HONOLULU (KHON2) — As the federal decision over SNAP benefits continues to change, thousands of local residents struggle for stability when it comes to securing food and other essential items.
Kylie Sakaida is a popular content creator born and raised in Hawaiʻi, known for her low-cost, easy-to-make recipes. As a registered dietitian, her focus is on making nutrition “simple and approachable for every-day life.”
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She shared several tips and recipes that will help you eat healthy, while sticking to a tight budget.
Cooking hacks
Sakaida suggested the following tips:
- Cook large batches of dishes, like soup, that can be frozen and heated up.
- Use beans and lentils–great, affordable sources of protein and fiber–in tacos, wraps, stir-fry and bowls.
- Frozen produce is just as, if not more nutritious than fresh produce, so don’t be afraid to opt for those instead.
“There’s zero shame in choosing convenience foods, or low-cost foods, because healthy eating isn’t about perfection or organic produce or cooking every single meal from scratch, it’s really about finding what’s realistic and what’s doable,” Sakaida said.
For meals, she suggested soups–her preference is black bean tortilla soup and chicken bean rice soup–and chili, which can be canned or homemade with beans, over rice…