AND WE’RE BACK!
It’s been a hot minute since our post about Spinach Za’atar Pie. There’s been LOTS of NEW happening in and around The Food Duo’s domicile. From new products to new adventures, we’re excited to be back to sharing with you (Look out for our next post on our trip to VT).
Today’s post is all about getting “a bang for your buck.” Thanks to Spoon University’s listicle on Buzzfeed called “1 Trip To Trader Joe’s + $20 = 5 Easy Vegan Dinners” by Brooke Hamroff. Our friend, Angie, in the great FB family Power to the Veg set up a challenge to test this. With Brooke’s shopping list in hand with a couple of slight modifications (we’re on the 21 Day Fix program - details to come), we were up for it!
The article gives you everything you need. You get a set of recipes to make dinners for 2 people. There’s also a recipe for roasting the veggies in 30 minutes. Noted: Some items from your pantry may also be used (like oils, spices, etc.), and are not a part of the shopping list.
We decided to switch up the ciabatta roll and pizza dough with reduced carb whole wheat tortilla ($2.69). We also replaced the capellini with brown rice spaghetti
We found that even with our substitutions, we were ALMOST spot-on at $20.00. The items we purchased from our modified shopping list actually came up to $18.40 + $1.49 + $0.69 = $20.58. WOW! We split up our groceries (I put the broccoli in the wrong batch). Then we had to go back for red bell pepper (lost that receipt).
Double WOW in seeing that these dishes can be prepped in advance requiring less cook time (< 30 minutes). In fact, I couldn’t sleep Sunday night. So, I roasted veggies per Spoon University’s method.
For the next 5 nights, we have meals to share with you here and on social media. Ready to see what we made first?
Here’s our take on Roasted Tomato and Red Pepper Pasta, in which we used brown rice spaghetti. We omitted oil and salt, and added a sprinkle of nutritional yeast.
This dish is easily made in 10 minutes, if you roast your veggies ahead of time. The tomato “sauce” is like a fresh sauce, using chopped vegetables (not from a can). It’s really good!
Check back with us to see what we have tomorrow evening! We’re making an interesting take on pizza/flatbread…with tortillas.
You can also see what other challengers are making by following the hashtag #p2tvtjs5for20 on Insragram and Twitter!
What are some of your favorite and cheap pasta dish? Share with us in the comments!
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