This lunch is simplicity itself. At a little over $1 per serving, it can shave over a hundred dollars from the monthly office lunch budget for those who are often stuck buying restaurant meals, and it's a refreshing change of flavor from the standard peanut butter sandwich. Those on a vegetarian diet can use this recipe to increase their protein intake; it's also a great nutrition add-on to more omnivorous diets.
Money Saving Tips
A little extra time translates to even better savings: someone with a pressure cooker or the planning sense to soak dried beans can drop the price to pennies per meal. Additionally, for information on how to find the best bargains on ingredients, read Budget Eating: Food Shopping for the Recession.
Classic Vegetarian Three-Bean Salad
Cooking Implements: Very little is required for this recipe - not even a stove.
- Can opener
- Fork or spoon
- Medium-large mixing bowl
- One or more plastic containers
- Measuring cups
Ingredients, Five Portions: Unlike Cheap Eats: Mushroom Cheese Pasta, this recipe is easier to make in multiple portions rather than one at a time. This is why it makes such a good office lunch or school lunch. Mix a batch and pack it away in several containers.
- 1 can (12-16 oz. or 375-500 g) kidney beans.
- 1 can (12-16 oz. or 375-500 g) garbanzo beans, also known as chickpeas.
- 1 can (12-16 oz. or 375-500 g) green beans or wax beans.
- 1/2 sweet onion.
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar.
- 1/4 cup olive oil.
- 2 tbsp. sugar.
- Pinch of salt.
Directions:
- Mix the apple cider vinegar, the sugar, the olive oil and the salt in the mixing bowl.
- Chop the onion finely and add to the mixing bowl. Allow to sit for five minutes while the onion does some advance marinating in the vinegar.
- Open your cans; rinse and drain the contents. Add all the beans to the mixing bowl.
- Mix together; allow the dressing to cover all the beans evenly.
- Scoop into plastic containers, making sure each container receives the right amount of dressing.
- Store for up to 1 week in the refrigerator. This time is an estimate; the dish could probably keep longer.
- Serve cold.
Price breakdown for five portions:
Each type of beans used in the recipe usually costs between $.75 and $1.75 per can. The onion should run about $1; the dressing ingredients total around $1 as well.
Ultimately, the recipe costs less than $1.50 per serving. It's quick to make, and easy to store, for a cheap lunch that doesn't sacrifice protein content or nutrition value.
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