The busy holiday season has begun and families everywhere are starting to plan ahead. If you’re looking for easy to make, nutritious family meals that you can cook quickly on a tight budget, USDA is here to help with a new web tool, called What’s Cooking? USDA Mixing Bowl.
As Americans prepare for the annual holiday harvest that is Thanksgiving, the American Farm Bureau Federation estimates they can expect to spend an average of $49.04 on a meal for a family of 10. Our What’s Cooking? tool offers families lower cost alternatives, not just for the holidays but for every day.
With the What’s Cooking? tool, you can search by ingredient, cuisine, cost, and even limit your search by available cooking equipment. For many recipes, you will receive a variety of nutrition information that is very easy to use. With the advanced search features, you can browse recipes based on the amount of calories, saturated fat and sodium. If nutrition and great taste is your goal, you can easily identify recipes that align with Dietary Guidelines for Americans to help you “Eat more whole grains” and “Go lean with protein” or “Switch to fat-free or low-fat dairy.”
This newest USDA tool is in an extension of the previous work that the Food and Nutrition Service and Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion have done to help Americans eat healthfully on a budget. Many of the recipes were developed by the USDA nutrition assistance programs to help families prepare menus that align with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Additionally, the site complements MyPlate efforts focused on budget-friendly, healthy eating. Earlier this year, ChooseMyPlate.gov added a new resource section, Healthy Eating on a Budget, which includes tip sheets, short videos, a printable shopping list, an interactive meal planning template, and a sample two week menu, complete with cookbook, grocery list, and a list of pantry staples.
Coming soon, the What’s Cooking? tool will help cooks create menus, shopping lists and do it all from a mobile device. So what are you waiting for? If you haven’t already, try What’s Cooking? today.