Healthy Eating

Nix143

Hey mics_chick, first off big hugs for the SOA. It can be a bloomin scary time but just take comfort in the fact you're going to get sorted now and all the effort will be for a good cause, the future of your family ((((((m_c)))))))

Second, live on here. Seriously, this lot know what they are talking about. i've leant so much since I came to live here and my shopping bills have plummeted.

I am sure people are going to come along and give you proper OS advice but the main things I have picked up are

1. Plan. Plan everything. Meal plan and do your shopping off your meal plan. Plan how and where you shop. Then plan some more It's amazing the money you don't spend when you're focused on what you're doing.

2. Think. So much of our spending is unconcious. But OS is all about being concious about what we do. Do the littles REALLY need that bottle of expensive squash or is it cheaper and better for them to have diluted fruit jiuce or even water?

3. Be creative! It is AMAZING what these people can do with 3 ingredients and a bit of creativity. I know some people on here feed a family your size on that budget and they eat really well and healthily. It can be done, it just takes a bit of time changing your habits. Have a good root around the threads - there are some great meal planners and recipes.

4. And most importantly, don't ever despair. Anytime it gets hard come on here and someone will have a word of friendly advice or support.

Good luck xxx

patchwork_cat

Pulses are cheap and healthy - I think that swapping meat for pulses would help, or bulking out small amount of meat with pulses.

lynzpower

Heres one of my cheapest meals

Chicken & Chickpea balti

ingredients
2xtins value chopped tomatoes in juice
1 tin chick peas
2 turkey fillets or leftover chicken from a roast (1.00 most- or of course you can make without the meat!)
2/3 potatoes from value bag
2 onions chopped
handful sliced value mushrooms
baltipaste or curry powder. ( powder is cheaper)
A pepper, leek or whatever other veg you happen to have lurking in the bottom of the freezer

Now, this meal, made up with rice, costs ( if using left over chicken) somewhere in the region of a quid. We easily get 5 adult portions out of it, both of us for dinner, one for OHs leftover lunch and 2 portions in a tupperware in the freezer :beer:

sarahs999

chuck red lentils (dried, not in cans) in everything to bulk out. They don't need soaking first, they have a nice creamy savoury taste and they are easy to store and last for months. You can make a really tasty and cheap veggie lasagne that way, which is very good for using up old veg:

Put some red lentils in a saucepan of water and set to cook.
Fry some onions and garlic and add whatever veggies you have lying around (i like to use peppers, mushrooms and courgettes). add a tin of toms and some tomato puree if you have it (doesna't matter if not). If you have any red wine lying around too it's good to add, or a splash of soy sauce/ worcester sauce/ stock cube.

Chuck the lentils in when they're soft. Season and add some herbs (dried mixed is fine).

Then make a white sauce - melt butter, add some flour to make a roux, add milk slowly and stir/whisk until a nice creamy sauce (hopefully with no lumps) appears. Then layer your lasagne - veg sauce, lasagne strips, white sauce. AT least two layers. Finish with a layer of white sauce. Then add some grated cheese to the top. (you can add it to the white sauce but it makes the dish more expensive).

Cook in an oven at 180 degrees for about 40 mins, or until the lasagne is soft and you have a nice browned top.

I usually have the ingredients for one of these lying around, even at the very end of the week. I also make double quantities and freeze one for emergency guests!

S

squeaky

A few other threads that you can browse, direct from the Cooking section of the MEGA Index sticky...


Healthy eating:
- 5 a day?
- Healthy eating for weight loss
- I have no idea what to cook!
- Iron rich recipes?
- Low cost meals
- Low fat vegetarian ideas please?
- Low salt diet
- No wheat
- Omg...all This Home Cooking Is Making Me Fat!!
- Nutritionaly good meals for the Freezer?
- Sausages
- Student cooking (and shopping)
- Sugar Free cake recipe

bargain_babe

We enjoy cheap meals of shepherds pie, spag bol, any pasta dish (pasta sooo cheap and great for anything!), sausage casserole - made using sausages, tinned toms, baked beans, worcs sauce and popping four eggs in to cook near the end, and omlettes are good too.

Good luck xx

fakelvis

Everyone I know knows that I love to eat! They also know that I'm a bit of a health freak. Continuing on from the recent post on healthy eating that was featured in the newsletter, I just wanted to share a couple of really useful links for you all (as my first post - hi!).


Recently, the US Department of Agriculture's Centre for Nutrition Policy and Promotion (what a mouthful - phew!) created a website entitled 'Recipes and Tips for Healthy, Thrifty Meals'.

It has a wealth of information including: Some best buys for cost and nutrition; Keep your family's food safe; and menus, recipes and food lists for two weeks of meals.

As ever, as this is written in American English there are a lot of food items that sound completely alien to me... don't worry: there's bound to be a British name for an item or at the very least a good alternative. To find this, you can do worse than checking out The Cook's Thesaurus - it does exactly what it says on the tin.

Finally, one of my favourite websites 'Get Rich Slowly' (a personal finance website dedicated to living a frugal yet fun life) has recently featured a number of food related articles. Favourites include How to Feed Yourself for $15 a Week (not one for copying, but definitely one for learning some useful tips), Ask the Readers: Tips and Tricks to Save on Food and 16 Ways to Eat Healthy While Keeping it Cheap.

I hope someone finds this useful... I sure did when I read it all for the first time.

For now, goodbye and happy money saving!

fakelvis

squeaky

Hmmm...

Stick around and browse here on Old Style...

..it's all in English English

Budgeting, shopping, best buys, meal ideas and planners, recipes... and a whole lot more.

Pandora123_2

Thanks for the links, fakelvis. Cook's Thesaurus is a real gem of a site, isn't it? Invaluable when you come across some type of alien fruit in the supermarket or need to find a substitute for lemongrass.

The GetRichSlowly site looks interesting too.

:A

ceridwen

Hi fakeelvis

Welcome to the Board - and thanks for the info. Will go away and look up these sites (thats what I like - lots of juicy information).

Good 1st post - come back with more please.