Sausages and mince are the two foods that come to mind when eating on a budget and neither of them offer much inspiration for healthy, tasty meals. So here’s our guide to eating healthy - gourmet style - on a shoestring.

1. Mix it up – meat + legumes
Use less meat and add legumes. Legumes sound a bit weird, but they aren’t – they’re things like lentils, peas and beans. It’s the edible seed from pod bearing plants. Legumes are the staple food in many countries. Chickpeas are very common in the Middle East (think hummus), lentils in India and pinto beans in Mexico. So eat ethnic and save!

Legumes are a good source of protein, fibre and carbohydrate so they make an excellent base for a meal. Check out vegetarian cook-books for recipes.  Also, for casseroles and curries, halve the meat portion and add in a can of drained chickpeas or canned, drained lentils. They absorb the flavours of the meal and have a nice texture. 

To get you started, check out this recipe for Basmati Rice, Lentil & Cashew Salad from Diabetes NZ, and this lentil curry from Healthy Food Guide. 

2. Meat
Cheap meat usually equals high fat and low quality. However there are exceptions. Cheap cuts of red meat like chuck steak and blade steak are cheap because they are tough cuts. But these cuts respond really well to slow cooking and are perfect for winter casseroles. Invest in a crock pot – they are cheap to run, and dinner can be ready when you get home from work!

Another good option for meat is schnitzel. Because it’s thin, it goes a long way in stir fries and curries. Try a simple Chinese stir-fry for two by stir-frying 200g of lean beef schnitzel, with one tablespoon of soy sauce. Set aside the meat, and stir-fry chopped carrot, canned bamboo shoots (only $1.10 a can!), broccoli florets and other veges of choice. When the veges are cooked, mix through the meat and serve with rice. A cheap, tasty and healthy way to do Chinese!

3. Fruit and Vegetables
If your weekend clean up involves throwing out the droopy, sad looking fruit and veges at the end of the week, only buy what you realistically know you’re going to eat. If you plan your weekly menu, you should have a rough idea of what you’ll need. Also have some frozen veges on hand – you can use these if you run out of fresh.

4. Make your own “takeaways”
Burgers or pizza are often on the menu for the weekend for a number of us. Making your own is much cheaper, healthier and often tastier. Make your own pizza base, spread with tomato paste, chopped mushrooms, roast pumpkin, garlic and a little chicken sprinkled with cheese. While it may be a little bit more effort than calling Pizza Hut, the taste and extra cash will be worth it!

There are many ways to eat healthier for less, take some time to search the net or the library for healthy, cheap recipes and you’ll be set for extra cash in the bank account and good health to boot.

Nicola Graham, nutritionist
www.eatwellnz.com