Week 7: February 11th-18th, 2007
New Habit: Adventures in Third World Cuisine, Latin American
Edition
Frugal Habit? Yup
Crispy tacos and fragrant spices sounded great after a solid week
of pasta with garlicky sauces! I dove into the Hispanic foods section
of our cheapest local store and my Latina friends' recipe files for a
week of cumin and crunch.
The staples of Latin American cuisine are beans, rice, and tortillas.
A boring trio on its own, certainly, but there is a amazing variety in
preparation, flavor, and presentation. I chose the recipes that
seemed most friendly to the average meat-loving, spice-wary
American family, but you can serve cheaper, healthier, and more
authentic Latin American meals by checking out the cookbook
section of your local library or doing a simple Google search. Below
is our menu for this week; recipes and shopping list are here.
Dinner 1: Easy Carne Asada, rice, steamed broccoli
Dinner 2: Refried bean tostadas, rice, frozen corn
Dinner 3: Chicken enchiladas, lettuce and tomato to top
Dinner 4: Taco salad with refried beans, 1/3 can of fruit
Dinner 5: Tamales, leftover chips, another 1/3 can of fruit
**Makes enough for two main dishes
Dinner 6: Chicken tacos, rest of refried beans
Dinner 7: Black bean soup, quesadillas, rest of fruit
Mexican food is similar to the cuisines of many other developing
nations in its reliance upon high-yield produce and inexpensive
sources of nutrients. Because many of the ingredients for these
meals are things that most households keep on hand, your actual
grocery receipt will likely show a lower number than the prices
quoted. Most families won't be able to take an entire week of any
one cuisine, but your food budget may benefit from adding one or a
few of these to your repertoire.
Amount Spent: $44.73 for eight meals, or an average of $5.59
per meal serving eight people each. I try to keep dinners under $5
each, except for a more expensive Sunday meal, so this stayed
within the average. We didn't quite beat the Italian week
technically, but there were a lot more lunch leftovers. And, as with
Italian food, this menu can be made much cheaper in several ways:
by using homemade salsa, less cheese and sour cream,
incorporating free ingredients into the meals, and shopping at
ethnic markets that offer cut-rate prices on what mainstream
grocery stores consider specialty goods.
Amount Saved: As with Italian, it depends on how much you
normally spend.
Difficulty on Scale of 1-5: 3. Tamales and enchiladas will require
more work for those of us who were raised north of the border. The
other meals are simple enough for a child to prepare,
notwithstanding the potential dangers of frying and chopping
Time: Two meals (tamales and enchiladas) were more time
consuming than my usual menus, but the rest were quick and
simple. Refried beans took a few hours, but I didn't have to actually
stand over the stove for most of them and they made enough for
several meals.
Check out the Frugal Habit of the Week Archives
New Habit: Adventures in Third World Cuisine, Latin American
Edition
Frugal Habit? Yup
Crispy tacos and fragrant spices sounded great after a solid week
of pasta with garlicky sauces! I dove into the Hispanic foods section
of our cheapest local store and my Latina friends' recipe files for a
week of cumin and crunch.
The staples of Latin American cuisine are beans, rice, and tortillas.
A boring trio on its own, certainly, but there is a amazing variety in
preparation, flavor, and presentation. I chose the recipes that
seemed most friendly to the average meat-loving, spice-wary
American family, but you can serve cheaper, healthier, and more
authentic Latin American meals by checking out the cookbook
section of your local library or doing a simple Google search. Below
is our menu for this week; recipes and shopping list are here.
Dinner 1: Easy Carne Asada, rice, steamed broccoli
Dinner 2: Refried bean tostadas, rice, frozen corn
Dinner 3: Chicken enchiladas, lettuce and tomato to top
Dinner 4: Taco salad with refried beans, 1/3 can of fruit
Dinner 5: Tamales, leftover chips, another 1/3 can of fruit
**Makes enough for two main dishes
Dinner 6: Chicken tacos, rest of refried beans
Dinner 7: Black bean soup, quesadillas, rest of fruit
Mexican food is similar to the cuisines of many other developing
nations in its reliance upon high-yield produce and inexpensive
sources of nutrients. Because many of the ingredients for these
meals are things that most households keep on hand, your actual
grocery receipt will likely show a lower number than the prices
quoted. Most families won't be able to take an entire week of any
one cuisine, but your food budget may benefit from adding one or a
few of these to your repertoire.
Amount Spent: $44.73 for eight meals, or an average of $5.59
per meal serving eight people each. I try to keep dinners under $5
each, except for a more expensive Sunday meal, so this stayed
within the average. We didn't quite beat the Italian week
technically, but there were a lot more lunch leftovers. And, as with
Italian food, this menu can be made much cheaper in several ways:
by using homemade salsa, less cheese and sour cream,
incorporating free ingredients into the meals, and shopping at
ethnic markets that offer cut-rate prices on what mainstream
grocery stores consider specialty goods.
Amount Saved: As with Italian, it depends on how much you
normally spend.
Difficulty on Scale of 1-5: 3. Tamales and enchiladas will require
more work for those of us who were raised north of the border. The
other meals are simple enough for a child to prepare,
notwithstanding the potential dangers of frying and chopping
Time: Two meals (tamales and enchiladas) were more time
consuming than my usual menus, but the rest were quick and
simple. Refried beans took a few hours, but I didn't have to actually
stand over the stove for most of them and they made enough for
several meals.
Check out the Frugal Habit of the Week Archives
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |