Healthy Affordable Food! Part 2

 The healthiest meals are made from vegetables with protein and carbohydrates.

So.

Vegetables can be purchased cheaply from supermarkets, as long as you stick with seasonal and bargain veg.  Often you can buy 'reduced' veg as it comes to the 'best before' dates, or 'wonky' veg.

Rice and pasta can also be bought cheaply  - usually buying larger quantities works out cheaper, and certainly 'shop's own' ranges are cheaper than the branded ones.

As for protein - whatever your choice whether meat, fish, dairy, vegetarian or vegan there are cheaper choices to  be purchased.  Personally I like to choose the best of the protein choices and then bulk them out with cheaper things.  For instance if I'm buying meat I will buy from the farm shop that lists where the animal came from rather than the supermarket with the 'value' range.  This is eaten and enjoyed, but there is less of it as it is more expensive.

When we eat fish, again it is smaller portions to eke out what we buy.

It is veggy where the portions of protein get bigger - for example this evening we ate a veggie chilli with tinned beans added to some soya mince. 

So which meals do I make to keep the costs down?

Well, this month we are eating:

Veggie chilli with rice

Veggie curry with rice

Roast veg, roast spuds, steamed veg

Fish  - pan fried or roasted in foil, served with steamed veg and potato wedges

Lasagne - with gluten free pasta, homemade tomato sauce with grated veg, white sauce made from gf flour, oat milk and veg stock

Lentil and veg loaf

Shepherd's pie - made from grated veg to make the 'meat' base.

Gluten free is more expensive, so we use smaller amounts.  For example, in my lasagne we have just one or two layers of pasta to keep the costs down.  It is still very tasty!

We eat gluten and dairy free, and oat milk is expensive so we water it down a little to stretch it out.

When we have bread, we make our own for us, but buy reduced bread of an evening that we pop in the freezer for grandchildren's sarnies.

We love puddings, but don't buy them or make them.  

We have a weekly veg and fruit delivery box, and eat fruit for supper each day to give us that 'sweet' feeling.  Then when we do eat out (at GD's house, for example) and we have pudding, it is more special.

Do you have any questions?

Do you want to add any ideas to this blogpost?

I hope this has helped someone.

Tracey xx