Eating Healthy in a Tough Economy!

Avoiding Fast Food Alley

Are you like most families this time of year and you find more than one night filled with activities?  Fast food alley on these nights beckons to me.  The bright neon lights with their messages of burgers and fries, tacos, delightfully wrapped in paper, just fly through convenient drive through, use the plastic card, and off you go.  The scene when I get home is one of delight, until we unwrap the delicacies, and they just don’t quite live up to the standard.  I smile and reason, it is just one time.  Then, I remember how much I spent and I think, I could have bought two bags of groceries for this convenient meal that really did not taste good and I will be thirsty all night long because of the excess salt on the food.  When I have these “fast food alley” moments, I remind myself that the aftermath includes not feeling good and the money going into the pocket of those lovely neon light places and not in my pocket for other things.  If I add it up, it could easily be money saved up to buy something our family really needs.  It is a given that if you have kids, they have events and not all events are nice and convenient and revolve around the dinner clock.  So what is a mom to do?  Get creative!

One night in frenzy at 8pm and no dinner, I decided to opt out of the neon lit fast alley and went home to prepare a quick meal.  As I drove home, I thought about what I had on hand.  Let’s see, eggs (we have our own chickens, so I had this on hand), broccoli, onion, zucchini, tomatoes and cheese, this would make a great Egg Frittata.  I had covered the protein group, vegetable group, and dairy group.  We had sliced watermelon and French bread.  Now, I have all the food groups covered and a meal that was on the table in 30 minutes!  Success!  I avoided fast food, and the food was very enjoyable.  So how do you make a Frittata?   If you know how to make scrambled eggs, you can make a frittata!

                                

 

Egg Frittata (Serves 4) Prep time:  30 minutes

 Ingredients:

6 eggs, beaten

1tsp. fresh or dried basil

½ c. vegetables, sauté in 1 tbs. olive or canola oil

1/8 c. onion (more or less depending on your liking)    ¼ to ½ c. cheese, cheddar or mozzarella

Directions:

Scramble the eggs, add basil and set aside.  Chop vegetables, sauté in oil until tender.  Add eggs to the vegetables.  Move egg mixture around just as you would scrambled eggs. When they are almost set, add cheese to top.  If you have a pan that is oven safe, you may finish this process by placing pan under broiler for 3 to 4 minutes until brown, watch carefully so it does not cook to long.

Menu Ideas:  Fresh fruit, whole grain bread or roll, and a glass of milk. 

Another great way to avoid eating out is to use a slow cooker.  More to come next week on this!  Until then, have a healthy and happy week!