Day 23: Scrambled eggs
Gotta love eggs in the morning. Used leftover pepper and scallions and made a scramble. Had it with coffee and toast.
100 Dollars for Food...and That's It!
Hi, my name is Reggie.
I have a fitness and nutrition blog: www.sweatyguineapig.com.
I also have a website that features easy exercise movements: www.everydaysweat.com
And I have recently launched iFS - Integrated Food Solutions: www.eatifs.com
Contributors
Day 23: Eating Sanely
I finally finished reading Mark Bittman's "Food Matters". I like his
"sane eating" philosophy: eating less animal product and embracing
vegetables, fruits, and grains. Not only does eating less animal
product cut down greenhouse emission, but it also benefits our health
(some things are just worth of repeating). Rather than telling us to
eat organic produce, Mark focuses on the benefit of eating locally
grown vegetables and fruits; he'd choose local ingredients (here in
New York) rather than organic food shipped from California. By eating
sanely, Mark has lost over 35 pounds while doing research for his book
(I am guessing at least a year of work).
I am very fascinated by Mark's way of eating. I had always been eating
chicken breast with broccoli and brown rice and thinking that was the
only way to be lean and healthy. Since coming to New York and
exploring more interesting food with my friends, I have adapted a new
way of eating as well. I am not afraid of eating pork belly or
chocolate cake (our worst enemies)anymore, but I eat them with
appreciation and moderation (that's how Mark eats too!). My new way of
eating has also inspired me to cook everyday with the best ingredients
I could find either at greenmarket or in supermarket.
Spread the word...eat sanely!
Breakfast: Brown rice with sauteed kale and crushed almond
Lunch: Penne with homemade breakfast sausage, olives, and crushed tomatoes
Dinner: Chickpeas soup with chopped zucchini and yellow squash.
Posted by Reggie Soang
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Day 22: More Grains
Finally, this is the last week of our 100-dollar challenge. I have
waited 22 days to cook my last serving (1 cup) of steel cut oatmeal. I
made my oatmeal savory in this batch; instead of using brown sugar to
sweeten oatmeal, I used more salt and paprika to flavor this dish. The
taste of this batch is quite interesting; I also added more buttermilk
than milk (their ratio is usually 1 to 1), which makes it a little
more acidic than usual. I enjoyed eating a hot bowl of oatmeal
regardless.
Interesting fact...my buttermilk has not gone bad (at least I am not
sick) even it is almost 1 month overdue. I have done some research and
many people say that buttermilk has been cultured and pasteurized;
therefore, it is already sour and can be stored for quite a while.
For dinner, I sauteed some napa cabbage (another ingredient that seems
to last forever!) and added brown rice, kalamata oilves, and peas.
Does anybody have to any great baking recipes that can help me get rid
of buttermilk?
Posted by Reggie Soang
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Day 21 Dinner: Dumplings Night
We like to indulge on the weekend even though we only have a little
money to spend on food and drinks this month. Four of us gathered in
Melanie's apartment last night and made dumplings. The ingredients are
affordable (no organic pork this time) and easy to find. We made a
total of 60 dumplings approximately. Peter also made kimchi fried rice
with ground pork as a side dish. I made chocolate souffle for dessert.
Overall, we spent less than 10 dollars for this meal from start to
finish, and we were very full by the end of the night!
One more week left...hang in there guys!
Posted by Reggie Soang
Comments [1]
Day 22: Bulgogi
I spent $3.01 on 1.26 lb of sirloin tip beef today to make Bulgogi. I should've sliced the meat a bit thinner, but it turned out decently well. The amount I made should be enough for about two more meals. Time to pick up some kimchee...
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Budget remaining: $30.96
Posted by Sei-Wook Kim
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Day 20: Flounder, Ozzie's, and Groceries
Officially down to my last dollar and change!
I splurged at Ozzie's Cafe in Park Slope yesterday. I took the car in for an oil change, and I unexpectedly had to wait two hours. It wasn't worth going home, and it was too cold to window shop, so I stopped into this cozy cafe for a cookie and a chai latte (an exorbitant $4.50)
I've been craving fish all month, and yesterday flounder was on sale. It's served over forbidden black rice (which has been in our pantry for almost a year now) and edamame (in our freezer), with sauteed zucchini on the side ($3.65 for 2 servings). This, with these groceries, leaves me with $1.42.
Day 20 Groceries:
Kosher salt $0.89
Zucchini $0.95
Krasdale cheddar $1.99
Cage free eggs $2.69
Arnold bread $1.99
Sardines $0.89
Crushed tomatoes $1.29
Krasdale ricotta $1.99
Breakstone butter (2 bars only) $1.79
Flounder (2 fillets): $2.70
American cheese: $1.39
Basil: $2.99 (another splurge, but I've been craving pesto too!)
Posted by Melanie Lee
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Day 21 Breakfast: Savory Grains
I came across a fantastic (Mark Bittman never disappoints me) article
on savory breakfast foods. Although I love sweet breakfast foods, I
like pairing sweets with savory items, or have it by itself few times
a week (I miss the intestine noodles, an excellent street food in
Taiwan).
I was inspired by Mark Bittman's wheat berries recipe; therefore, I
decided to cook buckwheat groats for breakfast this morning. I
followed a simple and excellent recipe posted by Craig Claiborne,
former NY Times Food Editor (don't you just love NY Times
food writers?). The whole cooking process took less than 30 minutes,
and it tasted wonderful. I flavored the buckwheat gorats with cumin,
cayenne pepper, and paprika. Buckwheat groats has been added to my
breakfast recipe box.
Posted by Reggie Soang
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Day 20: Barley Barley
I made a lot of barley on Day 19 and barley has been my main source of
carbohydrates and fibers in the last few days. I love barley because of
its chewy texture, and it sort of reminds me of risotto, which I am
addicted to both making and eating it. So here's my barley rundown of
day 20.
Breakfast: Barley with sunny side up, and I blame the wooden spatula
for breaking my egg. My egg did not want to come off the spatula once
I got it off the pan, and it fell apart after I gave the egg a little
push. Butter toasted bread with boysenberry jam and homemade almond
butter.
Lunch: Kimchi lentil soup with barley.
Dinner: Sage butter green peas (anyone who has watched Top Chef
recently would know where I got this idea from...GO CARLA!) with
barley and grilled wild salmon sandwich.
Posted by Reggie Soang
Comments [1]
Day 21: Tuna Casserole Take 2
Made another tuna casserole this morning and spent $5.04 on some ingredients. C-Town unfortunately ended their $1.99 deal on cheddar, so I picked up a bar at Food Emporium for $3.79. Luckily, the cream of mushroom soup was on sale for $1.25 ($0.75 cheaper than C-Town). The casserole should last for another two meals.
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Budget remaining: $35.97
Posted by Sei-Wook Kim
Comments [1]
Day 21: Money Check
I currently have $34.96.
Gave 5 bucks to Reggie to make a nice dinner last week.
I spent $25.10 on groceries and $5.67 at a Wendy's on the road.
Tempted to go for some bagels but probably a better idea to conserve.
Posted by Peter Kang
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