Day 2: $4.83

photo credit Jacques Torres

Yogurt (0.44)
Nutmeg-Date Spice Cake with Orange Frosting (0.26)
Wheat-Free Black Bean Brownies (.11)
Chocolate Covered Graham Cracker (1.25)
Mexican Beans and Rice with Oaxaca cheese (0.64)
Cranberry Juice (0.25)
Tom Yum Green Beans and Baby Corn (0.55)
Morningstar Chik'n Strips with Vidalia Onions (1.02)
Mango with Heavy Cream (0.31)

I baked with Rebecca today so I had two small bites of the things we made (for the brownies, instead of black beans, I used the red beans that I already had). She also offered me a Jacques Torres dark chocolate covered graham cracker but I was not-so-secretly lusting after the huge box of Teuscher champagne truffles she was saving for her family's visit this weekend. (For all my wonderful friends reading this blog, my birthday is next week. Hint, hint). She didn't remember how much the graham crackers were but their website says $4.50 for a pack of four. It was the most expensive thing I ate today.

For a late lunch, I had a small portion of Mexican Rice and Beans with a bit of Oaxaca Cheese. You can make this dish healthier and less expensive by using a non-stick cooking spray instead of sautéing the onions in butter and by omitting the cheese (which is $12 per pound at Fairway - I'm sure it's cheaper at the little Mexican stores in East Harlem so I'll shop for it there in the future). If you have high caloric needs, two servings of the low-fat version of rice and beans and a bowl of vegetables (such as steamed broccoli) is a well-balanced meal with lean protein and high in fiber and complex carbohydrates for just slightly over $1.