I'm on a tight budget like many people. But still, now and then I want to enjoy dishes that remind me of eating out at fine restaurants. I just need to find creative ways to achieve that desire...and indeed it can be done!
Yesterday, I was craving salmon really badly. Guess the bod wanted some fish goodness in a big way. But fresh fish can get pricey, and I'm picky about seafood because I've gotten sick a couple times in the past from eating bad seafood.
I really do believe that you can eat well and healthy on a tight budget...it just takes some work and creativity. Oh, and some open mindedness. I say that because there are those who'd shy away from eating food from a box, bag, or can. I'm not especially since you can find many organic and all natural foods in a box, bag, or can.
Like last week, I made this mostly organic pumpkin soup from organic pumpkin puree in a can. I'm a lazy cook, so I don't feel the need to do everything from scratch. Organic in a can works for me!
So, last night I made this pan seared Wild Alaskan salmon in miso butter coupled with risotto with petite peas, Porcini and Portobello mushrooms.
The Salmon was from a frozen bag of Whole Foods Whole Catch brand Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon Fillets which was $9.99. This may seem pricey to some, but this bag of salmon had two large fillets which actually can be cut into halves, and is good to serve four people.
The bag says it has three servings of 4oz. The fillets I got looked pretty big and if I cut the fish into fours, each serving would be about the size of the palm of my hand which is a good standard for portion control. And better yet, this salmon was raised according to Marine Council Stewardship standards which means it's certified sustainable seafood. This is a big deal to me because I care about the fish and the environment.
For the miso butter, I used Earth Balance Soy-Free natural spread which is vegan, and I have to say I'm really liking this buttery spread. To me, it's like margarine but better. Food fries up pretty nice with this spread, and it tastes good. I had some miso paste, so I just mixed a little of that in with some melted spread and oregano. I dipped the salmon fillet in the miso butter with a little garlic salt and then seared the fish in a pan.
The risotto was made from a box of $2.99 Lundberg Organic Wild Porcini Musroom Risotto. Instead of all water, I used 1-1/2 cups of rice milk and 1 cup of water. I also bought a large fresh portobello for less than $1 and cut it up and threw it in the risotto with yellow onions and organic petite peas from a frozen bag of Whole Foods 365 brand peas. I'm amazed how long that bag of peas under $3 lasts me.
This salmon and risotto meal which had some organic foods in it was enough to feed four people and it came to under $20...at Whole Foods. At other supermarkets and using natural but not organic ingredients, I bet I could get the price down even lower.
I'd pay almost that $20 or more for just one salmon dish at a fancy restaurant. I only cooked one fillet, and ate half. I'll have the other half of the salmon for lunch tomorrow over a bed of mixed greens which comes from a $1.99 bag of salad.
See, there are ways to eat like you're in a fancy restaurant at home...but for cheap!
