The Cheapest Healthy Meal Ever!

PipneyJane

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

I've seen numerous threads on this forum giving some excellent ideas and recipes to create meals on a budget. Unfortunately many of these rely on bulking out meals with cheap carbs (potatoes, rice, pasta, bread) in favour of the more expensive sources of protein (fish/meat).

For health reasons my dietary requirements are such that I need high protein/low carb meals. I'm also lactose intolerant so my food budget is somewhat higher than I'd currently like. Would be extremely grateful for any advice & tips to cut it down a bit.

I'm a competent cook and try to make full use of my freezer when batch cooking as I live alone so everything has to be divided up into single portions.

Cheers guys

I bulk up meat meals with vegetables, typically adding grated courgette and carrot to bolognese sauce or chilli con carne. (I have a stash of grated courgette in the freezer from a couple of home grown monsters.) Or I'll microwave an aubergine, scoop out and chop the pulp and add that. Would that help you?

Someone else mentioned lentils. Do you like dhal? If so, there are dozens of recipes available on the internet. This one by Sophie Dhal is one of my favourites.

~Chameleon~

PipneyJane wrote: »

I bulk up meat meals with vegetables, typically adding grated courgette and carrot to bolognese sauce or chilli con carne. (I have a stash of grated courgette in the freezer from a couple of home grown monsters.) Or I'll microwave an aubergine, scoop out and chop the pulp and add that. Would that help you?

I often roast trays of veggies or make a ratatouille type dish to add to meat/fish dishes but hadn't thought of grating it into mince dishes. Thanks

Someone else mentioned lentils. Do you like dhal? If so, there are dozens of recipes available on the internet. This one by Sophie Dhal is one of my favourites.

Yes, I do like dhal and often cook up a batch for cheap meals. Nice to have a variation of recipe, thanks

~Chameleon~

rinabean wrote: »

I like the recipes on this site. Her focus is dairy-free and gluten-free more than low-carb, but a lot of it is low-carb too. Again, lots of nuts, which aren't the cheapest food in the world. Everything I've tried from her is very tasty.

Ahhh a Paleo diet. I've seen this recommended a few times and is something I'm interested in so thanks for the link

Oldernotwiser

Your best solution is offal - lean, nutritious and generally cheap.

~Chameleon~

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

Your best solution is offal - lean, nutritious and generally cheap.

Mmmm liver & onions, not had that for a very long time, thanks!

Oldernotwiser

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

Mmmm liver & onions, not had that for a very long time, thanks!

Lots of great recipes for lambs' kidneys as well.

http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/main-ingredient/meat/offal

HelenYorkshire

I see someone's mentioned the "paleo" thing.
Well I guess I eat like that, though I hate labelling it and marking myself as a "fad dieter".
Try here (the main website is down at the mo) or here (lots of further links for general tips) or here for recipes - you can choose different foods to exclude.

I cook for one, buy good meat in bulk (often straight from farm) and use all the bits - pigfeet, oxtail.... Do a lot of meat+veg+spice stews. I don't find fish as filling BUT tinned fish can be found (Sains basics tuna is sustainable) and often the frozen "value white fish" is pollock - also sustainable and cheap. I brew stocks and broth to add to other dishes for extra flavour.
I agonise over free range vs battery chicken so usually only get it as a "whoopsie". Free range eggs 89p at Tesco (suspiciously cheaper than others perhaps?)
I use frozen veg as you can get out just the amount you need. I have a local-ish market - 4 peppers for £1 much cheaper! I then try and prep several dishes while the veg is fresh, or blanch and freeze the greens.

Magic ingredient is fat. Good, "natural" fats such as olive oil, tallow, and lard from outdoor pigs. Animal / saturated fats are *not* harmful as long as you're not slathering them on high carb grain products. Fat tells you when you're full

I find this works out cheaper than endless amounts of bread, pasta, sugar etc - they only feed cravings and I end up eating far too much of them.

~Chameleon~

HelenYorkshire wrote: »

I see someone's mentioned the "paleo" thing.
Well I guess I eat like that, though I hate labelling it and marking myself as a "fad dieter".
Try here (the main website is down at the mo) or here (lots of further links for general tips) or here for recipes - you can choose different foods to exclude.

Excellent links, thanks, look forward to browsing them. Btw, I don't regard paleo as a "fad diet" as it encompasses all natural foods and I hate using the term "diet" for anything.


I cook for one, buy good meat in bulk (often straight from farm) and use all the bits - pigfeet, oxtail.... Do a lot of meat+veg+spice stews. I don't find fish as filling BUT tinned fish can be found (Sains basics tuna is sustainable) and often the frozen "value white fish" is pollock - also sustainable and cheap. I brew stocks and broth to add to other dishes for extra flavour.

Great tips, I need to re-think where I source my meat. Been far too lazy relying on the supermarket for some time now. Can't buy pigs feet and other cheap cuts from Tesco


I agonise over free range vs battery chicken so usually only get it as a "whoopsie". Free range eggs 89p at Tesco (suspiciously cheaper than others perhaps?)

I have my doubts too. I've noticed the yolks are quite pale compared to "true" FR which is another tell-tale sign!


I use frozen veg as you can get out just the amount you need. I have a local-ish market - 4 peppers for £1 much cheaper! I then try and prep several dishes while the veg is fresh, or blanch and freeze the greens.

I've started using more frozen veg too. Would be good if I could get to a market at some point.

Magic ingredient is fat. Good, "natural" fats such as olive oil, tallow, and lard from outdoor pigs. Animal / saturated fats are *not* harmful as long as you're not slathering them on high carb grain products. Fat tells you when you're full

I couldn't agree more! Don't do low-fat versions of anything. It's usually far too high in sugar and being diabetic that's no good for me at all.


I find this works out cheaper than endless amounts of bread, pasta, sugar etc - they only feed cravings and I end up eating far too much of them.

The only bread I eat is Burgen's Soya & Linseed. It's delicious and I need my daily slice of toast fix

beccad

Re. the lactose thing, rice milk isn't too bad. My husband can't have ordinary milk, and we do get the lactofree milk but he only drinks that in a cup of tea a few times a week. Thankfully it lasts for ages :j He uses rice milk for his porridge. Not being able to have regular milk and cheese does make things more expensive, though. We get ewes' milk cheese for him. Did once try soya cheese but never again :eek:

~Chameleon~

beccad wrote: »

Did once try soya cheese but never again :eek:

It's disgusting!!! I know it's not very MSE but I threw away a pack yesterday having bought it from Tesco last week as they've stopped selling the Lactofree Cheese, which is actually very nice! It's made from cow's milk but has had the lactose removed.