What, no recipe for chick’n nuggets and Whoppers?  Sorry to disappoint.  But I wanted to point out that cooking for yourself out of fresh, seasonal ingredients doesn’t have to be time-consuming or expensive, and to share some ideas (below). 

Tonight’s dinner took less than ten minutes to prepare, and the ingredients cost only a few dollars.  I had:

1. -An egg scramble with red chard, spring onion, and goat cheese
   

2. -A salad of arugula and butter lettuce with hazelnuts and goat cheese
   

3. -A glass of raw milk
   

If I’d had any fruit on hand, I probably would have finished the meal off with it.  But as is, this was a remarkably simple and satisfying meal to prepare quickly and cheaply.  I used less than a dollar’s worth of greens, less than a dollar’s worth of goat cheese, a dollar of eggs, fifty cents of chard, fifty cents of onion, and a dollar’s worth of milk.  Grass-fed milk is getting so expensive, I’ll probably start cutting back on it, but still, that’s less than five dollars for a meal of local ingredients.  If you live in a part of the country where ingredients cost less, you could probably make the same meal for two or three dollars.

Incidentally, eggs aren’t just for breakfast, or for “breakfast for dinner.”  Eaten on their own, or paired with a salad or sautéed greens or some other savory side dish, eggs are the quickest basic protein for dinner I can think of.  With different vegetables, dairy, or smoked fish added, their versatility makes for a variety of interesting and delicious meals.  And even at the priciest I’ve seen for local chicken eggs ($6/dozen), that’s still only a dollar for two eggs, which is a base for a meal in and of itself.

I understand the necessity for many people of eating as inexpensively as possible (and will even more when I start grad school).  Low incomes, feeding a family, unemployment, going to school, or being on food stamps are all major stressors for a lot of people when it comes to figuring out what’s for dinner. 

I also advocate for spending more of our incomes on food when it is feasible.  I save food money in other areas, by avoiding buying my workday lunch whenever possible, rarely buying alcohol, and almost never buying prepared or packaged foods.  I buy some non-local food as well as local, and occasionally stock up on something like shallots from an Asian market with low prices, especially when the same thing isn’t available locally.  I’m also a pretty frugal spender in general; I don’t need or want a lot of stuff, and I’m trying to get rid of some of what I already have.

But I also recognize that much of the world spends a higher percentage of income on food than the average American does, and I try to prioritize food in my budget.   It’s an investment in my community, an investment in my health, and an investment in what tastes the best.  And with meals that take only a few minutes to prepare, I’m not giving up much in the way of convenience either.

Here’s a look at some inexpensive and/or fast-to-prepare local foods.

Other ideas for less expensive and/or fast locavore foods:

(and please share your own too!)

Note: What is inexpensive or even local obviously varies by region.  Some greens are probably fairly inexpensive everywhere, but something else like, say, fish or dairy will not necessarily be

Less expensive

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   Mid-season produce.  When something is at the height of its season, you’re likely to find much better prices than when the season is just starting or coming to a close.  Ask the farmers about what will be abundant when.
   

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9. #2 produce.  Tomatoes at my market are really expensive, but there are always

   

   slightly-imperfect #2s available at the height and end of the season.  Sometimes I can’t even find what’s wrong with some of the tomatoes in the #2 bin.  Ones with bruises or bad areas can be cut to salvage the good parts, and eaten as is, canned, or made into sauce.
   

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    Whole fish.  Lots of fish sellers have lower prices if you buy the whole thing.  Save the head for making fish stock, and hum that song about fish heads while you do.
    

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22. #2 smoked fish deals.  Do you live in the Seattle area? 

    

    Check out the farmers’ market stands for Loki Fish.  They have deals on pieces of smoked salmon they consider imperfect, usually visually rather than in taste.  I got a piece of smoked salmon over a foot long for $4 recently.
    

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    Less popular cuts of meat.  Thanks to Anna from Going Against the Grain for this tip.  A lot of the less popular cuts of meat, especially the ones that need to be slow-cooked for a long time, are almost ridiculously delicious.  While they may not exactly be fast food, you can prepare a stew for a crock pot in just a few minutes, and then pretty much ignore it, other than the occasional check, until it’s done.  Also, ground meat is often much less expensive, and cooks very quickly.
    

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32. Organ meats.  Get your vitamins and

    

    nutrients that made our hunter-gatherer ancestors prize organ meats.  Don’t like liver?  Add enough sautéed onions and butter to your paté, maybe with some fresh herbs, until you change your mind.  In terms of eating healthy, this is one food you want to learn to love.  And organ meats are generally cheaper than popular cuts of meat, too.
    

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    Squash.  I’m talking summer squash, winter squash, and squash all year long.  I’m sure you’ve heard tales, if not experienced them from your own garden, of zucchinis that just won’t stop giving.  (If you haven’t read Marge Piercy’s poem Attack of the Squash People, you must read it immediately!).  The stereotype is there for a reason; these plants are prolific.  Hunt around until you find the squashes you like best.  Last summer, we discovered tromboncino squash, an Italian variety that doesn’t get mushy when sautéed, and sold for $1/pound.  When winter squash comes in, a single squash can yield soup, a side dish, or a main dish for multiple meals and very little money.
    

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43. Use your freezer!  Okay, this isn’t a food item, but your freezer -- especially if it’s bigger than my freezer -- is your friend when it comes to saving money.  I often

    

    make a large pot of something and get sick of it if I eat it for more than two meals (three tops).  No problem, freeze a few portions of it, and you’ll be glad to have it later.  Freeze some of those strawberries currently in season (on a flat sheet, then into a bag when they’re frozen; they won’t stick this way), and use them all winter in strawberry milk or with yogurt.  Taking something out of the freezer is super fast, which brings us to...
    

Fast Food Ideas

Broiled (thin pieces of) meat or fish.  The broiler setting in your oven is your friend.  Stick a piece of fish or some lamb chops under that flame for just a few minutes and you have a perfect meal.  The meal in the picture features broiled fish, sautéed vegetables and salad, which are all on this list.

Green salad.  A no-brainer.  A green salad takes only a few minutes to assemble, including the time it takes to mix your dressing.  Keep it ultra simple (lettuce and greens) or experiment with additions: nuts, cheese, fruit, meat, fresh herbs, or vegetables.  A tip: cut extras like tomatoes, herbs, shallots, or onions small, and let them marinate in the dressing for a little while before you mix the salad.

Puréed soups.  My favorite springtime and summertime less-than-fifteen-minutes meal.  These puréed soups can be made out of asparagus, peas, nettles, or anything delicious and delicate. 

Eggs.  In case you didn’t read the above part and skipped down to this section, eggs are the ultimate fast food.  Boil them, fry them, poach them, scramble them, make them into quiche, bake them in ramekins with sautéed onions, cheese and cream.