Saturday
Meal Plan 3: Budget Week
Day 6 · Saturday · Cheap and filling
Today at a glance. A weekend treat breakfast from stale bread, a quick quesadilla, and the third and last beef dinner. Three recipes, about 1 hour 15 minutes of cooking in total. Lunch uses the half tin of baked beans from Tuesday. Dinner makes two portions of bolognese: 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
Cinnamon French Toast with Apple
Ingredients (1 portion)
- 2 slices wholemeal bread (a day or two old is best)
- 1 egg
- 60 ml semi-skimmed milk
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 eating apple
- 1 tsp olive oil
Method
- Beat the egg, milk and cinnamon together in a shallow dish, such as a soup plate, until there are no streaks of egg white.
- Core the apple and slice it into thin wedges, skin on.
- Heat half the oil in a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Cook the apple wedges for 4 minutes, turning once, until they are soft and golden at the edges. Tip them onto a plate.
- Lay the bread in the egg mixture for 20 seconds on each side, until it has soaked up most of it but is not falling apart.
- Add the remaining oil to the pan. Fry the bread for 2 to 3 minutes on each side over a medium heat, until golden brown and the egg is cooked all the way through, with no wet patches.
- Serve the French toast with the apple on top and any juices from the pan.
Why it is a healthy start
This is a lighter version of French toast, made with one egg and no butter or sugar. The cooked apple provides the sweetness, and the egg adds protein to the wholemeal bread.
Swaps
A spoonful of plain yoghurt on the side. A sliced banana instead of the apple. Add a few raisins or a spoonful of peanut butter on top.
Save money
This is the best use for bread that is going stale. Dry bread soaks up the egg better than fresh bread, and bread that is a day or two past its best is often sold for much less in the bakery section.
Lunch
Lunch · Vegetarian
Baked Bean and Cheese Quesadilla
Ingredients (1 portion)
- 1 wholemeal tortilla wrap
- 200 g baked beans, reduced sugar and salt (the half tin kept from Tuesday)
- 30 g mature Cheddar cheese
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- Black pepper
Method
- If the beans were frozen, make sure they have fully defrosted. Grate the cheese.
- Tip the beans into a small pan with the cumin and some pepper. Cook over a medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes, mashing roughly with a fork, until most of the sauce has gone and the mixture is thick.
- Spread the beans over one half of the wrap, scatter the cheese over the beans, and fold the other half over to make a half moon.
- Heat a dry non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Cook the quesadilla for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, pressing down with a spatula, until golden and the cheese has melted.
- Cut it into 3 wedges and let it cool for a minute before eating, because the filling is very hot.
Why it is a healthy lunch
Beans give protein and fibre, and mature cheese gives plenty of taste from only 30 g. The wrap is cooked without any oil.
Swaps
Add a handful of baby spinach, some sweetcorn or a grated carrot to the filling. A spoonful of plain yoghurt on the side as a dip. A pinch of chilli flakes for heat.
Save money
A quesadilla turns half a tin of beans and a bit of cheese into a hot lunch. Wraps freeze well, so freeze half the pack if you will not use them within their date.
Dinner
Dinner · Beef
Spaghetti Bolognese with Lentils and Hidden Carrot
Ingredients (makes 2 portions of sauce; spaghetti for tonight only)
- 150 g lean beef mince (5% fat)
- 80 g dried red split lentils
- 1 onion
- 2 carrots
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tin chopped tomatoes (400 g)
- 300 ml water
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 75 g spaghetti (tonight's portion only)
- Salt and black pepper
Method
- If your mince was frozen, check that it has fully defrosted in the fridge. Peel the onion and chop it small. Peel the carrots and grate them on the coarse side of a grater. Peel and chop the garlic. Rinse the lentils in a sieve.
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium-high heat. Add the mince and cook for 5 minutes, breaking it up with a spoon, until it is brown all over with no pink left.
- Add the onion and carrot and cook for 5 minutes, stirring, until soft. Add the garlic and oregano and stir for 30 seconds.
- Stir in the lentils, tomatoes and water with a pinch of salt and some pepper. Bring to the boil, then turn down and simmer for 25 minutes with the lid half on, stirring now and then, until the lentils have broken down and the sauce is thick. Add a splash of water if it gets too dry.
- Meanwhile, cook 75 g of spaghetti in plenty of boiling water following the packet (about 10 minutes). Save a cupful of the cooking water, then drain.
- Divide the sauce in half. Toss the spaghetti with one half, adding a splash of the pasta water if it looks dry, and serve it.
- Put the other half in a freezer-safe container. Let it 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 heat it in a pan until it is steaming hot all the way through, adding a splash of water. Cook fresh spaghetti to go with it. Do not freeze it a second time once it has defrosted.
Why it is a healthy dinner
The lentils and carrot make up most of the sauce, so there is less than 75 g of beef in each portion, with lower saturated fat and more fibre than a classic bolognese. The tomatoes and carrot count as vegetables.
Swaps
Wholewheat spaghetti for more fibre. A handful of chopped mushrooms or a diced celery stick with the onion. A pinch of chilli flakes, or a spoonful of tomato purée for a richer sauce. Serve the sauce over a baked potato.
Save money
A small amount of mince plus lentils and grated carrot makes a sauce no one would guess was stretched. The extra portion in the freezer is a ready meal for a busy night, and costs a fraction of a shop-bought one.
Coming up tomorrow
Sunday has a veg and egg breakfast hash, a tomato soup with toast, and a roast chicken drumstick dinner that makes two portions. If your chicken drumsticks are frozen, take them out tonight and defrost them in the fridge.