As Americans, we are all too aware of our country’s love affair with mammoth food portions and a disregard for nutrition, both of which easily place us near the bottom of the “world’s healthiest” lists.

Approximately 27 percent of Americans are obese. Honestly, I was expecting that percentage to be much higher, but, once I pulled out my calculator and did the math, I found that 27 percent of America’s population—300 million—is 81 million.

81 million Americans are “abnormally or excessively fat,” as defined by the World Health Organization.

That’s a lot of people.

This is not a figure I can hear without losing my appetite, nor without reflecting on my own health and how desperately I do not want to become part of that number.

Now, I know that’s not why you’re reading this. You didn’t come here to read about health; you came to read about frugality. But I’m here to tell you that you can eat cheap and healthy.

“Not possible,” you say?

Well, my mission is to prove otherwise. Starting now!

My recipe for this month fits perfectly with that “farewell to summer” dinner party that we’re all planning. Or, perhaps you’re not the party type. Maybe instead you’re more into an evening consisting of the back patio, a mojito, your dog and a sunset. Either way, this dish will deliver.

Many of the ingredients listed below can be currently found at Austin farmers markets, meaning they’re being locally and organically grown right now.

And, if you endeavor to prove me wrong and scour a farmers market next weekend and don’t find these items, feel free to experiment, buy what you can find and use that instead! It may even one-up this recipe—that is, unless we’re talkin’ eggplant. I’m still stumped as to how to make a good dish out of that darn purple plant. (Feel free to leave a comment if you’ve found a way.)

Sautéed Vegetables with Barley, Basil and Feta

The prep time is quick: only 15-25 minutes (varies according to agility). Makes 4-5 servings (that number will also vary, depending on your guests’ appetites).

Ingredients:

• 1 c. barley (barley expands in water, so this amount won’t appear small for long!)
• 2 ½ T. lime juice
• 1 ½ T. honey
• 4 garlic cloves (a food processor would come in super handy here)
• ¾ tsp. ground pepper
• ¼ tsp. chili powder
• ½ c. extra-virgin olive oil
• ½ c. organic vinegar
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 green bell pepper
• 12 whole mushrooms (this may look like a whole lotta ‘shrooms but don’t worry, they shrink when cooked)
• 2 medium-size carrots
• 3 ripe tomatoes
• 3 purple potatoes
• 3 T. chopped basil (use fresh, if you’re up for a small amount of extra chopping)
• ½ c. crumbled feta

Need ideas for a variation on this theme? Check out Buff Chickpea's Tomato, Feta & Barley Salad recipe (photo via Buff Chickpea)

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Sprinkle some salt in for flavor. Then add barley and boil until tender but slightly chewy—this will take 45 minutes to an hour. Take this window of opportunity to prepare your other ingredients—and maybe do some laundry.
2. Bring a second pot of water to boil. This one will house the potatoes and carrots. Cover and keep a rolling boil until they meet desired tenderness. Most likely, they will take as long as the barley.
3. In a bowl, combine lime juice, honey, garlic, a dash of salt, black pepper, chili powder, vinegar and olive oil. Taste and add more as your palate desires.
4. Cover tomatoes, bell peppers and mushrooms with the dressing. Leave 1/3 of the dressing for the finished barley.
5. Next, sauté veggies in a pan on medium heat. Turn over regularly to attain an even cooking.
6. When the barley is done, toss it with 1 tablespoon of basil and the reserved dressing. Add veggies on top of the barley and sprinkle with feta and remaining basil.
7. Eat, and savor the delicious goodness that came straight from the ground!

As a final note: I repeat, this recipe is not a recipe to end all recipes. If you need to add additional spices or a buttery potato on the side to make it fanciful to your taste buds, go ahead! That’s your call. You can follow my nudgings and make it the healthy way, or you can take the dirty route and rebel.

Just remember: the simpler the ingredients, the cheaper—and more nutritional—the dish.

Here’s to a happy, and healthy, tummy!

That being said, chili is effin’ wicked in the summertime, too. As some Old Wives will tell ya, eating or drinking hot stuff actually cools you off. Dunno if I necessarily believe in this concept, but it sure is nice to stuff your gob with spicy deliciousness and then drink down a gallon or two of water. Pair it up with an ice-cold beer and some might even say you’ve got a little slice of heaven there, pardner.

As any good Texan knows, there are many different kinds of chili, not the least of which is “Texas style” chili—i.e. the no-bean variety that uses chuck roast rather than ground beef for the meat. Having done some time in Cincinnati, I’ve also come to appreciate the joys of a good Cincinnati chili, complete with cocoa powder and cinnamon, thin “gravy” style sauce, and fixin’s 2 (spaghetti + chili), 3 (add cheddar cheese), 4 (add diced onions or beans) or 5-ways (add diced onions and beans). And perhaps it’s the New Yorker buried deep down inside that says you’d better serve that chili on a Coney Island hot dog or it’s not worth bothering with.

As you can see, I love me some chili, in all its glorious incarnations.

The recipe I currently use, however, comes from Cook’s Illustrated and maximizes the spices combined to form this chili in the least amount of time possible, though it grows more tasty over time. I submit to you that this is actually The World’s Finest Chili recipe, in that it is infinitely customizable. Ingredients are kept basic, but fixin’s can range from a simple sprig of cilantro to the kitchen sink version of the dish, including everything from fresh tomatoes, diced avocado, sliced scallions, chopped red onion, sour cream, shredded cheese, up to extra shots of Tabasco or your preferred hot sauce. Yum!

Now, at this point in the game, I would typically type up a copy of the recipe for you to put to the test, but since it’s from Cook’s Illustrated and they absolutely deserve the credit from anyone who should find it here—not to mention the fact that I firmly believe that stealing someone’s intellectual property is the King of No-No’s and will earn you a one-way ticket to Bad Ju-Ju City—I must regretfully omit the specifics on this page.

However, if you want to check out the original recipe, which goes under the name “Beef Chili with Bacon and Black Beans,” I highly encourage you to sign up for a free trial membership at the Cook’s Illustrated website to get the straight dope right from the horse’s mouth. It’s a 14-day free trial of all the recipes on the site, and it’s really worth it if you like to cook. I realize this sounds like some kind of sneaky way for me to get you sign you up for the Cook’s Illustrated website with a concealed profit from said sign-up cha-ching!-ing somewhere for me, but I can assure you that this benefits me in no way. Heck, they don’t even have an affiliate program, which sucks cus, frankly, I would LOVE to be an affiliate of theirs!

Anyway, my point is that I admire the way they are all about maximizing the awesome factor of classic American recipes by making them tasty, foolproof, standardized and far less time consuming than their dusty, crusty ancestors. To be fair, yes, I am all about Cook’s Illustrated and America’s Test Kitchen, where their recipes are tasted, tested and released into the wild, but there’s absolutely nothing in it for me.

Unless, of course, you count delicious chili like this:

Cook's Illustrated Beef Chili with Bacon and Black Beans recipe burbling on the stove

Seriously, make some tonight and tell me you didn’t fall in love!

Oh, and here are the ingredients, in case you’d like to play detective on your own to figure out the golden copyrighted ratio:

• bacon
• onions (preferably red, but that’s my opinion, not theirs)
• red bell pepper
• garlic
• chili powder
• ground cumin
• ground coriander
• red pepper flakes
• dried oregano
• cayenne pepper
• ground beef
• black beans
• diced tomatoes
• tomato puree
• salt

It may not quite be elementary, Watson, but it’s darn close.

Old El Paso isn’t being particularly singled out here; it’s just one example among many. People seem to think that you need “taco seasoning,” purchased in a packet such as this one, in order to make great tacos.

This is a lie.

The way to great tacos, my friends, lies in combining just five important seasonings you probably already own. They are:

• chili powder
• cayenne pepper
• cumin
• oregano
• salt

You can also toss in some ground coriander seed, to bump up the corianderliciousness of your cilantro leaves (sprinkled over the top of the finished dish), but it’s purely optional. If you’ve got chili powder, cayenne, cumin, oregano and salt, you’ve got it made in the shade. Enough with the pre-packaged “taco seasoning”! Free your kitchen of this sodium-laden packet of injustice, and marinate your meat in deliciousness.

DIRECTIONS:

1. Brown about a pound of ground beef (or pork, or chicken, or whatever) in a buttered skillet.
2. Chuck in your minced garlic (2 or 3 good sized cloves) and chopped red onion or shallot.
3. Add your spices, as mentioned above, plus about a cup of water to create the “sauce.” My spice ratio is about a teaspoon to a tablespoon each of the coriander seed, oregano and cayenne pepper, plus about 1/8 of a cup of both cumin and chili powder; adjust these as you please for heat and general taste, adding more if you like it more savory. Simmer down your sauce, stirring occasionally, until most of the water has evaporated—about 10 minutes or so.
4. Spread on your favorite tortilla, garnish as desired, and enjoy. Suggested garnishes include: lettuce, tomato, white cheddar cheese, cilantro, guacamole, salsa (I enjoy both red Salsa Casera and green Salsa Verde from Herdez), pickled banana pepper rings (I’ve been using some from Mt. Olive), and Celebrity Intern’s favorite, La Vaquita’s Crema Salvadoreña, a kind of El Salvadorean crème fraiche.

That’s it, that’s all. No fuss, no muss. Just great tacos. You’re welcome.

Also, if you’re looking for a great recipe for breakfast tacos, my fellow blogger Shim’s got you covered, over at Diet-of-Insects. (And no edible insects, I promise.)