About five years ago, Linda Watson hit the aisles at Harris Teeter with $42 in her pocket for the week to feed herself and her husband, Bruce. She wasn’t cash strapped, but rather trying to prove it’s possible to eat fruit, vegetables and otherwise healthy foods on a shoestring budget.
“I experienced a bit of cart rage,” she said, grappling with prices for two hours, realizing that the quest wasn’t going to be easy.
“That first day was just miserable,” she said, recounting memories of flat bread and too-thick soup. But she stuck with her plan, and within a week proved she was right. Soon, she and her husband found they’d lost weight, reduced their garbage, lowered their food bills, and most of all, they felt good.
Noticing a conspicuous lack of resources for aligning healthy eating with cheap shopping, Watson decided to take on another challenge — writing a book.
More than a cookbook, Wildly Affordable Organic, released in the summer of 2011, discusses how to shop, organize and waste nothing. It includes monthly menus to take the headache out of planning, and even a recipe guide by oven temperature.
Watson now teaches classes on how to select and cook produce, travels around the country for events, and fosters a Cook for Good Fresh Start Challenge twice a year, supporting others on their quest to eat well, eat affordable and help the planet.
At the onset of spring, she shared some of her favorite healthy recipes to make the most of seasonal fruit and vegetables.
Visit cookforgood.com to learn more about Linda Watson, Wildly Affordable Organic and Cook for Good.
