Eating healthy on a budget can seem difficult; but it can be done! Being creative can help you stick to your budget and incorporate nutritious foods into your diet. Try to incorporate some of these healthy foods under $1 into your weekly menu planning.

1. Apples
Great for: Snacks, green salads, main dish salads, and fruit salads.
What’s a serving? 1 large apple.
Price per serving: About $1. Apples sell for about $1.99 per pound, and an extra large crisp apple weighs about 1/2 pound.
Nutrition Info per serving: About 118 calories, 5.5 grams fiber, 18% Daily Value for vitamin C, and 7% Daily Value for potassium.

2. Bananas
Great for: Snacks and fruit salads, yogurt parfaits, and smoothies.   
What’s a serving? 1 banana.
Price per serving: About 45 cents. Bananas sell for about $0.89 per pound, and a large banana weighs about 1/2 pound
Nutrition Info per serving: About 121 calories, 3.5 grams fiber, 14% Daily Value for potassium (487 mg), 20% Daily Value for vitamin C.

3. Baby Carrots (in bags)
Great for: Snacks, casseroles, stews, veggie platters, and side dishes.
What’s a serving? About 1/2 cup or 2 ounces raw.
Price per serving: 19 cents. A 16-ounce bag costs about $1 on sale and contains about 8 servings (2 ounces each).
Nutrition Info per serving: About 21 calories, 2 grams of fiber, and 166% Daily Value for vitamin A.

4. Canned Beans
Great for: Green salads, casseroles, stews, and chili. Types of beans range from 50% less sodium kidney beans and black beans to white beans and garbanzo beans.
What’s a serving? Each can contains about 3.5 (1/2-cup) servings.
Price per serving: About 28 cents. You can buy a 15-ounce can for about $1 on sale.
Nutrition Info per serving: About 108   calories (for kidney beans), 7 grams protein, 7 grams fiber, 12% Daily Value for folate, 8% Daily Value for iron and 9% Daily Value for potassium

5. Canned Tomatoes
Great for: Italian and Mexican recipes, chili, stew, and casseroles. Flavor options range from no-salt-added sliced stewed tomatoes to diced tomatoes with garlic and olive oil.
What’s a serving? One can contains about 3.5 (1/2-cup) servings.
Price per serving: About 28 cents. You can buy a 14.5-ounce can for about $1 on sale (often less for store brands).
Nutrition Info per serving: About 20 calories, 1 gram fiber, 7% Daily Value of potassium, and 19% Daily Value of vitamin C.

6. Oranges (extra large navel oranges)
Great for: Snacks, green salads, and fruit salads.
What’s a serving? 1 large or extra large orange.
Price per serving: 40 cents for a large orange and 79 cents for an extra large orange. Oranges sell for around $0.79 per pound, and a large orange is about 1/2 pound, whereas an extra large orange is about 1 pound.
Nutrition Info per serving: (for an 8 ounce orange): About 86   calories, 4.5   grams fiber, 5 % Daily Value for vitamin A, 163 % Daily Value vitamin C, 14 % Daily Value for folate, 7 % Daily Value for calcium, and 10% Daily Value %for potassium.

7. Pears
Great for: Snacks, as an appetizer with cheese, green salads, and fruit salads.
What’s a serving? 1 large pear
Price per serving: about 45 cents for a large pear. Pears sell for about $0.90 per pound, and a large pear weighs about 1/2 pound.
Nutrition Info per serving: About 133 calories, 7 grams of fiber, 16% Daily Value for vitamin C, and 8% for potassium.

8. Lentils (dry)
Great for: Soups and stews, cold bean salads, and casseroles.
What’s a serving? 2 ounces (dry)
Price per serving: 14 cents. A 16 ounce bag sells for $1.12 (on sale) and contains eight servings.
Nutrition Info per serving: 200   calories, 15   grams protein, 17   grams fiber, 24% Daily Value for Iron, 17 % Daily Value for magnesium, 16% Daily Value for   potassium, and 68% Daily Value for folate.

9. Pearl Barley (dry)
Great for: Soups and stews, cold salads, and casseroles.
What’s a serving? 2 ounces (dry)
Price per serving: About 12 cents. A 16 ounce bag of dry pearl barley sells for about $0.94 and contains about 8 servings.
Nutrition Info per serving: 200   calories, 9 grams fiber, , 6 grams protein, 8% Daily Value for iron, and 11% Daily Value for magnesium.

10. Yogurt (plain, lowfat, or fat-free)
Great for: Smoothies, yogurt parfait, dips, and dressings.
What’s a serving? An 8-ounce or 6-ounce container is usually a serving.
Price per serving: 60 cents. This is usually the price for an 8-ounce container of plain fat-free yogurt.
Nutrition Info per serving: (for 8 ounces of fat-free plain yogurt): 127   calories, 13 grams of protein, 45% Daily Value for calcium, 11% Daily Value for magnesium, 17% Daily Value for potassium, and 7% Daily Value for folate. 

11. Eggs
Great for: omelets, hardboiled, salads
What’s a serving? 1 medium egg (Limit egg yolks to more than four yolks per week)
Price per serving: about 13 cents per egg
Nutrition Info per serving: 63 calories, 4g fat, 186mg cholesterol, 62mg sodium, 0g carbohydrates, 6g protein

Feeding your children nutritious meals between all your daily activities can be a challenge. While you zoom back and forth between soccer practice, the dance recital, the PTA meeting and picking up the dry cleaning, you’re lucky to find time to grab a meal at the drive-thru. If you must eat on the go, here are some tips to make fast food healthier for you and your family members:

• Pass on the “value-size.” When you supersize, the size of your fries isn’t the only thing that gets bigger.
   
• Skip the sides. Eating a burger or sandwich by itself is often filling enough. If you do want a side, consider ordering a fruit cup or side salad. Most fast food restaurants now offer them.
   
• Avoid double meat and bacon. A serving size of meat is 2-3 ounces — about the size of a deck of cards. You’re probably getting well over that with a single meat patty. Bacon is high in calories and fat with little nutrient content.
   
• Try the grilled chicken sandwich. Poultry without skin is significantly leaner than the meats most fast-food companies use in their burgers.
   
• Eat your sandwich open-faced. By eating only half the bun, you can eliminate unnecessary calories.
   
• Ask for a wheat bun. Some places offer a wheat alternative, some don’t. It never hurts to ask.
   
• Skip the mayo and other sauses. These dressings and sauces add unncessary calories.
   
• Drink water, diet soda or low-fat milk. Sodas are loaded with sugars, which have calories you don’t need

All information provided by the American Heart Association at http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/HealthierKids/HowtoMakeaHealthyHome/Make-Fast-Food-Friendlier_UCM_303806_Article.jsp

Pint-Size Banana Raisin Pancakes

Ingredients

• 2 very ripe, medium bananas, peeled
  1 egg
  3/4 cup lowfat milk
  1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  1 cup pancake and waffle mix
  1/2 cup raisins
  1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  1 recipe Warm Tropical Fruit Topping
  

Directions

1. 1. Break up bananas into a mixing bowl.
   2. With back of fork, mash until smooth, about 1 cup.
   3. Add egg, milk, and oil; combine.
   4. In another mixing bowl, combine pancake mix, raisins, and cinnamon.
   5. Add pancake mix to banana mixture and stir until moistened.
   6. Heat skillet over a medium high heat.
   7. Measure 1/4 cup batter and pour into skillet.
   8. Cook as many pancakes at one time as you can.
   9. Brown the underside of the pancake and when bubbles appear on the surface, carefully flip pancakes over and continue cooking for another minute.
   10. Slide pancakes onto a platter while you continue cooking the remaining batter.
   11. Spoon Warm Tropical Fruit Topping over hot pancakes.

Nutritional InformationPer Serving:

• 221 calories	6g protein	5g fat (1g sat.)
  36g carbohydrate	312mg sodium	35mg cholesterol

Recipe and nutritional content provided by Dole at http://www.dole.com/SuperKids/Recipe/BreakfastRecipes/BreakfastRecipesDetails/tabid/722/Default.aspx?contentid=2458

Putting out veggie appetizers. I learned this one from my friend Kate who just mentioned it in passing one day and it’s brilliant. Kids are always hungry while you’re preparing dinner and start asking for snacks. Meanwhile when faced with a plateful of food, the vegetables often get left on the side of the plate. I’ll steam some broccoli or cut up carrots and put them out while I’m making dinner. The kids will almost always polish off all the vegetables before I’m done cooking. Result: A pleasant meal with absolutely no nagging.

Smiley face salad. I remember the first time I saw my daughter eating a salad at a friend’s house. She was a toddler and I had never even tried to give her salad yet and there she was happily munching away on raw spinach no less. The trick – take a small plate and make a face on it using salad items. I like baby spinach hair, a baby carrot nose, grape tomato eyes, red pepper lips, and cucumber ears. Set out a little cup of salad dressing for dipping and sit back and watch some magic.

Basil-Spinach Pesto. I often read about people who hide veggies in sauces. It sounds like a great idea, but every time I try to do it, I end up watching my children pick their food apart when they discover the “hidden” intruders – or just refuse to eat any more. One recipe that has been successful in our house has been this basil spinach pesto recipe that I found in Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food years ago. I don’t follow the recipe exactly (I skip the sauteeing shallots), but it still comes out great. I’ve also just made my traditional pesto recipe and added spinach which is equally good.

Yuck-Away. Yuck-away began as a story we made up to encourage my daughter to eat things that didn’t look cute when she was a toddler. It was something about a mad scientist who invented this stuff that made all things yucky taste good. While I told the story, I would pour a teaspoon of maple syrup on her vegetables. I figured that a little unrefined sugar was better for her than not eating vegetables at all. Once she got used to eating veggies, the yuck-away was no longer needed.

Soup. I said above that I could never hide vegetables in sauces, but for some reason my kids will eat things otherwise unimaginable if it is in a soup. I have no explanation and I don’t care to discover one. I’m happy enough to let well enough alone.

All information provided by Mommy Poppins at http://mommypoppins.com/ny-kids/five-food-hacks-getting-kids-to-eat-vegetables-and-love-it

1. Start by introducing healthier elements into foods that your child already likes. .
2. Include your kids in the prep work.
3. Don’t buy unhealthy foods.
4. Schedule snack time and stick to it. 
5. Have healthy finger foods available.
6. Repeal the “clean your plate” rule.
7. Encourage kids to “eat their colors.”
8. Don’t cut out treats altogether.
9. Veg out at the dinner table, not the TV.
10. Be a good role model.

All information provided by the American Heart Association at http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/HealthierKids/HowtoMakeaHealthyHome/Tips-for-Dealing-With-a-Picky-Eater_UCM_303811_Article.jsp 

Illness caused by contaminated or improperly prepared foods cause up to 81 million people to get sick each year, with almost 9000 of these illnesses leading to death. Children are among the people most at risk for serious illness from food poisoning.

To protect your child from germs that cause food poisoning, it is important to practice the following food safety techniques, which include not giving your child undercooked or poorly refrigerated poultry, meat, fish or eggs; washing your hands, utensils and kitchen surfaces after handling uncooked poultry and meat; thoroughly washing fruits and vegetables; not giving your child unpasteurized dairy products or fruit juices; avoiding fish and shellfish from noncommercial sources; not serving hamburgers rare; promptly refrigerating leftovers and not leaving foods at room temperature for more than a few hours; defrosting foods in the refrigerator; and keeping your refrigerator set to at least 40 degrees Fahrenheit and your freezer to 0 degrees.

About food poisoning…

Foods most likely to cause illness include raw or undercooked ground beef (E. coli), pork (bacteria and trichinella worms), chicken (Salmonella), seafood (especially shell fish which can be contaminated with hepatitis A and other viruses and bacteria) , and eggs (Salmonella). Fruits and vegetables can also be contaminated with viruses such as hepatitis A and parasites. Unpasteurized milk and fruit juices (especially apple cider) can also be contaminated with bacteria and should be avoided.

Preventing food poisoning…

• Keep your refrigerator at or below 41 degrees F and your freezer at 0 degrees.
• When shopping for foods, quickly return home and refrigerate perishable foods and place bags that contain meats, poultry, fish and eggs separately from other foods to avoid contamination.
• Do not buy or use foods without intact packaging.
• Do not buy or use cans that have been dented or that are bulging.
• Consider using a plastic cutting board to prepare foods, since bacteria can become trapped in the grooves of wooden cutting boards.
• Wash your hands for twenty seconds with soap and warm water before preparing foods, before you begin to prepare a new food and again before you serve the food.
• Avoid cross-contamination of foods by washing utensils, cutting boards, and all kitchen surfaces that come in contact with raw meats and poultry before preparing a new food with them. Also be careful to use a separate plate for cooked foods then the one you used when the food was still raw.
• Rinse fruits and vegetables before serving or eating.
• Thaw and marinate foods in the refrigerator, instead of leaving them out at room temperature.
• Wash dishcloths in hot water after using them to clean up after raw meats and poultry.
• Keep pets away from all areas where you prepare foods.
• Thoroughly cook foods to kill germs and consider using a meat thermometer to ensure proper cooking temperatures. Red meats should be cooked to an interior temperature of 160 degrees F and make sure the inside is brown or gray to make sure it is fully cooked. Hamburgers especially should not be served rare. Poultry should be cooked to an interior temperature of 180 degrees F and until the juices run clear.
• Refrigerate leftovers and do not leave foods out at room temperature for more than two hours.
• Throw away partially eaten foods and beverages.
• Thoroughly reheat leftovers before eating.
• Do not eat raw eggs.
• Do not drink unpasteurized milk or fruit juices (especially apple cider that is not pasteurized or heat treated).
• Do not use foods or beverages that taste, look or smell unusual.
• If you are unsure if a food is still good, be safe and throw it out.

Information from keepkidshealthy.com

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Instructions: Lay tortilla on a plate. Spread peanut butter evenly on the tortilla. Sprinkle cereal over peanut butter.

Peel and place banana on the tortilla and roll the tortilla. Drizzle maple syrup or honey on top.

Optional: garnish with more cereal on top.

Nutrition Information per serving: calories: 303, total fat: 6.4g, saturated fat: 1.2g, % calories from fat: 17%, % calories from saturated fat: 3%, protein: 9g, carbohydrates: 63g, cholesterol: 0mg, dietary fiber: 7g, sodium: 306mg

Each serving provides: An excellent source of fiber, and a good source of vitamin C, folate, magnesium and potassium.

Recipe was developed for Produce for Better Health Foundation by Chef Mark Goodwin, CEC, CNC. This recipe meets PBH and Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) nutrition standards that maintain fruits and vegetables as healthy foods.

FOOD SAFETY PROGRAM

Effective Food Safety is based on Hand Awareness and Temperature Awareness. We have the basis for the multi-sensoy visual driven food safety program that is a simple solution to a complex problem. Your kitchen and service staff are visual learners who respond to edu-tainment as the prefered metod for learning. Henry the Hand Champion Handwasher and Tommy Temperature(coming soon) are “Teaming up” to Spread the Word not the Germs!

There are many Posters that can be used in your kitchen and restaurant that are available

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention MMWR, 2001;50:241-246, “Each year in the United States, an estimated 76 million persons contract foodborne illnesses.”  More than 300,000 are hospitalized and 5000 Americans die each year from foodborne illness.  The cumulative costs are estimated to be as much as 17 billion dollars.  In spite of the tremendous advances in food technology over the past century, we still face many threats from the way in which we handle food.  Nearly 80% of the illness is due to food prepared in commercial or institutional environments versus 20% illness that occurs due to food preparation in the home. 

Some symptoms of food poisoning may be:

Information provided by: http://www.henrythehand.com/pages/content/food_safety.html, June 30, 2010

Year after year, we hear and read the same advice: Handle food carefully in the summer because foodborne illness — also known as “food poisoning” — is more prevalent in warmer weather. Do foodborne illnesses increase during the summer months? If so, why?

Yes, foodborne illnesses do increase during the summer, and the answer appears to be twofold. First, there are the natural causes. Bacteria are present throughout the environment in soil, air, water, and in the bodies of people and animals. These microorganisms grow faster in the warm summer months. Most foodborne bacteria grow fastest at temperatures from 90 to 110 °F. Bacteria also need moisture to flourish, and summer weather is often hot and humid.

Given the right circumstances, harmful bacteria can quickly multiply on food to large numbers. When this happens, someone eating the food can get sick.

Second, there are the “people” causes for the upswing in summertime foodborne illnesses. Outside activities increase. More people are cooking outside at picnics, barbecues, and on camping trips. The safety controls that a kitchen provides — thermostat-controlled cooking, refrigeration, and washing facilities — are usually not available.

Fortunately, people seldom get sick from contaminated food because most people have a healthy immune system that protects them not only from harmful bacteria on food, but from other harmful organisms in the environment. At the same time, FSIS, other government agencies, and food producers go to great lengths to keep food safe. And, of course, consumers can protect themselves at home with proper refrigeration and thorough cooking of perishable food.

We know foodborne illness increases in warm weather. We also know that consumers can Fight BAC!™ by following these four simple steps to safer food in the summertime.

Clean: Wash Hands and Surfaces Often.

Unwashed hands are a prime cause of foodborne illness.

• Whenever possible, wash your hands with hot, soapy water before handling food and after using the bathroom, changing diapers, and handling pets.
• When eating away from home, find out if there’s a source of clean water. If not, bring water for preparation and cleaning. Or pack clean, wet, disposable washcloths or moist towelettes and paper towels for cleaning hands and surfaces.

Separate: Don’t Cross-Contaminate.

Cross-contamination during preparation, grilling, and serving food 
is a prime cause of foodborne illness.

• When packing the cooler chest for an outing, wrap raw meats securely; avoid raw meat juices from coming in contact with ready-to-eat food.
• Wash plates, utensils, and cutting boards that held the raw meat or poultry before using again for cooked food.

Cook: Cook to Proper Temperatures.

Food safety experts agree that food is properly cooked when it is heated for a long enough time and at a high enough temperature to kill harmful bacteria that cause foodborne illness.

• Take your thermometer along. Meat and poultry cooked on a grill often browns very fast on the outside, so be sure that meats are cooked thoroughly. Check them with a food thermometer.
• Cook hamburger and other ground meats (veal, lamb, and pork) to an internal temperature of 160 °F, and ground poultry to 165 °F.
• Cook steaks and roasts that have been tenderized, boned, rolled, etc., to an internal temperature of 160 °F for medium and 170 °F for well-done. Whole steaks and roasts may be cooked to 145 °F for medium rare.
• Whole poultry should be cooked to 180 °F in the thigh; breast meat to 170 °F.
• Cook meat and poultry completely at the picnic site. Partial cooking of food ahead of time allows bacteria to survive and multiply to the point that subsequent cooking cannot destroy them.

Chill: Refrigerate Promptly.

Holding food at an unsafe temperature is a prime cause of foodborne illness.
Keep cold food cold!

• Cold refrigerated perishable food like luncheon meats, cooked meats, chicken, and potato or pasta salads should be kept in an insulated cooler packed with several inches of ice, ice packs, or containers of frozen water.
• Consider packing canned beverages in one cooler and perishable food in another cooler because the beverage cooler will probably be opened frequently.
• Keep the cooler in the coolest part of the car, and place in the shade or shelter, out of the sun, whenever possible.
• Preserve the cold temperature of the cooler by replenishing the ice as soon as it starts melting.
• If a cooler chest is not an option, consider taking fruits, vegetables, hard cheeses, canned or dried meats, dried cereal, bread, peanut butter, crackers, and a bottle of refreshing beverage.
• Take-out food: If you don’t plan to eat take-out food within 2 hours of purchase, plan ahead and chill the food in your refrigerator before packing for your outing.

Leftovers?

Food left out of refrigeration for more than 2 hours may not be safe to eat. At 90 °F or above, food should not be left out over 1 hour. Play it safe; put leftover perishables back on ice once you finish eating so they do not spoil or become unsafe to eat.

If you have any doubts, throw it out.