Healthy — and Tasty! — Eating on a Budget

One myth about healthy eating that I wish I could quash for all time is that healthy eating is expensive. Of course, it can be, and if you can afford to buy the best, by all means do so. But it’s perfectly possible to eat delicious, healthy meals every day without breaking the bank.

If you have these basic pantry items and access to a cooktop of some kind, you have the foundation for any number of tasty, nutritious meals:

• Long-grain rice (preferably brown)

• Dried beans, lentils or chickpeas

• A few spices (cumin is a favorite of mine)

• Quinoa, barley, bulgur or other grains

You can make all sorts of bowl based dishes with a combination of these and some fresh vegetables. Add meat, fish, eggs or tofu if you want to, but there’s more than enough protein in beans and lentils for the average human. There’s a good reason why rice and beans is one of the most widely eaten dishes in the world!

If you can, buy these basic items from a store that has “bulk bins.” That way, you can buy only as much as you need with less likelihood of your ingredients containing the unpronounceable additives none of us needs to be consuming. The freshest vegetables are going to come from your garden, but if that’s not something you can or want to do, your closest farmers’ market or locally owned store is your best bet.

And no, farmers’ markets don’t have to be expensive either! The North Coast Growers’ Association, which operates most of Humboldt’s farmers’ markets, accepts EBT and provides up to $15 in Market Match funds. Transportation and packaging requirements for fresh farmers’ market produce are minimal, so you’re not paying those costs either — your money goes straight to the farmers who produced the food, and to me that’s the best feeling in the world. For more tips on shopping the farmers’ market on a budget, go to northcoastgrowersassociation.org/.

If funds really are tight, as they are for so many folks these days, you can always shop at Food for People, Humboldt County’s local food bank. Food for People is nothing like the old soup kitchen lines — it’s laid out like a regular store with fresh produce, frozen foods and different proteins. Once you’re qualified, you can just take a basket and pick up what you need.

Our local farmers are so generous in supporting the food bank, it just makes sense to support them when they do so much to support us.

All of this fits perfectly with CalFresh, which helps lower-income Californians stretch their monthly food budgets and eat healthily when they frequent local groceries and farmers’ markets.

CalFresh’s monthly benefit varies depending on income, household size, expenses and other factors, ranging from $24 to as much as $298 for a one-person household.

To learn more or to apply for Cal-Fresh benefits, sign up at the farmers’ market, go online to BenefitsCal.com, call 1-877-410-8809, or stop by the Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS) Social Services office at 929 Koster St. in Eureka.

Pat Bitton, 75, enjoys the bounty of Humboldt County and eats healthy every day in Eureka.