Good, Healthy, Tasty, Relatively Simple Recipes?
 

I'm trying to make my life a little healthier, and cheaper, so I'm trying to find some good, healthy foods, and recipies. Easy soups and stews, pasta sauces, fish dishes perhaps. I'm not an expert chef by ANY means, nor am I a vegetarian, sadly, but I know cutting meat out saves a ton of money and can be much healthier.

Sooo any tasty, easy-ish, healthy foods/recipies/websites you can throw my way, and I'm sure the way of many others on here, go for it!!:thumbsup:

Running with tweezers is my favorite foodblog ever. She also did an Eat for $30 a Week challenge last year that was pretty impressive. From her site, I've also found links for Smitten Kitchen and Green Kitchen Stories, both of which have some awesome ideas.

Thanks Noodle!! I'll check them out as soon as I get back from Wal Mart.

Does walmart sell octopussy? :)

haha don't be a douche. I haven't checked :P Somehow, I'm doubting it.

Sorry, could not resist.

Try Couscous with Tuna and a tomato based sauce. you could throw chicken strips in there instead of the tuna, which is what they do in Nth Africa.

Its reallly easy to make. Couscous is a semolina wheat type pasta that originates from north africa and can be found in most supermarkets. Rice and pasta gets boring sometimes. It takes about 10 mins to make.

Tasty - check
healthy - check
simple - check

In an attempt to redeem my douche-like status I offer this. Sounds weird but its very good. Substitutions can be made, tilapia is more available where I live but you can use cod, avoid octopus.

Fish Tacos

Ingredients

* Tomato Salsa - Store bought or you can make your own
* 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1/8 teaspoon salt
* 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
* 1/3 cup beer
* 8 ounces tilapia fillet, cut crosswise into 1-inch wide strips
* 2 teaspoons canola oil - I may use more
* 4 corn tortillas, warmed

Preparation

1. Combine flour, cumin, salt and cayenne in a medium bowl. Whisk in beer to create a batter.
2. Coat tilapia pieces in the batter. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Letting excess batter drip back into the bowl, add the fish to the pan; cook until crispy and golden, 2 to 4 minutes per side. Serve the fish with tortillas and salsa.

Easy, Healthy, Tasty

Let me introduce you to the King of Simple: Mark Bittman.

Mark Bittman - The New York Times

The Minimalist - Italian Escarole Soup With Creamy Rice and Aromatic Garlic - NYTimes.com

One thing I love about his recipes is that once you have confidence in your cooking, you can swap things in or out as you see fit; ultimately, it's more about the method.

Hit up your public library and look for this cookbook: You don't want to buy it because you won't need it very long, but if you'd like to increase your competence in method it's great. Method is important because once you know how to saute, broil, roast, etc. you open up endless possibilities. Also, learn to stir-fry. Stir-frying up a bunch of veggies in light oil is relatively easy and a quick way to get some veg on the table.

One dish we eat a lot is just beans (usually black), rice (brown, long or short grain), some cheese, salsa, and sour cream. I make the beans from dried. It is a lot cheaper because we buy our beans and rice in bulk. It isn't hard to make beans from dried, and to be honest, it doesn't even require forethought. Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian has a couple methods for cooking beans if you've forgotten to soak them, or suddenly decide that afternoon that you want beans. Always make more than you need for that meal. Put the extra in a freeze-proof container, making sure the beans are covered by the bean juice, leaving sufficient head space in the container, and you can freeze the beans until you're ready to make a dish that needs some beans. Beans that have been frozen soften up a bit, so they're best in things like refried beans or a soup where you want them to fall apart a bit. And make extra rice too--throw the excess in a container in the fridge and use it the next day to make veggie fried rice.

What makes recipes easy are skills--once you have them, you're good to go. Some good vegetarian cookbooks to check out, because veg meals are cheap: the abovementioned How to Cook Everything Vegetarian and The Moosewood Cookbook (the original one, look for it at the library as it's hard to find a copy of it). Online, I use Apartment Therapy The Kitchn as a resource a lot. Just this week they had: 10 Tasty Dinners To Serve On The Cheap | Apartment Therapy The Kitchn

Noodle, I'm going through that Blog and finding TONS of things I really, really want to make! I'm gonna write them down and put them in my recipie box! :D Thanks!

Ooo! How To Cook Everything: The Basics is a very good book. I have it on my shelf. Simple, fun recipes.

Can't get much simpler than a roast chicken.

Last night I cut up some potatoes and sweet potatoes into 1 inch chunks. Put a chicken on top of the potatoes. Roasted it at 375 until a thermometer inserted into its thigh was 165. Pulled the bird out and rested it. Left the potatoes in the oven while the chicken rested. Sauteed some green beans in butter, garlic and some lemon zest.

When the beans were done, so was everything else.

It was about 10-15 minutes of activity while the oven did the rest.

I do the same with a pot roast, just chop up some potatoes & carrots, throw em together and cook it. The cooking time is longer (I'd have to check my cookbook for temps) but still, its easy. Healthy? Well its red meat, moderation is the key.

O.k. I know this is going to sound like a total cooking cop-out but there is this dish "side dish" they sell at Target, "Archer Farms" Vindaloo. Oh my, if you like Indian cuisine, it is actually pretty good and reading the back it has minimal (Citric and Acetic acid only) preservatives. It is a wonderful side dish/Vegetarian main dish. It is relatively healthy, low in fat (sauce is rich though) and at about $2.00 each serving, a bargain. I love to eat it all by itself, Rice with "a little" sauce and peas/potato curry with chutney, add some toasted naan bread, my husband likes it served with steak or lamb and grilled naan bread "Yum". It is really fast and really inexpensive, and again, really delicious. They also have a Red Garlic Curry, it also pretty good. If you like Indian cuisine and curry that is.

I do cook, but being old south, I do it with a lot of butter and lard, my recipes are raw or fried, just kidding. I don't do a whole lot of cooking right now, but I do try to eat healthy and to serve a quick, inexpensive, healthy meal for the family, one that the boys will eat, which is usually not what I eat.

The main problem with most packaged/processed foods are the levels of sodium. Some people are more sodium sensitive than others, but the levels of sodium in most packaged foods lead people to consume far more sodium than is healthy. When you don't eat these foods, you can freely season your own homemade food with salt, and I can almost guarantee that it will still come in under the amount of sodium consumed when a person eats processed/packaged foods. According to the Daily Plate, the Archer Farms Vindaloo you mention has 1270mg of sodium per serving--that's 53% of the daily value of sodium for someone who eats about 2,000 calories a day. Sodium in and of itself isn't inherently bad, but the amounts we eat it in these days IS bad.

Bingo. And hell, way less than 10 minutes. This is how I've managed to stay alive for the last two years or so.

The other night I made tacos with ground bison instead of beef, which greatly cut down on the fat but didn't sacrifice the taste. I used a packet of taco seasoning and added black beans as well. With low/no fat sour cream and fresh veggies, they were pretty tasty.

An easy grain I almost forgot: polenta. Don't be turned off by all the stirring. There are a variety of methods out there, one of which is Marcella Hazan's "no-stirring" method (there is stirring, but a lot less than the method Mark Bittman recommends). Creamy Polenta Recipe at Epicurious.com I haven't tried it but I'm planning on it this week.

Serve with tomato sauce and some sauteed mushrooms or other sauteed veg, or black beans/salsa/cheese/sour cream. The possibilities are endless. :)

I love bison burgers. As you said, great taste and less fat.

I love polenta... it's great as a substitute for mashed potatoes. Speaking of which, so are mashed Cannellini Beans.

Made this tonight:

Salmon fillet (from Costco comes individually wrapped)
Fresh squeezed oranges into sauce pan add tablespoon of corn starch and sweeten with a little sugar to cut any tartness.

Heat orange mixture, watching to ensure it doesn't boil over, stirring regularly.
When it has thickened spoon over salmon on a foiled cookie sheet, place in broiler till salmon is cooked.

Side dish, cook rice like normal, add some cumin, salt a lil olive oil and some fresh pico de gallo.

I made a very simple dessert: Plum Crumble

Slice and pit about 8 plums. Put them in a bowl and toss with a spoonful of cornstarch and a spoonful of brown sugar. Set aside.

Make the crumble in another bowl. One cup of brown sugar. One cup of oatmeal. A pinch of salt. Combine. Cube a stick of chilled butter and work it into the crumble. Don't worry if you don't work it all in.

I put my fruit into individual ramekins but you can just put it into a baking dish (in fact, save dishes and mix the fruit, sugar and corn starch in the baking dish). Distribute the fruit evenly. Layer the crumble on top so that it covers the fruit. I like the crumble thick so I sometimes add a bit more sugar and oats to my mix. Do what you like, it's a very forgiving recipe.

Bake at 350f for around 35 to 45 minutes.

Take it out and let it cool for 15 to 30 mins.

Eat! It goes well with ice cream or a spoon of marscapone cheese.


EDIT: you can do this with just about any stone fruits, berries, apples, pears, etc. You can also combine them.

I use the recipe for Streusel I from the Joy of Cooking to make crisps. Easy and flexible.

2/3 c. all-purpose flour
2/3 c. finely chopped walnuts or pecans
2/3 c. sugar or packed brown sugar (or a combination)
5 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt

Combine all and use like Charlatan's topping above.

For some good videos, as well as recipes, try cookusinteruptus.com.

Thanks Snowy, I totally forget about sodium, I have hereditary low blood pressure and pernicious anemia, so I have never had to worry about salt (yet), and I am a salt-oholic for sure, as was my grandmother and my mom is still a salty.

You are right about the sodium content of the Vindaloo, but other than that, it seems o.k., and for a super quick, inexpensive, easy to store, rice and veg. meal with a bit of Indian flare it tastes great, once I add salt to it that is....... joking, kinda. I truly do salt everything, so please take any recipes I offer without the grain of salt.

My healthy mainstays are Grape-nuts with yogurt, yum...... Red pepper hummus with tomatoes and onion/olive relish on a pretzel stick wrapped with Boar's Head Turkey...... any grilled or roasted fish (except pompano) with asparagus and smashed cauliflower..... roasted butternut squash soup (really easy to make and soooo good). Any homemade legume stew, but, my boys won't eat most of this, so I don't prepare it often enough. I really enjoy a nice finger tray with lean meat, fresh vegs, and some good sharp habanero cheese. I am more of a grazer type person.

p.s. I like my grits without polenta......... ;)

All very good sugestions! Keep it all coming guys! Im loving Running with Tweezers, and I'm picking up good tips from all over the place now. This is great :)