Smoked Salmon, Carrotash, and Buttermilk Cornbread

I modified my succotash recipe last night to accommodate a bean-hating guest; I used carrots instead of lima beans. It was still delicious. With a quick pan of buttermilk cornbread and a smoked salmon I pulled out of the freezer the day before, it was an easy meal that was cheap and offered some good nutrition. Oh -- and it was really yummy.

Ingredient	Nutrition	Cost
Smoked salmon	Protein (18 g), Vitamin A (2%), Calcium (1%), Iron (5%). Very good source of Protein, Vitamin B12, and Selenium. Good source of Niacin, Vitamin B6, and Phosphorus	$3*
Frozen sweet corn	Fiber (2 g/4%), Protein (2 g), Vitamin A (2%), Vitamin C (6%), Iron (2%)	$2
Canned organic tomatoes	Fiber (1 g/4%), Vitamin A (10%), Vitamin C (20%), Calcium (2%), Iron (2%), Selenium (50%), Folate (5%)	$0.96
Fresh organic baby carrots	Vitamin A (266%), Fiber (2 g/9%), Protein (1 g), Vitamin C (5%), Iron (1%), Calcium (2%). Very good source of Vitamin K, Vitamin B6, and Manganese; good source of good source of Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol), Thiamin, and Potassium.	$0.50
Corn meal	Fiber (2 g/6%), Protein (2 g), Vitamin A (2%), Iron (4%), Thiamin (10%), Riboflavin (4%), Niacin (6%), Folic acid (10%).	$0.68
Buttermilk	Protein (2 g), Vitamin A (2%), Vitamin D (4%), Calcium (5%).	$1
Eagle Mills’ blend of white and whole grain flour	Fiber (2 g/8%), Protein (4 g), Iron (4%), Thiamin (6%), Riboflavin (2%), Niacin (4%), Folic acid (2%)	$0.21
Total	Fiber (9 g/31%), Protein (29 g), Iron (18%), Calcium (10%), Vitamin A (284%), Vitamin C (31%).	Salmon: $0.35/person Carrotash: $0.49/person Cornbread: $0.20/person

* The smoked salmon only cost us the fuel to smoke it; explanation here. 
Cost per person: $1.04
Nutritional Goals: Excellent Vitamin A; Fair Fiber, Iron, and Vitamin C; Poor Calcium. Partial serving of whole grains. Fish as protein source.
 
Succotash recipe here (substitute a few T of olive oil for the butter; I used carrots instead of limas here)
Buttermilk cornbread recipe: Combine 1 cup flour, 3/4 cup corn meal, 1/3 cup sugar, 3 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt. Stir in 1 cup buttermilk, 1 beaten egg, 1/4 cup canola oil. Bake about 20 minutes at 400 degrees in greased pan.

Cheeseburger Biscuits, Baked Sweet Potato Fries, and Grapes

Ingredient	Nutrition	Cost
Bisquick	Fiber (2 g/8%), Protein (6 g), Calcium (8%), Iron (6%), Thiamin (10%), Riboflavin (6%), Niacin (8%), Folic acid (10%).	$0.52
Ground beef	Protein (23 g), Calcium (2%), Iron (13%). Good source of Protein, Niacin, Vitamin B12, Zinc and Selenium.	$1
Aged extra sharp white cheddar (Tillamook)	Protein (7 g), Vitamin A (6%), Calcium (20%), Iron (2%).	$0.35
Sweet potatoes	Fiber (4 g/15%), Protein (2 g), Vitamin A (438%), Vitamin C (37%), Calcium (4%), Iron (4%). Good source of Vitamin B6 and Potassium; very good source of Manganese.	$2.66
Grapes	Fiber (1 g/5%), Protein (1 g), Vitamin A (2%), Vitamin C (27%), Calcium (2%), Iron (3%). Very good source of Vitamin K.	$1.66
Total	Fiber (7 g/27%), Protein (39 g), Iron (28%), Calcium (36%), Vitamin A (446%), Vitamin C (64%).	$6.19

Cost per person: $2.48
Nutritional Goals: Excellent Vitamin A and Vitamin C; Good Calcium; Fair Fiber and Iron.

Cheeseburger biscuit recipe here (I followed the Bisquick recipe for drop biscuits and used the dough to line the muffin cups and top off the beef/cheese, instead of using refrigerator biscuits. I browned some ground beef and added a little garlic powder and salt to it. If I made this again I'd stir the cheese and some ketchup directly into the beef, rather than using the cheese to top and adding ketchup at the table.)
Sweet potato fries recipe here (I used white sweet potatoes, and only salt and olive oil to season)

Turkey Chili, Bread, and Oranges

This might be the first time I've hit my budget and awarded an "Excellent Nutrition." Plus both Trent and I loved it. I've made this chili recipe before and we liked it, but I tweaked it a little this time and it was especially good. Of course, Nugget refused to eat any. But he'll come around. He's eaten chili  in the past, and he will again. I'll be serving this again for sure.

I am kicking myself right now for not freezing a supply of fresh red peppers while they were cheap. They get ridiculously expensive for most of the year, and they are such a go-to vegetable for me. They've got huge amounts of both Vitamin A and C, they work well in many of the recipes I regularly make, and Nugget will eat them. Weirdly, I've never seen them in the frozen foods section. Maybe I can find them at Trader Joe's. But that's an hour and a half drive for me ...

Ingredient	Nutrition	Cost
Lean ground turkey	Protein (22 g), Iron (10%). Good source of Niacin, very good source of Selenium.	$3
Frozen bell peppers (green/yellow/red)	Fiber (1 g/3%), Vitamin A (17%), Vitamin C (60%), Iron (1%)	$1.12
Canned organic tomatoes	Fiber (1 g/4%), Vitamin A (10%), Vitamin C (20%), Calcium (2%), Iron (2%), Selenium (50%), Folate (5%)	$0.96
Fresh cilantro	Vitamin A (5%), Vitamin C (2%)	$0.50
White onion	Vitamin C (3%).	$0.62
Canned organic tomato paste	Fiber (1 g/6%), Protein (2 g), Vitamin C (3%), Vitamin A (10%), Vitamin C (10%), Iron (4%)	$0.50
Canned beef broth	Protein (1 g), Calcium (1%), Iron (1%). Good source of Niacin.	$0.75
Aged extra sharp white cheddar (Tillamook)	Protein (7 g), Vitamin A (6%), Calcium (20%), Iron (2%).	$0.35
Homemade bread (with Eagle Mills’ blend of white and whole grain flour)	Fiber (2 g/8%), Protein (4 g), Iron (4%), Thiamin (6%), Riboflavin (2%), Niacin (4%), Folic acid (2%)	$0.55
Fresh Valencia oranges	Fiber (3 g/12%), Protein (1 g), Vitamin A (6%), Vitamin C (98%), Calcium (5%), Iron (1%). Good source of Thiamin, Folate and Potassium.	$1.05
Total	Fiber (8 g/33%), Protein (37 g), Iron (25%), Calcium (28%), Vitamin A (55%), Vitamin C (193%).	Chili: $1.86/person Cheese: $0.14/person Bread: $0.11/person Oranges: $0.42/person

Cost per person: $2.53
Nutritional Goals: Excellent Vitamin C, Vitamin A; Good Fiber; Fair Calcium and Iron. One serving of whole grains. Lean protein source. 

Turkey Chili recipe here. I swapped in extra bell peppers (all colors) for the zucchini (I hate zucchini); used the whole 6 ounce can of tomato paste; added about a half cup of chopped fresh cilantro (when I added the paste and broth); and left out the salsa, chile peppers, green onions, and sour cream. 


Recipe for "artisan bread in five minutes a day" (this site may change your life)

Quinoa Casserole and Apple Blueberry Pie

Another episode in my quest to find a quinoa dish that Nugget will eat.  A casserole of potatoes, eggs, cheese, leeks, and bell peppers, with a cup of quinoa. It was good that way -- I think I will add a cup of quinoa to any casserole I make from now on. It would work well in a macaroni and cheese casserole. Not sure I will make this again, it didn't wow me. Although Nugget ate several bites, even after I admitted that there were eggs in it.

Ingredient	Nutrition	Cost
Leeks	Fiber (1 g/2%), Vitamin A (9%), Vitamin C (6%), Calcium (2%), Iron (3%). Very good source of Vitamin K, Folate, and Manganese.	$2.10
Frozen bell peppers (green/yellow/red)	Fiber (1 g/3%), Vitamin A (17%), Vitamin C (60%), Iron (1%)	$1.12
Red potatoes (with skin)	Fiber (2 g/9%), Protein (3 g), Vitamin C (16%), Calcium (1%), Iron (6%).	$1
Organic quinoa	Fiber (3 g/13%), Protein (6 g), Iron (12%), Riboflavin (50%), Phosphorous (23%). Very good source of manganese, good source of magnesium.	$1
Eggs	Protein (17 g), Vitamin A (15%), Calcium (10%), Iron (10%). Good source of Riboflavin, Vitamin B12, and Phosphorus; very good source of Selenium.	$1.10
Aged extra sharp white cheddar (Tillamook)	Protein (7 g), Vitamin A (6%), Calcium (20%), Iron (2%).	$0.21
Frozen blueberries	Fiber (1 g/5%), Vitamin C (2%). Good source of Manganese; very good source of Vitamin K.	$2
Jonagold apples (no peel)	Fiber (1 g/5%), Vitamin A (1%), Vitamin C (7%), Calcium (1%).	$1.37
Frozen pie crust	Protein (1 g), Iron (2%)	$0.77
Light vanilla ice cream	Protein (6 g), Vitamin A (8%), Vitamin C (4%), Calcium (20%)	$1.75
Total	Fiber (9 g/37%), Protein (40 g), Iron (36%), Calcium (54%), Vitamin A (56%), Vitamin C (85%).	Casserole: $1.87/person Pie: $1.18/person

Cost per person: $3.05 
Nutritional Goals: Excellent Vitamin C, Vitamin A, Calcium; Good Fiber and Iron. Partial serving of whole grains. Vegetarian. 

Quinoa casserole recipe here. I used red potatoes instead of Peruvian.
See my 10/30 post for the pie recipe.

Tuna Salad with Carrots and Sunflower Seeds, Bread, Apples

A light and easy dinner before trick-or-treating. Cheap, but not as nutritious as I'd like. And unfortunately not very filling. I was starving and scarfed down some cheese a few minutes ago. Guess I should have included cheese in the meal, as I considered. Would've helped my calcium grade. I meant to put cabbage in the tuna salad, which would have added Vitamin C, but forgot. I was very happy with the tuna salad though. I've been searching for a way to make tuna salad without the crunch and moisture of celery, which Trent dislikes, and this fit the bill. I'll have to make it again with the cabbage.

Ingredient	Nutrition	Cost
Chunk white albacore tuna canned in water	Protein (26 g), Iron (5%), Vitamin D (12%), Niacin (60%), Vitamin B6 (20%), Vitamin B12 (20%), Selenium (180%)	$1.50
Fresh organic baby carrots	Fiber (1%), Vitamin A (30%). Very good source of Vitamin K, Vitamin B6, and Manganese.	$0.25
Sunflower seeds	Fiber (1 g/5%), Protein (2 g), Calcium (1%), Iron (3%). Very good source of Vitamin E.	$0.33
Light mayonnaise made with olive oil	Vitamin A (1%)	$0.25
Homemade bread (with Eagle Mills’ blend of white and whole grain flour)	Fiber (2 g/8%), Protein (4 g), Iron (4%), Thiamin (6%), Riboflavin (2%), Niacin (4%), Folic acid (2%)	$0.27
Jonagold apples	Fiber (4 g/17%), Vitamin A (2%), Vitamin C (14%), Calcium (1%), Iron (1%).	$0.91
Total	Fiber (7 g/31%), Protein (32 g), Iron (29%), Calcium (2%), Vitamin A (33%), Vitamin C (14%).	$3.51

Cost per person: $1.40
Nutritional Goals: Good Vitamin A; Fair Fiber, Iron, and Vitamin C; Poor Calcium. One serving of whole grains. Fish as protein.

Potato Leek Soup, Bread, and Blueberry Apple Pie a la mode

It feels a little wrong to count the calcium and vitamins from the ice cream, but whatevs. I'll take my nutrition where I can get it. Notice that it is the greatest single source of protein in this meal ...

But what happened to my blueberries! Apparently freezing vitamin C causes much greater losses than for any other vitamin or mineral. So much for all those frozen blueberries I stockpiled.

After putting all the components of the soup together and tasting it I was not too happy, so I decided to steam some carrots and add them in. After sitting down to eat, I found I liked the soup more than my initial taste, and the carrots really didn't work. Oh well. They rescued my Vitamin A grade.

I think I will just avoid any recipe that requires peeling fruits and vegetables with edible peels. It really killed me on the fiber and iron here to lose the apple and potato peels. I often ignore that instruction, e.g. when making mashed potatoes, but I didn't think it would work in the soup or pie to leave the peel.

All in all this was a pretty lackluster meal nutritionally, and it ended up being over budget. On the other hand, my pie was delicious.

Ingredient	Nutrition	Cost
Russet potatoes (no peel)	Fiber (2 g/9%), Protein (3 g), Iron (3%), Vitamin C (33%), Calcium (1%). Good source of Vitamin B6, Potassium, and Copper.	$1.13
Leeks	Fiber (1 g/2%), Vitamin A (9%), Vitamin C (6%), Calcium (2%), Iron (3%). Very good source of Vitamin K, Folate, and Manganese.	$2.15
Organic chicken broth	Protein (1 g). Good source of Niacin, Vitamin B12, and Selenium.	$2.75
Fresh organic baby carrots	Fiber (2%), Vitamin C (1%), Vitamin A (61%). Very good source of Vitamin K, Vitamin B6, and Manganese.	$0.50
Homemade bread (with Eagle Mills’ blend of white and whole grain flour)	Fiber (2 g/8%), Protein (4 g), Iron (4%), Thiamin (6%), Riboflavin (2%), Niacin (4%), Folic acid (2%)	$0.55
Jonagold apples (no peel)	Fiber (1 g/5%), Vitamin A (1%), Vitamin C (7%), Calcium (1%).	$1.37
Frozen blueberries	Fiber (1 g/5%), Vitamin C (2%). Good source of Manganese; very good source of Vitamin K.	$2
Frozen pie crust	Protein (1 g), Iron (2%).	$0.77
Light vanilla ice cream	Protein (6 g), Vitamin A (8%), Vitamin C (4%), Calcium (20%)	$1.75
Total	Fiber (7 g/31%), Protein (15 g), Iron (12%), Calcium (24%), Vitamin A (79%), Vitamin C (53%).	Soup: $1.87/person Bread: $0.11/person Pie: $1.18/person

Cost per person: $3.16
Nutritional Goals: Excellent Vitamin A and C; Fair Fiber, Iron, and Calcium. One serving of whole grains. No major protein source.


Recipes:
Potato leek soup (I used a couple T of olive oil instead of the butter, and only 2 lb of potatoes as recommended by reviewers)
Artisan bread in five minutes a day (this site may change your life)
Apple blueberry pie: Mix 2 cups frozen blueberries, 3 peeled and chopped apples, 1/2 c. sugar, 1/4 c. cornstarch, 1 tsp. cinnamon, juice of 1 lemon, and 1/4 tsp. salt; pour into frozen pie crust; bake 35 minutes at 400 degrees; rest 1 hour.

Grilled Cheese, Succotash, and Oranges

"That grilled cheese was so good. Did you do something different?"
"I used butter."

Ingredient	Nutrition	Cost
Frozen baby lima beans	Fiber (5 g/20%), Protein (6 g), Vitamin A (3%), Vitamin C (11%), Iron (10%), Calcium (3%). Very good source of Manganese.	$1
Frozen sweet corn	Fiber (2 g/4%), Protein (2 g), Vitamin A (2%), Vitamin C (6%), Iron (2%).	$1
Canned organic tomatoes	Fiber (1 g/4%), Vitamin A (10%), Vitamin C (20%), Calcium (2%), Iron (2%), Selenium (50%), Folate (5%)	$0.96
Whole grain multigrain bread (Dave’s Killer)	Fiber (10 g/36%), Protein (12 g), Calcium (4%), Iron (14%), Thiamin (24%), Riboflavin (6%), Niacin (14%), Folic acid (6%), Vitamin B6 (7%), Vitamin K (2%), Zinc (10%), Manganese (90%), Copper (14%), Phosphorous (20%), Selenium (46%), Magnesium (18%), Pantothenic acid (4%)	$1.03
Aged extra sharp white cheddar (Tillamook)	Protein (21 g), Vitamin A (18%), Calcium (60%), Iron (6%).	$0.50
Fresh valencia oranges	Fiber (3 g/12%), Protein (1 g), Vitamin A (6%), Vitamin C (98%), Calcium (5%), Iron (1%). Good source of Thiamin, Folate and Potassium.	$1.57
Total	Fiber (21 g/76%), Protein (42 g), Iron (35%), Calcium (74%), Vitamin A (39%), Vitamin C (235%).	$6.06

Cost per person: $2.42
Nutritional Goals: Excellent Vitamin C, Fiber, and Calcium; Good Vitamin A and Iron. Two servings of whole grains. Beans as protein source. Vegetarian. 


Succotash recipe here (I use 2 or 3 T of olive oil instead of the butter)

p.s. Can you tell I bought a gigantic box of oranges at Costco? I think I won't do that again ...