All About Good and Cheap
Good and Cheap is a cookbook for people with very tight budgets, particularly those on SNAP/Food Stamps benefits. The PDF is free (ahora en Español!) when you sign up for my newsletter and has been downloaded more than 15,000,000 times. It is also available in print, and for every copy sold we donate one to someone who can’t afford it.
Good and Cheap had an unusual journey into publishing. It started out as the thesis for my Masters degree in Food Studies at NYU. I made a digital version of the book, but didn’t have any kind of distribution or marketing plan. After some fruitless attempts at working with non-profits, I decided to simply offer it as free download on a simple website in early 2014.
A few weeks later someone posted it on Reddit and I was astonished by the interest! The book was downloaded so many times that first day that it broke my website. Suddenly my inbox was full of kind advice, stories, gratitude, and encouragement from strangers who wanted to get the book out there as much as I did!
With that encouragement and proof that there was an interested audience, I started a Kickstarter project to fund a print run to get Good and Cheap into the hands of those who couldn’t get it online. For the summer of 2014, I worked night and day, along with my now-husband Dan and many generous friends, to make the project a reality. The experience changed my life. We were trying to raise $10,000 but ended up with a whopping $144,681. This allowed us to print 40,000 copies of the book, giving away one for every copy sold to someone who couldn’t otherwise afford it. We made 25,000 available for just $4/copy to organizations who work with target populations. It was amazing! Also completely wild and exhausting and unsustainable. But luckily we got help.
Next I found a wonderful publishing home in Workman Publishing. I never thought the book could be a commercial success; that was why I did it as a master’s thesis. I was so happy to be wrong. Workman was supportive of the buy-one-give-one model from the beginning and have been even more insatiable than I was about getting it into the hands of non-profits at deep deep discounts. In 2015, I got to go on a massive book tour, meeting so many incredible people, sharing stories and generally basking in the glow of all the incredible work people are doing. In addition, Good and Cheap won the 2015 IACP Judge’s Choice Award, I made the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for Food and Drink, and Food & Wine and Fortune named me one of the Most Innovative Women in Food and Drink. Good grief!
Check Out Some of the Recipes!
Jacket Sweet Potatoes
Baked sweet potatoes are a fun weekday meal.All you have to do it throw them in the oven and grab a couple of toppings from the fridge. I first got into them when I had a large number of sweet potatoes from a farm share. They were all odd sizes with long knobbly bits and I just didn't know what to do. So I just baked them, grabbed some sour cream and other random sauces and made a little topping bar. We ate potato after potato (these were little ones I swear!) and tried different toppings on each. So easy...
Broccoli Apple Salad
This salad may not seem like much at first, but thinly sliced apples and broccoli are not only delicious together, they have a crunchy, satisfying texture that makes this salad a lot of fun to eat. I had an apple salad at a neighborhood restaurant recently, and it had a little honey in the dressing, which I think would be a great addition here! People are always surprised by how much they like this, so shake off your skepticism and give this a try! (from Good and Cheap page 54) 1 large crown and stem of broccoli
Cornmeal Crusted Vegetables
I've been making these a lot lately at different events around the city. They're a great party food so they're perfect when there's a crowd. They also surprise people. They're like vegetable chicken fingers! I suggest in Good and Cheap that you serve them with peanut sauce, but people have enjoyed them with sour cream and scallions, spiced yogurt and even salsa. And now that it's solidly asparagus season well, it's time to try crusting them! (from Good and Cheap p.62) Pictured are bell peppers and green beans.
Deconstructed Cabbage Rolls
A much less labor intensive version of the hearty eastern European classic, cabbage rolls.
Good and Cheap lessons at Rising Stars Academy
Today’s post comes from Julie Fromm, RD who taught a class using Good and Cheap at Rising Stars Academy. Rising Stars is a post-secondary school for young adults with special needs. In addition to math, reading and college and career readiness classes they focus on food. They grow food in their greenhouse and garden, and prepare it in their commercial kitchen. I taught a series of 4 lessons based on the USDA MyPlate and Good and Cheap. Here’s the basic lesson plan if anyone wants to try to replicate it! We started out discussing the MyPlate food groups and the...
Updated Version of Good and Cheap now Available
It took a couple more days than we wanted, but the book is done! Now it has been sent to the printer and the printed books are still on schedule to ship in late September! However, the online version requires no tedious waiting for printing and shipping. It's already here so please download a shiny new copy: https://www.leannebrown.com/good-and-cheap.pdf The new version has:
Kale Caesar Salad
Dinosaur Kale tossed with a classic Caesar dressing and homemade croutons.
Dry-Rubbed Pulled Pork
There's a big fireworky weekend coming up. Traditional fare is grilling. May I suggest taking a cue from our southern friends and making pulled pork? You can make it ahead of time and enjoy your friends and neighbors with abandon! Absurd deliciousness Cheaper than burgers, seriously Way more impressive than burgers
Banana Pancakes
Don't let this weekend pass without these banana pancakes in your life. They are ridiculously good. The banana melts into the pancake almost like custard. I like to add some fresh nutmeg or a little cinnamon, but I bet some coconut would be delicious as well. (from Good and Cheap p. 18)
Caramelized Bananas
These bananas—cooked in just a bit of caramel—are crispy and gooey on the outside and almost like a soft pudding inside. Sweet, messy, and irresistible.
Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies
It's my youngest sister's (Hannah's) birthday today. Hannah has many wonderful qualities, but one of my favorites is that she is really fun to cook for. She basically likes everything, and is always extremely enthusiastic and goes back for seconds. She's the kind of person you want to make cookies for. So Hannah, these are for you! If you're not a big coconut fan you can definitely skip it and just leave these plain chocolate chip, they are fabulously chewy and nutty. (from Good and Cheap page 155)
Potato Leek Pizza
This potato leek pizza is a fun variation that confounds expectations—proof that, indeed, anything is good on pizza!
