Hey guys, I’ve heard loads of students saying they want to get healthier for 2016 (me included!) so I thought I’d share a few meals that I eat on a regular basis for a little inspo.
I’ve always been fairly healthy but ever since uni I’ve found it a bit harder to stay motivated to buy nutritious stuff especially because hippy diets can be quite expensive/a faff to make. All the following meals use cheap ingredients as my food shop never goes over about £14 for the week, and they’re super quick to make too!
BREAKFAST
Porridge made with half almond milk half water. Topped with dried fruit and seeds
-My favourite milk at the moment is Alpro unsweetened almond milk and it’s usually on offer for £1.
Beans on seeded toast, poached egg and a bit of crumbled feta cheese.
-To poach the eggs I use silicon egg moulds which are simple to use for fail safe poached eggs.
-I also buy reduced sugar and salt beans and literally can’t taste the difference.
LUNCH
2 egg omelette, quorn chicken pieces, Mediterranean veg and babybel.
Pesto pasta, asparagus, pepper, leftover chicken (quorn pieces also go well) and feta cheese.
Falafels, Uncle Bens quinoa and mixed rice, side salad with feta cheese and houmous.
DINNER
Linda McCartney (or McRassclart according to JME lol) rosemary and red onion sausages, sweet potato, sitrfried veg with soy sauce (leftover from prawn meal above) and grilled halloumi.
-These are my favourite veggie sausages as they’re really flavoursome, I also reccomend Linda McCartney’s mozzarella burgers and country pie.
-I microwaved the sweet potato and takes so quick to cook (usually about 8/9 mins on high power).
Stirfry veg in homemade teriyaki sauce, prawns, and fine egg noodles
-I bought these prawns when they were reduced to £1.50 as they were expiring but froze them and used them later.
Veggie chili (made with courgette, kidney beans, peppers), Uncle Ben’s savoury rice, jalapeno peppers, peas and a side of Alpro plain soya yogurt (to cool down the chili!)
-I made a big portion of veggie chili and had the rest the next day for lunch with sweet potato.
Grilled Salmon tail (cheaper than fillet) topped with pesto, leftover Uncle Ben’s rice from veggie chili night), lightly fried mushrooms, courgette and green beans (from frozen) using 1 cal olive oil spray.
Couscous (super cheap and quick to make) with roasted veg (from frozen), lightly fried mushrooms, courgette and green beans with a little pesto, grilled halloumi, chopped carrot and half a wholemeal pita with houmous.
My top tips for healthy cooking on a budget:
- Use 1 cal olive oil spray as you use less so food is lower in fat, it also lasts for ages (I’ve had the same bottle since September)
- Try out vegetarian alternatives to meat on some days (I definitely recommend Linda McCartney’s range) as they’re nearly always on offer and much lower in fat than meat but still high in protein
- Shop around for offers- I usually check online which deals are at different supermarkets
- Look at the reduced section in supermarkets- you can normally find so many vegetables that are reduced to a fraction of the price (I found a huge pack of asparagus for 25p!). You can then freeze (if possible) or eat within the next few days
- GO SHOPPING WITH A LIST- and stick to it! This is so important because it stops you from buying the most random stuff you really don’t need.
But remember it’s ok to have a takeaway once in a while (especially after a night out)…
Hope you guys enjoyed this post, and feel free to leave any comments below or on my instagram page,
Andri x