Text Box: Text Box: Text Box: Ask TaMara Text Box: Check out more columns: Previous Columns Text Box: What’s 4 Dinner Solutions’ Blog is live! Check it out! I’ll be answering most questions there now. Dear TaMara, It seems so expensive to cook healthy meals and so easy to get fast food. – Patti Dear Patti, It’s the myth of the $1 menu. But let’s look at what the true costs are. Feeding a family of 4 ranges from $12 to $18 at a local fast food chain (with meals costing $3 to $5 each). That’s a sandwich, fries and a soda. Setting aside the nutritional difference, let’s look at cost alone. I’ll breakdown the cost of two menus from What’s 4 Dinner Solutions. Prices are taken from a recent field trip to my local grocery store, I chose quality items, using lowest price if ingredients were identical. I didn’t factor in any sale prices. Meal #1: Marinated Chicken Breasts, Corn, Grilled Potatoes and Ambrosia 1.5lb Boneless Chicken Breast ($4.50) - if you use thighs, it lowers it to $2.98 ½ cup cranberry or grape juice ($0.24) ½ cup soy sauce ($0.54) 4 potatoes ($1.00) 1 onion ($0.30) 16 oz of corn ($1.00) 8 oz pineapple ($0.50) 2 bananas ($0.20) 1 orange ($0.45) ¼ lb grapes ($0.65) coconut ($0.10) 4 oz ginger ale ($0.20) Meal Total: $9.68 Meal #2: Pasta Rustica, green beans, Garlic Bread and Sherbet 9 oz fresh linguine ($2.99) if you use dry, it’s only $1.08 4 Roma tomatoes ($0.75) 1 green pepper ($1.50) 4 green onions ($0.40) Optional: ¼ lb cubed turkey breast ($1.00) ¼ lb cubed pepperoni ($1.50) 16 oz green beans ($1.00) ½ loaf French or Italian bread ($0.85) 2 tbs. Butter ($0.20) 1 oz parmesan ($0.37) 1 pint sherbet ($0.56) Meal Total: $11.12 with optional ingredients, $8.62 without The verdict? For under $12 you get a balanced meal that includes vegetables, fruit, along with a hearty main course. Even if you add a can of soda or even better milk, it’s still less than a fast food meal. Prep time for both meals is about 15 minutes. Patti, I hope that answers your question. - TaMara Text Box: Why wait? Order now! It’s easy to serve your family healthy, quick, fresh dinners tonight and every night. As little as $6 a month. Text Box: The solution is as close as your INBOX

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All content copyrighted 2008 What’s 4 Dinner Solutions  T. Rullo   email: whats4dinnersolutions@live.com  P.O. Box 620 Eastlake, CO 80614

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FAQs

 

1.  How many servings does each recipe make? 

Each recipe makes four servings. We’ve made it easy for the recipes to be doubled or halved without too much effort...or using calculus.

 

2.  Do you include nutritional information?

Not at this time.  But recipes are simple, flexible and use fresh ingredients. It’s easy to substitute or reduce in the areas of fat or sugar. Then, of course, if you won the metabolic lottery, add more!

 

3.  Are they really 30-mintue recipes?

Yes and no.  We’ve worked very hard to make the recipes simple and quick.  Many take less than   30-minutes to prepare.  Prep time is the time it takes to put the recipe together, cooking time is often additional.  And if the kids help, well…

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