Shelter In Place Low Cost Meal Ideas

We began stocking up on staples a week or so before the official #stayhome directive. The most important ingredients on our grocery lists were inexpensive, easy to store, healthy ingredients to keep on hand. (We weren't really thinking toilet paper, at that point). The following recipes (loosely defined)  and the listed ingredients are all ones that we have generally kept on hand in our family larder. Beans and and rice have consistently been a staple in our kitchen because of the low cost and easy storage.  They also provide substantial nutritional value especially for the price.

If you happen to be a Dave Ramsey follower, you will know that he frequently recommends "rice and beans, beans and rice" as a low cost meal suggestion to reduce food costs and assist in attaining financial goals. I don't know how many people take his suggestion literally but we've been using those two ingredients in our family's diet long before we ever knew who Dave Ramsey was.


We have always included beans and rice as regular meal items in our family menus. Dried beans are inexpensive and healthy. Thy are an excellent source of protein that store well for long periods of time. The only downside of dried beans, in my opinion, is in the planning and preparing side. Dried beans need to be soaked in advance to allow for a shortened cooking time, so failing to plan ahead can lead to a change in plans for a meal. One fail to plan back up is to keep canned beans on hand as well as dried.


A few of the basic meal ideas that we start from are below. Most include the extraordinary high value per $ power of dried bean nutrition. All are easily adapted to personal taste or what is on hand in the pantry.

Chili
Kidney and/or black beans. Canned stewed tomatoes.
Diced peppers and onion sauteed lightly.
Frozen corn kernels.
Ground turkey or ground beef.
Season with chili powder, garlic.

Navy Bean Soup
Navy or white beans.
Sliced carrots. Cubed potatoes.
Saute onions and garlic.

Soft Tacos served with rice.
Pinto beans in tortillas (flour or corn).
Serve with rice and other yummy additions, like sliced avocado, sliced sauteed peppers, cheese for individual garnishing.

Split Pea Soup with potatoes carrots and onions.
Yellow or green split peas. Add chicken broth if you have any.

Hummus.
Garbanzo beans, sometimes referred to as chick peas blended with the following;
Tahini
Olive oil
Optional additions: Pumpkin. I try to keep canned pumpkin on hand.
Serve with bread.

Other low cost, easy to store ingredients to create from:

Pasta. Any kind of noodles.
So many possible variations:
All the options can include serving with veggies on the side or over the top.
Saute veggies to add. Frozen veggies are easy to store.
Make a pasta salad or a casserole that includes tuna.
Serve noodles with a peanut sauce; so simple, heat peanut butter with added water. Add soy sauce to taste.
Serve noodles with spaghetti sauce, canned tomatoes.

Dried Oats for oatmeal
Add peanut butter & sliced banana. Both affordable and easy to store.

I'm sure by now, most visitors here have adapted to the current normal. Even within the stay safe  restrictions, most of us can eat healthy and remain within a budget that helps our finances stay healthy, too. If you situation makes that extremely difficult, please reach out for assistance in your community. We are all in this together!

Gathering Together - The Importance of Family Meals

When our children were very young, we managed to have meals together on a regular basis. As a stay at home, homeschooling mom, I was able to gather all of us together, at the very least, every evening for a family meal.

As my children have became more and more involved in their own individual activities, I have become more of a chauffeur and a spectator. As a homeschooling parent, I am thankful that this has been a gradual process. Most of their activities are scheduled around the schedules of our dominate culture. School attendance dictates when extra curricular activities happen. So as each of our children participated more, our family schedule has had to adapt and for the most part it hasn't been too difficult. The biggest challenge and the one the most significant to our family has been the loss of opportunities for family meals.

I do a lot of driving my children around. In a big city suburb, a ride to the commuter train line can save an college student a few more minutes for study. A committed athlete may have to travel further then the local park or gym for a game or practice. Thankfully, those car rides have become an opportunity to stay connected. Unfortunately, those car rides have also become snack or meal time and even more unfortunately replaced family meal time.

There has been research done on the topic of family meals. There are positive behavioral outcomes of adolescents as a result of having consistent family meal opportunities. All of the research that I have seen points to long term benefits of regular family meal time. Gathering together is a valuable family activity and in my opinion, parental responsibility. Not always easy to accomplish, but important and rewarding.

Without the benefit of reading research, I think most parents realize the value of having regular meals together with their children. Meal time offers an opportunity to reconnect after a busy day. Gathering together around a family meal table can provide nourishment physically, emotionally and spiritually. Time to talk and just be together in an familiar, supportive environment means love to us humans. We all need that to continue to function well in the world.

From garden...

...to table.
Family meals provide an opportunity
to learn about nutrition. 

My own observational "research" is simple. When the Run-Ran family (that's us) skips family meals too often, (over the course of a week or two) my young adult children and teen begin to ask about it. They start to ask when and what's for dinner. If I get it together after those requests, announce a time and a menu, they all make the effort to be there. When schedules permit and a few of us are involved in the planning, preparing and eating of a meal the experience is even richer and more satisfying. We enjoy each other's company and stay connected, despite where each of us is participating in the big wide world.

Meals out and about together are great, too.
My husband serves up pizza during a family vacation.

Someone say "dinner?"

If you are interested in reading a bit of evidence based research on family meals check out the article on the National Institutes of Health website. Link here: PubMed article..

The PubMed article's conclusion copied here:

CONCLUSIONS:

Results from this study suggest that regular family meals in adolescence may have a long-term protective association with the development of substance use over 5 years among females. Parents should be encouraged to establish a pattern of regular family meals, as this activity may have long lasting benefits.

Linked below; a few family mealtime table conversation and encouraging resources at Amazon:

Parenting Young Athletes - Part 2 - Feed Them Well

Children, pre-teens and teens all have the need for high quality nutrient dense food. Their growing bodies demand continual sources of energy, protein, vitamins and minerals to support and sustain their growth. Being young usually gives them a bit of wiggle room to recover from less then perfect diets. For young athletes however, the wiggle room is tighter. The demands are greater and the consequences of sub-optimal nutrition are far reaching into their life long health. While it is important for all young and growing people to have good nutrition, young athletes and their parents should pay special attention to their diets to help provide them the nutrients needed for optimal development.

Required: Three meals a day, plus snacks!

Three meals plus snacks, actually translates into four, five or even six small but nutrition packed meals a day at our house. Consistently providing enough high quality nutrition takes a concerted effort, one that can be hard to stay on top of at times. Below are some basic ideas and credible resources that I have found useful for staying informed and motivated to supply the healthy food my family of young athletes needs.

An over flowing fruit bowl visibly reminds everyone of a
healthy snack option as well as some beauty while it lasts.

The basic nutritional components of high quality, nutritious meals include carbs, protein and fats.

After a workout, it is important to replenish with all three of the basics; carbs, protein, fat. According to Nancy Clark, MS, RD, it doesn't need to be a lot, but having something as soon as comfortable following an intense workout will enhance the building of and recovery of muscles. She writes in her excellent Sports Nutrition Guidebook, that even 100 calories post workout can make a big difference and suggests 8 grams of carbohydrates, 10 grams of protein (one ounce of hard cheese), and 3 grams of fat. As little as 10 grams of protein following exercise can stimulate muscle growth.

Don't avoid the carbs. 

I am learning the importance of carbs for my athletes. I've heard young (especially female) athletes discuss and seen them intentionally avoid carbs. The idea being that they will avoid weight gain. While certainly not exclusive to young women, I've not personally heard this concern among the young male athletes, I know. Young and growing female athletes need to understand the value of carbs for their overall development and specifically for their reproductive development. I've listed a resource for a description and discussion of "relative energy efficiency" below. The energy supplied by carbohydrates is crucial for the building of muscle mass. Carbs provide the energy needed for activity but also the energy required for building new muscles. They are good for both before and after workouts and competitions.

Athletes need carbs, protein and fat.

We eat lots of bananas! Why?
They are a great value, have prime nutrients and
31 grams of carbohydrates.

Eating something before training optimizes post workout recovery. 

My teens usually eat something several hours before an event and a lighter snack closer to event time. Despite my urging, none of my kids eat much if anything during games or competitions which are often long drawn out affairs. Seven innings of a high school baseball game can be lengthy or four events at a gymnastics meet takes about 2 1/2 - 3 hours plus an awards ceremony. So I try to be prepared prepared and have nutritious snacks at events and competitions. Fortunately, the appetite typically kicks in and many gymnasts are ready to eat at awards. When available, I break my limited spending at meets rule and buy a fruit smoothie for my gymnast. Smoothie vendors typically have fresh fruit to use to create a healthful, hydrating, yummy post competition reward. Encourage your young athlete to have at least a few bites during events to maintain energy needed for games and competitions.

One task I personally find difficult, is always having snacks ready to grab and go for busy training or competition days. Those grab and go snacks get snatched up and eaten frequently at any time - on the go or not. I have to hide some of the packaged snacks, like granola bars, to make sure there are easy to take snacks available for when they are really needed. We keep granola bars on hand, a bag of clementines in the fridge and there are always bananas available.

What to eat after training or a competitive event.                                                         I'm repeating myself here - carbs, protein, fat.

Easy to prepare and full of healthy flavor, a crock pot meal with a beef brisket surrounded by veggies can be ready for an after training meal.

More Nutrition facts about protein and beef can be found at the Cattlemen's Beef Association's website. http://www.beefitswhatsfordinner.com/beefsbig10.aspx

If an athlete finds that their appetite is diminished immediately following a workout try a liquid instead of a solid food. Chocolate milk or a fruit smoothie can be a good choice to begin replenishing. On the other hand an, if an athlete has an increased appetite there is nothing wrong with having meat such as lean beef following a workout. Dairy is also an excellent source of workout follow up nutrition for young athletes. Fortunately, the appetite typically kicks in and many gymnasts are ready to eat at awards. When available, I break my limited spending at meets rule and buy a fruit smoothie for my gymnast. Smoothie vendors typically have fresh fruit to use to create a healthful, hydrating, yummy post competition reward.

Drink water and stay hydrated. 

Recommendations vary regarding water consumption. Needs will depend on the athlete, the activity and weather. An outdoor run on a hot day will require more hydration than an indoor stretching routine. Mostly, encourage your young athlete to pay attention to their own body and drink to thirst.

Adequate rest and recovery time is essential.

Sleep is the the best way to get the rest required for health, growth, continued learning (both physical and academic) and athletic performance. Sleep is required for the hormonal cycles that encourage and stimulate physical growth and development, including building muscle. Without sufficient sleep, workouts can place an excessive demand on a growing athlete, translating into lower performance, injury or just plan grouchiness.

While most of this may seem obvious to anyone feeding a family, I find it useful to have reminders to help us stay on track. Providing ongoing nutritious meals and snacks can often be harder than it seems when assisting young athletes in accomplishing their goals. Well written published resources offer ideas and credible recommendations.

A few excellent resources below. Some are affiliate links to resources I have viewed, read and find valuable.

Sports Nutrition Guide from USADA U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

For important information regarding young women athletes and nutrition, check out the article at eatright.org.
http://www.eatright.org/resource/fitness/sports-and-performance/tips-for-athletes/preventing-relative-energy-deficiency-in-young-female-athletes

Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook 



Secrets of Feeding a Healthy Family by Ellyn Satter

Highly recommended by parents and dietitians alike, Jodie Shield's book is an excellent resource for every family.

Heritage Food In Our Family - Rosolje - Beet and Potato Salad

We have so many ethnic food choices in the USA.  At any given meal, we can eat cuisine with influence from almost anywhere in the world at a local restaurant. We can eat take-out of almost any kind and most of us know at least a recipe or two to cook up in our own kitchen that isn't originally from our own ethnic background.

My husband, Avo, is Estonian. Both of his parents immigrated to the USA following World War II. His first language was Estonian, his early years were spent in a thriving and tight knit Estonian community in Chicago. As in most ethnic communities, opportunities to get together included traditional food.

Estonian Flag

One Estonian side dish that I delight in is Rosolje [row-sohl-yeh]. My appetite for Rosolje may be one of the little things that contributed to my change of status from out-law to in-law in my husband's family. I love this salad. I consider it a complete meal in itself. It contains all kinds of wonderful and nutritious goodies; pickled beets, apples, dill pickles, and sour cream, meat and eggs for protein.

When I've questioned my mother-in-law about the origins of Rosolje, she shrugs with the common response of someone being questioned about their own cultural traditions "It's just always been there. My mom made it, then I made it." Too familiar to question, we had to do a bit of research to learn the history.

Traditionally served in the fall, you may also find this amazing salad at any gathering, including the summer solstice, Jaanipaev celebration. Rosolje became popular in the 1920's, originally made with herring (common Estonian fare), it has evolved and each cook adds the meat of her choice. The measurements of each ingredient were hard to pin down, even the published recipes vary in individual amounts per ingredient. When I make it, I have done the same and fortunately, my results have been given the nod of approval from both my kids and mother-in-law, from where I was gifted the recipe.
Thanks, Tiina.

Here's the recipe.

Rosolje - Serve cold.

Cube the following ingredients:
2 cans of pickled beets (Aunt Nellie's) Save the juice.
5-6 dill pickles
4 apples (Granny Smith or Golden Delicious)
6 big potatoes - boiled and peeled
3 hard boiled eggs
Cooked cold meat - cooked cold pork roast, smoked turkey or smoked ham are a few of the possibilities. I use ham and have never tried it with the traditional herring. Cube about 1 - 2 cups.


Get some help for cubing (it takes awhile). The expert Estonian cooks say, whatever size you cube the ingredients into, to try to get all of the cubes the same size.

For the dressing:
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard (Colman's)
Add beet juice until you have the desired pink.
Mix it all together. Refrigerate for several hours.
Serve cold.

Mix dressing to desired pink.

Handing down a traditional recipe.
Adah and Grama Tiina.

This recipe shared on Creative Muster.