Healthy and Cheap Family Meals for Tight Budgets

20-Minute One-Pot Pasta with Olives and Zucchini

10/24/2016

This is a variation of one of my oldest recipes – one that I included in that oft-mentioned recipe book I gave as Christmas gifts to my family members so many decades ago when we were poor, struggling students.

But for some reason, I had quite forgotten about it until something jogged my memory and I had a sudden yen to taste it again. I went in search of it to see if my memory served me right, and voilà, there it was.

Given that it’s about the simplest and quickest meal you can prepare, and my husband raved about it when he ate it and remembered, I had to wonder why I ever stopped making it.

One-Pot Broccoli Tuna Pasta

10/16/2016

This is yet another one of those recipes I’ve had since I was a young married woman. It’s been one of my go-to recipes since forever because it’s a delicious, very easy, one-pot meal that can be ready in less than 30 minutes.

On those crazy weekday nights when you get home late, or the kids are dashing off to a game or practice, a dinner like this can be a lifesaver.

And my boys absolutely loved it. It was definitely one of their favorites.

It’s also about as cheap as any fish-based meal can be - if you do as I do.

Salmon Burgers with Spicy Yogurt Topping

10/10/2016

NOTE: This is an updated version of this recipe that includes a technique for making the burgers without eggs for those with food allergies.

When most people think of a salmon meal, they are imagining fresh salmon steak or filet. And for special meals, that’s exactly what I’ll order in the fish department at the grocery store.

My husband will then cook it to perfection on the grill or under the broiler, and we’ll have a very special entree to celebrate whatever the occasion happens to be.

But it’s an expensive dish, so it’s not one I include in my regular weekly menus.

It’s funny to think that fish used to be considered a cheap meal, one that people ate when they could not afford meat.

That’s where the Lenten practice of having fish on Friday came from. It was supposed to be a kind of sacrifice to forgo meat and eat seafood instead.

Growing up, we did typically eat fish at least once a week. Swordfish, cod, and sole were mainstays. And they were economical. But that was in the days before mercury toxins made eating swordfish a health hazard, and serious overfishing depleted ocean fish populations so dramatically that fishing quotas were put in place.

Now it would never be considered an economy or every day meal that most families could afford, priced as it is at $5 per pound on sale -- and up to many multiples of that when it’s not. And it’s hardly a sacrifice to eat it.

So, fish is definitely now a luxury for most families.

But there are more economical ways to buy salmon and include its terrific nutritional benefits in your diet without blowing your budget. Here’s how I do it:

Minestrone Soup (Super Hearty)

10/4/2016

Mom made minestrone soup for us growing up, but I cannot say that this particular recipe is the same as hers, since I acquired it from a different source when my children were young.

The one thing it definitely has in common with her version is how thick and hearty it is – so much so that a spoon will practically stand up in it - and what a family favorite it is.

I actually got the original recipe for this particular soup from a dear college friend when she served it to us for lunch on a playdate some 2 decades ago, and my kids and I loved it.

It made me wonder why I hadn’t tried to replicate Mom’s beloved version many years earlier. My friend gave me the detailed recipe, and as far as I can recall, I’ve kept it pretty much the same ever since.

This recipe makes a big pot of delicious, nutrition-loaded soup that will have your family practically licking their bowls.

20-Minute One-Pot Pasta with Olives and Zucchini

One-Pot Broccoli Tuna Pasta

Salmon Burgers with Spicy Yogurt Topping

Minestrone Soup (Super Hearty)

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