Light meals on a budget!

heartlesshoud

Hi All!
Last night my darling man informed me that he would like me to cook more "light meals". When i asked for some examples he said fish and salad. Unfortunately for me i can't stand fish but i managed to persuade him that chicken is a good healthy choice to. But now i'm stuck. I wouldn't call myself a good cook but i always give it a good go and my stew's, meat pies and sunday roasts always come out quite well. I also do a nice line in pasta dishes - Spag Bol, Tagliatelle, pasta bake - but i have no idea what to cook that is light. So i'm asking for help. My weekly shop comes in at around £35 and that includes cat food and other basic essentials and ideally (so i don't have to fiddle about with my budgeting plan) i'd quite like it to stay that way. So tell me what do you serve with your salad, what light but nutritious meals do u cook. I do like tuna but its not exactly the cheapest of fishies and aside from prawns / shrimps shell fish is off the menu (thats him not me).

terra_ferma

heartlesshoud wrote: »

Hi All!
Last night my darling man informed me that he would like me to cook more "light meals". When i asked for some examples he said fish and salad. Unfortunately for me i can't stand fish but i managed to persuade him that chicken is a good healthy choice to. But now i'm stuck. I wouldn't call myself a good cook but i always give it a good go and my stew's, meat pies and sunday roasts always come out quite well. I also do a nice line in pasta dishes - Spag Bol, Tagliatelle, pasta bake - but i have no idea what to cook that is light. So i'm asking for help. My weekly shop comes in at around £35 and that includes cat food and other basic essentials and ideally (so i don't have to fiddle about with my budgeting plan) i'd quite like it to stay that way. So tell me what do you serve with your salad, what light but nutritious meals do u cook. I do like tuna but its not exactly the cheapest of fishies and aside from prawns / shrimps shell fish is off the menu (thats him not me).

Stews can be light meals, if you use lean meat. EG turkey, and lots of vegs with pots, herbs, stock cube.
Same with roast meat, you don't have to put lots of fat on it, if you use a rack the fat will drain, and as long as you don't cook roast pots in a lot of oil/fat they will be lean too.
You can make pasta with some low-fat sauce, you could use an oil spray (that is a bottle like this http://www.lakeland.co.uk/3199/Refillable-Pump-n-Spray;jsessionid=1F09FAEC087AB0F344DE6436BE5F2F27.app1
not the chemical stuff they sell ready-made) so that you use very little oil.

Stir fries, curries, they all can be cooked with low fat.

you'll find lots of recipes here:
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/content/recipes/healthy/low-fat/
http://uktv.co.uk/food/homepage/sid/5909
http://www.channel4.com/4food/recipes/special-diet/low-fat

lynnysinger

what about home made soups? fat free. uses all the veg hanging around?
i make a mean fat free beef/chicken curry soup . i should can it! everyone loves it, and its definately light calorie wise/ but thick and nourishing and good for a supper meal. you could serve it with some easy to make flat breads. chapattis are really simple. literally flour/pinch salt/ water make a stiff dough and knead then roll out into thinnish rounds and put onto a very hot griddle /heavy frying pan and cook both sides for about 2 minutes each side. you can brush the pan with a little oil and let it get really hot for an extra nice treat!!

making me hungry!:)

Mersgoth

Pasta bakes are light meal and cheap too, good with or without meat like chicken/bacon, veg soup, home made curries are good too, fajitas, try avoid using things like premade foods and jars as must as possible and do home made.

recipes are easy to find online and you don't always have to use recipes to the word I like to change ingredients in recipes to healthier options/foods I like.

antw23uk

I had a Sunday roast chicken on .. erm well on Sunday

Oven baked chicken breast with dry roasted sweet potato and parsnips (cut into 1cm ish cubes) with a sprinkling of dried oregano on them.
Teamed with green peas and home made onion gravy which i got out of a Mens Health magazine a few years ago as a healthy option

Raspberry_beret

I like griddled chicken (boneless and skinless thighs are good or breasts of course) - you can bash them out a bit to flatten then add a sprinkle of herbs/spices and a touch of olive oil then cook for a few mins on each side in a griddle or frying pan till cooked through (we usually cut one open to check). Serve with salad and a jacket potato if you want.

Stir fry is good too, we include few noodles but mostly meat and veg which keeps it light.

We also sometimes just have veg alongside protein, no mash/pasta/rice etc with our meals and that keeps it lighter even if you are having a stew or other "heavy" dish.

pivotalgubbins

lynnysinger wrote: »

i make a mean fat free beef/chicken curry soup . i should can it! everyone loves it, and its definately light calorie wise/ but thick and nourishing and good for a supper meal.

Any chance of the recipe? Sounds delicious.

FatVonD

We sometimes have jacket potato topped with prawn cocktail or a seafood sandwich filler as a light lunch.

Myself and DS (but not DH!) like tagliatelle with strips of smoked salmon and lots of black pepper, it's still pasta but not as filling as eg a cheese sauce.

Grilled chicken breast with some oil and jerk seasoning rubbed over it is tasty.

chubbster_1

Idea 1
Pork chop/loin steaks fat removed, placed in a casserole dish and sprinkled with brown sugar, lemon juice and ginger. bake in the oven on a medium heat for 35-40 mins and serve with new potatoes and salad.

Idea 2
Chicken breast cooked up in a decent nonstick frying pan with no added fat, sliced into strips, and served with a baked potato, coleslaw and lightly cooked mange tout.

vasseur

Tuna steaks are lovely and don't taste anything like tinned tuna. Brush each side with olive oil and sprinkle with cajun spice and griddle. Serve with salad and jacket potato.

Aldi do bags of frozen tuna steaks for about £3 IIRC (must defrost before cooking though).

[Deleted User]

I enjoy a sardine salad, a tin of sardines mixed up with some 'light' mayo and some herbs make a tasty addition and its very healthy as well.Any jacket spud with a filling is fairly light I would have thought,grated cheese,coleslaw( make your own its really easy and white cabbage and grated onion and carrot doesn't cost much and you canh get quite a lot shedded up from even only half a cabbage .I like raw cauliflower florets mixed in as well to give a bit of 'crunch' to it