Cheap Eats: Healthy meals on a budget

While devouring the last beachball-sized sprinkled donut from the box the morning of the Super Bowl, I realized it might be time for me to start working on my “Spring Break Body.”

And after googling the closest health-food spots to replace my 400 calorie glazed donut with a salad or juice, the cons of the “healthier side” of the menu hit me — not only was I about to burn a massive hole in my wallet, but the foods I’d be eating weren’t much better than that donut, at least calorie-wise. 

So instead of forking over the entirety of my birthday money to get that beach-ready bod back, I activated my inner Chrissy Tiegen to buy the same ingredients the overpriced restaurants use for their meals and made my own meal that saved me calories and my hard-earned babysitting money.

TLOFT SPICY CHICKEN QUINOA BOWL

Tloft is known for their healthy eats, but it’s also infamous for draining people’s wallets. A small 12 oz bowl consisting of a cup of quinoa, a few celery chunks, shredded carrot, blue cheese, buffalo sauce and two thin slices of avocado cost as much as my homecoming accessories. Sure, it’s spicy and delicious, but I can make it better for half the price — and even put the whole avocado on top if I’m feeling festive. Lucky for me, someone who struggles to make their own Kraft Mac n Cheese, the two-minute cooking process isn’t much of a process at all. Mixing the ingredients in a pan, cooking for two minutes and adding the buffalo sauce, blue cheese and avocado are the only steps it takes to make the spicy chicken quinoa bowl while saving $11 for that new Mario Badescu spray you’ve been needing. 

TROP SMOOTHIE JETTY PUNCH

With all the time I spend at Tropical Smoothie Cafe before school on Thursdays or as a pre-soccer-game snack, I’ve developed a talent for making their drinks without working there. And to make it healthier, add a packet of Splenda instead of Trop Smoothie’s cup of sugar. After a quick trip to Price Chopper, I got all the ingredients I needed for less than half the price. And making it was faster than doing my 10-minute morning makeup routine. Now I can get my beauty sleep on late start mornings AND save money. 

FIRST WATCH AVOCADO TOAST

The ever-so-iconic avocado toast is key to every girls’ brunch, but you won’t find me ordering it at First Watch. As I looked at the five-inch piece of grain toast and salt-covered pericardium on the avocado spread, my seventh-grade-self felt betrayed — I could’ve eaten a blueberry pancake with the same amount of calories in it. So to make my version of avocado toast appeal to my eye-rolling seventh-grade-self, I used a 40 calorie piece of Sara Lee thin toast, smashed avocado with a squirt of lemon and two sunny-side-up eggs on top. For some extra flavor, sprinkle some salt and drizzled some balsamic vinegar — because everything’s better with balsamic vinegar. 

CRUSHED RED PESTO CHICKEN SALAD

Every Friday-night-trip to Freddy’s is ruined by guilt when I catch a glance at Crushed Red, the healthier place next door. Assorted with build-your-own salads and flatbreads, their items are double the price of a Freddy’s burger and fries. The pesto shrimp salad is one of the more popular bowls, but honestly it’s too big for me finish and the bloating that comes after doesn’t exactly make me feel healthy. I made the same thing with the same ingredients — pesto shrimp, avocado, pepper and peanut-cashew dressing — in a smaller bowl, cutting the price in half.