Cheap food as a spiritual discipline

My friend Jennifer read my January 18 post, "Please advise us on our Lenten plans," and wrote:

I would love to do this, but I confess it would be for material, not spiritual reasons--I need to save money!

I answered:

The whole point of my blog is that the material and the spiritual are inextricably linked--so your reasons are fine.

With unemployment rising and salaries being frozen or reduced, many of us have considerably less to spend on food this year than last. Can we still eat meals that nourish body and soul?