Wellness Blog (Nutrition) - EFry Health Centre

Back to School Program and Low Cost Recipe

Where does the summer go? Somehow, here we are, into September. A new school year full of learning, new adventures and new challenges. Finding ways to cut the costs of healthy groceries can be important because proper nutrition is a key step in making sure our children can learn properly. While some schools provide school cooking programs in the lower mainland, not all school districts have these programs. Read below for ways to explore the programs available in Vancouver school districts, and for resources to explore cheap meal ideas for your children’s lunch boxes.

School programs available in Surrey, BC

If you’re looking to get involved in some meal support programs within your school district or community, you can get a referral to our clinic and work with our social worker or dietitian to explore options within your community. Here are some places to get started:

Starfish Program

A program that identifies children in need, and provides backpack meals for these children. For more information, please contact:

Contact: Rose McKeen
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 604-617-5274

Breakfast Club

Breakfast clubs are offered at select inner city schools within the Surrey school district. Students are invited to be a part of these breakfast clubs by their schools. Meals include a mix of foods from the different food groups within Canada’s food guide, and typically include items such as milk, yogurt or eggs and whole grain cereals.

Please contact your school administration to find out if your child’s school participates in these programs, and if your child is eligible for an invitation to be involved.

Surrey Food Bank “Basics for Babies & Tiny Bundles Program” Technically not a “school meal” program, but it is a program that can provide some benefits to families with children. Families with pregnant moms, and children <1 year old can pick up weekly. Families with pregnant moms, and children >1 year old can pick up every 2 weeks. Products include basics such as formula, baby food, milk and eggs. Program runs Wednesdays from 9:00am to 1:00pm

For more information, please contact:

Address: 13478 78 Ave, Unit #1
Phone: 604-581-5443

AHP Matthew Elementary School Offers a Surrey School Meal Programs which help provide nutritious meals through breakfast and lunch programs.

For more information, please contact:

Address: 13367 97 Ave
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 604-595-5300

Bear Creek Elementary Offers School Meal Programs to students through nutritious breakfast and lunch options. For more information, please contact:

Address: 13780 80 Ave
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 604-595-5300

Ideas for cheap breakfast options:

Wondering where to start? Meals don’t have to be complicated or expensive, but sometimes we don’t know where to start, and that can be the most challenging part.

Frozen fruit smoothie

cost per serving: $4.10

Blend the following together and enjoy

1 banana
2 cups frozen strawberries
1 ½ cups milk of your choice
1 cup greek yogurt
2 tbsp natural peanut butter
1 tbsp Manitoba Harvest Hemp Hearts

Berries are a great source of Vitamin C, an important antioxidant to help keep our immune system strong as we head into flu season. Also, buying them frozen can be a great cost saving! We were thankful to Manitoba Harvest who helped sponsor our September workshop by providing us with hemp hearts to share with our clients. Hemp hearts are a great source of plant protein, fiber, and omega 3! Omega 3 and protein are vital for our brain and fiber helps keep us full, and feed our healthy gut bacteria.

Frozen yogurt and banana

cost per serving: $1.50

Buy 1 bunch of bananas. Chop in half and stick a popsicle stick into one side of the banana half. Take a bowl of greek yogurt and coat the banana halves full of greek yogurt. You can top with additional ingredients such as peanut butter, chopped chocolate or chopped nuts. Greek yogurt acts as a good source of protein, and bananas can provide some fiber and complex carbohydrates for energy. Place banana halves with yogurt onto baking sheets and freeze for two or more hours.

Whole grain toast with peanut butter

cost per serving: $1.90

Toast 2 of your favourite whole grain breads and slather on some natural peanut butter. I like brands that have at least 4g of fiber per slice of bread. Fiber is important to help slow digestion, keeping us full for longer and preventing big spikes and drops in energy levels. For your peanut butter, look for options that include only nuts, or only nuts and a little salt. Other peanut butters may include a variety of ingredients such as hydrogenated oils and added sugars which are best to avoid in large amounts.

** above prices use an average price of groceries in 2024 with costs used from IGA

Note: IGA has helped sponsor some of our cooking events at EFry Health so a big shout out to them for their support! If you’re interested in supporting and sponsoring our EFry Health cooking classes, please reach out to me, the dietitian at EFry Health at [email protected] and I’d love to explore how we can work together to support our clients nutrition needs.

For more information, or to become a client, you can reach out to us at Phone: (604)282-3944 Fax: 1-888-705-3423 Email: [email protected].

Address: #101 9683 137th Street, Surrey BC, Canada V3T G8

Meal Prep Magic: How to nourish & navigate your food expenses Weekly meal plans that cost $50 or less

We’re a few weeks into September now, and we’re all probably thinking about getting a grasp on the new school or work year, as well as many fun holidays coming around the corner. This is a great time to re-evaluate your food budget and meal planning to make sure your finances and meals are also on track.

I like to find fun ways to make healthy, affordable meals and I find that it really starts with meal planning. Meal planning can seem like a huge challenge to begin, but once you’re in the hang of your meal plans, like any habit, it can be easier. Let’s dive into some ways we can start your meal plan and cook on a budget.

Meal Planning 101 – where to start

Choose a template (see below for an idea) and then write down the first meal you will prepare. To begin, start with some foods and meals you’re comfortable with. Once you’re feeling ready to explore meal planning a little further, you can choose recipes or meals that you want to learn how to prepare. To build confidence in a new skill, we need to have success or it will be hard to continue to build that skill. Start with simple items or items already in your fridge and build onto them as your confidence increases.
Start with an ingredient, and build the rest of your meal around it. You want to aim for planning meals that include protein, fiber rich starches and vegetables. Aim for ½ plate of vegetables, ¼ plate protein and ¼ plate high fiber starch. If your first ingredient is canned tuna, you can build a meal by thinking about what vegetables and what whole grain options to pair with your tuna. Maybe you make a tuna sandwich, with whole grain bread and sliced celery and onion and you serve a Greek salad on the side.
Find resources to help with your new cooking and meal planning adventures. Here are some ideas for websites and recipes:

Make a grocery list. Once you complete steps 2 and 3, look at the recipe in front of you and figure out what ingredients you have on hand, and which ones need to make their way onto the grocery list.
Repeat the above steps until you plan your meals. Try to utilize the same ingredients so you can control your grocery list. For example, if you’re buying cucumber and garlic for a Greek salad, you can use the rest of your cucumber and garlic in another meal to make a homemade tzatziki dip. Remember to include foods you enjoy. If snacks are part of your daily routine, you may want to include them in your meal planning as well. Make sustainable habits!

Meal Plan Ideas

How you can spend $50 for 7 days of meals

To save money on groceries, I’d suggest having a plan for the grocery store (ie. your meal plans + grocery list) and sticking to it. I’d also suggest that when planning your meals, utilize the same ingredients, especially the ingredients that are on sale (for example, instead of just 1 recipe with chicken for the week, buy chicken and use it for 3 or 4 recipes. Sometimes you can find great sales when you buy a larger quantity of items at once. Just be careful not to purchase more food than you need). I’d also suggest getting creative with your cheaper and lean proteins – for example, who said eggs are only a breakfast food? Try breakfast for dinner as a fun and cheap dinner meal. Finally, you can try some great money saving apps such as: Flipp, Flash Food, and Too Good to Go!

Recipes:

Smoothie – In a blender, mix together 1-2 cups milk, 1 scoop protein powder, ½ cup greek yogurt, 1 cup frozen berries, 1 handful spinach, 1 tbsp flax seeds OR almond butter. Mix and enjoy
Egg Cups – In a bowl, mix together 5 eggs, ½ cup milk, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Chop onion, spinach, garlic and carrots. Add chopped veggies to egg mixture. Pour evenly in a muffin tin and fill each cavity ¾ full. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake for about 15 minutes. If cooked thoroughly, remove from oven and let cool. Optional: mix feta cheese into your egg mixture before adding the vegetables.
Homemade Granola – In a bowl, mix together your mixed nuts, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, Add cinnamon and a pinch of salt (unless you used salted nuts, then no need for additional salt). Add a scoop of protein powder, ¼ cup honey, and ½ cup olive oil. Spread mixture on baking tray and bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes. Let cool before trying.
Chicken Stir Fry – In a pan with some olive oil, add your chopped vegetables of choice (carrots, onion, garlic, broccoli). Cook with your favourite spices. Add chopped chicken. Enjoy. I might pair this with a honey and olive oil dressing.
Lentil Soup – In a pot, add some olive oil and the chopped onions and carrot. Cook for about 5 minutes and then add garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Add canned tomatoes, dried lentils + broth. Cook for 30 minutes until the lentils are tender. Enjoy.
Tofu Frittata – use your favourite frittata recipe, and sub the typical eggs with tofu.
Salmon Pasta – In a pan, saute some vegetables. While your veggies are cooking, boil your pasta water. Add a can of salmon and some cheese into your cooked vegetables. Once your pasta noodles are cooked, add them, along with a splash of the pasta water to your salmon and vegetable mixture. I love using canned salmon as a quick, high protein and high omega 3 meal!
Pizza wraps – Using all the ingredients you would make a pizza out of (besides the dough), you make a wrap. Grab your whole grain wraps and inside, place your onions, tomatoes, olives and cheese. Top with some cooked chicken. Cook on a pan as you could a quesadilla to melt the cheese.

For pricing of the above meals, since we got a generous donation for our programs from IGA in Coquitlam, BC, I used the prices above from IGA to determine how I can spend under $50 on the groceries listed in the meal plan above. Typically, when a store allows it, I like to price match flyers. It can be a huge cost saving technique and allows you to do most of your shopping at one location instead of having to drive around to various stores with sales, which can save time and give you more time back in your day to do what you’d like. I also typically will buy some of my bulk items together for money saving.

Stay tuned for some recipes we will be making as a cooking group with our mothers and children in October which will utilize Silver Hills breads as they helped sponsor and provided products for our October cooking class.

For more information, or to become a client, you can reach out to us at Phone: (604)282-3944Fax: 1-888-705-3423 Email: [email protected]Address: #101 9683 137th Street, Surrey BC, Canada V3T 4G8

Written by

Carla Centola, RD

Registered Dietitian

[email protected]