I have a theory that there is a impossible trinity (like in economics), where a food cannot be delicious, cheap and healthy at the same time. At maximum 2 of the 3 can be achieved.
Is there any food that breaks this theory?
Edit: I was thinking more about dishes (or something you put in your mouth) than the raw substances
Some popular suggestions include
- fruits (in season)
- lentils
You already mentioned them, but I’m a huge fan of lentils. They go with so much stuff and you can combine them with a variety of spices. Give me any leftover ingredients and some lentils, and I’ll cook up something delicious. I can and will eat lentil soup for days.
They are also a pretty solid crop, they can grow in a variety of climates, require little water and are good for the soil.
Onion. It’s cheap, nutritious, acts as a low-key anti bacterial solution, can be served in a multitude of ways, or eaten raw.
Subscribe for more onion facts. 🧅
eaten raw
You, sir, are a monster.
Hmm time for a snack
Takes a bite from a raw onion like an apple
Tony abbott is that you?
Listen for some of us that’s a delicacy.
Great fashion accessory too
As was the style at the time
Subscribed.
Followed. Don’t let me down!
I thought your facts would lean more towards the lemon lifestyle.
Chick pea curry.
Well, something being delicious is subjective, but if we assume a “general acceptance” of most delicious foods, potatoes could fit easily. They can be cooked in all kinds of ways, are very nutritious and, again, pretty much everyone says they’re delicious.
That’s a good point, but even within potatoes there is perhaps still a trade-off between “delicious” and “healthy”. As in steamed potatoes without sauces or stuff is kind of meh, while french fries are not that healthy.
Oven-baked potatoes is where it’s at.
Or boil it in chunks and serve it with fried onions and mushrooms.
I don’t even like french fries that much. Steamed potates, or baked ones by the campfire, I’m all in.
…Do we have a community yet for sharing cheap, healthy food recipes? I’d say cooking, but I don’t want to get into all the back & forth over what counts as cooking/baking/frying/etc.
Maybe /c/cheaphealthymeals? Or maybe cheapgoodmeals would be better? 🤔
Whatever the case, I think it’d be a solid idea for a community for exchanging recipes and tips!
I just made one! https://lemmy.world/c/cheaphealthyfood
So… Are you just unaware of fruits, vegetables, and legumes, haha? In my opinion there’s a huge amount of food that fits all three categories. One of the best example of cheap, delicious, healthy, and easy is beans and rice, spiced up however you like.
Yup. Mexican, Indian, a lot of cuisine from poorer countries figured this out long ago. Beans or lentils over rice with the right spices, incredible. The restaurant version will add a lot of fat and heavy cream but if you make it yourself you can adjust that so it’s not unhealthy.
Yeah! Exactly! A huge amount of the best food (imo) comes from these cultures. Plus many of these dishes are also really easy to make in bulk, which is a big win too.
My first thought was just just “Bananas?” Lol
Ah yes, a food that you can eat for three days without pooping while you stay in a tent?
Well, first we need to define what healthy means, because you could die of water intoxication, meaning there is a point where quantity matters.
Are cheese and butter healthy ? Not if it’s your only diet, but there are tons of very healthy things in cheese and butter. And of course, the same goes for every thing. So we must have balance in mind when defining an healthy food.
The second is to define what is cheap. In most of European countries, fresh food is relatively cheap, but in other countries they can be super expensive. And there’s nothing more healthy than fresh food. So you definitely need fresh food as a base for an healthy balanced meal.
The third is highly subjective.
As for my healthy delicious cheap meal:
Breakfast
One scrambled egg by Gordon Ramsay with a melted slice of cheddar on toast and A fruit salad of one orange, one kiwi and one small apple
Lunch
Spaghettis with fresh garlic, olive oil, fresh basil and tomato wedges
Dinner
Pan-fried chicken fillet with frozen peas and carrot rings
Snack
Any fruit really
This is a really good writeup. At a glance, I’m guessing these three meals don’t collectively exceed 1,000 calories, which is important to note since OP will probably be very hungry.
This is a really good writeup
Thanks
At a glance, I’m guessing these three meals don’t collectively exceed 1,000 calories
Except for the breakfast, I didn’t specify the quantities. So I guess some could adapt those “recipes” to their needs.
You know, there are a lot of answers around different varieties of beans. Beans are ok but I don’t really really have a craving for them. The olive oil spaghetti tho…
Does Gordon Ramsay have to cook the egg for me, or can I do it myself?
Sweet potatoes. Very nutritious, very cheap, and taste sweet. Easy to prepare to, you can just boil or bake them for a little while without adding anything and they’re great just like that.
are we allowed to add ingredients? A little soy sauce on that and you’ve basically got yourself a meal
I didn’t even know that you can add soy sauce to sweet potatoes!
You can add soy sauce to anything you want!
classic
You can cut them in half and microwave them, then eat them with a spoon like an ice cream with its own cone.
Beans… on toast.
Found the British 🇬🇧
Lentils.
Yes - generally beans are both healthy (33% protein, 33% fiber, 33% carbs), cheap (dried or in cans), and can be pretty tasty, even out of cans, but if not with eggs, as part of a soup (tomatoes + grain + spices + veggies).
Kebab plate with vegetables.
A coleague of mine was eating it when he was on a diet to lose weight. It’s basically kebab/gyros meat and a vegetable salad with a dresing (usually tzaziki). You have basically no sugar in it, it’s just protein and vitamins.
Back in the day it cost like 4-5 € where I live which was pretty cheap for a lunch. Now it’d more like 6-7 € but that’s still decent
That is not at all a healthy meal, lol.
That happens when you get told as a child that meat is always healthy.
Of all the things one could eat, meat is generally on the healthy side though…
Umm what’s unhealthy in it? :)
I guess it depends how we define what’s a healthy meal but in my book few rules to eat healthy are:
- lower your sugar, flour, potatoes income to minimum
- lower your fat income and choose right fats
- eat more fruits and vegetables
- maintain right ballance of carbs, fats and proteins
A “kebab salad” sounds quite healthy in that take. Despite sounding strange that a common street food could be healthy
It’s a lot of salt, processed meat, and the salad bar at a normal kebab shop is not filled with nutrient dense vegetables. If it’s me, I’d eat it as a takeaway and spread the meat over three days’ worth of meals and up the nutrient content with broccoli and nuts.
Ok fair enough about the salt amount, that’ll be very probably higher. But I don’t know, can you define “processed meat”? Because from how I understand it, kebab is just grilled chicken meat?
I guess it depends on where you live and your shop’s supplier. In Germany, they’re often processed like sausage, produced in factories and delivered frozen to the shops. I’m not totally against processed meat or factory made food, but they don’t fit in my nutritional goals. I also generally don’t eat a lot of meat.
Ironically the processed meats are usually more healthy since they contain more of the animal, like cartilage and fat, instead of just lean muscle. (Well unless they are filled with other chemicals…)
If that fits your nutritional needs, by all means. Just watch the salt content. I get enough calcium, iron, and fat from other sources. Also want to clarify, food is chemicals, everything is chemicals. What did you mean by other chemicals?
Rice, tuna from a packet, and soy sauce - cheap, delicious, healthy, and easy. You wanna get fancy, you can add some sesame oil, furikake, chop up some green onions, whatever you got kicking around.
Sardines are a pretty solid alternative to tuna as well. Depending, they may be cheaper, andnas a bonus they’re much more sustainable than tuna.
Oh man I’ve got a similar recipe for you:
- boil some bean sprouts for a few minutes, strain
- pan fry strained sprouts with a splash of sesame oil. add a dab of tobanjan. sprinke with salt & MSG
- add tuna from a can and pan fry for a few more minutes
serve. one of my favs.
Thanks for this prompt. Reading this thread was the first time I felt like I was on reddit since I’ve joined this instance. I laughed and learned.
