Creating cheap healthy meals.

[Cowley]

Just as an offshoot from the thread about food prices really. There must be plenty of ideas on here about how to make a decent meal on a budget.

I’ve currently got some veg sausages, an onion and some gravy cooking in casserole dish which we’ll have with mash and peas. Cheap, easy and tasty and it’ll feed four of us for around a fiver I suppose. We take turns cooking dinner each night and I suppose I’ve got about ten different meals that I rotate.
I’ll also cook something that’ll last for couple of nights which keeps cost down.

What do others do?

 

[Bletchleyite]

Chilli, curry and spag bol are my standard "make in bulk" meals.

 

[DelayRepay]

Chilli, curry and spag bol are my standard "make in bulk" meals.

Same here. Usually do a big bulk cook then portion it up for the fridge and freezer. Over time you can build up a variety of frozen meals to choose from.

This time of year, I like a stew or casserole. Keep the cost down by using whatever meat is on offer (assuming you're a meat eater). Again, make enough for two days and some for the freezer. Shepherd's pie or Cottage Pie are good, too. Keep costs down by using more veg than meat.

I also like to make home made Pizza. Costs me less than a pound compared to maybe £10 - £15 for a takeaway one.

I used to be bad and buy ready made versions of these foods - but I think I can make five or six portions for not much more than the cost of a single ready meal, and I control how much sugar and salt go in.

 

[Bevan Price]

I like relatively simple food, and don't have large portions because I would gain weight too easily. Also some people might regard some things as not very healthy.
Meat - pork or beef steak, sausages or burgers always cooked in microwave. About 8 minutes at a medium setting gives well-cooked meat; a lot of surplus fat can separate from the meat, and when cool, it become food for the local birds.

Occasionally buy pre-cooked roast pork or beef from independent butcher, but since Covid, do not go near that shop as often as I used to.
Gravy or sauce - never - I hate soggy meat.
Mashed or boiled potatoes - about 15 minutes in pressure cooker, or microwave chips (2 minutes at top setting)
Occasional: green beans (short time in boiling water), sage & onion stuffing for pork - mix from packet with a little water - either from the mashed potato pan, or brief time in microwave.
Occasional alternatives - can of soup (usually some kind of vegetable soup), cornish pasty, pork pie or sausage rolls.
Cold mixed salad at "teatime" (late afternoon)
Fresh uncooked fruit as available.

 

[Iskra]

One of my favourite inexpensive dishes is Chorizo and tomato risotto, which is mainly rice, an onion, chopped tomato's and a chorizo ring. Very tasty and cheap.

 

[ComUtoR]

What do others do?

I don't scrimp on my meals or, in general, the food that I buy.

However, I buy sensibly. My main cupboard is full of long term storage items and food that is flexible. Most of it is bought in bulk when on offer and I'm often quite particular in that I'll spend the extra but check the 'price per' so that I get long term value.

Watching those '[Insert Chef] meals for [insert price] style programs. It's frustrating to see how they break the costs down per meal but forget that it starts with an ingredient list a mile long or is cooked in 6 different pans,, with saffron and fresh herbs and spices.

For me it's all about the the stuff you put in the cupboard, rather than on the plate.

 

[johncrossley]

Frozen vegetables costs about 80p per kg in Tesco. A box of wheat biscuits costs about the same.

 

[yorksrob]

Beans on toast.
Spaghetti hoops on toast.

 

[johncrossley]

Frozen vegetables costs about 80p per kg in Tesco. A box of wheat biscuits costs about the same.

It doesn't get much healthier than that.

 

[SJL2020]

Check out some of those Jack Monroe recipes - here's one that can be done for 46p apparently

Jack Monroe shares easy 46p meal that can be made in one pan

Jack said it takes around 45 minutes to make in total and 15 minutes on the hob

www.nottinghampost.com

 

[Acey]

I don't scrimp on my meals or, in general, the food that I buy.

However, I buy sensibly. My main cupboard is full of long term storage items and food that is flexible. Most of it is bought in bulk when on offer and I'm often quite particular in that I'll spend the extra but check the 'price per' so that I get long term value.

Watching those '[Insert Chef] meals for [insert price] style programs. It's frustrating to see how they break the costs down per meal but forget that it starts with an ingredient list a mile long or is cooked in 6 different pans,, with saffron and fresh herbs and spices.

For me it's all about the the stuff you put in the cupboard, rather than on the plate.

Saw a recipe in the BBC food site for a chicken dish that had 29 different ingredients !

 

[Wynd]

Egg and Chips. Home-made chips, as in, chop your own tatties, even better if you have space to grow them.

Roast Chicken, which then becomes chicken soup, as in, boil down the carcass, skim the broth, add vegetables. Very healthy and can keep you going for 3 days alone.

Rice. The list of what you can do with Rice is endless.

In terms of health, aware that these aren't salads, but being health is at least 50% diet, sugar, alcohol and carb control, and 50% being reasonably active, 6/8/10k steps a day, regular walks after lunch or dinner, cycling, weights...
All of which can be done on a minimal budget, 20 press-ups a day can make an incredible difference.

The biggest single hack is not buying packaged and processed food but taking the time to make your own. An hour every couple days makes an incredible difference. Oh and tupperware, freeze leftovers, build a stock of quick meals in the freezer. Getting off the packaged/processed/lazy food treadmill saves a small fortune.

 

[Ediswan]

Watching those '[Insert Chef] meals for [insert price] style programs. It's frustrating to see how they break the costs down per meal but forget that it starts with an ingredient list a mile long or is cooked in 6 different pans,, with saffron and fresh herbs and spices.

I agree abut the fresh herbs and spices, but saffron lasts a long time and, because you need so little, is not expensive per portion.

Any 'cheap' recipe that uses a small amount of perishable ingredients is suspect.

 

[DelayRepay]

Frozen vegetables costs about 80p per kg in Tesco. A box of wheat biscuits costs about the same.

That sounds like an interesting meal combination!

 

[trebor79]

Red lentils and pasta is surprisingly tasty and hearty. I've cooked this for years, wife is veggie so am always looking for veggie recipes that don't rely on she'd loads of cheese.
Chop an onion, dry in a little olive oil with some garlic. Add a tin of tomatoes and some water and 225g washed red lentils, along with a quarter of a teaspoon cinnamon. Simmer till lentils cooked. Salt and pepper. Serve with tagliatelle and some grated hard cheese.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 2 Dec 2022 ==

The biggest single hack is not buying packaged and processed food but taking the time to make your own. An hour every couple days makes an incredible difference. Oh and tupperware, freeze leftovers, build a stock of quick meals in the freezer. Getting off the packaged/processed/lazy food treadmill saves a small fortune.

This is it. Start with base ingredients and food is actually not expensive.
I have little time for all the moaning about food prices when you see the folk moaning most with trollies loaded up with pizza, fizzy drinks (the biggest rip off going), jars of cooking sauce and other processed rubbish.
It doesn't take very long to cook decent meals from scratch once you know your way round a kitchen. And much nicer and better for you than the prepared stuff.

 

[Iskra]

Further to my Chorizo & Tomato risotto recipe, stews are a classic British cheap eat dish, but another cuisine which I find makes some tasty, nutritious and very cheap meals is Mexican by doing spicy Mexican bean and rice dishes.

 

[johnnychips]

Beans on toast.
Spaghetti hoops on toast.

Well I would have agreed with you till about two weeks ago. I don’t know about spaghetti hoops, but you always seemed to be able to find a can of ‘cheap and nasty, but fine on toast’ beans for about 40p in places like Home Bargains, B and M etc. Not seen any recently.

 

[yorksrob]

Well I would have agreed with you till about two weeks ago. I don’t know about spaghetti hoops, but you always seemed to be able to find a can of ‘cheap and nasty, but fine on toast’ beans in places like Home Bargains, B and M etc. Not seen any recently.

You can still get the beans at normal supermarkets, but they've been forced to take the salt and sugar out. I find that plenty of salt, pepper, tomato ketchup and English mustard tends to bring the taste back.

I get Sainsbury's with the veggie sausages now.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

I tend to find while making things freshly from scratch initially appears more expensive, it tends to yield a very large portion, meaning you can freeze it, or you do what I do (I hate freezing food) and dish it out to all your uni housemates, and if you're tight you get them to chip in, and the result is a very cheap dish.

For example, I typically buy beef mince, pork mince, pancetta, mirepoix (suffrito - celery, carrots, onions), saute and simmer in tomato paste, then chardonnay, then chicken stock - this then simmers for three hours and you have enough fresh bolognese to feed a large quantity of people, or to save some for the freezer. PS: Don't you dare serve it with spaghetti. Pappardelle is the only way

Beef mince, pork mince, bacon lardons, minced garlic, chopped spring onion, diced red onion, sautéed capers, chives, mixed herbs, paprika, fresh parsley, ketchup, salad cream, balsamic vinegar, Worcester sauce, panko breadcrumbs and an egg all hand-mixed together makes fantastic burgers which are so much nicer than packet frozen ones, and you can again get a high quantity out of these that can be frozen for another day.

 

[johnnychips]

Yes, @yorksrob , but cans of any beans are not 40p, which they were a month ago. Incidentally, if you want to make ‘Barbecue Beans’ by adding a beef OXO cube, it is still vegetarian. This doesn't apply to Chicken OXO cubes, which do contain chicken fat. I know it’s OT but this astounded me.

 

[Darandio]

Yes, @yorksrob , but cans of any beans are not 40p, which they were a month ago.

Just done a quick check and they appear to be, at least in most cases if you buy them in multiple.

Tesco: 45p or 4 for £1.30 with clubcard. 27p for the Stockwell variety.
Morrisons: 39p
Asda: 45p or 4 for £1.30.

 

[Ediswan]

Incidentally, if you want to make ‘Barbecue Beans’ by adding a beef OXO cube, it is still vegetarian.

OXO Beef stock cubes do contain dead cow: https://oxofoods.com/oxo-beef-reduced-salt-stock/

Wheat Flour (with added Calcium, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Salt, Flavour Enhancers (Monosodium Glutamate, Disodium Guanylate), Maize Starch, Yeast Extract, Colour (Ammonia Caramel), Sugar, Beef Fat (4.5%), Dried Glucose Syrup, Autolysed Yeast Extract, Dried Beef Bonestock, Flavourings, Acidity Regulator (Lactic Acid), Onion Powder.

OXO Beef Flavour do not (assuming 'beef flavour' is ersatz): https://oxofoods.com/oxo-beef-stock/

Salt, wheat flour, maize starch, flavour enhancers (621,627), colour (150c), Yeast Extract, vegetable oil, flavourings (including beef flavour), autolysed yeast extract, sugar, acidity regulator (270), onion powder, mineral salt (508).

 

[Iskra]

I tend to find while making things freshly from scratch initially appears more expensive, it tends to yield a very large portion, meaning you can freeze it, or you do what I do (I hate freezing food) and dish it out to all your uni housemates, and if you're tight you get them to chip in, and the result is a very cheap dish.

For example, I typically buy beef mince, pork mince, pancetta, mirepoix (suffrito - celery, carrots, onions), saute and simmer in tomato paste, then chardonnay, then chicken stock - this then simmers for three hours and you have enough fresh bolognese to feed a large quantity of people, or to save some for the freezer. PS: Don't you dare serve it with spaghetti. Pappardelle is the only way

Beef mince, pork mince, bacon lardons, minced garlic, chopped spring onion, diced red onion, sautéed capers, chives, mixed herbs, paprika, fresh parsley, ketchup, salad cream, balsamic vinegar, Worcester sauce, panko breadcrumbs and an egg all hand-mixed together makes fantastic burgers which are so much nicer than packet frozen ones, and you can again get a high quantity out of these that can be frozen for another day.

While nice recipes, the shopping basket for those would be horrifically expensive and even divided per portion would not be cheap. I've just roughly priced it up from asda at £24 the bolognese recipe, even divided by 4 that is very poor value for money and not in the cheap category or even anywhere near.

You can get Asda Ready Meal Spag Bol for under £1.

 

[341o2]

Just done a quick check and they appear to be, at least in most cases if you buy them in multiple.

Tesco: 45p or 4 for £1.30 with clubcard. 27p for the Stockwell variety.
Morrisons: 39p
Asda: 45p or 4 for £1.30.

Aldi 22p each, sold individually

 

[61653 HTAFC]

One big money-saving tip is to buy most of your fresh veg loose, rather than pre-packed. Not only is it better from a packaging point of view, but with the vast majority of items the savings are quite substantial. The obvious example is white onions, a bag of three will be around 79p but if you buy three loose ones of a similar size it'll come to about 27p by weight.

 

[Trackman]

I always find going to the local market for meat, veg and fruit is lot cheaper than the supermarket.

For a cheap and cheerful meal I make a big pan of corned beef hash, feeds 3 of us under for about £3.50.
Asda do a spag bol kit for £4.50, easily enough for 3 people (650g I think), ok, but do you have buy the spaghetti but we always have loads in.

 

[trebor79]

I always find going to the local market for meat, veg and fruit is lot cheaper than the supermarket.

For a cheap and cheerful meal I make a big pan of corned beef hash, feeds 3 of us under for about £3.50.
Asda do a spag bol kit for £4.50, easily enough for 3 people (650g I think), ok, but do you have buy the spaghetti but we always have loads in.

A spag bol kit? Onion, carrot, celery, tin of tomatoes, tomato puree, herbs and whatever other flavouring you like along with the mince. Cheaper and nicer than any kit.
Another good one is 3 bean chilli. Onions, chilli powder, ground cuming, time each of pinto, black and kidney beans. Tin of tomatoes, some water, a level desert soon of cocoa powder. Seasoning.
About £1.20 for enough to feed 4 hungry adults.

 

[yorksrob]

1 small tin of chopped tomatoes, two red chillies chopped, two cloves of garlick crushed and a big squirt of tomato puree makes a great, tangy pasta sauce !

 

[Bletchleyite]

A spag bol kit? Onion, carrot, celery, tin of tomatoes, tomato puree, herbs and whatever other flavouring you like along with the mince. Cheaper and nicer than any kit.
Another good one is 3 bean chilli. Onions, chilli powder, ground cuming, time each of pinto, black and kidney beans. Tin of tomatoes, some water, a level desert soon of cocoa powder. Seasoning.
About £1.20 for enough to feed 4 hungry adults.

Some people are quite daunted by the number of things involved in cooking fresh, so I am all for this idea. When they have done a few they will learn what to buy as separate items.

 

[Yew]

While nice recipes, the shopping basket for those would be horrifically expensive and even divided per portion would not be cheap. I've just roughly priced it up from asda at £24 the bolognese recipe, even divided by 4 that is very poor value for money and not in the cheap category or even anywhere near.

You can get Asda Ready Meal Spag Bol for under £1.

I would agree that it's not cheap in terms of homecooked food, it's a recipe that could rival some restaurant food. Useful for those who still want to have things to look forward to, but need to keep an eye on the budget.


(As an aside, with a packet of pork mince, beef mince and pancetta, I'd imagine that the recipe in question is probably more in the range of 8-10 people, which looks a lot more reasonable - substitute expensive pancetta for lardons and there are room for a few economies too)


If anyone reading this is struggling, I'd recommend making sure that you don't forget about herbs, spices and garlic - they're very cheap per portion, and can dramatically improve the quality of meals.