Thriftism

With colder weather upon us once again, we are turning to hearty favorites like soups and stews. We especially like easy to cook recipes that are hearty, healthy, and save us some money in the process. One recipe that fits this bill perfectly is a black bean posole. This can be made in a crockpot or slow cooker and is packed with flavor. Posole or Pozole can be made as a vegan/vegetarian option or you have the option of adding meat to fill out your meal as desired. Posole cooks easily in this dump and go recipe saving you time and money by using pantry staples.  Watch the recipe in action: printable to letter size paper Embed

I hate having to cook before each meal. This is probably why I typically have one big meal prep day a week, followed by heating up leftovers from the prep day. I don't remember to start cooking soon enough and am left starving by the time I think of making something. That's why I love slow cooker meals. This is a super flavorful one that I was able to put on overnight to have ready in the morning, but you could also throw it on in the morning to be ready for supper. Printable to letter sized paper Check out the  Why Buy Dry Blog post: https://thriftism.blogspot.com/2014/02/why-buy-dry.html Embed

Winter is upon us and nothing warms you up like a nice hearty soup. While soup in general is an affordable option, you can save even more money by making your own. If money isn't enough of a motivator for you, store bought soups are often high in sodium, lacking quality ingredients, and tend to leave you feeling hungry within a short period of time. By making your own soup you can control the ingredients and make it exactly to your liking. Soups are also great to make ahead and freeze for the future. Split pea soup is one of the heartier soups and will keep you full for hours. This budget friendly recipe is high in protein and fiber for only $0.42 / serving. It also freezes wonderfully since it is a creamy soup to start with - no need to worry about losing textures. The best part about this soup? It has only three ingredients and is a set it and forget it recipe. No time to cook?  Try this recipe in a  crockpot ! For full cost and nutrition facts, scroll to the bottom...

Winter is coming and with that cooler weather. Fend off the cold with a warm, healthy, and cheap dish. The best part about chili is you can really make it your own. What You'll Need 1 C dry red beans 1 C dry pinto beans 1 C dry black beans 7 Tomatoes or 2-3 cans diced tomatoes (Preferably reduced salt) 2 Onions Lots of Chili Powder Garlic (Fresh or powdered) Meat (Optional) I try to avoid adding salt to anything and try to buy ingredients with the least amount of salt as well. Salt causes bloating and in general isn't great for your body. Some salt is necessary, but everything now has so much salt that anytime we can cut back on that it's good. I used all dried beans because they are ridiculously cheaper than buying canned beans and again it reduces salt intake. You also lose all those preservatives that come with the canned beans. Lots of people avoid dry beans because it can take a lot longer to cook. You can either soak them overnight or do a quick soak wh...