Mary M. Flynn, PhD, RD, LDN of The Miriam Hospital and Brown University wrote: I was delighted to see your request for ways to deal with high food costs. I have some suggestions.

Eat less "flesh" - ie poultry, seafood, meat. There is a misplaced emphasis on protein. While we need a certain amount of protein each day, we can get all we need from starch foods (grains, bread products, legumes, etc) and vegetables. We do not need to eat "flesh" daily. I call it "flesh" as that is more descriptive; most people think of meat as only beef, pork, lamb. We do not store protein so any excess has to be broken down and will be converted to fat. As flesh is an expensive part of the food budget, especially when it is lean, eating less frees up funds. The meals I recommend come from a diet I have been researching. I call it a "plant based olive oil diet". It is not low fat (a big problem with most vegetarian diets/ recipes) but uses plenty of olive oil. Olive oil is an extremely healthy food and adding fat to the meal delays hunger so people do not have the desire to eat between meals.

I try to get people to use more frozen/canned vegetables and fruit. I think they can be healthier as the 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 (I paid $1.00 for a bag of frozen red/yellow/ green pepper strips at S&S this week). And they are cleaner. I suggest cooking the vegetables in olive oil after defrosting frozen so the taste is quite good.

I have attached recipes for my plant based diet that I developed for the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. The "Six meals" one is from "Common Sense Cooking" that was done with PBS.

Common Sense cooking, Six Meals for Under $20

Frittata with broccoli and potatoes

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 cups frozen, chopped broccoli, defrosted

6 large eggs

1 cup non-fat milk

3 cups cooked, diced potatoes

Turn on a broiler.

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

While the broccoli is cooking, scramble the eggs and milk in a small bowl. Add the potatoes. You can either leave the potatoes as cubes or use a potato masher to combine the egg and potato. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.

Add the egg/ potato 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 tip 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.

Per serving: Calories 430

Serves 4

Vegetable Soup

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 cups frozen, defrosted, chopped spinach

2 cups frozen, defrosted green beans

16 oz bag frozen, defrosted corn

1-28 oz can tomatoes (chopped, crushed, petite cut)

6-8 cups vegetable broth

Heat 2 tbs of the 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- 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the can of 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.

Calories per 2 cup (8 total) 460

Serves 4

Vegetable lo mein

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 cups sliced or chopped carrots (small pieces)

2 cups broccoli, frozen, defrosted

8 oz dry weight spaghetti noodles (whole wheat is healthier)

About 1 cup Soy sauce

4 teaspoon Corn starch

Optional: sliced/ crushed garlic, salt, pepper

Heat a large pot of water for the spaghetti and cook as directed.

Heat the olive oil on medium.

Stir in the carrots and broccoli. Season with salt/pepper. Cook 3-5 minutes or until the texture you would like (cooking longer softens and sweetens the vegetables).

In a separate bowl, combine ¼ to 1/3 cup soy sauce and 2 Tablespoons cold water. Add the corn starch and stir until there are no lumps. Add to the cooked vegetables and heat until thickened (about 3 minutes).

Serve over cooked at spaghetti.

Per serving: Calories 425

Serves 4

Vegetable stuffed baked potato

4 medium baking potatoes (about 9 oz each)

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 cup chopped red onion (about ½ of a medium onion)

13.25 oz can of drained mushrooms

2 cups frozen, defrosted chopped spinach

Salt, pepper

Clean the potatoes and prick with a fork in several places. Bake at 400F for about 1 hour. When the potatoes have been in the oven for about 40 minutes, start the following:

Heat the olive oil on medium.

Stir in the onions. Season with salt and pepper. Cook about 5 minutes or until they are soft. Add the mushrooms and cook 2-3 minutes.

Stir in the spinach. Heat on low until the potatoes are cooked.

Slice baked potato and fill with the vegetables.

Per serving: Calories 475

Serves 4

Spinach, beans and pasta

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2-3 cloves garlic, pressed

15 oz can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed well

2 cups frozen, chopped spinach, defrosted, drained

1-28 oz can tomatoes (crushed, petite cut)

8 ouncesPasta (whole wheat is healthier)

(dry weight)

Optional: fresh herbs (rosemary, basil, thyme), salt and pepper

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 the pressed garlic and stir to combine. Heat for 2-3 minutes.

Add the drained, rinsed cannellini beans and stir into the oil. Turn the heat up to medium/high and stir in the defrosted, drained spinach. Season with salt and pepper.

Heat on medium/high 8-10 minutes, stirring often. Stir in the herbs.

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

Toss with cooked pasta and serve.

Per serving: Calories 545

Serves 4

Vegetable fried rice

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 cup chopped red onion (about ½ of a medium onion)

2 cups chopped carrots

2 cups green beans (either canned, drained or frozen, defrosted)

4 cups cooked rice (brown is healthier)

Heat the olive oil on medium. Stir in the chopped onion and carrots and cook about 5 minutes.

Stir in the green beans. Cook 2- 3 minutes or until vegetables are the softness you would like.

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

Optional: scramble 4 eggs in a bowl. Move the vegetable/ rice mixture to the side of the pan once they are cooked; pour in the egg. Let the egg cook until set (a few minutes) then scramble into the rice and vegetables.

Per serving: Calories 480

Serves 4