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GOOD
CHEAP
AND
L EANNE BROWN
EAT WELL ON $ 4/DAY
First, I’d like to thank my husband,
Dan. Without him this book would not
exist. Thank you also to my wonderful
family and friends, who believed in this
idea before anyone else. And thank you
to everyone who has taken the time to
tell me what
Good and Cheap
means to
them. I heard from thousands of people
throughout the course of creating and
distributing this book. The outpouring
of love and support I’ve received is
probably enough for several lifetimes.
To those who told me this book has
given them hope, inspired them, or
otherwise brought them pleasure:
I don’t deserve so much gratitude for
so little, but doing work that matters is
all I have ever wanted.
Text, recipes, and most photographs and
design by Leanne Brown, in fulfillment
of a final project for a master’s degree in
Food Studies at New York University.
This book is distributed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-
NonCommercialShareAlike 4.0 license.
For more information, visit
www.creativecommons.org/licenses/
by-nc-sa/4.0
You may freely distribute this book
electronically. To download a free PDF
or buy a print copy, visit
www.leannebrown.com
Brown, Leanne
Good and Cheap: Eat Well on $4/Day
ISBN: 978-0-9938448-2-9
Version 1.1, August 2014
Version 1.0, June 2014
Version 0.9, December 2013
Introduction
....................5
A Note on $4/Day ...........................................6
My Philosophy ................................................7
Tips for Eating and Shopping Well ...................8
Pantry Basics .................................................12
Broiled Eggplant Salad....................................43
Kale Salad ..................................................... 44
n e w
Ever-Popular Potato Salad ........................46
n e w
Spicy Panzanella......................................49
Cold (and Spicy?) Asian Noodles .....................50
Taco Salad......................................................52
Beet and Chickpea Salad ................................53
Broccoli Apple Salad .......................................54
n e w
Charred Summer Salad............................55
Salad
...............................................42
Breakfast
..............................14
Tomato Scrambled Eggs .................................15
Broiled Grapefruit ..........................................16
Omelette ........................................................17
Banana Pancakes ...........................................18
n e w
Chocolate Zucchini Muffins .....................21
Whole-Wheat Jalapeño Cheddar Scones..........22
n e w
Peanut Butter and Jelly Granola Bars .......25
n e w
Egg Sandwich with Mushroom Hash ......26
i d e a s
Oatmeal 6 Ways ....................................28
i d e a s
Yogurt Smash! .......................................32
Snacks, Sides &
Small Bites
.........................56
Jacket Sweet Potato ........................................57
Smoky and Spicy Roasted Cauliflower ............58
Spicy Green Beans ..........................................59
Mexican Street Corn ......................................60
Green Chili and Cheddar Quesadillas .............. 61
Cornmeal Crusted Veggies .............................62
Brussels Sprout Hash and Eggs.......................65
Poutine ..........................................................66
i d e a s
Toast 8 Ways .........................................69
i d e a s
Popcorn 8 Ways .....................................74
Dal ................................................................35
Corn Soup .....................................................36
n e w
French Onion Soup ..................................39
Lightly Curried Butternut Squash Soup..........40
Soup
..................................................34
Handheld
..............................76
Cauliflower Tacos ..........................................77
Potato Leek Pizza ...........................................79
Broccoli Rabe and Mozzarella Calzones ..........80
n e w
Broccoli, Egg, and Cheddar Empanadas ....83
Potato and Kale Rolls with Raita .....................84
i d e a s
Leftovers ................................................87
3
Dinner
Fettuccine...........................89
.........................................88
Creamy Zucchini
Pasta with Eggplant and Tomato ....................90
Chana Masala................................................93
Black-Eyed Peas and Collards..........................94
Vegetable Jambalaya ......................................97
n e w
Filipino Chicken Adobo ............................98
n e w
Baked Beans 2 Ways .............................. 101
n e w
Half-Veggie Burgers ...............................102
n e w
Beef Stroganoff ......................................105
n e w
Tofu Hot Pot..........................................106
n e w
Deconstructed Cabbage Rolls .................109
Savory Summer Cobbler .............................. 110
Cauliflower Cheese ....................................... 113
Vegetable Quiche, Hold the Crust.................. 114
Shrimp and Grits ......................................... 117
Spicy, Crunchy, Creamy Polenta ................... 118
Roast Chicken .............................................. 121
m e t h o d
Roasted Vegetables .............................122
Roasted Potatoes with Chilies .......................125
Spicy Broiled Tilapia with Lime ....................126
Introduction
Drinks
........................................148
Agua Fresca ................................................. 149
ideas
Eating is one of life’s greatest pleasures. In a perfect
world, healthy and delicious food would be all around
us. It would be easy to choose and easy to enjoy.
But of course it’s not a perfect world. There are
thousands of barriers that can keep us from eating in a
way that nourishes our bodies and satisfies our tastes.
Money just needn’t be one of them.
Kitchen skill, not budget, is the key to great food. This
cookbook is a celebration of the many delicious meals
available to those on even the most strict of budgets.
Eating on a limited budget is not easy, and there are
times when a tough week can turn mealtime into a
chore. As one woman told me, “I’m weary of the ‘what’s
for dinner?’ game.” I hope the recipes and techniques in
this book can help make those times rare and the tough
choices a little more bearable.
At the same time, this book is not a meal plan—those
are much too individual to share on a wide scale.
Every person and every family has specific needs and
unique tastes. We live in different regions, different
neighborhoods, and with varying means. One book
cannot account for all of that, but I hope it can be a
spark, a general strategy, a flexible set of approachable
and cheap recipes. The rest is up to you.
I think you’ll find (or perhaps have already found) that
learning to cook has a powerfully positive effect. If you
can become a more skilled, more conscious cook, you’ll
be able to conjure deliciousness in any kitchen, anytime.
Good cooking alone can’t solve hunger in America, but
it can make life happier—and that is worth every effort.
Just as a good meal is best shared with others, so is
a good recipe. I may not be able to share a meal with
you, but I’d love to offer a few ideas. What’s for dinner?
Here’s my answer.
5
Smoothies 4 Ways ...............................150
Desserts
................................... 152
..................................
Caramelized Bananas
153
Coconut Chocolate Cookies .......................... 155
Peach Coffee Cake ........................................156
Fast Melon Sorbet ........................................158
n e w
Avocado Milkshake ............................... 159
Spicy Pulled Pork .........................................129
n e w
Deviled Eggs 6 Ways .............................130
Perogies .......................................................132
n e w
Dumplings 2 Ways ...............................134
Big Batch
.............................127
Flavor
............................................160
Peanut Sauce ................................................ 161
Spice Oil....................................................... 162
Salsa ............................................................ 163
Raita ............................................................164
Tzatziki ....................................................... 165
i d e a s
Spices and Aromatics ...........................166
Flour Tortillas .............................................. 137
Roti .............................................................138
Pizza Dough 2 Ways.................................... 139
n e w
Fresh Pasta ............................................ 141
Best Tomato Sauce .......................................142
n e w
Chorizo and White Bean Ragu ............... 143
n e w
Rainbow Rice 3 Ways ............................144
m e t h o d
How to Cook Dried Beans.................. 145
m e t h o d
Croutons or Breadcrumbs .................146
4
Staples
.......................................136
Thanks
..................................... 168
Index
............................................. 172
A Note on $4/Day
I designed these recipes to fit the budgets of people living on SNAP, the
US program that used to be called food stamps. If you’re on SNAP, you
already know that the benefit formulas are complicated, but the rule of
thumb is that you end up with $4 per person, per day to spend on food.
This book isn’t challenging you to live on so little; it’s a resource in
case that’s your reality. In May 2014, there were 46 million Americans
on food stamps. Untold millions more—in particular, retirees and
students—live under similar constraints.
The costs for each recipe are based on two sources. For the pantry
items on the following pages, I collected prices from four grocery
stores in Inwood, a relatively low-income neighborhood on the north
tip of Manhattan. For specific spices and a wider variety of fruits and
vegetables, I looked at online grocery stores or nationwide averages
collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The prices for fruits and vegetables assume that they’re roughly in
season, when you can get the best deals. This means, unfortunately,
that you’ll pay a lot more if you want to make peach coffee cake in
February. I talk more about shopping in season on the following pages.
The estimates are, by necessity, a snapshot of place and time. Costs will
vary in other cities, other neighborhoods, even just other stores. Please
think of the numbers as a guideline, not a guarantee.
More than in most cookbooks, my recipes are flexible and encourage
substitution based on availability, price, and personal tastes. A strict
budget requires flexibility and a willingness to say, “that’s a good deal
this week, so it’s what I’ll be cooking!” Don’t worry, you’ll pick up the
tricks quickly.
A few recipes call for fancy kitchen equipment, but in my work with
low-income families in New York, I’ve found that items like blenders,
food processors, and electric mixers are fairly common. I did not,
however, attempt to tackle the very real situation of people who have
no kitchen, no equipment, and no space to prepare food. I simply cannot
hope to do those issues justice within the bounds of one cookbook. Let’s
all agree that we need to keep striving to address those other issues that
make it difficult for so many people to eat well.
My Philosophy
The best health advice is simple: eat fruits and vegetables. Many
American cookbooks rely on meat as the central feature of a meal. My
recipes celebrate the vegetables rather than the meat.
My intent was to create satisfying food that doesn’t require you to
supplement your meals with cheap carbohydrates to stave off hunger.
I strove to create recipes that use money
carefully,
without being purely
slavish to the bottom line. For example, many recipes use butter rather
than oil. Butter is not cheap, but it creates flavor, crunch, and richness
in a way that cheap oils never can.
I’m not a dietician, and this isn’t a diet book. I’m just a home cook, like
you. If you have dietary restrictions, some recipes won’t work for you
as-is, but that’s fine—you can try to adapt them to your needs, or just
turn the page and keep looking for inspiration.
More than a book of recipes, this is a book of ideas. I
want
you to tailor
things to your taste. Improvisation is the soul of great cooking! If it
doesn’t work out every time, I hope you’ll forgive me. More importantly,
forgive yourself, and try again.
About this Book
I created an earlier version of this book as the capstone project for my
MA in Food Studies at New York University. After I posted a free PDF
on my website, it went viral on Reddit, Tumblr, and elsewhere, racking
up almost 100,000 downloads in the first few weeks. That support gave
me the courage to launch a Kickstarter campaign to get printed copies
of
Good and Cheap
into the hands of people who don’t have computers
or who wouldn’t otherwise see it. Thousands of generous supporters
contributed to the campaign, donating more than 8,000 free copies of
the printed book and sponsoring 20 new recipes. Now, just five months
after first posting the PDF, it has been downloaded about 500,000 times.
The experience has changed my life.
intro
intro
6
7
Tips for
Eating and
Shopping Well
b u y fo o d s t h at c a n b e u s e d i n m u lt i p l e m e a l s
t h i n k w e e k ly
Versatile ingredients save meals. If you buy flour, you
can make tortillas (p. 137), roti (p. 138), scones (p. 22),
and pancakes (p. 18). If you buy yogurt (or make
your own), you can have it with fruit (p. 32), make
raita (p. 164) and tzatziki (p. 165), or use it in a drink
(p. 150). Need I even mention the versatility of garlic
or lemons? If you always keep them around, you can
make anything else taste fantastic.
Each week, mix things up by buying different varieties
of staple foods like grains and beans. This week, you
might have oatmeal every morning (p. 28) with black
bean chili or black bean tacos later in the day, but
next week you’ll have yogurt for breakfast (p. 32) and
hummus or chana masala (p. 93) for lunch and dinner.
If you have time to shop frequently, pick up smaller
amounts of produce every couple of days to ensure
everything is fresh. It’s a lot more inspiring to pull crisp
greens out of the fridge than to unstick a wilted mess
from the bottom of the veggie drawer. If you can’t shop
as often, consider getting canned or frozen versions of
whichever vegetables you won’t use immediately.
t h i n k s e a s o n a l ly
buy in bulk
Buying larger amounts usually brings the price down.
When you’re working within a tight budget, you won’t
always be able to afford to shop for the future, but do
it when you can. And, of course, keep storage in mind:
If the item will go off before you can finish it, get the
smaller size. If you buy versatile ingredients in slightly
larger amounts, you’ll be able to use them quickly but
still make diverse meals.
s ta r t b u i l d i n g a pa n t ry
During their local growing season, fruits and vegetables
are generally cheaper and definitely tastier than outside
of season. You’ll notice that orange prices shoot up
during the summer, yet what’s available is drab and
flavorless. But oranges are abundant in December and
January, the peak of their season, and that’s reflected
in the price. At the end of summer, you can get bags of
zucchini for next to nothing. Brussels sprouts are also
very seasonal, coming on sale around Thanksgiving.
Enjoy as much of the summer and fall produce as
possible, because you’ll be more limited in the winter.
Then again, simmering and roasting winter vegetables
is a fine way to warm up your house, and tough winter
roots are easy to store. In addition, winter is a great
time to search for deals on canned and frozen produce.
Seasons for fruits and vegetables vary depending on
where you live, so consult a local guide to growing
seasons and use it to shop for the best deals.
intro
If possible—and admittedly this can be difficult for
people living on their own—reserve part of your budget
to buy one or two semi-expensive pantry items each
week. Things like olive oil, soy sauce, and spices
(p. 166) are pricey at first, but if you use just a little
with each recipe, they go a long way. With turmeric,
coriander, cumin, and fresh ginger root, you’ll suddenly
have a world of flavor on your shelf. In a few pages, I’ll
suggest specific items to add to your pantry.
m o r e v e g e ta b l e s m e a n s m o r e f l avo r
8
Nothing livens up a bowl of rice like summer squash
and corn! Vegetables make the best sauces: they’re
earthy, bright, tart, sweet, bitter, savory, rich. Give them
a treasured spot at the top of your grocery list and
you’ll never be bored.
intro
8
9

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