Cheap food

Part of saving money when traveling is cooking alot of our meals at home. We do enjoy going out a couple times a week to experience authentic Ecuadorean food, but we also enjoy experimenting with Ecuadorean recipes as well. One of the best things about Ecuador is that it is home to many fruits and vegetables due to the ideal climate. We have been really taking advantage of easy access to locally grown organic fruits and vegetables. There are several "mercado's " in the area that are indoor and sometimes outdoor food markets. Each stall is owned and operated by a separate vendor selling fruits, vegetables, raw meat as well as dried goods like rice and quinoa.

These bags of tomatoes, avacados and onions, were $1.00 each. As you can see there are 10 onions in one bag, 10 tomatoes in the other and 5 medium sized avocados in the last bag. They were bagged, ready for purchase. What a steal!

I got ALL of these fruits and vegetables for $8.60! No joke!!!!!!!

Avacados,mangoes,papaya,plantains,bananas,tomatoes,carrots peas and green peppers oh my!

Cheap and healthy meal in 20 minute or less

Here's a cheap and healthy meal to throw together in less than 20 minutes for any day of the week.


RICE NOODLES WITH GREENS AND TOMATO SAUCE


INGREDIENTS:

1 package or box of rice noodles -$1.89-$3.99 for a package or box, use any kind you like. I used Rice Sticks which is like fettucini(you can buy them from any Asian grocery store or even the Asian section of any big box store will have them)

1 bunch of organic chard,chopped- $1.99 a bunch at Meijer in the organic section (you can use organic kale or organic spinach if you prefer)

1 package of organic mushrooms, sliced- on sale at Meijer for a $1.00 if you can catch it

1 onion sliced

4 cloves of garlic smashed

1 can of chick peas or if you prefer dried, soaked overnight, and then boiled till tender

1 can of organic tomato sauce or you can make your own if you prefer. For time restraints using canned or jarred is fine.

2 tablespoons organic coconut oil

1 tsp. oregano- add more to your liking

1 tsp. thyme- add more to your liking

salt and pepper to taste

Boil water for noodles and cook according to package instructions. Heat pan and add coconut oil. I use coconut oil as my cooking oil because it is 100% cholesterol free and one of the healthiest oils to use in your diet. It's used to treat many ailments naturally including altzheimer's. I suggest doing some research on the benefits of coconut oil so you can add it to your diet if you aren't already using it. Saute onions until tender and add garlic. Saute for a few minutes ,don't burn your garlic! Add mushrooms, chard and chick peas and saute with thyme and oregano. Add tomato sauce and water to loosen sauce or add more coconut oil. Saute all ingredients together and simmer with lid till chard is tender. Toss with noodles and add season with parmesan.