The food and mood cheaply thread

itsthelittlethings

Had stir fry for dinner last night. Very nice.

Annoying that everything is portioned for 2. Better get on those dating sites ha ha!

I am learning the art of being kind to myself. After dinner last night I had a roll with mayo. This morning I've had a piece of goats cheese. Neither are ideal but I'm quite that sure guilt is far worse for you than a bit of saturated fat, all round.

I shall treat myself to a trip to the butchers next weekend. Maybe some chicken for salad and some sausages. Heaven know what I could do with them though. Maybe some lamb and make a morrocan stew. I had the most amazing clay pot lamb in a tiny restaurant in Morocco once. I wonser if I could repeat it.

itsthelittlethings

This looks a little like it.

https://www.bbcgoodfoodme.com/recipes/moroccan-lamb/

We just had it as is.

PipneyJane

The question I have for you is what freezer space do you have?

The biggest key to eating well and healthily on a budget is planning. I second what @maman said re pulses. The cheapest way is to use dried pulses, which means that you need to soak them and cook them in advance. I do this in bulk - the equivalent of 6-8 cans-worth - and freeze them usually in 2-can tubs. (That’s 500g-600g dried weight. The tubs are recycled takeaway containers.)

What do I make with them? Dhal, chilli, various curries. I even put chickpeas in my Aloo Gobi.

I hear you re recipes being for quantities to feed two or four people but, for me, that isn’t an issue. OK, there’s two in my household but pretty much every recipe I cook feeds four or more. The key to not eating everything at once is to dish up your leftovers at the same time that you dish up your dinner. We always take leftovers for lunch, and I’ll freeze weekend-generated lunchboxes and any extra portions.

Don’t beat yourself up re the goats cheese. A small piece of cheese is much healthier for you than a tub of Pringles or any other commercial, deep fried snack. The latter don’t fill you up, which is why “once you start, you can’t stop”, whereas the cheese will plus it has calcium and protein.

If you like baked potatoes, you can do them in the microwave, but only one at a time. !!!!!!/stab a fist-sized potato in multiple places, score a cross on the top, then zap on high for 8-10 minutes. Stuff a 50g slice of strong cheddar into the cross and zap for another minute. Lunch made! (Believe it or not, that was my lunch every day, while I was on a dietician supervised diet. I lost 2 stone.)

If you are worried about eating too many carbs, substitute in high fibre carbs. Wholemeal pasta tastes the same as “regular”. Instead of rice, use bulgar wheat, which has 4 times the protein and 8 times the fibre of brown rice, and can be cooked simply by covering it with twice the volume of boiling water and leaving for 15 minutes.

• Pip

Potternerd

I tend to cook the same thing on the same day:

Monday homemade baked beans: onions a tin of haricot beans, a tin of tomatoes and various herbs and spices. Serve with grated cheese and or DH’s homemade sourdough.

Tuesday spaghetti Bol. I just have the Bol with cheese.

Wednesday chicken fajitas

Thursday sausage and mash

Friday nachos

Saturday I have salad and do DH a pizza

Sunday tends to be a bit more random depending of what I have in the freezer from the yellow stickers.

None of it takes that long.

I drink loads of tea so like to think that contributes to my 2 litres.

t14cy_t

download the olio app for free food in your area. i drink about 6 pints of water a day, this doesnt include tea, coffee or hot chocolate though!

wort

I just googled mood enhancing food and got this

Certain nutrients directly stimulate "feel-good" brain chemicals like serotonin and dopamine, or stabilize blood sugar to prevent irritability. Incorporate Healthline's Mood Food recommendations, which highlight Omega-3 fatty acids, complex carbohydrates, and gut-healthy probiotics to naturally enhance your daily mood. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]Top Mood-Boosting Foods

• Fatty Fish: Salmon and mackerel are loaded with Omega-3s, which decrease inflammation and reduce rates of depression.
• Dark Chocolate (70%+ cacao): Releases feel-good compounds and flavonoids that increase calmness.
• Fermented Foods: Yogurt, kimchi, and kefir support a healthy gut microbiome, which is closely linked to serotonin production.
• Bananas: Packed with vitamin B6, they help your brain synthesize dopamine and serotonin.
• Nuts & Seeds: Walnuts (Omega-3s) and pumpkin seeds (tryptophan and magnesium) help manage mood disorders like anxiety.
• Eggs: Excellent sources of protein, vitamin D, and amino acids to improve overall energy and brain function. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

For more actionable diet tips and recipes, explore the BBC Good Food Mood-Boosting

maman

Aldi sell a very good 70% cocoa chocolate. It's Moser Roth and comes in 5 x 25g handy portions.