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Eating healthy for cheap

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Hi there,

My name is James, I'm 41 & have two children (15 & 12).

My Wife & I have been guilty over the years of cutting costs on food & feeding our family cheap & processed foods. I'm not going to lie, we would happily buy 4 Lidl pizzas at £2.50 each & that would be a family dinner sorted. I have come to terms that really that is unacceptable and we need to try to put better food in our bodies.

I signed up to this forum to get some tips & tricks & as I learn along the way, I would also like to share wisdom where I can.

So my first post/question is, what is your advice for eating healthy at a relatively low cost? Any recipes/ products you buy on a regular basis to help you?

Thanks guys,

James
«13456713

Comments

  • redfox
    redfox Posts: 15,336 Forumite
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    we move threads if we think they’ll get more help elsewhere (please read the forum rule) so this post/thread has been moved to another board. If you have any questions about this policy please email [EMAIL="forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com"]forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL].
  • spadoosh
    spadoosh Posts: 8,732 Forumite
    Ninth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    edited 30 September 2016 at 11:33AM
    Make everything from scratch.

    We started with bolognaise. The taste difference alone is astonishing. A lot of the saucey type meals are only a few ingredients different from each other.

    Get a good supply cupboard. Loads of different herbs and spices, stocks, and raw ingredients (sugar, flour, plain rice/pasta)

    Allocate time for cooking. A pizza might only take 12 minutes but a home made one will take longer with more prep work, get the family involved and its two birds one stone with increased family time and (likely) nicer and better food. I bulk make some foods on sunday for lunches during the week, the same can be done for evening meals.

    Benefits include more varied meals, you become more experimental. Healthier considering fresher ingredients. Confidence in the food your eating (no horse meat!). More family time. and loads of others.

    Pinterest is very good for getting inspiration with food. You can find a lot of much healthier versions of takeaway food that is simply amazing. We love chinese and the food we make (biased) beats our takeaways hands down. It can be expensive get a store sorted and buying any equipment you might need.

    Our home made bolognaise sauce costs about 30p per serving compared to the £1 plus youd buy from a jar. That same sauce very easily becomes a chilli con carne sauce for the same price.

    Pork is a good cheap meat.

    Vegetable are cheaper than meat and you certainly dont need to eat meat with every meal. There are a few vegetable based meals that are actually very tasty. We love omelettes (and allt higsn egg for that matter). Cant get much cheaper than a few eggs and a bit of cheese, chuck in whatever you might have lying around.
  • phizzimum
    phizzimum Posts: 1,712 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    You've come to the right place James!

    Have a look at the "feed your family for £20" thread and the monthly grocery challenge, and the weekly meal plan thread. That will give you some inspiration.

    Then maybe pick one meal a week to cook from scratch, so you don't get overwhelmed. As others have said - get the kids involved, make it fun. They're more likely to try new things that way.

    As you get used to that recipe, introduce another one.

    Like spadoosh said, a basic bolognaise is a great starting point. I make a big batch then freeze some. It's v versatile and can become chilli con carne, shepherds pie, pasta bake, pasties, jacket spud topping. I bulk mine out with whatever veg is in season, lentils and oats (good source of protein so healthy as well as cheaper)
    weaving through the chaos...
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 0 Newbie
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 30 September 2016 at 12:05PM
    spadoosh wrote: »
    We started with bolognaise. The taste difference alone is astonishing.

    Recipe? I found the taste of a home made spaghetti bolognaise pretty disappointing compared to the Schwartz packet I usually use. (And the same with the chilli con carne)
  • spadoosh
    spadoosh Posts: 8,732 Forumite
    Ninth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    edited 30 September 2016 at 12:12PM
    Chopped tomatoes, veg stock, garlic, basil, nutmeg and a sprinkling of sugar. For chilli swap out the nutmeg and basil for cumin, coriander and some oregano. I like to add a lot of chili flakes. Cooking both for as long as possible or we can be bothered waiting.

    For the veg we use fresh red onions, sometimes a pepper, garlic, spinach and msuhrooms.
  • MallyGirl
    MallyGirl Posts: 7,201 Senior Ambassador
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    grated carrot is good in spag bol - added healthy bulk and a bit of sweetness. I also add mushrooms and tomato puree
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  • suki1964
    suki1964 Posts: 14,313 Forumite
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    jack_pott wrote: »
    Recipe? I found the taste of a home made spaghetti bolognaise pretty disappointing compared to the Schwartz packet I usually use. (And the same with the chilli con carne)

    It's usually the sugar and salt content that you miss when making HM at first

    My recipe is

    Brown mince, add chopped onions, crushed garlic and lentils ( omit if you aren't stretching the mince) then a couple of tablespoons of tomato puree. Cook the puree out, then add a half glass of red wine and a tin of toms. Add salt, pepper,oregano. Cook on a low simmer for 40 mins or so with a lid. You may need to add water if it's too dry ( or more wine)Remove lid, check seasoning. Now this is when it may still taste a tad bitter. If so add half a teaspoon of sugar

    Simmer a little longer till the right consistency.

    That tiny amount of sugar will make a big difference Once you have made it a few more times , you will find you miss out the sugar completely as your taste buds adjust
  • Eggs are good. Omelettes are great for dinners bulk it out with mushrooms/ham/peppers whatever you like as a main dish. Scrambled for breakfast. Boiled or poached for lunch if your at home or a good snack for the teens.

    Do you own a slow cooker? Cheap meats in the slow cooker.

    Mince is fairly cheap. Shepards pie + sweet potato mash. Bulk with lentils. More for less. :) Chilli con carne and rice, spag bol, cottage pie, lasagna, tacos or burritos.

    Chicken breasts, cheerful with tons of variety according to your tastes / what you have in the cupboard.

    Frozen veg for stock pile and fresh when you can. Doesn't really matter to me but people say fresh tastes better. I only use frozen.

    Left overs used for soups, bubble and squeak, sandwiches or toasties etc.
  • suki1964 wrote: »
    It's usually the sugar and salt content that you miss when making HM at first

    My recipe is

    Brown mince, add chopped onions, crushed garlic and lentils ( omit if you aren't stretching the mince) then a couple of tablespoons of tomato puree. Cook the puree out, then add a half glass of red wine and a tin of toms. Add salt, pepper,oregano. Cook on a low simmer for 40 mins or so with a lid. You may need to add water if it's too dry ( or more wine)Remove lid, check seasoning. Now this is when it may still taste a tad bitter. If so add half a teaspoon of sugar

    Simmer a little longer till the right consistency.

    That tiny amount of sugar will make a big difference Once you have made it a few more times , you will find you miss out the sugar completely as your taste buds adjust

    Mine is similar though I use a carton of passata and balsamic vinegar instead of the wine/tinned tomatoes. I don't like it too sweet.

    I can always taste a huge different between homemade sauce and jars.
  • PasturesNew
    PasturesNew Posts: 70,698 Forumite
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    ID-8 wrote: »
    we would happily buy 4 Lidl pizzas at £2.50 each & that would be a family dinner sorted.

    Personally, I find that expensive! And one each? Excessive.

    You could start by buying a better pizza, cheaper and eating half a pizza. e.g. I buy 10" pizzas for £2.10 (£1.80 when on offer) at Sainsbobs. Half's a bl00dy good portion.

    You need to start comparing and contrasting products you're already buying against alternatives (so it's not a shock to the system and you're not changing everything), then to start looking at what you're buying and its cost and seeing if you can't recreate that yourself cheaper/better, which could be in stages: [Stage 1] buy just cheapo pizza bases & add your own toppings [Stage 2] look at making your own bases.

    It doesn't always make sense to go straight from buying one set of groceries to swapping it for a random/alien other set because people on a forum said that's what their family eat.

    Just compare, contrast, measure, note, think about everything you buy and how you can make different choices, slowly finding the point at which you're happy that you're still eating "what you want/like" but doing it "better".

    Better/healthier, etc, can be an individual's perspective too. One person's healthy is another person's "but what about the levels of ...." and there are many fights about that.

    Don't try to go straight from 4 bought cheap pizzas to a homemade lentil & vegetable curry that takes 2 hours in one step or you'll just curl your lip up at it and order a takeaway and never try again.
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