Sorry, my “Monday Motivational” didn’t hit the blogosphere until today. With all that was going on in the world last week, I was having a very hard time talking about my fitness challenge. I realize my fitness goals are not exactly high on your list of concerns, more like high on the “who cares” list, right? I understand and I won’t take it personally.
All I kept thinking last week was “This is so ironic. I’m sure there are some very disappointed terrorists right now who wish they could be taking credit for crashing the stock market. Little did they know, just leave us to our own demons and greed will do a better job than any ill intentioned terrorist ever could.”
Ok, so what does this have to do with food, Debbie? Well, I’m sure you’ve noticed that every morning news show and cooking website has now turned to “money saving meals” in response to the economic crisis. As far as I’m concerned, this is a culinary crisis and a health crisis in the making. Have you checked out the ingredients in these “money saving meals.” Is the word “disgusting” too harsh? Just check out the list of “budget casseroles” that came in my email this morning from a recipe website.
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1. Chicken and Cheese Casserole 2. Dorito Delight 3. Egg Casserole 4. Sausage Rice Casserole 5. Country Chicken-N-Biscuit Casserole |
6. Chili Meat Deluxe 7. Spaghetti Beef Casserole 8. Tuna Mushroom Casserole 9. Yummy Tuna Ramen Casserole 10. Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole |
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First of all, this list brings back very scary memories of growing up in the 70’s with my Mom, the Casserole Queen. I particularly remember the “Pepperoni Casserole” that even the dog would not eat. My Mom was a wiz with a can of cream of mushroom soup let me tell you.
I couldn’t resist looking at the ingredients for the “Dorito Delight” Casserole. Not only does it call for cream of mushroom soup it also calls for Nacho Cheese Soup (didn’t even know this existed).
1 lb. lean hamburger meat
1/2 C. chopped onion
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can nacho cheese soup
1 can evaporated milk
1 small bag Doritos (not snack size)
8 oz. grated cheddar cheese
Can you imagine the calories, fat and salt content of that meal? So, here it is, my “Monday Motivational” (eh hem, on Wednesday). Stay away from “budget recipes” unless they call for simple, clean ingredients. A simple roasted chicken like I made last night. On sale for .69 a pound at Shoprite. I cooked a 7 and a half pound bird with sweet potatoes and steamed broccoli. I’ll have enough chicken for another meal and that may be some chicken fajitas or a big bowl of chicken soup. I will not be reaching for the cream of mushroom soup I can assure you.
Oh, don’t get me wrong. I’m not always on my healthy high horse. I like a good bowl of macaroni and cheese or a big juicy burger, just like everybody else. I just hope the culinary powers that be will change their “casserole” course of action and come up with some better for you, better tasting alternatives. Or, maybe we’ll just have to lead the way.
If you have some healthy “budget meal” ideas to suggest, please leave them in the comment section or send me an email for a guest post spot. Please nothing with Doritos, Tater Tots, or Cream of anything soup.
