Many people believe that eating healthy equates to an added expense they won't be able to afford. On tight budgets, it's hard not to put our money toward the things we need in the moment (i.e. new tire), often sacrificing food choices to save cash -- and by proxy, sacrificing our health and physique (i.e. spare tire).
With my "Health Hacks" series I will show you how you can create inexpensive, satisfying, and nutritious meals at a low cost.
Today's Hack: How to Make a One-Dollar $1 Smoothie
There are many combinations you can make of a one dollar smoothie, but for this example I'm going to illustrate one of my favorites: peach/banana/apple. Here is the basic recipe:
- 6 oz Frozen Peach Slices (.50 cents)
- 2 Medium Bananas (.25 cents)
- 2 fluid oz (1/4 can) Apple Juice Concentrate (.25 cents)
- Water
This will make one 20 oz smoothie (get out your BIG cup)
According to the nutrition tracking site Cronometer.com, this smoothie breaks down to provide you with:
350 calories
250% Vitamin C
70% Vitamin B6
50% Vitamin A
20% Potassium
As well as other B vitamins and minerals.
Okay, now that we have the numbers, how do we do it for a dollar???
Hack #1 -- Buy Frozen Fruit from Your Local Dollar Store
The challenge of a one dollar smoothie is finding inexpensive fruit. Forget the freezer section of your local supermarket; that's not going to work here. We need to find CHEAP fruit to maximize this smoothie.
What you might not know is that dollar stores have begun to branch out into selling frozen fruits and vegetables to appeal to more health conscious consumers. For example, there are currently five frozen fruit choices at my local DOLLAR TREE locations:
- Sliced Peaches (12 oz bag)
- Mango (10 oz)
- Strawberries (12 oz)
- Mixed Berries (10 oz)
- Mixed Fruit (10 oz)
For today's smoothie, I purchased a 12 oz bag of peaches for a buck. I'm going to use 1/2 of that bag (.50 cents worth).
Hack #2 -- Go Banana's
Our smoothie isn't just going to contain peaches (we're making a real smoothie here!). Banana's are one of our most abundant fruit choices at the supermarket, and, therefore, one of the most economical. You can find them almost anywhere for extremely cheap.
As an added bonus, bananas are a great sweetener.
I'm adding two medium bananas to my smoothie. I bought these at just under .50 cents per pound. This makes it roughly .25 cents in total for my two bananas which weigh around 1/2 pound in total.
Hack #3 -- Fruit Concentrate
Maybe I just have a sweet tooth, but I've noticed that unless I'm using an abundance of really sweet fruit, smoothies can taste a bit bland. The banana's are a good start, but I need a bit more. I like to use fruit juice concentrate to kick things up a notch.
Generally, you can find fruit juice concentrates in your local supermarket freezer section for around a dollar per can.
I bought Apple Juice concentrate and am using 1/4 of the can for my smoothie (25 cents)
Put it Together
Add your peaches, bananas, and Apple concentrate into your blender. Add water until your about halfway up to the total sum of your fruit. Blend and enjoy!