Sunny Anderson's Clever Tip For Boosting Flavor In Meals Without Breaking The Bank

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A healthy, flavorful meal shouldn't just be for those who can afford it. Our guide to cutting your grocery bill in half has a few tips for accessing healthier food no matter your financial status, and celebrity chef Sunny Anderson also has a few tricks up her sleeve. She told Business Insider that one way to up your flavor game on a budget is to grow your own herbs. Her advice is to the point: "They're very inexpensive, especially when you grow them like I do, right? Like just put them in the window or on the deck and grow them." 

Anderson isn't wrong. Herbs like fresh basil can cost $1 to $3 an ounce at the grocery store, while a packet with hundreds of basil seeds will cost around $3 at the time of writing. You don't even have to grow it from seed, as basil is a food you can regrow from kitchen scraps. It takes a little time, but all you have to do is keep the stems (but not the leaves) in water until they grow roots. Growing your own can also provide more flavor since you can harvest them when you need them, instead of having them sit and lose flavor in a plastic shell in the grocery store until they're purchased.

Another big benefit of growing your own herbs is increased selection for a fraction of the price. Sticking with basil, there are around 150 types of the herb. Genovese is the most common you'll find at the grocery store, but start growing your own and you can use something like Sow Right Seeds Thai Basil or Survival Garden Seeds Opal Basil instead. Plus you can snip off the fragrant basil flowers and toss them in a salad or pasta for an addition that won't break the bank.

Cilantro is tasty on its own, but if you grow it you have access to the delicious, edible green seeds that turn into coriander once they've dried. The seeds pop in your mouth and have an extra strong cilantro taste. If you're someone who doesn't like the taste of cilantro, you can try growing Home Grown Culantro. Often used as a substitute for cilantro, culantro is more potent while also not always offending cilantro haters.

Having all these fresh, tasty herbs on hand is a secret weapon for salads that won't cost you an arm and a leg. Roughly chop a selection of different herbs and toss them in for a taste of the garden in your lunch. Or flash fry your herbs to bring out even more flavor in your salad!