10 Tips and pieces of advice to eating healthy on a budget…

People are always asking me about eating healthy and then complaining that it costs to much or it takes to long. You know what IT DOESN’T HAVE TO!

There are so many recipes and ways to cook that doesn’t cost a fortune and tastes so much better then any fast food or packaged stuff.

The way I think about it, every meal needs to be balanced. Some kind of grain, lots of vegetables and protein. If you want to stay super healthy avoid the red meat and go for Chicken or Fish. There are so many different tips and methods to being healthy.

The most important one for me is to enjoy what eat and don’t be to harsh on yourself. You can eat anything, just do it in moderation.

Here are a few things that I do in my life to keep the cost down while eating healthy.

10 Tips and pieces of advice to eating healthy on a budget…

1. Get rid of those potatoes and pasta and replace it with options like: Whole grain rice, wild rice or quinoa (my personal favourite)

2. Want a cheap protein option replace the meat with Beans or Lentils. You can get bags of beans that will last you a week easily for less than a £1. Don’t go for the canned option either. Get “fresh” beans stick it in a pot and cover it with water before going to bed. When you get home from work the next day, rinse the water, cover the bean (should be about double the water for amount of beans) and boil for an hour! You can make a big pot and it will last you a week.

3. Why not head to the local butchers for you meat? Believe it or not it is usually cheaper than going to the supermarket. The butchers will always have a deal on something for the day, and the meat is fresher and cheaper than the local supermarket. Make the detour, its worth it.

4. To save money get Frozen vegetables. It won’t go bad, it is cheaper than fresh vegetables and tastes pretty good as well.

5. Look for fresh produce… no problem. Go to the local farmers market instead of the supermarket. The produce is usually fresher and cheaper.

6. Try changing out the expensive name brand cereals like Kellogs, with a bag of unsalted almonds and a more healthy variety with dried fruits and seeds (I like the Dorset Cereals). The more nuts, seeds, fruits and fibre the cereal has the less you need to feel full. A box of Dorset Cereal may cost £1 more than Kellogs but it will last me at least 3X as long. Value for money I think so!

7. Another little breakfast tip I discovered was to switch out the milk with a probiotic natural yogurt like Total. 2 heaping tablespoons of this mixed in with your cereal will leave you feeling fuller for longer and its extra good for your digestion.

8. Feeling hungry in the middle of the day and want to avoid unwanted snacking? Its been said hundreds of times but it doesn’t make it any less true. Always carry with you a small container of unsalted nuts. Mix it up, almonds, cashews, pistachios, walnuts you name it.

9. Another little trick I use to keep the hunger at bay and to keep myself from snacking is to heap up some water and stick a lemon slick, some chopped fresh ginger and a teaspoon of honey. No caffeine to get hooked on and the fresh lemon and ginger is a great combination to clean out the system. A teaspoon of honey is always a great alternative to sugar.

10. Really the best tip I can give you is to enjoy your food. I will never recommend to anyone to starve themselves, to stop eating or eat things you hate to get skinny. Everything in moderation, just don’t overindulge. Eat 5 small healthy meals a day or 3 normal meals. Don’t skip a meal time. If you are known to overeat, use a smaller plate to serve yourself. Being and healthy isn’t about cutting everything out of your diet, its about knowing when to stop. A friend of mine wanted to loose some weight so she cut out all sweets 6 days a week. A part from that she ate as normal. Eating healthy meals and snacking on nuts instead of candy bars. Within a couple of months she was feeling healthier and the craving for the sweet stuff wasn’t as strong. She didn’t deny herself the sweets she simply stopped herself from overindulging in it.

 

The Perfect Quiche – a tasty adventure

Quiche is a simple dish to make, perfect for a light lunch. Every quiche is made from the same base containing cream and egg, poured into a pastry base and backed to perfection. The ingredients, which make the quiche so tasty, are based on individual preferences. Imagination is the only limitation to a good quiche and I challenge you to be adventurous with your choice.

Here are two variations that I love of this delicious, yet simple dish.

First of all, the Pastry Base:

For a Quiche it is best to use a partially baked pastry shell. These can often be bought at the store, however if you want to make one yourself, here you have my favourite pastry shell recipe. For the best most tasty outcome people often mix butter and shortening. I choose to use only butter, but I give you the option here of choosing one or the other.

You will need a large mixing bowl.

Ingredients:
2 cup (4.6 dl) Flour
6 ounces (170 grams) Butter & 2 ounce (60 grams) Vegetable Shortening
            OR
8 ounces (230 grams) Butter NO Shortening
6-8 tablespoons Water
Pinch of Salt
Pinch of Sugar  (optional)

Method:

Mix flour, salt, sugar and butter (shortening if used) in a large mixing bowl. Now don’t be afraid to get dirty. Use your hands to rub the flour and butter together. You want the butter to be broken into tiny crumb size pieces but not completely smooth.

Add COLD water and mix quickly, still using your hands to mix the dough into a single mass. If any crumbs still remain, sprinkle as little water as possible in order for it to become a piece of the larger mass. It is important that the dough is not to “watery” or wet. It needs to be held together, while not becoming too sticky.

Knead the dough in quick movements with heal of your hand and once it becomes a smooth round ball, sprinkle with flour and wrap it wax paper.

Place in freezer for 1 hour or in a refrigerator for minimum of 2 hours.

When you roll out the dough, it should be done quickly. This makes life easy for your self, the longer you wait (the warmer the dough gets) the more is breaks apart. In order to roll it out, place the dough on a lightly floured board or marble, and knead it briefly. Lightly flour the top of the dough, and roll it out with a rolling pin. Make sure you periodically lift, turn and re-angle the dough, flouring it as necessary to prevent it from sticking.

As soon as it is rolled out place it in a slightly buttered dish. Easiest is using a mould with detachable side, so when finished you can pop the pastry out and place it on the table ready to eat.

In order to partially cook a shell simple bake the shell in the middle of a preheated 225 degrees oven for 8-9 minutes. Take a fork and prick the bottom of the pastry in order to prevent it from rising. Let is bake for a further 2-3 minutes. Just as the pastry starts to change in colour, remove it from the oven.

(Bake for an additional 7-10 minutes if you want a fully baked crust/pastry)

Quiche with Cheese, Mushroom & Bacon

Ingredients:

Base:
3 large Eggs
1 cup Heavy Cream
½ cup Whole Milk
Pinch of Salt
Pinch of Pepper

Optional ingredients:
6 slices medium thick Bacon
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup (2.3dl) Cheese (any you prefer I like Swiss Cheese or Feta)
1 cup (2.3dl) sliced Mushrooms
1 Garlic Clove diced
½ Onion diced
Bunch Fresh Chives

Method:

Preheat oven to 185 degrees C.

Dice onions and garlic. Thinly slice mushrooms and cut bacon into small pieces and along with onions and garlic lightly brown in skillet.

Let it cool for 10-15 minutes.

Beat eggs, cream, milk, salt, pepper and chives in a mixing bowl. Stir in bacon mixture, cheese and chives.

Pour mixture into pastry shell and dot the top with small slices of butter, and set in the middle of preheated oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the top has turned a little brown.

Leek, Potato, Spinach and Feta Quiche

Base as before

Optional ingredients:
2 tablespoons Butter
2 finely diced Shallots
1 Garlic Clove
1 cup Frozen or precooked Spinach
½ cup precooked sliced Leeks
1 medium-large diced precooked Potato
½ cup Feta
1 tablespoon Flour
Pinch of nutmeg
Chili flakes (optional)

Method:

Same as previously stated. Mix precooked (cooled) diced potatoes, leeks, and spinach in a bowl with feta, onion and garlic.

Add mixture to base and add feta, flour, nutmeg and chili.

Pour into pastry shell, add small slices of butter to top and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Enjoy your lunch!