans and reserve the broth!  Just put a strainer over a bowl to save the broth from going down the drain.

Take 1 3/4 cups of the beans with up to 3/4 cup of the broth (depending on how thick you like the gravy) and put in a high speed blender with the rest of the ingredients and blend until creamy, and that's it!    Season with pepper and more salt if you need it, though with the bouillon and the soy sauce, I doubt any more salt will be necessary.

Use this on mashed potatoes, and anywhere else you use gravy!

As a kid, whenever we had mashed potatoes and gravy for dinner, I'd typically finish my meal by taking a slice of bread and breaking off pieces of it (and smooshing the pieces for good measure) onto my plate and pouring gravy over it.  I can't wait for dinner tonight so I can do that again!

Oh, my!  It's been over a month since I posted last!

Well, let me see................ah.  If you don't have an Instant Pot, drop whatever it is you're doing and go get one!  If you're going to be doing Cheap Eats, that means using a lot of beans, and that means an Instant Pot will cut out a LOT of time and work!  You won't even have to soak the beans; just put them in the pot with about 2 1/2 times the amount of liquid and hit "manual' (or "pressure cook"; whichever one your model says) and adjust the timer to 70 minutes (1 hour and 10 minutes). When the time runs out, let the pressure go down naturally for 10 minutes then quick release the rest (the instruction manual will tell you how to do all this), and voila!  You have nicely cooked beans ready to eat (though you may want to spice 'em up a bit!) or be made into soup or whatever other dish you're making.

If you're just starting out on the Cheap Eats path, you may wish to go ahead and soak the beans overnight for the first month or so......unless you WANT to blow up like Aunt Marge from Harry Potter the the Prisoner of Azkaban!  Until your gut bacteria adjusts itself to your new way of eating, you WILL get gas, a LOT of gas, but it does lessen in severity in time.  I'm just letting you know ahead of time.

And now, it's time for my beans and cornbread dinner!  I'll give regular stovetop/crockpot instructions first and then instant pot instructions.   I much prefer the stovetop/crockpot method but if you run out of time, the IP version works just as well, to be honest :)  The stovetop method will work best if you have an hour or so to do the beans in the morning (on whatever day you have off)

The beans

I like large limas (some call them butter beans) or pintos for this, although any bean (other than garbanzos and lupins) will be just fine, even navy or great northern white beans.

1 pound of beans, washed and picked over.
1 large onion, diced.
3 cloves garlic, pressed.
2-3 teaspoons of the herb blend of your choice.
2 bay leaves
hickory smoked salt to taste (about 2 teaspoons) or 2 tsp of regular salt with a dash of liquid smoke.

Presoak your beans over night in enough water to cover up to the second knuckle on your index finger.  The next morning, drain them and rinse the soaking water off and place them in a pot and cover with fresh water and bring to a rolling boil.  Let them boil for 10 minutes (This is especially important for red kidney beans!  Read why here.).  After the 10 minute boil, cover and let them rest for 1 hour.  To have the least gassy beans possible, drain and rinse again, though you'll lose some lovely bean broth that way.  Either way, put the beans, onion, garlic, and bay leaves in the crockpot with enough liquid to cover by an inch or so and cook at low for 6-8 hours or at high for 4-5 hours.  If you like your beans on the firmer side with thin broth go for the lesser time.  If, like me, you like them almost mushy with lots of yummy "bean gravy" go for the greater time.  Either way, add the herb blend an hour before they're to be served. When they're done to your liking add the salt (and liquid smoke if you use it), and take out the bay leaves, and serve!

To make beans in an Instant pot, you don't technically have to soak them; just put the beans and bay leaves in the pot and cook at pressure for an hour then quick release and add the onion, garlic and herb blend and cook for another 10 minutes (it will take a lot less time to come to pressure this time because it's already pretty hot in there).  Quick release again and add the salt (and liquid smoke if using)

Options:  If you're using the stove/crockpot method, about an hour before you expect them to be done, add a couple diced potatoes or even a can of hominy.  If you're using the Instant Pot method, cook 5 minutes after the onion goes in and add the potato and cook for another 5 minutes. It's not exactly traditional, but if you're following the McDougall Starch Solution way of eating, it's perfect.  You can also just cook the potatoes/heat the hominy and serve along side of the beans, along with any other vegetable you wish.  Serve with a raw, greens based-salad of your choice and a hunk of Dimo's cornbread:

Dimo's cornbread

dry ingredients
3/4 cup whole wheat flour (pastry if you can get it)
1/4 cup of oat flour (just whiz some quick cooking oats in a food processor till they turn to flour)
1/4 cup of barley flour (you can up the oat flour to 1/2 cup if you don't use the barley flour).
3/4 cup of corn meal (yellow or white, it doesn't matter for the taste)
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder (2 if you like your cornbread fluffier)
1/2 tsp salt (optional)

wet ingredients
1 egg, lightly beaten, OR if you don't eat eggs, one flax egg (1 Tbs of flaxmeal plus 2 1/2 Tbs water; let it sit till thickened)
1/4 cup of vegetable oil
1 cup of skim milk or unsweetened almond milk.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Grease an 8 x 8 pan
Mix all the dry ingredients with a whisk till well mixed
Stir together the wet ingredients and when well mixed, add to the dry ingredients and stir just until the dry ingredients are moistened.  Pour batter into the prepped pan and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Serves 9 if you cut it in the tic-tac-toe way, 8 if you cut it in half, then quarter turn and cut each half into 4 pieces each.

As you can see with the whole wheat, oat, and barley flours this isn't exactly a traditional recipe (and the vegan version, with the flax egg and almond milk definitely isn't!), but they make a denser result (especially if you only use 1 tsp of baking powder) which is how I like my cornbread  Feel free to use just white wheat four if you wish.

Hello, all!

Here's yet another one of those "down-to-pantry-staple" recipes:

1 medium to large yellow or white onion
about 300 g of potato chunks (russet or waxy according to your taste)
one 15 oz can of no-salt black, red kidney, or pinto beans, UNdrained
2-3 tsp of Mexican seasoning of your choice (I use my own blend from this recipe).
1 cup frozen corn
1 Tbs tomato paste


Chop a yellow or white onion and dry saute in a non-stick pan.  When they're translucent, set thm aside while you put the rest of the dish together.
 Take about 3-4 smallish to medium potatoes (or just one if you get one of those ginormous russets), waxy or russet, and chunk up and put on the stove to boil.  When they're tender to your liking, drain them and mix them in with the onion plus a can of no-salt black or kidney or pinto beans (with the liquid) and  a couple teaspoons of your favorite Mexican seasoning, along with the tomato paste and corn.  Heat to serving temp and chow down!  You can add a little water (no more than half a cup) if it's too thick for you.

This makes about 5 servings as a main.  You can eat it with a green salad and a plate of sliced tomatoes in the summer with a nice fruit salad for dessert.

Changing recipes: how far do you have to go for it to become "your" recipe?

It doesn't usually come up, but once in a while we see in blogs a request not to share a recipe without giving credit, and I couldn't agree more especially if the blogger developed the recipe from scratch!

But then there are always the commenters that say, "oh, I didn't have that/don't like that, so I subbed in X" or "I do low-fat so I baked it instead of fried it", etc, etc, etc.  I can't help but wonder, at such comments, when a recipe ceases to be the same and is changed enough for the "adapter" to claim it as his/her own?

I have such a conundrum with this recipe.  It's based on a recipe from this blogger but I've made some changes and added a few things, and in one case, made a general ingredient suggestion a more specific ingredient (mainly because of my personal taste and nutritional plan).

That being said, let's cook!!

This recipe is (or at least can be) a little pricey due to the (relatively) high cost of the cauliflower.  You can either wait till it's on sale or else use frozen.

Veggie masala

1 1/2 Tbs garam masala (NOT regular curry powder)
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper (about 20 turns if you're using a grinder)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (leave this out if you're not a  lover over overly spicy food)
1 cup diced onion (130 g, usually a small or half a medium one)
1 Tbs minced fresh ginger (or this stuff.  It's a bit pricey but worth the trouble)
2 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
1 (15 oz/425 g) can crushed tomatoes (have the can open BEFORE you start sauteing the onion)
1/2 cup of RAW sunflower seeds (look in your bulk section)
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 cup green beans, sliced into 1" pieces
1 cup diced waxy potato (NOT russets, I usually go with yukon golds but any waxy variety will do)
1 cup cauliflower florets (smallish)
1 cup frozen peas

Measure out the sugar, salt, and all the spices into a small bowl and set aside.

Heat a medium-sized saute pan over medium heat for 2 minutes.   Add the onion and saute for 5 minutes, adding a splash of water and stirring when they start to stick.  (That's right; no oil!  don't worry, you'll never miss it).

Add the ginger and garlic and continue to cook for 2 minutes, again, adding a splash of water if there's any sticking.

Add the spice mixture you set aside earlier (plus anther splash of water if things are too dry) and stir for about 30 seconds, and then add the crushed tomatoes, sunflower seeds, and water.  Reduce heat to low, place a lid on at an angle to vent, and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring once 10 minutes in and again 5 minutes later.

During the 20 minutes the tomato mixture is simmering, put the green beans pieces into a pot of boiling water.  Return to a boil, and then lower the heat and let them simmer till tender but just on the soft side of crisp (just don't let 'em get mushy like canned ones).  At this point, add the potatoes and the cauliflower.  Simmer everything till the potatoes are tender to your liking.  (If you're using frozen cauliflower, wait to add it until the potatoes are done to your liking, then add the cauliflower and  bring the pot to a boil and then immediately turn it off and drain.) Drain and place in a bowl where you'll be mixing with the tomato mixture.

Remove the tomato-filled pan from the heat and let it cool for about 5 minutes (cover off), then pour the mixture into your blender, along with the almond milk.  Process till smooth.  Pour this over the veggies, add the peas and fold everything together till the peas are thawed out.

Sweet potato and black bean sauce

So, I've known for a while that sweet potatoes and black beans are a thing in the veg*n community, but I just never found a recipe that grabbed me.

Well, today, I'm down to bare bones pantry supplies plus a pureed chili-spiced black bean soup I whipped up the other day.  I decided to spoon it over some steamed sweet potato chunks ,and it turned out great!  I started out with my own Dimo's Mexican spice mix plus some black beans and onion and that's it:

2 cups of dried black beans
1 medium onion, chopped
1 Tbs of Dimo's Mexican spice mix.

Soak the beans overnight, drain, rinse, and put in a pot with enough water to cover to your second knuckle.  In another pan, dry saute the onion (add a splash of water when things start to stick) until translucent.  Add the spice mix and the garlic and saute till the onion is coated with the spices.  Toss into the pot with the beans, and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for an hour or so or until the beans are very soft.   Puree with a stick blender, or else in a stand blender in batches.

Peel and cut a 1 lb sweet potato into medium sized chunks and put in a steamer basket and steam till tender.  Transfer to a bowl, or soup plate, and pour the soup over the sweet potato chunks and chow down!

Barley Vegetable Soup

Here's a very basic (and of course, very cheap) vegetable soup.  You can use whatever vegetables you can get on sale but I usually stick with the same ones, sale or not;  they're usually cheap enough they won't break the bank at any rate.

I usually go with one extravagance when I make brothy soup: prepared veggie broth.  The brand I get is available at Aldi's for 1.89 per 1 qt carton and I use 2, and this is the most expensive ingredient at 3.80.  The reason I go with prepped broth is consistency.  For just about everything else I usually just use my broth made from veg prep scraps, recipe available here.   The scrap version can be very oniony, or carroty, or celery-y, depending on what trimmings I have in the freezer, so for brothy soups, I go with prepared.   The scraps from the prep for this soup will also go into the freezer for future stock, unlike my Cucalenco soup.  Also I save the salting of the soup for when it's done.  Usually salt will lose some of its "presence" when you add it at the beginning, so when you save it for the end, you don't have to use quite as much to the get the same saltiness.

1 cup barley, hull-less is preferred but pearled or scotch (better) is fine if that's all you can get..     
2 quarts of commercial vegetable broth (3.60)
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
3 small or 2 medium carrots, sliced in 1/4 inch slices; any slices bigger than a nickel I usually cut in half moons. (0.25)
1 medium yellow or white onion, diced.   ).25)
2 cloves minced garlic (.10)
2 ribs of celery diced. (.25)
1/2 to 1 pound of fresh green beans, topped and tailed and snapped into 2 inch pieces (You can use a bag of frozen if you wish to save money) (0.99)
1 medium large turnip, cut in small dice (0.90)
1/2 small to medium head of cabbage, chopped very thin.
1 can of petite cut diced tomatoes, fire-roasted if you can get them.  The soup won't be ruined if you can't but in that case, maybe add a drop or two of liquid smoke.
1 teaspoon each of thyme, savory, basil, and dill.
3/4 cup of finely diced seitan (optional if you have concerns about protein content; if you can't get seitan, use a cup of pureed white, pinto, or black beans)
Salt and pepper to taste.

First things first:  Rinse the barley and place it in a medium saucepan and add 6 cups of water.  Bring to a boil, then lower heat and let simmer till tender and kind of fluffy looking (about a half hour).  You'll probably have to skim some "scum" from the surface (don't worry; it's just some surface starch)

In the meantime, put the onions, carrot, celery, and green beans (if using fresh)  into a pot (or your Instant Pot) and dry saute over medium heat (hit the saute button on the I-Pot), till the onions are translucent.  Add a splash of water any time things start to stick.  Add the garlic and continue to saute for another minute.  Add in the broth, soy sauce, turnip, cabbage, diced tomatoes, the barley (with it's cooking water) and the herbs except the dill  (and the green beans if using frozen).  At this point add the seitan or or pureed beans if using.  On the stove-top, bring to a boil and lower heat and simmer until all the vegetables are soft to your liking.  If you wish, you may add another diced rib of celery about 5 minutes before you take the soup off the heat, if you like some crunch.  On the I-Pot, hit the "manual/pressure cook" button and set for 12 minutes and  NPR for 5 minutes (while in warm-up mode) and then quick release the rest.

Add the dill and season to your liking with salt and pepper, and maybe some hot sauce.  I usually add a pinch of turmeric at this point as well, both for a little color and the anti-inflammatory properties of the turmeric.

If you're following the McDougall Starch Solution program (or even if you're not!), feel free to add a cup of frozen corn, frozen peas, or a diced potato.

The whole recipe is about 9 dollars;  however 40% of that 9 dollars is the commercial broth.  If you make your own broth from veggie scraps, or even use one of those bouillon pastes that come in a jar, it's probably around 6.50 or 7 dollars for the pot, which brings the cost down to under a dollar per serving.

Vegan Douglas Chili

I can't believe I have yet to post my famous chili recipe!  So, here it is.

Years ago we had a chili cook-off in my office and I brought the meat version of this chili and one of my co-workers called it "The Douglas Chili."  Every time we had a potluck after that, he'd ask me if I'd bring it.

First thing you have to do is make Dimo's Mexican spice mix:

The amounts are huge, but it makes a batch that will do for multiple pots of chile.
8 tablespoons of chipotle chili powder (or how much ever your container has plus regular chili powder to make up 8 tablespoons) (1 T for single recipe)
4 tablespoons cumin (1/2 T for single recipe)
4 teaspoons of coriander (1/2 tsp for single recipe)
6 teaspoons of cocoa (cocoa, NOT chocolate milk powder!) (1/2 tsp for single recipe
2 teaspoons of cinnamon. (1/4 tsp for single recipe)

Just put it all in a jar and shake well till everything is blended.  This mix is also good as a seasoning for plain black or pinto beans  (If you can't find chipotle chili powder, or it's too expensive for you, use regular and add some liquid smoke at the end, say, 1/4 teaspoon)

Now for the chili:

3/4  cup dried French green or black lentils if you can find them.  Otherwise brown are fine.
1 large (like between softball and baseball size) onion or 2 small to medium onions, diced
1.5 Tablespoons of Dimo's Mexican spice mix
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 can low sodium black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can low sodium kidney beans, drained and rinsed.
1 15 oz can white hominy
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
1 7 oz can of La Costeña Mexican salsa (just leave it out if you can't find it; you can add some chopped jalapenos plain)
1/4 cup dry red lentils
1 15 oz can of diced tomatoes with chilis (I try to get the Rotel brand cilantro and lime flavor)
2 tablespoons of peanut butter


Put the green or black lentils in a sauce pan with 2 cups of water, bring to a boil and simmer till tender but not mushy, about 10 minutes.  If using brown lentils, just add them in, dry, with the other beans.
Meanwhile, place diced onion in a pot, and dry saute till soft and translucent, adding a splash of water or vegetable broth when things start to stick.
Add spice mix and the garlic and saute until onions are coated with the spice mix, about a minute.
Add all the beans, hominy, tomato sauce, salsa, and both types of lentils (with the cooking water if using green or black ones)
Puree the diced tomatoes with the peanut butter and add to the pot.
Add enough water to thin out to your liking and simmer until the hominy turns orange.

Alternative cooking methods:
After sauteeing the onions and pureeing the diced tomatoes and peanut butter, toss everything into the slow cooker and cook on low till the hominy turns orange, usually at least 6 hours. This method is good if you're going to be out all day and you don't want to have to do anything when you get home but ladle up and eat :).

If you're using an Instant Pot, do the onion/garlic sautee and then add everything else and cook at (high) pressure for 10 minutes (it will actually take more than 10 before you can open the pot, what with heating up and dissipating the pressure).  NPR for 10 minutes then quick release the rest.

It goes without saying, that this goes excellent with corn bread.  It can also be stretched by serving with elbow macaroni/mac-n-cheese for chili mac (about half the amount of chili as in a single serving plus the same amount of macaroni; just don't mix them until serving time).

Serves 8 with 13g protein and 21g fiber. (the meat version gains 1.5g protein but loses 7.3g fiber)

Smoothies

I've never really been a big fan of the smoothie.  I have tried various recipes, but for a long time, the only ones I could find were made with either banana or yogurt.  I didn't like the tang of the yogurt smoothies and the banana ones.....well, the banana came screaming through any other taste that was in the smoothie and bananas are not my favorite thing to eat in the first place.

But, oh, Eureka and Hallelujah!  I found one that ends up nice and thick with no bananas or yogurt!!  The only drawback was that it called for a "handful" of spinach.  Blech!   Now, smoothie enthusiast friends of mine always say the same thing:  "you can't taste it!"  All I can assume is that their taste buds are dead, because they say the same thing about the banana, and, as I've said above, I can indeed taste it!  So, I just left out the spinach.  Now, In the interests of nutrition, in the future, I may slowly introduce spinach into my smoothie, like a couple leaves every day, until the point that I can taste it.  I'll let you know how it turns out.

Anyway, here is the recipe (I tweaked a recipe I found here):

1.5 cups unsweetened plant milk (can contain vanilla or not)
1.25 cups frozen mixed berries (I used 1 cup raspberries and blackberries, and the quarter cup blueberries; you can mix-n-match to your taste but they have to be frozen)
1/2 cup of quick cooking rolled oats (these are one processing step further than old fashioned oats, still whole grain,though). 
1 tablespoon of cashew or almond butter (you can use peanut butter for a little more "earthy" taste)
1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
1/4 t cinnamon
up to 4 ice cubes (optional; the less you use, the thicker the end result)

Just chuck everything in the blender in the order given, and blend until smooth.  

As I said above, I used a 4:1 ratio of blackberries/raspberries to blueberries, but a local grocery chain has a cherry berry blend I want to try, and I may just do all blackberries or all cherries one of these times  I'll be doing some experimenting.  Also, since there's no yogurt, I may try the pumpkin spice smoothie again and if it's any less gag-inducing than the last time I tried it, that'll be another taste in my smoothie repertoire, lol.  

As for nutrition, it's a bit of a calorie bomb at around 440 and 14.7 g of fat but that's still only 30% of the calories from fat, and if the rest of your day has no more than 5 grams of fat you'll still be under the 10% recommended by the McDougall plan.  Good news is that it's got 13.5 grams of protein and 15.5 grams of fiber.  Pretty good for what amounts to a milkshake for breakfast!

Greetings cheap eaters!

Today's recipe is based on a potato corn chowder from the Clean Food, Dirty Girls food blog.  Molly's recipe calls for non-dairy milk for thickness and the whole "chowder" vibe; to cut down on price (non-dairy milk is usually twice the price of dairy milk where I live, and making homemade is pretty up there as well), for you lacto-ovo cheap eaters, you can use regular whole milk.  This one depends on barley and to an extent, red lentils.  The lentils are a bit pricey compared to regular brown ones but they're totally worth it.  With the lentils and barley and either the corn or quinoa, all 8 essential amino acids are in one recipe!

I use an Instant Pot for this recipe.  Stove-top instructions are at the end.

Smoky red lentil and barley stew

Spice mix: 

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried dill

1 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 tsp turmeric

1 tsp hickory smoked salt (or 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp liquid smoke)*

Veggies:

1 small white onion, diced.

3 cloves garlic pressed

3 med potatoes, cut in 1” dice.

1 cup diced (1” dice) turnip or rutabaga
1/2 lb green beans, topped and tailed, snapped in 2" pieces
3 large carrots, trimmed and chopped

1 cup diced tomatoes, fire roasted if you can get/afford them

1 cup red lentils, rinsed

1/2 cup of quinoa, rinsed

1/3 cup barley flakes*

1 quart vegetable broth (free veggie broth!)

To finish:

1 cup frozen corn (optional)

1/4 cup parsley, chopped

1 Tbs nutritional yeast

black pepper to taste

Measure out all the spices (including the salt if using salt and liquid smoke) in a small prep bowl and set aside. Prep and measure out the vegetables. (Use trimmings for your next batch of broth, though hold off on the turnip/rutabaga trimmings.)

Press the saute button on the Instant Pot and let the pot heat up for a minute. Add the onion, saute for 3 minutes, add garlic and saute for 1 minute more, stirring frequently and adding a bit of water when needed to keep the vegetables from sticking.

Turn off the IP and add the spices set aside earlier and stir. Add the next 9 ingredients (potatoes through broth plus liquid smoke if using). Lock the IP lid in place, making sure the nozzle is set to seal. Set the timer for 5 minutes. When the timer goes off, turn off the pot and NPR for 15 minutes then QR the rest of the pressure.

When all the pressure is out, take off the lid and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Add the frozen corn if used, parsley, yeast and black pepper and stir until well combined.

*if you can't find barley flakes, use 1/3 cup of hulled barley, precooked.

Stovetop instructions:

If using hulled barley, cook in 2 cups of water for an hour and drain before adding to the stew.  (use the cooking water for your next batch of broth; store in freezer along with veg trimmings).  Proceed with measuring spices and veggies.  Saute as above, add the spices and the next 9 ingredients to a soup pot.  Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer until the potatoes and carrots are tender.  Add the rest of the ingredients (the "to finish" list) and stir until well combined.

TATERS!!!!

Have you guys heard of this gentleman?  All potatoes (white and sweet), all the time, for A YEAR!

Apparently he did pretty well:  22 pounds lost in the first month without working out.  After that, he added 90 minutes of activity per day and towards the mid-year mark all his numbers were down by quite a bit, like from the danger zone to normal range.

Andrew mentioned in his story, the McDougall plan, as laid out in the good doctor's book "The Starch Solution" which (via a Youtube vid of his lecture on the same subject) resonates with me quite a bit.  I need to do some research on some of the points that he made (e.g. the claim that humans have 6 copies of the "amylase gene" (amylase is the enzyme that digests starch), but all lower primates have only 2 copies with the assumption that we digest starch much easier and better than the monkeys and great apes.  If true, it kind of makes sense, but regardless, you can't argue with Andrew's story.  So starting 2 Dec 2018, my way of eating will be based in various starches: potatoes, whole grains, and legumes with the addition of lots of salad and cruciferi, plus some fruit every day. (Edit 2/5/19:  Due to denture fitting, I had to delay my start to last Monday, Jan 28)

Anyhow, my favorite way to make the spud is mashed, by far!  I used to peel and boil up 3 medium russets and then add a half a stick of butter (EEK!) and a 1/4 to 1/3 cup warm milk.  Now if you're doing plant-based, you can skip the butter and use the potato boiling water or else plant-based instead of the dairy milk.  But if you're just doing cheap eats, then use the milk and butter (or maybe not so much butter, lol).

Besides mashed ,there's chunked and boiled (with lots of dill), and also some ways I've found perusing the 'net:  croquettes, soup, scalloped, and more.

Getting back to the starch-based way of eating, I figure a starchy "main" dish of either potatoes in one or another preparation or else beans or a grain dish.  Along with that, my plan is to have a green salad (this one will be my go-to, I think; at least for a while), and a couple of servings of veggies, keeping in line with my decision to go whole foods, plant based.  Basically, WFPB is essentially a vegan diet only without the processed stuff (fake meats, fake cheese), in other words, no processing other than what I can do at home.

Lentils and dal

First, I really have to do a shout out to the Levantine cultures of Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine for their fabulous contribution to world cuisine, the spice mix called "za'atar".  The blend I use has thyme, cumin, coriander, fennel, anise, lemon, toasted sesame seeds, and sumaq in it, and it is incredible on roasted veggies!  It has a nice earthy background and a hint of citrus that goes perfectly with sweeter veggies like carrots, sweet potatoes, and parsnips, although it's fantastic on just about any vegetable.  It plays a major part in my take on California Blend veggies (worry not, the recipe is below!)

So, anyway............

Lentils!! 

There should really be a song about lentils; they're that good and versatile.

Did you know there are many types of lentils out there?  In addition to the brown lentils most people are probably familiar with, there are red lentils and green Puy lentils, and, to me mythological, black lentils.  I say "mythological" because, although I've seen them mentioned in other food blogs, I have yet to find, and therefore taste them.  The quest is ongoing!

A nice lentil soup can be had following the recipe in my last post for split pea soup with the optional potato and carrot upgraded to required.  Some chopped raw onion sprinkled on top gives a crunch and a bite.  There's a very nice recipe here, in a blog by Susan Voisin, Fat Free Vegan.  She has some other lentil soup recipes on her blog that are well worth looking at, so be sure to look around a bit.

Green Puy lentils are from a specific region in France and are particularly suited for recipes that need them intact, like a nice lentil salad.

Red lentils (which are actually more of a salmon/coral color) are my favorite lentil to work with.  It's the star of my second go-to soup (after my chili), Cucalenco soup.  (I've posted it before but it bears repeating)  It's my wonderful (if I do say so myself) combination of red lentils, carrots, and coconut milk spiced with curry spices and cilantro (For all you cilantro haters out there (shaking my head), it's not in the least overwhelming in this soup, so don't worry about it being ruined!).  

Cucalenco paired with a plate of Roasted California blend a la Dimo, below, is a lunch or light supper to crow about!

My local grocery store sells packaged broccoli crowns with a half a  head of cauliflower that is the perfect amount for my California blend a la Dimo.  The za'atar is important for this dish but if you can't find it, any seasoning mix that you like will be fine.

1 medium to large broccoli crown
1 small or 1/2 medium large head of cauliflower
2 large or 3 medium carrots
olive oil
seasoning mix (if you can find it, get a mix called za'atar from a Middle Eastern market; it will transport you!)
salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste (I also add a large pinch of dill, but I'm a dill fiend)
roasted sesame oil

Cut the broccoli and cauliflower into florets (Leave some stem on the broccoli, and cut the larger trees in half, or even quarters), large-dice the carrots, and toss together with as much olive oil as you need to coat everything.  Don't overdo the oil!  If you don't use it, then spray with cooking spray just before you add the seasonings.  Spread out on a roasting sheet (on parchment paper for non-stick veggies) and sprinkle with the salt, pepper, garlic powder and seasoning mix, and roast at 400 for about 30 minutes or until the veggies are as tender as you like them.  Sprinkle the sesame oil over the veggies after you take them out and enjoy!

Anyway, back to the lentils!

Other than lentil soup, what can you do with 'em?

The answer comes from India:  dal (pronounced like "doll" but with more of an "ah" sound) which is basically lentils cooked with onions and spiced up with curry.  Now when I say "curry" I don't mean the powder you can buy from the spice section at the local Kroger, although a lot of stores are stocking various blends nowadays, but a perfectly acceptable dal can be made with Kroger curry powder.

My favorite dal recipe is a non-fat free variant of Susan Voisin's (the author of the "Fat Free Vegan" blog).  If you want the fat-free version, follow Susan's recipe, but I like it chock full of oil!  so, here's my variation:

1/2 cup of split red lentils.
1/2 cup of yellow split peas
3 cups of water
1 large tomato, chopped
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 teaspoon ginger root, minced (I use a pre-prepared paste that comes in a tube.  Yeah, it's pricey but it lasts a LONG time.)
1/2 teaspoon of garam masala (find it in the spice aisle)
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 large onion sliced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes or 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne
2 tablespoons of oil
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon turmeric

Place the lentils, peas, tomato, chopped onion, ginger, and salt into a pot and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat, cover, and cook till the peas are soft.  Stir often and add water if they get too dry.
Add the garam masala and stir vigorously (a whisk works best) so the lentils get creamy.  It should be medium thick so add water if you need to.  Keep this warm.
Now, while the lentils are cooking, heat up a teaspoon of oil and cook the sliced onion, and cook till they start to brown.  Add the pepper flakes and cook till they're softened and touched with brown.
Heat the 2 tablespoons of oil and fry the cumin and turmeric over medium heat until the seeds start to pop and/or the mix is fragrant and then add the garlic and continue cooking till just short of turning brown (DON'T burn the garlic; it'll get bitter).
To serve, spread the browned onion slices on top of the lentils and pour the cumin seed mixture over the top.  Make sure each serving gets some onion and seed oil mix!

Split peas and some new veggies

Hello, all you cheap eaters!

Today we'll be talking about split peas (lentils in the next post) and a couple new veggies and veggie combos:

Split peas, (green or yellow) will cook without soaking in 35-40 minutes.  Sometimes I'll go ahead and soak for a couple hours, if only to avoid having to involve the blender when I make soup.

A very basic split pea soup can be had with just split peas, an onion, and some herbs:

2 cups split peas (soaked for a couple hours if you don't want to involve the blender for pureed soup).
1 yellow onion, minced.
3 cloves of garlic, pressed.
1 teaspoon of hickory smoke salt.
1 bay leaf
1/2 tablespoon of herb mix of your choice (my go-to blend is below).
Optional ingredients:  1 carrot,thinly sliced
1 medium potato, diced,
1 sliced rib of celery.

All I do is dump everything into the crock pot and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 8.  For a bit more flavor saute the onion in some butter or oil (or mix of the two) till they just start to brown.  Add the garlic and saute for another minute or two and then proceed with the peas and herb mix.

Please note:  If you intend to puree with a blender (stick or stand), make sure you take the bay leaf out first!  Little shards of dried leaf make for a very unpleasant dining experience.

Herb mix for split pea soup
Make a big batch and mix thoroughly, and use 2-3 teaspoons per pot.

Mix equal parts of the following herbs:
whole thyme leaves
dill
ground oregano
ground sage
black pepper
ground celery seeds
ground cumin
ground mustard seed
turmeric
and a half part of smoked paprika

If your "equal parts" is anything other than 1 teaspoon, be careful with the turmeric and paprika; experiment.

If your tastes tend more toward complex flavors and more veggies, try this version from The Dairy Hollow Country Inn Cookbook by a lady with the delightful name of Crescent Dragonwagon.  It's a bit more pricey than the basic soup but well worth the expense!

Spanish Style Split Pea Soup

Pam Cooking Spray

2 cups dried split peas  

2 quarts any well-flavored vegetable stock

1 large onion sliced

2 carrots, scrubbed and sliced

5 cloves garlic, peeled

2 bay leaves

1 box (10 oz ) frozen spinach, thawed

salt to taste

1/4 cup olive oil

3 onions, chopped

6 fresh tomatoes, chopped

2 T chopped fresh basil leaves or 2 t dried

2 T minced fresh parsley

freshly ground pepper to taste

1. spray a large soup pot with Pam and in it combine the stock, split peas, sliced onion, carrots, 2 cloves of garlic and the bay leaves.  Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to low, and simmer, partially covered, 1 hour.  Add the spinach and season with salt (at least 1 tsp).  Continue to simmer another 30 minutes.  Let cool slightly and remove the bay leaves, then puree the soup in a food processor.

2. Meanwhile in a 10-inch skillet heat the oil over medium heat.  Add the chopped onion and saute until they start to soften.  

Turn down the heat to medium-low and continue to saute until the onions are wilted, another  6-8 minutes.  Turn down the heat further to very low and cook, stirring often, until the onions are caramelized, about 10 minutes more.  (watch so they don't burn)

3. Add the tomatoes to the onions, increase the heat to med-low and cook down until very thick, reducing the heat as the liquid evaporates. Remove from heat and put in the three remaining 3 cloves of garlic thru a garlic press and add to the tomato mixture.  Stir in the fresh herbs and plenty of freshly ground pepper.

4. Stir in the tomato-onion mixture into the pea puree and heat through. Serve at once, garnished with additional parsley or let stand overnight and reheat the next day.

Now, in my last post, I suggested moving beyond the same 4 veggies most of us probably depend on:  green beans, carrots, peas, and corn.  You can still eat these, but try some different preparations:  sauteed fresh green beans with garlic, pureed carrots and potatoes are two preparations I do quite often.  

There's a whole produce section to explore!  Cabbage, turnips, beets, kale, fennel, broccoli, cauliflower, and more!  And the best thing about vegetables (if you have the space, time, and gumption) is you can grow them yourself!  I've done green beans mostly; I love fresh ones and it's much cheaper to grow them than to buy them at the store.  I've got turnips in the garden this year, and really want to try beets next year (roasted beets are an entirely different experience than canned!)

Here are some of my favorite preparations (specific prep for all of these can easily be googled):

Braised red cabbage with apples

Sauteed turnip and red pepper strips

Sesame asparagus (not really that cheap unless it's springtime and even then it's a bit pricier than other veggies)

Roasted broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots (aka California Blend; I love this with an Arabic spice mix called za'atar)

Stir fried broccoli, carrot chips, and bok choi (another wonderveggie in the produce section; use the white stem and the green leaves)

For all sorts of ideas, visit this blog.  It's chock full of great veggie preparations.  Just put the vegetable name in the search box and go to town!  Promise yourself to try at least one new veggie per week.  You may find some new favorites!

Next time on Cheap Eats:  Lentils and dal (Indian style lentil and split pea stews).

Cheap Eats tip:  My local stores often have 10 lb tubes of 80% ground beef on sale for 19.99, which is 1.99 per pound, an unheard of price!  If you like pork (and especially if you're in Iowa), ground pork is usually quite a bit cheaper than beef; at my local store, it's 1.99 a pound, vs. $3.50 to $4.00 per pound for beef.   It's usually around 70 to 75% lean, so use it in recipes that you can drain the fat off.

  

Beans, beans; they're good for your heart!  The more ya eat, the more ya.................

....well, you know!

When you have a food budget of 40-50 bucks a week per person, it means you're pretty much going to be eating a whole-foods, veg*n diet. and that means beans for protein.  

Let me join the chorus of people who try to dispel the protein deficiency myth when it comes to veg*n eating:  There is no such thing as long as you eat a varied diet.  And by "varied diet" I don't mean the same 4 veggies you've always eaten.  You gonna need to branch out!  I'll write about veggies in my next installment.

Anyhoo, beans do have a minor glitch:  They are deficient in one of the essential amino acids, but as luck would have it, grains and nuts have this amino in abundance!  This is the reason behind the beans and rice of Louisiana, Puerto Rican, and Cuban cuisines and the refried beans and corn tortillas of Mexico not to mention the treat from Italy, Pasta e fagioli!

But I'm here to talk about cooking beans.

If you're eating on the cheap, the best option is dried.  For those of you whose bean experience has been strictly canned or frozen green beans and canned kidney beans for your chili, there's no need to be afraid of dried beans.  Just make sure you soak them before you put them on to cook.  Here's a basic bean prep that covers most beans (I'll discuss chickpeas in my hummus post, later on).

1.  Place a pound of dried beans into a pot and fill the pot with water, at least 8 cups.  Let them soak overnight/8 hours (in the fridge during warm weather).  At the end of the soak, split a bean and if you see a white speck in the middle (this is just the part that's still not rehydrated), that means you need to soak longer; give it another couple hours.

2.  Pour off the water (unless you LIKE the "musical" aspect of beans!) and rinse, then add in fresh water to about an inch or two above the beans, usually another 6-8 cups.  For soup, you'll want to add 8-10 cups.

3.  Bring to a boil and then turn down the heat to a simmer and cook them with your choice of non-salt, non-acidic seasonings till the necessary softness, again depending on what you're using them for.  Once they're as soft as you like, THEN you can add salt and acidic stuff.  (NOTE:  There is a debate whether salt affects the tenderness of cooked beans.  Some people have a hissy about salt being put in before the beans are done; others say it doesn't matter.  The only bean I've added salt to at the beginning of cooking is the large lima bean and they come out fine.  Maybe one of these days I'll do some experimenting)

4.  If you want to have no-fuss beans, put them in a crock pot after soaking.  Just drain and rinse, and chuck them in the crock with the seasonings and 6-8 cups of water, and turn it on low and cook till soft.
   
IMPORTANT NOTE:  If you're cooking dried kidney beans (red or white) in a crock pot, make sure you pour off the soaking water and then boil them for at least 10 minutes at a rolling boil on the stove before you transfer them to the crock.  Let's let the author of this blog explain:  "Red kidney beans contain high levels of a toxin that occurs naturally in beans, Phytohaemagglutinin (also known as Kidney Bean Lectin.) If raw or undercooked red kidney beans are eaten…well, bad things happen. Let’s just say you’ll be getting to know the pattern of tiles in your bathroom very well.  For all the gory details, check here."  And believe you me, they're pretty gory!  I can tell you from first hand experience, it is NOT a fun way to spend the evening after dinner!
If you use canned kidneys, you'll be fine without boiling; the processing takes care of the lectin.

As I said, the above method will do for most beans you're likely to be cooking.  The amount of time needed varies with the bean, but usually around 45 minutes.  If you're in a hurry, do lentils or split peas; they don't need to be soaked and cook in 35-40 minutes.

Once your beans are cooked, they can be used for just about anything:  soup, salad, side dish.  My favorite bean for side dish (or even main dish) is the huge lima beans I mentioned earlier.  When you cook them in the crockpot, they break down and create a gravy-like broth that is heaven.  Cooked with a bay leaf and hickory smoked salt (or salt and a DASH of liquid smoke) and you'll swear they were cooked with a ham hock.  They're even thicker the next day!  A beloved aunt, now deceased, had these on the table for every dinner, no matter what.  Every time I cook and eat these, fond memories come flooding back.  Thanks, Auntie J.!

Salad beans need to be a bit firmer than soup beans and so will need to be cooked for less time.  Just drain the beans (save the cooking water to make veggie broth!!) and use according to the recipe.  

To freeze beans, just drain (again saving the cooking water for broth) and then place in freezer bags in 1 3/4 cup batches (the usual equivalent of a can of beans, but without all the sodium and other additives).   I use freezer bags rather then those square freezer tubs because flat bags are much easier to store in the freezer and also thaw much quicker.

Well, that's it for now.  I'll start with recipes in my next post.  See you then!

Cyprus diet

I call this my "Cyprus diet" because it's what I lived on while I was on a temporary duty assignment at the British base on Cyprus back in my Air Force days.

It's main feature is that it's cheap (or at least it WAS when I was there)!  Unfortunately, it's also kinda boring, so make sure you mix it up with the fruit and veggies.  It's also VERY high in sodium; to the tune of 1800 mg a day from just one item!  Thus, if you hae been sodium restricted by your doctor try something else.

Breakfast was the same every day:  A half a melon, plus 1 or 2 seasonal fruits in addition to an egg (mine were boiled because it was just easier) and a slice of whole wheat toast with butter.

Twice a day, for lunch and dinner, I had a packet of ramen noodle soup and a can of veggies (I know; ick, but like I said, I was going for cheap.  Anyway,  sub fresh or frozen if you want to) along with a grilled slice of Haloumi, the local cheese, which was de-LISH....and horrendously expensive as an import, so I usually sub in a half a can of tuna instead.  If you can get Haloumi near you, try it at least once.  It is truly amazing stuff!  It's so densely packed, you can just plop it on a hot pan and grill till browned on each side and it won't melt!

Here at home, I usually add a romaine salad with shredded carrots, radishes, and red onion slices for lunch, with a lemon vinaigrette.

You'll notice there's no meat.  Meat's expensive, so I restrict(ed) it to once a week, subbed in for the tuna, usually Saturday evening.  Here in Iowa, pork is subsidized, so I usually go for a boneless chop, but I'll mix and match if I can get it for a dollar or less for a 4 oz serving.

It all comes up to around 2000-2100 calories a day, and as I said, really cheap!  Like 30-35 dollars a week depending on what fruits you choose!

Sure it's probably not the healthiest diet you could eat, but its not a life-long thing to follow.

Cucalenco soup

I saw a request for lentil soup on a veg(etari)an group I belong to on Facebook, so instead of writing it there, I'm writing it here, so I can just give anyone the URL for this page.

So, here's my Cucalenco Soup (CUrried CArrot, red LENtil, and COconut)

1 cup of red lentils,
4 med  carrots, peeled, diced (reserve trimmings)
 2 med onion, diced (reserve peels and ends)
3 cloves of garlic, minced/pressed
14 oz coconut milk (regular, lite, or coconut beverage)
1/4 cup cilantro, minced
1 T curry powder
1 bay leaf
1" piece of fresh ginger, minced/grated

Soak lentils in 4 cups of water for at least 10 minutes;  drain and reserve soaking water.
While the lentils are soaking, prep the onions, garlic, and carrots.  Drain the lentils and add all the veggie trimmings to the lentil soaking water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes then strain.  Measure out a 4 1/2 to 5 cups, adding water if necessary to make required amount (I usually make do with around 4 1/4 to 4 1/2).

Heat a soup pot over medium heat for 2 minutes.  Toss in the onions (NO OIL!  Don't worry; you won't miss it!)  and saute over medium high heat, stirring often, until onions start to brown, about 10 minutes, adding some water when the onions start to stick a bit.  Add the broth, lentils, carrots, coconut milk, 1 tsp salt and bay leaf.

Cover and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer partially covered, until carrots are tender, about 20-30 minutes.

Meanwhile in a small skillet, heat 1 T oil over medium heat.  Add garlic, ginger, curry powder, and cilantro.  Cook, stirring often, until fragrant, about 2 minutes.  Add to soup.

Remove bay leaf* and in a food processor or blender, puree soup in batches (a blender produces a much smoother textured soup).  Taste and add a bit more salt if desired. Serves about 6.

*Make sure you remember to remove the bay leaf!  Bay leaf shards are NOT pleasant to swallow.  I can't remember how many batches of this soup I've ruined because I forgot to remove the leaf before I blended it.