Cheap Eats

For a long time, I proudly and loudly stated that for me, cooking is all about flavor. Ever since I learned, as a young adult out on my own, that I could create tasty food for myself I have been in pursuit of pleasure only. Even when P got a job at the local food co-op, I greeted his "hippie food" with an upturned nose and this quote.

But, as was cheesily stated on an episode of Glee, eating for two changes your relationship to food. I was suddenly aware of the connection between what I took in from my environment and what he could then take in from his environment - which would be me. I was responsible for creating his world, and his nutrition opportunities. That's not to say I didn't occasionally indulge in mint chocolate chip ice cream (chocolate, with its small amount of caffeine, is a no-no) and the (very rare P, I swear!) odd Cheesy Potato Burrito from Taco Bell. But I became interested in how various nutrients nurtured different systems as well as in how what I was eating could keep up my sagging energy or help me fight off illness.

Now, as a breastfeeding mom, I still have reason to eat well. And I hope the habits I'm forming now will stick with me, giving me better energy to parent and encouraging Bear by example.

There's only one problem. Good, preservative-free food is expensive. In addition to the flavor factor I felt was lacking from hippie tofu/quinoa patties, as a young adult I resented the fact that P and his coworkers couldn't afford to shop in the store where they worked. It seemed to me that organic food was largely for the well-heeled and pretentious. Now that I am coming to see its benefits, I am realizing that I can't afford to go "all the way."

There are a lot of moms out there who have the good fortune to be able to shop without worrying too much about the cost of individual items. And that's great. For the rest of us, I want to explore the middle ground: good, nutritious food that picks its battles, balancing price and flavor with health benefits. It can be murky territory sometimes, but I enjoy the challenge of reusing and re-purposing groceries to make the most of what we have. So in the next few posts I'll be featuring the tips we've found so far for thin wallets and full bellies.