Can you afford to eat healthily? With so many of us feeling overstretched at the moment, it’s a valid question. Eating fresh foods has increasingly become a luxury. A report last year by the Food Foundation found that healthy food costs £10 per 1,000 calories, a pound more than in 2022. Meanwhile less healthy choices come in at £4.50 per 1,000 calories.
No wonder that, according to a BBC Good Food Nation survey, one in four of us is eating less healthily to save money, while obesity rates soar thanks to our love affair with junk food.
So how can we get the weekly shop in on budget, without blowing our diet or waistline on cheap processed junk?
We’ve put together a full week’s meal plan of simple and delicious dishes, complete with a shopping list that comes in at £26 per person (£30 if you include buying store cupboard staples like spices and olive oil), including healthy balanced portions that will help you stay trim, or even lose weight, if you have a tendency to overload your plate. And the best thing about it? You can still eat fresh meat and your five-a-day without breaking the bank.
“These recipes incorporate plenty of lean protein, healthy fats and complex carbohydrates and a range of essential micronutrients. By focusing on making food from scratch, reducing ultra-processed foods and sticking to sensible portion sizes, you’ll be better nourished and could even lose a few pounds too,” says Telegraph nutritionist Sam Rice.
Read on for the full recipes.
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An ultra-simple loaf that anyone can make, with a nutty flavour and fairly dense texture; you can make it a bit lighter by using half and half white and wholemeal flour. Invented by the health campaigner Doris Grant during the Second World War, there’s no kneading required. If you have enough tins you can save fuel by tripling the quantities and baking three loaves at the same time, freezing the extra loaves. Enjoy slices of it toasted with boiled eggs for breakfast or with lunches or dinners through the week.
Prep time: 20 minutes, plus 30-60 minutes to prove
Cook time: 40 minutes
Makes 1 loaf
50p per loaf
Organic yoghurt becomes easily affordable if made from scratch – an example of how rediscovering old-fashioned cooking skills can help us eat healthily and save money. How much you make at a time will be limited by the size of your container, but it’s simple to do.
Heat 500ml organic milk in a pan on the hob to 86C (the surface will be steaming but not bubbling). Leave to cool to 45C (bearable to put your finger in but too hot for a bath). Stir in 2 tbsp live yoghurt (shop-bought or from your last batch). Rinse a 600ml Thermos flask or two 300ml insulated travel coffee mugs with boiling water to warm them. Pour in the milk and put the lid(s) on. Leave in a warm spot, away from draughts, for 12 hours, by which time the yoghurt should be set. Transfer to a jar and store in the fridge to enjoy with overnight oats or the turkey tzatziki wraps below.
A simple breakfast, packed with goodness. Use whatever frozen fruit you like, and eat this at home or grab a jar and go.
Prep time: 5 minutes, plus overnight chilling
4
46p per person
The cost of higher-welfare meat is wince-making if you’re on a tight budget. Get round this by using an overlooked cut: turkey leg. For free range, check the National Farmers Union’s Turkey Finder list of local farms (I’m a fan of Herb Fed Poultry which sells two free range turkey legs for £6.20); supermarket legs won’t be free range and the flavour will be less gamey, more chicken-like.
The day before you’re eating, put 1.5-2kg turkey leg(s) in a roasting tin and sprinkle with 1 tsp salt. Cover and refrigerate. The next day, preheat the oven to 160C/140C fan/gas mark 3. Rinse off the salt and pat the legs dry. Return to the rinsed-out roasting tin. Slice a lemon and arrange around the leg, along with 4 cloves of unpeeled garlic, a bay leaf and a sprig of rosemary if you have them, plus 200ml water. Cover with foil.
Roast for 1½ hours until tender. Uncover, raise the temperature to 200C/180C fan/gas mark 6, and cook until browned and crisp (about 20 minutes). At the same time, chop a packet of cooked beetroot into chunks, toss in olive oil and put to cook in a dish on a shelf under the turkey. Serve the turkey with the beetroot, cooked brown rice and peas.
Afterwards: strip any leftover meat from the bones – keep scrappy bits for soup and chunks for salads, curries or tzatziki wraps. Use the bones and any bits of skin to make stock.
Put 2-3 litres of turkey stock in a pan with a cinnamon stick or 1 tsp ground cinnamon and a star anise if you have them. Boil down to about 1.5 litres. Remove 300ml for the spicy tofu recipe (see below) and season the rest with salt, pepper and soy sauce. Add 350g sliced carrots and simmer until tender, then stir in a handful of frozen peas plus any leftover scraps of turkey. Cook 250g wholewheat noodles according to the packet directions and divide between four bowls. Ladle over the hot broth, peas and carrots. Serve with finely sliced spring onion. Some fresh coriander leaves to scatter on top would be nice if you have them.
You’ll only use half the lentils for this dish but it makes sense to cook them all and keep the rest for another day or another dish. They’ll last for four days in the fridge and at least two months in the freezer. I like to keep the onion and carrot peelings in a box in the freezer to use in future stocks.
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 35 minutes
4
65p per person
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
4
£1.84 per person
I like to peel the tomatoes first by covering them with boiling water, leaving for 30 seconds then draining. The skins should slip off fairly easily. It’s extra faff but does make the salad feel more special.
A generous, hearty salad. Any leftovers are good cold the next day.
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
4
97p per person
To make the wraps from scratch, mix 200g plain flour with 120ml yoghurt or milk, ½ tsp salt and 2 tbsp melted butter. Add a little water if it is too dry. Knead until you have a smooth dough then wrap in a plastic bag and leave to rest in the fridge.
For the filling, cut a small cucumber in half lengthways and scrape out the seeds. Cut the rest into small dice and mix with 8 tbsp yoghurt and half a small bunch of mint, chopped. Fold in chopped cooked turkey – about 400g for four people, but less is fine – and season.
Divide the dough into 4 and roll out each portion into a thin 20cm-circle. Heat a dry frying pan and cook each circle until browned on each side, flipping once. Allow to cool slightly then use to wrap the turkey and cucumber filling. If you have some lettuce or spinach leaves, add them to the wrap too.
A hearty breakfast, brunch or lunch that really packs in the veg. Eat it with slices of toasted Doris Grant loaf.
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes
4
£1.06 per person
Puree a drained 400g tin of chickpeas (or the leftover cooked chickpeas from your chana dal recipe, below) in a food processor with 1 clove of garlic and enough water to make a thick, creamy texture. Add 1 tbsp tahini if you have it. Season with salt, pepper, chilli sauce and lemon juice. Serve in a shallow bowl drizzled with olive oil.
The quantities for this are very loose: chop 1 onion, 2 sticks of celery and a carrot into pea-sized chunks and fry in olive oil until tender. Add a tin of plum tomatoes, breaking them up with a spoon, along with 500ml water or stock and any odds and ends of hard herbs (such as thyme, rosemary, oregano, bay leaf), chopped potatoes, cooked beans or lentils, or other chopped vegetables such as cabbage or beetroot. Simmer until tender, taste and season well. At this point you can add some broken up spaghetti and simmer again until cooked, as well as tender vegetables like spinach or broccoli. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil, grated cheese if you have it, and chopped soft herbs like parsley, coriander, basil or dill.
Cut 500g silken tofu into cubes (any tofu left in the packet will be used in the chana dal dish below). Half-fill a bowl with boiling water and add in the tofu; leave to one side. Heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a wok or large frying pan then add 2 tbsp grated fresh ginger and 2 tbsp grated garlic. Stir for 10 seconds then add 2 tbsp tomato puree and a dash of chilli sauce. Cook for another minute, then lift the tofu out of the water with a slotted spoon and add to the pan, along with 300ml water or turkey stock. Simmer for 5 minutes, then mix 2 tsp cornflour (or flour) with 2 tbsp water and stir this gently into the pan. Cook until thickened (another 5 minutes), then serve scattered with thinly sliced spring onions, alongside brown rice, steamed pak choi or other greens sprinkled with soy sauce.
Put 500g rinsed chana dal (split chickpeas) in a pan with 1.25 litres water, two 5mm slices of fresh ginger and 1 tsp salt. Bring to the boil and simmer until tender, about 40 minutes.
Scoop out a quarter of the chickpeas with a little of their liquid. Store these in the fridge or freezer to make homemade hummus.
To the rest of the chickpeas in the pan add 1 tsp ground turmeric and 400ml coconut milk. Simmer for a further 30 minutes. Season well with salt.
Heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a frying pan and add 1 tsp cumin seeds, 2 chopped cloves of garlic, and ¼ tsp chilli powder or a dash of chilli sauce. Sizzle until fragrant and then tip over the dal and serve.
For the spiced cauliflower, heat 1 tbsp oil and 2 tbsp butter in a large pan. Add 1 tbsp grated ginger and 1 tbsp grated garlic. Stir, then add 2 tsp cumin seeds and 1 tsp ground turmeric. Add the florets from a whole cauliflower and 300g defrosted frozen leaf spinach, along with any tofu left over from making the spicy tofu. Toss to coat well then cover and cook until tender. Serve with a few ripped mint leaves or chopped coriander; some flatbreads to accompany (such as those made for the turkey tzatziki wraps) would be good.
A proper steak supper, using one of my favourite cuts, the skirt. It’s got a great flavour, is very lean and is tender as long as it’s not overcooked and is sliced across the grain. The chip recipe is based on one by the food writer Barney Desmazery. Adding lemon juice or vinegar to the cooking water gelatinises the starch, making for a crisper chip.
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour 5 minutes
4
£1.60 per person
Slice half a red cabbage and 1 red onion finely. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large pan and add the onion and a crushed clove of garlic. Cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Add the cabbage, a squeeze of lemon juice, a pinch of salt and 100ml water or wine (red or white). Cover and cook very gently for an hour, until tender.
Meanwhile, cook the livers. Trim 400g organic chicken livers, cutting off any greenish bits. Toss in 2 tbsp flour mixed with ½ tsp salt, lots of ground pepper and 1 tsp cayenne pepper or chilli flakes if you have them. Heat 1 tbsp butter in a pan and cook 3 sliced onions and a slice of red chilli until the onion is browned and caramelised, about 20 minutes. Add 500g cooked lentils, stir well and season, then tip into a bowl to keep warm. Melt 2 tbsp butter in the same pan. Add the livers and cook until browned on the outside but still pink inside.
When the cabbage is tender, raise the heat and boil off any excess liquid. Season and stir in the chopped green tops of some spring onions. Divide the lentils between 4 warmed plates and top with the livers. Add 2 tbsp water, a splash of vinegar or a squeeze of lemon juice to the pan the livers cooked in and give a good stir; pour this over the livers and serve with a scattering of parsley if you have it, and a dollop of yoghurt.
Tinned sardines are a health-food hero: cheap, sustainable, convenient and packed with healthy omega-3s as well as calcium. They are delicious cooked into a sauce that’s more savoury than fishy, and topped with crunchy fried crumbs, aka pangrattato, which are the Italian “poor man’s Parmesan”.
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
4
For the crunchy crumbs:
£1.06 per person
This makes a big pan of beans, plenty for six or even eight people, so it’s great for a kitchen supper with friends. It tastes best made a day ahead, and the beans need soaking the day before that. Eat with greens – buttered cabbage is good – and toasted slices of Doris Grant loaf. Fancy more meat? Grilled pork chops or preservative-free sausages will go down a treat.
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour 40 minutes
6-8
56p per person if feeding 8