Frugal & Fabulous: Meatless Monday and Other Dollar Stretching Food Ideas

The current economic crisis is impacting everyone across America. Unfortunately, the lack of money we might have to spend on things like toiletries, clothing, and entertainment is not spreading to the amount of money we are spending in terms of calories. You would think that with a lack of cash American's would get skinnier, but the opposite is true. It would be easy to believe that people are relying on Cashnet USA in order to eat so well.

Cheap food is usually bad, processed, and unhealthy food. It is easy to purchase fatty meats and sugary treats, but it is even cheaper to buy vegetables and other health food staples. Here are a couple of ways you can spread your food budget and lose a couple of inches off your waistline:

Meatless Monday

The practice of Meatless Monday has been around for a while now and is catching on with a lot more people. It's not just health nuts and nutritionists participating in this event, many people who live on a budget choose to do so because of the health benefits and the increased energy from the Earth.

Eat One Vegetarian Meal a Day

Make a big salad and eat it for lunch at work for a long day of sitting around. Roast a bunch of peppers, rice, corn, and beans and enjoy the perfect Mexican inspired feast for dinner. Instead of loading yourself with useless fats and carbohydrates when you are at a sedentary job, you are going to need to consume nutrients that work more efficiently for the amount of work you are actually doing.

Make Extra Food at Dinner

It's always tempting to go out to eat when you are at work. Everyone else is doing it and bringing back their treats to the office. While McDonald's, Chipotle, and Long John Silver's all look and smell appetizing, they are not as good for you as what you are cooking at home. After preparing your meal, make sure to save it in an easy to locate container so you remember to bring it with you. By eating out for lunch every day, you might have to take out Cashnetusa payday loans to support your habit.

Oatmeal

This may sound extremely boring, but oatmeal is essentially the perfect food. It has an excellent mix of protein, carbohydrates, fat, and fiber that can get you through until lunchtime. It also comes in a giant cylinder and costs less than ten cents per serving if you purchase the store brand (and only twenty cents if you splurge on Quaker Oats). Instead of buying cereal that claims to be good for your health and heart, stick with oatmeal for a healthy, cheap, and reliable option.

These are just a couple of ways to stretch your food dollar and start eating for yourself instead of for advertisers and what society tells you to consume. You can get creative and brainstorm your own ways to get better foods on the cheap when visiting your local supermarket.