Bang for your buck

The healthy life.

Organic produce, gym memberships, recreation equipment, supplements, vitamins, chiropractors, physical therapists, trainers.

It gets expensive. With an eye on my budget lately (it seems to be the thing to do), I've made an effort at cutting back.

And by "made an effort," I mean I tracked my spending for the last month, and made a pie chart to analyze where I spend my money. This is my way of procrastinating, but it did make me realize that my good health comes at a price.

Beyond tuition, rent and utilities, the largest portion of my budget goes to food -- and not for eating out, but for shopping at local stores, buying fresh produce and stocking up on muscle milk for after my workouts.

And after food came a nebulous category that I called "recreation." Here, I spent money to compete in regattas, enter triathlons, upkeep my bike and pay a chiropractor.

So while I'm not likely to quit crew any time soon, I thought I'd make an effort to trim my dietary spending.

Here are a few recipes I came up with at the grocery store this weekend. Cooking for four or more, as opposed to cooking for one, actually saves you money. Store the uneaten portions for meals during the week, or invite your friends over. They'll chip in, and probably wash the dishes, too!

Herb-Crusted Chicken Cutlets

• 1 pound chicken cutlets (about 4 cutlets) ($5.49/pound)
• 1 cup plain bread crumbs (33 cents)
• 4 sprigs each fresh rosemary and thyme (40 cents)
• 4 large eggs (46 cents)
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (54 cents)
• Salt and pepper

Finely chop rosemary and thyme, and set aside. Crack eggs into a bowl and beat. Pour bread crumbs into a shallow dish and add herbs. Dip each cutlet into the eggs, then dredge in the flour and herb mixture, covering both sides. Heat olive oil in a large, nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Place cutlets in the skillet, cook three to four minutes on each side until chicken is done and crust is crispy.

Serves 4.

Total cost: $7.22

Cost per person: $1.81

Fresh Corn and Black Bean Salsa

• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (54 cents)
• 1 large white onion ($1.29)
• 4 garlic cloves (3 cents)
• 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes ($1.50)
• 2 15-ounce cans black beans, drained ($1.66)
• 4 ears fresh corn ($2.98)
• 2 avocados ($3.98)
• Salt and pepper

Fill microwaveable glass dish — with lid — with 1/2 cup water and corn. Place in microwave, and cook on high five minutes. Heat olive oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Chop onion, and add to skillet. Cook until tender. Mince garlic and add to skillet with onion. Add canned tomatoes, cook 10 minutes. Cut kernels of corn off cob, and add to skillet. Add black beans. Take skillet off heat, and add chopped avocado. Salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 6 to 8. Good over protein, rice or as a side dish.

Total cost: $11.98

Cost per person: $1.50 to $1.99

Breakfast Smoothie

• 1 pound fresh strawberries ($2.50)
• 4 bananas ($1.15)
• 32 ounces orange juice ($1.50)
• Lots of ice

Hull and slice strawberries. Slice bananas. Add a quarter of the strawberries and bananas to blender with 8 ounces orange juice. Fill with ice. Blend until smooth. Repeat to make three more smoothies.

Serves 4.

Total cost: $5.15

Cost per person: $1.29