Cheap and Cheerful

Being on a tight budget can be annoying, frustrating, and depressing. I definitely spend a fair amount of time feeling those negative emotions, but because I like balance I try to think of the positives of being on a budget.
In the kitchen being on a tight budget has made me become much more creative and flexible in the kitchen. When I was first learning to cook, if I was following a recipe I would freak out if I didn't have an ingredient, I knew nothing about substitutions or what were important ingredients and what could be safely left out. That's why I didn't enjoy cooking at first, it was stressful!! Now, all these years later I rarely follow a recipe without changing something!
I felt sad the other night when I was craving a rice bowl with peanut sauce and didn't have peanut butter. But I remembered that I had some raw cashews in the freezer so I made a spicy cashew sauce! I just blended the cashews with the usual peanut sauce ingredients and it turned out great!

Nothing fancy, but it sure did taste great! I used up the last of the bamboo rice. The texture grew on me, but honestly I can only eat it with a very strong flavored sauce because it definitely has a very green, earthy flavor.

Last night I made a sweet potato red lentil soup. I used curry and some dried chili to flavor it, and I threw in a handful of cashews to add creaminess. I don't like the texture of sweet potatoes at all in their whole form, but I love how velvety they are when blended.
This has been a really tight week for me, but so far I feel like I've still been eating tasty and healthy food. I guess I'm lucky that most of my favorite meals are naturally cheap! Another plus for budget life!!

Joan has those days when she just can't handle being cuddled! So relatable! But she's also kind of a dork and can't quite hide right! Also so relatable!