Budget-friendly groceries for fast and delicious winter meals

Before Toronto culinary expert Mary Mammoliti takes off to buy groceries, she pulls out her smartphone to source the “Flipp” app and search for deals at her favourite supermarkets.

There are two reasons why she does this. Firstly, like most Canadians, Mammoliti is feeling the inflation pinch at the grocery store. Secondly, she is low vision and legally blind, so using her fingers to enlarge the flyer ads on her phone is easier for her than trying to read a paper flyer.

Mammoliti prepares a list of ingredients to buy based on the meals she plans to cook that week. This helps her stay away from purchasing things she doesn’t need.

“You’ve got your menu, and you know what you’re going to make because then you won’t overspend,” Mammoliti explains. “Look through your fridge, look through your pantry. See what you’re missing.”

Mammoliti has retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative genetic disorder of the eyes that causes a loss of vision. That means navigating the grocery store — and sometimes even her own kitchen — can come with challenges especially since she doesn’t walk with a guide dog or a white cane.

“A lot of the time, I won’t see something, I’ll miss something on the shelf, and I will ask a fellow shopper to help me out,” Mammoliti says. She’ll explain that she doesn’t see well, and ask the other shopper to help her read what’s on the label.

When she’s not whipping up easy, tasty meals for herself or her Instagram, Mammoliti hosts her own show, Dish with Mary on AMI-tv, which describes itself as the world’s first television network to broadcast all programs with open format described video for Canadians who are blind or partially sighted.

Global News followed the home cook as she shopped for budget-friendly ingredients at her neighbourhood Loblaws store. Shopping at the same grocery store most of the time means Mammoliti is familiar with where to find things — and when you are partially sighted, mapping the aisles in your memory proves extremely helpful.

Her price-conscious shopping list includes items needed for a quick lentil soup as well as blistered cherry and sun-dried tomato capellini. Both are vegetarian dishes, and that’s by design.

“Meat can be costly, even if you do buy cheaper cuts,” Mammoliti said. “By incorporating more plant-based into the week, you’re saving a little more.”

Bags of carrots are priced at $3.99 for three pounds versus $3.49 for a fresh bunch of only about six carrots, so the bag is a penny-pinching no-brainer.

When it comes to the fresh parsley needed for the pasta, Mammoliti knows she doesn’t need the entire $2.49 bunch of curly parsley for a single meal. Her pro tip is to wash and chop the rest, pop it into a plastic, freezer-safe container so that she can use that same parsley bunch for other meals over the next few weeks.

While the parmigiano reggiano desired for the pasta dish is more expensive than previously grated parmesan cheese, the aged cheese is Mammoliti’s “splurge” item. After finding a small block (200 grams) for $10.99, she insists she will use every bit of it because just like her bunches of fresh herbs, she freezes her preferred aged cheese to use in the future to avoid waste.

No-name tetra packs of low-sodium chicken stock are the cheapest option on the shelf (two for $3.50), so two of these go into her shopping cart. A 2 kg bag of dried, green lentils comes in at $7.49 but for comparison, two 900 g bags of the same lentils cost the same, so the larger bag offers 200 grams more for the same price.

Incorporating meals made from dried beans and legumes will help keep food costs down while offering high nutritional values. Mammoliti’s lentil soup takes under 30 minutes to prepare and starts with a mirepoix: diced onion, celery and carrot.

“This humble dish, rooted in diverse culinary traditions worldwide, embodies the essence of nourishing comfort,” Mammoliti said.

Pasta dishes are another of Mammoliti’s inflation-busting, go-to meals. A few simple, lower-cost ingredients like fresh herbs and a jar of sun-dried tomatoes won’t cheap out on flavour.  Here are the recipes:

Blistered Cherry and Sun-Dried Tomato Capellini

Total Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 3 – 4

Ingredients

• 410 g dried capellini or angel hair pasta
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, smashed
• 1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes
• Salt and black pepper
• ¼ cup chopped (julienne) sun-dried tomatoes (reserve oil to drizzle overtop)
• 10 basil leaves
• ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• Reserve 1 cup of starchy pasta water

Optional for serving:

• Chopped fresh curly parsley
• Grated Parmesan

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add a splash of olive oil to the pot, and salt generously. Add your pasta and cook for about 2 minutes, until it’s al dente, or according to the directions on the package.
2. While the pasta is cooking, heat a large pan over medium heat, add the olive oil, smashed garlic cloves, chilli flakes and cook for 30 seconds. Until the garlic is fragrant.
3. Add the tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes begin to soften and using the back of a wooden spoon to press down on the tomatoes to break them up.
4. Add the sun-dried tomatoes and cook for a minute.
5. Reserve one cup of the starchy pasta water and strain the pasta. Add the cooked pasta, a ¼ cup of the pasta water to the skillet and mix.
6. Top with Parmesan cheese, fresh basil leaves, and mix to combine.
7. Serve with additional Parmesan cheese, a drizzle of sun-dried tomato oil and fresh parsley if desired.

Grocery List

• 1 box Capellini or Angel Hair pasta
• 1 garlic bulb
• dried chilli flakes
• extra virgin Olive Oil
• 1 270 ml jar of sun-dried tomatoes in oil
• Fresh basil
• 100 g grated parmigiano reggiano, or a block of parmigiano reggiano and freshly grate it at home and freeze whatever doesn’t get used.

Quick and Easy Lentil Soup

Total Time: 30 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large carrot, peeled and diced
• 1 large celery stalk, diced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup dried lentils
• 6 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken stock
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Instructions

1. In a large pot add the olive oil, onions, carrots, and celery and cook for 5 minutes or until tender.
2. To the same pot add the dried lentils, stock, thyme and bay leaf. Bring the pot to a boil. Reduce the heat to a low, cover the pot and let simmer for 20 minutes or until the lentils begin to fall apart. Turn off the heat and stir in the lemon juice.
3. Serve the soup with a drizzle of olive oil, maybe a sprinkle of chilli flakes, or a little grated parmesan.

Grocery List

• extra virgin olive oil
• carrots
• celery
• 1 onion
• dried lentils
• 2 900 ml containers of low-sodium vegetable or chicken stock
• dried bay leaf
• dried thyme
• 1 fresh lemon