Food co-op manager offers tips for inexpensive meals

URBANA – If you're looking to eat healthy on a reduced budget, try mainly beans and grains and buy in bulk, advises Jacqueline Hannah, general manager of the Common Ground Food Co-op.

A former cook, Hannah dispensed that advice during her monthly Eating Healthy on a Budget class in the Lincoln Square Village hallway behind the co-op.

"This class is free," Hannah told the six participants – all women – at the last session, in late October. "We thought about charging for it, but this is something we want to subsidize for the community. It will always be free."

Word about the class is spreading; some churches have requested that Hannah teach the class to their members. She will start doing that in January.

Before getting down to the nitty-gritty of what to do in the kitchen, Hannah introduced Common Ground programs that help take the bite out of food prices.

In one, Food for All, the co-op permanently dropped its prices on more than two dozen staple items such as milk, soy milk, eggs, bulk tofu, rice, oats, whole wheat flour and beans.

"Basically, the list took prices as close to wholesale that we can pull off," Hannah said.

Common Ground also offers equity scholarships to folks who would like to become co-op members but can't afford the one-time $60 membership fee. (The fee is refunded to members who move away or terminate their membership.) Also, people on food stamps or disability or who have recently lost their job may apply for a 5 percent discount, for up to six months.

As for preparing organic, low-cost meals, Hannah came up with tips and a dozen recipes for dishes that each serve a family of four. Each one costs around from around $5 to $8.40 (for shepherd's pie) to prepare. Hannah's pricing is based on the cost of the ingredients at the co-op.

Most all the dishes are vegetarian, but meat is an option in most of them. Adding meat will take the price of each meal up a few notches, though.

The recipes call for ingredients that are organic. Most people think organic food is expensive, Hannah said. Processed or pre-packaged organic items– those sold in the middle of the co-op, for example – are pricey, but organic bulk items are not.

However, "If you want to eat healthy organic food on a budget, it will have to take you back to good, old-fashioned cooking," she said. "This class is about learning how to use bulk foods and getting away from convenience foods."

One tip: Make multiple portions of each recipe and then freeze for future use. Most of the dishes for which Hannah gave recipes freeze well except those with cabbage, red beans and zucchini, she said.

Most other beans, though, freeze "fabulously," for from three to nine months. And Hannah stretches her food dollars by saving to use as broth the water in which beans are cooked.

Another tip: Mexican and Indian foods are among the least expensive to prepare.

Here are some of the recipes Hannah gave to students:

CABBAGE WITH RED BEANS

(Total cost: $5.71 for four servings at $1.43 per serving.)

2 tablespoons bulk olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

2 carrots, sliced in thin rounds

1 pound green cabbage, shredded

4 teaspoons vegetable "Better than Bullion"

1 cup long-grain brown rice

Salt and pepper

1 1/2 cups cooked kidney beans, from dry bulk

In a medium-sized soup pot, heat the oil over medium heat and then add the onion and carrots. Cook until the vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Mix the Better than Bullion with 4 cups of hot water. Add 1 cup of the bullion-water mix to the pot with the vegetables and put all the cabbage in the pot.

Cover and cook on low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, then set aside. Put the rest of the broth, rice and salt and pepper to taste in a sauce pot. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer; cover and cook until the rice is tender and most of the broth has been soaked up. Add the rice to the pot with the vegetables and add the kidney beans. Cook until heated through.

TAMALE PIE

(Total cost: $6.55 for six servings at $1.09 per serving.)

2 teaspoons canola oil

1 medium onion

3 cloves garlic

1 carrot, diced small

½ of a green bell pepper

1½ cups cooked black beans

¼ of a 28-ounce can of Muir Glen diced tomatoes

1 teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon coriander

½ teaspoon oregano

¾ teaspoon salt

Black pepper to taste

½ teaspoon hot sauce (optional)

2 tablespoons apple-cider vinegar

¼ pound mild cheddar cheese, shredded

1 cup organic cornmeal

2 teaspoons chili powder

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Heat the canola oil in a large fry pan over medium-high heat. Wait a minute and then add the onion. Cook until soft and translucent; then add garlic. Reduce heat to medium and cook a few minutes more. Do not allow garlic to brown.

Add the carrots and the bell pepper and a few tablespoons of the juice from the canned tomatoes. Stir, then cover and allow to cook until the carrots are just beginning to soften, about 3 minutes. Uncover and add the cooked black beans.

Drain the tomatoes, reserving most of the juice, then add the tomatoes, cumin, coriander, oregano, ½ teaspoon salt, pepper and hot sauce to the pan. Increase heat and bring to a boil and then turn down the heat to medium and cook 5 to 7 minutes to marry the flavors. Turn off the heat and add vinegar.

With a potato masher or the back of a large spoon, mash the bean mixture until about half of the beans are mashed. Oil a 9- by 9-inch baking pan and line the bottom evenly with the bean mixture. Top with the shredded cheese and set aside.

In a medium-size saucepan, bring 1½ cups of water to a boil. In a medium heat-proof bowl, combine the cornmeal with the chili powder, the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt and a dash or two of pepper. Gradually whisk ½ cup cold water into the cornmeal mixture until smooth. Slowly stir the wet cornmeal into the boiling water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the cornmeal is almost tender and the mixture is quite thick, 3 to 5 minutes.

Spread the cornmeal mixture evenly over the bean mixture and shredded cheese. Bake until the cornmeal crust is set and dry throughout, the cheese is golden brown and the casserole is very hot at the center, about 30 minutes.

RAJMA

(Total cost: $4.74 for four servings at $1.19 per serving.)

1 cup long-grain brown rice, uncooked

¼ cup canola oil

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 inch of fresh ginger, minced

2 carrots, sliced

½ of a 14.5-ounce can of diced tomatoes

6 cups cooked kidney beans (2 cups dry)

1 teaspoon garam masala

¼ bunch of cilantro

Salt and pepper

Cook the kidney beans before you start the dish. Then start your rice. Then heat the oil in a medium-size pot over medium-high heat, then add the turmeric and ginger. Fry the spices for a minute, until fragrant, then add the carrots and cook for a few minutes – they should be somewhat crisp. Add the tomatoes and kidney beans and simmer for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat, add cilantro and garam masala. Stir until well-blended. Serve over rice.

A tasty condiment for this dish is a diced mango and tomato, with minced onion and cilantro.

GARLICKY TOFU AND GREENS

(Total cost: $7.37 for four servings, at $1.84 per serving.) 3/4 pound of tofu

1 bunch kale, de-stemmed and chopped

2 cups brown rice, dry bulk

2 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

3 tablespoons canola oil

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon red-pepper flakes

Salt to taste

First cook the rice. Then toss the tofu cubes with 2 tablespoons canola oil, 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil and half of the minced garlic. Make sure the tofu cubes are well coated. In a large fry pan over high heat fry the tofu cubes until they are lightly brown on all edges. Once the tofu cubes are browned on all sides, remove from the pan and set aside.

Add the rest of the canola oil and toasted sesame oil to the pan and heat on medium-high heat. Add the rest of the garlic and the red-pepper flakes. Add the kale to the pan a handful at a time, turning frequently. Once the kale turns bright green, after 2 to 3 minutes, turn off the heat. Add the kale to the tofu, toss well and serve over brown rice.

If you go

What: Eating Healthy on a Budget, a class taught by Jacqueline Hannah, general manager of the Common Ground Food Co-op. Participants will receive tips and recipes for meals that cost $1.25 to $1.75 per serving.

When: 1 to 2 p.m. Nov. 14

Where: Common Ground, east side of Lincoln Square Village, Urbana

Cost: Free but pre-registration is required

Information: 352-3347 or online at www.commonground.coop

Also on this date

• State budget crisis endangers A Woman's Place
• Firefighters called to Rantoul house fire
• Final approval granted in consent decree settlement
• Vigil tonight for slain Mahomet woman
• Jury convicts Myrick in murder of Champaign couple
• Man charged with burglary to Champaign home
• Children's agency celebrates 115th anniversary
• Man sentenced for starting fire while he was a firefighter
• Champaign sets high school redistricting meeting
• Obituaries

» More