Healthy Recipes on a Budget

When you're strapped for cash, it can sometimes be difficult to be inventive in the kitchen. But there are lots of healthy food options and recipes for you and your family if you are on a budget, you just need to be a bit more creative.

♥ Beans on Toast

The ultimate student meal, yes, but super healthy and good for you. The beans mixed with the whole grain bread makes up a whole protein; and its one of the cheapest meals you can have. Open up a tin (low sugar, low salt) and enjoy on toasted bread with a thin layer of butter or coconut oil.

♥ Italian Lasagna

An excellent healthy budget recipe, when served with a little green salad.

Fry up some mince with a chopped onion and carrots. Add some red wine, bouillon, chopped tomatoes and then season. Place in a bay leaf and simmer for 30 minutes. Meanwhile make a quick white sauce, melt a little bit of butter and then sprinkle in enough flour to bring it into a paste. Pour on some milk, and heat until it has thickened.

Start to layer the lasagne and the two sauces. Make sure the final one on top is the white sauce, and sprinkle on a little cheese, and a few sliced tomatoes. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes or until golden at 180c.

♥ Exotic Curry

An inexpensive way of getting real flavour to your palette, whilst staying within your budget. Try adding different curry pastes to get different flavoured recipes.

Start by cutting up some chicken and onions. Fry these in a large pan until brown. Add some curry paste, coconut milk, flaked almonds, chickpeas and desiccated coconut. Pour on a few spoonfuls water to get the right consistency. Simmer for 30 mins with the lid of the pan left on. Add a teaspoon of fresh chopped coriander and ginger for extra zing. Serve with rice and a little natural yogurt.

♥ Omelette

A perfect way to eat eggs, and great for anyone on a budget. Especially if you have some mushrooms, courgettes or tomatoes in your fridge! Mix up 2-3 eggs, add a little salt and pepper, and add it to your frying pan full of fried vegetables. Add a little sprinkle of dried herbs, like dill or mixed Italian. Wait, and serve with a slice of toasted wholegrain bread.

♥ Simple Pancakes

Perfect at any time of day, pancakes are a deliciously cheap meal. All you need is 4oz buckwheat flour, an egg and 1/2 pint of milk (soya/rice if you prefer). Mix them together, and start pouring into a hot frying pan. Serve with some tinned peach slices, yogurt and a glass of fruit juice, in order to have a correctly balanced nutritious meal.

♥ Daytime Porridge

This simple and easy breakfast recipe is healthy and nutritious and very cheap to make. All it requires is a handful of oats and a cup of water or milk. Mix them together, heat it up, wait and enjoy. Practice makes perfect. You will know how you most enjoy it and what texture you prefer if you make it a few times.

♥ Roast Root Vegetables

Another simple budget recipe, pop to your nearest supermarket and pick up a handful of carrots, parsnips, potatoes, onion, shallot and sweet potatoes. Chop these up lengthways into sticks, drizzle in olive and season. Bake in the oven for 45minutes to 1 hour at 180c.

Quite often you may find other vegetables that are a tasty addition to this vegetable dish. Try them out. Experiment. Tomatoes for instance are a delicious way to insert a little bit of extra flavour and texture to this dish.

♥ Wholesome Soup

Simply, go to your local store, and buy any vegetables that catch your eye. A mix of root vegetables makes for a hearty winter soup, whereas carrot with a bit of coriander has a much more summery feel.

Dice the vegetables you have chosen and pop them in a pan (lightly fry them for extra flavour) with an onion and a clove or two of garlic for extra flavour. Then cover in stock; bouillon is great for making soups. Let it simmer and rest, and then bring back to temperature to eat with some homemade rolls.

Check out more cheap healthy recipe ideas on Enjoy Healthy Eating.