If you look over most of my recipes and food posts you might think that there aren’t many bargain foods in there. One of our national tragedies is that junk food is cheaper to buy than healthier foods. It can be daunting to live up to a pesticide-free natural diet when organic fruits and veggies and hormone-free, humanely treated dairy and meats are so expensive. I probably spend a larger ratio of our income on food than many others because I feel the cost in my children’s health is greater if I try to always buy the cheapest foods. 

I save by making my own foods, bagging my own snacks, making cookies and breads, shopping at Target, Costco and Trader Joe’s for processed foods and some whole food ingredients (and buying them on sale) and belonging to a Community Supported Agriculture shared harvest. It’s amazing how much you can save if you don’t buy the convenient snack or single serving sizes. Since I try to be environmentally conscious I buy reusable sandwich and snack containers and water bottles; this also saves money over time. I know first-hand how tough these times are economically for many people but for now I will scrimp on clothes and stuff instead of food.

This dinner is actually cheap, quick and healthy. (Not perfect as I used pork that’s conventionally farmed/processed). I served with brown rice pilaf, green beans and my ratatouille I made the day before (it tastes better the next day anyway). The ratatouille and green beans were from the CSA which is paid twice yearly for the whole season of veggies/fruits/flowers and worked out to be cheaper than buying each time— especially since it’s a bountiful year. The thin pork chops cost under $4 for 8 pieces. Brown rice pilaf was less than $2 for the box. So for a family of 5 we ate very well for around $2 each. We had left-overs for a lunch too.

Panko Crusted Thin-cut Pork Chops (boneless)

3 bowls large enough for pork chop to lie in.

One with 1/2 cup flour seasoned with salt and pepper; one with an egg and 1/4 cup milk whisked together; and one with panko bread (Japanese) crumbs.

Dip pork chop into flour then egg mixture then panko; covering both sides.

Get pan hot then add oil (we used sunflower oil since it’s got a high-heat point and won’t smoke like some other oils/butter).

Place enough chops in the very hot oil— don’t crowd pan; do in more than one batch if necessary.Turn after about two minutes. Cook until it is just browned.

Serve immediately.

To help with the timing, prepare rice and veggies first. Have cool veggies ready to reheat and when the rice has 5 minutes left you can start cooking the pork. The boys all loved the pork, rice and beans. We only served the ratatouille to our eldest since we’d tried the night before and youngest two didn’t want/like it.

Note on the milk… it’s from a local farm and you might notice it looks yellowish. The cows are grass-fed which gives their milk a creamy yellow appearance. It’s also non-homogenized which means fat and skim milk separate- the molecules aren’t bound together unnaturally and can be easier to digest for some.