I often hear from many coupon skeptics that you can only get unhealthy foods cheap. I definitely know since I’ve been incorporating coupons and searching out deals, our family is actually eating healthier. However, instead of a tip on being frugal, I thought I’d offer a cooking tip today.
I’m still a hesitant cook at time. I often worry about straying too far from the recipe’s directions. However, I always look for easy ways to make meals healthier. I’ll mix in extra vegetables, add nuts whenever possible, use applesauce instead of oil, etc…
Often when a recipe calls for frying, you can use a bread crumb mixture as a coating and bake it instead. Sometimes, instead of using bread crumbs, crackers, or corn flakes, I throw whole grain Cheerios into my Magic Bullet and grind them into a fine dust to use in place of the bread crumbs. Honey Nut Cheerios taste great on baked chicken nuggets! Baking things like pancakes, waffles, bread, and more at home can also save you money and be healthier than what you’d buy at the store. Snag some recipes HERE.
Even if you aren’t a chef or hate to cook, you can make simple meals healthier. Add nuts, diced strawberries, or sliced bananas to yogurt, cereal and milk, or oatmeal. My husband isn’t a cook and I can pretty much well count on him to make a Betty Crocker Helper meal when I’m not around. I even make those healthier by buying the tuna or chicken ones. Or I often just use tuna or chicken in the hamburger meals, if it’s a meal that takes just as well with the substitution. To make it easier for my husband, I buy the canned white meat chicken breasts, just like a I do the tuna. They often go on sale 10/$10 at Meijer!
What do you substitute or add to make your meals healthier? Leave a comment & share! Plus, if you have a great tip to save money e-mail me or leave a comment. I’ll give you credit.
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One thing I've been trying to do for Hamburger Helpers and other boxed meals is to cut the meat in half and add veggies. For instance, on most of the Mexican-type dishes (Enchilada Pasta, Cheesy Taco, etc.), I will add a can of diced tomatoes, and maybe some peppers and onions. And at least in my family, we're good with just 1/2 lb of meat at a time in the meals. It at least makes me feel better about using a boxed meal when I'm out of energy or time, and it makes it healthier for sure.