Wednesday
Meal Plan 3: Budget Week
Day 3 · Wednesday · Cheap and filling
Today at a glance. Eggs, tinned fish and dried pasta, three of the best-value foods in the shop. Three recipes, about 1 hour 10 minutes of cooking in total, and dinner is the vegetarian one. Dinner makes two portions: one to eat tonight and one for the freezer. Every quantity below is for one portion unless the recipe says otherwise, in metric with UK names.
Breakfast
Breakfast
Boiled Eggs with Wholemeal Toast Soldiers
Ingredients (1 portion)
- 2 eggs
- 2 slices wholemeal bread
- Black pepper
Method
- Fill a small saucepan with enough water to cover the eggs by about 2 cm, and bring it to a gentle boil.
- Lower the eggs in carefully with a spoon. Set a timer: 6 minutes gives a soft, runny yolk, and 8 minutes gives a firm one.
- Put the bread in the toaster about 2 minutes before the eggs are ready, then cut each slice into 4 strips.
- Lift the eggs out with the spoon, run them under cold water for 10 seconds, and put them in egg cups or mugs. Tap the top of each with a spoon to crack it, peel it off and dip in the toast.
Why it is a healthy start
Two eggs give about 12 g of protein and a good amount of vitamin D and B12, for a few pence each. Boiling needs no oil.
Swaps
Poach or scramble the eggs. A handful of cherry tomatoes or a sliced apple on the side. Sprinkle a little black pepper or a pinch of smoked paprika on the yolk.
Save money
Eggs are one of the cheapest proteins. A box of 10 or 12 costs less per egg than a box of 6, and the week uses 7, so a box of 10 covers it with a few spare. Check the date on the box and keep them in the fridge.
Lunch
Lunch
Tuna, Sweetcorn and Tomato Pasta Salad
Ingredients (1 portion)
- 60 g dried pasta shapes (fusilli or penne), wholewheat if you like it
- 1 small tin tuna in spring water (about 145 g)
- 60 g frozen sweetcorn
- 1 medium tomato
- 30 g plain Greek-style yoghurt
- 1 tsp olive oil
- Black pepper
Method
- Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling water following the packet. Add the sweetcorn to the pan for the last 3 minutes, then drain both in a colander.
- Run cold water over the pasta and sweetcorn for 30 seconds to cool them, and shake off the water.
- Drain the tuna and flake it with a fork. Chop the tomato into small pieces.
- In a bowl, mix the yoghurt, oil and plenty of black pepper to make the dressing.
- Add the pasta, sweetcorn, tuna and tomato to the bowl and stir until everything is coated. Taste and add more pepper if you need it.
Why it is a healthy lunch
Tuna in spring water is almost pure protein, with no added oil. Wholewheat pasta and sweetcorn add fibre, and yoghurt gives a creamy dressing with far less fat than mayonnaise.
Swaps
A squeeze of lemon juice in the dressing. A little grated carrot or chopped cucumber if you have one. Tinned mackerel or sardines in place of the tuna. Eat it warm if you are in a hurry.
Save money
Frozen sweetcorn costs less than tinned, and you only take out what you need, so none goes to waste. Own-brand tuna in spring water is much cheaper than a branded tin, and it tastes the same once it is mixed in.
Dinner
Dinner · Vegetarian
Butter Bean and Tomato Pasta Bake
Ingredients (makes 2 portions)
- 120 g dried pasta shapes (penne or fusilli)
- 1 tin butter beans (400 g), drained and rinsed
- 1 tin chopped tomatoes (400 g)
- 1 onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 100 g frozen peas
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 40 g mature Cheddar cheese
- 100 ml water
- Salt and black pepper
Method
- Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan, gas mark 6). Peel and chop the onion small, peel and chop the garlic, and grate the cheese.
- Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling water for 2 minutes less than the packet says, so that it is still firm. Drain it.
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Cook the onion for 5 minutes until soft, then add the garlic and oregano and stir for 30 seconds.
- Add the tomatoes, water, butter beans and a pinch of salt. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes, stirring now and then. Mash about a quarter of the beans against the side of the pan to thicken the sauce.
- Stir in the peas and the pasta and season with pepper. Taste, and add salt if you need it.
- Divide the mixture into two halves. Put one half in a small ovenproof dish, and the other in a freezer-safe container. Scatter half the cheese over each.
- Bake the dish for 20 minutes, until the cheese is golden and the sauce is bubbling at the edges. Eat it tonight.
- Let the container cool for up to an hour, put on the lid, label it with the date and freeze it within a few hours.
Freezing and reheating the second portion
Use it within 3 months. Defrost it overnight in the fridge, then bake it at 200°C (180°C fan) for about 30 minutes, until it is steaming hot all the way through. Do not freeze it a second time once it has defrosted.
Why it is a healthy dinner
Butter beans give protein and fibre without meat, and with a little cheese this is a filling vegetarian meal. The sauce is mostly tomato and vegetables, with very little added fat.
Swaps
Cannellini beans or chickpeas in place of the butter beans. A handful of spinach or sliced mushrooms with the onion. A pinch of chilli flakes for heat. Leave the cheese off for a dairy-free version.
Save money
Tinned beans, dried pasta and a tin of tomatoes make a meal for very little. A batch of two portions uses the oven once and gives you a dinner for another night, which stops you reaching for a takeaway.
Coming up tomorrow
Thursday has apple and cinnamon porridge, a chickpea and carrot wrap, and a beef and potato hash with a fried egg. If your beef mince is in the freezer, take it out tonight and defrost it in the fridge.