I recently published a piece on how to save money and get freebies. To follow on from this, I thought it would be nice to share with you some ways on how you can save money by eating healthily too.
One of the most budget friendly types of food is Asian cuisine, especially Chinese and Thai which is evident when you look on Hungry House. Excellent examples on just how inexpensive it is can be easily spotted and you can also see it is completely possible to eat delicious, filling and healthy Chinese and Asian cuisine for as little as £25 a month.
Part of the reason that Chinese cuisine is so inexpensive to prepare at home is to do with its tradition and philosophy. Traditionally, Asian cultures have a no-waste approach to food. Meat is used sparingly (the typical Chinese recipe calls for about 140 grams of meat) and in season vegetables are a staple.
Here are some examples for you to try out:
Green Bean Stir Fry
Green Bean Stir Fry is a Chinese staple and usually contains a bit of meat or tofu. When green beans are in season, the dish is inexpensive. You can also prepare this dish with any vegetables you like even ones which you find for a bargain or reduced price.
Pocket Eggs with Soy-Sesame Sauce
During the Chinese Cultural Revolution food was often scarce and rationed. Pocket eggs, which are served over noodles or rice, became a staple in many areas.
Fried Rice
The multiple methods of preparing fried rice means that you have lots of options. Fried rice is actually at its best when made with leftovers. (The secret to good fried rice is to use day-old rice.) You can make a more than ample serving of fried rice for about £1.50.
Beef with Rice Noodles
You can make this dish with either fresh or frozen veggies, which makes it easy to take advantage of whichever is the best bargain at the market. This meal also typically cost about £1.50 per serving.
Stir-Fry Beef with Gravy
This dish, which comes from The Chinese Cookbook uses green pepper, mushrooms, sprouts, and peas and costs about 41p a serving.
Marinated Broccoli Stems
This recipe makes a nice side dish, using what is typically the worst part of fresh broccoli and costs about 6p a serving.
These recipes serve as just a few examples of just how inexpensive Chinese food can be when you prepare it at home. There are a number of excellent Chinese cookbooks out there, but of course you can easily find the recipes online.
In addition to helping your budget, Chinese and Asian food in general is incredibly healthy as the dishes contain lean meats, a very small amount of healthy oils and lots of healthy vegetables. Considering this, Chinese food is likely to remain a part of your regular diet even when you’re not trying to save those pennies.
Hungry for more? Check out this great blog post by Just Average Jen on Slimming World Friendly Family Meals on a Budget. Or, how about some great easy time saving vegetarian recipes to tempt your tastebuds.
What do you think of my recipe ideas? Would you try any of these recipes at home?
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I love oriental/Asian cuisine and as long as you have bulk spices the actual meal itself would not cost a lot to make !
Spices can really add a great flavour although some veg are lovely without much added.
These are great ideas. I’d be happy to eat more healthy Chinese cuisine. I’d try all of these!
They are nice and varied aren’t they. I do love this sort of food as it’s really healthy 😉
I certainly would try, they’re filling meals with a lot of veg involved. I love me some broccoli x
I quite like broccoli too you can add it to so many dishes.
i love making these. they’re quick and easy and many veg just goes well with them!
It’s great to make a saving on meals but also to have tasty foods too.
No more excuses that ready meals are cheaper or whatever! Great post idea 🙂
I love this post, people seem to assume eating well involves breaking the bank but as you’ve shown it really doesn’t!
I am totally going to have to try some of these, the bean stir fry sounds right up my street as a first pick! x
I adore Asian food and like you mentioned it doesn’t have to be expensive at all, and it’s so quick and easy to whip up a nice dish. Jo x
It sure is which is why it’s such a great option.
I love the sound of these so I am going to try them soon x
Enjoy Hannah, there is a good variety there 😉
Rice and noodle dishes are always so filling but don’t need to be expensive x
They are very filling and can be healthy too 😉
I love Chinese food I definitely need to try out some healthy Chinese recipes at home rather than just from the takeaway.
It’s amazing how much you can cut costs making it yourself.
I actually like eating rice on its own as a meal without meat or fish, I always add vegetables into it and some stock x
It does make a great meal and the fact it isn’t expensive is a bonus.
Eating seasonally is always my top tip for saving money when it comes to healthy eating.
It does make a difference doesn’t it 😉
thank-you, these are such great ideas!
Beef with rice noodles sound yummy too!
It does doesn’t it 😉
I do love Asian foods, not so much Chinese but Korea foods as they have just fascinated me in the last 2 years
Oh I need advises like that. I really need to save up and love your tips!
ooo the beef with rice noodles sounds lush!!! I love food like this!
These are some great recipe suggestions. Healthy eating doesn’t cost a fortune, junk food does!
It’ true healthy eating can be far cheaper.
I love Chinese-style stir-fries, and the egg fried rice is one of my top favourites. Good suggestions for eating healthy
Fab ideas – I love homemade fried rice and it’s a bonus that it’s cheap x
Me too with a little egg thrown in and a touch of sesame oil, yum!
Couldn’t agree with you more!! It is a lot cheaper to cook with real Ingredients than premade or jars of sauces!
Sure is and normally tastes much better too x
chinese food is my favourite but I very rarely cook it at home, I usually order takeout or eat it in a restaurant.
It’s really simple to make, why not try some of these recipes.
I must admit I do find healthy eating can be expensive. I’m not a fan of Chinese food on the whole but I can see how it works out to be kind to the purse.
It depends what you eat, why not try some of these recipes Colette 😉
Great recipe ideas, I’m a big fan of fried rice and as a vegetarian I know our food shop is so much cheaper because I don’t buy meat.
That will make a big difference to the weekly outgoings 😉
I need to try some of these as I’ve not been eating healthy at all lately and also need to save me some money! x
You will find that these recipes should help.
Asian cooking is so much cheaper and relatively easy once you get the hang of it. Great tips. x
It is a great inexpensive wa to eat nice an healthy and also tasty meals 😉
This is a super handy blog post! I really want to try the green bean stir fry, It sounds delicious.
I need to eat more healthily! I enjoy cooking too thankyou
Glad to meet a fellow foodie. 😉
I’m a big fan of a stirfry especially as they’re v easy vegetarian meals – I like to keep frozen Quorn handy as a good way to add some protein too.
I don’t really use quorn in my meals, maybe I should try it.
These all look so tasty and things I think the kids will try too. Looking forward to giving some of these a go thank you!
Have fun cooking Emma I hope you get to try them all x
Great tips thanks – I try to cook healthy meals for my family every day!
That’s great to hear. Sometimes it’s hard to find inspiration so I hope these recipes helped.
I often use frozen vegetable to make my Asian dishes. It save a lot of money and having less waste or no waste at all. THe recipes looks delicious. Thanks for sharing.
No problem, it’s great to be able to share tasty recipes with everyone. I know it’s not just me that loves healthy Asian or even just general healthy foods 😉
Fab ideas, thanks for sharing, will also be adding these recipes to the meal plan over the next few weeks/months
I cook a lot with rice nad vegetables, they are so versatile and can be flavoured in many ways.
It is great that these dishes are versatile and you can add in meat and fish if you want too 😉
We love Asian cooking in our house, so much easier to get everyone to eat veg when it’s part of a tasty stir-fry rather than heaped in a little pile on the side of the plate British style.
Asian food is one of my favourite cuisines, and I also love the no waste approach.
We try to keep waste to a minimum where possible.
it all sounds lovely and great value too
It sure is yummy and super value.
Fantastic ideas and the meals look delicious. I love Asian food and it’s great that it’s so cheap as well.
Like the sound of beef with noodles mmmm thank you
yummy!!!
i love fried rice but never made it myself, this looks pretty easy!
It really is very easy to do and it a great dish for after school.
The food looks delicious and it is always great to make savings xx
It really can help especially when money is tight.
Great looking food! Love using cheaper food to make good meals.
It can help you save a fair amount.
Excellent post thank you! I was just saying last week how expense healthy eating is & how on earth can I large family afford it!
Now you know it doesn’t have to be expensive.
Looks.lovely and quern never tried but think I might give it a try don’t do fancy meals as it’s only me that fussy and doesn’t eat meat rest of the family love it will have to give these recipes a try
Enjoy Keri 😉
I try to eat a healthy diet as often as I can.
That’s great to hear, keep it up Paula.
Great ideas here that I would love to try and the food looks yummy.
i love to do stirfrys for my husband, they are quick and easy and filling too
I love that they are so fast to make.
Yum! These look delicious. I often make a veg & rice meal up from whatever I have left in the fridge.
It is a great way to reduce waste.
What a great help this is especially as i have 3 fussy kids i am trying to get to eat new things and healthier
Glad you liked the post 😉
Fried rice with left overs is such a super idea!
Great tips on this blog post very handy for me that at the moment is trying to lose weight but I do find it hard knowing what to cook. Thankyou
No problem, glad to have helped 😉