Healthy meals on a budget

Budgeting your living costs can be challenging, especially when it comes to healthy eating.

Luckily, you don’t need to spend hours in the kitchen – or a fortune at the store! There are plenty of easy meals you can make with affordable ingredients. 

Discover our guide to making healthy meals on a budget. 

They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and they’re not wrong! A good, balanced breakfast will give you lots of long-lasting energy to keep you going until lunch, so make it count!

Cheap and easy meals at breakfast could include yoghurt and muesli with fruit, porridge or wholegrain toast with avocado. 

If you love a savoury breakfast, an omelette is a great cheap recipe – and it’s quick, too. Simply whisk one to two eggs in a bowl along with your choice of ingredients. This could include things like mushrooms, capsicum, tomato, feta cheese, onion, spinach, ham and salmon, plus herbs, spices and salt and pepper to taste.

Put your omelette in a pan over medium-low heat for 3 to 4 minutes, then fold and serve warm.

Not a morning person? Why not prepare your breakfast ahead of time? Overnight oats, bircher muesli and chia puddings are all easy meals that can be made the night before, so you can just get up and go! 

Making time for lunch can be hard, especially when you’re busy. However, buying lunch all the time is expensive, and makes it hard to meet your nutritional needs.

Sandwiches are a great, easy meal to make ahead. They even offer a lot of variety in terms of bread and fillings. For example, you could try:

• Mixed salad on rye
• Turkey and rocket salad on wholegrain bread
• Tinned tuna, pickle, lettuce and onion on a multigrain wrap
• Pesto, tomato, basil and mozzarella on sourdough

Summertime is also perfect for salads, which you can easily make the night before or in the morning. In the colder months, you can even make a big batch of soup. Store it in a thermos and bring along a bread roll to have a lovely hot meal on the go. 

Cooking a nutritious meal is a great way to unwind at the end of a long day, so dinner is the perfect time to experiment with new and interesting cheap recipes. 

Generally, a balanced dinner should be made up of around 25% grains, like rice, quinoa or wholegrain pasta, 25% lean protein, like chicken, fish, egg, tofu or red meat, and 50% fresh vegetables.

When it comes to cheap recipes, it’s hard to go past spaghetti bolognese. Amp up the goodness by adding veggies to your sauce, like tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini and grated carrot. 

Curry is another easy meal. Just mix your choice of curry sauce or paste with cooked vegetables – and meat, if you like – then serve with rice. 

Tacos are another easy meal. You can pick up a pre-made taco seasoning sachet for a few dollars or make your own. Cook your meat in the seasoning, then serve with wraps, lettuce, red onion, cheese and any other fillings you like.  

Need some inspiration? Try these healthy and budget friendly dinner recipes:

• Tuna, pumpkin and broccoli pasta bake
• Warm roasted vegetable salad
  
• Easy mince ideas
• One dish wonder: Mediterranean chicken bake
  
• Creamy chicken laksa

It can sometimes be challenging to make healthy meals on a budget. Fresh produce is often expensive, so it can be tempting to buy cheaper more processed foods. 

Luckily, there are a few tips and tricks that make buying fresh easier and more affordable.

• Try to buy seasonally. In-season fruits and vegetables are more affordable.
• Visit your grocery store at the end of the day. You’ll often find great deals and discounts on fresh produce.
• Visit affordable grocery stores like ALDI. You can often find cheap produce at international grocery stores, too. 
• Check out food markets near you. Market produce is often cheaper and sometimes better quality.
• Check out what’s on special each week. If there are good deals on staples like rice, canned goods, pasta and oil, it might be a good idea to stock up. 
• Plan your meals ahead each week and make a shopping list of only what you need. This will help you avoid impulse buys.
• If you like to snack, try to choose healthy, affordable options like fruit and nuts. 
• If you live with roommates, you could ask if they want to share grocery costs and cooking duties. This can help you all save and means you may only have to cook every few nights. 

For more tips and tricks to help your money go further, check out our cost of living guide.