Real Food on a Budget: Oatmeal Cookie Energy Bites

I have never actually shared the story of how I became The Organic Dietitian and what started my road to functional nutrition (vs. conventional).  This long journey has lead me to my dream job where I get to help support my clients with hormone and digestive issues from the inside out.  It all started with my oldest sister.  Eight or so years ago she introduced me to a website called 100 Days of Real Food.  Since I was a dietitian already my sister knew that it would be right up my alley and boy was she right!

This was the start of my journey down a road that opened my eyes to change what I was teaching as a nutrition professional.  Starting with the idea of eating real food.  The fact that processed food could be contributing to all sorts of health issues.  The idea that what I had thought was good for me wasn’t!  The thought that what we eat has tremendous impact on our health.

From that moment on I never stopped learning.  I was able to change my health for the better and now I help others get to the root of their health issues, starting with real food!  Lisa Leake created 100 Days of Real Food as a challenge to her family to eat better and in turn created a movement to help others cut out the processed food.  This is a mission that I could get on board with and have been supporting it ever since.

I was able to get my hands on a copy of her latest cookbook, 100 Days of Real Food on a Budget:  Simple Tips and Tasty Recipes to Help You Cut Out Processed Food Without Breaking the Bank.  Lisa is also allowing me the chance to share a recipe with YOU!

Some Cookbook Highlights

So many people don’t think eating real food can be affordable and can be a big obstacle to changing eating habits.  I am happy to report that all the recipes in this book are $15 or less per recipe.  Now even though this doesn’t take organic into account, even just starting with real food that isn’t organic is better than processed foods.

One of my favorite parts of a good cookbook are looking at all of the beautiful pictures of the recipes.  We eat with our eyes first after all.  Every recipe in this book includes a picture of the completed product!

As a dietitian that often works with dietary restrictions I was super happy to see that each recipe included information helping those with special needs pick out recipes that fit their needs.  75 recipes are (or can be) gluten-free and 49 recipes are (or can be) dairy-free.

You can also find some great tips from Lisa (who has now been shopping real food for years now) on how she helps keep her food budget down while still eating more nutritious foods.

A great cookbook and resource!

There were so many great recipes to choose from in here.  I made the Oatmeal Cookie Energy Bites from the book and they were one of the easiest things ever and only 5 simple ingredients.  Just dump all the ingredients into a bowl, mix, and roll into bite size rounds.  No oven required!

What have been your favorite resources when it comes to eating well on a budget?  Share your tips with me in the comments!