A healthy diet when on very little money

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Obviously, I am aware, that many people are living on a very tight budget.
But it is important to still try and eat as healthy as possible, whilst spending as little as possible.

People recommend oats, milk, cheap tins tomato soup, lentils, bread. What else?

This thread isnt for me right now, but who knows in the future?

If there is a thread already like this, please point me in the right direction. Thanks.

Potatoes, pasta.

Bags of frozen veg.

Yes, good They are economical. As long as people have a freezer compartment.

You don’t need milk, porridge is great with water.

Frozen foods and eggs are your friends.

Frozen foods are brilliant as you can take out what you need and not waste any. Especially vegetables and fruit.

Porridge with frozen blueberries and raspberries is very healthy and delicious.

Slow cooker meals are great for tenderising cheaper cuts of meat and just generally making flavoursome food. Make a bit more than you need and have the leftovers for lunch.

Eggs poached, boiled, scrambled.

Pasta and rice are cheap staples to which you can add lots of vegetables. Pasta with garlic, tuna, peas; stir fries.

I second frozen veg. We steam it. Comes out perfect

Buy bulk and either batch cook or freeze stuff in the portion size you use. I freeze egg white frittatas for breakfast that are pretty awesome

Value stuff doesnt taste value if its cooked well.

Love her or hate her, Jack Monroe's first book a girl called Jack (not the rest) is actually pretty good at suggested cheap recipes. However I add much more veg (frozen peas and fresh mushrooms especially) and lower the carb content.

Stick a whole chicken in a slow cooker, Cut it up and freeze it or keep it in the fridge for sandwich fillings and salad accompaniments.

Much of the advice on eat well for less is dodgy or for people who really dont budget at all to begin with

onions, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli
cheap apples
pulses - dried chickpeas etc will need significant cooking but a pressure cooker can cut this down; tinned are more expensive but pre-cooked

learn to love tap water

pilchards are cheaper than tuna

(I'm not convinced purchased blueberries - even frozen - have a place in a tight budget)

You can sprout beans, lentils and chickpeas and loads of different types of veg seeds. Tasty and inexpensive and really good for you. There are loads of tips and videos available online.

I do have some student books I could dig out. Forgotten about those.

On a lighter note, porridge with water, ew. But I take the point!

Going to print out this thread afterwards. If the internet were to go down, I still have the information to hand. I tend to do things if I can easily refer to something.

I think increasingly people in the UK will have to live like much of Asia does. Less meat, more plants and lentils. Will be better for the planet at any rate. My grocery bill is low because we don't eat meat. Most people won't want to live like that all the time but it is worth learning how to cook locally grown veg and pulses.

I do porridge with water because I never have milk in the house and it's fine. Batch cooking helps but it's not that helpful unless you have a decent sized freezer.

Almost everywhere has in season veg for a decent price. Even Ocado you can get things like 1kg carrots for 50p or less, broccoli cheap, potatoes, onions, cauliflower. Strawberries will be very cheap over the next few months.

frozen spinach

I thought porridge with water was ewww but having been forced to have it when the milk was off, I was surprised to find it was delicious.

To save money whilst still enjoying your meals, having some herbs and spices really help. It’s worth investing a little in smoked paprika, cumin, coriander, chilli, dried oregano.

Porridge is traditionally made with water and a touch of salt - ask any Scot(obviously not the ones who will follow me here to debunk this 😁)
Ready Brek - milk
Porridge - water

Less meat, more plants and lentils

I kinda have a bit of a problem with this. Whilst it's an admirable sentiment it's often easier and cheaper nutritionally to eat (small portions) of meat. Of course that's assuming you are happy ethically to eat cheap meat which is another question. Vegetarian diet done well (and without a reliance on soy) has to be very well thought out. When I tried it worked out a significant increase on my food budget

Also locally grown seasonal veg is bloody expensive compared to frozen green beans, broccoli and peas. Or at least it is where we live

I have lots of dried herbs and various stock that I add to rice , beans and pasta depending on what I fancy
They are about £1 each to buy , also have lots of tins of tomatoes, you can make it quite varied

Yes. I have over 30 different spices in my cupboard.
Turmeric
Coriander
Cumin
Garam masala
Tamarind ( not a spice)
Chilli
Oregano
Paprika
Chinese 5 spice
Coconut
Harissa
Tahini...
And sauces..

They last for ever and don't cost much.

Blueberries are antioxidant superfoods. They look after your skin whilst looking after your heart and fighting to keep cancer at bay. A pack is £2, so not cheap. But just a few on your porridge or cereal are excellent for your health.

Clarification - I am not a member of the Blueberry Marketing Board.

Yy to herbs and spices. Especially if you can buy them bulk not in the teeny jars

Maybe it isn’t, I’m not sure. But you only need a few to add to the porridge so a box can last ages 🤷‍♀️

I don't eat soy or processed meat and use a lot of frozen veg: spinach, okra, peas..... I agree a veggie or mostly veggie diet needs some thought and practice though, and probably not easy for most. I don't want to sound overly pious or anything.

How do people make this tasty? I think some people must be more gifted than -me- others. My stuff, even with fried onion and garlic in the sauce, just tastes like tinned tomatoes on pasta. 🤮

Tinned sardines can be great value money and nutrition wise and can be stirred in to pasta to make a meal, especially the sort that come in chilli oil.

You can use oats in other ways besides as porridge. I make overnight oats and breakfast cookies.

Homemade soup - red lentil and veges is a good one to use up any veges lurking at the bottom of the fridge.

Weekend treat breakfast of pike let’s with sliced banana mixed through the batter before cooking.

Dahl is cheap and filling.