I love saving money, and I consider myself good at it. Every time I find a great deal I do the math, and add the savings to some kind of accumulating mental piggy bank that I use as justification for concert tickets, or unemployment, or for having that beer I could have done without. It’s all about balance. So here are some of my personal tips, so that perhaps you too, can save enough to plan a trip, or have an artsy cocktail shamelessly, or buy yourself a massage.

Food is an aspect of life that if not planned well, can be incredibly pricey. I’ve found that every grocery store offers certain ingredients at lower prices than others, but the time it takes to run around almost negates the savings. So instead, I’ve done a little bit of that for you. Here are a few recipes that I’ve found to be the most nutritional, versatile, and inexpensive:

Hummus

This one may come as a shock, because, cue the drums, the best deal is at Whole Foods Market. Despite being a difficult store in which to find anything reasonably priced, Whole Foods offers an incredible deal on garbanzo beans. A carton is $1.00, organic, and does not have the metallic taste that canned beans do.

Ingredients:

1 carton garbanzo beans - Whole Foods: 1.00

1 lemon - Trader Joe’s: .39

1 tablespoon olive oil - Anywhere, approx .10

1/4 bell pepper (optional) - Trader Joe’s: 1.00

1 small tomato (optional) - Trader Joe’s: .29

salt and pepper to taste - Trader Joe’s

pita chips - Trader Joe’s: 2.00

whole organic carrots (1lb) - Trader Joe’s: .69

Pretty simple, toss the container of garbanzo beans (I usually rinse them first,) the juice of one lemon, a tablespoon of olive oil, the tomato, and 1/4 bell pepper in the blender. Blend on high until you reach a creamy consistency, add salt and pepper and blend on low, and pour into a bowl. Eat with anything you’d like! My favorite dippers are pita chips and whole carrots. Now, instead of buying a container of hummus for 3.50, you can have twice as much for half the cost, it’s fresh and perfect for entertaining! Don’t hesitate to play around and blend in any other veggies. Spinach, sautéed eggplant and olives are other fantastic add-ins, as well as rosemary, and cayenne pepper. Enjoy!

Asian Fusion Salad

I eat a lot of salads, and with the heat wave lately, they’ve been extra appealing. I like my salads to be flavorful, satisfying, and basically, not leave me immediately wanting another salad. Luckily, as usual, Trader Joe’s comes to the rescue with an incredible deal; three romaine lettuce heads for $1.99. That way, if you do find yourself consuming salads in almost a bulk manner, you won’t be blowing your budget!

Ingredients:

1 head romaine lettuce - Trader Joe’s: 1.99/3 heads

1 tomatoes - Trader Joe’s: .30

1/2 package dried edamame - Vons: 1.80/package

1/2 cup brown rice - Trader Joe’s: 2.99/3 pounds

1/6 of a cabbage - Vons: 1.50/whole cabbage

1/2 cucumber - Vons: .70/each

dressing:

soy sauce - Trader Joe’s: 1.99/bottle

sriracha - Vons: 3.99/bottle

olive oil - Trader Joe’s: 5.99/bottle

Pretty self-explanatory: wash the lettuce, chop, mix in the tomato, cucumber, slivers of cabbage and brown rice. Choose your ratio for the dressing, stir well, and toss into the salad. Add some dried edamame on top and you’re set! One (large) serving of this salad costs around $2.00, which makes it a great salad for entertaining. I love hosting people, especially when it's cheap.

Eggplant Dish

Eggplant is one of my favorite vegetables, which may not be the case for everyone. If you are not an eggplant lover, feel free to substitute. Zucchini, cauliflower and bell pepper work well for this.

So again, this is not a complicated dish, and the “recipe” component applies mostly to the way in which its cooked.

Ingredients:

1 eggplant - Trader Joe’s: 1.80

soy sauce - Trader Joe’s: 1.99

coconut oil - Trader Joe’s: 5.99

turmeric power - Trader Joe’s: 1.99

salt to taste

So, I like to slice my eggplant into medallions, which I recommend doing first, after rinsing it. Add a few tablespoons of coconut oil into a (large) pan, let it heat up, drop the eggplant in and put a lid on. Turn the stove on low, and move the eggplant around every few minutes if possible. Add a few healthy splashes of soy sauce and a couple dashes of turmeric when you notice the eggplant starting to retain moisture. Let it cook for around 8-10 minutes, you’ll be surprised at how buttery it becomes, and your house will smell amazing. At this point, the world is your eggplant. You can spread it on toast, you can put it in a wrap, eat it plain, on top of rice, on top of noodles, anything.

Dessert

Hot desserts aren't usually my preference, but there’s something about this one that gets me every time. It’s comforting, healthy, easy, and delicious.

Ingredients:

1 banana - Trader Joe’s: .19

1/2 apple - Trader Joe’s: .60/each

coconut oil - Trader Joe’s: 5.99

cinnamon - Trader Joe’s: 1.99

almond milk - Trader Joe’s: 2.99

1 piece bread - Anywhere, probably .10

Put some coconut oil in a pan, let it warm up, add sliced banana and apple. Let it cook for a few minutes with a lid on, until it becomes, well, melty. Stir, mush, etc. Meanwhile, put a slice of bread in your toaster, and when it pops up, let it cool and then tear pieces of it (pretty toasted) into the pan. Stir again, add some cinnamon. Pour into a bowl, add some almond milk on top, and enjoy!