9 Low-Effort Ways Home Cooks Get Cheap, Healthy Food On The Table
!function(n){if(!window.cnx){window.cnx={},window.cnx.cmd=[];var t=n.createElement('iframe');t.display='none',t.onload=function(){var n=t.contentWindow.document,c=n.createElement('script');c.src='//cd.connatix.com/connatix.player.js',c.setAttribute('async','1'),c.setAttribute('type','text/javascript'),n.body.appendChild(c)},n.head.appendChild(t)}}(document);(new Image()).src = '
https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=8b034f64-513c-4987-b16f-42d6008f7feb';cnx.cmd.push(function(){cnx({"playerId":"8b034f64-513c-4987-b16f-42d6008f7feb","mediaId":"3d7f33ce-11d3-448e-9be3-813e90d14595"}).render("69287894e4b00aca68d49034");});You’d think the hardest part of making dinner is the cooking, but in my experience, that pales in comparison to planning and grocery shopping. Often, especially during the work week, I find myself thinking – “yes, eating is great, but come on, three times a day?!”After all, finding food that’s delicious, nutritious, and inexpensive is a literal full-time job for a reason. Which is why I often find myself scrolling through Reddit’s r/EatCheapAndHealthy. The forum, dedicated to helping netizens find nourishing meals on the cheap without having to face a 75-step recipe, is filled with inspiration – some of the most popular of which we’ve shared here. 1) “I started making ‘soup cubes’ from scraps I used to throw away… and now everything I cook tastes way better for basically £0.” “One day, I saw someone mention freezing stock in muffin tins and gave it a go. I grabbed a big freezer bag, tossed in every veggie scrap for a week (onion ends, celery leaves, carrot peels, mushroom stems, herb stems… nothing fancy), and I also saved the starchy water from boiling pasta and beans.“When the bag got full, I dumped everything in a pot, covered with water, added a tiny bit of salt, a peppercorn or two, and simmered it for like an hour. Strained it, poured the liquid into a muffin tin, froze it overnight, popped the little ‘pucks’ out, and threw them in a bag.“Now, whenever I make... soups, ramen, rice, frozen veggies, lentils, whatever, I just toss in one of these frozen cubes, and suddenly it tastes like I put effort into it.” Credit: u/Ok_Bottle7622) “Don’t sleep on cabbage.” “If you can keep them cool and dry and store them so they’re not touching each other, [they] last more than half the year (you have to trim the outer leaves as they get older, but the inside stays good).“I just trimmed up a cabbage I bought in September for [under £1], and the core after discard still weighed 1.2kg and will be my salad base for the week.” Credit: u/AllAboutAtomz3) “You need to be making pulled pork.” “I just bought a pork [shoulder] for [under £10]. Cooking it is almost effortless. Once it’s ready, you have prepared meat you can use in sandwiches, quesadillas, tacos, salads, nachos, soups, etc, all week. Credit: u/lockwoodfiles4) “Chickpeas have been a lifesaver.” “They are cheap, easy to cook, healthy and delicious! There are so many ways you can eat them, and they are [a] cheap [source of] protein.“Chickpeas with avocado and boiled eggs have become one of my go-to meals.” Credit:u/Sum_r4nd0m_gurl“My favourite chickpea recipe is smashing half the portion in a skillet and letting them get crispy in some olive oil with a sprig of rosemary, a squeeze of lemon, and fresh Parmesan over any pasta,” u/kawaiian agreed.5) “Don’t sleep on [pearl] barley!” “It’s super healthy, loaded with potassium, iron, vitamin B, magnesium, and a surprising amount of protein. It’s also cheap as hell... [and] very shelf-stable, so buy it on sale and use it at your leisure!“My favourite winter-time meal prep is a cheap cut of clearance meat, a cup of pearl barley, 2 tablespoons of bouillon, and carrots/onions run through the food processor.″[Cook it for] eight hours on low in [a slow cooker], pull out the meat, shred it, [and] add it back. Boom, best stew you’ve had in your life... Serve that with some homemade bread, and it’s heaven.” Credit: [deleted]6) “Frozen berries and vegetables are often cheaper, healthier, and easier.” “Studies have shown that frozen berries and veg [may be more] nutritious than their ‘fresh’ counterparts because they are flash frozen when harvested.“The only real downside I can think of is that a lot of the texture is lost when freezing/thawing. So if your veg is intended for fresh salads or to eat raw, it’s not really ideal.“But way more often, I’m using veg/berries/fruit in prepared foods where the texture is lost in cooking anyway.” Credit:u/Humble_Dimension94397) “If you think you don’t like vegetables, you have to try this first.” “Sauté them in olive oil with onions and garlic, maybe a splash of lemon or vinegar. We’re talking broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, spinach, kale, squash, asparagus, green beans, etc.“If you still don’t like them after that, OK, maybe you don’t like them. But this makes vegetables taste as hearty and fulfilling as meat to me.” Credit:u/Ok_Leg55338) ”[Courgette] is a great substitute for egg in meatballs.” “I just made a recipe for meatballs that called for a whole grated [courgette] and zero eggs, and it turned out great.“The basic ratio was [450g] meat (turkey), 1 [courgette] grated... [75g dried, 30g fresh] breadcrumbs, and then spices of your choosing.“Will 100% be making again as [courgettes] are cheaper than eggs right now, and also, hey, bonus veggies in my dinner!” Credit:u/marihada9) “Bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs... are a fantastic deal.” “You can easily make a chicken stock with the bones. Combined with an old onion, carrot, and some celery (or whatever stock scraps you have around), you can make [up to 750ml-ish] of stock, which is usually enough for a soup [or] stew.“The skins make an excellent bacon replacement. I marinate both the skins and some of the thighs in yoghurt, salt, and spices, and then lay the skins and any trimmings on an insulated baking tray. Give them 12-15 minutes or so (you will need to check them for your ideal level of crisp), and you should be left with a nice crispy meaty chunk of skin that makes a fantastic bacon substitute without any of the chemicals.“Additionally, most of the chicken fat is in the skin and trimmings of the thighs. From six thighs, I got... plenty to cook with. I pour it off from the pan into a measuring cup, let it cool, then pour it into a jar with an airtight lid and put it in the fridge.“Finally, you have the chicken thighs. [I find it’s] still cheaper than the original price of boneless skinless thighs on sale, and it only takes maybe 20 minutes of prep to separate the components and get everything marinating and whatnot.” Credit: u/Cthulhu_Was_RightRelated...9 Cooking 'Hacks' People Say Are Actually A Waste Of Time5 Fast Healthy(ish) Dinners I Can Actually Be Bothered To Cook On Weeknights'I've Been Asked To Pay For Roast Dinner At A Mate's House. WTF?'
9 Low-Effort Ways Home Cooks Get Cheap, Healthy Food On The Table
!function(n){if(!window.cnx){window.cnx={},window.cnx.cmd=[];var t=n.createElement('iframe');t.display='none',t.onload=function(){var n=t.contentWindow.document,c=n.createElement('script');c.src='//cd.connatix.com/connatix.player.js',c.setAttribute('async','1'),c.setAttribute('type','text/javascript'),n.body.appendChild(c)},n.head.appendChild(t)}}(document);(new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=8b034f64-513c-4987-b16f-42d6008f7feb';cnx.cmd.push(function(){cnx({"playerId":"8b034f64-513c-4987-b16f-42d6008f7feb","mediaId":"3d7f33ce-11d3-448e-9be3-813e90d14595"}).render("69287894e4b00aca68d49034");});You’d think the hardest part of making dinner is the cooking, but in my experience, that pales in comparison to planning and grocery shopping. Often, especially during the work week, I find myself thinking – “yes, eating is great, but come on, three times a day?!”After all, finding food that’s delicious, nutritious, and inexpensive is a literal full-time job for a reason. Which is why I often find myself scrolling through Reddit’s r/EatCheapAndHealthy. The forum, dedicated to helping netizens find nourishing meals on the cheap without having to face a 75-step recipe, is filled with inspiration – some of the most popular of which we’ve shared here. 1) “I started making ‘soup cubes’ from scraps I used to throw away… and now everything I cook tastes way better for basically £0.” “One day, I saw someone mention freezing stock in muffin tins and gave it a go. I grabbed a big freezer bag, tossed in every veggie scrap for a week (onion ends, celery leaves, carrot peels, mushroom stems, herb stems… nothing fancy), and I also saved the starchy water from boiling pasta and beans.“When the bag got full, I dumped everything in a pot, covered with water, added a tiny bit of salt, a peppercorn or two, and simmered it for like an hour. Strained it, poured the liquid into a muffin tin, froze it overnight, popped the little ‘pucks’ out, and threw them in a bag.“Now, whenever I make... soups, ramen, rice, frozen veggies, lentils, whatever, I just toss in one of these frozen cubes, and suddenly it tastes like I put effort into it.” Credit: u/Ok_Bottle7622) “Don’t sleep on cabbage.” “If you can keep them cool and dry and store them so they’re not touching each other, [they] last more than half the year (you have to trim the outer leaves as they get older, but the inside stays good).“I just trimmed up a cabbage I bought in September for [under £1], and the core after discard still weighed 1.2kg and will be my salad base for the week.” Credit: u/AllAboutAtomz3) “You need to be making pulled pork.” “I just bought a pork [shoulder] for [under £10]. Cooking it is almost effortless. Once it’s ready, you have prepared meat you can use in sandwiches, quesadillas, tacos, salads, nachos, soups, etc, all week. Credit: u/lockwoodfiles4) “Chickpeas have been a lifesaver.” “They are cheap, easy to cook, healthy and delicious! There are so many ways you can eat them, and they are [a] cheap [source of] protein.“Chickpeas with avocado and boiled eggs have become one of my go-to meals.” Credit:u/Sum_r4nd0m_gurl“My favourite chickpea recipe is smashing half the portion in a skillet and letting them get crispy in some olive oil with a sprig of rosemary, a squeeze of lemon, and fresh Parmesan over any pasta,” u/kawaiian agreed.5) “Don’t sleep on [pearl] barley!” “It’s super healthy, loaded with potassium, iron, vitamin B, magnesium, and a surprising amount of protein. It’s also cheap as hell... [and] very shelf-stable, so buy it on sale and use it at your leisure!“My favourite winter-time meal prep is a cheap cut of clearance meat, a cup of pearl barley, 2 tablespoons of bouillon, and carrots/onions run through the food processor.″[Cook it for] eight hours on low in [a slow cooker], pull out the meat, shred it, [and] add it back. Boom, best stew you’ve had in your life... Serve that with some homemade bread, and it’s heaven.” Credit: [deleted]6) “Frozen berries and vegetables are often cheaper, healthier, and easier.” “Studies have shown that frozen berries and veg [may be more] nutritious than their ‘fresh’ counterparts because they are flash frozen when harvested.“The only real downside I can think of is that a lot of the texture is lost when freezing/thawing. So if your veg is intended for fresh salads or to eat raw, it’s not really ideal.“But way more often, I’m using veg/berries/fruit in prepared foods where the texture is lost in cooking anyway.” Credit:u/Humble_Dimension94397) “If you think you don’t like vegetables, you have to try this first.” “Sauté them in olive oil with onions and garlic, maybe a splash of lemon or vinegar. We’re talking broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, spinach, kale, squash, asparagus, green beans, etc.“If you still don’t like them after that, OK, maybe you don’t like them. But this makes vegetables taste as hearty and fulfilling as meat to me.” Credit:u/Ok_Leg55338) ”[Courgette] is a great substitute for egg in meatballs.” “I just made a recipe for meatballs that called for a whole grated [courgette] and zero eggs, and it turned out great.“The basic ratio was [450g] meat (turkey), 1 [courgette] grated... [75g dried, 30g fresh] breadcrumbs, and then spices of your choosing.“Will 100% be making again as [courgettes] are cheaper than eggs right now, and also, hey, bonus veggies in my dinner!” Credit:u/marihada9) “Bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs... are a fantastic deal.” “You can easily make a chicken stock with the bones. Combined with an old onion, carrot, and some celery (or whatever stock scraps you have around), you can make [up to 750ml-ish] of stock, which is usually enough for a soup [or] stew.“The skins make an excellent bacon replacement. I marinate both the skins and some of the thighs in yoghurt, salt, and spices, and then lay the skins and any trimmings on an insulated baking tray. Give them 12-15 minutes or so (you will need to check them for your ideal level of crisp), and you should be left with a nice crispy meaty chunk of skin that makes a fantastic bacon substitute without any of the chemicals.“Additionally, most of the chicken fat is in the skin and trimmings of the thighs. From six thighs, I got... plenty to cook with. I pour it off from the pan into a measuring cup, let it cool, then pour it into a jar with an airtight lid and put it in the fridge.“Finally, you have the chicken thighs. [I find it’s] still cheaper than the original price of boneless skinless thighs on sale, and it only takes maybe 20 minutes of prep to separate the components and get everything marinating and whatnot.” Credit: u/Cthulhu_Was_RightRelated...9 Cooking 'Hacks' People Say Are Actually A Waste Of Time5 Fast Healthy(ish) Dinners I Can Actually Be Bothered To Cook On Weeknights'I've Been Asked To Pay For Roast Dinner At A Mate's House. WTF?'
