We love Latin food in my home and one of our favorite dishes is Guacamole. My husband created his own recipe based on one from one of your favorite eating spots. Enjoy it with the Plantain chip recipe we added in this post too.

Costa Rican (spicy) Guacamole

1 -2 large ripe Florida/Caribbean avocado, peeled, halved, and pitted
OR
4-5 California avocados, peeled, halved, and pitted
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/3 cup fresh diced tomatoes
3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
2-3 large serrano chilies seeded, chopped
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Directions:

Mash Avocados until smooth. Add remaining ingredients, mix and chill or eat right away.

Plantain chips:

2 large green plantains (peeled)
vegetable oil
salt to taste

Mojo (garlic sauce):

1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup onion (finely chopped)
6 garlic gloves (minced)
1/2 cup lemon juice

Directions

Peel plantains, slice into 1/4″ chips and place in a bowl. In a frying pan or deep fryer, pour 1/4 inch of expeller pressed oil and heat at medium-high. Add enough chips at a time to leave a little space between them. When approaching golden brown in color, remove and place in bowl with double lining of paper towels. Lightly sprinkle with sea salt to taste.

Using a 2-quart bowl add onion, garlic, and lemon juice.. Heat olive oil over medium-high until frying hot (about 2 minutes), when hot, pour olive oil into bowl. Be certain to pour with one hand while holding a spatter screen between you and the bowl with the other. Whisk ingredients, then pour into single bowl or dipping cups. Some prefer to spoon the mojo over the chips while others prefer to dip. 6-10 chips per serving.

One for the first items you will want to remove is those packets of Kool Aid and other dry juice mix products. Unless they are made from whole fruit, you can forget any nutrition being a part of it. Juice is not a big thing in my home. I make fresh lemonade, herbal teas, and hibiscus punch. Green tea has many beneficial antioxidant effects which help fight disease in the body and as an extra bonus has been shown to help speed up weight loss. Every now and then we buy juice but it is always 100% with no extra additives. A wise thing to keep in mind with juice is that frozen brands of juice have more 100% versions than the bottled.

Most juice has been sweetened and even 100% natural juices make it easy to consume more calories than when you eat fresh fruits. Some fruit juices have up to 150 calories or more per glass.  If juice is not 100% fruit juice it is usually loaded with high fructose corn syrup which gives you a false sense of energy and then brings you way down. Plus, what it converts to in your body is nothing but fat and possibly bad teeth.

And as far as soda, the bottom line is that it is toxic for the body (even the sugar free varieties). There is zero nutritional content in a soda and yet we seem to drink tons of it per year, causing a possible 8 to 20 pound weight gain. This stuff really isn’t good for your body and if you are a soda drinker you should make a pact to give it up altogether.  If that’s too much to start, than limit yourself to one per day until you can eventually wean yourself off it for good. I left sodas alone in November of 2005 and it has been a wonderful change in my life.

Why not just switch to water?

By switching to water as your main source of fluids you may be cutting out a huge number of hidden calories you didn’t even know you were consuming.  If you get bored of water add some lemons, lime, or other fruit for a different flavour. You can also try La Croix carbonated waters. Or add cranberry juice concentrate for some added colour.

The next thing you need to do is remove all hydrogenated cookies, cupcakes, and junk foods. Can you say sugar high?

Even most crackers are bad for us. There are a lot of artificial ingredients in a box of crackers, not to mention that the sodium intake is usually out the roof.

A serving of 5 Keebler’s Original Townhouse cookies has 80 calories with 40 of them being fat calories. There are 140 milligrams of sodium and a transfat issue. Transfat is that fat that does not run through your arteries like saturated, but rather it lingers and collects causing issue with the heart and arteries. Now that is only for 5 crackers. I used to eat an entire row of those crackers.

Then there are Oreos, Chip Ahoy and other cookies. Another fat converter!  Forget about how appealing they may look they are full of junk!

Why continue to put these items in your pantry?  It may satisfy you for a moment but the long term effects are not worth the efforts.

There are wholesome alternatives on the market.

If you want the cookies and crackers, look for product lines like Newman’s Own, Late July, and Yum Yum Snacks. No one said you couldn’t enjoy snacks, just get rid of the bad stuff.

What about peanut butter and jelly. I love a good peanut butter and jelly sandwich, however we use only all natural brands or make our own. My husband, Rupert, made a wonderful peach jam for breakfast one morning and it only took him about 20 minutes to make it with fresh peaches.

Other ideas for healthier snacks are nuts, raisins, hummus and pita bread or chips and salsa. Also try having a couple of pieces of fresh fruit on hand daily as a quick healthy snack.  Keep these items on hand so you aren’t tempted to grab something less appealing for a healthier home.

One thing I do is grab a handful of nuts like almonds or pecans and an apple. I eat the two together and have a glass of water afterwards. This combination keeps me full until my next meal time.

Snacks are fun, but they need to be healthy and wholesome as well.

photo credit: WordRidden

Contrary to popular belief, veggies don’t need any dressing up to make them taste good. Nature has done that all by itself. They are picked fresh from the earth filled with succulent taste. The best vegetables that you can purchase are organic and found fresh in stores, at farmer’s markets, or even better, your own garden.

Vegetables can keep without freezing or refrigerating them which is good for snacking on the run. If you are on the run or about to hit the road, you can grab a bag of veggies for the ride. Turn vegetables into snack sized pieces by slicing them into sticks, cubes, or chips. In this form, they are easier to manage. Pack them in plastic bags or small containers and you are good to go.

There are many vegetables that you can prepare for a healthy on-the-go snack.

Carrots can be cut into sticks or a veggie slicer can cut them into chips. Don’t waste time buying baby carrots because they are expensive and are not baby carrots at all. It is easy enough to take a regular size carrot and fix it up. The same goes for cucumbers, beets, peppers, squash, zucchini, and other rigid veggies.

Tomatoes are classified as fruits, but we will consider them vegetables here. Many people just eat them like a fruit. Add a pinch of salt and bite in. You can even purchase the smaller versions like cherry or grape and simply pop them in your mouth as you ride. Broccoli and cauliflower can also be eaten raw. Celery is a good vegetable because it is filled with water and can relieve thirst and hunger at the same time.

photo credit: judepics

What are vegetables without dip? Dip adds a flavor to veggies and even kids who turn their noses up to vegetables will eat certain ones if they are dipped in something. Many dips can be made at home with dry seasoning packets and a vegan sour cream or cream cheese. For a different taste add your own fresh herbs. Sweet dips, like yogurt based ones, are also good with veggie snacks. Dip can be stored in a container or a two-piece salad bowl. With the salad bowl, the dip doesn’t mix with the vegetables until you are ready to eat them.

Vegetables can be excellent snacks for those times when you on the road and can’t get home to fix a complete meal. They are healthier alternatives then chips and a candy bar. Take them in the car, on the job, or outside for a quick energy pick-me-up. No matter what way you choose to eat them, vegetables make healthy on-the-go snack foods for everyone.

The fact is that it isn’t a secret at all. It was actually good planning and preparation on their part. If we follow suit and heed the non-verbal actions of our savvy mothers then we too can see our dollar stretch further.

What we have on hand will determine how far our food will go. Filling your pantry with a few useful staples can be the difference between a trip to the grocery store every week versus once or twice a month. With a few key staples you can create wonderful meals.

Flour. Flour is a starter item for many recipes. You can add it to some water or vegetable broth and make gravy in the pan for many vegan meat dishes. Flour is also used to make bread (biscuits, rolls, loaves). During lean times or to just save a few dollars, you can make dumplings with flour or fix some brown rice and top it with gravy. If you choose to make the dumplings you can add some apples, cinnamon and brown sugar for a very yummy desert.

Rice. When we think of rice, we think of a plain side dish. While it is true that rice is a side dish, it doesn’t have to be plain. It can be me the main attraction in a vegan meal depending on what you do with it. It can be jazzed up with veggies to accompany dinner. You can steam some broccoli and mix it with brown rice, vegan butter, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, and a little sea salt to taste. It is an economical meal that tastes great and goes a long way. Rice can also be mixed with tofu or Boca crumbles and a vegan friendly cream soup to form a casserole. Rice has many uses and you’re sure to find a few that your family will love.

Pasta. There are many different pasta choices and all have great uses. Manicotti can be stuffed with tomato sauce and vegan cheeses. Macaroni can be used to make a creamy salad and also is great combined
with nutritional yeast or spaghetti sauce. Spiral pasta is used in many different pasta salads. Spaghetti
can be used in a casserole topped with vegan cheese or in the traditional way with tomato sauce and a vegan meal alternative or a lot of chunky veggies.

Spices. There are other ways to season food besides salt and pepper. In fact, many spices taste better than salt. Even die hard salt-a-holics won’t miss the salt in foods if other seasonings are used. Cayenne pepper, chili powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, oregano, and garlic powder are all useful tools in your flavor arsenal to give foods a fresh new taste.

Beans. There go those beans again. Beans can top your salad, fill a taco shell make an awesome dip, and go well with grilled foods. They provide a good source of protein with very little fat. Beans are good in soups, stews, and over rice for a simple yet filling meal.

Do you have these staples in your kitchen? You can probably think of several more that you can add to your pantry that will help you save money. Start with the ones listed and expand your own list of basic kitchen staples that are versatile and economical.