How I learned to make simple, healthy and cheap meals
By: Ron Wayne
Tags: Thrifting, Cooking, Trader Joes, Foodies, Retirement

Everything here is from Trader Joe’s except the sauce.

I’m no Julia Child. I hate to cook, and I’m a fussy eater — a bad combination, especially when money is tight.

However, retirement now gives me the time to plan my shopping and menu more prudently, an extra challenge when you live alone. I’ve become more adventuresome as well. I started using onion in a lot of dishes. I add tomatoes — a favorite — to sandwiches, etc. I’m using fresh herbs and other spices for the first time!

Pizza

Who knew homemade pizza could be so easy (and cheap!) to make at home? And pretty tasty, too.

The finished product: Sauce, cheese, artichokes, cherry tomatoes, chicken sausage.

I buy Monteli organic pizza crusts from Trader Joe’s (where I buy 90 percent of my food). They’re gluten free without GMO ingredients and made in wood-fired ovens in Italy, just $3.29. They are frozen (two to a pack), so they have a bit of sodium.

I simply add two-third cups of sauce and cheese and then toppings. I try to be healthy so I usually add artichokes, tomatoes and already cooked chicken sausage, all from Trader Joe’s.

In a 420-degree oven for just five minutes and a meal fit for a lazy cook!

Slow cooker

I brought out my slow cooker for the first time in years. Before my son went off to college, I used to serve him dinner several times a week, so I made larger meals such as pot roast. I generally don’t like to eat the same food two days in a row. Now I’m freezing and eating leftovers more often to save money.

My slow cooker favorites so far have been beef stew and chicken soup, both such hearty meals in cooler weather and providing plenty of leftovers that can be frozen. I still need to get better with seasonings. These two recipes turned out well, however.

Damn Delicious Slow Cooker Beef Stew

Delish chicken noodle soup

In the wok

Stir-fry meals have been a staple for me for years, again because they are simple and quick. I buy all the ingredients at Trader Joe’s: chicken tenders, a vegetable mix that comes with sauce and basmati or jasmine rice. I usually add an orange or yellow pepper.

Rinsing and cooking rice takes about 20 minutes or so, but the rest of the meal is done within 15 minutes or so, after you cut the onion and pepper. This is a tasty and healthy dish, and always good for a second meal.

In the oven

I often buy four boneless pork chops at Aldi, my other favorite grocery, and get two meals out of them. I first follow this very easy recipe and add different veggies to serve with the first two.

The Stay at Home Chef Easy Baked Pork Chops

Two days later, I cut up the two remaining chops into small pieces and add to a frying pan where I’ve already sauteed onion in olive oil. Add some already cooked (made from frozen) fried rice from Trader Joe’s, and it’s an instant and cheap meal.

The Japanese Fried Rice and Vegetable Fried Rice from TJ’s are staples in my freezer. They are inexpensive, and like most TJ foods, they are free of unnecessary additives and preservatives.

Trader Joe’s

In fact, I would be undernourished or very poor if it weren’t for Trader Joe’s. I’ve shopped there weekly since it opened in Gainesville, Fla., about seven years ago. They are always adding (and sometimes subtracting, of course) different foods or variations with lots of novel offerings. You can expand your palate with items from around the world. In addition, I avoid sugar additives, nitrates and corn syrup. So does Trader Joe in most of his offerings.

Although their organic foods are more expensive, they still are cheaper at TJ’s than at other markets here. I try to buy organic unless it’s just outrageously priced.

The only bad part of Trader Joe’s is an abundance of sweet and fattening products.

As my metabolism slows, I’ve started paying more attention to the calories and other nutrition information. It can be shocking. But life is short, and you need to imbibe.

Always on my indulgence list: Cold Brew Latte Dessert Bars….it’s like coffee ice cream on a stick! Just $1.99 for five.

I highly recommend a visit if you’ve never been to a TJ’s or at least check out its website.

Other enthusiasts comment regularly in this Facebook group.