Homemade is Cheaper and Healthier (Recipes below)

A good visual of "healthy money" (Photo: investinternals.com)

We all know that it is less expensive to not only eat all your meals at home, but to make all of those meals.  Now, don't get me wrong, I love splurging a bit and going out for dinner once in a while as much as the next person.  However, making the majority of your meals saves an enormous amount of money and I never realized how much until recently.  I bring my lunch to work every day, we have a coffee machine in our kitchen and I make dinner almost every night.  It has really made a huge difference financially.  Another amazing benefit is that it's so much healthier!  Just think about all the butter and oil most restaurants use to make their food.  Gross.  I despise working out, and just by cooking at home instead of ordering in or eating out has helped me lose weight.  So today's post is all about eating in and making your own meals, specifically lunch.

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First, the money facts.:  I don't know many places where you can get lunch for under $5 and most are closer to $10.  So let's average this out and call it $7.  If you eat lunch out 5 days a week, that's $35 per week.  Make that a whole year and you are spending $1,680 per year on lunches and that's not including the weekends.  (I'm starting to feel like Suze Orman).  A homemade lunch costs about $3 and that's with a snack.  I've got main dish recipes below.  So if you bring your lunch 4 days a week and treat yourself by eating out just once, you will save over $700/year on just lunches.  I could use 700 extra bucks.  And that bonus of being healthier, makes it even better.  Making most of your dinners at home too can lead to even more savings.  Going out for dinner adds all of the following expenses:

1. Gas/bus/cab fare to get to and from, 
2. The increased price on food to cover costs for the restaurant, 
3. The increased price on drinks, which can sometimes be triple or more of cost, in order to cover the costs of the establishment, and 
4. Tip for the server.

Instead, you can spend less than $12 and make a good quality steak dinner for two at home and pop open a bottle of wine for far less as well.  Of course going out is nice to do once in a while, but making more meals at home will save you a lot of money.

Next, the health facts:  It's common knowledge that most restaurants use butter and oil in most of their cooking.  What we don't know is exactly how much is used.  At home, you can control exactly what goes into your meals.  If I'm following a recipe, I often adjust it to make it a little healthier by either replacing an item with something healthier or use less of the "bad stuff."  For example, I use brown rice instead of steamed or fried rice, whole wheat pasta and whole wheat bread instead of white flour items, or I cut down on the butter, oil, salt or sugar in a recipe.  I am not a nutritionist or expert of any kind (I just compare the numbers) but it looks to me like butter has about the same amount of calories and fat as olive oil.  So the key is to use less.  It's hard to tell that to the cook/chef at a restaurant you go to.

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Lower fat/calories and budget friendly recipes that I use:

(Warning:  I cook and am not a baker.  Therefore, I don't use real measurements.  You'll be able to figure it out, I hope.) 

• Grape Chicken Salad:  

• What you need:  Chicken breast, salt, pepper, low fat mayo, non fat plain yogurt, red grapes, green apple, walnuts or pecans, whole wheat bread (craisins or celery are optional)  
• First, boil about 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts and then dice them up into bite size chunks after they cool in the fridge.  Sprinkle with salt and just a little pepper.  Then add approx a half cup of Hellman's low fat mayonnaise (Hellman's just tastes better) and a half cup of non-fat plain yogurt.  Then add any mix of the following:  halved seedless red grapes, chopped up green apple, crushed walnuts or pecans, craisins, chopped celery.  Mix all that fun business up and voila! Be sure to use toasted whole wheat bread if you are going to make a sandwich.  
• You will get a few sandwiches out of this and it comes to approximately $1.75 per sandwich.  

• Pasta Salad:  

• What you need:  whole wheat pasta, olive oil, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar, cherry tomatoes, red or orange bell pepper, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder,parmesan or feta cheeese and any mix of basil oregano and parsley (celery or meat is optional).  
• First, cook  a half pound of whole wheat pasta in salted water until it is al dente.  Drain the pasta, but reserve some of the pasta water, you will use this for the sauce and it is better for you than oil or butter.  Now, add just a little of the reserved pasta water, a little drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, a table spoon of balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar and splash of lemon juice to the pasta.  Mix that up and then throw it in the fridge to cool off.  Now, cut some cherry tomatoes in half. Then, chop up half of a red or orange bell pepper.  When the pasta is cooled off, add the tomatoes and peppers.  Next, mix in a dash of garlic powder and onion powder (real diced onions if that's your thing).  Then add a sprinkle of some herbs, like basil, parsley or oregano.  Some people like to add celery for a crunch, not my style but feel free.  I like to let it sit overnight to let the flavors meld together.  The next day, I add either parmesan or crumbled feta cheese and it's all set to go.  Other items you can add:  Olives or a meat like ham or pepperoni, which make it a bit less healthy.  I usually add some parmesan right before eating, but that sort of takes away from the healthiness of it.  
• You will get a few servings out of a half pound of pasta and assuming you have seasonings already in your pantry, the cost per serving comes to approximately $1.00, closer to $1.50 if you use feta cheese.   

• Chicken and turkey bacon wrap: 

• What you need: Whole Wheat tortillas, turkey bacon, chicken breast, non-fat ranch, caesar or blue cheese dressing, salt, pepper, lettuce and tomato.  
• First, cook your chicken that is seasoned with salt and pepper either by boiling in a pan with water or cooking with a little olive oil.  Let the chicken cool, then chop into cubes.  While that's going on, cook your lean turkey bacon in a pan with no oil or on a tray in the microwave and then let cool.  Once the bacon is cool, dice it up.  Get your tortillas out and put diced lettuce, tomato, turkey bacon and the chicken in the center.  If you are going to eat the wrap now, add the  fat free dressing of your choosing.  If you are taking it for lunch later, put the dressing on the side and dip it in the dressing when you're ready to eat.  Now, roll that sucker up, cut in half on a diagonal and wrap it in foil and it's read to go.  Easy peasy.  
• The cost per wrap is about $2.00 per wrap because the whole wheat wraps can get a little pricey sometimes. 

Add some baked chips and/or veggies to the side and that puts you at about $3 or less for each meal.  Now, go out there and do some grocery shopping so you can save yourself money for more important things, like clothes, wine or White Sox tickets.  :)   

**Here's a whole blog full of healthy meals for a budget.  I haven't had a chance to try any of the recipes, but it looks worth checking out:  http://budgetbytes.blogspot.com/