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Episode 41: Gift This for Valentine’s Day

 

Gift This for Valentine’s Day

How do you like the idea of cooking an amazing meal for your significant other without breaking the bank this Valentine’s day? Dr. Sarita Golikeri is a Family Medicine physician and also certified in Culinary Medicine. Dr. Golikeri consults with patients on managing and preventing conditions like diabetes and high cholesterol through diet and nutrition. Join us as we discuss how you can cook great meals that are healthy and do not break the bank!

Key Takeaways:

  • The field of culinary medicine
  • Practical tips for eating healthy on a budget
  • Food staples to keep in your pantry
  • Sources of information regarding seasonal vegetables and fruits
  • How healthy meals help reduce food waste
  • Healthier food recipe alternatives for familiar unhealthy meals

Dr. Golikeri’s Practical Tips for Eating Healthy:

  1. Stay close to natural products. Stick to diets that our grandparents ate—food that did not come out of a box, can, or jar, but from the earth.
  2. Do not follow a certain ‘diet.’ But live a healthy lifestyle with a diet full of fresh vegetables, whole grains, protein (plant/meat-based), and fruits.

How to Get Healthy Food Cheaper:

  1. Eat and support local produce.
  2. Choose seasonal vegetables and fruits. It is cost-effective.
  3. Buy only certain food products in bulk like rice, beans, grains, etc. —they do not spoil easily.
  4. Save money by buying dry lentils, pulses, black beans, etc.
  5. In supermarkets, the store brand will almost always be cheaper than the name brands.

What to Prioritize when Eating Healthy:

  1. Make food as flavorful as possible with simple ingredients.
  2. Use lentils, beans, few canned goods (e.g., tomatoes)
  3. Keep dried herbs at hand to enhance the flavor of your foods. 
  4. Stick with the perimeter of the store when shopping for foods.

Food Staples to Keep in Home Pantries:

  • Onion, garlic, ginger
  • Beans (lentils, black, white, pinto)
  • Whole grain flours (spelt, whole wheat, almond)
  • Spices (cumin powder, coriander powder, garlic powder, onion powder, turmeric powder)
  • Herbs (parsley, basil, thyme, rosemary)
  • Citrus (lemon, lime)
  • Sesame oil, soy sauce, tamari
  • Cinnamon
  • Garam masala
  • Jarred salsa

Quotes:

Dr. Avishkar Sabharwal

“Anything that comes with a label may not be necessarily healthy. Anything that says healthy on the label is not necessarily healthy.”

“The more limited options you have, the more creative you get.”

If you’re planning a meal, you’re essentially limiting the waste that you’re creating. What it does is basically money going into your pocket rather than going into the trash can.”

Dr. Sarita Golikeri

“I think if there’s probably the single biggest way people could be eating healthy on a budget is to meal plan.”

“I think we always aim for perfection, but it’s never going to happen for any of us.”

Links:

Meal Planning episode

Dr. Sarita Golikeri- https://mytpmg.com/physician/sarita-g-golikeri-m-d/

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