Here's a meal I made that costs less than $10 (because I had everything in my kitchen, except the chard and sweet potato, which were about $5, total). If you're buying all the ingredients at once, it'll probably total up to $10-$20. Still, inexpensive. Red chard is a really good leafy green that tastes like butter lettuce when raw, and cooked spinach when cooked. The Japanese sweet potato has a lighter flavor than Covington sweet potatoes, or any other orange sweet potato (think sweet potato pie) and adds a nice opposite to the chard's flavor and texture. This meal was super cheap, easy to make, and really tasty and nutritious! The next time I make it, I'm planning on adding parsnips to it! :)
Oil 1 medium bunch of red chard 2-3 cloves garlic 2 medium carrots 1 medium Japanese sweet potato 1/4 white onion sea salt celery salt file powder
Dice garlic, carrots, potato, and onion in chunks. Heat skillet. Heat oil. Stir salts and powder into oil. Then, barely soften carrots and potato in salted oil. While carrots and potato are cooking, slice chard into strips. Add garlic and onion and cook until just fragrant. Add a bit of water. Add chard. Remove from heat when chard begins to darken and smell like spinach.
For soupy mix, add more water and salts and powder.
