Mary M. Flynn offers healthful recipes that stretch food dollars.

How are you coping with the cost of food?

Chances are things aren’t better for a lot of families this year as opposed to last year when we ran our pinching pennies series. Then food costs were spiraling upward.

This year the challenge is a high rate of unemployment, a down economy and food prices haven’t especially come down either.

So I’m reprising the series. Over the next weeks we’ll print letters and recipes on how to save in the kitchen. Send along your ideas (and recipes of course) if you didn’t participate last year. My e-mail address is at the end of the story.

As always, it’s nice to start with an expert.

Mary M. Flynn, of Miriam Hospital and Brown University, has three degrees in nutrition (including a doctorate), is a registered dietitian, and studies how food can have an impact on chronic disease development.

Flynn has shared recipes she developed both as part of her work for the Rhode Island Community Food Bank and for Common Sense Cooking, a PBS show she did with Nancy Verde Barr. The meals are from a plant-based olive-oil diet.

This year, with a grant from Blue Cross Blue Shield, she is again working with the Food Bank to hold Raising the Bar on Nutrition cooking classes. She is leading groups for clients at the Jonnycake Center in Peace Dale, which operates a food pantry and thrift store and provides social services, and at the Rhode Island Free Clinic on Broad Street in Providence. She starts programs at each site every 4 to 6 weeks.

You’ll find her recipes for the program here. She prices out how much they are to make for four servings and the cost per serving. The average cost is $1.10 per serving. All the ingredients come from the pantry but you can certainly substitute fresh. The thing is you might not always want to.

Flynn wants people to use more frozen/canned vegetables and fruit because, she says, they can be healthier. They stay on the plant longer than what we call fresh so they should have higher nutrients. You can keep more in your home, so that can increase use. They are all ready to use, so there is less waste and time in prep and that usually makes them less expensive. These are all good things.

Flynn’s advice is pretty simple. Cook from scratch and eat less flesh — poultry, seafood, meat. Eating at home frees up the budget and cutting out the expense of meat eliminates the higher cost items.

Her recipes are not low fat but use plenty of olive oil, an extremely healthy food and adding fat to the meal delays hunger so people do not have the desire to eat between meals. And all those vegetables are good for you.

The recipes are for a peas and pasta, macaroni and cheese (with brocooli), baked pasta with chick peas (the highest cost meal at $1.42 a serving), vegetable fried rice (with a master recipe for cooking brown rice), a frittata with onions, spinach and rice, vegetarian chili, vegetable soup, lentil soup (72 cents a serving), black beans, greens and potato soup and a breakfast burrito.

Flynn also shared her grocery list. Flynn encourages shopping around for the more expensive items such as olive oil. Ocean State Job Lot always has good buys. Whole Foods has their own brand under the 365 label that is less expensive, she said.GROCERY LIST

Dry Foods — Canned and Jarred

Beans: black, garbanzo, kidney, white (cannellini)

Lentils, dried

Barley

Tomatoes, crushed or whole

Corn

Peas

Green beans

Apricots

Peaches

Pineapple

Extra virgin olive oil

Soup bouillon (cubes or powder)

Cold cereal

Pasta, whole wheat

Brown rice

Brown whole grain or whole wheat bread (including pita, rolls)

Whole wheat tortilla

Tuna, packed in water

Fresh Foods

Eggs

Vegetables (whatever is on sale)

Onions (red taste better cooked in olive oil)

Potatoes (red, white, Yukon gold, baking)

Carrots

Pepper (green, red)

Garlic cloves

Baby spinach

Mushrooms,

Squash (summer, zucchini)

Fruit (whatever is on sale)

Bananas

Frozen

Broccoli

Spinach

Greens (kale, collard)

Corn

Dairy

Cheese (American, others); check what is on sale

Milk, nonfat 1 percent

PEAS AND PASTA1

PEAS AND PASTA

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 can peas, drained

28-ounce can tomatoes

12 ounces (dry weight) pasta, preferably whole wheat

Optional: garlic, herbs (rosemary, basil, thyme, oregano). Salt and pepper for the vegetables.

Heat a large pot of salted water to cook the pasta. When the water boils, cook the pasta.

Heat the olive oil on low. Add any optional ingredients and stir to combine. Heat for 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the drained peas and stir into the oil. Heat for 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the canned tomatoes and heat until the pasta is cooked.

Toss with cooked pasta and serve.

Serves 4.

MACARONI AND CHEESE1

MACARONI AND CHEESE

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 small onion (red or white), chopped (about 1 cup)

3 cups broccoli, chopped, frozen, defrosted

4 tablespoons white flour

2 cups 1 percent fat milk

6 slices American cheese

12 ounces macaroni, cooked (preferably whole wheat)

Cook the macaroni as directed and drain. While the macaroni is cooking prepare the sauce. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat a 13-by-9-by-2-inch glass Pyrex pan with olive oil.

Heat the olive oil on medium in a large skillet. Add the onion and broccoli. Stir to combine. Cook on medium about 10 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. Stir the mixture while it is cooking.

Sprinkle the flour on the vegetables and stir to coat. Pour in the milk, stir to mix in. Stir gently and continue to cook until the mixture thickens.

Cut the cheese into smaller pieces (about 4 to 6 pieces per slice). Add the cheese to the thickened sauce. Stir to combine and continue stirring until the cheese melts.

Add the cooked macaroni and stir to combine. Pour into the prepared pan. Top with corn flakes (optional).

Bake until bubbling, about 20 to 30 minutes. It will take less time if you use the larger pan.

Serves 4.

LENTIL SOUP1

LENTIL SOUP

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 small onion (red or white), chopped (about 1 cup)

1 cup carrots, chopped

1 1/2 cup dry lentils (red lentils make a thicker soup)

8 cups vegetable broth (can be made with bouillon cubes)

1 pound potatoes, diced and cooked (about 2 baking potatoes)

Herbs that will add a great flavor, but are not essential: sprig of fresh thyme, 2 to 3 bay leaves.

Heat about 4 tablespoons of the olive oil on medium in a large soup pan.

Add the onions, stir to coat with oil and cook for about 5 minutes.

Add the rest of the olive oil and the carrots, stir to mix in, reduce the heat to low and cook for about 25 minutes. You can salt and pepper the vegetables, if you like.

Add the vegetable broth, lentils and the herbs. Raise heat to medium high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 45 minutes.

Add cooked potatoes and heat through.

Serves 4.

VEGETABLE SOUP1

VEGETABLE SOUP

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 can peas

1 can green beans

1 can corn

1 can white beans, drained, rinsed

28-ounce can tomatoes (chopped, crushed)

6-8 cups vegetable broth (made with bouillon)

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil on medium in a large soup pan.

Add the spinach and cook for about 5 minutes.

Add the rest of the olive oil and the green beans and corn. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring, occasionally.

Add the can of drained white beans and the crushed tomatoes and heat through. The vegetable mixture can be left to simmer.

When cooked as much as you want, add the vegetable broth. Heat through.

The soup can be frozen in individual servings. You can add cooked pasta, rice or potatoes, if you like, at the time of eating.

Serves 4.

BLACK BEANS, GREENS AND POTATO SOUP1

BLACK BEANS, GREENS AND POTATO SOUP

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 small onion (red or white), chopped (about 1 cup)

5 ounces chopped greens (turnip, collard, kale); frozen, defrosted (this is half of a 10-ounce bag or about 2 1/2 cups).

8 cups vegetable broth (can be made with bouillon cubes or dry powder).

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

4 medium potatoes, diced and cooked

Heat about 3 tablespoons of the olive oil on medium in a large soup pan.

Add the onions, stir to coat with oil and cook for about 5 minutes.

Add the rest of the olive oil and greens, stir to mix in, reduce the heat to low and cook for about 10 minutes.

Add the beans and potatoes. Stir to combine with the cooked greens. Heat for about 5 minutes. Add the vegetable broth and heat through.

Serves 4.

FRITTATA WITH ONIONS, SPINACH AND RICE1

FRITTATA WITH ONIONS, SPINACH AND RICE

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 small onion (red or white), chopped (about 1 cup)

2 cups spinach, chopped, frozen, defrosted

6 large eggs

1 cup non-fat milk

3 cups cooked brown rice (see directions)

Preheat broiler.

Heat oil in a skillet that can be put under a broiler. Stir in the onions. Cook 2 to 5 minutes.

Stir in the spinach and cook 3 to 5 minutes.

While the spinach is cooking, scramble the eggs and milk in a small bowl. Add the rice. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.

Add the egg/rice mixture to the skillet and spread out evenly over the pan (this is easily done with a rubber spatula).

Cook on top of the stove until the mixture is set. If you run a rubber spatula around the mixture you can tell when it is crusting on the bottom. It will take about 5 minutes.

When the mixture is set, put the pan under the broiler and broil for about 3 minutes or until the tips starts to brown.

Use a metal spatula to loosen the mixture from the pan. The frittata should easily slide out of the pan onto a plate when done.

Serves 4.

VEGETARIAN CHILI1

VEGETARIAN CHILI

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion (red or white), chopped (about 2 cups)

2 cans corn, drained

28-ounce can crushed tomatoes

1 can each kidney, black and pinto or cannelloni beans, drained and rinsed (3 cans total)

Salt for vegetables

Optional spices: 2 tablespoons ground cumin, 1 tablespoon chili powder, 2 teaspoons dry oregano

Heat the olive oil on medium heat in a large pan on top of the stove or in a slow cooker.

Add the onions, stir to combine with the oil and cook for about 10 minutes or until the onions are translucent. Stir in the drained corn and cook for another 5 minutes. You should occasionally stir the vegetables. You can add some salt and black pepper to the vegetables for flavoring, if you like.

Sprinkle the cooked vegetables with the spices. Stir to mix in evenly.

Add the tomatoes and all the beans. Stir to combine. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for about 45 minutes or longer, stirring occasionally.

Serve over cooked rice (preferably brown rice) or in a baked potato.

Serves 4.

VEGETABLE FRIED RICE1

VEGETABLE FRIED RICE

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 can corn, drained

1 can black beans, rinsed, drained

1 small can tomatoes

4 cups cooked brown rice (see directions)

Optional: dried oregano and/or basil; salt and pepper

Heat the olive oil on medium. Add any herbs and stir to coat with the oil. Stir in the corn and cook 3 to 5 minutes.

Add the black beans and cook 3 to 5 minutes longer.

Add the tomatoes, stir to combine and heat 3 to 5 minutes.

Add the cooked rice, stir to combine and heat through.

Serves 4.

BAKED PASTA WITH CHICK PEAS1

BAKED PASTA WITH CHICK PEAS

6 tablespoons extra virgin oil

1 cup spinach, chopped, frozen, defrosted

1 cup peppers, chopped

1 small can tomatoes

1 can chick peas (ceci beans, garbanzo beans), rinsed, drained

12 ounces cooked pasta (preferably whole wheat)

Optional: salt and pepper; herbs, grated cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat olive oil on low-medium. Add the spinach and peppers and stir into the oil. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, chick peas and any herbs (optional). Stir to combine.

Combine the vegetables and cooked pasta and put in baking dish.

Top with grated cheese, if desired. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes until bubbly.

Serves 4.

Note: This is an easy recipe for leftover cooked pasta.

BROWN RICE1

BROWN RICE

Put about 3 to 4 quarts of water in a large pan (about what you would use if you were cooking pasta). You can add 1 to 2 teaspoons of salt, if you like. Heat the water on high until it boils. Add the dry rice (1 to 2 cups), cover the pan and return to a boil. As soon as it boils again, reduce the heat to low and slow boil for about 35 minutes. Immediately drain the rice into a colander. One cup of dry rice makes at least 3 cups of cooked rice.

BREAKFAST BURRITO1

BREAKFAST BURRITO

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 small onion (red or white), chopped (about 1 cup)

15.5-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed

4 eggs

1 cup canned tomatoes (or salsa)

1 cup (about 4 slices) chopped/shredded cheese

4 6-inch flour tortillas (preferably whole wheat) or 8 slices of whole wheat toast

If you are using tortillas:

To heat the tortillas, lightly oil the skillet and heat on medium. Add the tortillas, 1 at a time and heat on 2 sides. You may need to add a little more oil as you heat all the tortillas. Keep the heated tortillas warm in the oven (about 250 degrees) while the mixture cooks. When the tortillas are heated, the pan is used to cook the eggs.

In another skillet: Heat the olive oil on medium. Add the onion, stir to combine. Heat 4 to 5 minutes or until translucent.

Add the drained black beans, stir to combine and heat 1 to 2 minutes.

Add the canned tomatoes or salsa and heat.

Start to cook the eggs in the pan used to heat the tortillas. Break the eggs into a bowl, taking care not to crack the yolks. Add a little more oil to the pan used to heat the tortillas. Gently slide the eggs into the pan and cook until the white is opaque. Carefully turn the eggs when the white is opaque. Sprinkle the eggs with the cheese, cover and heat until the cheese melts.

Place 1 heated tortilla on a plate. Top with the bean mixture and then the egg with the cheese side up. If you are using toast, you can put the cooked egg and vegetable on the toast or on the side.

Serves 4.

gciampa@projo.com