Meals on a budget: Canadian food bloggers share tips as inflation bites  – National

Food bloggers and cookbook authors say meal plans and easy recipes help home cooks create hearty, delicious meals on a budget.

Below are suggestions for three types of quick and nutritious home meals.

Taylor Stinson, a Toronto-based food writer who has run the blog The Girl on Bloor since 2015, says that her sheet pan Greek chicken meal prep bowl is “looking for a quick last-minute dinner.” said to be suitable for humans. It’s all done in 30 minutes. Cooks can substitute chicken breast with chickpeas or tofu. This makes it “cheap”.

To make the meal planning process easier, Stinson says she prepares ingredients ahead of time, like minced garlic and chopped vegetables. Her meal preparation also includes pre-cooking rice and meat (such as chicken in her suggested recipe).

“You’re still organized, but it only takes about an hour,” she says. .”

Stinson says planning saves money by ensuring that materials aren’t wasted. She also says that prepping ingredients helps cooks stick to their at-home meal plans, faster than quitting takeout.

“You have all the chopped vegetables,” she says. “Put it all in the skillet and dinner is ready.”

Shahzadi Devje, a registered dietitian in Toronto who has run South Asian-focused food blog Desi-licious for five years, says her slow-cooker vegan black-eyed peas recipe takes just 15 minutes, making it easy to cook on-the-go. Perfect for of preparation while the slow cooker is in charge of cooking.

“It’s easy,” she said. “Just soak the beans, cook in the slow cooker, and finish with some spices, onions and garlic at the end.”

People looking to save money on grocery shopping should consider trying a meat-free diet, says Debie. Plant-based proteins like beans, lentils and chickpeas pack a nutritious punch without breaking the bank, she says.

She also says shoppers should buy strategically when it comes to bulk buying and hoarding sale items. Canned foods such as canned salmon have a long shelf life, so they are perfect for buying in bulk.

“Grains, rice and pasta are your best bets,” she said.

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Calgary-based cookbook author, food writer, and culinary instructor Julie Van Rosendahl says kids are picky in many ways, but starchy foods like pasta and french fries aren’t. I like to say it’s common.

She’s been writing about food since the 90’s and has been teaching classes for over 20 years. Her motsunabe and dumplings are recipes that children will love. As an ingredient, Rosendahl recommends ground pork, which is “super cheap.” She also says you can freeze leftovers and put them in another meal, like wonton soup.

Rosendaal says you can save money by reducing or eliminating food waste, and suggests learning to cook with ingredients you already have in your fridge.

“Approaching it that way helps children get into the habit of thinking and knowing how to use what they have.”

She also notes that children who cook eat less processed foods and have more varied diets, so encouraging children to get involved in the kitchen is important to their long-term health. It is said that

Rosendaal, author of You Are Human and You Need Cake, suggests taking kids to the library and letting them pick out a cookbook to try something new.

Louisa Clements has run her own food blog, Living Lou, in Toronto for 13 years. She emphasizes fresh, flavorful recipes using simple techniques and ingredients. Her parents, who she thinks want her to cook after work, can try her tacos of roasted cauliflower with black beans. This, she says, works as a “quick and easy weekday meal.”

“It’s really fun for the family,” she says. “It also allows you to interact with the food in the taco. If it’s a little easier, you can have it with rice.”

Clements also suggests meal planning as a way to save money while shopping.

“You’ll be able to cook delicious food,” she says. “It also makes things more budget-friendly.”

Stacie Vaughan has been running her food blog, Simply Stacie, in Pembroke, Ontario since 2008. On her blog, she focuses on easy family-friendly recipes and provides shortcuts to the cooking process. Senior citizens make up a sizeable portion of her blog’s readership, she says, and she tends to email her asking for recipes for one or her two-person household.

She suggests that those looking for smaller portions try sheet pan meals, as the cook can control the number of portions.

“Cut one potato and put it on the baking sheet,” she says. “Maybe a chicken breast or two, half a head of broccoli.”

Salmon is another great protein option for sheet pan recipes, she says, and sautes alongside steak strips. said to be easy to use. That means you don’t have to keep track of cooking multiple things at the same time.

As a way to save money while grocery shopping, she suggests checking flyers and planning meals around sale items.

Another option, Vaughan points out, is to create recipes with larger portions and freeze leftovers to reduce waste. Soups, stews and pasta dishes freeze well, she says.