With the sky-high prices in the supermarkets, it is increasingly a challenge to put something affordable and healthy on the table every day. Because how do you make a meal that is not too expensive and yet nutritious? We ask two experts who deal with food every day for a number of tips.
Shopping, it is a necessary evil, but nowadays it is no longer useful. Fresh fish easily costs a tenner, a jar of peanut butter almost 4.50 euros and anyone who wants a healthy snack will not be happy at all with a cucumber with the price tag of one euro.
The Nutrition Center points us to budget cooking, in which case you choose recipes with less expensive ingredients. If you make the right choice, this can really make a difference at the checkout. That is why the Nutrition Center has recipes with cheap ingredients on its website.
“We have budget recipes made from 2.20 euros per person. We are trying to make recipes that come out even lower in the near future. Because we also see that it is difficult to cook healthy while everything is becoming more expensive,” says Liesbeth Velema of the Nutrition Center.
“A stew always works well and doesn’t have to be expensive.”
The Eindhoven Sandra Koopmans is the maker of www.leukerecepten.nl, a site with 3.5 million monthly visitors. She makes recipes every day and nowadays also with an eye on the wallet. She notices that recipes with expensive ingredients such as fish are less viewed on her site these days. Cheaper recipes such as chili con carne are increasingly popular.
What are healthy dishes that don’t necessarily have to be expensive? “A stew is always good. Potatoes are relatively cheap, especially if you buy them in bulk. That also applies to carrots or frozen spinach, those prices are yet to be determined.”
“Pulses are a good meat substitute and that saves costs.”
But she also recommends the use of legumes such as chickpeas, lentils and beans. They are inexpensive and a source of protein and iron, says Sandra. “And they are very filling. You can use that with a Mexican recipe, such as chili con carne, burritos or wraps. Legumes are a good meat substitute and that saves costs.”
The price of rice is also manageable and you can use leftover vegetables. “Make nasi with a fried egg. If you buy vegetables uncut, you save money. They last longer in their entirety than when they are already sliced. For comparison: for 150 grams of sliced onions you pay 1.29 euros and for a kilo of uncut onions only 0.89 cents.”
She also recommends the use of frozen vegetables and fruit, because they are often cheaper than fresh from the shelf. “They are at their furthest when they are frozen. Ideal for hot preparations. For example, consider a pasta dish with frozen peas. If you do buy fresh fruits and vegetables, buy them in season as much as possible. That is often cheaper than when they come from far.”
“These are the little bits that help.”
At the Nutrition Center they also point out that you can save while cooking. For example, by placing a lid on the pan so that the contents boil faster. So there are even more saving tips for the kitchen on their website. “But we realize that there are people who have been using these kinds of tips for a long time and still can’t get by. That’s distressing. These are the little bits that help.”
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