Meals on a Budget - Eating well

At this point you're familiar with meals on a budget as a theme.  You should also be familiar with the USDA poverty level food-at-home costing:
http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/usdafoodcost-home.htm
A family of two spends approximately $375 on food a month according to this authority.  Perhaps in winter in Michigan or a dry summer in Oklahoma... but definitely not in Boston or in Los Angeles, if you know how to work things in your favor.

We already discussed buying in season at length.  We also discussed the best way to implement this strategy: go to the cheapest produce market in town, and buy only the really good deals.  For example, potatoes were on sale for 5 lb per dollar, while mushrooms were one pound for 2.99.  Which do you buy?  *Crickets*  Okay, math is hard... let's go shopping!

You go to a shoe sale, and you only have $10 to spend.  The store is running a deal where you can get either 5 pairs of decent shoes for your $10, or you can spurge on a $30 pair of sexy flats.  They're not even heels, but they're really cute.

What do you do?!  Well, probably you first text photos of all the shoes to all your girlfriends for advice, but after all that, you most likely decide to choose a few pairs from the 5 pairs for $10 batch and leave the store a little frustrated from having to wait in line for an hour but happy that you have a few extra dollars in your pocket and some much-needed new shoes.

Food is the same way.  Sure, you could splurge on Jimmy Choo out-of-season-entirely spring raspberries that you love so much, or you could settle for a few pounds of totally cheap store-brand in-season butternut squash.  The raspberries will be cheap again in a few months, and you will love them all the more because you waited.  Also, that squash can be easily all done up for a night on the town if you cut it in half, remove the seeds with a spoon, roast it for an hour at 350, then sprinkle liberally with pumpkin pie spice.  Just saying.

Also, apples are so cheap this time of year, and make a really sexy desert when cored, coated in Thanksgiving pie spices, and toasted in the microwave for 5 minutes.

If all this worries you, just remember that seasons are short and we'll soon be back into a new season where your favorites are back in season.  Autumn is short, and winter can be long, and soon we'll be looking at the months of beans and rice as the only option....

Think of yourself as the artist, the foods that are on sale the palette, and your own palate the audience.  Explore your creativity!

Do you have creative ways to make meals on a budget?  Can you make a meal amazing with only seasonal, locally-grown items?  Comment with your suggestions!