5 Low cost, nutrient rich foods to keep in your kitchen!

[peekawho]

I posted this over on Healthy Cooking, and thought it would be appropriate here, too.

1.  Frozen Veggies.
----Don't sneer at them!  These fiber filled and nutrient packed vegetables are picked at their peak of freshness, and flash frozen to maintain most of their nutrition.  They keep a long time in the freezer, unlike the fresh veggies that I know many of us have rotting in our produce keeper in the fridge.  
Add them to soups and stews, cook and chop up and add to lasanga.    

2.  Canned Salmon.
---Canned salmon is lower in mercury levels than its canned friend, tuna.  It also has a bit milder flavor than tuna, so you can use it in more recipes where you don't want that overwhelming tuna flavor.  Everything in the can is edible, so if you want a calcium boost, go ahead and eat those little bones, too.  
Add a can to salads or pasta for a cheap, nutritious meal.

3.  Brown Rice.
---Brown rice is very rich in B vitamins.  It takes a bit longer to cook, about 45 minutes, so I make a large batch at one time and put some in the fridge to use during the week, and I freeze some.  And its not just for lunch or dinner!  I often serve it along side Mr. Peeks scrambled eggs....he does need his fiber, or he gets quite grumpy.  

4.  Edamame
---I will admit I'm not a fan of these gems, but most of the world is.  They are very heart healthy, with the goodness of soy.  If you should not eat soy, you may want to avoid these.  Most people know edamame as a snack, where the pods are quickly boiled in salted water, drained, then salted again. The seeds are then squeezed from the pods with either the fingers or mouth. However, edamame are also enjoyed smashed, like potatoes; are used in salads and stews; and are used to complement a variety of foods such as chicken, pasta, seafood, and additional vegetables.

5.  Sweet Potatoes.
---I do love my sweet potatoes.  Great, inexpensive source of beta carotene and fiber.  They will usually keep a couple weeks on your pantry shelf.  Bake them, boil them, cut them up and make them into fries....very versatile little devils they are.  My favorite thing to do with them is to use about 2 regular white potatoes and 2 small sweet potatoes.  Peel them all, cut into chunks, boil until tender, and mash them both together for a great little change from regular old mashed potatoes.  

So those are 5 economical yet nutritious foods you can keep at home.  Don't leave the supermarket without them!  Peek says so!

[JoyRenee]

Love the frozen veggies! Sometimes I buy canned veggies with no added salt/sugar. But frozen veggies always taste more fresh when cooked.

[Barb135]

Thanks for that post - those are great ideas and I do keep most of them on hand.  

I've found that you can buy individual servings of salmon and since I'm "out and about" almost all day at work, they are easy to carry in the truck with me.  Sometimes, I'll run into a grocery store and buy a fresh pre-made salad, then put a container of salmon (or tuna) on the salad - almost an entire meal right there.  

I'm not a fan of edamame either, but that's ok because I'm not supposed to eat soy due to thyroid meds.  

I would like to ask one question though.  I have never been able to acquire a taste for sweet potatoes, though I know they are very nutritious.  I've tried them baked, boiled, candied, etc and there's just something about them that doesn't agree with my "taster"(could be the texture more than the taste); however, we went to a buffet restaurant one time and I did try a small piece of one - the sign above said they were baked - but they tasted like they might have had just a touch of brown sugar and cinnamon on them.  Do you (or anyone else you know of) have a recipe for making sweet potatoes this way?  That was the first time I had been able to eat them without getting ill.  My husband loves them candied and I make them for him at holidays, etc but that's just too sweet for my taste.    

Any recipes would be appreciated.  Thanks.