britians - cheap healthy meal ideas

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debrag12
debrag12 Posts: 1,071 Member
in Food and Nutrition
So does anyone have ideas for easy meals that won't break the bank each month. I work long shifts so those days I don't have a lot of time to cook.

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  • lublue
    lublue Posts: 123 Member
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    I would buy frozen mixed vegetables for the week, and some frozen fish fillets ('alternative' types of fish like sole and pollock are cheaper - sainsbury's basics do a box of a few pollock fillets for £2), freeze those too. Have with rice or wholemeal bread, or sweet potatoes or something?

    My go-to supper for ages was grilled/steamed/fried fish with peas and veg. Worked.

    Failing that, omelette? Beans on toast? Actually tins of beans are another really cheap healthy option.
  • Silverstar46
    Silverstar46 Posts: 187 Member
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    crockpot meals!!! They are awesome.

    I'm not British, but I saw this and had to respond.

    Chili made with chicken instead of beef (or even without meat at all) is so crockpot friendly and can cook all day long and lasts the whole week. It's also extremely filling and below 350 calories per serving. You can't beat that!

    Also, there is a website called skinnytaste.com that has great meals and most of them are quick and simple, but she also had a full set of crock-pot meals.

    I've found that chicken cooked on low in there is so moist and delicious. You can add vegetables to it and a little seasoning and have a meal when you get home. :) Hope this helps!
  • kym117
    kym117 Posts: 315 Member
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    Can't beat a good stew to heat you up after a days work, I personally make a vegetable stew but you could add anything, really cheap and quite healthy, also you could invest in a slow cooker I recently purchased one as I am out most of the day and this way my tea is ready for me when I get in.
  • 8Sam12
    8Sam12 Posts: 61
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    Fish is good. Steam the fish along with the vegetables and cook brown rice. Have with soy sauce or a light sweet chilli sauce. Otherwise, cook healthy meals (like a healthy chilli, stews, etc) and freeze so you only have to microwave. About once a month I do a massive shop and cook three things and freeze them so I'll have a couple of quick meals. Not for every day but enough for all the busy days coming up.
  • The1iceQueen
    The1iceQueen Posts: 119
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    Eggs, cheap, quick to cook, and many ways to do them.
  • TheTrimTim
    TheTrimTim Posts: 222 Member
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    Venison steaks are pretty cheap now in Asda and full of great protein. Just lightly fry them with olive oil or similar. And lots of veg. Awesome!

    Chicken breast that is ready to eat with salad and/or greens is great too. They are always BOGOF or 2 for £5.

    Steer clear of pre-processed meals and microwave stuff. They aren't any quicker to prepare and certainly have lots of stuff in them you don't want to eat, like salt and/or sugars.

    A the same time, being busy isn't an excuse for not eating well. Make time and prioritise your day. Ad if it helps, cook on bulk. Grill 4 or 5 chicken breast, eat 1 or 2 and put the others in the fridge or freezer.
  • Baileys83
    Baileys83 Posts: 152 Member
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    I would go with:

    A) Eggs like someone else has already suggested
    B) Stiryfry - Asda do packs of veggies ready to chuck in the pan - lovely!
    C) Chilli - I actually do it in the slow cooker, chuck all the ingredients in before I leave the house in the morning and it's ready for when I come home. I use turkey mince which is really healthy.
  • maegmez
    maegmez Posts: 341 Member
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    Make a big pot of homemade chilli on the cooktop and load it with veggies! 40 mins to cook and lasts our family of 6 3 days!
  • eloisemonteiro
    eloisemonteiro Posts: 59 Member
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    Iceland for frozen vegs and fish and Tesco for everything else: salad, lentils, beans, whole pasta/rice, eggs :)
    I use to do a lot stuffed vegs, tomato, bell pepper and aubergine are great for that!
  • JacquiC72
    JacquiC72 Posts: 49 Member
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    How much time do you have to cook? I can manage to cook a chicken breast or fish fillet and boil some veggies in half an hour.

    Or like other posters have suggested, cook meals like stew in advance and freeze them. I make a quorn mince shepherd's pie with a cauliflower/sweet potato topping and it lasts me for 4 meals with veg.
  • debrag12
    debrag12 Posts: 1,071 Member
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    So frozen food isn't bad then? We always have frozen veg, fish, pies.
  • cazzer69
    cazzer69 Posts: 162 Member
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    This may sound a bit elitist, but sainsburys do pheasant breast fillets.
    They're under a fiver for two and they often have buy one get one free deals.
    They take under 10 minutes to cook and with a bit of redcurrant jelly are delicious.

    They are also bugger all calories.
  • missyali
    missyali Posts: 1 Member
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    Stock up on tins of beans ( not baked in tomato sauce :-) ) such as mixed, cannelinni, borlotti etc. and cans of tuna. Together these two ingredients mixed with various chopped veg can make a variety of tasty quick filling meals - hot or cold. Goes well with a vinaigrette dressing , a soy sauce dressing, chili dressing. You can also mix in some potatoes or pasta or rice etc to make it more substantial.
  • dinkydudette
    dinkydudette Posts: 71
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    I work 13 hour days and spend 4 hours travelling every day during the week. I also have a pretty busy weekend schedule so I have to be really prepared. I find that making a lot of freezable meals in advance helps but on the days where I won't be able to get to a microwave, I have to make do with a salad. It's really boring but the weather's on the turn so it might not be so unbearable.
  • ljmiller11
    ljmiller11 Posts: 67 Member
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    Stir fry! I LOVE stirfry and it's so good for you, cheap and easy! I use about 100gms of chicken per person with a whole bag of stirfry veg (only about 50 cals for a huge portion) with some light soy sauce or low cal sweet chilli sauce for flavour. If i am feeling hungry, I add some fine rice noodles which only add about 150 cals but make it into a massive portion and you really feel like you've had a good meal.

    My favourite quick and easy dish for less then 400 cals. Enjoy :)
  • Sqeekyjojo
    Sqeekyjojo Posts: 704 Member
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    Meat and fish. Get packs, divide them up into individual portions and freeze in bags. Get tomorrow's out as you do your meal, leave in fridge to defrost overnight.

    Have eggs, have cottage cheese, yoghurt, salad and veg ready in the fridge.


    Walk in the door, hang coat up, put pan on hob to heat. Chuck meat in pan, throw veggies in microwave/salad on plate. 3 minutes later, put meat on plate and then serve with dressing of choice like lemon juice.

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