The Score So Far (Health & Fitness)

[_Doctor CamNC4Me]

I literally just bought a stack of 40 8" tortillas for $4. That's .10 cents a tortilla. My wife and I will make our own salsa for a few dollars and it makes something like a gallon. We will often take stuff that we make, like the lentil concoction above, put it in a tortilla with salsa and it makes a tasty meal for about a buck.

Healthy. Easy. Tasty. Frugal.

It's totally doable.

eta: Wait. My bad. I forgot 99% of the population lives in food deserts with only Kwik-e-marts and McD's within a 100 mile radius.

- Doc

[_EAllusion]

No Doc. The rest of the world is less virtuous than you. That's why they don't make their own gallon jugs of salsa.

Your soup needs some seasoning development. Maybe saute some onions and garlic first? Add a little thyme and a couple bay leaves? Finish it with a little red wine vinegar for brightness or some soy sauce for savory depth? Those are cheap ingredients you can buy in bulk and use for many different applications. I don't know. It seems bland. Like, really bland.

Your frozen veggies probably are also cooked to all hell. Not much you can do about them being frozen, but I'd probably cook them separately and add them at the end so they don't get overdone while the pressure cooker is breaking down the tougher veggies.

[_Jersey Girl]

Gentlemen could you please stop taking shots at each other on this thread? This thread was intended to be a support and encouragement thread. Post your good ideas here. That's why I started it.

[_Doctor CamNC4Me]

I would stop, but EA's pathological need to, I dunno, be fantastically wrong and petty at the same is, as Mr. Peterson would put it, psychologically fascinating.

My food may be bland, granted it isn't a $10 Chipotle wrapped heart attack, but that's beside the point. It's cheap. It's healthy. It's attainable. All of which undermines EA's assertion that eating healthy for less is virtually impossible for *reasons*.



- Doc

[_Jersey Girl]

I would stop, but EA's pathological need to, I dunno, be fantastically wrong and petty at the same is, as Mr. Peterson would put it, psychologically fascinating.

Screw. him. I've maintained this thread for over a year now. It's going right back on topic.

My food may be bland, granted it isn't a $10 Chipotle wrapped heart attack, but that's beside the point. It's cheap. It's healthy. It's attainable. All of which undermines EA's assertion that eating healthy for less is virtually impossible for *reasons*.



- Doc

There's not a darn thing wrong with the recipe. I have an old vegetarian cook book (Vegetarian Epicure) that has an incredible vegetable stock recipe (it actually has more than one) that can be used as the base for multiple soups and it can actually stand on it's own. I would up the tomato content because I'm some kind of tomato freak. No one knows why. I eat tomatoes in some form almost every single day. It's nothing I plan to do, it's just what I choose on any given day.

The point is, that it's a healthy and simple recipe and that's what I'm always after. I try to eat clean every day but don't go by the past 2 weeks because I've eaten restaurant food quite a few times here lately. I add almost no seasoning at all to soups except for garlic and basil, it depends. I haven't added salt to anything in decades except for the baking I do and a vaporizer.

I'm down to 123 now and haven't killed myself doing it either. My clothes fit so well, I feel great!

I'm going to look back over this thread and see if I want to post any other soup recipes of my own. Thanks for explaining how to do that. I know I'll end up trying to replicate that in the Instant Pot, Crock Pot or just on the stove.

I'm interested in the split peas only because I never cook with them, so why not give that a go.

[_Xenophon]

I'm down to 123 now and haven't killed myself doing it either. My clothes fit so well, I feel great!

Emphasis mine, of course. I'm very pleased for you Jersey Girl. Not trying to get too much into the HAES nonsense, the numbers on the scale are way less important than that last part. If you're feeling better and able to enjoy life, that is what really matters.

I know earlier you were working a lot to add in the exercise, is that still going well for you?

[_EAllusion]

I would stop, but EA's pathological need to, I dunno, be fantastically wrong and petty at the same is, as Mr. Peterson would put it, psychologically fascinating.

My food may be bland, granted it isn't a $10 Chipotle wrapped heart attack, but that's beside the point. It's cheap. It's healthy. It's attainable. All of which undermines EA's assertion that eating healthy for less is virtually impossible for *reasons*.



- Doc

My advice on your soup was actually serious. I offered some dirt cheap ways to enhance it. You can buy a supply of dried bay leaves at Costco for about 6 bucks that will last you until the end of time. You are making a big deal about how it is possible to eat very tasty food for very cheap, which I agree with if you know what you are doing, but maybe need a little boost on the flavor side of that aspiration?

You continue to misrepresent what I said for reasons that only you know.

[_Doctor CamNC4Me]

Jersey Girl,

If you don't have a pressure cooker I strongly recommend getting one. We just made a large batch of hummus in under an hour, and for ~$5, which translates to ~$30 had we bought it from Costco. We put the excess in the freezer, and bam... Hummus fo' dayz. We use hummus instead of mayo and salad dressing as a spread. Delish...

- Doc

[_Jersey Girl]

Jersey Girl,

If you don't have a pressure cooker I strongly recommend getting one. We just made a large batch of hummus in under an hour, and for ~$5, which translates to ~$30 had we bought it from Costco. We put the excess in the freezer, and bam... Hummus fo' dayz. We use hummus instead of mayo and salad dressing as a spread. Delish...

- Doc

You might not recall (since this thread is over a year old) that I got an Instant Pot last year for C'mas. JB Is the only one who uses it. I love hummus, but have never made my own. I'll see about doing that, too. I intend to concentrate on good food/good cooking this winter. If you have a link to the instructions for pressure cooker hummus, I'm interested.

[_Jersey Girl]

Here is something I've been doing lately and I add this only because the holidays wreak havoc with our diets. Maybe someone else would like an idea that's quick and easy for lunch. These are all going to be pics from Walmart, but all the other grocery stores have their versions as well. Not entirely economical, but quick, easy and it'll get you a lunch in 10 minutes time.


I've been buying these:











And adding extra veggies to them, as well as Roast Turkey, Black Forest Ham (in the refrigerated deli section in plastic containers) or a can of Red Kidney Beans, or whatever I feel like. I think you could also add sliced boiled eggs to these to morph them into a meal.

They come with a salad dressing, something crunchy like croutons/bacon bits/tortilla strips, and usually one other ingredient like sunflower seeds/shredded cheese. These additions are in small quantities so you can still feel like you're getting a taste of something good without going overboard. I take out the bacon bits and leave them for JB to have.

They're about $3.00 a bag, the two of us can get maybe 2 salads out of that each. So a total of 4 portions.

If you were of a mind to, you could take that South West one and add taco meat to it for an instant taco salad. I prefer it with just kidney beans. You could also use grilled chicken in that Caesar Salad kit.

I've never checked the nutrition label on these. But, they're good, JB even likes them, and they've been one of the mainstays of my diet for the past 6 months or so. So a total win:win for us.