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 The new year is now well upon us and if you've made it one your resolutions to eat well while on a budget then we've got some help for you - welcome to the Frugal Foodie.
A few months back we offered suggestions on how to be more frugal by practicing a few simple rules such as buying in bulk, eating seasonally, and growing your own. We then followed up by showing you what items to stock your pantry that will help keep you eating well even during the leanest of times. Today, we're going to talk about how to turn virtually every recipe you come across into one that is more budget friendly. Before we get to the recipe conversions it's important to keep a few things in mind about the types of recipes you choose to make. That's because some recipes will be more expense than others. If you can alternate the more expensive ones with the less expensive ones it can definitely help to keep costs down. A general rule of thumb is that the most cost heavy recipes typically contain the following ingredients: seafood, prime cuts of beef, and imported cheeses. Recipes with unusual international food items can also be more expensive, especially considering the time you need to spend figuring out where to get the items.
But, even if you've chosen a potentially expensive recipe there are ways to keep costs down: recipe conversions. The key to these recipe conversions is finding the right ingredient substitutes, ones that won't alter the taste of the dish too much or change the original cooking technique used. Here's an example of how to convert a relatively common recipe to make it more budget friendly. Chicken Cordon Bleu | Original Ingredients | The Substitutions | | Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts | Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs | | Gruyere Cheese | Regular old American Swiss | | Baked Virginia Ham | Honey Ham deli slices | | The remainder of the ingredients will be the same, bread crumbs, eggs, olive oil, etc. And the cooking technique will also be the same.
| Let's go over the substitutions: - *Chicken breasts becomes chicken thighs. Why? Chicken thighs cost about half as much as chicken breasts, they will cook faster, and because its darker meat its naturally more tender and has more flavor.
- *Gruyere cheese becomes generic Swiss cheese. Why? Although Gruyere cheese is pretty readily available these days it is considerably more expensive than domestic Swiss cheese. Similarly, deli slice honey ham is going to be a cheaper and comparable choice to expensive baked Virginia Ham.
While not all recipes are that simple once you get the hang of the conversions it gets easier. And the good news is we're not stopping here. Up next, I'll present a conversion for one of my favorite appetizers: Jerk Beef Appetizer served on Plantain Chips. Being a Frugal Foodie can be fun, and if you have budget friendly recipe conversions of your own to share leave a note or email them to me at
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