Poor and Hungry.

This probably describes the majority of my friends at this stage in our lives. We want to eat healthy, we're broke, and we're always starving. Us in a nutshell when it comes to nourishment.

Earlier in the year, when it came to the days when I could barely afford to feed my dog, I'd stick to the basics. (I tend to be a little bourgeois when it comes to Coop -- Iam's organic is the way to go, even though my dad insists the Sam's Club (Costco, same thing) "Old Yeller" food is just fine. This coming from the man who used to buy his jeans at Sam's Club.. err.)

PB&J. Chef Boyardee. Cereal. Those were staples of breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The meals of a 10-year-old. Since the habits I get now are the majority of the ones I will keep for the rest of my life, I need to start eating like a grown-up. Even though I'm living off a research tech's paycheck (poor, thanks Duke).

Here's something even the hippies like S$ can try (no microwaving!):

Experiment: Turkey Tacos

These are a snap, and the majority of it you can buy in larger quantities and keep in the fridge. On my way home from work, I swung by Whole Foods and picked up some ground turkey (cheap!). Dark meat is more flavorful, but the white meat is a little leaner. It's all pretty lean to begin with, so I splurged on calories. If you're making a lot to eat as leftovers, try half dark and half white.

Then pick up the avocados and use them the SAME day. Here's my mistake below. I was so stoked for fresh guacamole, and then saw this: Gross. They rot so fast.

And onto the good stuff:
About 10 minutes before you begin, set the oven to warm and put some tortillas between 2 oven safe plates. This way, they'll warm without drying out. If they're stiff (as sometimes the whole foods ones are), add a sprinkle of water.

Brown the turkey, add some taco seasoning from the packet (99 cents -- and you don't have to use it all), and remove any of the grease from it once you're done.

Then, since I found out I love corn (I wasn't much of a veggie eater as a kid), I added a few handfuls of the frozen Trader Joe's roasted corn to the mix. Let that warm up, and then we're all done!

Assemble as you wish -- cheese, salsa, beans? Delicious. Easy. Cheap. Check to all.


And a good wine pairing:


What's the difference between a pink wine and a rose? Pink is a combo of red and white wines. Rose is a result of the process -- they keep the skins on the grapes (done in red wines) for only part of the wine making process, then they remove them in later steps (done in the beginning for white wines typically) producing the pink color. Who knew? (via the lesson I learned at whole foods.)