5 cheap meals with healthy and easy to find food

To eat healthy for little money you only need seasonal vegetables, vegetable proteins and well-chosen extras. You will create cheap, nutritious and delicious meals!

• Healthy foods always: cheap and healthy

• 5 cheap and vegetarian meals with the step-by-step recipe

When the shopping basket becomes more expensive, one solution is the return to the kitchen of basic foods.

It is possible to recover ancestral dishes from a new perspective that gives them greater nutritional value and the updated approach to new ingredients. We will thus create cheap meals without sacrificing health or taste.

HEALTHY FOODS ALWAYS: CHEAP AND HEALTHY

In a mostly plant-based diet, it may seem that, without the help of new high-cost protein products, nutritional balance will not be achieved. But we have many options.

LEGUMES, NUTS AND WHOLE GRAINS

However, it is appropriate to remember that the protein portion of legumes, nuts and whole grains is high, and that combining them with each other can make cheap and easy to make meals that provide us with all the essential amino acids that a balanced diet needs.

Vegetable meats can be used only for completeness. An alternative is to understand these products as a quality complement.

It is about using them in smaller quantities, but as part of a whole, along with other lower-cost foods that provide other types of nutrients. So, tofu, tempeh, seitan and other proteins can form a small part of a stew or a filling.

The same thing happens with seeds and nuts that, used in small portions, can form perfectly part of sauces and garnishes without making our meals too expensive.

SEASONAL FRUIT AND VEGETABLES

On the other hand, fruits and vegetables not only cost less in season, but also provide variety and richness in micronutrients, allowing to cover the contributions of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants with economical, but valuable meals.

MUSHROOMS, SEAWEED AND HERBS

Mushrooms and seaweed are also very nutritious and, used in limited portions, add value and flavor to recipes.

The use of herbs, spices and condiments such as soy sauce or miso are essential to achieve tasty recipes.

SOME IMPRESNCINDIBLES

Some foods are so versatile and nutritious that they are worth keeping in mind as basic pantry options:

• Beans. In dry, the price of legumes is incomparable, as are their nutritional qualities.
• Brown rice. It provides carbohydrates that are assimilated slowly. You can choose eco and cooperative.
• Mushroom. It offers all the benefits of other more expensive mushrooms with a delicious taste.
• Soybeans. Tofu or textured granules are very rich in proteins that are more sustainably and economically produced than meat.

5 CHEAP AND VEGETARIAN MEALS WITH THE STEP-BY-STEP RECIPE

BEAN AND TENDER BEAN STEW WITH NOODLES AND PUMPKIN BY WEIGHT

INGREDIENTS FOR 6 PEOPLE

• 200 g white beans (with 8 h pre-soaking)
• 200 g green beans
• 100 g pumpkin
• 1 small potato
• 2 tomatoes
• 50 g thick noodles
• 1/2 teaspoon La Vega paprika
• thyme and bay leaf

For pesto:

• 6 basil leaves
• 15 g pine nuts
• 3 garlic cloves
• 50 g Parmesan cheese
• 50 ml olive oil
• coarse sea salt

PREPARATION (60′):

1. Soak the beans eight hours before. After that time, drain them and discard the water. Put them to cook in two liters of cold water, with thyme, bay leaf and a splash of olive oil, without salting. First bring them to a boil, and when they foam, remove with a skimmer and let them simmer. You can “scare” them by pouring a glass of cold water halfway through cooking, so that they are more tender.
2. While the beans are cooking, clean, peel and dice the pumpkin and potatoes. Blanch the tomatoes for a minute, peel them, remove the seeds and chop them. Then prepare the green beans in pieces.
3. After 30 minutes of cooking the legume, add all the vegetables and paprika. About 15 minutes later add the noodles and let everything boil together ten more minutes, watching that it thickens, but does not stick.
4. To make the pesto, mash the garlic, basil and pine nuts in a mortar or blender, with a pinch of coarse salt. Add the oil and grated Parmesan cheese, until forming a thick sauce, and dilute slightly by adding a saucepan of broth from the stew. Just before serving, pour the pesto over the stew and stir.

BROWN RICE CASSEROLE WITH VEGETABLES

In this rice casserole you will find an optional ingredient uncommon in traditional cuisine but that will allow you to enrich this simple recipe nutritiously. It is an alga that you will find in natural food stores.

INGREDIENTS FOR 6 PEOPLE

• 300 g brown rice
• 1 onion
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1/2 green pepper and a slice of red pepper
• 2 artichokes
• 3 sprigs of broccoli
• 7 green beans
• 4 mushrooms
• 2 ripe tomatoes
• 100 g shelled peas
• 50 g dehydrated cochayuyo seaweed
• juice of half a lemon
• olive oil
• Saffron, curry and salt

PREPARATION (50′):

1. Put the washed rice in a pot with a liter of water and bring it to a gentle boil. Rehydrate the cochayuyo seaweed with hot water and lemon juice.
2. Meanwhile, wash and peel the vegetables as appropriate. Grate the tomatoes, separate the broccoli into sprigs, split the heart of the artichokes into quarters and cut the rest of the vegetables into small ones.
3. In a wide casserole, add a good bottom of oil and let it warm up a little. First, add the onion, garlic and peppers. When the onion is translucent, after about 5 minutes, add the artichokes, small sprigs of broccoli, beans and mushrooms. Sauté everything little by little, over moderate heat, with the pot covered, 5 minutes more.
4. Drain the cochayuyo seaweed and incorporate it into the casserole along with the peas and the grated tomato. Season with a few strands of saffron, a teaspoon of sea salt and a pinch of curry.
5. Add the brown rice with its broth and stir. Let it boil all together for about 20 minutes, until the rice is at its point. Have more hot water ready to have on hand and add it if it is very dry before finishing cooking the rice.

TOMATOES STUFFED WITH LENTILS, OATS AND MUSHROOMS WITH ROMESCO

INGREDIENTS (SERVES 4):

• 8 large tomatoes
• 100 g coral lentils
• 100 g oat flakes (or couscous flakes))
• 250 g oyster mushrooms (gírgolas)
• 2 garlic
• a few mint or mint leaves
• olive oil
• sea salt

For the sauce:

• 4 garlic
• 2 ñora
• 30 g almonds
• 30 g hazelnuts
• 50 ml olive oil
• a splash of apple cider vinegar
• a pinch of pepper
• 1 teaspoon sea salt

PREPARATION (45′):

1. Cook the coral lentils for fifteen minutes and, when turning off the heat, add the oat flakes. Clean the mushrooms and cut them into small pieces. Sauté with a little oil and the garlic peeled and cut thickly. Drain the lentils and flakes, incorporate them into the mushrooms and room.
2. Cut the tomatoes on top, opening a lid, and empty them. Reserve the pulp for the sauce. Fill the tomatoes with the mixture, put on a baking sheet and bake at 180º C for about 10 minutes.
3. To make the romesco put the ñora to soak a few hours before to scrape the inner pulp. If not, blanch for a minute, or use quality paprika.
4. Roast three cloves of garlic in the oven for 5 minutes.
5. Take the pulp of the tomatoes you had reserved and remove the seeds. Crush the toasted and peeled almonds and hazelnuts with the garlic that remains raw.
6. Add the tomato, the roasted and peeled garlic, the scraping of the peppers, the oil, the vinegar, the pepper and the salt, and beat everything until it is a very well bound paste.
7. When you take the tomatoes out of the oven, garnish them with romesco sauce and fresh mint.

VEGETABLE STEW WITH TEMPEH AND PAPRIKA

INGREDIENTS (SERVES 4):

• 2 leeks
• 1 green pepper
• 1 zucchini
• 2 carrots
• a piece of pumpkin (optional)
• 100 g tempeh
• 100 g mushrooms
• 4 potatoes
• 1 clove
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 3 strands of saffron
• 1/2 glass of white wine
• olive oil
• sea salt

PREPARATION (50′):

1. Clean all vegetables. Remove the greenest part from the leeks and cut them into slices. Cut the zucchini lengthwise and chop it into half-moons. If you’re going to put pumpkin, cut it into squares. Scrape the carrots and cut them into slices. Green pepper is chopped into squares. Divide the mushrooms into fours, and the tempeh into cubes.
2. Cover the bottom with oil in a pot with a wide base and thick bottom. Sauté the tempeh cubes until golden brown, remove them and set aside. With the oil over medium heat, add the leeks and pepper, stirring occasionally. After five minutes or so, add the rest of the vegetables and mushrooms. Season with cloves, bay leaf, paprika, saffron, as well as a teaspoon of sea salt, a glass of water and a half of white wine. Cover it and let it braise over low heat.
3. Peel the potatoes and cut them into slices or segments in the meantime. When they are ready, incorporate them into the stew along with the tempeh and let it cook together for another twenty minutes, until the potatoes are tender.
4. If you have leftover vegetable stew, you can pass it through the blender to get a tasty cream. Do not forget to remove the bay leaf before, or you will have unpleasant pieces impossible to remove.

ASSORTMENT OF MUSHROOM CROQUETTES, BAKED DUMPLINGS AND SOY FRITTERS

INGREDIENTS (SERVES 12):

For the croquettes:

• 250 g mushrooms
• 1 onion
• 100 g soft tofu
• 250 ml soy or oat milk
• 1 tablespoon whole wheat flour
• 1 egg
• breadcrumbs for batter
• olive oil, nutmeg, pepper and salt

For the dumplings:

• 300 g wholemeal flour
• 125 ml water
• 60 ml oil
• 1 onion
• 1 bell pepper
• 1 eggplant
• pitted olives
• 1 tablespoon tomato sauce
• oil, pepper and salt

For the incarnates:

• 100 g fine soy protein dehydrated
• 100 ml water
• 100 g whole wheat flour
• 1/2 level teaspoon baking soda
• 1 egg
• 2 garlic cloves
• olive oil, parsley, paprika and salt

PREPARATION (150′):

1. Croquettes. Crush onion and mushrooms and sauté in a pan 10 min. Add the crumbled tofu, flour and milk and dress. Cook 20 min. stirring, until the dough separates from the pan, let cool and rest 4h in the fridge. Form the croquettes, batter in egg and breadcrumbs and fry or pulverize with foil and bake 5 min. on each side at 2000C.
2. Dumplings. Cut and sauté the vegetable in oil over low heat. Chop it with the olives, dress, add the tomato and let cool. Make a dough with the flour and liquids. Roll it out and cut 8 cm circles. Put 1 tbsp. Filling in each, close and seal. Bake 15 min.
3. Fritters. Rehydrates soy in water. Beat the egg and add the chopped garlic and parsley, paprika and salt. Add the drained soybeans, flour and baking soda. Mix and fry in oil by throwing the dough teaspoon by teaspoon.