Eat Cheap- Wash, Rinse, Repeat

It seems like I am forever preaching the gospel of eating on the cheap at YLS . By now I am sure everyone knows that “food” is the one discretionary item in your budget that you can control (because you can’t really change how much you are going to pay each month for rent and utilities.) You probably also have heard me quote a very wise YLS student who once shared the prophecy- “ buying meals out is one of the most efficient ways to deplete your budget” .

Well there is a great new resource making its way through the graduate school world – “Good and Cheap: Eat Well On $4/Day” by Leanne Brown. Leanne actually wrote “Good and Cheap” as part of her master’s in food studies at New York University. The original premise of her study was focused on the critical question “how well can a person eat on the $4.00 per day given by SNAP (the U.S. Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program – aka Food Stamps)? .

Leanne proved that based on maximizing every ingredient and using economical cooking methods there are numerous nutritious and affordable options. Her upcoming book (self-published as a result of a successful Kick Starter campaign where for every book funded a copy would be donated to a non-profit organization) not only includes a wealth of her nutritious budget conscious recipes but also includes tips on shopping, creating a basic pantry, and mastering some essential staples (i.e. pizza dough, flour tortillas, even croutons!). Now the book won’t officially “drop” until June 2015 but in advance of that you can visit Leanne’s website where she encourages downloading a PDF version so you can start cooking meals that are healthy for your body and budget.