Thriftism

This is a very simple recipe that is delicious and easy to make gluten free and dairy free if desired. It wouldn't be hard to transition to vegan as well (cut out chicken and cream cheese and replace with desired alternative. We loved this a a warm fall, budget friendly meal.  Embed

While rhubarb recipes are traditionally sweet or revolving around dessert, we decided to try taking rhubarb into the savory realm. Rhubarb adds a fun flavor to this healthy soup that can easily be made into a vegan meal (just switch vegetable stock for chicken stock). It is quick and easy to make and incredibly affordable, especially if you have any home grown garden produce. Scroll down for a printable recipe. Steps: Put all ingredients minus spices into stock pot. Simmer for 15 minutes.  Add spices. Simmer additional 5-10 minutes. Eat and Enjoy! Embed

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Just because winter is here doesn't mean we can't enjoy summer favorites. Whether you buy fresh peaches or use canned, this gluten free peach cobbler is sure to be a new favorite. It is quick and simple to make and comes together in under an hour. We've made this with both fresh peaches and canned with great results. I might recommend canned as the flavor doesn't change too much and it saves time by not having to peel and slice the peaches. This can easily be made into a vegan cobbler as well by substituting almond milk and plant butter (we have tried this as well with great results).  Start by combining peaches, sugar, cinnamon and water in sauce pan. Boil for 10 minutes. Meanwhile melt butter into an 8x8 pan. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and milk until smooth. Pour over butter - DON'T MIX! Top with peach mixture. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes or so.  Video Tutorial: Printable to letter size paper Embed

I love candied almonds, so when I had to cut eggs out of my diet, I was a bit gutted to find out most candied almonds contain egg whites. Luckily, I discovered you can actually make these without eggs. Even better? When you make them without eggs, it actually becomes a much simpler and quicker recipe. I used 6 ingredients, but you could cut it down in theory if you didn't want the sugar or cinnamon coating.  What You Need 1.5 Cups Almonds (raw) 2 Tbsp Maple Syrup (we used Bushwick Kitchen Vegan Syrup ) 1 tsp Oil (your choice of kind) 1 tsp Vanilla Extract 1/2 tsp Cinnamon 3 Tbsp Sugar 1/4 tsp Salt Start by heating oven to 350. Spread almonds out on cookie sheet or baking pan. Roas to 10 minutes or 5 minutes on each side (lightly toss at 5 minutes). Once almonds have browned and smell toasted, remove from oven. Mix maple syrup, oil, vanilla, and cinnamon in sauce pan. Add almonds. Stir constantly over medium heat until all liquid is gone.  Next combine salt and sugar in a bo...

They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but it also can be one of the hardest to find time to make. This is especially true if you are on any sort of restricted diet. The go-to meals seem to be cereal, eggs, pancakes or muffins. Even those can take some time to prepare and eat and aren't great options if you are on a gluten free, dairy free, or vegan diet. Overnight oats are a simple solution for prepping ahead and can be eaten on the go. They fit into most diets and are easily adaptable to create your favorite flavors.  Embed

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Getting a healthy breakfast in every day can be a challenge. Who has time to cook everyday? There are plenty of grab and go options, but have you seen the price of these? I know I'm not going to pay $1 + for a microwave sandwich that is fairly high in calories, sodium and preservatives. What we've done to help mitigate the costs as well as to create a quick an healthy everyday breakfast is to make a egg bake every week. These can be frozen individually to create microwave and go type of breakfast that fits into your diet and your budget. Bonus, you don't have to cook everyday! What You'll Need: 2-3 Tbsp Olive Oil 12 Large Eggs 2 Cup Diced Peppers (bells or chili depending on what level of spiciness you like) 2 Medium Cubed Sweet Potatoes 1.5 Cups Diced Onion 4 tsp Chili Powder 2 tsp Cumin 2 tsp Salt Equipment 12" Skillet Spatula or Turner Cutting Board Knives 9x13 Baking Pan Pyrex Bowl How to Make It Heat olive oil in a ...

Fried chicken is an American favorite dish, but the grease adds up. Many people choose to switch to baked chicken to cut out the fried factor. Today we've made this favorite even healthier without sacrificing any flavor. We've turned the carby breading to a great source of protein and healthy fats as well as converted this to a gluten free and paleo friendly recipe.  Scroll down for a printable recipe as well as the nutrition facts and the 2019 cost to make.  What You'll Need: Chicken Breasts or Thighs 1 Cup Almonds or Almond Flour 2 tsp Garlic Salt 3 tsp Lemon Pepper Seasoning 1 Large Egg 1/4 Cup Water 1 tsp Lemon Juice Equipment: Ninja Food Processor Air Bake Cake Pan Pyrex Casserole Meat Thermometer How to Make: Preheat oven to 450. Blend almonds to crushed size or smaller. We wanted the slightly larger chunks to keep the almond flavor better, but almond flour can also be used here. Combine almonds, garlic salt, and lemon pepp...

Healthy, high protein meals seem to come at a premium. Protein is likely the most expensive portion of your meal and your grocery budget. Don't let this drive your grocery spending through the roof or let this prevent you from enjoying a high protein and healthy meal. Lentils are a wonderful alternative to meat as a source of protein and provide a plethora of additional benefits. Think high fiber, high in nutrients, and very affordable. We decided to capitalize on the cost savings of lentils by created a meal with lentils as the main focus. This lentil casserole is simple to make, is very fulfilling, and tastes great without costing a fortune. It is also a bit of a variation from the typical rice and beans meals people generally revert to when trying to save money. What You'll Need 1.5 Cup Water 2 Cup Lentils 1 Large Onion 1 Lb Carrots 2 Cloves Garlic 2 Cans (14.5oz) Diced Tomatoes 1 tsp Cumin 8 oz Shredded Cheese Prehea...

Almost everyone can agree that they love brownies, but maybe not everything that comes with eating brownies. The refined sugar and flour along with high calorie make brownies a diet buster and a real no-no for those going gluten free. While these bean brownies are not quite as amazing as the real deal, they are pretty darn tasty and satisfy my sweet tooth. Plus, these puppies are gluten free, high in protein and fiber, making them a great snack anytime of the day. Even better, there are only 6 ingredients, resulting in incredibly easy to make brownies.  What you'll Need: 3 Eggs  2 Cup Pinto Beans 1/2 C Cocoa Powder 1/3 C Honey 2 T Coconut Oil 2 T Vanilla  Preheat oven to 350. Mash beans or blend in your food processor (Ninja!) Add in the rest of the ingredients and blend some more. Once you have reached a fairly smooth consistency you're ready to bake. Grease a brownie pan and bake at 350 for ~20 minutes or until a to...

Pizza is one of my favorite foods. When I was in college I would eat pizza several times a week. Too bad I came to the realization that pizza isn't very healthy (especially not if you're eating it for 7 meals during the week). We still get pizza every once in awhile, but we try to stick to foods that are both healthier and cheaper. Eating out or ordering in can get pretty spendy. Luckily, I recently figured out a real gem of a recipe when brainstorming how to use the remaining 30 spaghetti squash before summer arrives. (Yes, we still have that many squash in March - gardening saves us lots of money!) I didn't have high expectations for a squash pizza, but what the heck, might as well try it, right? Let me tell you, I LOVED IT!!! It's not quite the same as a thick crust pizza or as a crunchy thin crust, but it definitely tastes like pizza and has a fairly similar texture. It might be my new favorite recipe given the great taste, the nutrition (can you say calori...

 Rice crackers are a great alternative to wheat/gluten containing cracker that you usually find in the store. They definitely have gluten-free options, but lets face it, nothing is going to be as cheap as homemade rice crackers when you're making your own flour.I know I have brought up my grain mill quite a bit, but I really think the grain mill is awesome. Also, rice is one of the cheapest things you can buy at the store. I think it was around $4 for a 5lb bag. This is where the grain mill comes in handy--rice flour is NOT dirt cheap at the store. Grinding rice flour is really, really easy as is only takes one pass through rather that a couple with the harder items like garbanzo beans. These crackers are one of the easiest recipes I have ever made and is consists of 4 ingredients (plus spices if you flavor yours). 1.5 Cup Rice Flour 2 t Baking Powder 1 T Olive Oil 1 C Boiling Water Seasoning to Taste Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix your flour and baking powder ...

 Today is a pretty big day for us- we are celebrating our 4 th anniversary! Last night I decided I should bake a cake because obviously there is no better way to celebrate than by eating cake right? At least that's how my mind tends to work. However, we've been trying more and more to switch to gluten free products. This isn't out of necessity but for the health benefits accompanying the switch. Bleached flour for example has basically no nutritional value and will still add calories to your baked goods. So I decided that since we got a grain mill earlier this year I figured we could switch out the regular flour for garbanzo bean flour. Garbanzo beans provide loads protein and fiber along with calcium, magnesium, and iron to name a few good things about them.  Enough about the health benefits, everyone knows beans are good for you and I wanted to make a slightly healthier cake.  If you read the grain mill article you'll remember I said you should grind A ...