Healthy eating on a budget

Transcription

1 Healthy eatig o a budget Eatig healthily does t mea you have to sped lots of moey o food. Here are some tips for eatig a healthy ad balaced diet without breakig the budget. What you buy Pla your shoppig to avoid expesive, impulse buys. Write a meal plaer ad shoppig list, ad set yourself a food shoppig budget ad the stick to it. Try ot to go shoppig o a empty stomach you may be tempted to buy more tha you eed. Buy store-ow brads istead of well-kow oes they re usually cheaper ad just as utritious. Be wary of Buy oe get oe free offers. They ca be good value but ofte they ca tempt you to buy more tha you eed or ca actually use. Be wary of special reduced price offers they may ot be as good value as they soud. Supermarkets ofte have offers o perishable foods (foods that eed to be stored i the fridge) that are ear their sell-by date. If they ca be froze it s worth stockig up. Pre-prepared ad coveiece food ofte costs more a homemade pasta sauce ca be a third of the cost of a shop-bought oe. It s worth checkig prices at local suppliers or markets, as they ca sometimes be cheaper tha larger supermarkets. Shelter, 1 the housig ad homelessess charity Registered charity i Eglad ad Wales (263710) ad i Scotlad (SC002327). RH 3679 Photos:

2 What you eat Avoid ready-made meals. They ca be more expesive tha preparig the food yourself. Cookig ca take more time, but will pay off i terms of health ad expese. Cook a big batch of soup, stew, curry, pasta etc ad freeze ay extras. Whe buyig fresh fruit ad vegetables, choose oes that are i seaso as they re usually cheaper. If you have the space, grow your ow fruit ad vegetables lots ca be grow i cotaiers ad pots. Caed ad froze fruit ad vegetables are usually cheaper tha fresh oes ad are just as utritious. Pulses (ie chickpeas, letils, kidey beas) are a lot cheaper tha meat ad are full of vitamis, mierals ad fibre. Try cookig more veggie meals like dahl or vegetable stew. Make your ow packed luch to take to work, college etc rather tha buyig luch. Love your leftovers a average UK household throws away a third of the food they buy, but with some careful plaig, you ca make a meal out of what you would usually throw away. Drik tap water it s ot full of sugar ad it s free! 2

3 Meal plaig Takig time to pla your meals for the week will cut your food bills ad avoid wastig leftovers or spedig extra moey o take-aways ad last miute ready meals. How to pla your meals Whe plaig your meals, cocetrate o weekdays, as weekeds are more flexible ad you may wat to go out to eat or choose a weeked treat. If you shop weekly, write a weekly meal plaer, or if you shop fortightly, pla for a fortight. Start by writig a list of five meals you ejoy ad if you cook for other people (family, parter, housemates) iclude meals they also ejoy. Try to vary the types of meals (pasta oe day, rice aother; fish oe day, meat aother) ad iclude differet fruit ad vegetables. Write these meals o a chart (see the meal plaer chart o pages 4 5). Add accompaimets to each meal (eg what vegetables will be served with/icluded i the meal). Use the iformatio you have to put together a shoppig list ad add rough quatities or everythig you ll eed. This is also useful for helpig you achieve your five fruit ad vegetables a day: eg if you make a tua pasta bake for four people, iclude oe ca of sweetcor (1/4 ca = oe portio), two peppers (1/2 = oe portio) ad 12 mushrooms (three = oe portio). Each perso eatig this meal will receive three portios of vegetables for the day. Check you have the basic essetials for the week s meals (pasta, rice, tied food such as tomatoes, tua etc, vegetables, froze foods). 3

4 Example five-day meal plaer Day Meal igrediets Week s shoppig list Moday Tuesday Chicke/vegetaria» curry: Chicke (leftover from Suday roast), oio, mixed vegetables, tied cocout milk, curry paste, rice.» for the vegetaria optio, you ca substitute the chicke with Quor chicke pieces. Sausages» with bubble ad squeak: Sausages, vegetable leftovers from Suday roast (potatoes, broccoli, carrots, cabbage, parsips etc).» for the vegetaria optio, you ca use vegetaria sausages. To buy: 2 oios 2 courgettes 8 mushrooms 1 pepper 1 potato 1 sweet potato 1x pack sausages 1x tied cocout milk 1x tied tomatoes 1x tied mushy peas 2x packs of froze mixed vegetables Froze fish fillets Wedesday Thursday Tomato pasta: pasta, oio, garlic, tied tomatoes, tomato puree, mushrooms, courgettes, pepper. Vegetable tagie with couscous: sweet potato, oio, mixed vegetables, tied tomatoes, groud coriader, groud cumi, raisis, vegetable stock, couscous. Check your cupboards for: Curry paste/powder Rice (preferably brow) Pasta (preferably wholewheat) Tomato puree Groud coriader Cumi Raisis Vegetable stock cubes Couscous Bread Flour Eggs Friday Cruchy fish ad potato wedges: fish, potatoes, mushy peas, breadcrumbs. 4

5 Meal plaer template Day Meal igrediets Week s shoppig list Moday To buy: Tuesday Wedesday Check your cupboards for: Thursday Friday 5

6 Healthy eatig o a budget Here are examples of how cookig from scratch ca sometimes be cheaper ad more utritious tha buyig ready-made meals* : Igrediets for pizza to serve 4: Bread roll x 4 = 3p Passata = 8p 1 oio = 11p 1 pepper = 50p 4 mushrooms = 31p Cheese = 42p Total = 1.45 Cost per servig = 36p Cost of shop bought pizza to serve 4 rages from 1.04 (cost per servig = 21p) to 2.99 (cost per servig = 75p). Igrediets for potato wedges: 1 potato = 6p 1 teaspoo oil = miimal ¼ teaspoo caju spice = miimal Total cost per servig maximum 8p (icludig oil ad spice estimate). Cost of shop bought potato wedges (per 1 servig) rages from 17p to 56p. Igrediets for muffis (makes 6) 1 pot yoghurt = 6p 1 pot sugar = 4p ¾ pot oil = 7p 3 pots flour = 2p 1 egg = 13p 1 apple = 9p Total = 41p Cost per muffi = 7p Cost of shop bought muffis rage from 1 for 4 (25p each) to 1.99 for 4 (50p each). *The figures for the cost of the igrediets o pages 6 7 were take from the supermarket price check website: o December

7 Healthy eatig o a budget The followig recipes provide oe servig ad three portios of vegetables. Five days of recipes 1. Frittata 2. Herby sprig vegetable pasta 3. Gree vegetable risotto 4. Spicy stir-fry with oodles 5. Thai gree oodle soup Shoppig list: 1 pack of mushrooms 86p 1 large courgette 32p 1 large leek 63p 1 pack of stir-fry vegetables 1 1 ti of chickpeas 48p ½ cup of rice 3p 1 pack of oodles 97p 2 eggs 36p Cheddar cheese 60p Total food bill = 5.25 Cost per meal =

8 Herby sprig vegetable pasta Igrediets: 1/3 leek, sliced 1/3 courgette, sliced 4 mushrooms, sliced 1/3 ti of chickpeas 2 tablespoos grated cheese 1 est/pack of oodles ½ teaspoo of dried herbs Equipmet: Sharp kife Tablespoo Fryig pa or microwave dish Choppig board Grater Frittata Igrediets: 1/3 leek, sliced 1/3 courgette, sliced 4 mushrooms, sliced 1/3 ti of chickpeas 2 tablespoos grated cheese 2 eggs Equipmet: Sharp kife Tablespoo Fryig pa or microwave dish Choppig board Grater What to do? 1. Heat 1 teaspoo of oil i a fryig pa ad add the leeks, mushrooms ad courgettes. 2. Softe over a medium heat for about 5 miutes. 3. Add the chickpeas ad cook for a further miute. 4. Beat the eggs with a tablespoo of milk ad seaso with groud black pepper. 5. Pour the egg ito the pa ad cook for 3 4 miutes. 6. Sprikle the cheese over the top ad place the pa uder a hot grill for 2 3 miutes, or util the cheese has melted. 7. Cut ito wedges ad serve. What to do? 1. Heat 1 teaspoo of oil i a fryig pa ad add the leeks, mushrooms ad courgettes. 2. Softe over a medium heat for about 5 miutes. 3. Add the herbs, chickpeas ad cooked oodles ad heat through for a further miute. 4. Stir i the cheese ad heat through util it melts. 5. Serve sprikled with a little more cheese. To microwave 1. Place the leeks, mushrooms ad courgettes i a shallow microwave dish. 2. Microwave o high for 3 miutes, or util soft. 3. Add the herbs, chickpeas ad cooked oodles ad microwave for a further miute. 4. Add the cheese ad stir through. Microwave for 30 secods to 1 miute util the cheese has melted. Note: Try replacig the grated cheese with cream cheese for a delicious creamy sauce. To microwave 1. Place the leeks, mushrooms ad courgettes i a shallow microwave dish. 2. Microwave o high for 3 miutes, or util soft. 3. Add the beate egg ad sprikle with grated cheese. 4. Microwave o medium for 5 7 miutes or util the middle of the frittata is just set ad the cheese has melted (time depeds o stregth of microwave so keep checkig every few miutes to avoid rubbery, overcooked eggs!) Note: Frittata is delicious served cold too. 8

9 Thai gree oodle soup Igrediets: 4 mushrooms, sliced 1 est/pack of oodles ½ pack of stir-fry vegetables 2 mugs of vegetable stock 2cm block of creamed cocout, chopped 2 teaspoos of thai gree curry paste Equipmet: Sharp kife Choppig board Tablespoo Grater Fryig pa or microwave dish Mug Gree vegetable risotto Igrediets: 1/3 leek, sliced 1/3 courgette, sliced 4 mushrooms, sliced 1/3 ti of chickpeas 2 tablespoos grated cheese ½ cup of rice 1 cup of vegetable stock ½ teaspoo dried herbs What to do? 1. Place the vegetables, curry paste ad cocout i a pa ad cook over a medium heat for 2 miutes. 2. Add the oodles ad vegetable stock. Brig to the boil ad simmer for 5 miutes. 3. Serve. Equipmet: Sharp kife Choppig board Tablespoo Grater Fryig pa or microwave dish Cup What to do? 1. Heat 1 teaspoo of oil i a fryig pa ad add the leeks, mushrooms ad courgettes. 2. Softe over a medium heat for about 5 miutes. 3. Add the rice ad stir-fry for a further miute. 4. Add the herbs, chickpeas ad vegetable stock. 5. Place a lid o the pa ad cook for miutes or util the rice is cooked. Stir a few times durig cookig as you may eed to add a little more stock or water to the rice if it absorbs all the liquid before it s cooked. 6. Stir i the cheese ad heat through util it melts. 7. Serve sprikled with a little more cheese. To microwave 1. Place vegetables, curry paste ad cocout i a dish ad microwave o high for 2 miutes. 2. Stir i oodles ad stock ad microwave o high for a further 4 5 miutes or util heated through. 3. Serve. Note: Add praws or cooked chicke for extra protei. To microwave 1. Place the leeks, mushrooms, courgettes ad herbs i a shallow microwave dish. 2. Microwave o high for 3 miutes, or util soft. 3. Add the chickpeas, rice ad vegetable stock, cover with clig-film ad microwave o high for 6 miutes or util the stock is absorbed ad the rice is cooked. 4. Add the cheese ad stir through before servig. 9

10 Notes: Spicy oodle stir-fry Igrediets: 4 mushrooms, sliced 1 est/pack of oodles ½ pack of stir-fry vegetables 1 tablespoo of soy sauce 1 teaspoo Chiese five spice Equipmet: Sharp kife Tablespoo Fryig pa or microwave dish Choppig board Teaspoo What to do? 1. Heat 1 teaspoo of the oil with the Chiese five spice i a pa ad add the vegetables. 2. Stir-fry over a high heat for 2 3 miutes. 3. Add the oodles ad heat for a further two miutes. 4. Stir i the soy sauce before servig. To microwave 1. Place the vegetables ad Chiese five spice i a dish ad microwave o high for two miutes. 2. Stir i the oodles ad microwave o high for a further miute. 3. Stir through the soy sauce ad serve. Note: Add praws or cooked chicke for extra protei. 10

11 Love your leftovers! A average UK household throws away a third of the food they buy. With some careful plaig you could make a meal out of what you would usually throw away ad save up to 400 a year. Try the followig ideas to use up the food most frequetly throw away. Baaas Make a fruit smoothie: bled a baaa with 1 mug of milk ad add hoey to taste. Add ay other soft fruit you may have leftover. Make a fruit loaf: Mix 1 mashed baaa with 1 mug of milk, 1 mug of Allbra cereal, 1 mug of self-raisig flour, 1 mug of dried fruit ad 1 teaspoo of ciamo. Pour ito a greased loaf ti ad bake at 180 C or gas mark 4 for miutes or util golde brow. Pasta If you cook too much pasta whe makig dier, save some to make pasta salad for your luch. Stir i 2 teaspoos of mayoaise or dressig, ad add a fillig of your choice (tua, ham, chicke, chickpeas) ad some salad ad vegetables (tomatoes, cucumber, oio, sweetcor, peas, watercress, beetroot). Eggs Use up your eggs by makig a frittata or omelette. Whisk 2 eggs ad seaso with pepper. Fry some vegetables i a pa (mushrooms, oios, peppers, sweetcor). Add the egg ad cook for 3 5 miutes. Sprikle with grated cheese ad put uder the grill util the cheese has melted. Mashed potato Make fishcakes with ay leftover mashed potato: Seaso 1 cup of mash with pepper ad 1 teaspoo of herbs. Add 1 small ti of fish (tua, salmo, mackerel) ad ¼ cup of breadcrumbs or crushed oatcakes. Shape ito cakes, coat i flour ad fry each side i a little oil for 4 5 miutes. Vegetables Istead of throwig away ay vegetables earig their sell by day, use them to make soup: Peel ad cut ay bruises from the vegetables. Chop ito chuks ad place i a saucepa. Cover the vegetables with water, add a stock cube ad some dried herbs. Simmer for miutes util the vegetables are soft. If you prefer a smooth soup, bled after cookig. 11