Simple but healthy and not overly expensive meal ideas thread.

[Perhapsanorhertimewouldbebetter]

Simple but healthy and not overly expensive meal ideas please?
Family of 3 adults.
In AIBU for traffic, but no poll, because who would think it's unreasonable to ask for meal ideas? Actually, don't answer that.

Ok I will start:
Soup
Stir fry
Jacket potatos
Rissotto
Pasta bake

Have a look at Hairy bikers and pinch of nom books also there are recipes on hairy bikers website including low cal and budget ones

Jacket potatoes are the king of the cheap meal. I like mine with butter and pesto and a salad.

Soup
Bean Chilli
Fajitas

Daal wtih spinach or pumpkin thrown in, if they will eat it.

Thanks, they are all on my existing list.

I am not keen on pumpkin but spinach is possible!
Thanks for reminding me that I used to love making Daal!

Indian food is very cheap to make, if you are so inclined.

This is lovely and pretty easy. Serve with salad and possibly some nice bread.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/tortillaspanishomele_67957

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/food_and_recipes

And without knowing if you consider healthy as low fat, low carb, raw vegan or carnivore etc it’s difficult to offer useful suggestions…

Hairy bikers Spanish chicken - I use whatever veg I have in the fridge. It's lush and dead simple.
Chicken and veg stir fry with packet rice
Also, have a look at the Cherrypick app - loads of recipes on there and you can filter by ingredients

Fish cakes

Pack of 6 Quorn sausages (or they could be normal sausages)
2 cans of chopped tomatoes
1 can of black beans
12 washed salad potatoes (or as many as you think you want to eat)
2 cloves of garlic
Empty everything into a large Pyrex bowl and put it in the oven for a couple of hours

I like baked cod or salmon done in lots of different ways e.g. Mediterranean, Harissa, Cajun, Pesto. Serve with any kind of potatoes and veg.

Easiest meal to make and healthy.

They’re all massively general categories though. There are so many potentially very different things within ‘soup’, ‘stir fry’ etc.

You can make an enormous variety of cheap, tasty and interesting rice dishes. Things served with rice, things cooked in with the rice, a mix of the two. All can be simple and healthy. Same if you decide to substitute the rice for pasta, or cous cous, or another starchy food.

But you presumably know this - so are you looking for entirely new broad categories of food (e.g. rice porridge, filled/topped flatbreads) or more specific recipes here?

There are lots of ideas on this thread, if you’re looking for actual recipes: https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/4991861-what-are-your-easy-go-to-quick-family-recipes-you-use-regularly?reply=132526367

Pinch of nom is an excellent family cookbook, got loads of easy inspiration from that one like chicken Dijon with dumplings.

Tom Kerridge can get in the sea

Otherwise, I try and smarten up an old favourite with a new vegetable on the side, or different carbohydrate (cous cous, seasoned rice, more elaborate potatoes)

Check what's in season this month and base a dish around that.

Get each family member to pick a country, and base a meal from there.

I hate meal planning ruts with a passion, especially when everyone enjoys eating, but not the mental load of it!

Rukmini Iyer's Fresh India is working well for me and DH - emphasis on veg, pulses, fish. Portion sizes feel about right. Had salmon with coconut, chilli and mint on tomatoes and red onion last night. Dh made a bit of couscous to go with his and I added courgette noodles.

I mean google is your friend here.

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/family-meal-recipes

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/speedy-suppers-recipes

There's a few instagram accounts and blogs that are fantastic for food ideas. The Cardiff Mum does 5 dinners for £25 - she has just released a book too.

@VinegarTrio yes specific is good - thanks for the link to the thread (guess who forgot the search function exists?).

Here are some flexible recipe ideas:

You can make a quick/easy teriyaki style sauce from soy sauce, mirin and sugar (use a ratio of about 3 : 1.5 : 1 of those, although I just sort of eyeball it and it’s fine). If you don’t have mirin, soy sauce and sugar makes a decent sauce on its own. You can thicken it with cornflour if you need to. Brush on grilled or baked salmon (or another fish). Or chicken skewers. Or use it as sauce for beef, chicken, pork, whatever stir fry (can be mince if you like). Serve with rice and whatever veg you feel like. Vary by adding garlic, ginger, chilli, etc as you like).

Similarly, you can make a sort of bulgogi marinade based on the teriyaki recipe. Unless you have one handy, you can make a Korean pear substitute with an apple and half an onion. Chuck all the above in a food processor with a heap of garlic and bit of ginger and puree. Use it to marinade steak (or anything else you fancy really!) and then grill or fry it. Or add it to mince as you fry it. A bit of sesame oil finishes it off nicely. If you do steak, you can eat it by making wee lettuce wraps.

Stuff in honey garlic sauce is also good. Heat up honey, garlic (can be pre-chopped/purée if you can’t be arsed with chopping it) and soy sauce. Thicken with some cornflour. Use it as a sauce for chicken or pork stir fry. Or make some chicken nuggets (use frozen if you prefer) and coat them in the sauce. Serve with rice and veg.

Vietnamese caramel chicken or pork is also easy to make. Make some caramel sauce by melting about 200g of palm sugar (or just brown sugar) in a pan or in the microwave. When melted take off the heat and stir in about 150ml of fish sauce. It will bubble like crazy. Chuck in a couple of red chillis (sliced in half or very roughly chopped). Fry some onions or shallot with ginger until softened. You can add garlic and/or lemongrass too if you fancy it. Add chopped chicken thigh (I use one of the big packets of skinless, boneless ones from the supermarket - so about 650g) or pork (sliced steaks or mince or the like) and cook. Add the sauce back in. Chuck in some coriander if you like it and serve with rice and whatever veg you like. This bean sprout and cabbage salad is nice with it (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/10230905/Red-cabbage-and-beansprout-salad-with-herbs-recipe.html?ub=true&ubid=520a21999ac25eed770000df&ubtoken=vMkzlIZrwkpdq2r)

Rukmini Iyer's The Roasting Tin book is fantastic. Loads of recipes for meals made in one roasting tin, sort of the main course equivalent of tray bakes. Lots of variety of meat, fish and veggie recipes. Lots of different flavours and vegetables.