Occaisonally, I'll see a recipe and like the idea, but don't necessarily want to make it exactly as written. Most of the time it's because I don't have a particular ingredient and I don't want to spend the money to buy it.
Because let's face it, eating healthfully can be costly. Even more so that grocery prices are beginning to rise right along side gas prices. There was an article recently about how calorie for calorie, junk food is more affordable than produce and the prices of processed foods are rising slower than produce. Meat and seafood is also expensive. I'd love to buy organic, free range, grass-fed and all of that, but my budget doesn't really allow for that if I want to vary my protein choices like I do now.
This recipe started out as a shrimp stir fry. But I didn't have shrimp, and give that a pound of shrimp is pushing $8 and I had some cheap and easy frozen chicken in the freezer, I opted to make it with chicken instead. And it was pretty good.
An important lesson to learn when cooking on a budget is that in many recipes, although not all, an onion is an onion whether its red, white, or yellow; shrimp can be swapped for chicken, beef, or pork; and you may even get away with using vegetable or beef broth instead of chicken broth. And it probably won't taste a whole lot different. In fact, it might even taste better.
Nutritional Info (made with chicken, rice not included): 213 calories/6 grams of fat/3 grams of fiber
1 comment:
I love this post! It is so true...cooking is about learning to swap and adjust... for cheaper as well as healthier ingredients! I especially know what it's like to be on a budget as a student and athlete in a very expensive sport!
I'll have to try this recipe Jen! Thanks!
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